CHEAT SHEET
TOP 10 RIGHT NOW
Could the United States close the 2009 fiscal year without a check from its biggest bank? Bank of America, the largest bank in the country, and Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest bank, may not have to pay federal income tax this year, says the Charlotte Observer. Bank of America can skirt paying taxes because it lost money on the year; Wells Fargo, meanwhile, turned a profit but will write down its losses at Wachovia, which it purchased. “Oh, yeah, this happens all the time,” said one tax expert.