Financial Service Info

Today, the House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 1864, the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act, on a bipartisan vote. The bill sets a minimum threshold for states to subject individuals to their state income tax: presence of at least 30 days in the state. Currently, most states require tax payments and even tax withholding for workers in the state for much shorter periods of time, including as little as a day.

The vote occurred after an alternative (14 day threshold and no protection for those earning over $130,000) was defeated. Growing state efforts to raid revenue from business travelers who are in the state for only a few days have created needless complexity and threaten to harm interstate commerce. The Constitution empowers Congress to limit the power of states to tax interstate commerce. Prohibiting states from requiring payment or withholding of income taxes from someone in the state for less than 30 days is a fair balance.

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On my way in to the Treasury Building

Greetings from Washington, D.C.!  The President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability is meeting today, with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan attending. And on behalf of the Youth Subcommittee, I’m presenting one of the big ideas we’ve been working on. Very exciting! I’ll let you in on more details soon…

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Investors in government debt are sitting pretty. Prices of bonds soared in the economic chaos of recent years as fears drove up demand for safe havens.

Its the shockwinner – and it defies logic . But defying logic is what investors should do.

Two years ago, the consensus was growing that government debt would form the next stage of the crisis. It did and still does, with many Western governments making drastic cutbacks to cope with the crushing weight of their debts.

So who would throw more money at them?

With gold about the up striking in history levels, while silver appears either to be holding it’s or about the lower turn, you may question what the better investment is as well as the gold silver bullion prices coins.

As mentioned before, one step to consider when trading ought to be what you could afford. Even though much think gold might be the greater investment of these two because the cost appears to become trending greater and faster; 

the present cost of silver causes it to be a stylish investment for today so far as cost goes.But what things should you take notice of? Le

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Hey do you remember how all the municipal bonds were supposed to start defaulting in mass?    It was around 11 months ago that Meredith Whitney made a prediction that we’d see massive defaults on municipal bonds because governments simply couldn’t afford their debt levels.   She was on the show 60 Minutes and declared that

“There’s not a doubt in my mind that you will see a spate of municipal bond defaults,“  … “You could see 50 sizeable defaults. Fifty to 100 sizeable defaults. More. This will amount to hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of defaults.” and later “‘ It’ll be something to worry about within the next 12 months,”

The prediction seemed to make sense to many people at the time given how our economy and state of municipal finances have been.   But its been nearly a year and we’ve seen nowhere near the amounts of defaults she predicted.  

In fact in the first half of 2011 the amount of defaults dropped significantly from what was seen in 2010.   see :

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I watched the new financial thriller Margin Call this weekend. Corporate dramas aren’t my go-to genre, but it had a heavy-hitting cast: Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto and Stanley Tucci for starters. Despite taking place almost entirely in an office and focusing on the corporate world , the movie wowed me. It also reminded me of a few workplace and financial truths that could serve us all well—from behind the counter at a fast food restaurant to Wall Street:

1.    The chain of command is real. The movie unveiled a complex corporate ladder that continued to unfold. The takeaway? Know where you are on the ladder and remain in the good graces of the big wigs at the top.
2.    Sometimes you have to work late. The characters made incredible salaries but worked diligently. Showing your willingness to work hard can help you go places .
3.    Layoffs happen. No one is immune to losing his or her job. In the rough

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Anyone who has ever gone through the process of debt reduction, particularly in the early stages of the debt settlement negotiations, can tell you just how stressful being in that situation can be. The collection agents would not stop calling and the letters demanding immediate payment of bills would not stop coming. There is also a definite feeling of paranoia, the assumption that everyone around you knows about your financial situation and your attempt at going through debt reduction and whisper behind your back. The worst thing about it is the feeling of insecurity, the constant worry of how you would be able to provide for your needs and the needs of your family given the constraints brought down upon you by debt.

But no matter how deep you are into debt, there is always a way to get out of your financial problems in a safe and legal manner, and that is through engaging a company that offers debt reduction services.

There are many such agencies specializing in debt reduction services that it can be difficult to determine which one to put your trust on. Read all post…

You knew one day it would come.

Retirement planning has been something you have postponed for too long but knew that you would eventually have to face the music.

That time has finally arrived: you need to choose a financial planner/adviser to guide you through the complex maze of investing. It can be an overwhelming process trying to choose the best financial advisor to hire for youand thats the key: For You.

The absolute most important item is making sure you can find someone you can trust.  But is it really that easy?   How do you avoid hiring the next Bernie Madoff? . Given recent headlines about Ponzi schemes and fraud, you may be wondering – how can you avoid getting duped by a shady financial advisor?  The key is being better informed and doing some homework. Here

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New York prosecutors charged 11 people over a $1 billion US pension fraud in which retired workers claimed disability benefits despite regularly playing golf and going to the gym. 

Prosecutors laid out an elaborate scheme in which ex-employees of the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) claimed to be disabled for early retirement so they could boost their pensions by tens of thousands of dollars each year.

Those charged included two doctors who falsely certified that the ex-workers were incapable of doing their job due to bad health.

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