Archive for February, 2010

19.02 2010

The euro’s Greek tragedy

The euro has recovered from its 2008 lows but appears headed for more turbulence.

The dollar’s extended decline, together with huge loan losses in the U.S. banking system and anxiety among foreign creditors about the value of their Treasury holdings, seemed in mid-2008 like a recipe for the euro to overtake the fallen greenback as the world’s reserve currency.

Yet the case for the euro has weakened markedly since then. The euro cratered at the end of 2008 and plunged again this year as debt default worries took hold in Greece. Economic and political stress in Europe stand to rise further this year as policymakers struggle with the debt problem.

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17.02 2010

Dollar recovers losses

Click on the chart to view other currencies.

On Tuesday, the dollar fell versus rivals amid investor optimism about the global economy and signs the European debt crisis is easing.

What’s driving prices: The dollar was supported by improved U.S. economic data that boosted optimism about the recovery.

The National Association of Home Builders reported that housing starts jumped 2.8% in January to an annual rate of 591,000, which was more than expected.

Housing starts were expected to have reached an annual rate of 580,000 units in January, according to a Briefing.com consensus of economist forecasts.

Building permits, a measure of houses yet to be built, fell 4.9% to an annual rate of 691,000 units in January, which was better than expected.

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Tags: Dollar, Dollar Recovers

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15.02 2010

Guidance for New Withholding in North Carolina

According to the North Carolina (NC) Department of Revenue Directive PD-10-1, effective January 1, 2010, a payer is required to withhold North Carolina income tax of four percent from non-wage compensation paid to either of the following:

  • A nonresident individual or nonresident entity for personal services performed in North Carolina.
  • An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) holder who is a contractor and not an employee for services performed in North Carolina.

The requirement to withhold applies to payers who, in the course of a trade or business, expect to pay more than $1,500 within a calendar year of non-wage compensation. That compensation must be paid to nonresident or ITIN contractors, with certain exceptions.

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Tags: Carolina, North Carolina

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13.02 2010

S Corps and Personal Bankruptcy

One of the advantages of having a corporate business structure is protection of personal assets. But how does this concept relate when it comes to personal bankruptcy and S corps? The answers are outlined in this article.

Overview

Personal bankruptcy and S corps can still go together as long as no fraudulent acts were committed in personal and/or business affairs.

So, the short answer is, filing bankruptcy on your personal affairs should not affect your ability to continue running your business as an S corp. The concept behind corporate structure is to enable honest entrepreneurs to keep their personal and business assets separated and enjoy legal protections in case of problems that arise.

The Fate of Your S Corp Shares and Other Assets

Most likely you own shares, or stock, in your S corp.

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Tags: Bankruptcy, Personal Bankruptcy, S Corps

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13.02 2010

Forget the Fed. Watch China instead

By contrast, the exit strategy that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke laid out Wednesday detailing how he expected the Fed to start tightening credit in the U.S. caused barely a ripple.

“It’s a global economy and it’s becoming more and more global,” said David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poor’s. “You have to pay attention to what’s happening in the world’s No. 2 economy.” (China is technically still #3 but is poised to pass Japan once Japan reports its 2009 gross domestic product this weekend.)

Kurt Karl, chief U.S. economist for Swiss Re, said the 8.7% economic growth in China last year is a major part of the reason the global recession likely ended in the middle of 2009.

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Tags: Fed, Fed Watch

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12.02 2010

Marketing Makeover

I have to assume that you’re unhappy with your small business marketing. If you weren’t, why would you have clicked your way to an article on effective marketing strategies for small businesses?

I’m also going to assume that you’re unhappy with your small business marketing because it hasn’t been doing anything for your bottom line. After all, that’s the bottom line for effective marketing. Effective marketing strategies are the ones that result in more sales and more profits.

This Small Business Marketing Makeover will show you how to avoid wasting time and money on ineffective marketing strategies and how to pick and implement effective marketing strategies instead. Follow these steps:

1) Look at your small business marketing from the right end of the telescope.

Too many small businesses get and stay hung up on the cost factor of marketing. T

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Tags: Marketing, Marketing Makeover

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09.02 2010

Being cheap: It’s Not About Saving Money

“I have a 40 page business plan. Now I need a bank loan.” These words are a sure sign that the business is going to fail. Unless you’re getting into the real-estate business, debt financing should only be sought as a last resort.

Instead, you should simplify your product or service down to its most basic elements, and look for ways to launch with little or no money.

Instead of paying $2000 to a web designer, get a $20 WordPress template and a $20 logo.

Instead of paying for advertising, pull a wacky publicity stunt and write about it to newspapers and blogs. Here

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