Accord was reached and the economic stimulus plan has passed. Here’s a brass tacks breakdown:
Government Policy
Bank Says It Has Lost $7 Billion, Blames "Rogue Trader"
By 1.24.08
The French bank Societe Generale has announced that a trader “concealed massive trading positions built up over 2007 and 2008 through ‘a scheme of elaborate fictitious transactions,'” which ended up losing the bank 7.1 billion dollars. That’s as much damage by a single employee as the subprime-related losses the bank reported in the past two months. Oops.
Toy Maker Reluctantly Agrees To Recall Leadly "Jammin Jenna" Dolls
By 1.24.08
A toy-maker who refused to issue a recall for its lead-tainted toys has reversed its position. TY made some “Jammin Jenna” dolls with that were found to have more lead than 600 parts per million Illinois state limit. In response to recall requests, TY said it didn’t have to because they said federal law supersedes state law. However, the state AG and federal CPSC responded that states are allowed to adopt more restrictive laws in the absence of federal regulation. TY will pull the Jammin Jena dolls and replace their leadly shiny red vinyl shoes with cloth ones.
Tentative Economic Stimulus Deal Reached
By 1.24.08
The Administration and Congress have negotiated the outline of how the proposed economic stimulus plan will play out. Here’s how much in rebates you could be getting back, depending on your situation:
Thomas The Tank Engine Makers Settle Class Action With Free Toys
By 1.24.08
Thomas the Tank Engine makers have settled a class-action-lawsuit against for $30 million, stemming from their production of anthropomorphic toy trains brought to life with lead-tainted paint. Under the terms, RC2 will give cash refunds or replacement toys, plus a “bonus” toy. Hopefully this time RC2 will check to make sure the apology choo-choos aren’t lead-tainted as well.
Man With Loaded Gun Slips Past Ronald Reagan Airport Security
By 1.23.08
A man carrying a loaded gun passed through the security checkpoint at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport without incident this past Sunday, apparently because the gun wasn’t floating in a shampoo bottle or hidden in a shoe. He then remembered he was carrying it and brought it back to the TSA authorities, who promptly charged him with “possessing or transporting a firearm into an air carrier terminal where prohibited, a misdemeanor, and released him.”
Is It Morally Wrong To Buy Stolen Starbucks Free Drink Coupons On eBay?
By 1.23.08
Starbucks Gossip has an interesting moral quandary for you Consumerists:
Why Does My Cable Company Force Me To Subscribe To All These Stupid Channels?
By 1.23.08
If you’re like most people, you look at your “basic” cable line-up and think: “Why do I have all these stupid channels? Wouldn’t it be cheaper if I could just subscribe to the ones I actually like?”
Get Tax Advice Over The Phone With FreeTaxQuestion.com
By 1.23.08
If you’re uncertain about something on your taxes, you can get free tax advice over the phone until Jan. 31, thanks to a special TurboTax promotion at FreeTaxQuestion.com. Just enter your question and name, phone, email, and best time to reach you, and an IRS enrolled tax pro will call you and help you out. If you’re worried that this is just a lead generation ploy, use a disposable email address and disposable phone number. The FiLife blog tried it and had to submit their question twice, but they got it answered and answered good. They said that TurboTax was casually mentioned among the array of options one could use to finish filing, but there was otherwise no overt product pushing.
Passengers Sue United Airlines Over Being Denied Food And Threatened With Arrest
By 1.23.08
According to court documents, the Patels boarded United Airlines Flight 836 from Shanghai to Chicago on July 17. The tickets came with an airline pledge to furnish the Patels and other members of their group with Hindu meals.
Enron Class-Action Suit Killed By Supreme Court
By 1.22.08
Today the U.S. Supreme Court effectively killed off any chance of a $40 billion class-action lawsuit against the investment firms that did business with Enron. The suit charged that the Wall Street firms were complicit in Enron’s massive corporate fraud fiasco. The Supreme Court, however, just ruled on a similar case last week and found that “third parties – vendors, contractors and consultants such as banks, accountants or attorneys – can’t be sued over corporate fraud unless investors relied on them when making their investing decisions.”
Tax Tip: Home Offices Are Worth The Deductions If You Qualify
By 1.21.08
The first question that must be asked about any home office in order for it’s expenses to be deductible is, is the workspace used exclusively and regularly for business? The answer to both of these questions must be yes before any deduction can be taken. If the workspace is used for both business and personal use, then it is not deductible. Furthermore, the space must be used on a regular basis for business purposes; a space that is used only a few times a year will not be considered a home office by the IRS, even if the space is not used for anything else. These criteria will effectively disqualify many filers who try to claim this deduction but are unable to substantiate regular and exclusive home office use. It should be noted that it is not necessary to partition off the workspace in order to deduct it (although this may be helpful in the event you are audited.) A simple desk in the corner of a room can qualify as a workspace, provided you count only a reasonable amount of space around the desk when computing square footage.
Martha Stewart Takes Lead Poisoning Seriously
By 1.21.08
THE QUOTE:“We take consumer product safety very seriously. We do not comment on pending litigation.”
By 1.21.08
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As of January 11th, you can now start e-filing your taxes. Let the fun begin! [Bankrate]
Suing Big Companies In Small Claims Court Is Fun And Easy
By 1.21.08
Taking a big company to small claims court sounds like a big hassle but reader Bill has done it successfully three times. He says the time and effort spent on taking a company to small claims court is far less then how it long it takes to get companies to fix above-average in complexity problems. [More]
Self-Employed? Here's How To Do Your Taxes
By 1.21.08
Being self-employed can be a source of personal satisfaction, but also headache, especially when it comes to doing one’s taxes. Fortunately, there’s an extremely lucid step-by-step guide posted over at E-How. They’ll walk you through everything you need to do, from determining your status, to your expenses and deductions. The guide points out important things to remember, like the extreme importance of using exact numbers when claiming deductions. Rounded numbers might be easier to add, but they’re also a red flag to IRS auditors (if you learn nothing else from Girls Gone Wild, let it be this).
U-Haul To Pay California Customers $50 For Failing To Honor A Guaranteed Reservation
By 1.20.08
U-Haul has settled a class-action suit by agreeing to pay customers $50 each time they fail to honor a confirmed reservation. The settlement comes after an appeals court agreed that the rental giant had “engaged in fraudulent practices.”
By 1.19.08
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More audits for all, says the IRS! Especially the rich. 1 out of every 11 millionaires was audited in 2007. The rest of us earning less than $100,000 had only a 1 in 100 chance of receiving the Torquemada treatment. [Mercury News]
