• Postal Clerk Gets Prison For Embezzling $240,000

    Updated: 2010-07-31 10:57:12
    DES MOINES, Iowa — A postal clerk from Indianola has been sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to embezzling more than $240,000. The U.S. attorney says 47-year-old Kimberly Sue Nordhagen was sentenced Friday after admitting to converting Postal Service money orders and cash transactions to her own use. Nordhagen, who worked at [...]

  • Terence Corcoran: The economics isn’t settled

    Updated: 2010-07-31 03:38:44
    The Federal Reserve is ­increasing the risk of a Japanese-style ­outcome for the United States And now for some light and easy mid-summer reading, a breezy walk through the latest economic reports and some of the fresh-blooming scholarly research on the state of the world economy, especially the U.S. economy. Here’s the question: After unprecedented [...]

  • A growth recession

    Updated: 2010-07-31 03:30:57
    Research shows that monetary policy dominates fiscal policy By Steve Hanke Financial panics are usually followed by sharp economic snap backs. The post-Panic of 2008 has failed to follow this typical “V-shaped” economic-recovery pattern. After almost two years, the U.S. economy remains mired in an anemic recovery, with a current 2.4% year-over-year rate of growth. [...]

  • FP Letters: Voluntary census risks trivialized

    Updated: 2010-07-31 03:23:10
    Re: Time For Census Reform, Terence Corcoran, July 28 Terence Corcoran ignored, just as Industry Minister Tony Clement did, the glaring fact that no Canadian has ever been jailed for not filling out a census, long or short! Indeed, if the Minister truly felt much angst about intrusive questions and jail threats, he could easily [...]

  • Nation’s oldest mail carrier retires at 91 in Tennessee

    Updated: 2010-07-30 20:28:22
    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — At 91 years old, the country’s oldest mail carrier is finally hanging up his keys after driving more than 1.1 million miles delivering mail in Tennessee. According to the U.S. Postal Service, rural carrier Mancel Prince will make one more lap of his nearly 100-mile route before he retires on Friday [...]

  • GASB 45 Demographic Assumption Review

    Updated: 2010-07-30 15:10:26
    GASB 45 requires the measurement of public employers’ retiree health liabilities and many plan sponsors are now entering their second cycle of GASB 45 actuarial valuations.  These calculations are highly dependent upon the actuarial assumptions selected by the plan sponsor. Therefore, it’s a good idea to review these assumptions at each valuation cycle. Many times, [...]

  • Rep. Chaffetz Introduces Bill Designating 12 Postal Holidays To Reduce USPS Operating Costs

    Updated: 2010-07-30 12:25:13
    Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) issued the following press release: Washington, DC—Today Congressman Chaffetz introduced HR 5919. This bill would grant USPS Postmaster General the authority to implement up to twelve “postal holidays” per year in order to reduce USPS operating costs. The Postmaster General would select days in which delivered mail volume is historically lower [...]

  • IMF's mad prescription for the US economy

    Updated: 2010-07-30 11:46:29
    Wrong, wrong, wrong. In a downbeat assessment of the US economy published today, the International Monetary Fund said there was “scope for a smaller up-front fiscal adjustment if downside risks materialise”. What directors are saying is that the US can afford to go slow on fiscal consolidation if the economy begins to weaken again. This [...]

  • Barclays sponsor Boris

    Updated: 2010-07-30 07:45:00

  • Why tax 'simplification' means two nasty shocks for savers

    Updated: 2010-07-30 07:27:10
    Beware politicians promising to simplify taxes. Many members of final salary company or occupational pensions face big annual tax bills and other savers will be prevented from topping up their pensions in the year of their retirement, if the Treasury proceeds with its latest proposals for ‘tax simplification’. To be fair, both changes result from attempts [...]

  • APWU: Arbitrator Denies Union’s Challenge To USPS Two-Tour Initiative

    Updated: 2010-07-30 04:20:59
    Arbitrator Issues Decision in Dispute Over Two-Tour Initiative Arbitrator Das denied the union’s grievance challenging the Postal Service’s two-tour initiative. Das accepted the Postal Service’s argument that “Article 3 of the National Agreement grants the Postal Service the authority to unilaterally adopt and implement the … initiatives at issue, without further bargaining with the Union.” [...]

  • USPS Freezes Hiring, Promotions at Headquarters, Areas and Districts

    Updated: 2010-07-30 04:20:58
    From the National League of Postmasters: We are in receipt of a July 28, 2010, letter from Postal HQ stating effective immediately, all hiring, promotions and placement of non-bargaining employees at Headquarters, Areas and Districts are suspended until further notice. Selections received by COB 07/30/2010, will be processed by HR Shared Services but the postings [...]

  • After banning racism and sexism, it's high time to ban ageism

    Updated: 2010-07-29 08:18:17
    It has been illegal for employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of race, sex or religion for many years. So it is high time the Government banned discrimination against older people. Plans to abolish the ‘default retirement age’ – or the point at which employers can sack experienced staff for no good reason – [...]

  • Metro Bank must try harder to match best rates for savers

    Updated: 2010-07-29 01:23:01
    After all the razzamatazz, Britain’s first new high street bank in a century, Metro Bank, opened its first branch today – with some rather mundane rates of return for savers. Whether seven-day opening and an unstuffy approach which includes free dog biscuits for customers’ canine friends will prove sufficiently enticing to break the stranglehold of the [...]

  • Peter Foster: The Voltswagen — The people’s car the people pay for

    Updated: 2010-07-29 00:53:24
    Like the Apollo program, the Volt is massively expensive, and pointless Ontario taxpayers should be grateful that the Chevy Volt is not due to appear in the province until next year. Put together a $10,000-per-car provincial subsidy with ultra high-cost solar electricity foisted on the public via feed-in tariffs and you have a level of [...]

  • The boardroom gap

    Updated: 2010-07-29 00:49:44
    Corporate ‘democracy,’ already suspect, is politicizing corporate structures that are ill-equipped to handle it By Edward Waitzer Corporate and securities regulation appears to be moving rapidly towards a more shareholder (rather than director) centric governance model. In Canada, this year’s proxy season was replete with shareholder proposals on a wide range of governance issues. In [...]

  • FP Letters: ‘Freedom’ will make them weep in panic

    Updated: 2010-07-29 00:44:32
    Re: Free market winning fans, William Watson, July 22 Juxtapose William Watson’s July 22 Financial Post column “Free market winning fans” with Anne Applebaum’s article “American Hypocrites” that was in the National Post’s Issues and Ideas section of the same day. Watson provides some poll numbers that “show an eye-opening level of support for free [...]

  • Ontario’s Power Trip: Wind in your Sails

    Updated: 2010-07-28 19:55:01
    By Parker Gallant The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) on July 15, 2010 released a report conducted for them by Ipsos-Reid in June. It was a relatively simple survey with only 6 questions, presumably developed in conjunction with CanWEA. In a press release issued by CanWEA, the President, Robert Hornung, was positively elated and had [...]

  • Terence Corcoran: Time for census reform

    Updated: 2010-07-28 03:19:05
    According to a pollster, ’51% say the long form is an intrusion. This isn’t just a couple of crazy people’ The great summer census debate yesterday rolled into a Commons committee in Ottawa where it mostly rolled over Liberal MP Dan McTeague and other opposition party activists who are trying to turn the census issue [...]

  • Candu can still do it

    Updated: 2010-07-28 02:08:45
    Don’t throw out the valuable Candu baby with the AECL privatization bathwater By Jan Carr Canadians have a lot riding on the impending privatization of Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. (AECL). We need to wind down our ownership in a fashion that ensures we continue to benefit from AECL’s unique CANDU technology and that requires distinguishing [...]

  • Oil sands emissions dwarfed by coal

    Updated: 2010-07-28 01:14:53
    Coal produces far more greenhouse gases By W.A. Dymond U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson has suggested repeatedly that Canada needs to “do more” to reduce the carbon footprint from the oilsands, most recently in a Calgary speech July 19. Perhaps the ambassador should look more closely into his own mirror because, in point of fact, this [...]

  • How individual investors can share in India's economic growth

    Updated: 2010-07-27 12:47:14
    Investors prepared to accept high risks in pursuit of high returns should follow the Prime Minister’s lead and consider opportunities for rapid economic growth in India. David Cameron is leading this week’s trade and political delegations to India which are among the largest ever carried out by a British Government. Seven senior ministers, dozens of businessmen, academics [...]

  • Why we shouldn't quibble about Tony Hayward's pay-off

    Updated: 2010-07-27 09:33:45
    So Tony Hayward is out of his job as chief executive of BP, though he will be put forward as a non-executive director of TNK-BP, the company’s Russion joint venture. Under the terms of his contract, Mr  Hayward will receive a year’s salary in lieu of notice, which comes to £1m give or take. His [...]

  • Things worth reading: 27th July 2010

    Updated: 2010-07-27 07:01:14

  • Rejection of 2009 Form 5500 Filing Relief

    Updated: 2010-07-27 03:56:34
    It was a bit of a longshot to begin with, but the American Benefits Council’s proposal for a blanket extension for filing of 2009 Forms 5500 until December 31, 2010 (or 9 1/2 months after the end of the plan year, if later) was recently rejected by the DOL. As the DOL mentions in their [...]

  • Things worth reading: 26th July 2010

    Updated: 2010-07-26 08:12:41

  • Feldstein Discusses Tax Expenditures For Deficit Reduction

    Updated: 2010-07-23 20:31:39
    CRFB.org Stimulus.org US Budget Watch Peterson-Pew Commission E-mail list sign up : Subscribe Unsubscribe Search : Home Documents Blog News Events About Contact Recent Posts Feldstein Discusses Tax Expenditures For Deficit Reduction MarketWatch : July 19-23 The Social Security Retirement Age Reducing Improper Payments All Talk , No Game on Discretionary Limits The OECD Weighs In Senate To Pass Unemployment Benefits Extension Should We Pay for Tax Cuts By month July 2010 45 June 2010 63 May 2010 45 April 2010 64 March 2010 65 February 2010 61 January 2010 60 December 2009 49 November 2009 51 October 2009 54 September 2009 53 August 2009 19 All Archives By Keyword Budget 123 CBO 79 Congress 138 Deficits and Debt 220 Economy 82 Financial Sector Policy 39 Fiscal News 70 Health Care 117

  • Things worth reading: 23rd July 2010

    Updated: 2010-07-23 06:18:27

  • The Social Security Retirement Age

    Updated: 2010-07-22 20:37:02
    CRFB.org Stimulus.org US Budget Watch Peterson-Pew Commission E-mail list sign up : Subscribe Unsubscribe Search : Home Documents Blog News Events About Contact Recent Posts The Social Security Retirement Age Reducing Improper Payments All Talk , No Game on Discretionary Limits The OECD Weighs In Senate To Pass Unemployment Benefits Extension Should We Pay for Tax Cuts Waiting for the Chairman to Speak REDUCE Legislation Aims to Cut Deficit by 70 Billion By month July 2010 43 June 2010 63 May 2010 45 April 2010 64 March 2010 65 February 2010 61 January 2010 60 December 2009 49 November 2009 51 October 2009 54 September 2009 53 August 2009 19 All Archives By Keyword Budget 123 CBO 79 Congress 138 Deficits and Debt 220 Economy 82 Financial Sector Policy 39 Fiscal News 70 Health Care 117

  • Reducing Improper Payments

    Updated: 2010-07-22 20:28:17
    CRFB.org Stimulus.org US Budget Watch Peterson-Pew Commission E-mail list sign up : Subscribe Unsubscribe Search : Home Documents Blog News Events About Contact Recent Posts The Social Security Retirement Age Reducing Improper Payments All Talk , No Game on Discretionary Limits The OECD Weighs In Senate To Pass Unemployment Benefits Extension Should We Pay for Tax Cuts Waiting for the Chairman to Speak REDUCE Legislation Aims to Cut Deficit by 70 Billion By month July 2010 43 June 2010 63 May 2010 45 April 2010 64 March 2010 65 February 2010 61 January 2010 60 December 2009 49 November 2009 51 October 2009 54 September 2009 53 August 2009 19 All Archives By Keyword Budget 123 CBO 79 Congress 138 Deficits and Debt 220 Economy 82 Financial Sector Policy 39 Fiscal News 70 Health Care 117

  • All Talk, No Game on Discretionary Limits

    Updated: 2010-07-22 15:16:18
    , CRFB.org Stimulus.org US Budget Watch Peterson-Pew Commission E-mail list sign up : Subscribe Unsubscribe Search : Home Documents Blog News Events About Contact Recent Posts All Talk , No Game on Discretionary Limits The OECD Weighs In Senate To Pass Unemployment Benefits Extension Should We Pay for Tax Cuts Waiting for the Chairman to Speak REDUCE Legislation Aims to Cut Deficit by 70 Billion It's Summerstime in the Fiscal Policy World Line’ Items : International Sports Edition By month July 2010 41 June 2010 63 May 2010 45 April 2010 64 March 2010 65 February 2010 61 January 2010 60 December 2009 49 November 2009 51 October 2009 54 September 2009 53 August 2009 19 All Archives By Keyword Budget 123 CBO 79 Congress 138 Deficits and Debt 220 Economy 82 Financial Sector Policy 39 Fiscal

  • Things worth reading: 22nd July 2010

    Updated: 2010-07-22 06:08:26

  • Cash Balance Gateway Contributions

    Updated: 2010-07-15 15:45:10
    One of the hurdles that business owners face when exploring a cash balance plan is deciding whether the cost of the plan justifies the cash balance deduction opportunities. It is a bit of a balancing act, but this post will review one such cost: the IRS “gateway contribution” for cross-tested cash balance plans. The IRS [...]

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