| Panel sees cartel in PSU banks
NEW DELHI: Competition Commission of India (CCI) has raised questions over all public sector banks raising and cutting interest rate at the same time. The simultaneous movement in rates, the competition watchdog suspects could be cartelisation. CCI — which is a toothless body at present with no penal powers and its role confined to advocacy — has written to RBI saying this upsets market dynamics and could be affecting the interests of ordinary consumers.
Banking is the latest sector which has come under CCI's lens with the commission, whose fate was till recently uncertain, having raised similar questions over the shipping and tyre sectors, prompting corporate affairs minister PC Gupta to suggest an enquiry.
Bankers, however, did not take the CCI's letter too seriously, pointing out that almost all interest rate movements were guided by RBI's monteary policy stance and the liquidity conditions prevailing in the market.
Rules for deducting casualty losses
Baltimoresun.com's tax-advice column features three experts from the Hunt Valley accounting firm SC&H Group answering questions about preparing your return every Monday until April 17. To be included in the following weeks, please use the form at the right side of this page to submit your questions.
Bernie Weill, Brooklyn, N.Y.: Can I deduct losses on my house destroyed by a fire during 2005, although I have not yet settled with the insurance company as of Dec. 31, 2005?
SC&H Group: Generally, you can deduct a casualty loss only in the tax year in which the casualty occurred. To determine your deduction for a casualty or theft loss, you must first figure your loss.
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The Weedpatch Gazette
So it is no wonder much of the criticism directed at him is justified; that is the fate of all those who try to stand up for beauty and romance. But it is this romanticism of Al that draws some of the best and brightest to him as well as making him hated by some others. Hollywood certainly recognized this about Al, and despite the fact Hollywood has done so much damage to America and few have condemned this more than me there is that long history of romance associated with it as the Dream Factory. One of the problems romantics like Al face in a "modern" America was evidenced by his embarrassing attempt to appear less wooden during the campaign; we all cringed at that kiss onstage, it was embarrassingly overdone almost like an attack on his wife rather than a display of genuine affection.
Easing The Bite Of 401(K) Contributions
WE ALL KNOW we should be contributing as much as we possibly can to our 401(k)s. There's really no excuse not to. No matter how well you do with your other investments, you're unlikely to beat the 401(k)s advantages of tax-deferred growth and a company match. The bottom line: Max out. So why don't we do it? Well, we've got tuition bills, car-loan payments, credit-card debt, medical bills, mortgages, etc., etc., etc. Fact is, most of us really don't want to see our paychecks shrink any further even if it's going to give us a more comfy retirement. That's why we developed this 401(k) contribution calculator. If you really crunch the numbers, the results may pleasantly surprise you. What most people don't realize is that increased contributions usually mean lower federal and state income taxes.
IRA, loan payments are equally good options
Question: I am a graduate student. I have two modest loans - one is at a 7 percent interest, whereas with the other, the government is paying the interest until I get out of school. I've got an extra $200 each month that I can use toward retirement or paying down my loans. Which option is best?
Answer: Your IRA contributions are tax-deductible, but so too are your student-loan interest payments. So either way, whether you fund the IRA or keep paying interest on the student loans, you get a comparable tax break.
With taxes out of the picture, your decision comes down to a comparison of the student-loan interest rate to the potential return on your IRA investments. Because you'll be investing for retirement, which is decades away for you, your time horizon is long enough to focus largely or almost entirely on stocks.
Fed Chief Opens the Door To 'Substantive' Rate Cuts
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, citing the growing threat to the economy from fragile financial markets and weakening employment, opened the door to "substantive" cuts in U.S. interest rates. Mr. Bernanke's comments yesterday suggested that after months of being out of step with the nation's markets, the Fed is drawing closer to their view that much lower rates are needed to keep the economy from stalling, despite the risk that rate cuts could fuel inflation. In a speech that reflected more urgency about the economy than he has expressed since August, when the current credit crunch began, Mr. Bernanke strongly ... .
Category: Enterprise 2.0
Between the Lines Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives Tech spending (naturally) taking a dip in 2008 Posted in: General IT Management Enterprise 2.0 The New York Times reports on IDC's outlook for tech spending growth, which may fall from 7 percent in 2007 to 4 percent or less this year. The drop is not as precipitous as in 2001 when tech spending dropped more than 10 percent, gutting many companies. Most public companies can be in belt tightening modes depending on how the quarterly numbers are moving, and given the current state of the economy belt tightening is on everybody's mind. Steve Lohr's article quotes Monte Ford, the CIO of American Airlines: "Technology remains the best lever for getting more value from all those, making your employees more productive, making better use of your fleet and increasing your fuel efficiency." Not all CIOs have the corporate buy-in to exercise that point of view on technology during tougher times.
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