Financial FAQ Materials

Don’t Get Sued, Get Smart!: 5 Tips to Protect Your Business From Costly Lawsuits

Posted on Thursday, 21st April 2011 by Vanessa Miller

As a small business owner, getting unexpectedly caught up in a lawsuit can be both overwhelming and scary, not to mention a tremendous drain on resources. But you don’t have to sit around waiting for it to happen. There are many actions you can make to protect yourself in the event that one of your customers, employees, or suppliers tries to take you to court, and there are several best business practices that will help to ensure you don’t end up in court in the first place.

1. Learn about your insurance options. About a year ago, I put up a post describing the major forms of insurance small business owners should be aware of. It is good business practice to ensure that you and your assets are properly protected- especially if you are running a sole proprietorship or a simple partnership since under these business structures the owners are basically sitting ducks for claims against them or their business. For

Markets find a way

Posted on Thursday, 21st April 2011 by Emily Smith

REIHAN SALAM is a sceptic of the value of investments in American intercity rail and I am more optimistic concerning their likely benefits. But he makes a good point here:

A shockingly large number of people, including Obama, seem to believe that had the federal government not stepped up to the plate in the postwar era and invested vast sums in highways and putting a man on the moon, the United States would have wound up an economic backwater. But perhaps not building a huge network of highways would have kept American families in more compact, walkable neighborhoods. Instead of sprawling suburbs and SUVs, we’d have more high-rises and bike lanes. The Interstate Highways helped supersize America’s government, by centralizing authority in D.C., and our waistlines, by encouraging us to drive and to fatten up on fast food. It’s not obvious to me that we’re better off as a nation plagued by high taxes and heart disease.

What would the American economy have looked like without a massive government investment in highways? It’s ve

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Some unconventional methods to save as well as earn and pay off debts

Posted on Monday, 18th April 2011 by admin

If you are leading a life of constant threats form creditors and constant worries about how to pay towards your debts, then you should understand that getting out of debts is not very difficult if you can put in the required effort. You may consider debt solutions such as debt consolidation or settlement or you may even take the help of debt payoff calculator in order to find out how much you need to pay off and also to help you achieve freedom from your debts.

However, you may consider certain unconventional ways through which you can mange your debts al by yourself. You can learn to manage your finances wisely so that you can easily pay off your debts as you would have extra money and you will also have a good savings plan for the future.

Some ways in which you may mange your finances smartly area s follows.

1. Try growing your own food: A majority of what you earn goes into buying food. It will save you a lot of money if you can grow your own food.

Sales Tax and Your Online Business: Five Things You Should Know

Posted on Sunday, 17th April 2011 by Vanessa Miller

Now that taxes are still fresh on the minds of many small business owners, I figured it would be a good time to write a post on sales tax for online businesses. Countless small online business owners may be uninformed when it comes to properly recording, collecting, and paying state sales taxes on their online sales. Unless your online business is registered and/or selling within the states of Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, or Oregon, there is a good chance that you are conducting taxable transactions and this can prove to be a costly mistake- especially as cash-strapped states seek ways to cover their budget shortfalls.

If you are operating your business online, then here are five things you should know about recording, collecting, and paying state taxes:

1. The sales tax landscape is complex. Currently, there are more than 11,000 tax collection districts in the U.S. , so determining and collecting sales tax on your online transactions can get tricky. F

Bank of America reports sharp fall in profits

Posted on Friday, 15th April 2011 by Emily Smith

Bank of America, which is the largest in the US by assets, has posted a 38% decline in profits for the first quarter.

The bank said profits came in at $2 billion (£1.23 billion), a sharp fall compared with a year ago.

Furthermore, its home loans business lost $2.39 billion, as debts were not repaid.

Rising unemployment and a drop in property prices has resulted in many US households defaulting on their mortgages.

The figures came as a disappointment to analysts after rival JP Morgan revealed better than expected results on Thursday.

Banking giant JP Morgan’s first quarter profit swere boosted by a strong performance in its credit card operation.

Goldman Sachs, Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Co. are scheduled to report their first quarter earnings next week.

Tags: Profits, Sharp Fall
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Obama’s counter-punch

Posted on Thursday, 14th April 2011 by Emily Smith

BARACK OBAMA’S strategy on the long-term deficit has been, for the most part, to talk tough but waffle on the specifics in the hope that a better economic and political backdrop will present itself. Unfortunately for him, that approach allowed Republicans to lay down the first marker last week with a budget plan that slashes the deficit with savage cuts to entitlements and no increase in taxes.

Mr Obama has quickly responded, with a plan announced in a speech today that also promises hefty cuts to the deficit, but relying more heavily on increased taxes while allowing only modest tweaks to entitlements.

Mr Obama’s plan would cut deficits by $4 trillion over the next 12 years, considerably more than the $1.1 trillion over ten years his budget promised. That is still less than what’s on offer from Paul Ryan, the Republican budget committee chairman, who promised to cut the deficit by $4.4 trillion more over ten years than Mr Obama’s budget. A s

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