Posted by Timothy Bennett | Posted on 19-05-2011
Just like any other company, small businesses are in need of merchant services that will improve day to day performance. From online and wireless payments to better terminals and staying PCI compliant, youll discover many areas that benefit from efficient and high quality programs from a good provider. No matter the industry, your small business can quickly see results when placed on the right path.
Update Terminals and PCI Compliance
Modernizing your companys processing systems and equipment will make a huge difference in day to day operations. Old, outdated credit card terminals are a dangerous thing to have. Not only are they not up to the industry standard when it comes to security, but they also slow down the payment process and increase the likelihood of errors.
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Posted by Heather Ward | Posted on 16-05-2011
A couple of days ago I blogged about the dangers of bad estate planning, and presented a hierarchy of worst to best ways to plan. Today I’m providing a list of 10 of the most overlooked issues in estate planning (things that frequently aren’t dealt with in lesser methods of planning). Many plans will address some of these items, but it’s a rare plan that has adequately covered everything. The most important thing is that the person doing the planning is informed of all of the issues. That way they can make an educated decision that certain things need or need not be provided for in their particular plan. Here’s the list, in no particular order:
- Probate – not considering court fees, attorneys fees, delay, frustration, etc. of a
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Posted by Shannon Myers | Posted on 16-05-2011
NEW YORK, May 17 (UPI) — Crude oil prices moved close to $98 per barrel Tuesday in New York as oil prices rebounded modestly from nearly two weeks of declines.
The New York Federal Reserve said Monday its headline index measuring Empire State manufacturing showed slower growth in May than in April. On Tuesday, the Department of Commerce said the number of building permits issued and home construction starts in April both fell, dropping 4 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively, compared with March.
Crude oil, however, found support from a weaker dollar. The dollar index, a prorated measure of the dollar against six major currencies, dropped 0.19 percent Tuesday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, June delivery West Texas Intermediate crude oil added 95 cents to reach $97.86 per barrel.
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Posted by Shannon Myers | Posted on 12-05-2011
SEOUL, May 13 (UPI) — South Korea’s central bank Friday left its benchmark seven-day repo interest rate unchanged at 3 percent despite inflationary pressures.
It was the second straight month the Bank of Korea had taken such action.
Yonhap News agency reported the decision by bank Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his policymakers was a surprise, as only three out of 17 experts in its survey had anticipated the move.
“Consumer prices are likely to sustain their strong upward trend, due mainly to demand-side pressures and high oil prices,” the bank said, adding the Korean economy is on a solid growth track.
However, it said unstable oil prices and the Euro zone debt problems pose downside risks.
Korean consumer prices rose 4.2 percent in April year-on-year, but eased from 4.7 percent in March.
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Posted by Heather Ward | Posted on 10-05-2011
As we celebrated LinkedIn’s eighth birthday on Cinco de Mayo this past week, I think back to LinkedIn’s birthday celebrations over the years. I had just started in the newly formed sales team the August prior to our fourth birthday and remember it wasnt much of celebration. Our fifth birthday was celebrated in a much more memorable fashion, with an actual party. We were five years old and had a reason to celebrate with close to 10 million members. At t
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Posted by Heather Ward | Posted on 10-05-2011
The majority of states no longer have an estate tax, but North Carolina is not one of them. Hungry for revenue, some states, such as Connecticut, are trying to lower the tax threshold. I’m not aware of any such movement for North Carolina. Here’s a chart of the states with an estate tax, with the exemption amounts:
Tennessee, not listed above, has an inheritance tax with a $1 million exemption. Inheritance tax differs from estate tax in that the rate differs depending on the relationship of the inheritor to the deceased. Immediate family member are subject to the lowest rate. While estate taxes raise revenue, of course, the taxes are often cause for wealthy individuals to move to states like Florida, which has no estate tax (and no income tax as well).
