Business and Financial News

Equifax has a judgment against it for more than a million dollars to a Bay Area man whose identity was stolen. While the consumer was hospitalized, an impostor used his identity to open fraudulent accounts. He found the fraudulent accounts on his credit reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion and disputed them. (See my blog on why to dispute in writing, Certified Mail, Return Receipt.)

Equifax went to trial. The identity theft victim told the jury about trying to get Equifax to correct his report. Other witnesses testified about his damages. His expert explained why Equifax’s procedures fail to meet the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The jury agreed with the identity theft victim. It awarded him over $6,000 for economic damages, $315,000 for non-economic compensatory damages and $700,000 for punitive damages. The consumer does not have to worry about paying his attorney either.

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The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 permits in-plan rollovers to a Roth account effective for all distributions made after Sept. 27, 2010. Prior to this law, Participants had to roll money out of their retirement plan to a Roth IRA to invest after-tax.

In 2010 only, a one-time special tax rule allows a rollover from a taxable account to a Roth Account completed in 2010 can be included in income in 2011 and 2012.

Because of this unique opportunity, it was necessary for the IRS to release some guidance on questions that were not answered in the Small Business Jobs Act.

Notice 2010-84 (issued Friday November 26th) clarifies a number of issues regarding in-plan conversions to a Roth account (in-plan Roth rollovers) including:

• Clarifying that 401(k) and 403(b) plans may retroactively amend plans for in-plan Roth rollovers;
• 402(f) notices need to be modified to add in-plan Roth rollover information (although safe harbor notices do not require modification for 2010 and 2011); and
• Clarifying several taxation and distribution issues.

What Can Be Rolled Over

Any taxable, eligible rollover distribution can be rolled over (in-service or after termination distributions).

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Mortgage rates are as low as ever recorded. Refinance rates could save homeowners hundreds of dollars per month with lower payments. If you compare mortgage rates, you’ll love what you find. Why, then, are mortgage loans closing at an amazingly low number? Banks are simply not lending.

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Many companies have already made the switch from a regular time clock to at least a card based time and attendance system. Some companies have even gone the extra step to utilize biometric time clocks instead. The reason for the switch is to make sure that there are fewer problems with the amount of hours employees are supposed to be working as opposed to what they are being paid. Of course, just because you are looking to have more honesty in the checks coming from payroll services does not mean that it is what is best for your company.

The problem lies in the fact that many employees hold on to the belief that providing biometric data constitutes a violation of their privacy and a violation of the law. In most states, there is no law which says that these types of machines may not be used, but there are restrictions which have been mandated.

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Our goal is to design products and provide service that makes our customers so happy that you want to tell all their friends about us. Unfortunately with all new technology there are occasional bumps in the road, and when there are you want fast, clear answers from customer support.

In order to provide the most complete customer support this year we’ve tried to augument our core San Francisco based team with outsourced customer service centers available via live chat.Regrettably the live chat solution has been a big disappointment. We’ve heard your stories of long waits in cue. Worse yet we’ve heard you speak of the confusing or at times outright incorrect information that you receive from the chat reps. After

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Dana Roth and her husband Jeff recently launched a brand new website Totactivities.com http://www.totactivities.com, which provides listings of local and nationwide activities and events targeted for baby, toddler, & preschool aged children.

The idea for the business came about after realizing that there was a serious lack of a one-stop place for moms with baby/toddler age kids to find upcoming local activities for their kids. Their goal is to become the only site that parents come to when looking for activities and local events for their children.

We talked with Dana on the challenges of jumpstarting an online business:

What is TotActivities.com? What is your goal for the site?

TotActivities.com is a nationwide site that allows businesses with baby/toddler/preschool events & classes to promote their upcoming events at no cost.

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Happy third birthday, erica.biz! It seems like yesterday that I decided to change my little personal blog into a powerhouse business blog with a real community behind it. When I launched erica.biz on December 4, 2007, I wasn’t sure where it would go. A lot of people held the opinion that the blogosphere was “saturated.” What I learned was that a new perspective–if it’s fresh and interesting–is always welcomed.

The first heartfelt blog post I wrote after I launched erica.biz was called “Hitting the jackpot doesn’t mean instantly becoming happy.” In it, I emphasized an issue I see with all too many people: Thinking that once you win the lottery, sell your business, or meet some other huge goal that everything will be okay.

The reality is that it doesn’t change much. You’re still you. A

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