Gas :: Price increases

Gas prices rose more slowly in March, keeping overall U.S. inflation mild. The consumer price index rose 0.3 percent in March, the Labor Department said Friday. That's slower than February's 0.4 percent rise. Excluding food and gas, so-called "core" prices increased 0.2 percent in March. Inflation has eased since last fall and is expected to stay tame. In 12 months that ended in March, prices rose 2.7 percent. That's below last year's peak year-over-year rate of 3.9 percent.

Core prices have risen 2.3 percent in the past 12 months, close to the Federal Reserve's inflation target of 2 percent. Prices are "benign and likely to stay that way for some time yet," said Ian Shepherdson, an economist at High Frequency Economics. Mild price increases leave consumers with more money to spend, which boosts economic growth. Lower inflation also gives the Fed more leeway to keep interest rates low. Gas prices are high but have started to level off. In March, they gained 1.7 percent, slower than the 6 percent increase in February. And in the past week, the national average price per gallon fell 4 cents, to $3.90 on Friday. Despite more hiring, unemployment is still high and few workers are getting pay raises. So many retailers can't charge more without risking the loss of some business. Food prices ticked up last month but are moderating after sharp increases last year. The cost of meat, poultry and some fruits rose. Chicken prices jumped by the most in four years. The price of used cars and trucks also increased and rents rose, driving up core prices.
 Americans also paid more for medical care, clothing and airline fares. A small amount of inflation can be good for the economy. It encourages businesses and consumers to spend and invest money sooner rather than later, before inflation erodes its value. Still, few workers are receiving pay raises, which makes even a small amount of inflation challenging for most Americans. Average hourly wages, adjusted for inflation, fell for the third month in a row, the department said Friday. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has acknowledged that rising gas prices have boosted inflation. But he has maintained that the increases are likely temporary. Most economists expect the Fed won't announce any new policy initiatives at its April 24-25 meeting. Policymakers appear less inclined to take further steps to boost growth. Minutes from their March 13 meeting showed only a couple members expressed support for purchasing more bonds as a way to drive down long-term interest rates and promote more borrowing and spending. A report Thursday indicated that inflation pressures aren't increasing much at the wholesale level. The producer price index, which measures price changes before they reach the consumer, was unchanged in March. Rising costs for food and pickup trucks were offset by a drop in wholesale gas prices. In the past 12 months, wholesale prices rose 2.8 percent, the smallest year-over-year rise since June 2010. Excluding food and gas, core wholesale prices rose 0.3 percent and 2.9 percent in the past year.

Oil :: Price will increase in Weekend

Oil prices rebounded Thursday as traders feared being caught short ahead of a long holiday weekend amid tightening sanctions on Iran. The market fretted about Friday's keenly awaited official numbers on US jobs and unemployment for March, but took courage from an upbeat report Thursday on weekly initial unemployment claims, a sign of slowing layoffs. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for May, jumped $1.84 from Wednesday's closing level to finish at $103.31 a barrel. In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in May settled at $123.43 a barrel, adding $1.09. The New York oil market will be closed Good Friday, and its London counterpart will be closed on Friday and Monday due to a bank holiday. However, electronic trading will continue in New York.

 The market fell sharply on Wednesday after the US government reported a big jump in the nation's crude stockpiles, adding to concerns about growth in the world's biggest oil-consuming nation. The New York futures contract, which started the Thursday session slightly higher, leaped on news that US jobless claims fell to a four-year low last week. "The employment figures gave us a boost -- it shows that the job market is getting better," said Phil Flynn at PFG Best. VTB Capital commodities analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov said the oil market would give its full verdict next week on the US jobs data. "Much will depend on how the market opens next week with a delayed reaction to the US March nonfarm payrolls report this coming Friday," Kryuchenkov said. Matt Smith at Summit Energy pointed to tensions over Iran keeping worries about tight supply on the boil. "News of Chinese insurers refusing to insure Iranian oil shipments has geopolitical tension coming back to the fore," Smith said. PFG Best's Flynn said the deepening sanctions on Iran by the United States and its allies is stirring worries that "very high quality crude is going to be in tighter supply."

Oil Price :: Increse

France is the latest nation to contemplate tapping its strategic petroleum reserves, thus raising the possibility that a joint release of oil with the United States and United Kingdom could curb rising oil prices. "It is the United States which has asked, and France has welcomed favorably this hypothesis," French Energy Minister Eric Besson said Wednesday. Such a move, if implemented, could happen in a “matter of weeks” French daily Le Monde reports. "The use of strategic reserves can be justified because it is related to geopolitical tension." The move had immediate political overtones, with a French presidential election a month away.


Although President Sarkozy has enjoyed a small bounce in the polls after recent home-grown terrorist attacks, he still trails his main rival, Francois Holland. In the face of meager economic growth, consumer discontent over rising gasoline prices is rising. Prices have hit record levels with motorists in Paris paying $5.54 a gallon, according to CNN. Earlier this month, President Obama and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron discussed releasing oil from their strategic reserves to curb rising gasoline prices. Mr. Obama faces reelection later this year. Any action will come only after the conclusion of tripartite talks with the International Energy Agency (IEA), which coordinates releases of emergency oil reserves. “France is accompanying the US and UK in the IEA consultation, which could allow the release of strategic oil reserves in order to break the rising price spiral,” Bloomberg quoted French Budget Minister Valerie Pecresse as saying.

For its part, the IEA has indicated there is no need to release oil stocks. "There is no fear of disruption of supplies, and you know Saudi Arabia is going to bring more oil to the market," IEA Head Maria van der Hoeven said during a conference in New Delhi earlier this month, Reuters reports. Speculation about a release of oil stocks pushed crude prices down Wednesday. In New York, crude futures fell $1.98 to $105.35 per barrel. In London, Brent crude prices dropped $1.67 to $123.87, still up about 16 percent since the beginning of the year. But there's broad skepticism that a release of oil reserves will do much to dent oil prices in the long term. A recent Reuters study estimated that the world oil demand may be outstripping supply by more than a million barrels a day, caused primarily by the fall in oil sales from Iran, which is being pressured by the West to halt its nuclear program. All that a release of strategic reserves might accomplish, even a coordinated one by the US, UK, and France, would be a short-term dip in oil prices. "It's looking more and more like they are going to go ahead and do it," Carl Larry, of analysis from Oil Outlooks and Opinions, told NASDAQ magazine. Even if the US, UK, and France release their strategic reserves and prices fall toward $100 a barrel, Mr. Larry was skeptical that the release would have long-term effects.

Investment Service ::Introduced a customized version of The Income for Life Model®

Investment Services at Sovereign/Santander, today introduced a customized version of The Income for Life Model®, an investment strategy with the objective of creating lifetime, inflation-adjusted income. The Income for Life Model® is an integrated system that financial consultants use to market, illustrate and monitor outcome-focused retirement income strategies while enhancing advisor-to-client communications. Investment Services at Sovereign/Santander's custom version of The Income for Life Model®, developed by Wealth2k, Inc., a leading provider of outcome-focused, retirement income platform, provides a formal and personal income strategy for each investor. The strategy serves as a "roadmap" that helps investors stay on track with their income goals. "The investing strategies associated with creating retirement income are inherently different than those used in accumulating assets," said Jay Delaney, Director of Retail Investments at Investment Services at Sovereign. "Investors need a sound investing framework that focuses on developing outcomes. The Income for Life Model® provides that framework and strategically combines customized product solutions in a manner that helps investors remain consistent with their retirement income investing strategy."
 According to David Macchia, Founder and CEO of Wealth2k, Inc., "Investment Services at Sovereign/Santander has demonstrated leadership in the retirement income marketplace by being sensitive to the needs and objectives of today's investors. Not only have they introduced a flexible investment strategy that focuses on the long-term retirement security needs of its customers, it has also unveiled innovative educational tools that make it easier for investors to understand the strategy's objectives and mechanics." Central to their program is innovative software that helps its financial consultants design customized retirement income strategies for investors. Utilizing The Income Life Model® software, Investment Services at Sovereign/Santander will strengthen its financial consultants' ability to communicate efficiently and effectively with customers on the topic of retirement income. Further, each financial consultant is being provided a personalized website that provides customized solutions for customers and offers the opportunity to share educational materials. "We believe that using multimedia, interactive and most important customized tools gives our consultants a discernable advantage when it comes to helping our customers," said David Miree, Sovereign's Managing Director Retail Network. "With The Income for Life Model®, we're providing a robust tool for our financial consultants to better attend to customer needs." LPL Financial is not affiliated with Sovereign Bank, N.A. The investment products sold through LPL Financial are not insured Sovereign Bank deposits and are not FDIC insured. These products are not obligations of Sovereign Bank and are not endorsed, recommended or guaranteed by Sovereign Bank or any government agency. The value of the investment may fluctuate, the return on the investment is not guaranteed, and loss of principal is possible.

AT&T:: SUED BY Government

The Justice Department sued Thursday to recover millions of dollars from AT&T, alleging the company improperly billed the government for services that are designed for use by the deaf and hard-of-hearing who place calls by typing messages over the Internet. The system has been abused by callers overseas who use it to defraud U.S. merchants by ordering goods with stolen credit cards and counterfeit checks. In response, the federal government ordered telecom companies to register their users. The Justice Department lawsuit said AT&T failed to adopt procedures to detect or prevent fraudulent users from registering. The government said the company feared its call volumes would drop once fraudulent users were prevented from calling on the system. The government reimbursed AT&T $1.30 per minute for every call on this system. AT&T has allowed thousands of calls by fraudulent users who registered with fake names or addresses and then billed the government for making the calls, the Justice Department said in court papers filed Wednesday. The department alleged that up to 95 percent of such calls handled by AT&T since November 2009 have been made by fraudulent users. 
The department's action came as an intervention to take over a "private whistleblower" lawsuit that was filed in 2010 in federal court in Pittsburgh by Constance Lyttle, a former AT&T communications assistant in one of the company's call centers who made the original allegations about the improper billings. If the government is able to recover money as a result of the lawsuit, Lyttle would receive a portion of it. The system is intended to help users who are hearing- and speech-impaired. "We will pursue those who seek to gain by knowingly allowing others to abuse this program," said Stuart Delery, the acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's civil division. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the government must ensure the availability of telecom relay services allowing the hearing- or speech-impaired in the U.S. to place phone calls. One such service is Internet Protocol Relay. The United States has paid millions of dollars for calls by international fraudsters, the Justice Department's complaint says. Many of the calls are made by Nigerian users.

Tax Specialist ::Offers Tips on Tax Deductions

Liberty Tax Service, a tax school that also offers tax preparation in Oakland, provides tips on hardship tax measures and tax deductions. Oakland, CA (PRWEB) March 10, 2012 As the economic malaise drags on for many, there is some good news for those who file taxes on time and communicate with the IRS, even if they can’t pay by the tax deadline. Oakland tax planning specialist, Liberty Tax Services would like explain and offer tips about these hardship tax measures that may apply to individuals or businesses. “The IRS has reacted to the economic times by helping taxpayers and businesses with a ‘Fresh Start’ program that increases the lien thresholds for qualifying taxpayers and businesses. We urge those who have experienced a cut in their income to plan ahead on what the next step can be if you know you will have a tax liability that you can’t pay,” Malkeet Singh of Liberty Tax Service said. Liberty Tax Service suggests tax payers consider the following options: 
1) In addition to paying taxes through an installment payment plan, there may be other options, such as the “Offer in Compromise.” Under an OIC agreement, the IRS may agree to settle the taxpayer’s liability for less than the full amount of taxes owed. 
A taxpayer can request OIC consideration by filling out Form 656 or Form 656L. The IRS is not likely to approve an OIC if there’s evidence that the taxpayer could pay the full amount through the installment plan or another method. 
2) Those who have been downsized and have been seeking employment should keep in mind that employment compensation is considered taxable income but reduced earned income for the year 2011 may mean that the taxpayer might claim the Earned Income Credit.
 3) Another possible tax credit could be claiming the tax credit for child and dependent care expenses paid when looking for work. This is accomplished by filing Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, with the tax return. 
4) Documenting the costs of a job search may deliver a tax break whether it results in a new position or not. Job search expenses may be deductible when, totaled with employee expenses and other miscellaneous deductions, they exceed 2 percent of adjusted gross income. These are reported on Schedule A Itemized Deductions, which is filed with Form 1040. Also, if a taxpayer incurs legal expenses to fight a non-compete clause, these expenses may be claimed as a job-related expense. 
5) Homeowners experiencing “short sales” and foreclosures will get an extended break for “debt-forgiveness” tax consequences. Instead of treating cancellation of debt as taxable income on the foreclosure of a principle home, no taxes will be levied on discharges of indebtedness of up to $2 million dollars for married taxpayers filing jointly and of up to $1 million dollars for a married taxpayer filing a separate return through tax year 2012. “At Liberty Tax Service, you can count on us for computerized income tax preparation, electronic filing and refund loans,” Singh said. “Regardless of what kind of tax planning assistance you need, you can rely on Liberty Tax Service to provide nothing short of top-ranking customer experience.” For more information about tax preparation or Liberty Tax Service, call 510-239-5284 or view the tax school on the web at http://www.libertytax.com. Liberty Tax Service is located at 3207 Grand Ave. in Oakland. About Liberty Tax Service Liberty Tax Service is the fastest-growing retail Oakland tax preparation company in the industry’s history. Founded in 1997 by CEO John T. Hewitt, a pioneer in the tax industry, Liberty Tax Service has prepared more than 9,000,000 individual income tax returns. With 42 years of tax industry experience, Hewitt stands as the most experienced CEO in the tax preparation business, having also founded Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. Each office provides computerized income tax preparation, electronic filing, and online filing through eSmart Tax.

Standard Chartered Bank :: Whole Sale Clients

Standard Chartered Bank of Bangladesh recently held an exclusive strategy session for wholesale Bank clients, says a press release. The day long strategy session was conducted by V Anantharaman, managing director, co-head, wholesale banking, South Asia and Nirukt Sapru, managing director, head origination and client coverage for growth markets, Standard Chartered Bank. Abrar A Anwar, managing director and head of origination and client coverage, Standard Chartered Bank, Bangladesh moderated the session.

Anantharaman said, “Bangladesh is a major growth market for us and we are committed to take part in the growth story of the country and support our private and public sector clients with our world class solutions. ”The primary objective of the session was to review the country’s macroeconomic indicators and highlight growth opportunities. With a presence in Bangladesh for over 100 years, Standard Chartered is committed towards the overall development of Bangladesh, said the press release adding, the Bank has consistently delivered strong results over the last decade along with the steady growth of the economy.

Tax :: Issue You Should be Aware

The money you earn from your job—your income—is all that you pay taxes on, right? Nope. The IRS considers many other things income, and we’re not talking about the (tiny) interest on your savings account. If you were one of the millions of Americans who collected unemployment benefits in 2011, you may be surprised to discover that you’ll need to pay taxes on those benefits. You should have already received a form 1099-G to help you with your tax filing. Another benefit that you may find yourself getting taxed on when you file this year are Social Security benefits.


 If you work in retirement while you collect Social Security, after a certain income-level, those benefits become taxable. Your tax rate depends on a sliding scale, based on your earnings. You start having to pay taxes on a portion of those checks when you earn $25,000 as a single filer and $32,000 as joint filer. Working and earning in retirement can be a great way to maintain your quality of life or start a second career, but make sure to look into possibly postponing collecting Social Security if the tax-bite is too big. Talking down credit card debt into settling for less than you owe can seem like sometimes mega-savings. But, those savings qualify as income—income that is taxed. 
Forgiven debt, according to the IRS, is qualified income, so if you settled any debt or had debt dismissed, you should receive a form 1099-C in the mail to declare these earnings on your taxes. However, there is one type of forgiven debt that thankfully does not mean a tax bill. If you foreclosed on your primary residence or had to short-sell your home, according to the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, you most likely will not have to pay taxes on that forgiven debt. And if in 2011 you changed your family status with a separation or divorce, you may be surprised to learn that alimony payments that you receive are also taxed as income. On the flip-side, if you’re the one making alimony payments, qualifying payments mean a tax deduction for you. If you were the spousal beneficiary of a life insurance policy, you’re in the clear regarding taxes—your life insurance proceeds should be federal and state tax-free. However, if your policy was in the millions and/or you were a beneficiary but not a spouse, you may fall under estate tax rules. One more type of insurance coverage that can be considered income is long-term disability (LTD) coverage. The tax rules vary on LTD, depending on who’s paying the premiums (you or an employer) and how much of your income it’s replacing.

MTB :: Hold Annual Business Conference

MTB Securities Ltd. (MTBSL) &MTB Capital Limited (MTBCL), two fully owned subsidiary companies of Mutual Trust Bank Ltd. (MTB) jointly held their Annual Business Conference 2012 recently at MTB Square in the city. Anis A. Khan Managing Director and CEO of MTB and Vice Chairman of both MTBSL & MTBCL was present on the occasion as the Chief Guest while Mr. Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, Deputy Managing Director of MTB and Director of MTBSL & MTBCL, presided over the day-long programme. Meer Sajed-Ul- Basher, Group Chief Finance Officer of MTB and Director of MTBSL & MTBCL, Md. Nazrul Islam Mazumder, Chief Executive Officer of MTBSL, Khairul Bashar Abu Taher Mohammed, Chief Executive Officer of MTBCL, Chinmoy Das, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of MTBSL, Branch in-charge of all MTBSL Branches and senior officials of MTBCL were present at the annual business review and planning event. 

 The conference dwelt on the activities of both the companies over the past year and focused on future business plans. Anis A. Khan, in his speech, thanked the management of MTBSL & MTBCL for being most compliant companies and asked them to strive hard and remain ever vigilant to protect the MTB image and reputation. He also requested them to prepare and cope with the emerging challenges in 2012 and continue to work hard for achieving sustainable growth. The CEOs of MTBSL & MTBCL gave multimedia presentations on the business and operational performance of their companies in 2011. They also presented their budget and action plans for this year. MTBSL branch heads highlighted their performance, problems and prospects. MTBSL is one of the leading brokerage houses and has the largest branch network across the country. It was the 4th largest brokerage house in terms of trade volumes in December 2011 and is considered one of the most compliant securities trading companies by market regulators. MTBCL is a full-fledged merchant bank, recently set up and which provides issue management and portfolio management services, underwriting as well as other products and services.

IMF :: Gold Sale Profits

The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved a plan to distribute about $1.1 billion in profits from past gold sales to IMF member countries, with the expectation they would return the money to fund an anti-poverty loan programme. "This is an important contribution to ensure the Fund's continued support of its low-income members through adequate financing of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement. Under the IMF board's decision, the $1.1 billion in gold sales profits would be distributed once member countries have provided "satisfactory assurances" that they will return at least 90 percent, or $978 million, for the currently zero-interest loan program for low-income countries.

 The profits will be divided among IMF members in proportion to their financial commitment to the fund, known as their quota share. As a result, the United States, Japan, France, Germany, Britain and China will receive the largest sums. "I urge Fund members to quickly confirm their pledges (to return the money) so that we can move forward," Lagarde said. The IMF board approved a limited sale of the Fund's gold reserves in 2008 to diversify income soures. The sales carried out between October 2009 and December 2010 generated total revenue of about $14.8 billion, of which $10.6 billion was profit. The Fund has already decided to place at least $6.8 billion of the profits in an endowment to diversify the IMF's income away from the money it earns on loans. It still has not decided how to distribute another $2.7 billion in profits from the gold sales.

News Corp :: Tipped to report earning lifts

News Corp is expected to post a hefty lift in second quarter net profit, driven by the global media giant's American cable television business. Fat Prophets senior analyst Greg Fraser says News Corp's cable network programming will be all important in the company's profit result on Thursday. Fraser says investors will be looking for signs of strength in cable TV subscriptions and the advertising market. Improvements in the US economy have prompted some analysts to tip News Corp could receive an unexpected boost to earnings if more cable TV viewers help push advertising rates up.