The advent of sites such as Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO have created the opportunity for millions of people to run a great side business renting out their home. There are people who make tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Making rental money through these sites is like every other business endeavor,…
Earlier this year, one of the world’s largest banks, The Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC), announced the largest rollout of biometric security technology in the U.K. with a voice and fingerprint authentication system that will encompass some 15 million customers. The HSBC biometric security technology will give its customers access to fingerprint authentication using…
Traditionally, the IRS subjects large corporate taxpayers to nearly continuous audits of their tax returns. In recent years however, IRS funding has been substantially reduced, making this strategy unsustainable. As a response, the agency is creating new approaches to how it audits businesses – and companies need to prepare. As part of its new approach…
As we approached the end of July, the stock market rallied following several weeks of volatility as markets here tried to adjust to Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. The Standard and Poor’s 500 index rose to reach a record high on July 24, posting a fourth straight week of gains; a 6.4 percent…
One of the most difficult things to do is plan for the unknown. This holds true for retirement income planning. You don’t know how much income you’ll need once you stop earning a paycheck; you don’t know how long you’ll need it; you don’t know how many people you might need to provide for (such…
The Congress at Work series of articles is designed to give you a glimpse of various types of legislation currently under consideration. While either the Senate or the House of Representatives may initiate a bill proposal, be aware that many bills never become law; they may never make it out of committee, be blocked by…
Undeterred by the possibility of a June interest rate hike, Wall Street continued its upward trend, buoyed by higher oil prices and the belief that investors were reconciled to interest rates increases – coming perhaps as early as June. During the last week before the Memorial Day holiday, Standard and Poor’s 500 index gained 2…
For the 10 percent of startups that survive, according to Forbes, there is what’s called second-stage entrepreneurship. But what, exactly, defines second-stage entrepreneurship and how do businesses know when they’ve reached it? Recognizable Signs When it comes to identifying a second-stage entrepreneur, there are some general guidelines that experts cite to define this stage of…
March was a milestone month for the stock market. On March 9, the bull run celebrated its seventh birthday – one for the record books. Starting its first uptick at the end of the recession in 2009, this bull market is the third longest in history and roughly two years longer than the average bull…
Now that we are in the midst of tax filing season, it is a great time for families and college students to re-familiarize themselves on the available tax benefits that could potentially lower higher education costs. According to research by Sallie Mae, the average family with higher education costs spends more than $24,000 a year…
