Finance news. My opinion.

Comstock Saloon opens today at the junction of North Beach and the Financial District.

The men behind the bar at Hayes Valley's Absinthe, Jeff Hollinger and Jonny Ragin, have teamed with Absinthe owner Bill Russell-Shapiro to open a contemporary take on an old-time saloon. Comstock will have a full menu of classic cocktails, and the bartenders will custom craft drinks to individual tastes.

The bar, at Columbus and Pacific avenues, occupies a building that has been a bar since 1907. That heritage inspired the space's design, which includes many decorative pieces from the last century.

A front "saloon" room contains a 20-foot long bar, five wooden booths and some small tables and chairs.

The adjacent main dining room has banquettes and tables; Carlo Espinas, late of Camino in Oakland, is the chef.

In addition to Comstock Saloon, Russell-Shapiro is also working on plans to expand into the former Citizen Cake location in Hayes Valley.

Source

Provides fast cash advance payday loans nationwide with no credit checks required.

AirTran Airways launched daily nonstop service May 4 from Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich., to Orlando International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Orlando-based AirTran will also initiate service from Fort Myers and Tampa to Grand Rapids in June.

AirTran Airways is a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AAI).

Source

No credit check payday loans offer quick financial support before the next payday in an easy and instant manner.

Having seen its $3.3 billion takeover bid spurned by the board of Macarthur Coal Ltd., Peabody Energy Corp. is asking Australia’s Takeovers Panel to intervene on its behalf.

Peabody is asking the panel to require Macarthur to postpone a Monday meeting where shareholders will consider issuing stock to complete the purchase of a third coal producer Gloucester Coal Ltd.

Macarthur agreed in December to buy Gloucester. But Peabody has said that its interest in Macarthur is contingent the Gloucester deal being scuttled.

Macarthur’s board rejected both Peabody offers, saying they don’t fully value the company, which is in the midst of an aggressive expansion. The board also recommended that shareholders vote to issue shares on Monday to complete the Gloucester transaction.

Australia’s Takeovers Panel is a peer-reviewed body that operates under the country’s securities law, according to its web site. It is charged with resolving disputes over takeover proposals. Its 54-members consist of executives, lawyers and academics appointed by the Governor General.

In its appeal to the panel, Peabody argues that Macarthur failed to provide shareholders with enough information to compare its bid with the Gloucester agreement.

The St. Louis-based company asked that Macarthur provide more disclosure, including updated analysis from an independent expert on the Gloucester proposal, and that Monday’s shareholder meeting be delayed until 10 business days after shareholders receive the additional information.

In a statement Thursday, Macarthur said shareholders “have all information required to make an informed decision.”

The company also criticized Peabody for taking out full-page ads in major Australian newspapers, calling them “self serving and potentially misleading.

Source

This is why I must keep writing about Roth IRA conversions:

A dozen readers age 70 1/2 and older have written to say their financial advisers recommended they convert their entire traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs this year. By converting everything, the advisers claimed, they’d avoid having to take required minimum distributions from their traditional IRAs for 2010.

That’s incorrect and potentially very costly advice.

"It’s absolutely not true," said Ed Slott, a certified public accountant in Rockville Centre, N.Y., who publishes a monthly "IRA Advisor" newsletter for financial professionals (at www.irahelp.com). After age 70-1/2, holders of traditional IRAs must start withdrawing a minimum amount each year (the required minimum distribution or "RMD"). This distribution must be taken before any remaining funds can be converted to a Roth IRA.

Failure to take a required distribution is subject to a 50 percent penalty on the amount that should have been withdrawn but wasn’t. Any RMD funds mistakenly "converted" into a Roth IRA can be considered an "excess" contribution to the Roth IRA, resulting in a 6 percent excise penalty for every year the money remains in the Roth IRA, Slott said.

To answer a common question, people eligible to make a direct contribution to a Roth IRA — which is different from a conversion — can certainly use money from an RMD for the contribution. But to be eligible to contribute, you or your spouse must have "earned income," which means mostly income from work — the RMD itself does not qualify — and your income cannot exceed certain limits. The IRA direct contribution limit for 2010 is $6,000 for people 50 and over, while conversions have no limit.

Slott, who runs training seminars for financial professionals on IRAs, said he’s found a general lack of knowledge about the rules and potential pitfalls of Roth IRA conversions among many advisers no fax pay day loans.

"I am starting to realize how much they don’t know," Slott said, particularly bank employees and brokers who are not tax-law specialists. As of this year, anybody with a traditional IRA is eligible to convert to a Roth. Whether it makes sense to do so depends on a host of individual circumstances, which is why getting good advice is important.

But bad advice abounds. Another reader said he decided against converting because his adviser told him that, once in the Roth IRA, the converted funds could not be withdrawn for five years.

"That’s wrong, too," Slott said. Converted funds can be withdrawn at any time, although there may be penalties.

But penalties are probably not as bad as you think. A much-feared 10 percent tax penalty on withdrawals applies only if you withdraw the converted funds before age 591/2 and also have not held the funds for at least five years.

Once you are at least 591/2, "there is no more 10 percent penalty, period," even if you withdraw the money right after you convert, Slott emphasized. Five years after a conversion, and once you are at least 591/2, all the money, including any subsequent investment gains, can be withdrawn tax-free.

Even if you are 591/2 or older, if you withdraw converted funds within five years, you would owe ordinary income taxes on any investment gains since the conversion — but not on the amount converted. Taxes can be minimized or avoided through well-timed partial withdrawals. The first funds withdrawn from a Roth IRA are generally considered to be any direct contributions and converted principal, which have already been taxed and would not be taxed again.

Source

Problems with Toyota cars are cropping up faster than the automaker can deal with them. Following two different recalls for problems involving accelerator pedals on various models comes the revelation of braking problems in the iconic Prius.

Here’s a rundown of the problems, the cars involved and what to do if your car’s caught up in any of this.

Prius brakes

What’s the problem? Under certain conditions, particularly at relatively low speeds when traveling over rough or potholed roads, drivers have complained of a brief, but significant, delay in brake performance.

Is it being blamed for crashes? Yes, at least four crashes in the U.S. have been reported, allegedly as a result of this problem.

What cars are involved? 2010 model year Toyota Priuses made before January, 2010. Toyota is also investigating whether the Lexus HS250h hybrid, which shares its mechanical parts with the Toyota Prius, might have a similar problem.

Is there a recall? No, at least not yet.

Is there a fix for it? None has been announced yet, but Toyota has fixed the problem on cars coming off the assembly, so there does seem to be some sort of solution. Now Toyota has to figure out how to get that change made to cars already on the road.

What should I do? The safest thing to do, of course, would be not to drive the car until the problem has been fixed. If you do drive, be aware of the problem and allow extra following distance and be begin to stop a little sooner for red lights and stop signs, especially if the road is choppy.

David Champion, Consumer Reports’ head of auto testing, also reminds drivers not to lift off the brake pedal if they feel a loss of power. Instead, keep your foot pressed down hard on the brake pedal and don’t pump the brakes.

Sticky gas pedals

What’s the problem? Over time, gas pedals in some cars become sticky. At first, they just become a little harder to push down and when you lift your foot off the gas, they’re slower to come back up. In the worst case, the pedal on these cars can become stuck part way down.

Is it being blamed for crashes? There have been no crashes or injuries reported as a result of this problem.

What cars are involved? Toyota’s 2009-2010 RAV4, Corolla and Matrix models; the 2005-2010 Avalon; 2010 Highlander; 2007-2010 Tundra and the 2008-2010 Sequoia; and some 2007-2010 Camrys (only those with gas pedal assemblies made by a specific Toyota supplier; your dealer can check). No Lexus or Scion models are involved.

Is there a recall? Yes , 2.3 million vehicles.

Is there a fix for it? Yes. Toyota dealers can install a small metal plate that reduces wear on the plastic parts involved.

What should I do? Get your car fixed as soon as you can. If your gas pedal starts to feel sticky, stop driving immediately, Toyota says. Pull over in a safe place, then call a dealer.

If the pedal becomes stuck part way down, applying the brakes should be enough to slow the car and bring it under control. Don’t pump the brakes, though. That will just weaken your power brakes. Instead, press and hold the brakes. Also, at the same time, you can shift the transmission into neutral, which will stop the engine from driving the wheels.

Keep in mind that these situations are rare occurrences.

Floor mat pedal entrapment

What’s the problem? In some cars, gas pedals can become stuck on the edge of afloor mat, particularly when thick all-weather floor mats are used or when floor mats are stacked on top of one another. In this case, the pedal can be stuck almost all the way to the floor, creating a particularly dangerous situation.

Is it being blamed for crashes? Yes, there have been crashes and some deaths on account of this problem.

What cars are involved? 2008-2010 Highlander, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Venza, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe (a version of the Matrix), 2007-2010 Toyota Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2004-2009 Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Tundra and the 2007-2010 Lexus ES350, 2006-2010 IS250 and the 2006-2010 IS350.

Is there a recall? Yes 5.3 million vehicles have been recalled for floor mats.

Is there a fix for it? Yes. Dealers will alter the shape of the gas pedal to prevent it becoming stuck on the floor mat even when thick or stacked floor mats are used. In some cars, the floor area under the gas pedal may also be reshaped slightly to make more room.

What should I do? Get your car fixed as soon as possible. If your car hasn’t been fixed yet remove your floor mats.

If your gas pedal becomes stuck in the "floored" position, immediately shift the transmission to "Neutral" and press hard on the brake pedal. Don’t pump the brakes but apply even, firm pressure. 

Source

Florida is among a handful of states that posted the largest monthly gains in the number of online job postings, which were up by 25,500 in January, according to The Conference Board’s Help Wanted OnLine Data Series. Only California, with a 67,600 jump, had more.

"The last three months have shown a sharp upturn in employer demand for workers," said Gad Levanon, associate director of macroeconomic research at The Conference Board, in a news release. "These increases have brought us back near the labor demand levels that existed in November 2008, just prior to the huge losses resulting from the financial turmoil in the last quarter of 2008. This is very good news since these seasonally adjusted increases come in two months, when we normally see employers cut back on advertising for workers."

And, while that’s good news, the number of unemployed continues to exceed the number of advertised vacancies in all 52 of the metropolitan areas The Conference Board looks at.

In Miami, there were nine unemployed people for every five vacancies posted in November 2009, the latest month for which unemployment data was available.

Among the 10 occupation groups with the largest number of online advertised vacancies nationwide, office and administrative support occupations posted the largest January gain, up 74,100.

• Advertised vacancies in management occupations were up 54,500 in January, to 427,400.
• Computer and mathematical science professions rose 40,600 in January, to 514,700.
• Labor demand for health care support occupations rose 6,500 to 119,000.

Demand for health care support workers has remained relatively steady throughout the recession, although the number of unemployed seeking work in this field has remained relatively high, The Conference Board noted.

Source

The Federal Reserve on Monday proposed allowing banks to set up the equivalent of certificates of deposit at the central bank, a move that would help the Fed mop up money pumped into the economy and prevent inflation from taking off later.

Under the proposal, the Fed would offer so-called "term deposits" that would pay interest. Doing so would provide banks with another incentive to park their money at the Fed, rather than having it flow back into the economy.

The proposal comes as no surprise. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other Fed officials have repeatedly said the creation of so-called "term deposits" — essentially the equivalent of CDs for banks — would be one of several tools the Fed could use to drain money from the economy when the time is right.

Against that backdrop, the Fed said the proposal "has no implications for monetary policy decisions in the near term."

With both the economy and the financial system on the mend, the Fed this year started to wind down and scale back some emergency lending programs. Many of those programs were set up at the height of the financial crisis in the fall of 2008 when some credit markets virtually shut down.

Lending conditions have improved but still aren’t back to normal. They continue to restrain the recovery.

The Fed’s balance sheet has ballooned to $2.2 trillion, reflecting the creation of lending programs intended to ease the financial crisis. That’s more than double the pre-crisis level. The Fed will need to mop up that money or it could trigger inflation down the road.

The Fed proposed that the interest rate paid on the term deposit be set through an auction mechanism.

Banks wanting to hold a term deposit would bid in regularly scheduled competitive auctions. The banks would indicate both the interest rate at which they are willing to be paid and the amount of money they want to deposit into the account at that interest rate.

Given that process, it’s unclear now what the rates on the accounts would be.

The Fed said it anticipated term deposits with "relatively short maturities" likely ranging between one and six months. It said deposit maturities wouldn’t exceed one year, and no early withdrawals of money in the accounts would be allowed.

Most economists don’t believe the Fed will start raising its key bank lending rate, which influences a range of consumer lending rates, until the middle of next year.

Separately, in a weekly report issued Monday, the Fed said banks cut back on emergency loans from the central bank, a fresh sign credit problems have eased.

Source

Exxon Mobil may be getting more than it bargained for with its recent plan to purchase natural gas giant XTO Energy.

The $41 billion deal would make Exxon the country’s largest shale gas producer, drawing more attention to a controversial area of drilling that analysts say could invite tightened federal regulations for the entire industry.

When the acquisition was announced last week, it was generally seen as a smart business move. XTO (XTO, Fortune 500) is a big player in the so-called "unconventional" gas business — specifically, gas that lies in shale rock formations.

That business is booming. It’s one of the fastest growing energy sectors in the country. But some of the shale is near major population centers, and residents near the drilling are worried about air and, especially, water pollution from the chemicals used to extract shale gas.

"A $41 billion investment is going to make anyone with an environmental eye look sooner and deeper," said Kevin Book, a managing director at ClearView Energy Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that tracks political developments in the energy sector. Exxon’s (XOM, Fortune 500) entry into the field, along with interest from other international oil companies, means that shale gas has hit the big time, Book said.

The shale gas industry has been operating in relative obscurity and with minimal federal oversight: A 2005 law exempted it from the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. State regulators do the policing.

Although there are air pollution and land issues associated with shale gas drilling, what most concerns people is the water. Extracting shale gas relies on a method known as hydraulic fracturing, where a huge amount of chemical-laced water is injected down the well hole to fracture the rock and allow the gas to flow out.

State regulators and the industry say the process is safe, as the gas lies thousands of feet below the water table.

But residents near the drilling, which includes much of the New York metro area, Dallas-Fort Worth, and other large population centers, fear the chemicals may contaminate the drinking water.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has only just begun looking into the issue payday loans for bad credit.

Book said several bills in Congress include provisions that direct the EPA to study the issue more broadly, and could ultimately lead to further regulation. "These are the placeholders," said Book. "Is a change in the law coming? Probably."

Pushing up the price of clean energy

A change in regulation could result in gas companies having to pump out the injected water and removing the chemicals before disposing of it back in the ground. That could add anywhere from 8% to 30% to the cost of operating a well, said Neil Dingmann, a Houston-based analyst at Wunderlich Securities.

Yet pushing up the price of natural gas is not something environmentalists are keen to do. Natural gas is much cleaner source of electricity than coal and emits about half the carbon dioxide. Making it more expensive would only deter industries from using it, and push them toward cheaper and dirtier power sources like coal.

Exxon is so concerned about a change in the law it has a clause with XTO that allows it to walk away from the deal if Congress bans hydraulic fracturing or makes it prohibitively expensive, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Exxon declined to comment for this story.

Dingmann also said there’s another reason Exxon may bring new attention to this type of drilling: They are a high profile company.

"It’s not the energy committee going after some company nobody’s heard of," said Neil Dingmann, a Houston-based analyst at Wunderlich Securities. "It’s big, bad Exxon."

Soon after the XTO deal was announced Chairman of the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., issued a statement.

While acknowledging natural gas’ environmental benefits, Markey questioned the environmental safety of the drilling and raised anti-trust issues.

"I intend to convene hearings in the Subcommittee early next year so that our members can take a closer look at this proposed transaction," he said. 

Source

The developer of Tempe apartments designed and marketed for Arizona State University students says it has resolved a payment dispute and lawsuit with a construction contractor.

Chicago-based Campus Acquisitions says it has settled a $3 million lawsuit filed by contractor Nelson Phoenix LLC. Nelson claimed that Campus had not paid it for work done on the Vue on Apache.

The private development sits just east of ASU’s Tempe campus.

Campus Acquisitions Project Manager J.J. Smith said in a prepared statement the two companies resolved the $3 million dispute with mediators and “a new mutually agreeable payment amount" was established on a payment plan, Smith said payday loan.

The Vue on Apache, which opened August 2009, is one of the first privately developed and owned housing projects intended for ASU students, according to Smith’s statement.

Nelson filed a tax lien and lawsuit against Campus in late October saying Campus failed to make final payments on the private student housing next to ASU.

Calls to Nelson Phoenix LLC were not immediately returned.

Source

MONTREAL – Canadian National Railway Co. and the Teamsters union reached a deal on Wednesday to end a strike by locomotive engineers, avoiding a potential blow to the fragile economic recovery.

Teamsters Canada president Daniel Shewchuk said the engineers will get back to work as quickly as possible, but didn’t provide a timeline.

Federal Labour Minister Rona Ambrose said restoring full service quickly is critical to the economy.

"Canada is still at the early stages of a recovery from the global economic downturn and could not afford slowdowns and stoppages in such a critical component of the national infrastructure," Ambrose said in a statement.

The minister said the deal to end the strike, which began on Saturday, was reached as a result of "intense bargaining."

Under the terms of the agreement, CN (TSX: CNR) will not proceed with controversial work rule changes it announced last week including increasing the monthly mileage cap for the locomotive engineers.

CN and the union have also agreed to continue negotiations to resolve issues related to wages, benefits and work rules, but if there is no agreement any dispute over wages and benefits will be settled by binding arbitration.

The two sides may also agree to submit work-rule issues to binding arbitration, but only if they can agree on the ones that should be subject to arbitration.

CN president and chief executive Hunter Harrison said the deal gives both sides the flexibility to negotiate issues further, but also ensures the finality of binding arbitration for issues that remain in dispute.

"We have always sought, since starting negotiations 14 months ago, to achieve a settlement with the TCRC through negotiations or binding arbitration," Harrison said in a statement.

Ambrose said she will appoint federal mediators and an arbitrator to help finalize the other outstanding issues.

The deal came after Ottawa introduced legislation Monday to end the strike.

CN is the country’s largest railway and the government cited worries about the weak economy to justify the strike-ending legislation.

"Continuing the strike for any further amount of time would have had grave consequences for our economy," Ambrose said.

Managers have been running the trains since the walkout began.

Edward Jones analyst Brian Yarbrough said the deal looks positive for both sides.

"You never like to see people out there unemployed in this kind of environment and you don’t like to see the potential negative impacts this could have caused to the overall economic rebound," Yarbrough said from St. Louis.

Since the strike was so short, there shouldn’t be any serious economic effects, he added.

The 1,700 engineers, members of the Teamsters Canadian Rail Conference, have been without a contract for almost a year.

CN shares closed down 27 cents at $56.03 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Source