Our Business News

A week after superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc on New York City and the surrounding area, schools were set to reopen on Monday and life expected to slowly return to normal for many, but close to 2 million people still have no power as cold weather sets in. Hundreds of thousands of commuters faced a frustrating journey into the city as public transportation remained spotty. Service on many rail lines was reduced and the subway was running at about 80 percent of its normal service. The challenges were more severe for tens of thousands of people unable to return to their [...]

Dear Dr. Don, Would I see enough savings that it would pay to refinance my mortgage? The rate is now 4.25% and would be reduced to 3.25% if I refinanced. I’ve had this mortgage for three years, and it’s a 30-year mortgage. The refinanced mortgage also would be for 30 years. We don’t plan to be in this home for 30 years. We will probably sell this house in 10 to 15 years. Thank you, — Kathleen Continuum Dear Kathleen, It makes sense to refinance your mortgage if the interest savings are greater than your closing costs. You didn’t tell [...]

Federal, state, and local government officials are working closely together to respond to Hurricane Sandy that will move slowly across the Northeast and impact millions of citizens, President Barack Obama said Monday. In a brief statement at the White House, Obama said he was confident that the government is ready for the storm but that it will take time to recover as many homes will lose power and it may take days to restore service. Asked if he was worried about the impact of the hurricane on the election, Obama replied that the election “will take care of itself.”

Dear Tax Talk, We have a house that we bought from a bank in January of 2010 for $ 375,000 (at 5.375% interest), approximately $ 50,000 undervalue for the property, that we live in currently. It was financed by Veterans Affairs. In January of 2014, my job will take us out of this state, and we face either selling or renting. Reasonable real estate estimates are that we can sell around the $ 400,000 mark, enabling minimal profit after fees. Conversely, due to our location we can easily rent to foreign nationals who have a high desire to be in [...]

LONDON European stock markets extended gains in afternoon action on Wednesday, after the U.S. flash manufacturing purchasing managers’ index edged up to 51.3 in October from 51.1 in September. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.7% to 270.21 after trading around 269.67 ahead of the data. France’s CAC 40 index jumped 0.7% to 3,431.33, while Germany’s DAX 30 index added 0.5% to 7,209.21. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index gained 0.4% to 5,820.87.

ROME The Italian government’s recent cut to the lowest income tax rates and one point rise in value added tax was a move in the right direction, a senior official from the International Monetary Fund said on Friday. “In quantitative terms, it’s not a very big step but it may have some effect,” Carlo Cottarelli, the head of the IMF’s fiscal affairs division told Italian radio. “By taxing income from labor less, you basically tend to encourage employment,” he said. On Wednesday, the government of Prime Minister Mario Monti lowered the income tax rate on the bottom two brackets by [...]

Talks between the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin Corp about a fifth order of F-35 fighter planes have been elevated to a senior level as the two sides debate the last $ 100-million-plus dividing them, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions. “We’re not that far apart,” said one of the sources, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the negotiations, which have been underway for 10 months. “We should be able to close this. It’s not intractable.” The comments suggest the two sides are moving closer to a contract agreement just two weeks after a key Pentagon official [...]

U.S. business groups said on Tuesday they were worried about a damaging trade war with Mexico if President Barack Obama’s administration follows through on a preliminary decision to terminate a 16-year-old tomato trade agreement. “We think the U.S.-Mexico economic relationship is tremendously important,” Patrick Kilbride of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told reporters on a conference call. “We don’t want to see another trade war ignited.” Florida tomato growers have pressed the Obama administration since June to terminate a 1996 agreement with Mexico on the grounds it fails to protect them against Mexican tomatoes sold in the United States below [...]

Texas Instruments (TI) said it will shift its wireless investment focus from products like smartphones to a broader market including industrial clients like carmakers where it is hoping for a more profitable and stable business. But TI’s shares fell more than 3 percent as investors worried about its revenue prospects because the chipmaker did not go into detail about how the change would affect its financial results at an investor meeting on Tuesday. Dallas, Texas-based TI has been under pressure in wireless, where it has lost ground to rival Qualcomm Inc and the world’s biggest smartphone makers Apple Inc and [...]

Dear Opening Credits, I want to know if entering into a debt management plan is a wise choice for me. I am a single parent who never received support. My credit cards total $ 22,474. The rates on the cards are 9.9% and 0%. I’ve never paid late. I am currently leasing a car because of high ratio owed. My salary is $ 63,000, but I also have student loans for a master’s degree starting in November 2012.   – Betty  Dear Betty, Maybe. Debt management plans can be beneficial arrangements for people who need help paying down their balances. As [...]