President Obama tax increases on the wealthy

<div><div class="introduction" id="story_continues_1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoF1NvFOZVqxUZewOYyc73whyADTciU7DNor5hs_MitIrWuwff9t2V12k1x7_zTYlv9_Aq6VUDtU8C4bOysLSHjT24It04Dvwpmuw4mNAatvxo4uhe4Kga9WpgOjR4nUGYXIElfP0IR0u/s1600/10919057_10152631349978947_9055103842347635527_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoF1NvFOZVqxUZewOYyc73whyADTciU7DNor5hs_MitIrWuwff9t2V12k1x7_zTYlv9_Aq6VUDtU8C4bOysLSHjT24It04Dvwpmuw4mNAatvxo4uhe4Kga9WpgOjR4nUGYXIElfP0IR0u/s1600/10919057_10152631349978947_9055103842347635527_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="introduction" id="story_continues_1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <br /></div> <div class="introduction" id="story_continues_1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> <br /></div> <div class="introduction" id="story_continues_1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> President Obama is to use Tuesday's State of the Union speech to call for tax increases on the wealthy to help the middle class, officials say.</div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> The proposals would raise $320 billion (£211 billion) over a decade, to fund benefits such as tax credits.</div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> The speech is the centrepiece of the US political diary and may shape both Mr Obama's legacy and the 2016 election.</div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> But the president faces resistance to his proposals, with Republicans controlling both Houses of Congress.</div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> With the US economy growing, President Obama will stress that it is time for ordinary US families to feel the benefits.</div> </div>

King Leopold, Mass Murderer

<div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimdZMGMJbI5b_xgVHIFq4JN8KyUtTG4HW5vkAWqpnVX_T14Viwi8xrw8PeLTVUMVTrTpXpuTw5PDQBwxdbMRAfkp23snjr4KFmfaViDIy1vpewm1txIfDUH-gZDoVdlF0WEHA-cf2EgFjx/s1600/522107_371053466402337_6939686301861270614_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimdZMGMJbI5b_xgVHIFq4JN8KyUtTG4HW5vkAWqpnVX_T14Viwi8xrw8PeLTVUMVTrTpXpuTw5PDQBwxdbMRAfkp23snjr4KFmfaViDIy1vpewm1txIfDUH-gZDoVdlF0WEHA-cf2EgFjx/s1600/522107_371053466402337_6939686301861270614_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> </div>

A Tax Tip That May Help

<div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgys425RAYp2cXyBjNLXMNkEj56JFfdfXjr6XtB1w4swwHkmJtJerqTakSChM7l0QvKquS6KFLzw9QdN8HuvOQ_erUUJz1S2x4BN2zls452b1MES5ktR-Pgd2XMgA_m6WeIZniRrQctIShn/s1600/irs11-mym.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgys425RAYp2cXyBjNLXMNkEj56JFfdfXjr6XtB1w4swwHkmJtJerqTakSChM7l0QvKquS6KFLzw9QdN8HuvOQ_erUUJz1S2x4BN2zls452b1MES5ktR-Pgd2XMgA_m6WeIZniRrQctIShn/s400/irs11-mym.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> The countdown is on! Only a few days left until April 15, the deadline for filing individual income tax returns, which includes Schedule C for sole proprietors. If your business is incorporated or an LLC electing corporate tax treatment, your due date was March 15. If your corporation filed an extension the due date is now September 15. Sole proprietors filing an extension face a due date of October 15.<br /> <br /> Bear in mind that regardless of what type of entity your business is established under, an extension to file tax returns is not an extension of time to pay. Therefore, if you anticipate a tax liability, it is important that you remit payment with the extension form.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBt1f0pdaJ172T9fXg0t_6__pY_SbHytbLzCZhiI-rjqj97BdCblFXZNsOSf02OT18JB5U_dtJbZ-iLXf4thhmwP09_QxLDzm2IrYxhjwzzwj0dtPmkm8KbgFktis4ZmDoWOtbhMwt2Aj/s1600/AGI+TY2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBt1f0pdaJ172T9fXg0t_6__pY_SbHytbLzCZhiI-rjqj97BdCblFXZNsOSf02OT18JB5U_dtJbZ-iLXf4thhmwP09_QxLDzm2IrYxhjwzzwj0dtPmkm8KbgFktis4ZmDoWOtbhMwt2Aj/s400/AGI+TY2010.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> Depending upon the state in which your corporation does business, a minimum estimated tax payment for the current year is also likely due on April 15. Check with your tax pro or your state taxing agency to determine if this is a requirement and to find out how much to pay.<br /> <br /> Sole proprietors and partners in a partnership must pay the first installment of federal and state (if applicable) 2014 estimated tax payments on April 15 as well.<br /> <br /> But what if you don’t have enough cash on hand to do both?<br /> <br /> If you are unable to meet your 2013 liability and make the first installment of the 2014 estimated, I encourage you to give the 2013 liability priority. The penalties are not as harsh for failure to prepay a current estimated payment as they are for failure to pay the prior year liability. You have the remainder of the year to catch up.<br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSlMjaUapKnGnhiZMEuthJXGPj8vx6Sb3-HPJYv754RVTfu8t5swQFdKG-KDwaClEudrLDcqRs5gtlqEjT4opQnE748iJ5vtUF6FMMJZxMZjN4re1IDM9c6QRMTKAyk8flh2TCqp1BQkqU/s1600/irs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSlMjaUapKnGnhiZMEuthJXGPj8vx6Sb3-HPJYv754RVTfu8t5swQFdKG-KDwaClEudrLDcqRs5gtlqEjT4opQnE748iJ5vtUF6FMMJZxMZjN4re1IDM9c6QRMTKAyk8flh2TCqp1BQkqU/s400/irs.jpg" /></a></div> <br /></div>

Stimulus Not a Big Deal Anymore

<div>Morgan Stanley interest rate strategist Matthew Hornbach is tired of the incessant chattering about "the taper" (the moment when the Fed starts to reduce the pace of monthly asset purchases). Whether it happens in December, January, or March is not that big of a deal anymore. Everyone knows it's coming and the ultimate impact of the timing at this point isn't a big deal. So what should you be talking about: Everything else the Fed does while it tapers. What other language tools will it use in conjunction with a slowing rate of asset purchases? His note is several pages long, but here's the key conclusion (which we explain in more detail below): Investors should stop talking about tapering and start talking about potential changes to the rate guidance framework. In our view, the exact timing of tapering should be a secondary concern. What matters is whether the Fed combines tapering with a reduction in the Unemployment Rate Threshold or an introduction in a new inflation floor. The thresholds are all about credibility, so the Fed must understand how each option will impact the market's perception of its commitments to remain on hold. Our economist's base case is that the Fed pairs a modest tapering with a 50bp cut in the URT. In our view, the risk to that base case is a more aggressive 100bp cut paired with a larger taper. <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbTGacF_ExThyphenhyphenHkloqsdmJ7nW1k7D4aoj_8M5yOkgsCyazaHI2SuDrHXZZpytBWmezUaHTYH48r021LxT5HmPh-SdKpor_Uqs1hkJnt6epjKOfXJ53-5U7bUmJ6zinAs-ICtWTz2zM5z8h/s1600/454795971.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbTGacF_ExThyphenhyphenHkloqsdmJ7nW1k7D4aoj_8M5yOkgsCyazaHI2SuDrHXZZpytBWmezUaHTYH48r021LxT5HmPh-SdKpor_Uqs1hkJnt6epjKOfXJ53-5U7bUmJ6zinAs-ICtWTz2zM5z8h/s400/454795971.jpg" /></a></div> </div>

Shoe Thrown at Hillary Clinton

<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRInp3weUYPillbZ1uvrMWxitwnKhzJ3tAbfhy8p8og6AD5Pk2_rz3n_D9-6JxM63JAv8a56ZLhe7Pih3Kpv82mlZYblDOyWbwilI6ubRlOd-5nGrfP3hZH8XsfDNSXO9e1BtjBVJTqio0/s1600/hillary-clinton-52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRInp3weUYPillbZ1uvrMWxitwnKhzJ3tAbfhy8p8og6AD5Pk2_rz3n_D9-6JxM63JAv8a56ZLhe7Pih3Kpv82mlZYblDOyWbwilI6ubRlOd-5nGrfP3hZH8XsfDNSXO9e1BtjBVJTqio0/s400/hillary-clinton-52.jpg" /></a></div> Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had a shoe thrown at her on stage while giving a speech at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, KTNV-TV reports. She was able to dodge the object, which she thought might have been a bat, but witnesses described it as a shoe wrapped in paper. The stationed reported the object had been thrown by a woman in a cocktail dress, who was escorted out afterward. "Is that someone throwing something at me? Is that a part of Cirque du Soleil? My goodness, I didn't know solid waste management was so controversial," Clinton joked, before finishing her speech. The shoe-throwing incident brings to mind what happened to former President George W. Bush at a 2008 joint press conference in Iraq, where he dodged shoes thrown by an Iraqi journalist. His shoe-dodging record, however, now stands at two. </div>

NIgeria 30% of Africa's Economy

<div>Nigeria is now Africa's largest economy thanks to a long overdue 'rebasing' of GDP. Founder of Zenith Bank Group Jim Ovia discusses the risks and rewards of investing in the country. <script src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/script/6.0/players/embed.js?videoid=/video/news/2014/04/09/n-nigeria-gdp-investment-development.cnnmoney"></script></div>