Business and Investing

Last year, Microsoft decided to stop selling its Money personal finance software and announced that no future updates to the software will be available. Existing Money Plus customers can continue to use the software and access online services (such as data sync with MSN Money or statement downloads) until their copy expires on Jan. 31, 2011. At that time Microsoft also announced that it will soon be releasing a “Sunset” version of Money Plus that will not require online activation and will not have an expiry date.

Recently, Microsoft made good on that promise and made Sunset versions of Money Plus Deluxe and Money Plus Home & Business available for download (here and here). Her

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Having all the documents in place is half the job done as all the inputs for completing the IT return form will come from them. So first look for all your documents, identify all your sources of income and then select the return filing form accordingly. Filing of returns can be done manually or online. Filing online will save you the trouble of waiting in queues for submission.

It’s that time of the year when the taxman is remembered the most. With just a few days left, tax payers have now awoken to the reality that the due date is just fast approaching. T

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WASHINGTON | Sun Jul 25, 2010 3:01pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – What’s odd about this scenario?

German business confidence is soaring while U.S. consumer sentiment sinks.

Britain’s second-quarter economic growth was almost twice as fast as expected, the strongest in four years.

Meanwhile, economists have steadily marked down forecasts for Friday’s U.S.

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AnchorBank, a subsidiary of Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin Inc. said Tuesday it had completed the sale of its four Green Bay-area branches to Nicolet National Bank on July 23.

The conversion of accounts was completed over the weekend, Madison-based Anchor BanCorp (NASDAQ: ABCW) said.

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An Arizona company was barred from selling estate planning products in Washington state under a settlement announced Thursday by the office of state Attorney General Rob McKenna.

The Attorney General’s Office accused The Preservation Group LLC of Chandler, Ariz., of “misrepresenting probate as a time-consuming process that can eat up a nest egg” and selling expensive living trusts to older consumers.

The Preservation Group agreed to pay restitution to eligible consumers, reimburse the state for fees and legal expenses, and refrain from selling estate planning products in Washington state.

The Attorney General’s press release follows:

Rob McKenna

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON

1125 Washington Street SE · PO Box 40100 · Olympia WA 98504-0100

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 22, 2010

Attorney General settles case under state’s “trust mill” law

Seminar speakers weren’t qualified to sell estate planning documents

SEATTLE – The Attorney General’s Office has accused an Arizona company of violating a 3-year-old state law intended to crack down on “trust mill” schemes. The Preservation Group an

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NEW YORK | Fri Jul 23, 2010 2:00pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks rose on Friday as solid margins from Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) and a dividend hike by General Electric Co (GE.N) boosted sentiment.

The S&P 500 strengthened its bullish stance, moving above the 1,100 level for the first time in a month after various failed attempts.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 75.38 points, or 0.73 percent, to 10,397.68. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX rose 6.30 points, or 0.58 percent, to 1,099.97.

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One of the more everlasting gifts is one that will teach young people about personal finances and encourage them to save.

With the number of holidays, birthdays, graduations and weddings to shop for, many people find themselves drawing a blank when it comes to finding the perfect gift. Nobody wants to spend hard-earned cash buying an unwanted present or something that will get buried in the back of a closet. One of the more everlasting gifts that family and friends can bestow is one that will teach young people about personal finances and encourage them to save. Want to give a gift that keeps on giving?

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Ohio mortgage rates are lower than the national average rates that are once again hovering near record lows, according to mortgage rate Web site Zillow.com.

Zillow’s Mortgage Rate Ticker found that as of Tuesday, Ohio’s average rate on a 30-year, fixed mortgage was 4.38 percent, down from 4.46 percent at this time a week ago.

Nationally, the average 30-year, fixed rate mortgage was 4.39 percent, the lowest average since Zillow launched in April 2008.

Among states Zillow monitors, Massachusetts registered the largest increase, rising 15 basis points to 4.54 percent.

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It is pleasantly surprising how saving what initially appears like a trivial amount of money quickly adds up to a fairly significant size. Sometimes, it is simply a matter of taking the first step and letting inertia take over from there. And when money is taken off a paycheck even before it reaches the chequing account, it is not even missed. Time and compounding will do the rest. The following post was originally published here on 07/03/2006.

Many personal finance experts urge us to cut out our daily lattes or muffins or lunching out and save the difference. The $25 or $50 saved every week seems such a small, piddling amount, that it can’t possibly make a difference, right? I

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Twitter is an unprecedented force in business, in marketing, in popular culture.

Oprah has a Twitter account.

John McCain has a Twitter account.

Twitter is a micro-blogging service that enables you to send and read updates, known as tweets.

It is a communication tool built on answering the simple question: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

Twitter’s simplicity has been a key to its success. You can contribute to your Twitter status from the Twitter web site, or from one of thousands of 3rd-party web-based tools. You can contribute from your cell phone or PDA.

Twitter’s use for business has grown. And 3rd-party tools to facilitate business functions have exploded. But whi

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