Finance Blog number 1

Panera Bread Co. founder Ron Shaich will share the title of CEO of the chain of bakery cafes with Bill Moreton, the company announced today.

Moreton was promoted to president and CEO of the Sunset Hills-based company in May 2010, and Shaich took on the role of executive chairman of the board of directors.

The chain has more than 1,500 locations and operates locally as St. Louis Bread Co.  

Shaich’s new titles are co-CEO and chairman, and Moreton is co-CEO and president payday loans. 

In announcing the changes, Panera said in a statement that the switch to co-CEOs “formalizes a relationship that has evolved over the last year and is a reflection of the way in which Shaich and Moreton have been operating as partners.”

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Days after the Conservative government introduced its copyright reform bill in June 2010, Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore spoke out in support of the legislative package by notoriously labeling critics as

Purchases of new homes in the U.S. probably rose in January to a nine-month high, more evidence the housing market is improving, economists said before a report today.

Sales, tabulated when contracts are signed, climbed 2.6 percent to a 315,000 annual pace, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 77 economists. Consumer confidence declined in February from a month earlier, separate data may show.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. (BZH) and D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI) are among builders benefiting from job gains as well as cheaper properties and lower mortgage rates that have driven affordability to a record high. At the same time, foreclosures that depress prices are a risk, one reason policy makers including Federal Reserve officials are seeking ways to bolster the industry.

The new fund designed to spur science startups in Missouri has been declared unconstitutional by a judge in Cole County.

Circuit Judge Dan Green tossed out the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA) in a ruling Tuesday morning, saying that the way it was approved by lawmakers in last fall’s special legislative session violated the state constitution.

The measure would have dedicated some new tax revenue from science and technology companies in the state for a fund to help launch startups in those industries. Gov. Jay Nixon had proposed putting $4 million into the fund in his next budget.

But Green ruled that the bill approving it violated state law because it included a “contingency clause” saying it couldn’t go into effect unless a separate tax credit reform bill was also passed. That bill died in the General Assembly.

Right-to-Life groups that have long opposed MOSIRA over concerns that it could fund stem cell or human cloning research filed suit in December, and Green sided with them.

“Missouri Roundtable For Life is gratified that Judge Green has upheld the rule of law and protected the taxpayers and citizens of Missouri from state officials implementing an unconstitutional law,” said Fred Sauer of Missouri Roundtable For Life. “We are dedicated to ensuring that Missouri citizens understand all the details of the MOSIRA scheme, so that politicians and their special interest cronies will never try this again.”

MOSIRA has long been a top priority of the state’s high-tech and biotech industries, who say Missouri needs funds to invest in startups to compete with other states and grow jobs here. They have pushed the bill for several years now and won votes in both houses, only to see it die.

“It’s disappointing,” said Donn Rubin, president of the St. Louis biotech trade group BioSTL. “What’s frustrating is that something that is so broadly supported gets caught up in unrelated struggles over other issues like tax credit reform.”

While the ruling puts MOSIRA on ice for this year, it’s not clear what will happen next.

State officials could appeal the ruling - a spokesman for Gov. Jay Nixon did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Or a new version of the bill could be filed in the General Assembly. If passed on its own, it would not include the “contingency clause” that Green struck down.

But Senate Pro Tem Rob Mayer (R-Dexter) told the Kansas City Star that a new bill was unlikely to succeed without broader tax credit reform.

“That was true during the special session and that’s true now,” he said.

Read more here: http://midwestdemocracy.com/articles/missouri-judge-rules-mosira-unconstitutional/#storylink=cpy

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Illinois same-sex couples in civil unions are discovering an unpleasant quirk of their new status. The state of Illinois will make them do their federal taxes twice.

Illinois’ civil union boosts drudgery at tax time, and it probably won’t save same-sex couples any money.

Here’s why: Illinois law requires that same-sex couples in civil unions be treated as if they were married for tax purposes.

The state income tax form requires that they transfer numbers from their federal income tax form. To produce the proper numbers, civil union couples must fill out a federal tax form as either married filing jointly or married filing separately, and submit it with their state forms.

But the federal government doesn’t recognize civil unions. It won’t even take a married tax form from a gay couple that tied the knot in a state recognizing same-sex marriages.

To keep on Uncle Sam’s good side, both partners have to fill out the federal forms again, filing as singles.

Heterosexual married couples often save on their federal taxes by filing as married cash advances pay day loan. That’s mainly because federal taxes are progressive, and the brackets are adjusted to be kinder to those who are married. But the Illinois income tax is flat, with no progressive brackets. Generally speaking, that means no savings on state income taxes.

“I don’t think anybody anticipated this issue,” says lawyer Todd Sivia of Edwardsville, who has a specialty in tax, estate and real estate issues in civil unions.

By act of the Illinois legislature, residents starting last year were able to join in civil unions. Sivia expects that other unexpected issues may pop up in the titling of property, estate planning, and especially in divorce.

“The law on this will be evolving for the next 10 or 15 years,” he says.

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ATHENS

O’FALLON, ILL. 

Students clashed with police across Italy in protests against budget cuts, while transport strikes idled buses and trains Thursday, as Italian Premier Mario Monti prepared to unveil his anti-crisis strategy ahead of a confidence vote in his day-old government.

Police in riot gear scuffled with students in Milan, where they planned to march to Bocconi University, which forms Italy’s business elite. Monti, an economist and former European Union competition comissioner, is Bocconi’s president.

Monti formed his government Wednesday, shunning politicians and turning to fellow professors, bankers and other business figures to fill key cabinet posts. His administration is tasked with restoring confidence in the country’s financial future and avoiding a worsening in the eurozone’s debt crisis.

But his choice of unelected experts to lead the government and the prospect of tough reforms have fueled unrest among some Italians.

“The government of the banks,” read one placard held by a youth marching in the protest in Milan.

In Palermo, Sicily, demonstrators hurled eggs and smoke bombs at a bank, and protesters threw rocks at police who battled back with pepper sprays, the Italian news agency ANSA said. One protester was injured in the head in Palermo, where police charged demonstrators who were trying to occupy another bank, it said.

In Rome, hundreds of students gathered outside Sapienza University, while others assembled near the main train station. They planned to march to the Senate, where Monti was scheduled to speak ahead of an evening confidence vote on the new government.

Monti’s cabinet took the place of the center-right government led for 3 1/2 years by media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, stepped down last week, the victim of markets punishing Italy for its escalating public debt and stubbornly stagnant economy.

As Berlusconi’s squabbling coalition argued for months over how to attack the crisis, Italian unions and industrialists pressed for measures to encourage job creation and revive the economy.

Parliament gave final approval Saturday to a package that will reform pensions, slash state spending and open up the economy guaranteed cash advance. Hours later, Berlusconi resigned, paving the way for Italy’s president to ask Monti, a former European Union competition commissioner, to form a government that could tackle the crisis.

But many Italians are expecting to swallow harsher medicine, including a possible return of home property taxes which Berlusconi abolished, a special tax on wealth, and a faster increase in the retirement age.

Antonio Romano, who was distributing leaflets to protesters, said the government’s strategy was to “make the workers and retired people pay for the crisis, not those who provoked the crisis, I mean big business, bankers.”

“Income for all, debt for none,” read the spray-painted letters on a white sheet affixed to a fence in Palermo. University and high school students, as well as young people unable to find full-time jobs joined the protest.

In Rome, marcher Titti Mazzacane said she was skeptical about the new government. While Monti chose “decent and competent people,” the government … “is a little bit too free-market liberal. I am a bit scared,” said the 53-year-old elementary school teacher.

A transit strike of several hours idled the subway system and many buses in Rome. A similar walkout in Milan to press for better work contracts was also called.

State railways said a 24-hour nationwide train strike, which was called by one small union affected only 5 percent of the train rains. Train workers have been pushing for better work rules.

Alitalia warned that a four-hour strike, from noon to 4 p.m. (1100 GMT-1500 GMT) in the air travel sector could cause flight delays, and said it was reducing the number of flights as a precaution during the four-hour window. It noted that the walkout mainly involved air traffic controllers and airport workers and not Alitalia personnel.

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ST. LOUIS

Moneyville is on your side. We help you save money at a time when living costs are rising, interest rates are falling and stress levels are going through the roof.

Readers love our intense focus on personal finance issues and tips on taming everyday costs. They often send stories about how much they saved following our advice.

Rick Romain, for example, saw my Moneyville blog post about getting a basic wireless phone without signing a contract from companies such as SpeakOut Wireless and Petro-Canada Mobility.

“You said buyers should wait for specials. Well, I waited and got a discount on a Nokia flip phone (reduced to $40), with voicemail, texting and camera. If not for you, I wouldn’t have known about this option for those who use a cellphone rarely and for emergencies.”

I always get great feedback from readers when I talk about fighting back against corporate arrogance or indifference. My blog posts about reducing your data roaming charges when you travel drew a huge response.

I also sent a steady stream of traffic to Canada’s two credit bureaus, Equifax and Transunion, when trying to help readers fix errors on their credit reports that led to their being denied a loan.

Rochelle Shalmoni moved back to Canada after 14 years abroad. When her wireless phone service was cut off because of suspected fraud, she had to contact the credit bureaus to straighten things out.

“I spent two days talking to customer service reps and no one could help,” she said.

A few days later, she sent thanks for connecting her to the right people at Equifax and Transunion to get her phones working again.

My fellow bloggers — Marc Saltzman, Krystal Yee, Sheryl Smolkin and the two Moms on Money (Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew and Peggy Mackenzie) — get an equally strong response to their work.

In his Bucks ’n’ Bytes blog, Saltzman fuses technology with personal finance and turns geek speak into street speak.

In a popular post, he highlighted seven tech bargains found at a dollar store, such as a scientific calculator for $2. Then, he found seven more bargains, such as his wife’s $1 book light, still going after more than two years.

He told readers how to dry out a wet cellphone. (Don’t use a hair dryer.) And in a controversial blog post, he told us about free software that lets you archive YouTube videos to watch offline.

In her 20-Something & Change blog, Krystal Yee focuses on finance issues for young people — such as the right time to buy a home.

“There’s a lot of pressure for my people my age to get into the housing market, even if they aren’t ready,” Yee says.

“There’s a perception that once you become a homeowner, you’re somehow on the right path to financial independence, and that’s simply not true.”

She wrote about the four lies we tell ourselves when thinking of buying a home we can’t afford. (My favourite: It’s better to buy than rent and pay somebody else’s mortgage.)

Yee bought her first home this year and detailed every expense she faced in the first three months, adding up to $10,000. Luckily, she was prepared and had no surprises.

Sheryl Smolkin writes about employment issues in her Eye on Benefits blog, using her legal knowledge and research skills to give meaty advice.

Can the boss cancel your vacation? Can you sue an employer who cuts your pay? And how do you get a fair settlement if you’re fired?

One of Smolkin’s attention-getting blog posts was about a court awarding $25,000 in severance to an employee fired for cause (persistent lateness and making defective aircraft parts).

In their Moms on Money blog, Acharya-Tom Yew and Mackenzie talk about stretching money in busy households with young children and teens.

Beat The Fees, a Moneyville series about customers being nickel-and-dimed on miscellaneous extra charges, “struck a nerve with readers,” says Acharya-Tom Yew.

She helped an older couple recoup some of the fees paid to their bank, though they’d been eligible for seniors’ discounts for years.

Mackenzie gave 10 simple ways to live frugally, followed by 10 more tips from readers. When you take lunch to work, do you put the baggies into the washing machine before reusing them?

Her post about paying $1,900 for three “free” airline tickets with Air Miles was a hit. Many people agreed the fees to transfer points from her in-laws were too high.

You can miss out on big savings — and entertaining writing — if you don’t read the Moneyville blogs. So, get started.

Ellen Roseman writes about personal finance and consumer issues. You can reach her at eroseman@thestar.ca.

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