Archive for March, 2008
March 31, 2008 12:38PM
By Cheryl Casone
I was in the Dallas Ft. Worth airport last night. Why can’t the airlines get it together? Honestly, I was two hours late leaving for Dallas, and 90 minutes late leaving for JFK. I won’t name the airline, but let’s just say they don’t have “those excuses” anymore. Are you trying to alienate the flying public. Makes me wonder if there are smaller airlines out there that could swoop in and steal the flying public. We all know loyalty is no longer on the table!
But, I digress. My first sighting of a Fox News gift shop. Here’s the pics:
March 26, 2008 6:59AM
By Cheryl Casone
There is another side to these foreclosures, and we saw more evidence of it today. Prices are coming back to realistic levels. That my friends, is a positive. WE NEED THIS.
I know what you are thinking: that I am being insensitive. I am not. People are losing their jobs, their savings, and their homes. It is awful, and I feel terrible for them. But, I would say to them, that hard times make you stronger, and the lessons we all learn (and I have learned this the hard way), is that living beyond our means is a sickness with no cure.
A friend of mine in Phoenix is a real estate broker. I called her over the weekend to catch up because I figured she had nothing to do. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. She is busier than ever. She is handling five deals right now, but instead of them being between individuals, it is her clients buying foreclosed homes from banks. She said it is difficult to deal with the banks instead of individuals, but still, these are homes that are off the market, and hopefully the people that lost them can make a new start….or learn a good lesson. But…..
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March 25, 2008 2:10PM
By Cheryl Casone
Every Friday, Tracy Byrnes joins us on the show to share her tax tips. She and I got to talking, and we want to know what questions you guys have. So here is Tracy’s full list. It is really really long, so go through it, and then leave your questions and your name in the comments section. We will answer them on the air or I will have her reply here on the blog.
Happy Filing!
CC
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March 22, 2008 12:19AM
By Cheryl Casone
As promised here are Tracy’s Tax Tips from Friday. Tracy is going to be joining the show each Friday, giving us her weekly dose of reality. Taxes, they are a certain thing, and she certainly knows what she is talking about.
As posted earlier at www.foxbusiness.com but just in case you missed it:
While your kids clearly aren’t going to save your hairline, they might actually save you some money.
To start, you’ll get a $1,000 child tax credit dependent child under age 17 as long as your adjusted gross income doesn’t exceed $110,000 as a married couple or $75,000 as a single person.
Then, if you pay someone to watch your kids, ages 13 and younger, so you and your spouse can work or go to school, you may also qualify for the child and dependent care credit. That could be as much as $1,050 for one kid and $2,100 for two or more.
So add up those daycare or after-school care costs. And if your kids went to day camp this summer so you could work, incorporate those costs too. Don’t bother with sleep-away camp, though. Uncle Sam considers sleep away camp a luxury, not a necessity. (Does he have kids?)
To calculate your credit, include up to $3,000 of your annual expenses for one child, or up to $6,000 for two or more kids.
CC
March 19, 2008 1:15PM
By Cheryl Casone
I hate a thief. Nothing gets my blood boiling more than someone who takes what they didn’t earn in a legal honest way. Insert Wall Street joke here…..I know right? But, seriously, we had a great segment on the show today about an unsolved art heist in Boston that goes back 18 years.
Boston’s famous Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was robbed in a heist worth 300 million dollars. Two men posing as policemen came during the night, said they were responding to a 911 call, then tied up the night guard, and made off with their loot. Thomas McShane is a retired FBI agent who is still following, and trying to solve the case. He joined us today.
Here’s the video:
I have to say I was fascinated by his answer to “how do you sell this stuff once you steal it?” He said most of the time it is an insurance company shakedown. And while thieves that go after diamonds for instance have a good knowledge of their target, many art thieves are actually clueless about what they are trying to steal.
Here is a list of the most notorious, and expensive art heists on record:
Iraqi Looted and Stolen Artifacts (Value is priceless – looted from Iraqi Museum, up to 7K-10K remain missing)
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist ( value of $300M)
Theft of Carvaggio’s Nativity with San Lorenzo and San Francesco (value of $20M)
Theft of the Davidoff-Morini Stradivarius (value of $3M)
The Van Gogh Museum Robbery (value of $30M)
Theft of Cezanne’s View of Auvers-sur-Oise (value of $3M)
Theft of Da Vinci’s Madonna of the Yarnwinder (Recovered – valued at $65M)
Theft of the Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Murals, Panels 3-A and 3-B (value at $4M)
Theft from the Museu Chacara do Ceu (value not estimated)
Theft of Van Mieris’s A Cavalier (value over $1M)
CC
March 18, 2008 6:49AM
By Cheryl Casone
How many times did we ask that question Monday! Did Alan Schwartz know what was going on at Bear Stearns when he went on LIVE television, and said we have no liquidity problems? Did he sit there, and blatantly lie to the viewers, the analysts, and his own employees? There has been oh, I don’t know, ten to twenty different opinions on this one. Wayne Rogers was on with myself and Liz Claman, and he said if he didn’t know, because let’s be honest, that is very possible, then he doesn’t deserve to be the CEO, and he is doing a bad job.
So, the other side of the coin: he knew, and he was out and about telling analysts behind closed doors that things were fine. He was setting up interviews with journalists, and saying things were fine. Do I believe that a CEO could do that? Sure! Enron anyone? Worldcom, or (insert 90’s corporate scandal here.) Do I believe in these days, in these times, that Schwartz did that? No, I don’t. I think he was on television Wednesday, and he realized Thursday that the market rumors were taking over, and other banks and hedge funds were pulling their trades, and asking questions later, or well, never actually.
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March 14, 2008 6:58AM
By Cheryl Casone
I have two things to share with you. One is exclusive to those that are kind enough to check out this blog every day, and the other is for those that have been losing money and have felt frustrated with what has happened to the markets and our economy these last six months.
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March 11, 2008 2:00PM
By Cheryl Casone
These are pictures from a book party I attended last week at Mickey Mantle’s here in New York City. The guest of honor was John Huddy, daughter of Fox’s own Juliet Huddy (of Mike and Juliet). His book, “Storming Las Vegas” is a true story set in Vegas when the town was trying to reform itself into a family friendly destination.
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March 9, 2008 7:12PM
By Cheryl Casone
I am watching a 60 Minutes piece on activist/shark investor Carl Icahn right now. I use both terms, because some people like him, and some do not. It got me to thinking about tomorrow, Monday, the 10th. First, let me tell you what I’ve heard over the weekend. They are calling it “constipation”. Really! Banks don’t want to loan money to individuals, because there is no one on the other side (investors) that will buy those investments (mortgages) from them. We are in financial gridlock. I know you have heard this before, but I am telling you as I write this, nothing has changed, and no one seems to think it will get better in the next few months. Some small banks may go, will go, out of business. Some large banks may have to merge. Worst case scenario, still in the realm of possibility, is that a major New York bank will file for bankruptcy. Again, a tough pill to swallow, but nevertheless, a real possibility.
Also, rumors here in town, and I have friends that confirm this to me, there are layoffs looming. If you read the business gossip blogs, they allege that Goldman Sachs is laying folks off, and calling it attrition, or whatever. But, in reality, it is layoffs, and that is just one name. Look across the news everywhere. I saw headlines cross about a good friends major firm making cuts. It was downplayed by AP, but my source at that bank says, it was bad, it was ugly, and there are more, and everyone is nervous. First they lost bonuses, now it is their jobs.
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March 6, 2008 2:29PM
By Cheryl Casone
I am so frustrated after a segment today, I need to vent. Jeff Flock, our Chicago bureau reporter, who is absolutely an amazing reporter, did a story today about debit cards that withdraw money from your 401(k). Jeff was not endorsing these cards, but covering the story, fair and balanced, on why folks are signing up and what they offer.
I had a huge fit halfway through the segment. Click here to watch the video:
The chance that you will actually pay yourself back is so minimal, so tiny, so off the charts small, that this is a horrible idea, and I’m frustrated that a company has decided this is something effective to offer. We already have the option to borrow against our 401(k), why add an ATM option to this?
The answer of course, is money and fees. Everyone wants to make a buck, and while I believe in capitalism, I also know there are many credit companies who will and do take advantage of consumers. Americans are not saving enough as Jeff mentioned, and then some folks just can’t keep their hand out of that 401(k) cookie jar.
CC
