TheState.com: Business

Withholding cut may create problem

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:45 EST

Stimulus payout may come back to bite you in the tax

That little extra bit of money in the form of a larger paycheck tied to the Obama stimulus plan could end up taking a bite out of your federal income tax refund or even leave you owing taxes.

The stimulus plan lowered federal income tax withholding rates, which results in more take-home pay but less money going toward taxes. The downside is some taxpayers may end up with not enough taxes being withheld to cover what they owe in 2009.

As a result, some taxpayers may need to increase their withholding amount by reducing the number of allowances claimed for the rest of year, which means making changes to a W-4 form available from an employer's human resources department.

Single taxpayers who are working at more than one job and married couples filing jointly in a situation where both spouses work are the most likely groups of taxpayers to be caught short.

People and achievements

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:16 EST

PHT Services associate Nikita O. Walker has earned the Accredited Business Accountant designation.

INSURANCE

Kyle Addy was promoted to vice president of sales management performance at Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Co. He will help oversee account and sales management for the company's 7,000-member independent contractor sales organization. Addy had worked in the sales department, where he organized national sales and training conferences and coordinated annual meetings.

LAW

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein won a Workplace Diversity Award in the small employer category from the S.C. Chamber of Commerce and the S.C. Diversity Council. The firm was cited for focusing on recruiting and retaining women and minority lawyers through special initiatives, including mentoring, annual roundtable discussions and a formal alternative work schedules policy. Parker Poe also created a director of professional development and diversity position to charge a lawyer with overseeing diversity initiatives.

Read up on personal bankruptcy before making a decision

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:44 EST

Declaring bankruptcy is not an easy choice. But for those in dire straits, it can prove a viable option that allows financial recovery.

Bankruptcy comes in different forms. For instance, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy are designed for individuals, while Chapter 11 bankruptcy deals with businesses.

If you'd like to learn what bankruptcy entails, several recent books on the topic are available to consult. Here are a few titles:

"CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCY, 9TH ED." By Stephen Elias and Robin Leonard; Nolo Press, 2008 ($39.99): Includes how to pay certain debts, developing a payment plan and state and federal bankruptcy forms.

"HOW TO FILE FOR CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY, 15TH ED." By Stephen Elias, Albin Renauer and Robin Leonard; Nolo Press, 2008 ($29.99): Explains bankruptcy eligibility and filing, and canceling debt.

What to do if you tap your 401(k)?

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:45 EST

Should a family take a loan out of their 401(k) to pay for braces that cost $5,000?

These days, it might make sense.

While you should avoid taking a 401(k) loan, you might have little choice when credit card companies are stingy, consumer loans are tight or priced high out of reach and home values are so low that some families can no longer take out a home-equity line of credit.

INTEREST SAVINGS

Two economists at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington wrote a paper this year that suggests households could save roughly 20 percent - or about $275 per year - of their overall interest costs if they opted to borrow money from their 401(k) plans instead of taking on expensive consumer debt.

Job interviews: High-stakes improv

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:45 EST

Yes, and ...

Those two words can really help you in a job interview.

Just ask a comedy improvisation teacher.

While the lessons actor and comedian Bill Chott teaches in improv classes in St. Louis may be aimed at those with dreams of stage and screen, he and his students have come to realize that the courses prepare the unemployed for the moment they take a seat opposite a hiring manager.

When you think about it, a job interview is really little more than high stakes improvisation. Anyone who has watched Drew Carey's "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" can attest, improv is all about listening carefully to the cues and responding appropriately - a lot like responding to an interviewer.

Why you should still be waiting for Windows 7

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:45 EST

Microsoft's latest operating system made its debut last week, and so far, it looks to be the company's best operating system yet.

By the time you read this, you've either:

- Already bought and installed it.

- You bought it and it's still sitting there in the box or on the download CD.

- You don't have it yet.

ASSOCIATIONS/CLUBS

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:44 EST

Note: Some clubs might limit participation to one person per business category. Call in advance.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS: 6:30 p.m. second Thursdays, USC College of Engineering, 300 Main St., Room B201; Charlene M. Cassidy, (803) 227-3474, cassidy@pbworld.com

ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTANTS: 1-2 p.m. second Wednesdays; columbiaaga.com

BUSINESS ASSOCIATION OF COLUMBIA: 7:30 a.m. Wednesdays, Summit Club, 1301 Gervais St.; Summers Duffie, (803) 351-4390

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CLUB, GATEWAY DOWNTOWN CHAPTER: 6:45 a.m. Tuesdays, Summit Club, 1301 Gervais St.; scbdc.com

S.C. jobless at wits' end as U.S. rate tops 10%

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:57 EST

Fruitless search for work frustrates, frightens local residents

People streamed into the unemployment office on Taylor Street on Friday - some looking determined and dressed for an interview, others resigned and bedraggled from the job search.

One woman walked out of the door shaking her head and muttering, "no jobs, no jobs, no jobs."

A welder who lost his job after nearly a quarter of a century threw his hands up in the air: "What good has it done me?"

They are all part of the growing fabric of unemployed Americans facing unprecedented financial hardships as the government announced Friday that the national unemployment rate soared last month above 10 percent for the first time in 26 years.

Headquarters for Boeing builder set

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:49 EST

A building group's regional office in Greenville will be the headquarters for a joint venture that will design and build Boeing Co.'s new $750 million 787 Dreamliner final assembly plant in North Charleston, state officials said Friday.

A joint venture of the BE&K Building Group and Turner Construction, with design partner BRPH, has been awarded the design-build contract for the plant, state Department of Commerce officials said.

Construction of Boeing's new facility could create up to 2,000 jobs, state officials said.

The BE&K Building Group's South Carolina regional office in Greenville will serve as the headquarters for the BE&K/Turner/BRPH design-build team, the officials said.

In 2006, BE&K Building Group, in a design-build partnership with BRPH, delivered two major facilities at the site.

Four S.C. bookstores to close

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:50 EST

Borders will close 200 of its Waldenbooks stores nationwide, including four in South Carolina, as part of an initiative to bolster the embattled bookseller.

The S.C. stores that are slated to close: Columbiana Centre in Columbia; Haywood Mall in Greenville; Greenwood Mall in Greenwood; and Mall At Shelter Cove in Hilton Head Island.

The stores will remain open through the holidays, closing by the end of January.

Gift cards bought at the stores can be used at any Borders or Waldenbooks location or borders.com. There is no change for customers who joined the Borders' customer-loyalty program at the closing locations.

The move, which will leave about 130 Waldenbooks stores under the Borders umbrella, will shave 1,500 jobs nationwide.

Wal-Mart's Web deal starts DVD price war

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:50 EST

First it was books. Now it's DVDs.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. started another price war Thursday, trimming the online preorder prices of some upcoming DVDs following its price cut on books last month. And, once again, competitors Amazon.com and Target scrambled to match the prices.

It's the latest salvo in an ongoing online push by Wal-Mart designed to make sure everyone knows it intends to be the low-price leader on the Web, as well as in stores.

The retailer, based in Bentonville, Ark., said late Thursday that it would lower the online prices of new DVDs such as "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" and "Star Trek XI" to $10.

But when Amazon reduced some of its DVD prices to $9.99, Wal-Mart shot back by cutting its DVDs to $9.98 as of Friday morning. Target got into the act Friday morning, too. All three companies also sweetened the pot by offering free shipping for the DVDs being sold.

New 'Call of Duty' aims for entertainment record

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:49 EST

This holiday season's biggest entertainment blockbuster likely will be a sequel to a popular franchise, with jarring depictions of war and an intricate story of good versus evil. It could easily rake in more than last year's record $155 million opening weekend for "The Dark Knight."

But this blockbuster is not a movie.

It is "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," a video game that Activision Blizzard Inc. is releasing Tuesday. Fans worldwide are expected to spend at least half a billion dollars on the game in the first week.

That would at least match last year's "Grand Theft Auto IV," which was the most successful video game release in history and might have been the top entertainment launch ever.

Like the previous five "Call of Duty" games, which are all rated "M" for mature (not for children younger than 17), this one lets players shoot their way through a complex series of scenes. The game's developer, Infinity Ward, spent two years creating realistic graphics that are amplified in many players' homes by big-screen, high-definition TVs and powerful speakers. It's like stepping into a movie.

10% unemployment, then and now

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:50 EST

Here, by the numbers, are some ways how those out of work have changed since the last time unemployment reached 10 percent from September 1982-June 1983:

THE "HE-CESSION"

Men

10.7% - Unemployment rate in October 2009

9.5% -September 1982

New Ford rear seat belts to inflate for safety

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:50 EST

Ford Motor Co. is turning its seat belt into a marketing tool.

Ford said that beginning in 2010, it plans to be the first automaker to offer inflatable rear seat belts, a technology aimed at reducing injuries to children and elderly passengers in a crash.

Like other automakers, Ford is trying to use the different technology as a way to attract new customers, particularly at a time when many vehicles come with six or more airbags and myriad other safety features.

Ford also offers radar-enabled adaptive cruise control and amenities called MyKey, which allows parents to impose certain limitations on teenage drivers, and Sync, a system that permits hands-free interaction with mobile phones and the vehicle's audio system.

Still, safety ranks low on the list of priorities for many shoppers. A survey earlier this year for the retailer CarMax ranked safety fifth out of six factors that consumers consider most important when choosing a vehicle, behind affordability, quality, performance and environmental factors but ahead of design.

Illegal-worker crackdown

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:29 EST

A Mount Pleasant landscaper faces a $24,000 state fine for alleged violations of the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act, officials said Thursday.

Pleasant Places Inc. is the first business in South Carolina to be cited twice for violating the law that went into effect this summer, a state official said.

Since July 1, the state Office of Immigration Worker Compliance has cited 16 businesses for violations of the new law after conducting audits at 550 firms.

Of those cited, only Pleasant Places has failed to correct alleged violations, said Jim Knight, spokesman for the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

The business is accused of failing to verify the legal status of 24 workers hired after July 1, he said. The maximum penalty per violation is $1,000.

Greenville area to lose 190 jobs

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:04 EST

Greenville will lose a piece of its history with the closing of the John D. Hollingsworth on Wheels plant, with the loss of 190 jobs around the holidays.

The company, a supplier of textile machinery, told employees that the plant would close, effective Dec. 31. Severance benefits and career transition assistance is being offered to the employees.

"We will work with our people in any way we can to make the transition as smooth as possible," said William Henderson, president and chief operating officer.

Also, Hollingsworth on Wheels plans to close subsidiaries in Norwood, Mass.; Sylacauga, Ala.; Terrell, Texas; and Quebec, Canada. That affects six of the 190 employees.

Henderson said the decision to close the plant was difficult and "we held on as long as we could. It is a matter of the textile industry disappearing in the South and indeed the United States."

Food Lion says some meat it sold might be contaminated with E. coli bacteria

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:52 EST

Food Lion - which has the largest number of stores in the Midlands - is asking customers to return some ground beef because the chain received shipments that are part of a nationwide E. coli recall.

Some of the Midlands' other major grocers - Wal-Mart, Piggly Wiggly, Bi-Lo and Publix - said they do not carry the tainted meat.

Food Lion, which has 24 Midlands stores, asked on its Web site that customers in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia return any 93/7 ground beef with a sell-by date from Sept. 21-Oct. 8 to stores for refund.

This is the second major ground beef recall to reach South Carolina in five months.

Around July Fourth, some Save-A-Lot, Food Lion and Bi-Lo stores asked customers to return possibly E. coli tainted ground beef recalled by JBS Swift Beef Co. of Colorado.

'New gold rush' under way in N.C. as prices set record

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:59 EST

MONROE, N.C. - For this group of modern-day treasure hunters, there are no yellowed maps or tales of buried riches. But on a chilly fall night during a meeting at a volunteer fire department, there was plenty of gold.

One man pulled a vial from his jeans pocket, rattling the shimmery flakes inside. Another produced a leather pouch from his jacket and carefully removed a palm-sized nugget, half-joking with the others to look, not touch.

Interest in hunting for gold has ballooned in recent months. That's because gold prices have surged to record levels, as people seek safer investments in these uncertain economic times. This week, gold futures hit an all-time high before closing at $1,087 an ounce - about 50 percent higher than a year ago.

Charlotte-area prospectors and mine operators say they're flooded with calls as the unemployed and underemployed turn to the hobby, drawn by its cheap startup costs and the potential payoff. One has even declared it the start of a "new gold rush."

But for Charlotte-area members of the Gold Prospectors Association of America - those who gather each month at the fire station on U.S. 601, just southeast of Mint Hill - it's not about striking it rich. Many have been digging and panning and sifting for decades and haven't sold a single flake.

U.S. productivity soars 9.5 percent

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:45 EST

U.S. companies increased their output in the third quarter even as they slashed working hours, driving productivity up at a 9.5 percent annual rate in the quarter, the Labor Department estimated Thursday.

Unit labor costs - a key measure of inflation - dropped at a 5.2 percent annual rate in the quarter.

Productivity is output divided by hours worked. Output rose 4 percent annualized, while hours worked plunged 5 percent. Real hourly compensation increased at a 0.2 percent annual rate.

With productivity high and real compensation low, companies captured the lion's share of the benefits of higher productivity in the form of profits. Inflationary pressures remained very low.

The huge increase in productivity explains why the U.S. economy could grow at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter even as jobs were being lost at a rapid pace.

Boeing incentives secret

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:51 EST

Politicians and other state officials privately crafted a $450 million incentive deal to land Boeing Co. on the promise of thousands of jobs and a multibillion-dollar economic impact, but the details of that deal could be kept from public view for the next year.

The largest incentive package ever offered in the state will be kept under wraps to give the state Department of Commerce and company executives time to sort out the details. State law allows those agreements to remain confidential until they're finalized, which could take up to a year.

Ashley Landess, president of the S.C. Policy Council, a Columbia-based political think tank, said backdoor government deals aren't in anyone's best interest.

"There is something fundamentally wrong in a system in which politicians shut the door when making decisions about (taxpayer money) and refuse to tell them what they are," Landess said.

An arm of the state Budget and Control Board has determined that Boeing's new 787 aircraft assembly line, which calls for at least 3,800 workers, not counting spinoff jobs from suppliers, will create a $10 billion economic impact during the next 15 years.