Intuit, the makers of the TurboTax tax preparation software, have assembled a squadron of helpers to take your questions over the Twitter microblogging service. The TurboTax Twitter account, @teamturbotax, lists 14 different members ready to offer assistance. The Twitter account's description reads, "TeamTurboTax is who you ask when you have tax, tech or TurboTax questions!"
The odds are high that the tweets to TeamTurboTax will increase with frequency and intensity as April 15th approaches. TurboTax also has a Facebook page.
The U.S. GDP grew by 5.7% in the 4th quarter of 2009 according to the U.S. government. This could be the beginning of a jobless recovery. USA Todayreports that economist were expect a growth rate of 4.5%.
Growth the last three months of 2009 set the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2003 and beat economists' expectations of a 4.5% rate.
"I'm very impressed with what I've seen," says Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group. "The skeptics of the economic recovery are going to have some explaining to do."
The Atlanticnotes that this is just the first GDP estimate and the 4th quarter GDP could ultimately be revised downward.
First, a disclaimer: 4th quarter GDP may not have been 5.7%. In fact, it's very likely it wasn't. This is just the first estimate, and there are two more revisions to come before the number is final. You may recall that 3rd quarter GDP started at 3.5% in its first estimate, only to be revised downward twice, to eventually settle at a much more mild 2.2% rate.
Overall the economy shrank by 2.4% during 2009. Economic growth is expected to slow from the 5.7% Q4 pace during 2010 but positive growth is anticipated. Howver, without new job creation it is also possible the economy could slip back into a recession.
Bank of America's website is back online after an outage. The site was down this morning and this afternoon. Customers were unable to access their accounts to pay end of the month bills.
You're not alone. In fact, people have been having problems with the Bank of America website all day, raising fears it may have been the victim of a cyber attack.
The timing has made the problem even greater, as thousands try to log in to check their accounts before the end of the month (Monday is Feb. 1) and pay end-of-the-month bills.
People were able to get updates from a Bank of America Twitter account, @BofA_Help, during the outage. Bank of America did finally resolve the issue after several hours but did not explain what caused the outage.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) has released its 2010 economic forecast. The NRF projects retail industry sales will increase 2.5 percent from last year. Auto sales, gas stations, and restaurants are excluded from the NRF's forecast. This would be a 5% gain from 2009, when total industry retail declined 2.5 percent.
"As we continue to see signs of improvement throughout the U.S economy in 2010, overall sentiment will begin to lift, making way for slight increases in consumer spending," said NRF Chief Economist Rosalind Wells. "While we still expect shoppers to continue to be frugal with their discretionary spending, retailers will soon be able to reap the benefits of leaner, smarter inventories and a year and a half of pent up consumer demand."
Sales of existing homes slowed
in December, much more than anticipated. The expiration of the government tax credit for first time homebuyers is thought to be a major cause of the drop. Purchases of existing homes were down 17% in the biggest drop since 1968, when records were first kept. Bloomberg reports:
First-time buyers rushed to complete deals before the $8,000 government incentive was due to end, pushing sales up 28 percent in the three months to November. The subsequent extension and expansion of the credit to include closings through June signal demand will strengthen in the first half of 2010, while raising the risk the market will then slow anew should jobs remain scarce.
"We'll see a pickup in existing home sales in the next couple of months,” said Adam York, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina, who forecast a 5.4 million sales pace. Although "we're past the bottom," he said, "I don't think there's going to be a lot of buyers out there looking for a home outside of the tax-induced effects until they feel more comfortable with the labor market."
When all sales figures from 2009 are counted, sales of existing homes rose 4.9 percent to 5.16 million. The median price dropped 12% from the year before, down to $173,500.
In an interesting new article Laura M. Holson of The New York Times looks into the current spending habits of the very wealthy. Fed up with pretending to be paupers, bankers and bankers' wives are finally splashing out on luxury items, such as new cars, new vacation homes and jewelry. But with all the fury on Main Street at the huge bonuses being handed out on Wall Street, wealthy bankers are still keeping their luxury purchases on the down low.
Last year, investment bankers and their spouses kept their wallets shut during bonus season, first, out of panic, and later, fearing mobs with torches would descend upon their gated estates.
Now, after a year of self-imposed austerity and in what is shaping up as a spectacular bonus season, the Wall Street crowd is shaking off what one luxury retailer called its "frugal fatigue." Unlike earlier spending sprees, however, the consumption will be a lot less conspicuous.
On Wednesday, Morgan Stanley said it was setting aside $14.4 billion for salary and bonuses, or $235,000 per employee. A day later Goldman Sachs said it would pay an average of $498,000, with top producers at each of the two banks earning in the millions.
*****
Suzanne Johnson, the general manager of Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship store, said many wealthy customers were suffering from what she called "frugal fatigue." After a year of looking, they are ready to treat themselves. Next month, Saks is holding an event at its Kiton men's wear boutique where made-to-order suits can cost as much as $21,000. It will feature Kiton's craftsmen and is timed to bonus season, she said.
She recalled, too, a couple -- the husband was a banker -- who came in last month and looked at a pair of earrings from the Roberto Coin Cento collection that cost about $5,000. Days later he returned and bought them for his wife. "They are turning 'looking' into an 'impulse buy,'" Ms. Johnson said. "It is about inner self-gratification rather than letting people know how rich you are."
Polls show that Americans are very unhappy with the bank bailouts and the huge bonuses that the bailed out companies' executives continue to receive. Yet at the same time, our economy is driven by spending. After 9/11, for example, many waiters, busboys, limo drivers and other workers became unemployed when people stopped dining out in Manhattan.
Restaurants, hotels, automakers and retailers can't stay open when people -- especially the middle class and the wealthy -- stop shopping, so even more jobs are lost. Which brings us right back to the biggest problem facing our economy today: the lack of jobs. Until more jobs are created, this situation isn't going to improve.
2009 was a very rough year for American consumers. With unemployment at a 26 year high, the majority of Americans have severely curtailed their spending, and have slashed their use of credit cards. Consumer credit dropped a record $17.5 billion in November, as spending stopped, and credit card companies booted customers, raised rates and lowered credit limits.
The slump in credit to $2.46 trillion was more than anticipated and followed a revised $4.2 billion drop in October, Federal Reserve figures showed today in Washington. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a decrease of $5 billion. The figures track credit card debt and non-revolving loans, such as those to buy autos.
A labor market that's shed 7.2 million jobs since the recession started in December 2007 is restraining consumer spending that accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. Fed policy makers have said tighter bank lending standards and reductions in credit lines are hampering the recovery.
"Double-digit unemployment is eroding consumer confidence and the uncertainty is prompting consumers to pay down their credit card debts," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York. "We have not seen such a wholesale reduction in consumer credit since the last time we had double-digit unemployment rate following the early '80s recessions."
The series of 10 straight declines in consumer credit was the longest since record-keeping began in 1943.
Credit card companies are also raising interest and penalty rates, and making other anti-consumer moves to get ahead of a new federal law that regulates credit card company practices. Be sure to read carefully anything you get from your credit card issuer in the next several months.
Warren Buffett has come out opposing Kraft's hostile takeover bid of Cadbury. Buffett is the largest shareholder of Kraft through his company Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett has scuttled deals in the past that he didn't think were good deals for shareholders: he sunk Coke's proposed takeover of Quaker Oats.
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Kraft's biggest shareholder, urged fellow investors to oppose a plan to issue as many as 370 million shares to help buy the U.K.-based candy maker. Kraft Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld is seeking a "blank check" for the deal, Berkshire said yesterday.
"I think Buffett's got it nailed," said Donald Yacktman, founder of Yacktman Asset Management Co., which holds Kraft shares. "Kraft is hemmed in -- there's only so much theyre going to be able to do to make this acquisition."
Buffett, who has said shareholders must act like owners, urged caution in negotiations after Cadbury rejected Krafts bid of 10.6 billion pounds ($17 billion). In publicly asking others to join him, the 79-year-old Berkshire chairman is drawing on his power as a 9.4 percent owner of Kraft and his standing in financial markets as the worlds preeminent investor.
Berkshire said it may support a Cadbury takeover if it concludes this month that the final offer "does not destroy value for Kraft shareholders." Buffett's assistant, Carrie Kizer, said the company had no comment.
"If he says no, everybody else is going to pile on and say no too," said Justin Fuller, a partner at Midway Capital Research & Management who runs the buffettologist.com Web site.
Buffett's public statement could be a nail in the coffin for the takeover bid, much to the annoyance of the Kraft board of directors. Many Kraft shareholders will go along with whatever Buffett recommends.
CNN reports that oil neared $80 a barrel as the year came to an end. The prices are up because crude oil inventories have been falling.
Oil prices have recently pushed higher on falling crude inventories. A government report Wednesday showed supplies declining for a third straight week.
Prices were also supported by a softer dollar, which edger lower against the euro and the pound. Crude oil, like other commodities, is priced in dollars, and a weaker greenback tends to boost prices.
Oil prices are expected to head higher in 2010, fluctuating between $85 and $95 a barrel, according to Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president of energy at MF Global.
This is not a good sign for drivers and businesses that rely on cheap gas prices. The article says oil is expected to climb even higher in 2010. This means gas price will climb a little closer to 2008 highs when the summer driving season hits this year. It is going to be hard on Americans who are already struggling because of the weak economy. It is also going to put additional strain on consumer spending.
Said to have the largest home Christmas lights display in the nation,
billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones always puts on a show at the holidays. His light display at his
Connecticut home is overwhelming, to say the least. The Wall Street Journal's Alan Murray drove by to get some film, but a cop told him he wasn't allowed to. Naturally, he kept on filming. Take a look:
Now here's something you don't see every day: Darth Vader ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Vader, several Storm Troopers and R2-D2 were all representing Lucasfilm Ltd. Take a look:
New figures from the Commerce Department show that retail spending is starting to pick up speed. Consumer purchasing exceeded expectations in November, especially in the auto industry, Bloomberg reports:
Sales at U.S. retailers rose more than forecast in November, a sign consumer spending is gathering speed heading into 2010.
The 1.3 percent increase followed a 1.1 percent gain the prior month that was smaller than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Purchases excluding autos climbed 1.2 percent, also more than anticipated and the biggest gain since January.
Households have kept buying automobiles even after government incentives expired, showing the biggest part of the economy was weathering the worst employment slump in the postwar era. The Obama administration is proposing new initiatives in a bid to create jobs, while Best Buy Inc. is among retailers using discounts to lure budget-conscious holiday shoppers.
"Consumer spending continues to surprise on the upside as the economy moves further away from the end of the recession," Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo- Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. In New York, said before the report. "The labor market is showing signs of stabilization and this is giving consumers greater confidence to spend a little more."
The report from the Labor Department showed that the economy lsot 11,000 jobs which is the least number of monthly jobs lost since December, 2007. Of course, the economy needs to create more than 100,000 jobs a month just to keep up with demand for jobs, so when a loss of 11,000 jobs in a month is heralded as "good news" you know the economy is really, really bad. Still, losing 11,000 jobs in a month is better than shedding 50,000.
When Hershey's threw its hat into the ring of potential purchasers for Cadbury, Cadbury share prices started rising. Now reports say that Nestle is interested in bidding for Cadbury, as well. In response, Kraft foods is said to be willing to raise its offer for the British chocolate company.
Kraft, led by Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld, made an unsolicited 10.3 billion-pound ($17 billion) approach for Cadbury two months ago. The world's second-largest food company may increase that offer if rival bidders emerge, Reuters said late yesterday, citing a person it didn't identify.
Hershey's controlling trust wants the company to make a $17 billion offer, the Wall Street Journal reported Nov. 20. Nestle is reviewing its options with bankers and may decide against a bid, said two people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.
"Every confectionery company of any decent size is going to be looking at this because it's a one-off opportunity," said James Amoroso, a food industry consultant in Walchwil, Switzerland. "They'd be stupid not to examine it."
Cadbury shareholders are quite happy that the bidding war is starting to heat up. The shareholders were unhappy with Kraft's lowball offer for the maker of Cadbury milk and other popular chocolate items. We hope that whoever buys the company keeps the same manufacturing plants so that the quality stays the same.
The charitable trust that owns Hershey Co. is urging
has decided that it wants to go mano a mano with Kraft Foods and battle it out for control of Cadbury PLC. Kraft is in the middle of attempting a hostile takeover of Cadbury, but the offer price is so low that shareholders want nothing to do with it -- so far.
The Hershey's Trust has reversed its position that expansion is bad and has decided that it must grow so that the trust can continue its charitable activities, such as funding a school for disadvantaged children. It had always opposed the idea of a merger before, but in the current economy it believes that it's time to look at expansion.
It is now urging Hershey's chief executive, David West, to make a competing offer to the $16.5 billion bid Kraft made earlier this month for Cadbury, people familiar with the matter say.
A bid, if one emerges, wouldn't be ready for at least two weeks, and the potential terms remain in flux.
One possible scenario, said these people, would include at least $10 billion in cash from Hershey, plus $2 billion in new Hershey shares. A third component of this package would be an additional $3 billion to $5 billion in cash from rich investors in exchange for equity in Hershey, these people said.
The investors are being courted by Hershey adviser Byron Trott, a former Goldman Sachs banker known for his close relationships with Warren Buffett and other rich investors.
*****
Mr. Hershey was considered as much a philanthropist as an entrepreneur. He held the view that businesses and their leaders were morally obligated to share their wealth with society. So as he built the chocolate company he raised a town as well -- erecting a bank, a department store, churches, golf courses, a zoo and a trolley system.
In 1909, he and his wife, Catherine, founded a school for orphan boys, now called the Milton Hershey School. He later transferred his wealth, including his company ownership, to Hershey Trust Co., which administers the school's trust.
If Hershey's does buy Cadbury it will be interesting to see how that all plays out. Kraft Foods is no doubt quite unhappy at the prospect of a new bidder in the game.
Bank of America's 
The National Retail Federation (NRF) has released its 2010 economic forecast. The NRF projects retail industry sales will increase 2.5 percent from last year. Auto sales, gas stations, and restaurants are excluded from the NRF's forecast. This would be a 5% gain from 2009, when total industry retail declined 2.5 percent.
Warren Buffett has 
