World Business

Consider a few new wrinkles then preparing your 2008 returns. A CPA offers practical tips without interruption depreciation, vehicle costs, and other items

By Karen E. Klein

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The conventional enlarged views adhering yearend tax planning is to accelerate deductions and defer income. But 2008 may subsist the year conventional wisdom gets upended. CPA Michael Hanley, of Merl & Hanley in Smithtown, N.Y. offers seven tips to keep in take notice of over the next six weeks.

1. Book a tax-planning meeting or phone call with your accountant to devise a yearend strategy specifically with a view to your firm. Why the need for fine-tuning? Some small companies’ revenues are below the horizon for 2008, not for the reason that their business has declined but because pinched customers are profitable their bills more slowly, Hanley says. That means superadded revenue will drop in as late payments during in good time 2009—just when tax rates may go up under a new Presidential administration, he says. "Some companies may have the equivalent of 10 months of income this year, and 14 next year. That means they may not want to defer additional income into 2009," he says.

2. Take favorable opportunity of bonus depreciation. For qualified assets placed in service in 2008, you may claim an extra 50% deduction in addition to normal depreciation and deductions available under the Internal Revenue Code’session Section 179. The Section 179 "expensing" deduction allows a business to write opposite the full cost (for better reason than depreciating it from one to another several years) of certain business estate, including machinery, vehicles, gear, and computers, up to a settled dollar level. For 2008, the greatest deduction limit was increased to $250,000, Hanley says. Note that the asset must be "placed in service" in 2008: That means you can’t deduct the cost of a computer system you’ve ordered but that won’t be operating in your office until January. "If you need a piece of equipment, make the purchase and get it working now," Hanley says. "People looking to win their sales quotas for the extreme point of the year are definitely going to be offering some good deals."

3. If you have a vehicle that you use both for work and business, increase your pursuit driving and decrease your exterior driving to get the greatest in quantity out of the tax withdrawal for personally owned vehicles. "If you’ve driven a total of 10,000 miles by the end of the year, and 6,000 were business miles, while 4,000 were personal miles, you can suppose 60% of the other vehicle expenses, like oil changes and maintenance, being of the kind which a trade deduction," Hanley says.

Alternatively, you can choose to take the standard mileage degree as being 2008. That was 50.5¢ per mile for the first half of 2008 and 58.5¢ per mile in favor of the inferior half. (Only small business owners that file Schedule Cs, such as sole proprietors, are allowed to prefer which way to take their vehicle deductions, Hanley points out.)

4. If your company operates on the accrual lowest part for tax purposes, fix your employees’ premium amounts before Jan. 1, but pay them early nearest year. Generally, the bonuses aren’t taxable to employees until 2009, goal they can have being deducted upon the body your congregation’s 2008 return so long being of the kind which they’re announced in 2008 and paid by Mar. 16, 2009, Hanley says.

5. If you’re doing major renovations at your business location, make sure you schedule repairs and maintenance jobs separately, Hanley says. "Capital improvements aren’t deductible as profession expenses, like basic repairs are. Instead, improvement costs are added to the ‘basis’ of the property for levy purposes." Lumping every one of the work into individual project could cheat you out of 100% deductible avocation expenses.

6. Keep detailed records of collection efforts that will support any deductions you take for disappointing obligation that becomes worthless in 2008. If you can’t get individual of those pinched clients to pay up, you can write the amount off provided you can seem you made a good-faith exertion to collect the debt. That means keeping records of telephone calls, letters, and other efforts you’ve made to get the money, including hiring a collection service (BusinessWeek.com, 7/11/08).

7. If you’ve had a good year and you need to increase your deductions for 2008, consider rescheduling function trips planned for forward next year into December, Hanley says.

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The holiday outlook is gloomy, but online retailers can react faster with discounts, free shipping, and other Web promotions than stores can

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Nicole DeBoom (BusinessWeek SmallBiz, 4/16/08) watched online sales at her women’s sportswear company drop 25% in timely November—a sign that buyers were pulling end just when holiday shopping should have started. So DeBoom, who is great executive of SkirtSports, a five-person company she founded three years ago in Boulder, Colo., planned to cut prices 30% on old inventory at the company’s online outlet, SkirtSportsOutlet.com, starting the Monday after Thanksgiving.

"We contrive it’ll scintillation a major feeding frenzy. Our margins are going to catch a hit, goal at this point, we just need power," DeBoom says. She hopes the discount determine keep sales in succession a level with the 2007 holiday season, even as her profits shrink for the cause that of those thinner margins.

Small retailers like SkirtSports that sell online aren’t waiting to see whether recession-spooked consumers will moisten online growth. They’re taking steps now to shore up in the manner that much business as practicable. In the past, online sales have sustained year-over-year increases of 20% or more during the holidays, even being of the kind which broader retail sales grew much more slowly. But that’s likely to change this year. Market researcher TNS Retail Forward predicted online holiday sales have a mind grow 9% over last year, while Forrester Research (FORR) look forward to 12% growth. ComScore (SCOR) reported six consecutive months of slowing growth in online retail, with October sales up just 1% over October 2007. In the third fourth part, online retail sales grew just 0.3% (seasonally adjusted) over the second quarter of 2008, according to Census data released Nov. 19. That comminute the broader retail sector, which shrank 1.4% in the same period, otherwise than that the July-September full stop was among the worst quarters of online expansion ever—and most of the divide preceded the financial crisis that began to snowball in mid-September.

Still, small retailers with an online presence recognize they are better positioned to drive sales than their brick-and-mortar counterparts facing the field of empty stores (BusinessWeek.com, 9/23/08). "The general mood we’ve seen is that online retail is resilient but not immune to the economic downturn," says Larry Joseloff, vice-president for make contented at Shop.org, the digital arm of the National Retail Federation. Joseloff says online retailers be possible to adjust tactics in response to shoppers, because copy DeBoom did with her clearance market. "From an online perspective, you can change your promotions remarkably quickly," he says.

Just as SkirtSports is betting on discounts to jump-start sales, appealing to bargain hunters online may be the best hope for inconsiderable retailers. "Shoppers are looking since value and more well-suited to be searching instead of price information and price comparisons," says Frank Badillo, senior economist at TNS Retail Forward. Retailers are becoming more prone to be the assailant this year with Internet promotions aimed at thrifty shoppers. For example, online gourmet retailer Zenobia Nuts on the Net started offering customers who try to navigate away from their page a 10% discount code, which helps convert browsers to buyers, according to Zach Bobker, the company’sitting e-commerce director. The service, from a vendor called UpSellit, has helped the Bronx (N.Y.) family business boost orders 10% in like manner far this make palatable. The company also began free two-day shipping last year, which Bobker says increased sales particularly for holiday holy orders.

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S&P’s latest catalogue features its top-ranked real estate investment trusts

By Beth Piskora From Standard & Poor’s Equity Research

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It’s been a tough real estate market, on the contrary S&P Equity Research is alembic enthusiastic about fix upon real estate investment trusts (REITs). Since the rise of November, S&P equity analysts downgraded CBL & Associates (CBL) to 3 STARS (hold) from 4 STARS (buy) and Kimco (KIM) to sell from hold, reflecting the difficult operating environment for REITs.

But short-term pain could turn into long-term profits, especially for the 4- and 5-STARS (sharp buy) REITs featured in this week’s list.

"The harsher credit environment and weak economy has forced some REITs to scrap or stop short their development plans," explains Robert McMillan, an S&P REIT equity analyst. "New deal out in small portions and industrial space had even now started declining in advance of the September/October credit crisis (due to higher interpretation costs), but should plummet in 2009. Long term, this should have positive implications for the larger REITs through giving them better pricing power."

Here is S&P’s list of 4 STARS and 5 STARS-ranked REITS:

Company

Ticker

S&P STARS Rank

Alexandria Real Estate

ARE

4

American Campus Communities

ACC

4

Equity Lifestyle Properties

ELS

4

Essex Property Trust

ESS

4

Macerich

MAC

4

Mack-Cali Realty

CLI

4

National Retail Properties

NNN

4

Nationwide Health Properties

NHP

4

Plum Creek Timber

PCL

4

Regency Centers

REG

4

Simon Property Group

SPG

5

Sun Communities

SUI

4

Taubman Centers

TCO

4

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The bank’s sinking shares mark investors have lost confidence in CEO Vikram Pandit and it may be headed for a auction or one more bailout

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Pedestrians walk by a Citigroup building in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

By Mara Der Hovanesian

Investors are quickly losing faith in Citigroup (C). Shares of the company, once the largest and mightiest U.S. bank by the agency of assets and market value, receive fallen 66% in November, and finished down 1.85, to 4.55, on Nov. 20. The last time the shares traded that low was 14 years since. While the stock sank, the price soared on its credit default swaps, which measure the cost of insuring Citi’s debt—another worrisome sign. The mart woes are raising scheme that some sort of government intervention or major outside investment may be necessary.

Says William Fitzpatrick, an equity analyst at Optique Capital Management: "Clearly the solvency issue is back upon the table."

Citi is doing its best to calm investors, reiterating that the bank isn’t in dangerous condition. Citi issued a stiff statement on Thursday, Nov. 20, saying that it "has a remarkably strong capital and liquidness position and a unique global franchise. We are focused without ceasing executing our strategy, including our targeted expense and bequest asset reductions, and we believe the benefits will have being seen over time."

Indeed, Citi has bolstered the metropolis on its books in recent weeks. Less than two weeks ago, the bank—which is now fifth-largest in terms of assets—received $25 billion from the federal government, individual of nine commitments made to large banks for a piece of the $700 billion bailout. Citi too received unused assurances from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, formerly the bank’s largest shareholder, who said publicly he intended to increase his picket by $350 million, to 5%, from less than 4%, and pledged "full and without fault support to Citi management."

After the Nov. 20 mart end, analyst Richard X. Bove of Ladenburg Thalmann (LTS) dashed off a note reiterating his buy rating for Citi, arguing that the mound has over-confident net free cash flows, a strong first-rate dishonorable, and a diversified business base. Bove says in the end "coin flows are all that matters" and that it would "take a Depression each bit as spacious and long as the 1930s debacle to shake this company’s viability.…I would subsist a buyer of this stock."

Still, the market shrugged done the support and Chief Executive Vikram Pandit continues to lose market confidence. Says Len Blum, managing director of Westwood Capital: "I don’t plan that Pandit has really shown the market that he has any superscription. They are turning into an also-ran."

Losing the Wachovia (WB) acquisition to rival Wells Fargo (WFC) in October was "a big blow" to Citi, says Blum, and now "each one of its employees is absolutely distracted for fear of loss their jobs. They’re not calling in succession accounts and clients." On Nov. 17, Pandit announced a plan to eliminate 52,000 jobs (BusinessWeek.com, 11/18/08) as duty of a program to cut expenses 20%. William B. Smith of Smith Asset Management in New York says it’s not enough and has renewed his call beneficial to a breakup: "The board and management have breached their fiduciary responsibility to shareholders and employees. Can [anyone] still exculpate Pandit?"

Mostly, the market is spooked by two large unknowns: What is the extent of damage and losses in the bank’s derivatives portfolio, and how bad will the consumer downturn continue to pressure results?

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Investors seek bargains after Thursday’s emporium rout

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U.S. stocks were higher Friday without ceasing short capsule and bargain hunting after Thursday’s plunge to some 11-year low. November options expire on Friday.

Congress was headed home for Thanksgiving, leaving U.S. automakers automakers still struggling for loans to keep going.

Shares of Citigroup (C) continued to plunge after CNBC reported principal person executive Vikrum Pandit said he does not want to sell Citi’s Smith Barney brokerage unit.

Bonds were sharply lower. The dollar index was lower. Gold futures and crude oil futures were higher.

European reposit markets were of various kinds Friday, with London stocks higher, while major indexes in Frankfurt and Paris headed lower. Asian markets perfect mixed, with Tokyo stocks rising 2.70% and Hong Kong gaining 2.93%, but Shanghai falling 0.72%.

On Friday at about 10:45 EST, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 84.66 points, or 1.12%, to 7,636.95. The broad S&P 500 director gained 7.31 points, or 0.97%, to 759.75. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 5.43 points, or 0.41%, to 1,321.55.

Stocks were bouncing outer part slightly from a conquer the age before, when stock indexes blasted below their lowest points of the 2002 tech bust, returning to prices not seen since the 1990s. On Thursday, the Dow plunged 444.99 points, or 5.28%, to 7,552.29. The S&P 500 lost 54.14 points, or 6.71%, to 752.44 — its lowest level since April 1997. The Nasdaq fell 70.30 points, or 5.07%, to 1,316.12.

“No single in kind has any confidence in the market with the economy headed into recession, and the financial acme slowly unwinding. Day traders [have been] been pulling the trigger at the in the greatest degree unexpected ages,” says S&P MarketScope.

The most recent reports on Citi’s unwillingness to sell Smith Barney differed with a Wall Street Journal note earlier on Friday that executives at Citigroup, faced through a plunging handle price, began weighing the possibility of auctioning right side pieces of the fiscal monster or even selling the company outright, according to people familiar with the matter. The internal discussions are at a precursory stage, the Journal said, and don’t signal that Citigroup’s board and management are backing down from their solicitousness that the New York company has ample fatal, funding and strategic direction, these people said. Citi’s stock fell 26% on Thursday, its worst one-day percentage decline ever, and Citigroup officials have decided they need to reckon with a ramble of scenarios that were unthinkable only weeks agone.

Reuters reports St Louis Fed President James Bullard said Thursday night that deflation would be excessively damaging to the U.S. economy and through nominal interest rates already true low, quantitative easing may be needed to keep it at bay. “At least over the near terminus, any adscititious influence through interest rate reductions will exist limited and the focus of monetary wisdom may turn to quantity measures,” he told a regional economic conference. Some economists confident the Fed decision cut rates to zero above the next three months, together with actions to boost the money replenish, for example the U.S. central bank takes attacking steps to prevent the world’s biggest economy from Japanese-style deflation and lost decade of growth.

Bullard stressed he saw deflation as a remote risk in the United States, unless one that deserved to be taken seriously. “It would take more doing to get some deflation. But what I do think is the inflation expectations are very fluid right now, and that is one of the primary determinants of what is going to chance,” he told reporters subsequent the speech. “If we do our job it won’t happen and we’re dedicated to that,” he said.

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In a volatile, uncertain time, investors are searching for guidance without ceasing what might come next. BW offers some places they might want to contemplate

By Ben Steverman

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As U.S. stocks hit new 11-year lows on Nov. 20, multiplied investors say they good don’t know what’s ahead.

There’sitting a general lack of clarity on a wide range of issues—the declare of the U.S. and global economies, problems in the confide in markets, the plans of the federal government, and the death of hedge funds that are being forced to sell off assets. Unfortunately, much of the fog of the financial crisis will not be cleared up anytime soon.

However, there are several key signals that traders, strategists, and foundation managers typically not lose sight of closely in times of uncertainty. Given the unprecedented environment, it’s not sharp granting that any will have being a reliable guide this particular period, but these signals do accord. investors something to monitor for clues to the road in opposition.

Here’s a criticise of five of those signals and which they’re saying now:

Technical strategists analyze and predict market action based on previous market moves. This week, the stock market failed a key test: The broad Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index not singly fell below its October 2008 lows, but the big-cap benchmark also blasted below its lows during the nasty bear market of 2002.

On the forenoon of Nov. 20, the S&P 500 in short tested these 2002 lows in the first blush of the morning but then rebounded. But late in the day, stocks sank and the S&P 500 closed at 752.44. That’s below the index’s October 2002 low of 768.63 and the lowest demolish for the index since April 1997.

The 2002 lows are "a major support level," says Dave Rovelli, equity merchant at Canaccord Adams.

Richard Sparks of Schaeffer’s Investment Research says "you could see a cascade of selling" if stocks supporter way below those precursory lows. Before shares hem to this aim, population could "feel comfortable that that is a basement that the market efficiency not mode below."

Michael Yoshikami of YCMNET Advisors criticizes "a general lack of clarity from the Administration [and] federal agencies on what’s happening and what the passage out is."

On Nov. 20, Democratic congressional leaders said they would postpone a vote on a bill to assistance the U.S. auto industry—efforts more Republicans have antagonistic—until December. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has raised eyebrows by the agency of changing the focus of the financial package a few times. Bush Administration officials are in continuance their way out of office, but President-elect Barack Obama hasn’t yet chosen his economic team, whose members would have no actual power until Jan. 20 even if they were in place.

This flow of news from Washington is rattling investors, many market watchers say. "No one really has a good idea that which the plan really is," says Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at R.W. Baird.

Chad Deakins, portfolio conductor at RidgeWorth International Equity Fund (SCIIX), says he doesn’t expect any unmixed signals from Washington to the time when Obama takes office. "Until the new Administration comes to the White House and sets a tone and direction, it’s hard to see strong upside in the equity markets," Deakins says.

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MOSCOW Russia’sitting anti-AIDS coordinator says the number of registered HIV cases is growing 10 percent a year despite increased government funding.

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Vadim Pokrovsky says Russia must spend the funds more wisely by focusing upon prevention as well because treatment in order to slow the make public of HIV.

He says he fears the global housekeeping crisis could threaten future funding.

Pokrovsky says Russia has registered a total of 471,000 people considered in the state of HIV-infected, including greater degree than 50,000 who have died of AIDS-related causes. He told reporters Friday that the actual calculate of people with HIV was likely higher than 1 million.

The government says it budgeted 10.7 billion rubles ($445 million) with respect to the cause last year - at least 50 times more than in 2005.

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SEATTLE As other thing Americans turn to charity amid worsening economic gloom, operators of food banks and other aid groups are relying on the surprisingly resilient generosity of their neighbors and finding that even when times are tough, people pacify give.

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In Seattle, Boeing Co. employees tripled their pay in money donations this year to Northwest Harvest, operator of Washington’s largest food shore. And every week, Northwest Harvest spokeswoman Claire Acey says, companies summons to say their employees have decided to skip their holiday alliance and buy food for the hungry instead.

“We see things like that and they are little beacons of hope,” Acey said.

The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University says that historically, charitable giving has been recession-proof.

Contributions to American charities have increased during 39 of the past 40 years in today’s dollars, and a change in the put a tax upon laws - not the standard market crash - can exist blamed for the drop in 1987, said Melissa Brown, associate director of research for the center. Between 69 and 72 percent of people give routinely, she declared.

Other inquiry by the center has shown a connection between a send down in the Standard & Poors 500 stock index and a decrease in charitable giving, if it were not that the impact is not so much than 1 percent for each 100 points the index drops. Inflation and other economic factors can make void the impact.

Brown said the stock market has a relatively small impact on mild giving nationally. In 2002, at what time the stock market was prostrate, 70 percent of the population still gave an average of $2,000, she said.

“It totaled billions of dollars and companies were going insolvent debtor and people were losing work,” Brown said.

Charities in New York, whose three sisters are tied more directly to the house market, have been be successful harder by a decrease in donations this year, but the general resemblance is more positive.

A survey released this week by Federal Way, Wash.-based World Vision indicates that 2008 could actually be a better-than-usual Christmas towards the nation’s charitable organizations.

The telephone survey, conducted in late October by Harris Interactive, raise that seven in 10 adults plan to spend less money on holiday presents this year, but about half say they are more likely to give a charitable offering than a traditional present like as clothing or an electronic toy.

World Vision hopes to take vantageground of the giving nature of Americans through a holiday gift catalog where presents so considered in the state of chickens and goats go to disadvantaged families in Africa and other parts of the world.

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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan A suicide bomber collection his car into the gate of an army base in southern Afghanistan on Friday and detonated his explosives, killing three civilians, a countrified authoritative said.

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The bombing in Shajoy district of Zabul province also seriously wounded four Afghan army soldiers, Deputy Gov. Gulab Shah Alikhail said. The attacker died in the explosion, he added.

The incident follows a report by the U.S. warlike that Afghan and coalition forces killed four militants in a firefight north of Kabul on Thursday.

The fighting broke out while troops from the U.S.-led coalition were searching a compound associated with Hizb-e-Islami, an Islamic faction led by warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, U.S. forces said in a statement.

People barricaded in the compound fired upon the troops. Coalition and Afghan forces returned fire - killing four people and capturing three others, according to the account.

Thursday’s clash occurred in northern Kapisa province’session Tagab district. Provincial Police Chief Matyullah Safi confirmed the four deaths and that they were members of Hizb-e-Islami.

U.S. forces before-mentioned they besides detained five suspected militants in a separate ratify in Khost province upon the body Thursday.

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Microsoft sought to bring a quick close Thursday to the lawsuit that has produced a steady spring of sometimes embarrassing internal e-mails about Windows Vista, a product whose reputation in the marketplace was already tarnished in the van of it launched nearly two years ago.

The company asked a founded on judge in Seattle to discharge the remaining claims in the class-action suit brought by PC buyers challenging its “Vista Capable” marketing program as deceptive, and to decertify the class.

Microsoft argued that the plaintiffs have not offered evidence that courtship the legal issues in question and their opportunity to do so has largely passed. The deadline for superadded discovery in the case was Nov. 14.

But there has been no shortage of evidence entered into the of the whole not private trace.

Hundreds of pages of e-mails unsealed since the case was filed more than a year and a half ago detail intense internal disagreements above the top least part technical requirements for the Vista Capable marketing program; Microsoft’s sometimes-tense relationship through PC makers and hardware suppliers; and, a board member’s negative at the head reaction to Vista’sitting debut, plagued by means of compatibility problems.

All of this disclosure has garnered headlines, “[b]ut those exchanges make not at all difference on this motion,” Microsoft’s lawyers wrote in the court filing. “Every company has the right to a robust internal debate over what products and features it should offer and at what price points; the law should encourage that strife of words.”

The suit in law’session point of concentration on Microsoft’s internal process around the Vista Capable marketing program — which was designed to maintain demand for PCs in late 2006 and early 2007 before the operating system was released — does not invoke the relatively narrow legal theories on which the case hinges, Microsoft argued.

In February, U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman limited the scope of the case to whether Windows Vista Home Basic can fairly be called “Windows Vista,” and whether the Vista Capable marketing campaign inflated demand for PCs conspicuous with a Vista Capable log, increasing prices.

Plaintiffs have argued that consumers who bought PCs marked Vista Capable were deceived because they were able to upgrade only to the Basic edition of the operating rule.

That version could not run the translucent “Aero” user interface — one of the Vista features Microsoft touted.

In its filing Thursday, Microsoft noted that Basic, probably all editions of Vista, had improvements to security, “such taken in the character of Windows Security Center, User Account Control, and Parental Controls.”

The company also well-known improvements in stability, reliability, and efficiency over predecessor Windows XP — even supposing e-mail disclosed in this case and large reports from Vista’s first year on the market advise otherwise.

Vista caused headaches mostly due to incompatible device drivers and software, problems that have since been addressed.

Microsoft stated that through of a total 83 features, the Vista’s Premium impression had 17 that Basic did not, including Aero, improved file backup, Media Center and a DVD writer.

“Windows Vista Home Basic falls well within the Windows Vista household as technical matter, which should settle the issue,” Microsoft’s lawyers wrote.

Microsoft introduced a “Premium Ready” logo to identify PCs that could be upgraded to the Premium edition.

Citing marketing materials from Microsoft, retailers and PC makers, Microsoft’s lawyers wrote, “the industry made clear that non-Premium Ready PCs would not pursue in thought Windows Aero; no some hid that fact. And Plaintiffs be delivered of not identified any consumer intimation for the time of the program suggesting that a non-Premium expert PC would run Windows Aero.”

The house pointed public that the internal debate from hand to hand the marketing program occurred well in advance of its public unveiling May 18, 2006.

On the question of whether the Vista Capable program increased prices, Microsoft pointed to the plaintiffs’ own expert witness, an economist, who “cannot quantify any greaten in demand or PC prices.”

“He did not perform any pricing studies of PCs. He did not observe whether prices of PCs changed formerly Microsoft implemented the program,” the lawyers wrote.

For these reasons, Microsoft is asking the judge to discard the case, which is scheduled for trial April 13.

Jeff Thomas of Seattle-based Gordon Tilden Thomas & Cordell, representing the plaintiffs, said via e-mail: “We believe that the motions are in the absence of merit and look forward to their resolution so that we may proceed to trial.”

Benjamin J. Romano: 206-464-2149 or bromano@seattletimes.com

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