Breaking Financial News

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 8.2 percent to 88.8 in May from an upwardly revised 82.1 in April [from 81.9] and is 13.4 percent higher than the 78.3 reading in May 2010. The data reflects contracts but not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.
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This is the first time since April 2010 that contract activity was above year-ago levels …

This was very close to Tom Lawler’s forecast.
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Greece faces another critical test Thursday, when parliament is set to hold an article-by-article vote on the legislation implementing the austerity plan and a promised 50 billion privatization program.Another vote tomorrow …

Tags: Home Sales, Pending Home, Pending Home Sales, Sales

Good news if you use your car for business, medical or moving purposes: The IRS is raising the tax-deductible mileage rate to offset high gas costs.

Starting July 1, when you use your car for business, you’ll be able to write off 55.5 cents (the standard mileage rate) for each mile you drive through December 31, 2011. This is a 4.5-cent increase from the amount you could deduct the first half of the year. For more information about using the standard mileage rate when deducting expenses for the business use of your car, see Tax Topic 510.

The standard mileage rate for calculating deductible moving or medical expenses also will increase by 4.5 cents to 23.5 cents a mile. If you use your car to move and the move is connected with taking a new job at least 50 miles farther from your old home than your old job was, you can write off 23.5 cents for each mile you drive. You don’t have to itemize on your tax return to claim this deduction.

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Tags: Irs, Irs Helping

MILTON FRIEDMAN famously called for the abolition of the Federal Reserve, which he thought ought to be replaced by an automated system that would increase the money supply at a predetermined rate and so keep a lid on inflation. A virtual version of this now exists.

Bitcoin, the world’s “first decentralised digital currency”, was devised in 2009 by a programmer called Satoshi Nakomoto (thought not to be his, or her, real name). Unlike other virtual monies, such as Second Life’s Linden dollars, it can be used to purchase real-world goods and services. And rather than relying on a central monetary authority to monitor transactions and manage the money supply, Bitcoin is run by a peer-to-peer network (akin to file-sharing services like BitTorrent).

This absence of a central monetary authority to control the money supply is what many find exciting about Bitcoins. Quantitative easing is not possible.

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No, its not too late to claim the credit, which can knock $2,500 off your income tax bill. Generally, you have up to three years after the date you filed your original federal tax return to amend it, but the sooner you file, the sooner youll get a refund. You can file an amended return for any deduction or credit you discover youve missed during that time period.

Download Form 1040X from IRS.gov, enter the year of the return you are amending, fill in the new numbers, and attach any tax forms that are affected by the change.

Reducing your federal tax bill could also lower your state income tax bill. File your amended federal return first, get a copy of the transcript of your account from the IRS (confirming you amended your federal return), and then file an amended return with your state, along with a copy of your federal Form 1040X.

For more ideas about tax breaks you may have missed in 2010, see The Most Overlooked Tax Deductions.

Tags: Tax, Tax Breaks