Investors Flee Stock Funds

The bubble pops. Stock markets tumble. Investors flee.

It is the narrative of nearly every economic boom and bust, as investors scramble to find other places -- besides underneath mattresses -- to park their money.

Investors pulled $10.5 billion out of stock funds in the week ended Dec. 10, up from $3.3 billion the previous week, according to the Investment Company Institute, a trade group for mutual fund managers. A record $72 billion flowed out of stock funds in October, according to the ICI's most recent monthly data.

"We've seen major redemptions out of equity mutual funds," said Alec Young, an equity strategist with Standard & Poor's.

The hits are largely across the board, according to a report from Morningstar: "The heavy redemptions are likely due to the widespread losses that haven't been isolated to a few asset classes but have spread to more conservative asset classes and funds."

Investors also took money out of bond funds, to the tune of $4.2 billion in the week ended Dec. 10 and $2.8 billion in the week ended Dec. 3.

From the start of September through the middle of this month, about 3 percent of the assets in stock and bond funds had been yanked by mutual fund investors, according to the ICI. That's roughly comparable to investor behavior in other bear markets, according to Brian Reid, the chief economist for the group.

Who is moving all this money out of stocks and stock funds? The everyday investor, according to analysts and financial advisers. "The money moving in and out is the general public," Young said. "It's the regular investors or an adviser selling funds. But the general public is making the direction to move money out."

Bernie McGinn of McGinn Investment Management in Alexandria said investor angst really picked up in late November, particularly the week of Nov. 20, when U.S. stock markets suffered heavy losses. "People who I hadn't heard from that much called me to say: 'I can't take it anymore. I want out. I don't care where it goes, but get it out.' "

Where all the money went -- what was left of it, at least -- is hard to say, but assets of retail money-market mutual funds have risen in four of the past five weeks, according to the ICI. The biggest spike came in mid-November, when $8.4 billion flowed into money-market funds in a single week, bringing total retail money-market mutual fund assets to $1.27 trillion. As of Dec. 17, the total had climbed above $1.28 trillion.

U.S. Treasurys have also been a popular parking place.

But that doesn't account for all the money coming out of funds. Analysts at TrimTabs Investment Research estimate that retail investors pulled $86 billion out of long-term mutual funds in November. But the increase in the amount of money that went into savings, certificates of deposit and money markets from October to November was only $5.7 billion, according to Federal Reserve statistics.

Conrad Gann, the president of TrimTabs, thinks a lot of the money actually went to pay down bills, mostly mortgages. "Sadly, we are in code red on the economy right now," Gann said.

So much money is coming out that stock funds long closed to the public are reopening. Morningstar says dozens of funds have reopened this year.

But some mutual fund industry officials and financial advisers say they had expected to see more people flee the markets. Reid notes that in October 1987, investors pulled back 3.14 percent of their stock fund assets when the market collapsed. He said that in 1987 many stockholders were relative newcomers who got into the market during a good run in the mid-1980s -- and were the first out the door when stocks crashed.

Now more people have 401(k) plans through their employers. Currently about 54.5 million, or 47 percent of U.S. households, participate in the market through stock or bond ownership, according to a poll conducted earlier this year by ICI and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. That's up from 39 percent in 1989, the first year for which comparable data are available.

These investors seem reluctant to move the goal posts when it comes to their long-term investment strategy, said Stuart Ritter, a financial planner with T. Rowe Price in Baltimore.

"There certainly are individuals who have done it, and I'm sure lots of people may have considered it, but when it comes to the actions people are talking, it's safe to say you're not seeing people take out everything they have in the stock market," he said. "While what we're going through is uncomfortable and frustrating, it doesn't mean it's time for a wholesale change in approach."

View the Original article

Mortgage scandal boosts investors' campaign to get banks to buy back securities

Since the financial crisis broke out two years ago, unhappy investors in mortgage securities have struggled to organize themselves and achieve a common goal - force big banks to buy back loans that went bad because of shoddy lending practices.

This StoryFull coverage: Foreclosure system in chaosTimeline: Foreclosure debacle

Now, widespread reports of the banks botching their loan paperwork have breathed new life into the efforts by investors, and they say they are organizing their most aggressive legal offensive yet against the biggest bank in the country, Bank of America.

Once run by a loose group of hedge funds, the investors' campaigns have bulged in size in recent weeks, turning them into a force that could recoup tens of billions of dollars from Bank of America and other large lenders and act as a major drain on their earnings.

Previously, this group struggled to force the banking industry to hand over data critical to their lawsuits. Now with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the regulator of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and some of the world's largest funds on board, the investors may be able to compel banks to reveal more about their lending practices.

The newly energized investors present a troubling scenario for the big banks that packaged loans and sold them as securities. On top of fighting off lawsuits from homeowners seeking to challenge foreclosure proceedings, these companies could face months of bitter and costly litigation as angry investors finally unite.

On Wednesday, a team of attorneys leading the charge is holding a conference in New York about failures by banks to properly service loans and their practice of hiring "robo-signers" who signed off on thousands of foreclosure files each month without verifying their accuracy.

The prospect of more lawsuits has already spooked Wall Street. On Monday, Bank of America's stock hit a 52-week low.

"If you think about people who come back and say, I bought a Chevy Vega, but I want it to be a Mercedes with a 12-cyclinder, we're not putting up with that," said chief executive Brian T. Moynihan in an earnings call last week. "We will diligently fight this."

Still, the foreclosure debacle represents a turning point for mortgage investors who have long accused banks of misrepresenting the mortgages they issued. For instance, some investors have accused banks of overstating how many loans were taken out by borrowers using their properties as primary residences, which made the mortgages seem less risky than they actually were.

The robo-signer issue is one more piece of evidence, say investors, that the banks have failed to keep their end of the bargain.

"I think the robo-signers are a battle in a long war," said Bill Frey, chief executive of Greenwich Financial, which filed a suit in 2008 against Countrywide, now owned by Bank of America.

So far, investors have faced two major hurdles in their battle against the banks.

View the Original article

Citing pension costs, Costa Mesa, Calif., plans to lay off nearly half its employees

IN COSTA MESA, CALIF. Nearly half the city workers in Costa Mesa received layoff notices last week. Street sweepers. Firefighters. Mechanics. Payroll clerks. Animal control workers. In all, about 210 of the city's 472 employees, many of whom have worked there for decades. On Thursday, as the notices were being handed out, one maintenance worker committed suicide by jumping from the city hall roof.

"It's like they decided to blow up the city," said Billy Folsom, 58, a mechanic who got a pink slip. "It's devastating."

The cutbacks are necessary because the escalating costs of providing pensions for police, firefighters and other unionized employees are draining the city's revenue, city leaders say.

Within three years, city projections show, more than one of every five tax dollars will be spent on employees' retirement benefits, which were made far more generous in the years before the stock market crashed in 2008.

"Just do the math - this is unsustainable," said Jim Righeimer, the city's recently elected mayor pro tem. He campaigned on the pension issue, eliciting anger and a counter-campaign from the city's police and firefighters. "Under these kinds of burdens, we can't do everything the city needs to do."

The public pension fight

The financial follies of the boom years - by banks that lent too easily, by home buyers who bought places they couldn't afford, by consumers who didn't save - became obvious shortly after the recession.

But many states and cities may have overextended themselves as well, and the risks they undertook are now playing out in the public pension shortfalls provoking political battles across the nation.

Republican efforts to roll back public employee benefits and bargaining rights has triggered mass protests in places such as Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio. But in Costa Mesa, where conservatives dominate city politics, the offensive against public worker compensation has gone further.

During the boom, many state and local governments promised their employees better pensions. Some employees were allowed to retire earlier. Others received a larger portion of their final pay. Financially, it was easy to do; the stock market was soaring, lifting pension fund balances.

Between 1998 and 2008, the last year for which figures are available, total pension payments by state and local governments rose twice as fast as their payrolls, according to census figures.

But now that the recession has led to steep drops in pension funds, those promises to past and present employees may be much harder to keep. Dozens of state and local pension funds around the country are now considered seriously underfunded. By 2009, about 58 percent of state and local pension funds were less than 80 percent funded, a standard benchmark of pension soundness, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

The shortfalls have had far-reaching political ramifications. Already, some politicians ideologically opposed to public employee unions have attributed the problems to their greed and political influence. Now members of those unions are on the defensive.

View the Original article

Treasury: Will begin selling mortgage securities

WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department announced Monday that it will begin selling its remaining $142 billion in holdings of mortgage-backed securities purchased during the financial crisis.

Treasury officials said the first sales of up to $10 billion in the securities, primarily issued by troubled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, would start this month.

Assistant Treasury Secretary Mary Miller said the sales represented a continuation of efforts by the government to wind down the emergency programs put in place in 2008 and 2009 to help restore market stability.

Treasury estimated it could bring in an additional $15 billion to $20 billion over what it paid for the $142 billion in mortgage-backed securities it currently holds. However, that amount would still leave the government with heavy losses from the rescue of Fannie and Freddie in September 2008.

The final cost of the bailout of the two companies has been estimated to be as high as $259 billion, making it by far the government's costliest rescue operation during the financial crisis.

Treasury has retained State Street Global Advisors to manage the sales of its mortgage-backed securities. Officials said they would post an accounting of the sales at the end of each month on Treasury's web site.

The program was designed to stabilize the market for mortgage-backed securities, which investors had started to flee as defaults in the mortgage market began to escalate. Treasury announced in December 2009 that it was halting the purchase of new securities under the program. At the time it had purchased a total of $220 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities.

Treasury said in its announcement Monday that the market for mortgage-backed securities had "notably improved" since 2008 and 2009.

In a fact sheet, Treasury said it planned to sell up to $10 billion of its $142 billion in mortgage-backed securities per month. At this pace, Treasury said the whole portfolio would be disposed of in about one year. But Treasury said if market conditions change, it is possible it will take longer to fully exit from the program.

Treasury said it believed the sales could take place with a "minimal impact" on home mortgage rates.

Treasury said that the announcement to sell the remaining holdings of mortgage-backed securities was not related to the impending battle over the debt limit. Treasury's latest estimate is that the government will reach the current $14.3 trillion borrowing limit between April 15 and May 31.

Republicans are demanding steeper cuts in government spending before they will agree to raise the debt limit. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has warned that failure to raise the borrowing limit would trigger an unprecedented default by the government on the national debt which would drive up the government's borrowing costs.

View the Original article

Half of firms have yet to restore 401(k) match, poll finds

NEW YORK -- Almost half of U.S. companies that reduced or suspended their contributions to employee retirement plans during the recession haven't restored them, according to Towers Watson.

A survey of 334 firms with more than 1,000 employees in April and May found that 18 percent reduced or suspended their contributions to 401(k) plans since September 2008 to save money. About 49 percent of them haven't resumed their matches, the New York-based benefits consultant said this week.

"Some of the companies who have reinstated or who are thinking about reinstating are making the contributions contingent on profits of the company," said Robyn Credico, defined-contribution practice leader in North America for Towers Watson. "If there is ever another downturn they don't have to go through the painful experience of communicating to employees that they're suspending the match."

Companies including General Motors, Ford, Eastman Kodak and FedEx have restored contributions to 401(k) plans, according to the Pension Rights Center, a consumer group based in Washington.

Motorola, with 53,000 employees globally, will reinstate its contributions to employee plans starting July 1, said Tama McWhinney, a spokeswoman for the cellphone maker. Sears, with 290,000 U.S. workers, hasn't reinstated its match, according to spokeswoman Kimberly Freely.

The most common contribution by larger employers is 3 percent if workers save 6 percent of their salaries, Credico said. The average account balance of workers was $71,044, according to the survey, which represents more than 5.3 million plan participants.

Employer matches to workers' contributions help employees increase savings and provide an incentive for them to contribute, said Nancy Hwa, a spokeswoman for the Pension Rights Center.

About 57 percent of firms automatically enroll employees into their 401(k)s, and 72 percent use target-date funds as the default choice for those who don't select their own investments, according to Towers Watson.

Target-date funds gradually move money from riskier investments such as stocks to more conservative investments such as bonds as a worker reaches retirement. They attracted $45 billion last year, according to Morningstar, the Chicago-based fund researcher.

Lawmakers are seeking ways to prevent Americans from outliving their savings as more workers who relied on traditional pension plans are trying to pay for retirement with their 401(k) savings.

View the Original article

Business Highlights

-- ---

Wholesale inventories and sales rise in January

Businesses at the wholesale level added to their stockpiles in January and their sales jumped by the largest amount in 14 months. But the spike in sales was partially influenced by rising oil prices.

Wholesale inventories rose 1.1 percent in January, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. It was the 12th gain in 13 months.

Sales at the wholesale level rose for the seventh straight month. The 3.4 percent increase was the largest gain since November 2009.

Still, a 10.6 percent rise in demand for petroleum helped drive the jump in sales, reflecting higher oil and gas prices.

The rise in inventories left stockpiles at $436.9 billion. That's 13.1 percent higher than the low reached in September 2009, when companies were slashing their stockpiles to keep costs under control during the recession.

Greater sales should encourage businesses to keep restocking their shelves and drive factory production in the months ahead.

---

Mortgage applications spike; home sales still weak

The number of people applying for a mortgage jumped last week. But analysts cautioned that the increase was likely driven by investors, not first-time homebuyers who are needed to help housing markets recover.

The Mortgage Bankers Association says its overall mortgage application index rose 16.1 percent from the previous week, the biggest jump since June. But the index is still far off where it was last spring and summer following four straight months of declines.

View the Original article

Tips for couples to help solve money problems

In my online discussions I frequently get questions from couples facing financial issues.

Q I'm getting married next summer and my fiance and I are in a lot of debt. We live together and have two kids. There is a breakdown in communication when it comes to our finances. I've recommended we talk to a credit counselor, but he shuts down and doesn't want to talk about it. He did agree to go to premarital counseling. I don't know where to begin to get out of debt. I've tried to budget. I feel overwhelmed.

A You are right to be concerned. When a partner refuses to talk when you're trying to work out the financial stuff, that's a huge red flag. Communication is key when it comes to money, and if that's a problem now, it won't get better with a ring. The way to find out if you should get married is to take him up on his interest in going to premarital counseling. Go soon, before you put a penny down on any wedding arrangements. For now, don't stress about what he won't do. Let it all come out in counseling with a neutral party. Find a really good premarital counseling course or instructor. During your search, make sure the person or program incorporates techniques to help budget and tackle the debt in addition to dealing with the emotional issues.

My husband and I are renting a condo but want to buy a house soon. We have about $11,000 in a bill consolidation loan. We have $12,000 in savings. The emergency fund is what's in our savings, but I'm able to put at least $500 a month in there, so it's building. Would it make more sense to keep paying the loan (the minimum is $350 a month, but I usually pay $700 to $1,000) and save what we can, or take the money from savings and pay off the loan and then build the emergency fund back up?

This is what I would do:

-- Calculate how much you need for an emergency fund of at least three months of living expenses (rent or mortgage, food, utilities, cable, cellphone service, etc.). This will give you a benchmark of what you should have on hand before you even think of buying a house.

-- Designate about $2,000 for a "Life Happens Fund" for expenses that come up, such as car repairs. Take this money out of the $12,000 and put it into an account separate from your emergency money. This leaves you with $10,000.

-- Put $5,000 as the beginning for your emergency fund. When you reach the three-month goal, then start saving for the housing fund.

-- Take the rest of your savings -- $5,000 -- and pay down the $11,000 loan. If you are paying upward of $1,000 a month on that loan, you will be done with it in six months.

My partner continues to run up credit cards, and I keep helping him pay them off. He promises me every month that he's not going to do it again. But sure enough, like clockwork, he runs them up again within a few weeks, mainly through online shopping when he's bored. Any tips on how to help him to stop?

Stop yourself. You are part of the problem. He knows you will be there with the money for a bailout. Quit helping him, and he'll have to face up to his problem.

My girlfriend of two years has about $50,000 in debt and donates $3,000 to $5,000 a year to various charitable events. I have no problem giving to charity, but am I a bad person for thinking that paying off debt should come before giving away about 20 percent of her take-home salary? Right now it is her money and she can do what she wants, but I'm thinking of the future when we get married.

I think it's great she wants to give, but you are right to be concerned that she may not be aggressively attacking the debt. But the answer isn't in encouraging her to stop giving. Instead, say: "Honey, I'm worried about how much you have in debt. Do you mind if I help you budget or recommend a source that could help you get rid of your debt?" If she doesn't want the help, just sit back and watch. If getting rid of the debt isn't a priority, you are facing the future with conflicting values.

View the Original article

First Rumblings of New Investment?

Boeing workers inspect landing gear on a jetliner. United has solicited proposals from Boeing and Airbus. It plans to buy up to 150 jets.(By Elaine Thompson -- Associated Press)

View the Original article

Cash-rich real estate investors trigger bidding wars, frustrate other buyers

"Melissa Diggins and her fiance, George Mills, live in the basement of his parents' house in Woodbridge with their two Great Danes, the tan-colored Achilles and Odin. They made a dozen offers on houses in Prince William County, some well above the asking price, but lost out on all of their bids, more than half of the time to investors making all-cash offers. "We thought to ourselves: 'Enough is enough,' " Diggins says. "We'd sometimes offer more than the asking price and we wouldn't even get a call back. It was crazy."" class

View the Original article

Save the Earth Sacrifice Your Returns?

"This is an undated handout photo of a polar bear taken in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. Museum-goers in San Francisco will soon get an uncensored look at Alaskan wilderness photos that ignited a minor uproar in the nation's capital this spring. The new exhibit features 49 photos of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - 19 million acres of pristine wilderness at the center of a fierce debate between environmentalists and the Bush Administration. (AP Photo/Subhankar Banerjee)" height

View the Original article

Value Added: Creating a conveyor belt for renovation

"WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 18, 2011: Anthony Lanier, owner of EastBanc, Inc., a real estate management and development company with drawing of a new project at a firehouse at 23rd and M Sts. on February 18, 2011 in Washington, DC. The building will contain the firehouse, squash courts and affordable housing on top. The EastBanc affiliated group also includes interests in Cafe Leopold, L2 Lounge and a computer services technology company. (Photo by Susan Biddle/For The Washington Post)"style

View the Original article

Hagel, in First Day on Job, Warns of Challenges Cuts Pose for the Military

Cliff Owen/Associated PressMr. Hagel after his remarks to military and civilian Pentagon employees.

Mr. Hagel did not speak at length about the budget, but the cuts, he said, are coming. “We need to deal with this reality,” he told an audience in the Pentagon auditorium.

Hours after being sworn in as the 24th defense secretary, Mr. Hagel struck a folksy tone in the roomful of both military and civilian Defense Department employees, with some of the military’s top brass populating the front rows.

Eschewing the lectern, he walked in front of the audience like a candidate at a town-hall-style meeting and played up his roots as an Army infantryman.

He called the United States a “force for good,” but said that it should not dictate its agenda to the world and must strive to build alliances among countries with common interests. “We must lead with our allies,” said Mr. Hagel, who most recently served as chairman of the Atlantic Council, a centrist foreign policy group.

On his first day, Mr. Hagel also received briefings on delicate intelligence and operational matters, met with the civilian secretaries of the armed services, visited the Pentagon’s Sept. 11 memorial, and spoke by phone to several members of Congress, George Little, the Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement. Mr. Hagel is also expected to make his first overseas trip as secretary soon.

Mr. Hagel, 66, a former two-term Republican senator from Nebraska, will be the first defense secretary in more than a decade to have to preside over deep cuts in the Pentagon’s budget, which has ballooned in the years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Even if automatic budget cuts do not go into effect at the end of the week, Mr. Hagel will still have to find ways to slash billions of dollars in spending by September.

Pentagon officials have warned that they may have to furlough up to 800,000 civilian employees; sharply reduce training, including flying hours for pilots; and delay deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group that was bound for the Persian Gulf.

In addition to the immense budget challenges, Mr. Hagel faces a steep learning curve in mastering myriad foreign policy challenges facing the Obama administration, including deciding whether to increase aid to the Syrian opposition and confronting Iran over its nuclear program.

William S. Cohen, who served as defense secretary in the Clinton administration, said in a telephone interview that Mr. Hagel should “get ready to drink from the fire hose.”

“He’s got to demonstrate that he’s up on the issues and has a firm handle on them,” Mr. Cohen said. “The next few days, he’s going to be putting in 18- to 19-hour days.”

The Senate confirmed Mr. Hagel in a 58-to-41 vote on Tuesday, with only four Republicans supporting their former colleague. It was the smallest margin for a defense secretary since the position was created in 1947, according to Senate records. He succeedsLeon E. Panetta.

It remains to be seen whether the Senate confirmation battle — during which Republican senators accused him of not being tough enough on Iran and criticized past remarks that they said made him seem insufficiently supportive of Israel — has permanently crippled his ability to negotiate the cuts with lawmakers.

Mr. Cohen, a former Republican senator from Maine, suggested that over time, and with plenty of one-on-one meetings, Mr. Hagel could forge a working relationship with his critics on Capitol Hill.

“Personal animosities, to the extent they’re there, will be put aside,” Mr. Cohen said. “They won’t be best friends, but they also don’t want to see the country’s security compromised.”

Mr. Hagel said in his remarks that shortly after he was sworn in he visited the Pentagon’s memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and “reflected a bit on what happened that day.” Recalling a phrase once used byWinston Churchill, he called the attacks “a jarring gong” that set in motion more than a decade of war.

As a senator, Mr. Hagel became a vocal critic of the Iraq war, and during his confirmation fight he was challenged by Republican senators about his opposition to the troop surge ordered by PresidentGeorge W. Bush.

Mr. Hagel did not raise this criticism during his speech on Wednesday, saying only that American foreign policy is fallible.

“We make mistakes,” he said. “We’ve made mistakes. We’ll continue to make mistakes.”

Mr. Hagel referred to his combat service in Vietnam several times during his remarks, and a soldier who introduced him pointed out that Mr. Hagel “knows the costs of war.”

“I’ll never ask anyone to do anything I wouldn’t do,” Mr. Hagel said at one point during the speech.

Mr. Hagel is the first defense secretary to have served in combat as an enlisted soldier, and he said that at times he still had the mind-set of an infantryman.

He joked that while the Army’s chief of staff, Gen.Ray Odierno, made him shake a bit, it was the sergeant major of the Army — its highest-ranking enlisted member — who “scares the hell out of me.”

A version of this article appeared in print on February 28, 2013, on page A17 of the New York edition with the headline: .

View the Original article

A.F.L.-C.I.O. Backs Keystone Oil Pipeline, if Indirectly

And while some union leaders said the federation’s stance stopped short of an official endorsement, the nation’s building trades unions — eager for the thousands of jobs the pipeline would create — issued a statement saying the A.F.L.-C.I.O.’s stance was a clear endorsement of the Keystone pipeline.

The labor federation’s embrace of the pipeline, even with some ambiguity, will give President Obama some political cover as he weighs whether to approve the pipeline, which would carry more than 700,000 barrels of Canadian crude oil each day to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico.

But the A.F.L.-C.I.O.’s move is likely to strain the alliances that organized labor has sought to build with the environmental groups that are battling the pipeline.

Those groups oppose it because it would carry oil derived from tar sands in a process that, compared with other forms of oil production, is dirtier and releases more carbon dioxide.

Gathered in Florida for its annual winter meeting, the executive committee of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. said it supported a comprehensive energy policy that fostered energy security, created jobs and addressed the threat of climate change.

But two-thirds of its statement on energy policy focused on pipelines, with the labor federation singing the praises of pipelines, all without mentioning Keystone. Pipelines, the labor leaders said, “are a low carbon emissions method of transporting oil and gas” and “lower the cost of fuel they carry compared with other forms of transportation.”

Richard Trumka, the A.F.L.-C.I.O.’s president, acknowledged that the federation statement “can be interpreted in different ways.” Yet he voiced support for building the Keystone pipeline, saying that “there’s nothing environmentally unsound about the pipeline” and that what environmentalists opposed was opening up Canada’s tar sands.

He said that if the pipeline were not built, Canada would probably ship crude oil from the tar sands overseas by tanker, a more carbon-intensive means of distributing oil than pipelines.

Sean McGarvey, president of the labor federation’s Building and Construction Trades Department, said, “The U.S. construction industry has been mired in a depression for over four years now, and shovel-ready projects like Keystone XL and other energy infrastructure projects are badly needed.”

In addition to expanding “our pipeline infrastructure,” the federation said it favored “a much more aggressive approach to the repair of our more than 2.5 million miles of existing pipelines.” Such repairs, it said, would create tens of thousands of jobs over the next two decades.

Speaking about the A.F.L.-C.I.O. statement, Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, which opposes the pipeline, said: “There have been tensions over this. The statement doesn’t resolve the tensions. But it is an attempt to reframe the debate to highlight areas where we can make common cause and create jobs and cut pollution.”

Mr. Brune said he spoke with Mr. Trumka before the labor leaders met. And he praised the unions’ call to do far more to repair pipelines, which would reduce leaks and pollution.

The Canadian government is likely to be angry if President Obama blocks the pipeline, which supporters say would reduce American reliance on oil from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

The proposed $7 billion pipeline would run nearly 2,000 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. It would be the longest oil pipeline outside of Russia and China.

The National Nurses United was in the minority among the federation’s 57 labor unions in opposing the pipeline, saying that building it and exploiting Canada’s tar sands would accelerate global warming and produce pollution that would endanger people’s health.

Leo W. Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers, said he would back the pipeline as long as the steel used to make the pipes was produced domestically.

Cecil E. Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers, also backed it, saying, “I believe the oil transferred from Canada is going to make it to some final destination no matter what we do in the United States. I think the brothers and sisters in the building trades in the U.S. should have the jobs.”

As for whether the A.F.L.-C.I.O. had actually endorsed the Keystone pipeline, Mr. Roberts said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

A version of this article appeared in print on February 28, 2013, on page B2 of the New York edition with the headline: .

View the Original article

Outsourcing Your Payroll to Save You and Your Company Time and Hassle

If your business has gotten too large for you to do the payroll yourself, then it might be time to think about your options. You could hire someone specifically to do this or you could outsource it. Both have their negatives and positives.

When you think about hiring someone specifically to do the payroll and other financial issues, then you will probably want an accountant. The problem with hiring most accountants is that most likely the individual will want to work some of his or her side jobs during tax season. This is a definite negative for you, because it will take them away from help you. You would probably end up having to pay them more during that time of year in order to keep them at work.

Another consideration with hiring someone to do payroll is that it is a lot of information to have saved on just one computer at your business. There is much more security at a place that runs a business in doing various company's payrolls.

Hiring someone is also an issue because it will necessitate making sure he or she is trained adequately to do the job right. It is easy for someone who is not a professional to make a mistake.

A positive of hiring someone into your company is that he or she will know the company and will be right there if you have a question. That could add some convenience.

Outsourcing your payroll to another company might save you time and hassle. Since you would have to hire someone anyway, you will not be wasting money. You will have the convenience of leaving it in the hands of someone else who is just a phone call away. You will not have the convenience of having someone right there, but in some ways that could end up being a hindrance. If things were not handled correctly, you could end up with security issues that would be more difficult than having to make more phone call than you like to make. All in all, outsourcing may be your better option.

All things of course depend on the individual company that needs the payroll support. Some companies might still be small enough to handle doing this on their own without even having to hire someone. It may not be long though before you might need that extra help, and you will need to make a decision between in-house or out-sourced help.

New Orleans payroll can save your companies. Visit http://www.payrollrx.com for more information.

View the Original article

5 Reasons for Small Businesses to Outsource Payroll

Small business owners are a unique class of citizens. They are ambitious, intelligent, quick on their feet, perceptive, and are generally great problem solvers. They also face a very unique set of challenges. Unlike mega-business moguls who have endless corporate reserves to pull from when the time comes to make something happen, small business owners are mostly on their own. They make the choices, they do the work, and it is up to them to make the most of what they have to work with... which is EXACTLY why they would benefit from the opportunity to outsource a task like payroll out to another company.

The internet and the business sector have given birth to many different payroll outsourcing options over the last few years. As a small business owner, you actually have more options in this area than ever before. But is it worth it? Is it worth it to outsource such a vital component of your business, or is the risk greater than the payoff?

Here are 5 reasons for why you SHOULD outsource the payroll responsibilities of your small business. I am pretty sure that you will find that these reasons make a lot of sense, which is EXACTLY why more small business owners are outsourcing this vital task than have ever before!

1... It Will Save You Money
In the old days, you would have needed to have someone on payroll to do your accounting work. If you didn't have someone, then you would have had to figure out how to do it yourself. While hiring someone is not always a bad thing, it can hurt you if you don't want to spend more money on a full-time person, JUST to do payroll! Outsourcing is much cheaper, and accomplishes the same thing.

2... It Will Save You Time
Outsourcing payroll will keep the problem off of your shoulders. After all, if you don't have an employee to do it, you might have to fill the roll... which will seriously cut in on your own time. As a business owner, you have important things to do, and you might not be able to afford the time it will take you to figure out payroll each week.

3... It Will Keep The Books Accurate
Payroll is definitely not easy! While those who have done it for a while can get used to it, there are a lot of numbers and figures to keep straight. If you do something wrong, it could come back to haunt you later in the form of an IRS audit, and that is definitely something that you will want to avoid! Outsourcing this roll to a professional service, however, will keep you in the free and clear when it comes to taxes, fees, reporting, and wages.

4... You Have A Lot Of Options
Outsourcing payroll is definitely easier now than it has ever been... and one of the reasons for this is due to the incredible number of options at your disposal! A lot of bookkeepers and enrolled agents have payroll and tax services. These options make payroll easy and hassle free! With so many inexpensive options, you would be amazed at how much of a load this could take off of your mind!

5... It Will Help You To Move Forward
As a business owner, you need to keep moving forward. Being stuck on payroll is definitely not something that is going to be conducive to getting more accomplished. If you don't do something to get this task taken care of, it is going to eat up more and more of your time. Eventually, you are going to HAVE to do something... and outsourcing the task now can be a great way to set yourself up for more efficiency later on.

View the Original article

How Payroll Services Can Help Business Orgnaizations?

Although professional payroll services can actually be performed by an employee most medium or small sized companies have increasingly been opting for an outsourced professional firm. Normally the company identifies the most suitable professional payroll firms available and within their budget and hires them for a particular task over a given period of time. Though it might seem similar to just hiring a permanent individual to do these tasks most people have realized the numerous less obvious advantages that come with this type of an arrangement.

Some of the most popular advantages linked to this type of an arrangement include the savings made in costs. In most cases hiring a full time permanent employee comes with many costs that may end up cutting into the overall profits especially in the long run. However with one of these outsourced professional services the company can essentially save lots of money as they only hire them on a need to basis.

Some of the most common extra costs that come with hiring a permanent employee include health benefits. Given the highly competitive nature of the modern workplace employers have to offer many more perks and benefits to their employees if they hope to acquire the best brains in the market. Indeed a comprehensive health cover including risk allowances has become synonymous to the corporate world.

Vacations are another relatively recent expense that most employers have had to contend with if they intend to keep their high caliber employees and thus guarantee the profitability of their firms. As such if a company can avoid this particular expense by hiring outside professionals who are likely to deliver these services at the required time and within budget then they are bound to opt for it.

Other less obvious costs that come with a permanent employee include additional mostly expensive working space and appliances that this employee needs to be fully productive. However with the professional payroll firms hired outside the company this might not be an issue since they can work from their own offices or can be housed for a limited amount of time thus cutting down on these costs.

Given the fact that a payroll professional is only needed at specific times of the month or the year most employers usually choose to outsource these services in a bid to save on time and especially money. Further a payroll professional from outside the firm is likely to be more efficient as they usually tend to be objective and have a fresh perspective that regular employees might be lacking. These among other reasons have created a huge demand for the relatively new entrant in the business world and by the look of things they are here to stay.

If you are looking to take help of Payroll Services UK, choose none other than Berkeley Hamilton LLP as they are experts in providing Outsource Payroll Services.

View the Original article

The Ins And Outs Of Umbrella Companies For Contractors

If you're venturing into the world of self employment for the first time or you're a contractor who is used to working for a variety of different employers, you may be about to come across an umbrella company for the first time. Designed to help recruitment agencies and clients employ people for specific jobs while simultaneously reducing their liability, umbrella companies are very popular in industries where short term contracts are common.

An umbrella company is an intermediary step between you and the person providing the contract. It will process a PAYE payroll, meaning that you'll get paid via the umbrella company rather than straight from the company who originally supplied your contract. Essentially, the umbrella company acts as a sort of employer for people who have already been contracted to undertake a specific assignment.

You're most likely to find yourself in need of an umbrella company when you're picking up contracts from a third party, such as a recruitment agency. This can be very useful for the agency, helping them keep on top of a huge number of different contracts, and useful for you too, as you will have a company contact that is dedicated to making sure you get paid for the work you are contracted to do.

Although it will typically be the employer who suggests the use of an umbrella company, it will often be down to you to find one. This should be very easy and once you have chosen your preferred company, all you will need to do is provide information about the client or agency you are contracted to work for and some details about yourself. You should only be asked to provide proof you are who you say you are and any information needed to make sure you get paid, for example, your bank details or home address.

One handy thing about using an umbrella is the fact that you'll be issued an employee status. You'll get paid by handing a timesheet into the company, which will then be confirmed with the recruitment agency or client you've been working for. The umbrella company will then receive your payment and then pay you through PAYE, enjoying the chance to offset some of the income by claiming business expenses.

You'll also find that being paid through PAYE and being counted as an employee rather than a sole trader could potentially help you be more efficient about your tax. For example, you could have the chance to make the most of childcare schemes or pension plans. It also allows you access to a variety of professional and health insurances that can prove invaluable to busy contractors and entitles you to a wide range of employment rights, including minimum wage and holiday and sickness pay.

Using an umbrella can be beneficial when it comes to doing your self assessment taxes, as you will be provided with a P45 for each contracted job and you will also get a P60 at the end of the tax year. Gain the freedom to take on contracts from recruitment agencies and clients who prefer to work with the help of an umbrella company and enjoy a variety of associated benefits for yourself too.

View the Original article

Why Going With A Novated Lease Presents A Win-Win Situation

Novated lease- the term does not sound like something you'd want to get familiar with, but it is to your own detriment not to look deeper into its meaning. If you're an employer who wants to win over the best people as well as offer extra perks to your current staff, you'll do well to find out how novated leases can help you inspire loyalty from your staff as well as boost your bottom line.

What exactly is this kind of lease and how does it work? Despite the unfamiliar term, it's actually quite common in Australia. Basically, it allows the employer to make lease payments for a motor vehicle on behalf of an employee. The usual practice is for the employer to make payments from the employee's pre-tax income. This effectively equates to the employee paying less taxes and receiving a pay increase. Since the lease is under the employee's name, he or she is responsible for all other obligations such as service and maintenance, but in the event that the employee leaves the company, all financial obligations go back to him or her.

Most novated leases are worked into companies' salary packaging solutions. A salary package involves an agreement between an employer and an employee stipulating that the employee is forgoing part of his or her salary in exchange for the employer providing non-cash benefits, hence its other name "salary sacrifice." Car leases number among the common benefits that figure into these packages.

Novated leases benefit employees in such a way that they have a wider range of options when choosing cars to lease. Company cars are usually limited to certain makes and models, so the flexibility that novated leases provide is understandably more appealing to people who want to use cars that suit their lifestyle. Also, changing employers does not require them to give up that lease.

As for employers, novated leases mean that they are able to provide more employee benefits at little to zero cost. They also do not have to cope with the bother of providing, insuring, and maintaining company cars. Besides these, allowing employees more freedom when it comes to their vehicle choice presents employers in a better light, making them more endearing to their staff.

Clearly benefiting all the parties involved, novated leases are understandably a common provision in salary packages offered by Australian companies. It is but expected for an option that allows everybody to win to be very popular. If you want to be able to hit many proverbial birds with a single shot, novated leases are definitely something you should look deeper into.

Get the best deals not only for your company but for your employees as well. Check it here- simplygreen.com.au

View the Original article

Manage Your Financial Payroll With Accounting Software

Any business owner will tell you that managing finances and payroll is probably the most time consuming aspect or running any sized company. Even if you have a whole department to handle this task or even outsource it to another company, it can be a costly proposition to take care of if it is not handled properly. And of course if you want to take the most hands on and cost effective route, it may be a good idea to have your payroll and financial work done in house. Luckily there is a plethora of accounting software options available to assist you and your employees in this task.

So what exactly can you accomplish with the various types of accounting software on the market? The first and most important job that any accounting software should be able to handle is tracking income and expenses. This is probably the most standard feature on any software that you can purchase, so it mainly comes down to a question of personal preference and the usability interface provided. Though there are many types of accounting software that can provide you with the ability to chart and manage this data, do your research to make sure that it is easy to actually accomplish the work. There are some programs that rely more on a visual interface, and others that utilize more technical aspects to get the job done so adjust your purchase to your working style for the best results.

Integration is another key component of any worthwhile accounting software. Keeping track of your expenses and payroll is one thing, making sure it syncs up with your bank account is another. Be sure that not only can the data transfer back and forth, but also that there are security protocols in place to protect this sensitive information. Also be sure that only certain trusted employees are privy to this aspect of the program to ensure another level of privacy.

The last thing that you will want to make sure is a prominent feature of your accounting software is the ability to gather all of your tax information in one place. Taxes on payroll and expensive are not something you want to lose track of and can affect not only your company's bottom line but will also have potential penalties and fines applied to your business as well if not handled properly. Most accounting software can handle this seamlessly giving you peace of mind as well as a powerful payroll and tax tool.

Payroll, finances, and general accounting duties should be something that your business takes very seriously. Keeping good track of all your bookkeeping and expenses is a great way to help you business run smoothly and make sure that your employees get paid and you have what you need to be effective in today's fast paced society. Weigh all of your software options wisely before choosing the one that you will use for your company and enjoy the benefits and cost savings for many years to come.

View the Original article