November 22, 2024

Bucks Blog: Friday Reading: Demand Seen for Workers With Sustainability Skills

August 26

Friday Reading: Demand Seen for Workers With Sustainability Skills

Demand seen for workers with sustainability skills, Android is a top target of mobile hackers, traveler insurance and Hurricane Irene and other consumer-focused news from The New York Times.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f84925b6e2234cb8853ac11e3ce566a0

Bucks Blog: A Chance to Come Clean on Offshore Accounts

5:24 p.m. | Updated to reflect deadline extension by I.R.S.

In this week’s Wealth Matters column, Paul Sullivan reminders readers of the approaching deadline for an Internal Revenue Service program that offers potentially smaller fines for people who inform the agency about offshore accounts that they may have been hiding until now. (The deadline was Aug. 31, but it was extended Friday to Sept. 9 because of Hurricane Irene.) For people who come clean, the penalties may be less severe than if they keep the accounts hidden and the I.R.S. finds out about them later.

While this may seem like the concern of the truly rich, often Americans will inherit assets in an account from a relative who lives abroad and then neglect to report the account. Then there are those with green cards who didn’t know they were supposed to report income from around the globe and citizens of other countries who have worked in the United States but still have accounts in their home nations.

The column explains what may be in store for people who take the I.R.S. up on its offer, as opposed to trying to negotiate a better deal later. Have any of you sought to negotiate with the I.R.S. when a similar matter was at issue? If so, how did it go?

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=d9bd32814589a19136a5b36255f17987

DealBook: As Irene Approaches, Banks Prepare for the Worst

A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday looks at the path of Hurricane Irene.Brendan Mcdermid/ReutersA trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday looks at the path of Hurricane Irene.

As Hurricane Irene travels up the East Coast, New York is steeling itself for disaster. Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the state on Thursday, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg has urged city residents of low-lying areas to prepare to evacuate their homes.

Wall Street, too, is entering the bunker.

Many of New York’s largest investment banks are headquartered in midtown Manhattan, and thus fall outside the city’s designated flood zones. Bank of America’s 1 Bryant Park skyscraper, Citigroup’s 399 Park Avenue building, Morgan Stanley’s 1585 Broadway bureau, and JPMorgan Chase’s 270 Park Avenue offices are all outside the zones. Credit Suisse’s tower, located a little further south at 11 Madison Avenue, also carries a “no zone” designation.

But the headquarters of Goldman Sachs, located at 200 West Street in Battery Park City, is located in Zone A, putting it at greater risk for flooding should Hurricane Irene strike the city with force. So is Deutsche Bank’s 60 Wall Street headquarters, and American Express’s office in the World Financial Center.

A Goldman spokesman declined to detail the bank’s hurricane preparations. An American Express spokeswoman could not immediately be reached.

Some midtown banks have satellite offices in high-risk zones. The Tribeca offices of Citigroup, located near the Hudson River at 388 Greenwich Street, are in Zone A, as is Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, also in the World Financial Center.

Danielle Romero-Apsilos, a Citigroup spokeswoman, said, “Citi is committed to providing uninterrupted service to our clients during the storm and seeks to minimize any possible impact.”

Citigroup also sent a memo to employees on Thursday detailing its recommendations for storm preparation, including bringing lawn furniture and garbage cans inside and stocking up on bottled water.

“We expect Citi office locations to remain in operation as usual. However, any site-specific closures will be determined locally and communicated through standard communications channels, such as through email and phone call trees. Remember that cell service can be disrupted during periods of high demand or disasters. Therefore, if you are unsure about your particular location, you should contact your manager,” the memo said.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=47b4659b848f228e3d44ffd936d51138