| Economic Events | New orders for manufactured durable goods in January increased $0.9billion or 0.4% to $255.3 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced. This increase, up three consecutive months, followed a 1.3% December increase. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.1%. Excluding defense, new orders increased 0.7%. Transportation equipment, up five of the last six months, drove the increase, $1.0billion or 1.2% to $90.9 billion. | | Market Mirror | Tuesday, the Dow closed 121.43 points (0.47%) higher at 26,035.53, the NASDAQ was up 9.47 points (0.12%) at 7,723.95, and the S&P 500 was virtually unchanged at 2,832.57. The Russell 2000 decreased 8.95 points (0.57%) to 1,554.98, and the Wilshire 5000 was down 22.11 points (0.08%) at 29,300.60. The price of the 10-year Treasury note was down 2/32, increasing its yield to 2.614%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond decreased 4/32, bringing its yield up to 3.025%. | | Compliance | Bill Would Amend Voting Procedures for Multiemployer Plan Benefit Cuts | The Pension Accountability Act is designed to give workers and retirees “a seat at the table” when a looming multiemployer pension bankruptcy may require major pension cuts, U.S. Senators from Ohio announced.Read more > | | Ask the Experts | Can a Church Terminate a SIMPLE IRA and Establish a 403(b) in the Same Year? | “A ‘steeple’ church, as defined at IRC Section 3121(w)(3)(A), sponsors a SIMPLE IRA Plan. They wish to terminate the SIMPLE and establish a 403(b) plan within the same plan year. Is this permissible?”Read more > | | Small Talk | Every year, the IRS publishes its “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams it warns taxpayers to avoid; part of this is its report, “The Truth About Frivolous Tax Arguments.” Frivolous can mean silly or foolish, but looking at some of the frivolous tax arguments the IRS has faced, one might also call them funny, ridiculous or unbelievable. Some frivolous tax arguments mentioned in the report include: The “United States” consists only of the District of Columbia, federal territories, and federal enclaves; taxpayers can refuse to pay income taxes on religious or moral grounds by invoking the First Amendment; Federal income taxes constitute a “taking” of property without due process of law, violating the Fifth Amendment; and the Internal Revenue Service is not an agency of the United States.Read more > | ON THIS DATE: In 1816, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed its right to review state court decisions. In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” subtitled “Life Among the Lowly,” was first published. In 1886, the first AC power plant in the U.S. began commercial operation. In 1897, the first U.S. orthodox Jewish Rabbinical seminary was incorporated in New York. In 1922, the USS Langley was commissioned. It was the first aircraft carrier for the U.S. Navy. In 1933, the first German concentration camp was completed at Dachau. In 1952, the Senate ratified a peace treaty with Japan. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered 4,000 troops to protect the Selma-Montgomery civil rights marchers. In 1980, the U.S. made an appeal to the International Court concerning American Hostages in Iran. In 1982, U.S. scientists’ returned from Antarctica with the first land mammal fossils found there. In 1984, the Senate rejected an amendment to permit spoken prayer in public schools. In 1990, the Los Angeles Lakers retired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s #33. In 1999, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones became the first men to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon. The non-stop trip began on March 3 and covered 26,500 miles. In 1999, Legoland California opened in Carlsbad, California. In 2002, accounting firm Arthur Andersen pled innocent to charges that it had shredded documents and deleted computer files related to the energy company Enron. WEDNESDAY WISDOM: “Another belief of mine; that everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.”—Margaret Atwood, Canadian poet and novelist | Share the news with a friend! Pass the NewsDash along and tell your friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy.Read more > |
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