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Daily News

Below please find daily updates pertaining to the latest in financial, business, and tax news:

Taxpayer Advocate Service Feed

NTA Blog: TAS Research Shows that Education Improves EITC Compliance

Thu, Sep 20, 2018

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. Recently, the IRS provided its response to my Most Serious Problem addressing EITC issues in the 2017 Annual Report to Congress. I want to reiterate my recommendatio...

Get information on TAS office closures related to Hurricane Florence

Mon, Sep 17, 2018

The Taxpayer Advocate Service temporarily closed some offices due to Hurricane Florence. The following offices in South Carolina and North Carolina will resume regular business operation hours on Tuesday, Sept. 18:  Charlotte, North Carolina Greensboro, North Carolina Columbia, South Carolina For a listing of all TAS offices, visit our Contact Us page....

NTA Blog: The IRS Might Recover EITC Using Its Newly Discovered Post-Processing Math Error Authority, but Is It Constitutional?

Thu, Sep 13, 2018

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. My June Report to Congress included an Area of Focus entitled: “The IRS Has Expanded Its Math Error Authority, Reducing Due Process for Vulnerable Taxpayers, W...

Help us spread the news about our new Tax Reform Changes website

Tue, Sep 11, 2018

Is your business or association involved in helping others understand federal income taxes and the ramifications of changes to those laws each year? If yes, we invite you to visit our new site and then help us spread the word about the Taxpayer Advocate Service's Tax Reform Changes website. After your visit, we think you’ll see the value it might have for those in the tax community and ev...

NTA Blog: As a Result of TAS Advocacy, the IRS is Working to Address a Computer Glitch That Allowed Collection Activity on Accounts with Expired Collection Statute Expiration Dates but Many Issues Remain Unresolved

Fri, Sep 07, 2018

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. About two years ago, TAS received cases where either the taxpayer or the Power of Attorney (POA) correctly questioned the validity of a collection statute expiration...

New tax law brings changes to tax withholding for 2018; here’s what you need to know

Fri, Aug 31, 2018

Major tax reform was approved by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (tax reform) on Dec. 22, 2017. One change directly affected the rate at which taxes are withheld from paychecks. Our federal income tax is a pay-as-you-go tax system and there are two ways to pay as you go, either through withholding or estimated tax payments. Note: For more information on what other items changed or didn&rs...

NTA Blog: The Systemic First Time Abatement Policy Currently Under Consideration by the IRS Would Override Reasonable Cause Relief and Jeopardize Fundamental Taxpayer Rights

Wed, Aug 29, 2018

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. The IRS offers a First Time Abatement (FTA) program that is intended to be, and often is, taxpayer-favorable. Nevertheless, as currently implemented, the FTA sometim...

NTA Blog: TAS Cases Demonstrate the Harm Caused by IRS Policies on Passport Certification

Wed, Aug 22, 2018

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. My last blog on passport issues discussed the IRS’s continued refusal to exclude already open TAS cases from passport certification and my efforts to advocate ...

NTA Blog: IRS Administration of the Section 965 Transition Tax Contravenes Congressional Intent and Imposes Unintended Burden on Taxpayers

Thu, Aug 16, 2018

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. When Congress passes legislation as comprehensive and technical as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), drafting and implementation glitches inevitably arise. This week...

NTA Blog: IRS Continues to Close Taxpayer Assistance Centers, Despite Taxpayer Advocate Service and Congressional Concerns

Thu, Aug 09, 2018

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. For many years I have reported on the state of service at IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs), formerly known colloquially as walk-in sites. In my previous blog, ...

Reuters News

Dow hits new closing high ahead of index reshuffle

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Industrials led the Dow to a new closing high on Friday ahead of Monday's major sector reshuffle, capping a week that largely shrugged off trade worries. ...

United Airlines pilots resist contract changes over regional routes

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

United Airlines pilots said they refuse to budge on the wording of their contract governing the outsourcing of regional flights. ...

Lehman Brothers workers share memories 10 years after the fall

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Ex-employees of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc met at Irish pubs near their former office in Midtown Manhattan on Thursday night to reminisce 10 years after the bank's collapse, in gatherings with the atmosphere of high school reunions despite marking the largest failure of the financial crisis. ...

Volume spikes on sector reshuffle, quadruple witching

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

An overhaul of Wall Street's technology and media sectors coincided with the quarterly expiration of futures and options, bringing a burst of volume to trading late on Friday that could continue in the days that follow. ...

As new iPhones go on sale, studies reveal chips from Intel and Toshiba

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Apple Inc's latest iPhones hit stores around the world on Friday, featuring components made by Intel Corp and Toshiba among others, according to two firms that cracked open the iPhone Xs and Xs Max models. ...

Receding trade fears propel stocks to six-month peak

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

The U.S. dollar rebounded and world shares hit a six-month high on Friday after China's moves to boost domestic consumption bolstered a rally driven by investor bets that the latest U.S.-China trade dispute was unlikely to dent global growth. ...

Walmart warns Trump tariffs may force price hikes: letter

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Walmart Inc said that it may hike prices of products if the Trump administration imposes a tariff on Chinese imports, according to a letter the company wrote to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer two weeks ago and seen by Reuters on Thursday. ...

General Electric says blade problem affects more gas turbines

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

General Electric Co said on Friday that turbine blade oxidation which forced Exelon Corp to idle four electric power units in Texas also affects another model, widening the impact of the latest problem to hit GE's ailing power unit. ...

Blackstone looks to manage $1 trillion by 2026

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Blackstone Group LP , the world's largest manager of alternative investments such as private equity and real estate, said on Friday it could be overseeing $1 trillion in assets by 2026. ...

Nasdaq says Nordic trader whose deals went sour agrees to sell personal assets

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Nasdaq's Nordic commodities exchange has reached agreement on the sale of assets belonging to a private trader who defaulted on his commitments last week, it said on Friday. ...

Fox Business news

An Active Emerging Markets ETF That Targets Areas with Strong Fundamentals

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com....

Webcast Podcast Edition: Fight the Fed’s Rising Rates with Floating Rates

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com....

Double Leveraging China Amid Trade Tensions

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com....

J.P. Morgan Downgrades Drag Down Homebuilder ETFs

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com....

Business Highlights

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

___ Rising oil prices haven't hurt the US economy so far DALLAS (AP) — An old bogeyman, higher oil prices, may still be scary but doesn't have the same power to hurt the US economy....

Brazil ETFs Test Short-Term Resistance Despite Political Risks

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com....

How major US stock indexes fared Friday

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

U.S. stock indexes finished unevenly Friday even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out another all-time high....

Benchmark Treasury Yields Fall as Fed Rate Decision Looms

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com....

Vesper Debuts a Dynamic ETF That ‘Buys on the Dip’

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com....

Over 50 and Underfunded? Get Your Retirement Portfolio Up to Snuff by Age 65

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Even if your retirement savings isn't where it needs to be, you can still make a big difference by making changes now....

CNN News

Trump hasn't yet spoken about the allegations that the deputy AG discussed secretly recording the President

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

The New York Times published an explosive report Friday afternoon, claiming, via anonymous sources, that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein openly speculated about wearing a wire to record President Donald Trump and floated the idea of building support within the administration to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. ...

NYT: Rosenstein discussed removing Trump via 25th Amendment

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

In the days after FBI Director James Comey's May 2017 firing, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein discussed wearing a "wire" to record conversations with President Donald Trump and recruiting Cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office, The New York Times reported Friday. ...

NYT reporter: Sources were afraid to talk

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

CNN's Jake Tapper interviews Adam Goldman, a New York times reporter who reported that in the days after FBI Director James Comey's firing, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein discussed wearing a "wire" to record conversations with President Donald Trump and recruiting Cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. ...

Reminder: The 25th Amendment requires political apocalypse

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

People are again talking about using the 25th Amendment as a means to remove President Donald Trump from office, and they're doing it more seriously. ...

Wolf Blitzer analyzes Rosenstein's 'so-called denial'

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

CNN's Wolf Blitzer discusses the statement released by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein after the New York Times reported that he discussed secretly recording President Trump in 2017 and discussed plans to use the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office. ...

Trump backs away from call to declassify Russia probe docs

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to back away from his earlier demand for the "immediate declassification" of various documents and text messages related to the Russia investigation, kicking the issue instead to the Justice Department watchdog. ...

ABC: Cohen has done multiple interviews with Mueller team

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former attorney, has spoken with special counsel Robert Mueller's team several times over the past month, ABC News reported Thursday. ...

The man behind Comey's firing

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Everything you need to know about Rod Rosenstein, President Trump's deputy attorney general. ...

'Hispanic, any Hispanic here?' Trump says at rally

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

President Donald Trump was in Las Vegas on Thursday night to headline a campaign rally for Sen. Dean Heller, the most endangered Republican incumbent on the ballot this fall. He did a pre-rally interview with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity -- "Wave to the fake news media," Hannity told Trump at the start of the interview -- and then took the stage to deliver his now-familiar stump speech, a mix o...

Trump unleashes on Kavanaugh's accuser

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

President Donald Trump, in a series of tweets Friday, deviated from his previously measured comments about the woman who has accused his Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanugh of sexual assault, claiming that if the attack she alleges "was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities". ...

The Wall Street Journal

Flood Shuts Down N.C. Power Plant, Sweeps Waste Into River

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

River flooding caused the shutdown Friday of a natural-gas plant near Wilmington, N.C., and some waste tied to the facility’s past as a coal-fired plant entered waterways....

Trump Challenges Kavanaugh Accuser

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

President Trump challenged Christine Blasey Ford’s account of an alleged sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Meanwhile, the GOP remained in talks with Dr. Ford about having her testify next week....

Trump Backs Off Release of Documents in Russia Probe

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

President Trump postponed the declassification and release of documents related to the investigation into his campaign’s links to Russian election interference, saying the matter would go to the Justice Department’s internal watchdog....

Art World's Newest Star Makes $3 Million Paintings. Is the Crash Next?

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Seven years ago, Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s paintings were selling for $3,000. Now they go for millions. Her next challenge is to avoid the quick rise and fall other young artists have suffered in a contemporary art market that churns through its favorites....

Reports of Alleged Abuse by Catholic Priests Rise Sharply

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Since the Pennsylvania attorney general’s report documenting the abuse of more than 1,000 children by Roman Catholic priests, more than 900 people have called a hotline set up to report additional allegations....

Apple Launches New iPhones (Again). Here's a Guide.

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Two of the newest iPhones hit stores Friday, with scenes of customers around the world lining up outside Apple stores. Customer turnout will go a long way toward determining Apple’s results over the next year....

Weary of Power Outages, Puerto Ricans Find Solace in Solar

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Residents and businesses in Puerto Rico increasingly are investing in renewable-energy technologies, mainly solar, to guard against power outages from the island’s still-rickety electric grid. ...

Airbnb Proposes Giving Hosts Company Equity

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Airbnb has asked the SEC to change rules to potentially allow the home-sharing platform to offer hosts a stake in the company. ...

Trump to Emphasize 'Sovereignty' in U.N. Visit Next Week, Haley Says

Thu, Sep 20, 2018

President Trump will address world leaders next Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly with a speech focused on “protecting U.S. sovereignty” and expanding relations with countries that share similar values, according to U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley. ...

Rosenstein Suggested Secretly Recording Trump, FBI Memos Claim

Fri, Sep 21, 2018

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein early in his tenure suggested secretly recording President Trump and recruiting cabinet members to remove him from office, former FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe wrote in memos at the time, assertions that Mr. Rosenstein disputed....