I’ve been looking back through the contents of my Writings Page and found this:

13th September, 1998

Last Wednesday, nobody won the lottery here in the UK, so there was a rollover jackpot on Saturday night.

On Saturday afternoon, I was queueing up at the checkout in Sainsbury’s when a lad came along to remove a stack of baskets from by the checkout; and he discovered a pack of bread rolls, which must have fallen off the conveyor.

I can’t say I was surprised. After all, it was a rollover day.

A bus from Miley Cyrus’ Tour rolled into the ditch off of Interstate 85 today. the driver of the bus has died in the accident. the other 15 people walked away safe and sound…some with minor injuries. Check the video out here: NBC12 news Reel

Voy a aprovechar este post para dar la bienvenida a KompoZer 0.8b1 que ya está disponible en español e incluye unos cuantos cambios respecto a la 0.8a4. Dentro de unos días contaré en qué medida (poca) he colaborado en la nueva imagen del logo de la futura versión 0.8.
Crear un efecto rollover en KompoZer usando su editor de CSS es relativamente sencillo si se conserva el texto con el link y ya lo traté en su momento con este otro tutorial.
El asunto se complica un poco si lo que queremos es que el botón actúe de la misma manera pero sin que aparezca el texto del enlace. Un efecto típico es poner un menú de imágenes en blanco y negro o desenfocadas y conseguir que se pongan en color o que se enfoquen al pasar con el ratón por encima.

Es posible que haya otros métodos igual de efectivos que el que yo voy a describir aquí pero este funciona sin problema.

Lo primero, como es lógico, es contar con una única imagen que incluya las dos posiciones del rollover para la que usaremos esta imagen

http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/1931/alexredbullyd4.jpg

Y este es el rollover creado con la ayuda de Gimp (300×263px)

Ya en KompoZer creamos el contenedor DIV en el que se incluirá este rollover. Este contenedor puede que esté dentro de otro u otras mil posibilidades que nosotros aquí no vamos a detallar. A ese contenedor genérico le asignamos una id=”menu” (aunque aquí no editaremos ninguna de sus características). En ese contenedor creamos una lista de viñetas para los enlaces del menú a la que le damos una id=”rollovers” y al primero de los enlaces le asignamos una id=”rollover_01″

Por último creamos un enlace, de momento un enlace nulo con destino # para enlace_01:

Ya en el editor de CSS creamos las reglas de estilo #menu, #rollovers y #rollover_01:

A las que le añadimos un par de ellas más:

• #rollovers a:link para editar el comportamiento de los enlaces de texto de todos y cada uno de los rollovers que pongamos en esta lista.
• #rollover_01 a:hover para editar el comportamiento del enlace de texto cuando el ratón pasa por encima.

Comenzamos por eliminarle las viñetas a la lista editando la regla #rollovers en la pestaña Listas escogiendo la opción Tipo para el estilo de la lista: Ninguno.

Editamos ahora la regla de estilo #rollovers a:link que es donde se va a cocer el verdadero truco para ocultar el texto. Nos centramos en los campos de la pestaña Caja:

• Anchura: la de las imágenes 263px. Nada que no obedezca a la más pura lógica
• Altura: 0px (cero píxeles!!). Es el principio del truco. No dejamos sitio para que se muestre el texto del enlace. Pero ¿qué pasa con la imagen de fondo?
• Margen interno (padding) superior: 150px. Es el valor de la altura de la imagen. Con esto estamos dejando hueco para que aparezca la imagen por encima de la altura de 0px de antes. Esto genera un problema. El texto del enlace queda desplazado fuera de la caja y es visible.
• Desbordamiento: oculto. ¿Qué tiene que hacer el navegador con ese excedente en la caja?. En nuestro caso queremos que no sea visible.
• Mostrar como: bloque. Para que todo el espacio de la caja sea sensible al efecto del enlace.

Hemos conseguido que la imagen se comporte como un enlace que nos dirigirá a la dirección que le especifiquemos pero todavía falta el efecto rollover al pasar el ratón por encima. Es tan sencillo como editar la imagen de fondo que deseamos para #rollover_01 a:hover. En realidad se trata de la misma con la particularidad de que tiene que mostrar la parte inferior

Un vistazo a las posibilidades de esta herramienta nos puede llevar rápido a la conclusión de que podemos hacer composiciones más complejas para cargar una sola imagen y poder mostrar la parte que nos interese en cada momento. Por ejemplo podemos ampliar el efecto rollover con un cambio de imagen en el momento en que el usuario hace clic creando la regla de estilo #rollover_01 a:active.

This draw will be our 2nd Double Roll Over – Total Prize pot of £100!  This is £34 from 31st Oct and £33 from 7th Nov and £33 from 14th Nov.  Dave has stopped playing for the time being as he will be off for a few weeks.  He was also in the “Non-winners Club“!!

I am an AT&T customer. Have been for many years now….since back when it was call Cingular. watching these commercials is very misleading to people who are on neither AT&T or Verizon. 3G coverage is not the same as regular coverage. AT&T has the MOST towers in the USA and provides 2G coverage everywhere too. Verizon…if you gonna buck…do it right.

AT&T has replies to these misleading commercials and ads

In essence, we believe the ads mislead consumers into believing that AT&T doesn’t offer ANY wireless service in the vast majority of the country. In fact, AT&T’s wireless network blankets the US, reaching approximately 296M people. Additionally, our 3G service is available in over 9,600 cities and towns. Verizon’s misleading advertising tactics appear to be a response to AT&T’s strong leadership in smartphones. We have twice the number of smartphone customers… and we’ve beaten them two quarters in a row on net post-paid subscribers. We also had lower churn — a sign that customers are quite happy with the service they receive.

I personally dont see the difference between 3G and regular coverage. i guess its cause i dont have internet on my phone. and i personally think Verizon is the devil in disguise cause of its red color…its kinda harsh on the eyes for me.

well oops to Verizon…. thats is exactly why your  getting sued. haha!

How to wire your own ethernet cables and connectors.
What You Need:
Required:

* Cable – bulk Category (Cat) 5, 5e, 6 or higher cable
* Wire Cutters – to cut and strip the cable if necessary
* For Patch Cables: RJ45 Plugs
* RJ45 Crimper
* For Fixed Wiring: RJ45 Jacks
* 110 Punch Down Tool

Recommended:

* Wire Stripper
* Cable Tester

About the Cable:
You can find bulk supplies of the cable at many computer stores or most electrical or home centers. You want UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cable of at least Category 5. Cat 5 is required for basic 10/100 functionality, you will want Cat 5e for gigabit (1000BaseT) operation and Cat 6 or higher gives you a measure of future proofing. Bulk cable comes in many types, there are 2 basic categories, solid and braided cable. Braided cable tends to work better in patch applications for desktop use. It is more flexible and resilient than solid cable and easier to work with, but really meant for shorter lengths. Solid cable is meant for longer runs in a fixed position. Plenum rated cable must be used whenever the cable travels through an air circulation space. For example, above a false ceiling or below a raised floor. It may be difficult or impossible to tell from the package what type of cable it is, so peal out an end and investigate.

Here is what the internals of the cable look like:

Internal Cable Structure and Color Coding

Inside the cable, there are 8 color coded wires. These wires are twisted into 4 pairs of wires, each pair has a common color theme. One wire in the pair being a solid or primarily solid colored wire and the other being a primarily white wire with a colored stripe (Sometimes cables won’t have any color on the striped wire, the only way to tell which is which is to check which wire it is twisted around). Examples of the naming schemes used are: Orange (alternatively Orange/White) for the solid colored wire and White/Orange for the striped cable. The twists are extremely important. They are there to counteract noise and interference. It is important to wire according to a standard to get proper performance from the cable.

About RJ45 Plugs and Jacks:
The RJ45 plug is an 8-position modular connector that looks like a large phone plug. There are a couple variations available. The primary variation you need to pay attention to is whether the connector is intended for braided or solid wire. For braided/stranded wires, the connector has sharp pointed contacts that actually pierce the wire. For solid wires, the connector has fingers which cut through the insulation and make contact with the wire by grasping it from both sides. The connector is the weak point in an ethernet cable, choosing the wrong one will often cause grief later. If you just walk into a computer store, it’s nearly impossible to tell what type of plug it is. You may be able to determine what type it is by crimping one without a cable.

RJ45 jacks come in a variety styles intended for several different mounting options. The choice is one of requirements and preference. RJ45 jacks are designed to work only with solid cable. Most jacks come labeled with color codes for either T568A, T568B or both. Make sure you end up with the correct one.

Here is a diagram and pin out:

RJ45 Plug and Jack Pin Out

Ethernet Cable Pin Outs:
There are two basic cable pin outs. A straight through cable, which is used to connect to a hub or switch, and a cross over cable used to operate in a peer-to-peer fashion without a hub/switch. Generally all fixed wiring should be run as straight through. Some ethernet interfaces can cross and un-cross a cable automatically as needed, a handy feature.

The Difference Between Straight Through, Crossover, And Rollover Cables

There are generally three main types of networking cables: straight-through, crossover, and rollover cables. Each cable type has a distinct use, and should not be used in place of another.

Straight-Through Cables

Straight-through cables get their name from how they are made. Out of the 8 pins that exist on both ends of an Ethernet cable, each pin connects to the same pin on the opposite side. Review the diagram below for a visual example:

Notice how each wire corresponds to the same pin. This kind of wiring diagram is part of the 568A standard. The 568B standard achieves the same thing, but through different wiring. It is generally accepted to use the 568A standard as pictured, since it allows compatibility with certain telephone hardware- while 568B doesn’t.

Straight-through cables are primarily used for connecting unlike devices. A straight-through cable is typically used in the following situations:

Use a straight-through cable when:

* 1. Connecting a router to a hub

* 2. Connecting a computer to a swtich

* 3. Connecting a LAN port to a switch, hub, or computer

Note that some devices such as routers will have advanced circuitry, which enables them to use both crossover and straight-through cables. In general, however, straight-through cables will not connect a computer and router because they are not “unlike devices.”

Crossover Cables

Crossover cables are very similar to straight-through cables, except that they have pairs of wires that crisscross. This allows for two devices to communicate at the same time. Unlike straight-through cables, we use crossover cables to connect like devices. A visual example can be seen below:

Notice how all we did was switch the orange-white and green-white wires, and then the orange and green wires. This will enable like devices to communicate. Crossover cables are typically used in the following situations:

Use a crossover cable when:

* 1. Connecting a computer to a router

* 2. Connecting a computer to a computer

* 3. Connecting a router to a router

* 4. Connecting a switch to a switch

* 5. Connecting a hub to a hub

While the rule of thumb is to use crossover cables with like devices, some devices do not follow standards. Others provide support for both types of cables. However, there is still something that both crossover and straight-through cables can’t do.

Rollover Cables

Rollover cables, like other cabling types, got their name from how they are wired. Rollover cables essentially have one end of the cable wired exactly opposite from the other. This essentially “rolls over” the wires- but why would we need to do such a thing? Rollover cables, also called Yost cables, usually connect a device to a router or switch’s console port. This allows a programmer to make a connection to the router or switch, and program it as needed. A visual example can be seen below:

Notice that each wire is simply “rolled over.” These types of cables are generally not used very much, so are usually colored differently from other types of cables.

Protocol Details:

*Designed to work on MOST Cat 5 cable, Cat 5e specifications ensure 1000Base-T operation
**Reduced range on Cat 5e and Cat 6, Cat 6a gives full 100m range

Cable Category Details:

Increasing category levels are backward compatible.
Manufacturers will often test and certify their cable well beyond the standards.
*10GBase-T should work on most Cat 5e & 6, but to get the full 100m range, Cat 6a or greater is required.

Ok, now it’s time to solve the mystery. (Final Post) [see previous here]

In 1978 Jimmy Carter reorganized the government with this order, and this took the issue of retirement account prohibited transactions away from the domain of the IRS and gave it to the Department of Labor (DOL).

This fact was unknown to (or possibly ignored by) the ROBS promoters who claimed the IRS ROBS letter confirmed the validity of the ROBS strategy. The truth is that the IRS letter did not say whether or not the ROBS strategy creates a prohibited transaction because the IRS didn’t have the authority to say it. It was the authority of DOL. Ah, what fun bureaucracy can be.

Speaking with the Proper Authority

Now, I’ve known about this transfer of authority ever since the creator of the IRA LLC (late attorney Debra Buchanan) told me about it back in 2004. So I’ve been in close contact with DOL employees for several years. Here’s where the bureaucracy gets funny (or scary, depending on how you look at it).

A couple of weeks after the IRS ROBS letter came out, I called my friendly DOL contacts to ask, “What do you think of the ROBS strategy that the IRS just wrote a letter about?” They responded with, “What letter? What is ROBS?”

[If my friends at the IRS and DOL are reading this now, don't take offense. Everyone knows that government agency intercommunication is kind of like Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster. It's not your fault.]

So I faxed the IRS ROBS letter over to DOL. I was happy to do this for the IRS because I know they are really busy.

Finally… the Meeting

My annual trip to Washington, D.C. was scheduled for about six weeks later. So this gave DOL plenty of time to review the letter so we could discuss it at our meeting.

When the meeting came in December, all of the mystery surrounding ROBS collapsed with a couple of straightforward sentences out of the mouths of the decision makers at DOL (paraphrased):

The ‘qualifying employer securities’ exemption means that transaction of the plan acquiring stock from the C corporation is exempt. BUT, this exemption doesn’t throw the rules out the window for looking at the whole strategy. This whole strategy generally provides an ‘outside-of-the-plan’ benefit to the participant, who is a disqualified person. Thus this strategy creates a prohibited transaction.

Bear in mind this unofficial conversation is, well, not official. What would make it official is if I (or anyone else) submitted a written request for a DOL “Advisory Opinion” letter that explains whether the ROBS strategy is a prohibited transaction.

These DOL guys indicated that such a request would be met with an Advisory Opinion declaring ROBS illegal.

Don’t Kill the Messenger

There it is, folks. End of story. ROBS is a prohibited transaction. Many people and attorneys can disagree, but it comes down to 4 guys at this government agency in Washington, D.C. to provide the interpretation of the prohibited transaction law. In other words, it doesn’t matter what anybody thinks except for them. And they think you owe the government a 115% tax (on the amount of money involved in the scheme) if you do a ROBS.

Up until this meeting, I was just as hopeful as anyone that ROBS would come out of the gray area in a favorable conclusion. I don’t want to end this topic on an disappointing note, so I will be throwing out some ROBS alternatives in a future post.

[This is a continuation of a previous post. You should read that one first so this makes sense.]

The IRS Responds

For the first time ever, the IRS actually addressed the “financing a small business with an IRA or 401(k)” strategy. They called it “ROBS” for “roll over business startup,” and issued a letter on October 1, 2008. This letter basically stated:

• We know about the ROBS strategy
• We are concerned about it for several reasons

Celebrate and Ignore

Most ROBS promoters spun the IRS ROBS letter as a long-awaited government blessing for the strategy. They said that the concerns that the IRS listed were administrative errors, such as not filing the plan’s annual valuation report, not telling the corporation’s employees that they can also participate in the plan, and not ever launching a bona fide business in the first place. “These can be avoided. Read between the lines here.”

According to ROBS promoters, what was between the lines is that the IRS implied that the ROBS strategy was legitimate in the first place.

You would think my quest for a final answer to “Is the ROBS strategy legal or illegal?” would lead me to the IRS building in Washington, D.C… Not so. What ROBS promoters were ignoring (or unaware of) is that a strange, mostly unknown Presidential move from the 70s placed this matter outside of the IRS and onto a different government agency. In fact, the IRS letter talked around the core ROBS issue and never faced “Is the ROBS strategy legal or illegal?” head on—because, after the move in the 70s, they actually don’t have the legal authority to comment or decide on the issue.

What Now?

Determined to get to the bottom of this, I went to the other government agency.

Oh yeah, let me tell you why this matter is so important: If the ROBS promoters are wrong, everyone who believed them will be subject to a tax of at least 115% of the amount of funds involved in the strategy. OUCH!

[to be continued]

Guidant calls it Audeo. Benetrends calls it Rainmaker. SDCooper calls it ERSOP. It goes by many names and it’s gotten a lot of attention from the franchise industry and, as of about a year ago, the IRS. The IRS calls it “ROBS” for Roll-Over Business Startup.

What is it?

It’s a strategy where a person with retirement funds:

1. Forms a C corporation.
2. Uses the new C corporation to adopt a 401(k) or profit-sharing plan.
3. Performs a rollover from existing retirement funds (IRA, 401k, etc) into the new 401(k) plan.
4. Directs the new 401(k) plan to invest into the new C corporation by purchasing shares of stock.
5. Now this person has a C corporation with some or all of their retirement funds in it, and they are told they can use the funds to run the corporation, launch a venture, buy a franchise, and even pay themselves a salary.

Special Powers – For Good or Evil?

This is a tremendously powerful strategy. The problem? Many attorneys think it’s illegal because of the prohibited transaction rules. Those rules say that the accounthoder (a.k.a. plan participant) is classified as a “disqualified person,” meaning that the retirement plan can’t transact with him or do things designed to benefit him outside of growing the plan.

To complicate matters, many other attorneys think it’s legal and on very solid ground. Why the disagreement? The pro-ROBS attorneys say that a special exemption throws the prohibited transaction rules out the window when you classify the transfer of the C corporation stock as “qualifying employer securities.”

A Quest for the Final Answer

About a year ago, my phone was ringing off the hook from people saying, “Some say it’s legal, some say it’s illegal. What’s the truth? I don’t want to risk my retirement fund on something sketchy!”

So I set out to get to the bottom of it, and the outcome will surprise you. Stay tuned for the tale of my trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with the guys with whom the buck stops.

I have decided to make most of my site in flash. I have started on the intro which is supposed to be work as an introduction to the site.

The viewer are not suppose to do anything, just look at the introduction, (maybe there will be a possibility to skip the intro, I haven‘t decided yet) The intro will consist of words that can be connected with the theme (Identity) crossing the screen. My main focus is that people can have several identities in different situations. The words will be written both in English, French and in Norwegian which is my language. In addition to the words crossing the screen it will be people, or the outline of people sliding over the screen. Identity have a strong connection to the term human/person. The last word sliding over the screen will be identity.

Main page:
To make the page a bit more unpredictable and exiting I will use pictures of different people with different features. And when you click on them different things will happen.

Here are some ideas:

Face 1:
- rollover – removes different features of the face, mouth/eyes ++

Face 2:
- rollover/clicking – The mask on the face changes

Face 3:
- rollover/clicking  – The mask is removed, you see what’s under – can be a painted face, nothing, a normal face (angry, happy, sad ++)

Face 4:
- rollover/clicking – The colour of the skin  changes

Face 5:
- rollover/clicking – animation – the face starts to talk, maybe in different languages

Face 6:
- rollover/clicking  – twoface: a person in profile, the face turns to the side when you click, the other half side of the face has other features, maybe scary/robot/machine/old ?

Face 7:
- When you click on the face a new picture displays, the person in hole figure standing and holding a poster, the word on the poser changes frequently. Words connected to the theme.

For 2009, due to decreased IRA values stemming from the poor economy, the IRS has waived the required minimum distribution rules.  This looks to be a one time thing, meaning that you will be required to start taking minimum distributions again next year.

If you mistakenly took a required payout from an IRA or a plan for 2009, the IRS is giving you a second chance to put the money back into your account. For 2009 the normal ban on rolling over required minimum payouts does not apply because for 2009 Congress suspended the rule requiring mandatory distributions from IRAs and defined contribution plans. Since many people may not have known about the suspension, they now have the option to roll the money back into the IRA or plan by Nov. 30 for mandatory payouts taken before Oct. 1, even those withdrawn or early in 2009. The 60-day rollover rule applies to such payouts taken after Sept. 30.

This relief is limited to one rollover for distributions made from and IRA, so if you took monthly payouts in 2009 from an IRA to meet the now suspended rule on minimum required distributions, you can only roll back one of the withdrawals.

After you leave your company, you may decide what to do with your retirement plan assets. Knowing your distribution options, and how they are going to affect your pension funds, can make the difference between having a comfortable retirement and not having one at all.

Direct Rollover into an IRA

The easiest way to avoid any mandatory state or federal withholding taxes, as well as a possible 10% penalty, is to immediately rollover your whole plan into an Individual Retirement Account ( IRA ). An IRA is a tax-deferred account that can be used to get retirement benefits distributed from an employer-qualified plan. Since all earnings continue to amass on a tax-deferred basis, your cash will compound and accumulate more fast than money placed in an otherwise identical taxable account.

Investments in an IRA can include stocks, bonds, govt instruments, unit investment trusts and mutual funds. Since most IRAs give you more investment selections than employer bankrolled plans, they give you the power and pliability to shift your investments as your goals and commercial conditions change.

If for some reason you have recently received your lump-sum distribution, minus the 20% mandatory withholding, all might not be lost. You have 60 days from the date you received your payout to invest these funds into an IRA, along with an additional 20% of your own cash to cover the amount withheld. When you file your tax return, you will receive credit for the twenty p.c. withheld. But recall, you only have 60 days to try this. If you fail to act within the sixty days, your entire payout will be subject to state and federal earnings taxes, a potential 10% premature distribution penalty, and its tax-deferred status will be lost forever.

Taxable Distribution

although taking a taxable distribution can offer you access to the savings in your retirement plan, there are a few things to consider when taking a lump-sum distribution :

* State and federal income taxes will take a “bite” out of your distribution. When you were making contributions to your 401 ( k ), you most likely did so with pre-tax greenbacks. Additionally, employer contributions to a professional plan on your behalf were also tax deferred. On distribution, you have got to pay current earnings taxes on all pre-tax contributions and takings.

* there’s a twenty p.c. compulsory Fed. income withholding tax that’s applied to eligible rollover distributions. If you elect to receive a check directly from your employer, you will only receive eighty percent of your distribution. Essentially, if you expect to get a check for $100,000, your employer will withhold 20%, or $20,000, and send you a check for $80,000.

* A ten percent penalty may also apply ( AKA a premature distribution penalty ). Generally, if you are under age 59 half you will have to pay the IRS an extra 10% penalty when you file your Fed earnings taxes next year. There are certain exceptions to this rule, such as death, disability, or substantially equal payments.

Transfer Funds to Your New Employer’s Plan

If your new employer’s plan accepts rollovers from another employer’s plan, you can transfer the funds directly to its 401 ( k ) plan or other type of qualified employer plan, avoiding current income taxes and the 20% withholding tax.

Keep Funds in Your Old Employer’s Plan

For account values of $5,000 or more, you could be able to keep your funds in your previous employer’s plan. Your funds will continue to accumulate tax-deferred, and can later be moved to a new employer’s qualified plan or an IRA without charge. If you are over the plan’s retirement age or age 62, your company may insist that you take a payout to decrease the plan’s executive costs. If this occurs, you still have the choice to make a direct rollover to an IRA.

do you have company stock in your retirement plan?

If your intention allows you to take in-kind distributions of company stock, be careful! There are special tax rules that apply to company stock in retirement plans, and making the incorrect call could cost you-significantly. Though rolling over your company stock to an IRA may allow you to avoid paying taxes and penalties right now, you may benefit more by employing a provision known as NUA ( Net Unrealized Appreciation ). By having the stock shares sent to you in a taxable form, you only need to pay taxes on the price tag basis of the stock. However once you sell the stock, any revenues will be treated as capital gains rather than normal income.
401k Rollover
401k Rollover

Once you leave your company, you may decide what to do with your retirement plan assets. Knowing your distribution options, and how they will affect your pension funds, can make the difference between having a comfortable retirement and not having one at all.

Direct Rollover into an IRA

The best way to avoid any compulsory state or Fed withholding taxes, as well as a possible 10% penalty, is to immediately rollover your complete plan into an Individual Retirement Account ( IRA ). An IRA is a tax-deferred account that may be used to receive retirement benefits distributed from an employer-qualified plan. Since all earnings continue to collect on a tax-deferred basis, your money will compound and amass more fast than money placed in an otherwise matching taxable account.

Investments in an IRA can include stocks, bonds, central authority stocks, unit investment trusts and mutual funds. Since most IRAs give you more investment choices than employer bankrolled plans, they give you the power and flexibleness to shift your investments as your goals and industrial conditions change.

If for some reason you have already received your lump-sum distribution, minus the twenty p.c. compulsory withholding, all may not be lost. You have 60 days from the date you received your payout to invest these funds into an IRA, together with an additional twenty p.c. of your own cash to cover the amount withheld. When you file your tax return, you may receive credit for the 20% withheld. But remember, you only have 60 days to try this. If you fail to act in the 60 days, your complete payout will be subject to state and federal earnings taxes, a potential 10% early distribution penalty, and its tax-deferred status will be lost forever.

Taxable Distribution

though taking a taxable distribution can give you access to the savings in your retirement plan, there are many things to consider when taking a lump-sum distribution :

* State and federal earnings taxes will take a “bite” out of your distribution. When you were making contributions to your 401 ( k ), you most likely did so with before tax dollars. Additionally, employer contributions to a qualified plan for you were also tax deferred. Upon distribution, you have to pay current earnings taxes on all pre-tax contributions and takings.

* there is a twenty percent compulsory Fed. revenue withholding tax that’s applied to eligible rollover distributions. If you choose to receive a check at once from your employer, you’ll only receive 80% of your distribution. Essentially, if you’re expecting to get a check for $100,000, your employer will withhold twenty p.c., or $20,000, and send you a check for $80,000.

* A 10% penalty could also apply ( often referred to as an early distribution penalty ). Often, if you’re under age 59 0.5 you will have to pay the IRS an additional 10% penalty when you file your federal income taxes next year. There are certain exceptions to this rule, such as death, incapacity, or significantly equal payments.

Transfer Funds to Your New Employer’s Plan

If your new employer’s plan accepts rollovers from another employer’s plan, you can transfer the funds directly to its 401 ( k ) plan or other sort of qualified employer plan, avoiding current revenue taxes and the twenty percent withholding tax.

Keep Funds in Your Old Employer’s Plan

For account values of $5,000 or more, you may be in a position to keep your funds in your former employer’s plan. Your funds will continue to accumulate tax-deferred, and can later be moved to a new employer’s qualified plan or an IRA without charge. If you are over the plan’s retirement age or age 62, your company may insist that you take a payout in order to decrease the plan’s administrative costs. If this occurs, you still have the option to make a direct rollover to an IRA.

do you have company stock in your retirement plan?

If your intention enables you to take in-kind distributions of company stock, be careful! There are special tax rules that apply to company stock in retirement plans, and making the wrong call could cost you-significantly. Though rolling over your company stock to an IRA may allow you to avoid paying taxes and penalties at this time, you can benefit more by using a provision known as NUA ( Net Unrealized Appreciation ). By having the stock shares sent to you in a taxable form, you just have to pay taxes on the price tag basis of the stock. However after you sell the stock, any revenues will be treated as capital gains rather than normal revenue.
401k Rollover
401k Rollover

If you’re unemployed, this might be a phrase that you’ve heard uttered once or maybe even twice. 

• It can come from someone at the Unemployment office telling you they won’t pay for additional education
• It can come from someone at the cable company telling you they lowered your bill as much as they can
• It can come from the guy at the gas station as you grumble about how high the prices are

Or, it can come directly from your Manager or HR person at your previous employer.  And, let me be the first to admit.. this is the one that stings the most… probably because they could indeed help me if they WANTED to.

Here’s why this topic is coming up for me after 3 months of unemployment. 

There Goes My Nest Egg

 

Me:  “I need to rollover my 401k and as I started thinking about details today, it brought me to a few questions”

HR: “You don’t need to call me about a rollover, you should deal directly with the finance company that manages the money”

Me: “I understand that however, my question relates to you (old employer) and I don’t feel that the finance company will be able to answer it”

HR: heavy sigh “Ok, what’s your question”

Me:  “Well, I was reading through the paperwork that I was given when I first signed up and it says that all employer matched contributions to my 401k only vest after 3 years of employment.”

HR: “Yes, that’s correct”

Me:  “Ok, well, as you know, my employment, through no fault of my own, ended prior to that 3 year requirement”

HR: “Yes”

Me:  wow, she’s being really helpful… “Well, I want to know if you’ve made any special considerations for these amounts to automatically vest for those of us who were let go.. I mean after all, the money is already deposited in my account.  And, I didn’t choose to leave my job”

HR: “Well, that’s not how the policy works.. you need to remain an employee for 3 years”

Me: “I know that’s not how it was set up to work, but I’m sure you weren’t considering lay offs at the time.  And, I also know that all details of a lay off package are open for modification if you (old company) so chooses”

HR: “I could talk to the owner (of old company) but the policy is the policy”

Me: “Look, (old company) was a small company and the owner is completely involved with every detail, I’m sure that if he decided he wanted to take care of his ex-employees in any way, he’d see that this is an exception to the policy that should be made”.

HR: “Let me look into it”

So, I was basically just told that as I rollover my retirements savings to an IRA,  I will get a check for my portion and ex-employer will get a check for their refunded amount.  Congratulations ex-employer.. you have not only saved the cost of my salary, but now I’m going to send you a check of “my money”.

She does indeed call me back:

HR:  “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do.  You need to work here 3 years for those amounts to vest”

Me:  “Thanks for nothing… you guys sure do know how to screw someone over huh?”

Just Like Throwing Money Out The Window

I have to admit, I’m pissed.   Even 3 months after I leave, they are still finding ways to remind me of how much it sucked to lose my job. 

And yes, as I make phone calls today to transfer money, after my happy day yesterday…..I’m back to being bitter. 

These mood swings are going to kill me!

I’m not 401k or IRA Expert.  But I know one.

Dean Voelker Aams Certified Financial Planner

His name is Dean Voelker. Dean is an Aams Certified Financial Counselor.  He is an expert on 401k and IRA Savings Accounts.

Dean Voelker Knows How To Fix Your 401k

I was delighted have Dean as a guest on Debt Warriors Radio Show last Week.  Dean is working on a book titled, “Fixing Your 401k” and he was an excellent guest on Debt Warriors Radio .

Dean shared 5 Concerns of retirement savings plans.

1. Participation: Many Americans don’t take advantage of the benefits that come with active participation with their Retirement Plans.  In the show, Dean breaks down how “accidental participation” in Retirement Accounts can damage Retirees in the years to come.

2. Portability: Dean went in-depth on the issues of  ”Portability”.  There is a wealth of solid information that Dean shares regarding what to consider when ‘rolling-over’ a 401k plan.

3. Loans: Dean has a standard but interesting response to questions people ask about taking out Loans on their 401k plans.  This is a topic that is becoming of greater importance as more Americans loose their jobs.  Dean explains why he is against taking a loan out on a 401k and why taking a loan should only be used as a last resort.

4.  Investments: This is an area that I wish that Dean and I could have went into more detail about.  There are many different “retirement investment strategies” that everyone should have some understanding of.  What separates Dean from the other Financial Planners out there is that he shares his knowledge in an easy to understand frame-work.

5. Education: If you listen to the show, Dean goes deep into the halls of Financial Education.  More specifically, Dean encourages Americans to educate themselves about Retirment Savings.  Of course, he’s always ready to help.

Sony Ericsson lunched a new website this week. what is more interesting is their decision to use multiple types of navigation in it. Every category has specific grid which is very intuitive.

In the Homepage they used Jquery menu that opens when rollovering it.

The innovation in this navigation compared to the old one (some screens below) is the main menu. by using very smoothly  animation that scrolls the hole screen to the bottom, the user doesn’t have to make any effort  in order to filter the products. As soon as he check a type of cellphone all of them aligned to the top of the page.

As seen in the 3 remaining categories pages, the navigation types and different grids were adapted to it’s target audience except the one in Fun and Downloads page.  The page looks broken with to many flash menus in it:

Well, you are welcome to explore the site,Indeed, the switch from the old website was perfectly done.

Some screens from the old web site are below:

(CFD.net.au – Contract for Difference, Share, Forex, ETFs, Commodities Traders) –

What Is Rollover Interest?

Rollover interest is paid or debited to traders who have open currency positions at 5pm EST each day the trade is open. Trades opened before 5pm EST and held until after this time are considered to be held overnight and thus are subject t …

What Is Rollover Interest?




Rollover Interest is paid or debited to traders who have open currency positions at 5pm EST each day the trade is open. Trades opened before 5pm EST and held until after this time are considered to be held overnight and thus are subject to Interest credit or debits depending on the position the trader has open.

Whether a credit or debit is applied to the trader’s account is determined by which country’s currency the trader bought or sold relative to another country’s currency. All currencies trade in


pairs


, meaning one country’s currency is always relative to another country’s currency. An example of this is the

EUR/USD

. Therefore, the amount of interest received by the trader For holding the EUR/USD pair overnight will be determined by the difference in Interest Rates prevailing in each location when the Rollover occurs.

In most cases, retail Forex brokers automatically roll over trades. Retail brokers do this to prevent traders, most of whom are

speculators

, from having to deliver actual currency to the party on the other side of the trade.

Settlement

, which is the day the trader would have to deliver actual currency to the person on the opposing side of the trade, is two days after the transaction took place. With brokers rolling over positions, trades can be left open without actual delivery of the full value of the currency position taking place. If rollover did not occur, the trader would be required to deliver the face value of the currency. This is because the Forex market is where we trade contracts in which one currency is Exchanged For another; this is to be delivered in two business days. (For more on settlement and other Forex topics, take a look at our


Forex Tutorial


.)

Rollover interest is paid or debited based on the total value of the trade, and not simply the

margin

used for the trade. For example, if a trader is holding one lot of EUR/USD, he or she will be credited or debited interest on $100,000 (the full value of one lot), and not only the margin put up for the trade.

It is also important to note that rollover is not a charge for using leverage. It is a common misconception that if rollover is debited from a trader this is the cost of the leverage that a broker provided for this trader. This is not the case. The debit or credit is based on the difference between the Interest Rates of the countries involved in the currency pair the trader is holding.

Credits and debits to Trading Account




Credits or debits in interest are paid based on which currency in the currency pair the trader has purchased and whether that country’s currency has a higher or lower Interest Rate attached to it. For example, if a trader purchases the

USD/JPY

pair, meaning she buys the U.S. dollar and sells the Japanese yen, and the U.S. has a higher interest rate (2%) than the JPY (0.5%), then the trader will be credited the interest rate differential - roughly 1.5% a year (unleveraged). If the trader sells the USD/JPY, meaning he sells the USD and buys the JPY, then he would be debited the interest rate differential between the two countries. (Learn about factors that influence interest rates in



Forces Behind interest rates


.

)

Simply put, a trader will be paid interest each day that he or she holds the higher interest-bearing currency, or will be debited each day that he or she holds the lower interest-bearing currency. Countries’ interest rates are determined by a number of economic factors and change over time.

Because banks around the world are Generally closed on Saturday and Sunday, the interest for these days is applied on Wednesday. This means that if a trade is left open on Wednesday and is held after 5pm EST, that trade will be credited or debited for an extra two days of interest.

Brokers automatically do all of this for traders. A credit or debit will simply be shown in the account for each position that was open at 5pm EST. This could happen through a debit or credit in the trader’s account, normally under a “rollover” or “roll” heading. It may also be debited or credited to a trader by way of an adjustment in the entry price.

Profiting From Rollover




Receiving rollover is an additional income stream over and above regular capital Gains. For this reason, trades can be set up not only to take advantage of capital Gains, but also interest income.


Day traders


can allow positions to stay open slightly longer to gain interest income if they are long a higher interest rate bearing currency. Also,


swing traders


and investors may decide to only take longer term positions in currency pairs where they can be long the higher interest rate bearing currency.

Additionally, if a trader expects that a currency pair will remain relatively flat for the year, or finish the year around current values, he or she can take advantage of the interest rate differential on the currencies and make a handsome profit if in fact the currencies do stay around the same value (this also assumes interest rates don’t change).  If an investor goes long the EUR/JPY believing she will close the year at roughly the same value, she can make a large profit by using Forex market leverage. A 2% profit due to the interest rate differential could mean a 20% return if 10:1 leverage is used. This also means the investor could lose 2% (or 20% or more if leveraged at this level or higher) just by holding the lower interest bearing currency for a year.

Tax Considerations




Rollover interest is much like the interest paid to a bank account balance. Thus, rollover is taxed as interest income, and should be kept track of separately from


capital gains


for tax purposes. Brokers show interest received/debited in online trading activity statements.

Summary




Rollover is interest that is debited or credited to a trader’s accounts when positions are held after 5pm EST. Whether interest is credited depends on whether the trader is long the higher interest rate bearing currency. If he is, he will receive a credit; if not, he will receive a debit. Rollover is done automatically and nothing is required of the trader except to track interest separately for tax purposes (listed within the account reports). Rollover is calculated on the full value of the position and thus can provide additional profit for the trader or cause a decrease in profits or increase in losses.



(To learn more, see



Getting Started In Forex



and



Floating And Fixed Exchange Rates



.)

by Cory Mitchell

,

(

Contact Author

|

Biography

)






Cory Mitchell is an independent trader specializing in short- to medium-term technical strategies. He is the founder of

www.vantagepointtrading.com

, a website dedicated to free trader education and discussion. After graduating with a business degree, Mitchell has spent the last five years trading multiple markets and educating traders. He has been widely published and is a member of the Canadian Society of Technical Analysts and the Market Technicians Association.

Source: Understanding Forex Rollover Credits And Debits

Rollover Car Crashes in Las Vegas

A tragic accident on Interstate 15 highway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas when one of their vehicles rolled over, killing two family members and seriously injuring four others.
A  spokesman for the California Highway Patrol (CHP), told the Reporter that the van tumbled over into the center divider of the highway, ejecting four of the van’s passengers.

The four survivors were airlifted by a helicopter to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center and Loma Linda University Medical Center for severe injuries ranging from head and back trauma to abdominal injuries.  The recent bankruptcy of GM will impact how Las Vegan’s recover from roll over tragedies.

The GM Reorganization and Product Liability Claims

The U.S. Treasury Department is negotiating with more than a dozen state attorneys general to roll back two key features of General Motors Corp.’s bankruptcy plan that would have wiped out billions of dollars in potential claims from car-accident victims and closed auto dealers.

The discussions show how the federal government’s GM rescue is brushing up against the limits of its ambitious legal approach, which attempted to use the Bankruptcy Code to override many state legal contracts and protections.

This could ultimately expand the cost of GM’s $60 billion bailout, though government officials say it
shouldn’t delay the emergence of a “new GM” from bankruptcy protection.  This article recently made it on to the law professor blog for mass torts.
Law Professor Blogs Are

The permanent resources & links and daily news & information are designed to collect in one place materials helpful to law professors in their scholarship and teaching:

Permanent Resources and Links:

• A list of all the law professors in the field, with links to their personal web pages, along with a list of recent lateral moves, entry level hires, and visiting appointments
• A list of casebooks and other materials, with links to the books on the publisher’s web site
• Links to working papers on SSRN, colloquia, and specialized law reviews
• Links to professional organizations for faculty (AALS section, ABA section, etc.)
• Links to think tanks, U.S., state & foreign law sources, publishers, and other web sites of interest

Victims Have Historically Been Able to Recover Their Damages

The Firestone lawsuit

The settlement of the $1 billion lawsuit a Texas family filed against Bridgestone/Firestone over a Ford Explorer rollover involving Firestone tires would be impossible under a bankruptcy discharge.
The settlement came in the first of more than 100 lawsuits filed against the Nashville, Tenn. -based company to come to trial since the recall of 6.5 million tires last summer. The tires have been linked to 203 traffic deaths and more than 700 injuries in the United States.

Firestone lawyers blamed the rollover on the design of the Ford Explorer and urged the jurors to hold Ford responsible. The Rodriguez family has settled with Ford for a reported $6 million.

Firestone attorneys introduced several internal Ford documents that said the Explorer had a propensity to lose steering control and roll over.

Dealerships That Historically Paid for Injuries cased by Their Negligence Will be Immunized if They Go Bankrupt

A passenger injured in a vehicle fire where the dealership was at fault reached a $250,000 settlement of his Phelps County personal injury case against a car dealership that attempted to repair a fuel-line leak a couple of days before the fire.

Wenzel was hospitalized at Maricopa for 13 days before he was released, and his parents took him back to Pennsylvania for recuperation. He received successful follow-up treatment for a year, leaving little to no visible scarring. His medical bills totaled $69,849.

Plaintiff’s automotive mechanics expert, Michael Hearrold, testified that a reasonable mechanic would have replaced the entire fuel line instead of attempting to splice out a portion and clamp it together. Hearrold explained that the attempted repair by Hutcheson Ford was not done properly because neither of the ends was flared.

If you want your dog to roll around in a circle you would tell him to;  “roll over”.

An accident where a vehicle flips is called a “rollover”.