| Funding worries close library
There won't be a children's story time at the North Shore Library today, nor will the library's doors be open again any time soon. The building was locked up last weekend after members of the Julie Thurston Library Guild decided it had to be done. It will be closed until further notice. "This was a very difficult decision for the guild to make, but they've been putting it off as long as they could," said Meg Schneider, president of the library's board of directors. "It wasn't easy to do this but we have run out of options." In recent months, things had begun looking up for the struggling library on the North Shore of Oneida Lake in Constantia. After years of surviving on a shoestring, thanks to bake sales and plant sales and book sales and private donations, the library seemed poised to receive financial assistance from the town.
Here are a few words to the wise holiday shopper
The glittery ghouls and plastic pumpkins are barely back in their boxes, and already retailers are in full-blown winter-wonderland mode. Although it all might seem a little premature, retailers know what they're doing - and you should, too. Here are some tips to help you prepare a spending strategy that won't leave you wandering through a mall waving your credit card at any kiosk worker selling scented candles. 1. Know what you want to spend. The National Retail Federation's consumer intentions survey this year indicates that the average consumer plans to spend $816.69 on holiday shopping, with 76 percent of that going to gifts. If you don't have any savings at this point, that would be $16.33 a day from now until Christmas, $16.01 a day from now until the start of Kwanzaa or $28.16 a day from now until the start of Hanukkah.
Revenue offers new amnesty on tax delinquents
Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is trying once more to claw back money from people with offshore bank accounts through the offer of a partial amnesty. The move follows an attempt to offer offshore account holders an amnesty in June 2007 which has produced meagre pickings for Revenue & Customs . From early next year, HMRC will announce a second partial amnesty designed to persuade holders of offshore accounts to reveal the tax that they owe in exchange for a reduced fine. .
Ian Gillespie! Read the latest from our City columnist, who profiles the most interesting people in London
MONTREAL -- Canadians who watched nervously as Alcan Inc. moved to foreign control likely have nothing to fear from the proposed US$149-billion takeover of Rio Tinto by mining giant BHP Billiton, industry analysts say. Commitments by London-based Rio Tinto ahead of its purchase of Alcan -- including upgrades to smelters in Kitimat, B.C., and Saguenay, Que. -- won't likely be affected by BHP's pitch for Rio Tinto, mining analyst Charles Bradford of Soleil-Bradford Research said. "When you buy something you don't want to sell off the good things or close the good things," he said from New York. "And in this case, I think there is relatively little they want to dispose of." Bradford said he believes BHP would abide by Rio Tinto's commitment to honour the Quebec government energy agreement.
ESTATE PLANNING column: Accessing a joint account following death
Q: My sister and I are listed as joint owners on our mother's savings account. After our mother passes away, can we legally close the account to use the money to pay for funeral expenses?A: It's pretty common for children to be added to bank accounts so that they can get to the funds in the event the parent dies. The short answer to your question is, yes, you should be able to access the funds in the account after your mother's death. The long answer, however, is you will have to jump through a few hoops to get to the funds.Before the bank will release funds to you, as surviving joint owner, you will likely have to provide a consent to transfer signed by the county assessor's office.A consent to transfer essentially is a release that the state gives, allowing the release of an asset to a surviving joint owner, beneficiary or other person entitled to the asset.However, before the assessor's office is willing to sign a consent, it will ask for certain things, including, but not limited to, a death certificate.
City war game that ended in a battle to save Northern Rock
In the first of a two-part series on the near-collapse of Britain's fifth-biggest bank, we reveal how warnings about risky loans were ignored and how the Square Mile couldn't agree on a rescue dealGraphic: How Northern Rock tried to find its way out of the credit crunch .
Overdraft Fees Catch Consumers Off Guard
Debit cards are very popular these days. But, many people are finding themselves stuck with huge overdraft fees from the cards. The banking industry calls the overdraft protection a "convenience". Using a debit card can be an easy way to pay. "I use my debit card for small purchases online and when I don't have cash," said Joseph Rizk, a college student and debit card user. But, if consumers are not careful that convenience can cost them. Rizk found that out the hard way. "I went to a fast food restaurant and made a small purchase and I overdrafted," he said. But he didn't know his bank gave him overdraft protection, so he kept using the card, thinking he had at least a little money in his account.
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