Bank finance articles and tips

Back in 2007 the number of Canadians aged 55-64 jumped to 3.7 million and over 4 million people were over the age of 65. Despite the magnitude of these numbers back then, they will continue to and have been increasing in the last 5 years because the baby boomer generation account for close to a third of Canada's 32 million people. 2011 was the first year for people of the baby boomer's generation to turn 65; given that 1946 is when the start of the generation boom is generally agreed upon. Stats Canada projected that before 2017 one fifth of work force employees will be aged 55-64, meaning that Canada will have more people leaving the workforce than being able to enter it....

When AT&T Wireless offered its first Initial Public Offering in early 2000, it outdid the previous largest IPO by UPS (United Parcel Services). While the company offered about 360 million shares priced between $26 and $32 per share, it managed to raise a capital of $10.6 billion with each share being sold at $29.50, slightly above the mid-point of the price range. This was approximately twice the capital raised by the UPS, which managed to raise $5.52 billion by going public. However, not everything was smooth with the largest among the high profile US IPOs.

When the offering was made public in April 2000, AT&T Wireless encountered hesitant market behavior thanks to the reports indicating an increase in inflation. This data, along with the reports of a rise in labor costs by the Labor Department, made it a less than perfect day for the IPO. The telecom industry was on the verge of several ambitious acquisitions and mergers such as those between the Bell Atlantic and Vodafone AirTouch, SBC Communications and BellSouth and the acquisition of Sprint PCS by MCI WorldCom....

For those Americans who would like to make some extra cash by reporting on friends or family who cheat on their taxes, the IRS has two whistleblower programs. Both programs run off of a central principal that the larger the amount of money recouped, the more money given to the whistleblower.

The first program is a small-awards program for cases involving under $2 million in unpaid taxes. For this program, whistleblowers can earn as much as 15 percent of the amount recouped, though it is unusual to make that much. The second program is a large-awards program, which involves cases of unpaid taxes over $2 million dollars. For these cases, whistleblowers can make significantly more money, with rewards reaching as much as 30 percent.