By Joshua Condon

Posted January 24th 2012

The annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has always been a haven for manufacturers of aftermarket automotive electronics. But CES 2012 marked the first year that major automakers made their presence felt in Sin City. Audi, Chrysler, Ford, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Subaru all used North America’s largest trade show to demonstrate advances in in-car infotainment, showcase next-generation alternative-powertrain vehicles and offer conceptual visions of how technology will power cars not only a few years from now, but well into the future. Here, we break down some of the most exciting announcements.

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By Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Foo

Posted January 8th 2012

If one Wall Street analyst is right, Apple (AAPL) is about to make TV buffs very happy in the coming year.

Sterne Agee analyst Shawn Wu notes that the inevitable launch of a full-blown Apple TV in 2012 will also be accompanied by an Internet-based television service for which the channels and shows will be completely customizable. In other words, viewers will be able to choose exactly which cable channels or TV shows they want to watch, and not have to pay for the dozens — if not hundreds — of channels that they don’t want.

“I finally cracked it,” Steve Jobs told his biographer when discussing television, shortly before he died.

Jobs may have been talking about the interface, remote control, or perhaps cloud storage of content, but what if he was already thinking ahead to the biggest gripe that consumers have with their escalating cable bills.

Farewell to the ‘ESPN Tax’

Traditional cable and satellite television bills are getting out of hand.

Media tracker SNL Kagan claims that ESPN sets distributors back a hefty $4.69 a month per home. Since ESPN is part of most standard cable packages, it’s not as if couch potatoes that don’t care about sports can opt out of ESPN without downgrading to the most basic of packages that includes mostly the over-the-air channels that they could get on their own with an HD antenna.

Cable networks also often force cable and satellite companies to carry their lesser channels in order to get the more popular channels. For example, Madison Square Garden (MSG) may require a company that wants its flagship MSG channel to also carry its rarely watched Fuse music video channel.

Letting the customers who ultimately pay the bills for these negotiated bundles decide what they want to pay for — and what they don’t — is the right thing to do, but even the mighty Apple is going to have a hard time convincing broadcasters to do the right thing.

Apple TV Just Got Even More Interesting

If homes can save money by customizing their channel lineups, it will also mean that the content creators will make less. Audiences for individual networks will shrink, and with that the subscription revenue and — for those that run commercials — what advertisers are willing to pay for 30-second spots.

Networks are scalable businesses with high fixed costs. Production costs for new shows aren’t cut in half if their audiences are halved. So what Apple is trying to do should be worrying cable network executives, while at the same time delighting the viewers who are left shaking their heads every month when the cable bill arrives.

Then again, if anyone can do this it’s Apple. Record executives weren’t ready for digital distribution when Apple made legal music downloads cool through iTunes. Nobody wanted a tablet until Apple rolled out the iPad. Apple has been successful because it can see where the market is heading before anyone else.

Cable networks will fight this to the very end, but Apple and its growing army of couch potatoes will get their way — or abandon the networks altogether.

Longtime Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz does not own shares in any of the stocks in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of Madison Square Garden and Apple. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Apple. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended creating a bull call spread position in Apple.

By Selena Dehne

Posted December 2nd 2011

If you’re thinking about freelancing or starting your own business, you need to consider which type of work setting is best for you. Can you afford to lease a space? If so, should you – or would it be better to work from home and put your money elsewhere? If you do work from home, will you be productive or will you wind up running errands and watching TV all day?

Kristin Cardinale, author of “The 9-to-5 Cure: Work on Your Own Terms and Reinvent Your Life,” says there are two key questions to ask yourself when evaluating these issues.

1. Will receiving clients into your office be a core piece of the work?

“For example, if you will be operating as a life coach for part of each day, then securing an office space may be necessary to make your clients feel comfortable,” she says. “However, if you are doing graphic design work, then perhaps a laptop and a café are all that you need to conduct successful client meetings. The acceptable norms of each industry are unique, and you have to determine for yourself what is appropriate for you, your business and your clients.

“Also, keep in mind that the work you do may change over time as you identify viable sources of income and learn more about the type of work you most enjoy doing,” she adds.

2. Will working from home result in you sitting on the couch in your pajamas and watching infomercials for hours on end?

“If you know going in that you lack the discipline to focus on the work at hand and ignore the television, refrigerator and other distractions, then you may want to consider leasing some space,” Cardinale says. “However, remember that you will need to be much more productive at bringing in business to cover the costs of your lease each month.”

If you decide to work from home, here are a few of Cardinale’s tips that you’ll want to keep in mind.

Minimize noise pollution

Will you be calling clients? Is there a possibility you’ll conduct business through Skype or other video conferences? If so, you need to ensure that your work space is  quiet. “In other words, avoid a situation where an important meeting is interrupted because your dog starts barking wildly at the mailman,” Cardinale says.

Create a conversation corner

The space you set aside for face-to-face client meetings and video conferences should be neat, clean and appropriately decorated, Cardinale says. “For example, in your home office you may wish to dedicate one corner to virtual meetings, complete with a small table for a webcam, a comfortable chair and a lamp that provides appropriate lighting. Be sure to evaluate any photos, artwork or other decorations that would be in view of the client for appropriateness based on your industry. Remember, when you work with people in a virtual environment, these few images they see may be the only evidence they have available to build a mental picture of who you are in real time,” she explains.

Look the part

“Although you may be sitting around in your track suit all day long, it is important to dress and act the part of a professional when on camera [during a video conference],” Cardinale says. “Clients will develop an image of who you are based on those brief on-camera interactions, so be prepared to dress and act the part of the consummate professional, however that is defined within your industry.”

Selena Dehne is a career writer for JIST Publishing who shares the latest occupational, career and job search information available with job seekers and career changers. She is also the author of JIST’s Job Search and Career Blog (http://jistjobsearchandcareer.blogspot.com/). Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/SelenaDehne.

By Michael Hill, Associated Press

Posted November 14th 2011

Denny Johnston received more than a pension and a handshake when he retired from the Washington state corrections system in 2009.

Because he used only a quarter of his sick days over a three-decade-long career, he was able to convert $15,000 of unused sick time into a tax-free account to pay health-care expenses.

While the benefit is extremely rare in the private sector, where use-it-or-lose-it policies prevail, state and local government workers around the country can convert unused sick time into straight cash, retirement credits or use them to pay for health care when they retire.

The perk can add up.

In Ohio, 2,164 state retirees eligible to cash out sick time at a 55 percent rate received an average of $5,646 in the 2011 fiscal year. More than 4,300 departing Florida employees who retired or otherwise left state service last fiscal year averaged about $3,000 in sick-time payments. At least five received 10 times that.

“I worked for 30 years, and I worked in what could be a high-pressure type situation from time to time,” said Johnston, a 60-year-old Olympia resident who held a series of jobs in the Washington Department of Corrections, from counselor to manager, before retiring. “I didn’t make as much money as I could have in the private sector, but I did enjoy having things like seniority rights and having benefits.”

At least half the states allow eligible employees to turn unused sick time into cash when they retire or quit. More than a dozen others allow retiring employees to apply the unused sick time to pension credits or other benefits, according to a nationwide review by the Associated Press.

Many city and county workers around the country also receive the benefit.

It’s at the local level where sick time cash-outs tend to attract attention after especially large payouts, such as an outgoing Miami-Dade county manager whose benefit package included $78,984 in unused sick time. These headline-grabbing cases typically involve administrative employees with higher salaries.

Proponents of the benefit say the ability to monetize leftover sick days encourages good attendance and is a fair trade-off for what they believe is lower pay for public workers.

Research differs on whether public or private employees have higher pay but generally shows that public employees have far better pensions, retiree health benefits and job security.

Critics see the sick time cash-outs as yet another example of government employees receiving benefits that are not available to those who work in the private sector. Just 4 percent of private sector companies offer sick leave cash-outs to employees, according to the Society for Human Resource Management, an Alexandria, Va.-based organization for human resource professionals.

By Amy Fontinelle

Posted November 1st 2011

Refinancing your mortgage can be a great way to save money, but it’s not a sure thing. Before you take the plunge, ask yourself these six questions to avoid making a major money mistake.

1. Do I have the time to spare?
This question is basic, but you shouldn’t overlook it. If you’re already very busy with work or other major obligations, it may be in your best interests to wait until you have more time to deal with the details of the loan. If you are too busy or stressed out, you might make a mistake, missing something important in the fine print or falling prey to a bad loan. Refinancing should be done with the same extreme care you put into getting your original mortgage — it’s just as big a decision.

2. Will I break even or come out ahead?
Most people assume that refinancing will put them ahead; otherwise, they wouldn’t do it. But how realistic is this assumption? Any number of situations could arise, from work relocation to family emergency, that could influence your financial situation and make your decision to refinance unprofitable. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to predict with complete accuracy whether you will own the home long enough to come out ahead on a refinance, but you can make an educated guess. Since it is possible to lose money on a refinance, it’s important to consider whether you can afford that risk.

3. Am I disciplined enough to resist rolling other debt into my mortgage?
It might sound like a good idea to pay off some of your other debts by refinancing them into your mortgage. Why owe money to multiple people and make multiple debt payments every month, when you could have just one debt and one major monthly payment, all at a low interest rate? Well, let’s use an auto loan as an example. Auto loans often have higher rates than mortgage loans — depending on what market conditions were like when each loan was taken out, of course — but they also have fairly short terms. If you take that short-term loan and turn it into a 30-year loan, even at a lower interest rate, you’re likely to end up paying more. You didn’t think the bank was offering to consolidate your debt out of the kindness of its heart, did you? Banks are businesses. They’re in it for the profit, and if they can stretch out a loan for you, they’re often happy to do it because it allows them to collect more interest.

4. Am I likely to qualify for the rate I want?
The current interest rates for a refinance quoted on major financial websites and the evening news can only give you a general idea of what interest rate you might be able to get. The details of your specific situation, such as your credit score and the type of loan you want to refinance into, will affect the rates available to you. If you don’t qualify for the lowest advertised rates, is it still worthwhile to refinance? Talk to a few lenders to see what kind of rate you can expect, but keep in mind that the unscrupulous ones will quote any rate to get your business. If you trust the person who handled your first mortgage, that’s a good place to start your research.

5. Can I meet today’s tighter lending standards?
If you took out your last mortgage before the housing bubble, when no-doc loans were commonplace, you may be stunned by the borrower requirements and documentation requirements to refinance in today’s market. Many lenders will want you to have a high credit score and ask you to provide full documentation of your financial situation, such as recent pay stubs, bank account statements, tax returns and more.

6. Can I prevent going from a good loan to a bad loan?
If you’re not savvy when it comes to money, contracts and salespeople — in this case, loan officers — or you just don’t trust yourself to not make a mistake, refinancing might not be in your best interest. If you know you have a good loan, you may not want to roll the dice and see what you end up with when you refinance. And if you already have a bad loan, refinancing will be useless if you just end up in another bad loan. Also, there’s always the risk of bait and switch — just like when you first bought your home, a lender may quote you one interest rate and set of fees on the day you decide to work with them and give you something entirely different when it’s time to sign the paperwork.

Refinancing can be a great way to save money. If you do it right, you can improve your short-term cash flow while also increasing your long-term net worth. But a bad refinance can put you in a situation where the only person benefiting is the loan officer. If your answer to any of the questions in this article is “no,” you may be better off looking for simpler ways to decrease your expenses, such reviewing your insurance policies, cutting your grocery bill or looking for ways to lower other household bills.

By Rick Armon

Posted October 25th 2011

(PHOTO: HONORABLE RANDOLPH BAXTER, US BANKRUPTCY COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT)

Fewer Ohioans are filing for bankruptcy protection.

But don’t be fooled into thinking that means people are better off or that the economy is turning around.

“It’s not necessarily a good sign,” said Keith Rucinski, a U.S. bankruptcy trustee in Akron. “It’s a sign that people don’t have the funds to pursue a bankruptcy or they don’t have the assets to protect.”

Personal bankruptcies dropped 10 percent statewide for the 12-month period ending June 30 compared with the previous 12-month period, according to the latest figures from U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Overall, 63,771 nonbusiness cases — under Chapters 7, 11 and 13 — were filed in Ohio from July 2010 to June 2011, down from 70,891 the previous year.

Summit County experienced a similar 10 percent drop.

Bankruptcy experts offer several theories why, but none involves an improving economy. Instead, the reasons include people in trouble turning to consumer credit to keep afloat and other people not even having the money available to pay the attorney fees and court costs to file.

The top reasons for filing remain the same, experts said: unemployment, medical bills and divorce.

Consumer credit

The biggest indicator for bankruptcy filings is consumer credit, said Robert Lawless, a national bankruptcy expert and professor at the University of Illinois College of Law.

When consumer credit is easily available — like it has been over the past year — people are willing to borrow and accumulate debt to pay for such items as groceries and utilities. They bank on pulling themselves out of trouble in the future.

“As consumer credit becomes less available, the short-term effect is that bankruptcy filings will go up because people will run out of options,” Lawless said.

But bankruptcy filings are not an economic indicator, he added.

“It’s a legal act with legal consequences,” Lawless said. “There are a lot of people in financial distress who don’t file bankruptcy … and you can have high bankruptcy rates in economic boom times.”

Low on cash

Some people have hit rock bottom and are putting off filing because they don’t have the cash available, experts said.

A Chapter 7 filing can cost upward of $1,500, while a Chapter 13 filing can be $3,000 or more.

“If they could afford to do it, they would,” said Debra Booher, an attorney who handles bankruptcies with Booher & Associates in Cuyahoga Falls. “I don’t think they are waiting by choice. They just can’t afford it.”

She advises clients to pay for food and rent before a bankruptcy.

“I want you to eat,” she said.

Another indicator, though on a smaller scale, involves employment. When employment picks up, there probably will be more bankruptcies because many creditors attempt to garnish wages, pushing some people into filing.

That’s why experts advise people not to file for bankruptcy while at rock bottom; they should wait until they have assets to protect.

“The right time to file is not when you’re in free fall, but when you are on an upswing,” said Jason Kilborn, resident scholar at the American Bankruptcy Institute in Alexandria, Va., and a professor at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

Bankruptcy trends

U.S. Bankruptcy Court statistics break down filings by county.

The statistics show that 83 out of 88 counties experienced a drop. Only Fairfield, Gallia, Lawrence, Meigs and Vinton counties — all in southern Ohio — experienced an increase.

The declines varied greatly in large urban counties: Stark, 15 percent; Lucas, 12 percent; Montgomery, 11 percent; Franklin, 7 percent; Hamilton, 4 percent; and Cuyahoga, 3 percent.

In the Akron area, Wayne had the largest decline at 22 percent.

Pike County in southern Ohio saw the largest percentage decline statewide at 40 percent.

Business bankruptcies fall

Business bankruptcies also dropped statewide, from 2,033 to 1,518, or by 25 percent, over the same period.

Rucinski, the Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee, said he has seen many small-business owners struggling.

They might have built their businesses up over years but now are laying off employees and returning to work to keep the business going, he said.

“Mom and Pop are back working long hours,” Rucinski said.

That, of course, doesn’t help the workers who are laid off, he added.

Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.

Posted October 17th 2011

COLUMBUS: Gasoline prices have jumped in Ohio as oil prices move higher again.

Monday’s survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express puts the statewide average price for regular-grade gasoline at $3.37, up 11 cents from last week.

Oil prices have been on the rise for the last two weeks amid economic indicators that have made traders hopeful the U.S. won’t fall back into recession. Another downturn could hurt demand for fuel.

As oil prices rally, the cost of gasoline has been pushed to record levels for this time of year, according to AAA and its partners.

Ohio motorists are paying more than 50 cents more for gas than they were a year ago, when regular was averaging $2.81.

___

Online: AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report at http://fuelgaugereport.aaa.com/

Posted October 13th 2011

Tattoos are much more socially acceptable now than they were in the past, but unless you’re working in a place where tattoos are applauded, it’s best to keep them covered. This is especially true during the interview. You don’t want anyone distracted from your skills and ability to do the job, so it is best to streamline everything so that the interviewer focuses on what is most important. After you get the job and after you become more familiar with the workplace rules and policies, and how those in leadership might feel about tattoos, then you can decide if you will be penalized for revealing your tattoo or not.

By Jessica Anderson

Posted October 7th 201

Posted September 16th 2011

CLEVELAND — Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald announced today that he has approved a new county vehicle policy that requires employees to take responsibility for their own parking and traffic tickets.

In previous years, too often, county government could not identify the employee responsible for parking tickets or for traffic infractions detected by automated cameras. In fact, the county eventually paid $22,240 to the city of Cleveland to cover the cost of tickets racked up by unidentified county drivers from 2000 through 2010.

No more. “The free rides are over,” FitzGerald said. “From now on, county employees are going to have to start paying their parking tickets and traffic tickets, just like everyone else. Taxpayers will no longer be footing the bill.”

FitzGerald is also overseeing other reforms of county vehicle use, including reductions in the number of employees permitted to take vehicles home and in the overall size of the county fleet. The county is planning to auction at least 26 vehicles as part of a broader effort to dispose of surplus county equipment. The auction is expected to take place near the end of October. Also, the number of take-home vehicles has been reduced from 23 to 8, not including sheriff’s vehicles.

A key reason that county government sometimes ended up paying the cost of employees’ traffic tickets was bad record keeping on county vehicle use. Managers sometimes had a difficult time knowing for sure which employee was responsible for a particular ticket.

The new policy directs supervisors to keep logs of when employees are using vehicles assigned to their department or division. In fact, according to the new policy, if the employee responsible for a ticket can’t be identified, the supervisor will be held responsible for the cost.

“When most people get a ticket, they either pay up or take their case to court,” FitzGerald said. “From now on, we are holding our employees to the same standard.”