Changes to the pension protection act of 2001 created the Solo 401(k) plan. Thanks to these tax-law changes, the Solo 401(k) is revolutionizing the way many self-employed individuals save for retirement. Never before have the self-employed been afforded the same advantages and protections that traditional 401(k) participants have maintained. SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs and Traditional…
Investors who kept faith in Asia as the world teetered on the brink of financial meltdown a year ago have been richly rewarded – the region’s markets rode out the storm in spectacular style and posted stunning gains. The economic outlook for 2010 appears far sunnier. But with frothy markets betting on a smooth return…
They are rare, beautiful, valuable and a girl’s best friend but traditionally diamonds have not been considered an asset class in their own right. They do not share the “haven” status of gold and their prices are more volatile than those of the precious metal. While the value of spot gold has gained about 25…
The resistance to mandatory bonus caps for bankers’ bonuses was as inevitable as the public clamour to strip these “fat cats” down to size. In the end – after much politicking worldwide – the bankers won the first round. Mandatory caps have been rejected in favour of a system whereby cash bonuses are limited and…
The events that led to the landmark judgment unfolded in the local authority of Vaxholm, Sweden. There, a Latvian construction company Laval un Partneri had won a contract to refurbish a school and posted a team of Latvian workers to Sweden. But the work deadlocked as the Swedish building workers union demanded the same rates…
PricewaterhouseCoopers is and has been the leading accounting firm in Mexico not only because it is the oldest, established 103 years ago, but also because of its expertise, innovative approach and professionalism. The tax line of service has always stood out for its dynamism and ability to resolve issues. This is reflected in its size…
The IT world stands at the threshold of a paradigmatic shift to cloud computing. According to industry consultancy Gartner: “[C]loud computing [is] begin[ning] to move beyond the pure hype stage and into the beginning of mainstream adoption.” The prospect of storing business critical transaction data in the cloud – a massive centralised and virtualised third…
Businesses that have operations with the EU are now being required to take a more proactive approach to environmental risk management in order to comply with the requirements of the EU’s Environmental Liability Directive (ELD). Companies are now required to prevent significant environmental damage from occurring wherever possible, and they will be held liable for…
Although some may consider transfer pricing a “black box,” the shared adage among most finance professionals is that transfer pricing is comprised of both art and science. The science of transfer pricing is grounded in financial data and the relevant tax laws while the art of transfer pricing is based upon an intuitive sense of…
By the summer of 2008, the risks associated with the credit crunch were becoming apparent in the market. Years of ‘easy’ money coming out of the US and funded by China meant that the market place was flooded with credit. Assets had become over-inflated, trades had become crowded and investors were highly leveraged. Too many…
