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Show BUSINESS EDITOR: NANCY BLISS 2 Dl THE DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, bration, and some held up both hands with their fingers spread to signify 10. By EILEEN CLANTON AP Business Writer NEW YORK The Dow industrial average briefly broke through 10,000 today, a feat made possible by nearly a decade of steady economic expansion and the growing enthusiasm for techthe nology, especially Internet. Short-live- d Jones Susan Bondy Test your tax savvy, then hire a professional With new rules affecting almost every type of taxpayer, a record permore than of 51 centage of filers will hire a professional percent tax preparer this filing season. The February Money Magazine has a great tax IQ test (which I've had to edit down because of space limitations). You can access the full quiz at www.money.comtaxes with links to the entire article, or take this "mini" quiz to help you decide if you need a pro to prepare your tax return or if you might be OK going solo: the end of 1998, children for whom you wish to claim the new credit on your 1998 return must have been under the age of: a) 17; b) 19; c)21. The KARP The Associated Press a roar exploded through the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Traders cheered and raised their arms in cele 12 months; c) more than 18 months. 3. Fees or commissions you pay to buy stock are: a) deductible in the year you pay them; b) added to your cost basis; c) Neither a nor b. 4. In 1998, you sold stock for a $3,000 capital loss and your spouse sold stock for a $4,000 capital loss. Neither of you had any capital gains. On a joint return, you can deduct: a) $0; b) $3,000; c) $6,000; d) $7,000. 5. An excess capital loss may be carried forward: a) for three years; b) for five years; c) until used up. 6. In 1998, you refinanced your mortgage for the amount remaining on your old mortgage and paid points. You: a) must deduct all of the points on your 1998 return; b) must deduct the points over the life of the loan; c) may not deduct the points on a refinancing. best-know- distributions are taxable in the year they're declared, even if they were reinvested: a) true; b) false. 8. Mutual-fun- d 9. An employee who drives his car for business may deduct a portion of the interest on his car loan: a) true; b) false. canceled check made out to a charity and annotated "gift" is always sufficient proof of a cash charitable donation: a) true; b) false. 10. A Answers: I. a; 2.b, 3. b; 4. b; 5. c; 6. b; 7. b; 8. true; 9. false; 10. false. Give yourself one point for each correct answer. Don't take credit for lucky guesses. Three or fewer points: Run, don't walk, to a good tax pro. Four, to five points: good try, but you probably shouldn't go it alone. Six or Seven: Commendable, but without a pro you may miss out on tax breaks you deserve. Eight to 10 points: Wow! You can try doing your return yourself. On the other hand, if you're so up on the tax law, your taxes are probably complicated enough to warrant using a pro. Susan Bondy is a financial planning and asset management expert. She wel- comes readers 'questions at sbondygtii. com. POOR COPY n investments. farming prospect good in long-ru- n J. Press Writer Associated : ., "Sk. ' n WASHINGTON More than 200 House members are backing a steel quota bill scheduled for a vote Wednesday despite indications the domestic industry's troubles are easing. The strong congressional support reflects a belief that the turnaround is temporary and much larger layoffs loom if the government doesn't act, soon. "We're making some progress but the issue is a longer-terone," said LllBlilSSf: Assiiciated Press Writer 'LI WASHINGTON Many farmers are suffering from sharply sinking prices for their products, but U.S. farming as a whole appears to benefit when Asian and other economies around the world begin to recover, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said k Willi V. 'U'! ' ' today. Curtis Barnette, chairman and chief executive officer of Bethlehem Steel ... ..'.. Corp, Some U.S. steel plants recently recalled workers laid off last year as the domestic industry faced a surge in steel imports. Some i 8 ( "WFX low-price- d have since imports dropped November because of preliminary rulings on complaints, and several companies have announced price hikes for April and beyond. Nevertheless, support for quantitative limits on steel imports remains Congress, strong in a Republican-lewhich normally would oppose restrictions on free trade. More than 40 Republicans with large steel constituencies are among the bill's 205 The bill needs 218 votes for passage. "While the trade figures have marginally improved, the crisis continues," said Rep. Pete Visclosky, the bill's chief sponsor. "We can't let the problem take care of itself. We have to take a global approach." The bill faces a veto threat even if it overcomes steep hurdles in the Senate, so it may never become law. But supporters say they are happy just to show Congress takes the issue By DAVE SKIDMORE . i a d a seriously. Critics say the legislation would violate international trade agreements and ultimately could hurt the U.S. economy if other countries respond with raised trade barriers. "It really sends a pathetic mes- - GARY FINKThe Associated Press Jobs in Jeopardy: William Felton secures banding on a finished coil of galvanized steel at the USX Corp. in Fairless Hills, Pa. Steel makers say they will lay off more workers if Congress doesn't pass import quotas. sage," said David Phelps, executive director for a Washington trade group for steel importers and exporters. "One hopes there is some fundamental economic common sense in Congress and that they will give this legislation the indecent burial it deserves." Steel imports reached record levels last year as the Asian economic crisis reduced demand for steel abroad and forced foreign producers to turn to U.S. markets. Despite rehiring at some plants, thousands of steelworkers remain out of work, and 100,000 more jobs are threatened when a contractual clause expires this summer. Three companies have filed for bankruptcy. Private retirement savings plans gain steam in Congress By CURT ANDERSON AP Tax Writer WASHINGTON Congress is looking at ways other than shoring up Social Security to improve the golden years for Americans, who typically get more than half their retirement incomes from other sources but are doing a poor job of saving money. Although Social Security and progovernment-sponsoreposed accounts command the political spotlight, several bipartisan proposals are circulating that would increase limits on contributions to 401(k) plans and individual retirement d accounts. There also is growing support to remove obstacles to creation of workplace pension plans for small businesses. "We face a major retirement challenge in this country," said Rep. Rob Portman, of one Amid many upbeat economic signs, including the Dow Jones industrial' average cracking the 10,000 barrier for the first time, Greenspan devoted a speech in San Francisco to what he called "one of the more notable soft spots" in a U.S. economy he termed both impressive and robust. "Farmers, rather than sharing in the general prosperity, have been experiencing disappointing exports and sharply falling prices" during "what presumably is a transitory, though by no means abbreviated, period of softness," Greenspan said in a speech prepared for delivery to the Independent Bankers Association of America. Prices received by farmers are down 5 percent from a year ago and prices for corn, soybeans, wheat and hogs have hit levels unseen in years, ., 7. In 1996, you bought a new primary residence. In 1998, you finally sold your old house, which was your main home from 1980 to 1996, for a $125,000 profit. Do you owe tax on the gain: a) yes; b) no; c) you avoid tax only if you were 55 or older when you sold. Historic moment Onlookers packed the visitors gallery while dozens of television news cameras and photographers overlooked the NYSE fl(K.r. "It's a day in history," said Dave Colquhoun, an economics teacher at Woodmere Academy on New York's Ijong Island, who brought a group of 10 students to the exchange as part of their lesson. "For them to see this is an amazing feat." But one investor said that while he was cheered by the Dow's performance, he wondered how far above 10,000 the bull market could climb, and now is putting more money into conservative but written off last summer and early autumn after Russia's economic crisis, then rebounded on a series of three interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The Dow got a lift today from an upbeat earnings forecast from Union Carbide, one of the Dow's components. Wall Street's indicator also has been pumped up by its own momentum, including a spurt of more than 700 points in the past two weeks. By reach By ANICK JESDANUN d 2. From the date of purchase, how long must you own stock before selling for your gain to be considered long-term- : a) 12 months; b) more than DAVID Record breaking day: William Johnston, center, president of the New York Stock Exchange, reacts to the market topping the of new 10,000 mark, as Noreen Culhane, senior listing and client service, and Robert Fagenson, vice chairman of the NYSE, stand by on the floor of the exchange Tuesday. IW Push for steel bill continues despite eased troubles Greenspan says 1. At $400-per-chil- celebration p L 17, ing five digits, the Dow is now up nearly 9 percent this year on top of an unprecedented four straight years of double-digi- t growth. The revelry lasted only about 30 seconds before traders and clerks returned to work. The average of 30 blue-chistocks took almost a year to gain 1,000 points after passing 9,000 on April 6, 1998. The 1990s bull market was all industrials Dow cleared the milestone at 9:50 a.m. EST, and climbed as high as 10,001.78, a gain of 43.01. But the Dow almost immediately gave ground, and it closed for the day down 28.30 at 9,930.47, according to preliminary figures, leaving it 69.53 points shy of 10,000. , Broader indicators were mixed in active trading that was above Monday's pace but far from record volume. As the record was broken, MARCH major proposal. "While we need Social Security reform, we need to go well beyond that." Congress and President Clinton have pledged to reserve 62 percent of projected budget surpluses to keep Social Security solvent into the next century. But that program provides only about 40 percent of a typical retiree's income. Aging baby boomers, who figure to live longer than their forebears, have a low savings rate. "As a generation, they have not saved adequately for their retirement," said Matthew Fink, president of the Investment Company Institute, which represents nearly 8,000 investment firms. Last June, the amount of money Americans were saving as a percentage of their personal disposal income dipped into the negative range for the first time since 933, according to the Commerce Department. Although the rate has since crept up, analysts estimate that about half of all Americans have less than $10,000 in savings. In addition, half of all workers have no pension plan, and only 20 percent of businesses with 25 or fewer employees offer one. One popular answer has been the 401(k) plan, in which 25 million Americans often with an employer have $1 trillion in match contributions invested in mutual funds and elsewhere. And millions of people have IRAs, which also grow through investments. But limits on how much people can contribute hamper the growth of these retirement nest eggs, particularly for older Americans who need to save more money quickly and for women who missed years at work while at home raising children. For example, there is a $2,000 IRA annual limit on contributions, $10,000 for a 401(k). he said, principally blaming the worldwide economic slump that began in Asia in 1997. "All told, falling shipments to the Asian countries accounted for more than 80 percent of the drop in the value of farm exports over the past two years," he said, noting that shipments to Russia, particularly of poultry, and to South America also have been affected. The strong domestic economy hasn't made up for the loss of exports, he said, because "consumers, especially in affluent economies, do not boost spending on food to nearly the same degree that their incomes rise." "Clearly our farm sector stands to gain, perhaps appreciably, when more favorable economic conditions finally emerge" around the world, he said. In the meantime, farmers have responded "by reducing the costs of production to the bare bone." And they've been helped by falling prices for diesel fuel and fertilizer, which helped produce a 3 percent drop in prices farmers pay for goods, and by past technological innovations that have made farmers more efficient, and by increased government support payments. There are "favorable readings" that they are holding up financially much better than during the farm crisis of the early 1980s, he said. Among them: farmers' debt remains low relative to the worth of their land and equipment, net farm income is holding up fairly well and most farmers are repaying their loans on time. Greenspan reassured farmers and others working in troubled sectors of ' the economy that their voices are heard in the central bank's interest-rate deliberations. |
