Trade as a Business to Gain Several Tax Benefits Jan 31, 2010 David Todd Trading stocks or other securities, as opposed to investing in those securities, may result in the trader qualifying for a special tax status. To do so, the trader must be trading stocks (or other securities such as options, futures, Forex, etc.) as a business. IRS rules, while not being very exact, give guidance to the trader and tax preparers as to when trader tax status can be claimed

With the recent increase in advertisements for cheap and low-cost health solutions, many consumers are becoming increasingly skeptical of the veracity of some health insurance advertisements. Those consumers may be wise, says the Idaho Department of Insurance – the state regulatory authority for the Idaho insurance industry. However, if consumers need lower-cost health plans, they should look into opening Health Savings Accounts that come with low-cost high deductible health plans

The Medi-Cal program, which provides health care coverage for qualifying California residents – announced this month that it will restore dental coverage benefits to its beneficiaries who lost their coverage as a result of state budget cuts in 2009. With the restored benefits, more Californians will be able to receive important dental care coverage that they had to go without for a portion of last year. The Medi-Cal program is offered through Health Net of California.

I f you want to know whether Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan POT-T still has a target on its back, don’t look at the markets or the financial news.

P eople who believe the old saw that whatever the markets do in January sets the pattern for the rest of the year must be battening down the hatches for stormy times ahead. The world’s leading stock indexes all finished the first month of 2010 in the red. Investors – especially those who never quite bought the bull-is-back story but didn’t want to miss the great rally of 2009 –pulled more money out of U.S

O ntario Teachers’ Pension Plan is eyeing a larger stake in an English water utility that first caught its eye five years ago. The pension fund is said to be preparing a $2.7-billion bid for the three-quarters of Northumbrian Water Group PLC it does not already own.

S enior executives from the Canadian and U.S. operations of Toyota Motor Corp. TM-N will take to the television airwaves this morning to explain how and when the auto maker will replace sticky accelerator pedals that have led to one of the largest vehicle recalls yet and a firestorm of negative attention