Category: Business News

5 Things to Discuss with Your Spouse Before Estate Planning

If you are married and considering doing your estate plan, there are some discussions you should have with your spouse.

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If you and your spouse are considering doing your estate plan, we recommend that you discuss the following items:

  1. How do you want your money and assets handled if one of you dies? Do you want any restrictions? Are you worried about your spouse remarrying and being influenced by the
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Fed lifts rate by quarter-point and signals more hikes ahead

The Federal Reserve extended its fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point, its eighth hike since March. And the Fed signaled that even though inflation is easing, it remains high enough to require further rate hikes.

Though smaller than its previous hike — and even larger rate increases before that — the Fed’s latest move will likely further raise the costs of many consumer and business loans and the risk of a recession.

In a statement, Fed officials repeated the language they have used since March that says, “ongoing increases in the (interest

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Bullish outlook for base metals – Business News

There’s no way enough mines can be built on time to meet net zero energy transition targets on the timelines policy makers have promised, but industrial metal miners – especially lithium and nickel miners – could get a very rich try.

That was one of the takeaways from a commodities outlook Tuesday for industrial and battery metals at the Association of Mineral Exploration (AME) Roundup conference in Vancouver.

There are numerous macroeconomic factors that could affect commodity prices in 2023,

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Is the FTC Banning Non-Competes?

Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a rule that will ban many non-compete agreements throughout the country if it is enacted.

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Non-compete agreements are agreements that prevent employees from working in certain industries following employment with their current employer. They are often limited by geographic scope and time.

For example, a non-compete clause may prevent a physician from working in the medical field for one year following …

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BC wood manufacturers to get bigger cut of the cut – Business News

Wood manufacturers in B.C. that have little or no Crown tenure will get increased access to logs through BC Timber Sales.

BC Forests Minister Bruce Ralston Tuesday announced a new program – the BC Timber Sales (BCTS) Value-Added Manufacturing Program – that will set aside 10% of BC Timber sales for qualifying businesses.

It will not be open to conventional lumber producers. Only higher value-added manufacturers will qualify. That includes veneer and plywood, engineered wood products, shakes and shingles, log home manufacturing, decking and flooring.

The announcement was made Tuesday at Coastland Industries Ltd., which makes veneer in

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It’s not necessary for everyone. Here are the rules.

Not everyone is required to file taxes, but most Americans are and are likely to file taxes.

Of the 176.2 million individuals and married couples who could file a tax return in 2020, about 144.5 million of them filed a tax return, according to the nonpartisan Washington think tank Tax Policy Center. Whether you need to file your taxes depends mostly on your income, filing status, and age. In special situations, you may have to file a tax return regardless of your income, though. For example, if you have net earnings of at least $400 from self-employment, you’re required to

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BC brokerage caught violating freeze order on $1.4M accounts – Business News

BC brokerage fined

Graeme Wood / Glacier Media – | Stories: 408048

Vancouver brokerage firm Haywood Securities must pay a $50,000 fine after the BC Securities Commission said it “inadvertently” allowed an account holder to make trades through one of his frozen accounts.

In 2019, the commission had frozen accounts holding $1.4 million.

“Haywood violated the freeze order by inadvertently allowing an account holder to make six purchases in one of his frozen accounts and four transfers between different frozen accounts in 2019 and 2020. One of those trades led

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Microsoft reports outage for Teams, Outlook, other services – Business News

Wide Microsoft outages

The Associated Press – | Stories: 408108

Microsoft said it’s seeing some improvements to problems with its online services including the Teams messaging platform and Outlook email system after users around the world reported outages Wednesday.

In a status update, the tech company reported “service degradation” for a number of its Microsoft 365 services.

Thousands of users reported problems with Teams, Outlook, the Azure cloud computing service and XBox Live online gaming service early Wednesday on the Downdetector website, which tracks outage reports. Many users also took

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