Archive: Business & Technology

Do you invest in either a traditional or Roth IRA? If so, you're making a smart move, because an IRA offers you a tax-advantaged way to save money for retirement. And of course, you want to save as much as you can, because you could spend two or even three decades as a retiree. But if you don't use all your IRA funds, what will happen to them? It's up to you - but your decision can have a big impact on your family, so you'll want to plan carefully.

The dispersal of your IRA depends on the beneficiary or beneficiaries you've named. And when it comes to designating beneficiaries, you have several choices. Here are some of the most common ones:

Avoid These Frightening Investment Moves

Once again, it's Halloween. If you're an adult, you're probably more amused than frightened by the variety of ghouls, ghosts and goblins you'll see running around this week. However, although Halloween itself may not be particularly alarming, you can find some things in life that are truly scary - such as making bad investment moves.

Here are a few of these alarming errors to avoid:

Ithaca, N.Y. (Oct. 19, 2007)—Ithaca is rolling out the red carpet this winter in an unusual celebration for an improbable group of VIPs. The Finger Lakes community is once again pooling its resources for a festival honoring state public school teachers.

“Winter Recess ,” Feb. 16-23, offers the state’s pre-K-12 teachers and their guests a discounted week of recreation, relaxation and entertaining education. The inaugural edition last February attracted more than 1,300 educators, district employees and family members. Organizers expect attendance to double this year.

“The response last year was simply overwhelming,” said Fred Bonn, director of the Ithaca Tompkins Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Winter Recess was a hit with teachers, the community, local businesses—everyone. Based on that, we believe it’s going to become a major event this winter and for years to come.”

(Lansing, NY) - In an age of fast food, you may yearn for a slower paced time when you could go to the corner drugstore for a soda fountain treat made from real ingredients. On Sunday, October 21st Ithacans will get a chance to do just that when Sincredible Pastries opens its new kitchen and bake shop. Owner and Executive Chef Marion Cardwell-Ferrer will host the event to show off the new facility offering punch and pastries to eat, and a selection of fall-themed baked goods for sale. " I wanted this space to take you back to a time when baked goods were wholesome and made with extra care, a place where you would walk in and feel peaceful, cozy, delighted, and like a kid again. Things today are too fast paced. It's my intention to slow things down a bit, and relish in those things in life that mean the most... good food, good fun and good people!"

Over the course of your life, you'll almost certainly have many different financial goals - and to help achieve them, you'll need to use many different investments.

How might you target specific investments for specific goals? Here are a few suggestions:

• Saving for a home - When saving for a down payment on their first house, many people set up an account exclusively for that purpose, keeping the money separate from other investment accounts. To save for a home, you might want to use certificates of deposit (CDs) or short-term, investment-grade bonds, both of which can help preserve your principal.

(Ithaca, NY) The Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce is announced this week that Merrill Lynch has opened their new office facility at 235 South Cayuga Street in downtown Ithaca. The new facility is located in the street level space of the new Cayuga Garage directly across from the Holiday Inn. An official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was be held yesterday.

Last Friday community leaders met at Ithaca Country Club to honor this year's Large Employer of the Year and Not-For-Profit of the Year.  This year Borg Warner Morse TEC was named Large Employer of the Year, and Challenge Industries is the 2007 Not-For-Profit of the Year.  "These organizations are quite different, said keynote speaker John Neuman, who is President and C.E.O. of the 1492 Consulting Group and former C.E.O. of eCornell.  "In one respect they really are quite similar, and that is in their values and their commitment to their employees and their communities."

In all likelihood, the prices of goods and services will continue rising year by year. This may not be too much of a problem for you when you're working, because your salary is probably also going up over time. But when you retire, you may find that inflation becomes a bigger concern - and that's why you need to take steps to help provide some investment sources that have the potential for rising income during your retirement years.

Of course, as a retiree, you may feel that you need to invest more conservatively than you did when you were working. After all, you may think, you're no longer drawing a paycheck, so you can't really afford to take chances on investments that constantly fluctuate in value. Consequently, you may be inclined to stick with fixed-income vehicles, such as investment-grade bonds and certificates of deposit (CDs). When you purchase these securities you typically have the expectation that your principal will be preserved and you will receive regular interest payments. So, there's no risk involved, right?

Gimme CoffeeNot long ago a sign went up in the window of the closed coffee shop next to the Rogues Harbor Inn that simply said, 'Reopening Soon as Gimme! Coffee.'  East Shore Coffee House had been run by Eileen Stout, who owns and runs the inn. Reportedly it only took about two seconds before Lansing coffee aficionados antennae went up, and those who mourned the demise of the old shop cheered up considerably at the prospect of not just any coffee shop, but a Gimme coming to Lansing.

"It will be a company-owned Gimme Coffee retail operation with our concentration on top-quality espresso drinks, brewed coffee, and whole beans for home brewing," says Gimme founder and CEO Kevin Cuddeback.  "We'll have light pastries of course, some cookies, and probably some bottled beverages.  In all, quite similar to what you'd find at Cayuga Street or in Trumansburg."

Store manager Jeff Lapennas has already been busy preparing the store for a 'soft opening' around the beginning of November.  Lapennas comes from the Cayuga Street location in Ithaca.  With a half dozen current locations Gimme Coffee is on the cusp of becoming a national chain.  But the Lansing store is different in that all the other shops are in walk-around communities as distinct from Lansing's spread-out character.  But Cuddeback sees that as an opportunity.

If you have young children, you may want them to attend college someday - and you may want to help them pay for it. At the same time, you also need to save for a comfortable retirement lifestyle. Are the two goals compatible?

There's no easy answer to this question. But one thing seems clear: For many parents, saving and investing for their children's future is every bit as important - and maybe more so - than saving and investing for their own. In fact, two-thirds of parents said they would postpone retirement if necessary to help pay for their children's college education, according to a survey by Alliance Bernstein Investments, Inc.

(Ithaca, NY) The Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce will recognize Borg Warner Morse TEC as the 2007 Large Employer of the Year and Challenge as the 2007 Not-For-Profit of the Year on Friday, October 12, 2007. The recognitions will take place at a luncheon to be held that day from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at The Country Club of Ithaca, located at 189 Pleasant Grove Road in Ithaca. John Neuman, the President and C.E.O. of the 1492 Consulting Group and former C.E.O. of eCornell, will give the keynote address. Reservations may be made by contacting the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce at (607)-273-7080.

Borg Warner Morse TEC employs 1500 people in Tompkins County at a technical center and 2 manufacturing plants in Lansing. * Morse TEC traces its Tompkins County roots to 1880, when the Morse Equalizing Spring Company was formed in Trumansburg. Morse later moved to Ithaca, joining with Borg Warner in 1929 and moving operations to Lansing in 1982. Along with a philosophy that encourages employees to participate in community-based not-for-profit organizations, the Morse TEC facilities produce engine-timing systems and chain-based transmission drives. Borg Warner Morse TEC is one of 5 operating units that make up The Borg Warner Corporation, which has locations in 17 countries.

Your school days may be behind you, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't test yourself on various subjects from time to time. And one of the most important topics you can study is Retirement Planning. So, take a couple of minutes to take this "quiz." The answers - and even the questions - may prove valuable to you as you save and invest for retirement.

Have you put a "price tag" on your retirement lifestyle?
All of us have different ideas of the "ideal" retirement. Your brother may plan to travel the world, your sister may want to open her own small business and you may choose to volunteer. Once you know how you want to spend your retirement years, you can calculate about how much your retirement will cost. A financial advisor can help you arrive at a good estimate of how much you'll need to spend per year.