Archive: Business & Technology

(Ithaca, NY)  Ithaca's premier lifestyles boutique, Daria on Dryden, is celebrating its Grand Opening on Monday, August 20^th, 3:00 PM.  Daria on Dryden is located at 210 B Dryden Road, in Collegetown and features the best designer names in contemporary fashion.  In addition to offering unparalleled service, the boutique also has the most coveted clothing, handbags, beauty products, accessories, and shoes, encompassing the idea of one stop shopping. 

The boutique offers both world renown and up and coming designers such as Rebecca Taylor, BCBG Maxazaria, J Brand, Betsey Johnson, Ella Moss, and Tocca, all brand new to the Ithaca community.  Furthermore, many of the brands in the store have been highlighted in top fashion magazines such as Lucky, Vogue, and InStyle and worn by celebrities and fashionistas alike. Located near the corner of Dryden Road and Linden Avenue in Collegetown, Daria on Dryden brings a fresh and elegant take on modern décor.  While the track lighting and the chandelier imparts a romantic atmosphere, the simple layout allows the customer to shop with ease.

If you have your parents during much of your adult life, consider yourself fortunate. As they age, however, you will need to become increasingly aware of added responsibilities you may have to assume. And by planning ahead, you can help make everyone's lives easier.

In dealing with various matters relating to your parents - particularly financial matters - the key is open and frequent communication. And that means you'll need to find out everything you can about your parents' assets, debts and estate plans.

You can start by finding out if your parents have a simple will drawn up. If they don't, urge them to get one. Your parents have worked hard all their lives and they want their assets distributed according to their wishes instead of a court's decree, which is what would happen if they die "intestate" (without a will). Even if your parents have a simple will, they may still need to take further action. If you think they have a sizable estate or want to give significant gifts to charitable groups, encourage them to consult with an attorney who specializes in estate planning.

Colonial Veterinary Hospital opened in 1972 in half of a farm house that had been moved to Triphammer Road to make room for the airport.  The other half  moved to Oakcrest Road, where it is still used as a home.  Dr. George Ross renovated the farm house three times as his practice expanded.  Now owned and operated by his son Tom and daughter-in-law Catherine Hegarty Ross, the  a new two-storied 16,000 square foot building will replace the old structure to accommodate a staff of about 45.  "We really needed more exam space again," says Hegarty Ross.  "We went from four doctors to nine doctors in two years, and we have three exam rooms now.  I do the schedule and I can tell you it's not easy to do that."

The practice has grown to include a varied menu of services on top of its general practice, including seven-day per week emergency service from 8am to 10pm, surgery, radiology and ultrasound, acupuncture, and physical therapy.  The new building is planned to accommodate all these services more efficiently.  Because it is being built from scratch, the doctors can arrange it in ways they couldn't if they merley added another addition.  "We've been doing our homework for about five years looking at publications and floor plans of other hospitals," Hegarty Ross says.  "One big goal was to increase efficiency of the hospital in terms of, say, keeping x-ray near the surgery, and the outpatient space near where the outpatients are, so there is a little less running around the hospital with the doctors physically walking all over the place."

If you've ever spent any time among investors, you're bound to have heard someone say: "If only I had gotten in on the ground floor of Company A (or Company B or Company C)." In investment terms, "getting in on the ground floor" means buying a company's stock shares when they first go on sale - an initial public offering (IPO), to use the official term. But is it really that desirable to invest in an IPO?

Before you can answer that question, you need to be familiar with the "nuts and bolts" of IPOs. In the first place, a company goes public because it wants to raise money to expand its operations. There's certainly nothing wrong with that, but you need to keep in mind that the IPO is being launched for the company's benefit - not yours.

(ITHACA, NY) For years, a six-foot wide sign for Camel cigarettes hanging over the checkout counter has greeted shoppers at Jason

First, the bad news: There's still plenty of identity theft out there. Now, the better news: There's not as much as in previous years. And now, the best news: You can do a lot to protect yourself from being victimized.

If you're not familiar with the concept of identity theft, it basically involves someone getting some pieces of information about you - name, Social Security number, credit card numbers, "pre-approved" credit card offers - and using this data to make purchases or withdraw funds from your accounts.

If you look for reasons not to invest right now, you could find them - global unrest, high gas prices and so on. Yet, if you wait until "things settle down" before investing, you'll have difficulty achieving your financial goals, because there will always be some external events that could keep you out of the market - if you let them. But the smartest investors look beyond today's headlines - and when tomorrow arrives, they are often rewarded for their patience and perseverance.

Want proof? Look at every major event of the past century that could have given investors the jitters, such as assassinations, wars and political crises. You will find that after just a few years - and in some cases, a few months - the stock market not only gained back the ground it initially lost, but moved to new heights.

Empire Zones were created by New York to stimulate business growth and expansion, and to create more jobs.  There are 82 Empire Zones in New York State, accounting for more than 9,800 certified businesses them employ over 380,000 people.  The Empire Zone in Tompkins County is split into six sub zones, two of them in Lansing.  "The program is really aimed toward businesses that are growing so it can benefit existing businesses as long as they are making capital investments and see an increase in employment," says Tompkins County Area Development 's (TCAD) Heather Filiberto.  "It does also provide benefits to new businesses.  There's a little bit additional benefit to new businesses, but I think on the whole there are some really good benefits for businesses that are expanding."

Most people who have mortgages dream of a day when they won't. In fact, many mortgage-holders speed up their payments to make that day arrive sooner. Is that smart, from a financial standpoint? Not necessarily.

This point is highlighted by a 2006 study prepared by economists for the National Bureau of Economic Research. About 38 percent of U.S. households are making the wrong choice when they speed up their mortgage payments rather than use the extra money to save in tax-deferred accounts such as 401(k) plans or IRAs, according to the study. These households are giving up a yield of 11 to 17 cents for every dollar they spend on extra mortgage payments, depending on their choice of investments in a tax-deferred account.

This week, we'll be observing the Fourth of July. But at some point in your life, you'll want to celebrate another type of Independence Day - Financial Independence Day. When will it occur? It's up to you. Here are a few suggestions for speeding it along:

• Feed those retirement plans. The most important thing you can do to hasten your Financial Independence Day is to continually save and invest for retirement. Take full advantage of your 401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement plan. Your earnings have the potential to grow on a tax-deferred basis and you can create an investment mix that reflects your risk tolerance, time horizon and retirement goals. Also, even if you have a 401(k), you may be eligible to invest in a traditional or Roth IRA. A traditional IRA has the potential to grow tax-deferred, while a Roth IRA has the potential to grow tax free, provided you've had your account at least five years and you don't start taking withdrawals until you are at least 59-1/2. And you can fund your IRA with a wide range of investments, such as stocks, bonds and certificates of deposit (CDs).

We love lists. We want to know the 10 best pizza places in town and the 10 worst dressed celebrities at the Oscars. We long to find the top 10 movies of the year and the 10 most popular songs of the century. We want to know about the richest people in the country and the cheapest brunches in our city. In short, the list of lists could go on for a long time, but there's always room for one more - so let's look at the Top Five Reasons to Invest.

Here they are, in no particular order of importance: