Month: February 2007

Categories
Stocks

Turbo Tax Online E-filing

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Last Updated on February 6, 2007 by stlplace

I have used Turbo Tax  online version for years and here are some of the tips.

1) Started early. It’s obvious if you are expecting refund. The eariler you file, the earlier you will get the refund. But even if you are expecting paying more, you can start early and mail the check on April 15 (or whatever the deadline is). Starting earlier means fewer surprises; and it allows rooms for adjustment (such as additional contribution to 401K, IRA to avoid the higher tax bracket).

2) Use the Federal version if you are thrifty. I did use the State filing service couple times. But at one time I was screwed by a mistake and a year later, the state sent a letter saying I need to pay more. This is a mistake I could avoid if I file by paper. In my case the State tax form is fairly straightward. One reason we want to use the Turbo Tax Federal is to let the computer do the add/subtraction, analyze the potential deduction and help planning the future. All these are not as important for the State tax because the tax rate is lower, the tax code is simpler, etc. 

3) Use the E-filing. After filling the forms in the computer, you will have the options to file by mail or by E-filing. E-filing is better because it saves work for us and the goverment, saves the tree, saves the time to get refund…

Last but not least, here is a discount I found for Turbo Tax Online.   

turbo tax picture 

(Update 06Feb07) Here is an interesting article about “whether do tax by yourself or hire an accountant” (from My Money Blog).

Categories
Technology

Phishing Mail Appears from eBay?

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Last Updated on February 5, 2007 by stlplace

This one caught me off the guard. It looks like a normal eBay message. I actually clicked through the link in the email and a few days later I received the real email from eBay says my eBay account is compromised. So I did the demage control thing.

Today I received the same message again. I don’t know whether this is a mistake by eBay or a phishing mail. But from now on I should be real careful about clicking on the links in an email…

Categories
Business China

Another New Oriental?

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Last Updated on February 4, 2007 by stlplace

A few months ago I saw a statement from New Oriental about the “Oriental Standard”. I thought Oriental Standard was some “New Oriental” knockoffs, which also provide English education in China. I was wrong. After a little research, now I believe Mr. Yu Minghong owned the ancester of Oriental Standard (it’s called New Oriental Professional Education Center) before 2006. It’s an IT training and service subsidiary of New Oriental group. In order to prepare the New Oriental IPO in NYSE, that subsidiary was spun off. The Oriental Standard focused more on IT professional service and outsourcing, in addtion to IT training.

Separately, I read Chinese news and it says Oriental Standard raised fund from Doll Capital, the company took 51job to Nasdaq a few years ago. To make things more interesting, it seems Oriental Standard still uses the New Oriental domain name. Oh, well, just like Lenovo still uses the “thinkpad” after they bought the PC/laptop from IBM 🙂

Categories
Fun

Superbowl in Miami

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Last Updated on February 4, 2007 by stlplace

These days Superbowl is the biggest thing for sports fans and american public in general. I believe this is the show with most TV audience in the States. As you may know, people watch superbowl not just for the football. For lots of non football fans, the creative commercials (advertisement) are the main show here. TV finanlly can reclaim its dominance from “Internet advertising” and Google, for a few hours.

Continue reading “Superbowl in Miami”
Categories
Business China

Jinjiang Inn Hook up with Expedia

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Last Updated on February 4, 2007 by stlplace

Zhao Huan Yan published his January report for China domestic hotels industry. I am interested to learn some update on the economy chain such as Jinjiang Inns. I noticed Expedia, the leading US online travel consolidator, is establishing partnership with Jinjiang Inn. It seems foreigners can use expedia to book the Jinjiang Inn soon.

(Update 04Feb07) I looked up expedia, it appears you can book many 2.5 stars (and up) hotels in Shanghai right now, some of them are belong to Jinjiang group (such as the famous Peace Hotel in Nanjing Rd Bund). Have not seen Jinjiang Inn (or Jinjiang Stars yet).

I vaguely remember the foreigners make up about 7 to 8% of guests for Jinjiang and Home Inns (Rujia). This includes the foreigners already in China. In other words, I don’t expect Expedia Jinjiang partnership to give Jinjiang Inn a huge leg up in this “foreigners market”.

jin jiang Inn

Continue reading “Jinjiang Inn Hook up with Expedia”
Categories
Fun Saint Louis

Asics Running Shoes Sales at Sports Authority

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Last Updated on February 3, 2007 by stlplace

It’s not on the web. But I found some deals at the local stores (Brentwood). Obviously it’s not just the online stores such as Zappos (or Amazon Endless) gives discount for shoes. 

For instance this one ASICS GEL Kayano® XII Stability Running Shoe is $89.99 at SA. Amazon asks for $99.99 and  Zappos asks for $138.95.  

Categories
China Stocks

Old Ladies in Kansas and Shanghai Housewives

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Last Updated on February 2, 2007 by stlplace

It seems the “irrational exuberrance” in Chinese domestic stock market finally got a reality check. Here is an excellent article from MarketWatch. Again quoted from the article:

“There was a story on the front page of The Wall Street Journal about a group of little old ladies in the Midwest who soured on their boring portfolio as they watched dot-com investors get rich. The good ladies had traded their utilities for the shares of technology firms.

Continue reading “Old Ladies in Kansas and Shanghai Housewives”
Categories
Business Stocks

When to Sell Heelys HLYS

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Last Updated on February 2, 2007 by stlplace

We all know it’s a fad. But here is the one million dollar question: when shall we take profit (or loss) for the Heelys stocks (HLYS)? From the IBD article today, it seems Heelys still got room to grow. The following is quoted from IBD:

“For one thing, there’s still plenty of room to grow sales in parts of the country between the coasts, he says. And overseas sales offer lots of potential, especially in Europe.

Continue reading “When to Sell Heelys HLYS”
Categories
China

Promotions of China Economy Hotels

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Last Updated on February 1, 2007 by stlplace

I noticed they usually offer some discount during Chinese New Year. Because by tradition majority of people will stay with families (at home). Here are some promotions:

Jinjiang Inn

Home Inns

English reservation pages:

Jinjiang Inn

Motel 168

Surprisingly Rujia doesn’t have English for reservation, although I did see foreigners when I stayed there. I think telephone is more common used (compared to web) for reservation in China.

Categories
Business

Why I Prefer Crocs over Under Armour

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Last Updated on February 3, 2007 by stlplace

I bought some Crocs stocks (CROX) a while ago; actually I looked at Under Armour (UA) at the same time and I am glad I made the correct decision (so far). Besides the difference of PE ratio, CROX is 42, UA is 76 (supposedly the lower PE means the price is cheaper). I made this decision more based on the business prospects.

From my observation, Crocs are sold in a lot more stores than Under Armour, which are only sold in Sporting Good stores. In other words, Crocs have a wider distribution channel. This is very important for consumer goods. By the same token, I found Crocs have a wider appeal to consumers, especially kids. Under Armour has made efforts to reach women and kids but they are not there yet.

Continue reading “Why I Prefer Crocs over Under Armour”