Money from Newser

IRS's Lerner Placed on Leave

John Johnson — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:00:52 CDT

The IRS official at the center of the recent scandal has been placed on administrative leave, reports the National Review . Lois Lerner had been in charge of the agency's tax-exempt unit, which singled out conservative groups for added scrutiny. Her immediate boss already has been forced into early retirement , and...

Amazon Building Huge, Tree-Filled Biodome in Seattle

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:39:31 CDT

Amazon has big plans for its new campus. Big, sphere-shaped plans. The company revealed earlier this month that it will build a biosphere in Seattle, a 65,000-square-foot structure made up of three domes, where the temperature will always be a perfect 68 to 72 degrees, Fast Company reports. The...

The Weather Is Getting More Expensive

Kevin Spak — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:26:36 CDT

The bill from the Oklahoma tornado is now expected to top $2 billion in damages, making it the latest member of the rapidly growing billion-dollar weather-disaster club, the New Yorker observes. In a recent study, climate scientists found that billion-dollar-plus disasters (among them Hurricanes Sandy and Irene, and the 2011...

Tesla Pays Off US Loan 9 Years Early

Matt Cantor — Thu, 23 May 2013 06:03:27 CDT

Tesla has come a long way since Mitt Romney labeled it a "loser" in the presidential debates. The company has paid off its $465 million 2010 loan from the Department of Energy—plus interest—nine years before it was due, Businessweek reports. With yesterday's payment for $451.8 million, "Tesla...

Ford to End an Operation Running Since 1925

Matt Cantor — Thu, 23 May 2013 03:29:16 CDT

Starting in October 2016, Ford will no longer produce vehicles in Australia, the company says. "Our costs are double that of Europe and nearly four times Ford in Asia," says Ford Australia CEO Bob Graziano. Facing struggling sales and citing high wages, the firm will close its two plants in...

Guy Finds $100K Comic in Wall of Old House

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:10:06 CDT

David Gonzalez bought an abandoned home in Elbow Lake, Minnesota, for about $10,000, planning to remodel it. But he ended up getting more than he bargained for—more than 10 times more, it seems. In the walls of the house, amid the newspapers used as insulation, Gonzalez found a...

Apple Case Clinches It: We Need Tax Reform Now

John Johnson — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:52:04 CDT

So what can we take away from Apple chief Tim Cook's testimony on Capitol Hill yesterday about the company's byzantine tax strategy ? Not that Apple did anything illegal, only that it's savvy enough to employ "smart accountants and tax lawyers," says the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal...

Bernanke to Congress: Stop Screwing the Economy

Kevin Spak — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:19:20 CDT

The Federal Reserve isn't planning to take its foot off the gas pedal anytime remotely soon, Ben Bernanke told Congress today, while rebuking legislators for not doing their own part to juice the economy. The Fed's interest rate has been near zero since 2008, and Bernanke said he expects it...

Apple's 'Offshore' Billions? They're in Manhattan

Ruth Brown — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:41:31 CDT

Tim Cook went before the Senate yesterday, answering accusations that Apple is keeping billions from the IRS' clutches by holding it in overseas subsidiaries. Only that money isn't actually overseas, the New York Times reports—its $102 billion in offshore profits is managed by a subsidiary based in Nevada and...