Business

An accountant in Trumbull, Connecticut pleaded guilty to a federal tax charge on Thursday, July 17, 2014 after being caught defrauding a property owner in nearby Bridgeport. The accountant, Thomas Ragonese, 55, is believed to have worked alongside a construction and property management company to steal thousands of dollars from their client. The property management company and its owner also pleaded guilty.While working for ACT Builders, owned by Anthony Testo, Ragonese reportedly prepared monthly rent rolls and provided other services for the company, which was contracted to manage an apartment and several other residential units. From January 2007 to August 2010, Ragonese assisted Testo and his company in defrauding the owner by submitting false rent rolls that listed certain occupied re...

Thirty-two high school and teenage graphic designers from 17 different countries recently descended upon Anaheim, Calif. tocompete in this year's Adobe Certified Associate World Championship. According to a July 29 Las Vegas Review-Journal article, graphic design software giant Adobe hosts the competition each year for graphic designers 22 years of age and younger. Of 117,000 entrants, only 1% were selected to compete at Anaheim -- the United States sent only three representatives. Competitors were required to design a promotional poster for Kiva, a real-world client, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Kiva is a nonprofit organization that works to alleviate poverty around the world by encouraging people to donate to entrepreneurs in developing nations, according to a KFOX 14...

America's most popular teenage chat app just made a bold marketing move. The creators of the app launched a new feature that could end up being the future of the advertising industry, or could at least breach a new marketing territory regarding how different brands interact with each other and consumers. Social media reputation management is critical to any type of brand management, and without it minor issues can become major public relations disasters. But what if people conversed directly with brands and companies via bots? This is what Kik, a popular teen chat service (similar to WhatsApp) is doing. There may be nay-sayers out there already saying that the chat box is nothing new, and most of us have AOL's Instant Messenger in mind when it comes to talking with bots. Kik users ar...

Many Americans turn to bankruptcy as a means of debt relief. In fact, it has become quite common as 1 out of 70 households in the United States files for bankruptcy. In July of 2013 alone, there were a whopping 87,684 bankruptcies filed according the Bankruptcy Institute. Similarly, according to the American Journal of Medicine, nearly 62% of bankruptcy filings in the United States are due illness, and as a result, medical related expenses and bills. Unfortunately, not all debt can be discharged through bankruptcy. Student loan debt cannot be discharged by bankruptcy, and continues to burden thousands of college graduates, many of whom are struggling to find high-paying jobs during this economic recession. However, many graduates may soon be typing "how to find a bankruptcy lawyer" into...

When selling your home, a hardwood floor can be the best decision you can make to appeal to potential buyers. More and more people are installing hardwood floors in their homes, not only for their own enjoyment, but to increase the resale value of their home. When a potential buyer is looking at a home, he or she will often be more interested in a home with hardwood flooring, over those with carpeting or tile. Hardwood flooring is often more resilient and timeless than other floor coverings. Carpet can be very dated and difficult to clean, while tile can show wear and tear, and grime in the grout area. A national survey by the National Wood Flooring Association showed that a whopping 99 percent of real estate agents agreed that homes with hardwood floors are easier to sell. 82 percen...

On July 18, 2014, Airbus revealed an all-electric prototype plane called the E-Fan 2.0 at the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, England. Scheduled to go on sale in 2017, the two-seater plane is designed for short-term flights and will be used primarily for pilot training. However, this new development in aircraft design promises future developments in the company's work for alternatively-fueled aircraft.The E-Fan 2.0 is a 500-kilogram plane powered by two 30-kilowatt electric motors, which work together to power two ducted fans attached behind the cockpit. The aircraft can fly at speeds reaching 124 miles per hour, with a cruising speed of 99 miles an hour. A smaller third motor attached to the front landing gear allows the plane to reach speeds of around 37 miles per hour ...

According to 9to5Mac.com, Amazon may soon be entering the world of payment processing with its own hardware. Payment processing, or the way retailers accept credit and debit cards for their business, is used to transfer money from the customer to the merchant. Current speculation posits that Amazon is developing their own card reader in order to enter yet another portion of the retail market. The rumors arose when 9to5Mac.com got hold of internal documents from office supply giant Staples, which showed an item listed as "Amazon Card Reader." The site considers this evidence that Staples will begin stocking the product sometime in August; Staples currently stocks their own card readers, along with ones made by PayPal and Square. The documents also reveal that Amazon's card readers ...

Furnishing your home is fun, but that fun can fade somewhat as you realize how expensive it can be. Thankfully, there are ways to save money and still get beautiful furniture for your home. You can find amazing furniture online, often at a cheaper price than you'd find in the store. Some of it will be used, but others will be brand new. You can find affordable quality furniture stores in person as well. Outlet shops and vintage shops will often have affordable solid wood furniture that you can buy. In some vintage and antique shops, you might even find Amish heirloom furniture. Depending on your personal taste, this could be the showcase of your home. When you're buying furniture, it is important to know both your budget and what you want to get. However, sometimes it pays to be flexible....

In August 2013, it was suggested that just one out of 10 cases of Lyme disease were reported nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's 30,000 reported cases out of 300,000 actual cases, based on surveys, medical claims, and laboratory test results. A year later, Lyme disease, like so many other diseases that do not immediately reveal their symptoms, continues to go under-reported by people, but the focus has also centered around dogs and how they are also easily susceptible to the disease. Researchers understand that for some people, Lyme disease symptoms may not be apparent until 20 years after they've been bitten by the Western black-legged tick (which transmits Lyme disease) -- though this is not the case for our lovable canine companions. Aro...

According to a recent Bankrate.com survey released this past Monday, millennials -- the youngest American generation to make up a percentage of the workforce -- are more likely to save their money rather than invest it. About 40% of American adults between the ages of 18 and 29 favor cash investments, choosing to place their money in savings accounts or certificates of deposit. By contrast, about 25% of adults over the age of 29 favor cash investments, while 23% choose to invest in real estate, and another 19% invest in stocks. Although hesitation regarding investments is understandable, as Greg McBride, the chief financial analyst for Bankrate.com explains, "The preference for cash and aversion to the stock market among young adults is very troubling considering this age group has t...