The Times of Trenton Business News

Local NJ business news and economics

• Ask the Biz Brain
I retired in March and my broker converted a $25,000 IRA to a Roth. I found a job in April and my income exceeded the Roth IRA conversion limit. The broker reversed the transaction, then sent me a bill for $19,000 for taxes -- the price difference between the first conversion and second recharacterization and a 70 percent value loss. My accountant says I don't owe any tax. Who is correct?

• A chamber holiday: Dinner and an election
BURLINGTON CITY -- The Greater Burlington Chamber of Commerce will hold its holiday din ner and election of officers at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Cafe Gallery, 219 High St.

• Merrill is slashing bonuses
BY BILL MOONEY As the holiday season approaches, Merrill Lynch employees who dodged layoffs earlier this year are coping with a new round of demoralizing news: Bonuses will be sharply reduced, and for some workers there will be none.

• Property taxes hit and praised by experts
EWING -- Property taxes: Can't live with them, can't live without them, can't decide what to do about them.

• Hamilton notables look for 'another boom'
HAMILTON -- Rising unemployment and a recession may be dominating the news, but nobody told the crowd at the township's Economic Development Advisory Commission awards dinner that it was time to be pessimistic.

• Station goes digital
HAMILTON -- Television station WZBN launched a digital television signal on Nov. 20, becoming the first Class A low-power station in the Northeast to do so, the station reported.

• Who else will pull out of their 401(k)s?
Sometime early next year, after the holiday cards have all arrived and the reality of 2009 starts to sink in, many investors will get something in the mail that could ruin a lot of resolutions.

• In volatile stock market times, perception of risk is paramount
Does your gut tighten every time the Dow makes another dramatic move? Of course, that is a rhetorical question. However, it does point to an issue that is critically important to everyone in all aspects of life, particularly with regards to investing.

• Merck finds fighting hunger sticks to its corporate ribs
There are lots of problems in the world, and Merck is already working on some of them -- cancer, diabetes, HIV -- but during the past year, the company added a long-standing social issue to its list of causes. It's spending time and money to help fight hunger in communities across the United States.

• In down economy, NJPAC sees boost
Bobbie Arbesfeld, the chief financial officer at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center for nine years, was recently promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Newark institution.

• Executive Moves
MANASQUAN SAVINGS BANK, Wall Township, said Dina Gibson has been promoted to branch manager of the Spring Lake Heights branch. Previ ously, Gibson was assistant branch manager of the Manasquan branch.

• Couple can easily realize their retirement dreams
Claire and John, like most families, were rattled when the stock market took a dive this fall. But they have a long-term outlook, and they know they'll need exposure to equities to reach their long-term goals.

• As the economy contracts, some firms are expanding
An economic downturn, while fraught with pain and problems for so many small businesses, can also have some upsides for companies. Some are to be expected -- a tough economy motivates businesses to find new ways to work more efficiently -- while others are serendipitous, coming in the form of opportunities for expansion.

• Fiscal ills may ground overseas shoppers
Overseas shoppers who once ar rived in the United States with empty suitcases to take back their holiday loot may decide to stay home this year amid high-priced airline tickets, unfavorable exchange rates and lingering economic woes.

• Video games hit all the right buttons in poor economy
DALLAS -- Bailouts, bankruptcies, liquidations and layoffs have been the business buzzwords over the last few months, but the video game industry remains stubbornly resistant to the gloom enveloping the rest of the economy.

• Outlook for N.J. business: Mostly cloudy
New Jersey employers -- most of them with 49 or fewer workers -- are gloomy about the financial condition of their businesses and think the economy will only get worse next year, a survey released yesterday said.

• Helping hands
for fledgling websites Building a website can be a confusing, frustrating process, especially for small-business owners and independent consultants.

• Obama
choices may alter transit

• Biz Buzz: Can kids' next focus be the housing bubble?
Bubble Wrap is an innocent looking sheet of plastic. But it's the source of one of the most uncontrollable human addictions: bubblewrappoppingophilia.

• Financial ills plague New Jersey's hospitals
PRINCETON BOROUGH -- NRG Energy said Monday its board rejected Exelon's unsolicited buyout offer, saying it "significantly undervalues" the company. It recommended its shareholders not tender their shares for the deal.

• Financial ills plague New Jersey's hospitals
PRINCETON BOROUGH -- NRG Energy said Monday its board rejected Exelon's unsolicited buyout offer, saying it "significantly undervalues" the company. It recommended its shareholders not tender their shares for the deal.

• Behind the Citigroup bailout
Another day, another big financial rescue.

• Market rallys on Citigroup bailout
Wall Street barreled higher yesterday for the second straight session, this time in a relief rally over the government's plan to bail out Citigroup -- a move it hopes will help quiet some of the uncertainty hounding the financial sector and the overall economy. The Dow Jones industrials soared nearly 400 points and the major indexes all jumped more than 4.5 percent.

• Alpharma agrees to King deal
Alpharma has finally agreed to King Pharmaceuticals' $1.6 billion cash takeover offer, ending the drugmakers' months-long battle.

• Biz Buzz: The gift that keeps on giving ... advice
A present? Oh, you shouldn't have. It's so nicely wrapped. What could it (shake, shake) be?

• Existing home sales continue to fall
WASHINGTON -- Nationwide sales of existing homes fell more than expected last month, as economic fears made buyers leery even though prices plunged to the lowest level in more than four years. And the decline is expected to get worse because October's results reflect sales contracts signed before Wall Street's nosedive.

• UBS clients prepare to face the tax man
Wealthy U.S. clients of UBS are offering to settle their tax liabilities with the Internal Revenue Service before the Swiss bank's possible disclosure of their names to government authorities, lawyers said.

• Retro toys stage comeback in troubled times
Counting dollars this holiday season, Tom De Santes wants to avoid buying high-priced techno gadgets as gifts for his two sons.

• Citigroup bailout a gamble for government
WASHINGTON -- Taxpayers may be wondering why they're forking over more money to rescue yet another behemoth, Citigroup, even as their own nest eggs crack and jobs evaporate.

• Owner of 4 malls could go bankrupt
Drowning in debt, and citing a weak retail and credit market, the owner of four New Jersey malls has hired bankruptcy lawyers and warned it could file for legal protection as it tries to dig itself out of a financial hole.

• Shopping center plans holiday get-together
PRINCETON BOROUGH -- Merchants here will throw a holiday party Dec. 6.

• Reducing your property taxes possible, but not likely
Turns out there may be an upside to the prolonged downturn in home prices.

• Lending a hand
When it comes to loans between friends or family members, financial planner Steven Kaye has two perspectives, depending on whom he's advising.

• Justices
e are all quite fascinated by the rumor mills swirling around President- elect Obama's likely choices for White House staff and Cabinet positions.

• Corporate CEOs fly into controversy
Some in Congress pounced last week on what they view as the hypocrisy of auto executives flying on corporate jets to Washington to ask for public help. Corporations insist riding on private planes is not a lavish perk, but rather a necessary security requirement for top officials that also helps them be more efficient.

• Doggie day care pampers pooches
Elizabeth Gruen is living proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

• Executive Moves
COLE, SCHOTZ, MEISEL, FORMAN & LEONARD, Hackensack, said Michael Weinstein joined the firm to head its White Collar Practice Group. Previously, Weinstein was a trial attorney and federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C.

• Wall Street could rally on Obama cabinet picks
WASHINGTON -- Why aren't the government bailouts working?

• Reining in needless purchases can boost debt reduction plan
Sami, 44, is tired of being weighted down by debt. She knows her financial situation isn't pretty, and she wants to fix her past money mistakes and look to the future.

• The rules of rolling over
I've watched my IRA investments take a major hit over the last few weeks. In trying to plan for the long run, is now a good time to roll over what's left of my IRA into my Roth IRA? Am I taxed for the current value of my IRA?