ATM TAX TO INFLICT 23 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS

Alternative Minimum Tax is going to hit an approximately 23 million households next spring (Spring 2008), up 19 million from 2007 figures of 4 million households. In 1969, Congress created this tax instrument to prevent rich families from dodging taxes. However, it was never indexed to inflation. In 2000, AMT hit 1.3 million taxpayers.

Latest Research Results on Staph Infections

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the first ever study on infections and deaths related to Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) strain on October 16, 2007 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. According to CDC's estimate, the microbe is responsible for 94,000 serious infections among Americans annually and nearly 19,000 deaths, exceeding the casualties caused by AIDS.

Nasdaq's Private Market

Buoyed by more private investment such as buyouts compared to IPO ($162b vs. $154b) for the first time ever in 2006, Nasdaq is giving options to Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) to trade stocks in private companies on its new platform, called the Portal Market. The private market is developed by Goldman Sachs and called GSTrUE. The companies which will be traded on this platform doesn't need to file any report to public market regulators. However, only QIBs are allowed to participate in the private market. The QIBs are formed under the securities rule 144A in 1990, and they involve entities with at least $100m in assets.