US BioDesign announced today the launch of its cardiovascular biomaterials business segment. This portion of US BioDesign will be responsible for the research, analysis and production of products and services in the cardiovascular device area. This includes OEM components for all cardiovascular products, including cardiac and peripheral stents, vascular grafts and stent grafts, vascular access devices, pacemakers, and accessory products for heart valves.
The U.S. cardiovascular device market was $8.29 billion in 2007 and is expected to reach $20.70 billion by 2014, which represents a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.5% from 2009 to 2014. The U.S. cardiovascular biomaterial market was $3.43 billion in 2007 and is expected to reach $7.74 billion in 2014 with a CAGR of 13% from 2009 to 2014.
US BioDesign is well situated to take full advantage of these rapidly growing markets as a result of the world class research and development expertise of its team and its ability to solve customers’ problems as biomedical engineers, not textile engineers.
Read more…
The Policy Institute of Montana issued a report recently calling for higher taxes through a more progressive system. The report is titled “Tax is not a Four-Letter Word: Ideas for a More Progressive Taxation System in Montana.” The Institute would like to raise income taxes on the wealthy . It would like to eliminate corporate tax havens, repeal the oil and gas tax holiday, and raise the tax rates on mineral royalty holders. It would also like to reduce property tax assistance for wealthier homeowners.
I have never thought Montana had a progressivity problem. The state does not have a sales tax. It has a relatively high personal income tax. Most of the Institute’s proposals are aimed at raising more revenue. And the Institute seems very concerned about addressing the growing income inequality. Indeed, the only tax relief for the poor outlined in the report is a call for adoption of an earned income tax credit. In ot
Read more…
Not much action at the end of last week Gold closed the week over $1,600. Oil remained over $100.
The show goes on!
We are watching the destruction of an empire. All empires must go away sometime. They are natural things. And nature puts a time bomb in everything she creates.
The US empire is doomed. Just like all the others that went before it. It is doomed by nature herself — condemned by the gods to blow up and die.
None of this should be surprising to you, dear reader. We’ve seen this movie before. Hundreds of empires have come and gone. We know how this movie ends. More or less.
What we know for sure is that the US is going broke. There is hardly any other plausible outcome. We’ve gone over the numbers so often we don’t need to repeat them.
Yes, it is true that the feds could still save themselves.if they had the will. They co
Read more…
As the economy and consumers continue to struggle, scam artists seem to be thriving. In 2011, Americans saw some of the biggest financial scams to hit the nation in years, even decades. To start the new year off on the right financial footing and avoid falling prey to these scams, take a look at the five biggest scams of last year, including purchase overcharges, benefit buybacks, family scams, fraudulent rental deposits and loans that aren’t yours.
1. Purchase Overcharges
Overcharging for purchases in retail transactions is one of the biggest scams of the year. In fact, one retail chain was charged with overcharging its customers for purchases in a settlement lawsuit. To avoid purchase overcharges, do your homework upfront to find out the price you should be paying for any big-ticket item. D
Read more…
Years ago, I found myself sitting in law school in Moot Court wearing an oversized itchy blue suit. It was a horrible experience. In a desperate attempt to avoid anything like that in the future I enrolled in a tax course. I loved it. I signed up for another. Before I knew it, in addition to my JD, I had a LL.M Taxation. I needed only to don my cape…. taxgirl® was born. Today, I live and work in Philadelphia, PA, one of the best cities in the world . I landed in the City of Brotherly Love by way of Temple University School of Law. While at law school, I interned at the estates attorney division of the IRS. At IRS, I participated in the review and audit of federal estate tax returns. I even took the lead on a successful audit. At audit, opposing counsel read my report, looked at his file and said, “Gentleman, she’s exactly right.” I nearly fainted. It was a short jump from there to practicing, teaching, writing and breathing tax.