Oil prices keep rising to new high

Crude futures near $71 a barrel amid Iran, Nigeria concerns
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5612507/

preview:
OPEC expressed particular concern about the impact rising interest rates would have on consumer spending in the U.S., where gasoline demand grew at a slower rate in the first quarter and could “carry over into the second half of the year.”

Still, analysts said oil prices were likely to climb further as long as geopolitical risks in Iran and Nigeria posed threats to supply.

Crude oil production is only barely keeping up with rising global demand, leaving a slim margin for error if there is a prolonged supply interruption, experts say.

Related content:
A slippery outlook for oil
Gasoline prices jump another dime

Jean

Think Your Taxes Are Bad?

Every year, you grimace as you sign your return. Imagine what it's like in Belgium or Hungary, where taxes can take half your pay. Plus: the wackiest taxes on record.
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Taxes/P148855.asp?GT1=8011

Excerpts:
For a family with one wage-earner and two children, only Iceland and Ireland have a lower income tax burden than the U.S., according to the most recent data for 2005.

At the top, Sweden, Turkey, France and Poland impose the biggest tax burdens on families, but in most of those countries families get added social services, such as secure pensions and health care.

“Citizens in these other countries are paying more money, but they are getting more back, in terms of social programs,” said Christopher Heady, head of tax policy for the Paris-based think tank Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. “It’s a choice the electorate makes.”

...
Noncompliance is hard to estimate, but by most international comparisons, Americans are paying the highest fraction of what they owe, experts said.

“So we may bellyache, but we pay,” said Bill Ahern, spokesman for the Tax Foundation Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit research group, who said part of that compliance may be the result of fear of the IRS. “But it may also be the amount is more reasonable. The higher the tax, the greater the incentive to evade,” he said.

Read on to find out about the wackiest taxes and view the table of tax burdens around the world. =) Happy Easter Monday!

Oh all right, here's a sneak preview:
Last year, Tennessee became the latest of more than 20 states to tax illegal drugs. Under the law, when you acquire an illegal drug, you have 48 hours to report to the state and pay your tax, although you aren‘t required to identify yourself. Once you‘ve paid, you’ll receive stamps to put on your illegal substance to show evidence you paid the tax. You don’t have to identify yourself to pay the tax.

Hate these taxes?
Well, you can take the path of one of the original tax protesters, Englishwoman Lady Godiva. In the 11th century, she successfully reduced a tax assessment on her husband, the Earl of Mercia, by riding naked on a white horse through the streets of Coventry.

In fact, taxes have been around nearly as long as there have been kings and queens, dictators and governments to levy them. And historically, some taxes were even wackier than those we have today. For example:

In England, William Pitt the Younger introduced a tax on every property with more than six windows. The taxes, levied during the 1700s and into the early 1800s, were used to pay for military campaigns in Ireland and elsewhere. As a result of the tax, many windows were bricked up.

click the link above to see the other weird taxes people paid.

Jean

Mobile target: Protective parents

What age is too young for a cell phone? Services catering to the under-14 age group and their parents could be the next big driver of growth in the cell phone industry.
http://msn.com.com/2100-1035_22-6058756.html?part=msn-cnet&subj=ns_22-6058756&tag=tg_bz

Excerpts:
Disney, the omnipresent family entertainment brand, would target kids and their parents for a new cellular service, called Disney Mobile, which will launch in June.

Disney hasn't built its own cellular network but is instead leasing capacity from Sprint Nextel. This arrangement, often referred to as a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, setup, is a growing trend in the cell phone industry.

...
Aftab said parents interested in a service such as Disney's are the same ones who put their home computers in the living room or family room so they can monitor what content their kids access online.

"Once your kid leaves the house, you have no idea what he or she is doing with (the) cell phone," she said. "They could be downloading ring tones of orgasm sounds, for all you know. Or maybe they're being bullied by another kid through text messages. Disney is the first company to address these concerns."

...
Even though the big carriers' services and phones don't match the functionality of newcomer Disney Mobile, they still may have an edge over Disney. For one, most parents who'd even consider buying a cell phone for their kids are already customers of one of the big cell phone companies. It might be easier and more cost-effective for them to wait for new features to be added to their current provider's packages.

"Disney's offering is more comprehensive, in terms of parental control, than anything else I've seen on the market," said Julie Ask, an analyst at JupiterResearch. "But whether or not large numbers of parents subscribe to the Disney service may depend on pricing and the value of the services."

Jean