vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Many big companies self insure. They pay the insurance company to manage the claims, and to have access to their network of doctors, hospitals, specialists, and pharmacies; but cover the costs on a shared basis with the employees. Medium sized companies use one of the standard group policies. Small companies either have expensive policies because they are a small group, or they have to join with other small companies through an association to create a larger group. The bigger the group the less impact each individual person has on the group cost. The insurance companies reprice their policies each year based on the expected demographics of the groups, the negotiated rates with the network of providers, the required level of coverage, and the actual usage of the group from the previo year.. If the insurance company does a poor job of estimating the performance of the group, it hits their profits; which will cause them to raise their rates the next year which can impact the number of companies that use them. Some provisions of the new health care laws in the US govern portability of insurance regarding preexisting conditions, minimum coverage levels, and the elimination of many lifetime cap. Prior to these changes the switching of employers while very sick could have a devastating impact on the finances of the family. The lifetime cap could make it hard to cover the person if they had very expensive illnesses.  If the illness doesn't impact your ability to work, there is no need to discuss it during the interview process. It won't need to be discussed except while coordinating care during the transition. There is one big issue though. If the old company uses Aetna, and the new company doesn't then you might have to switch doctors, or hospitals; or go out-of-network at a potentially even bigger cost to you.
"I'm quite certain that the people buying ""High line condos and Ferrari sports cars"" are taking care of their eldery relatives and probably a few dozen other elderly people at a minimum.  Why do you want them to care for even more people that should have been preparing for a time when they are unwilling or unable to work any more, rather than caring for them yourself?"
Making a payment of any amount is usually legal, although of course the specific circumstances matter, and I'm not qualified to give legal advice. Just had to throw in that disclaimer not because I think there's a problem here, but because it is impossible to give a definite answer to a legal question in a specific situation on Stack Exchange. But the government will be involved. There are two parts to that. First, as part of anti-money-laundering laws, banks have to report all transactions above a certain limit; I believe $10k. When you use a check or similar to pay, that happens pretty much automatically. When making a cash payment, you may have to fill out some forms. An secondly, Edward Snowden revealed that the government also tapped into banking networks, so pretty much every transaction is recorded, even if it is not reportable.
Most people looking to introduce a water softener to their home and office have opted for salt based water filters. Electronic water softener systems are the best way for water resolution. In this system, water softener unit is periodically recharged with sodium by flushing through with a brine solution. Although these are effective at removing the calcium from your water system they have a number of disadvantages. They are relatively expensive to buy.
How you check if a broker is legitimate: 1) Are they a registered broker dealer? Broker dealers have to be registered with FINRA and the SEC , which have their own databases for you to look up individuals and companies. here is FINRA's http://www.finra.org/Investors/ToolsCalculators/BrokerCheck/ FINRA is a self-regulatory agency, the SEC is a federal government agency. All things considered, they pretty much have similar legislative authority over the industry. But thats a different story. If the broker isn't able to produce information that would confirm their registration status, or if you can't readily find it in the regulators database, then that is a major red flag. The biggest red flag of them all. 2) If brokers are also acting as a consumer bank, such as how Merrill Lynch is now part of Bank of America and the accounts can be linked pretty easily, then they should will also be regulated by the FDIC. This means that you will be able to find the capital ratio that the company has, letting you know how stable it is as an institution. Physical locations, the name, and duration of existence, or their rating on BBB have nothing to do with it.
"That share class may not have a ticker symbol though ""Black Rock MSCI ACWI ex-US Index"" does have a ticker for ""Investor A"" shares that is BDOAX.  Some funds will have multiple share classes that is a way to have fees be applied in various ways.  Mutual fund classes would be the SEC document about this if you want a government source within the US around this. Something else to consider is that if you are investing in a ""Fund of funds"" is that there can be two layers of expense ratios to consider.  Vanguard is well-known for keeping its expenses low."
You overgeneralize too much.  Investors have their place and use.  Picking a few examples and make broad statements about a whole industry is just tiresome.  Of course they have something to gain, they are putting their money on the line.  This is capitalism, not altruism.
eChecks (and ACH) are a (desperate?) try of the US banking system to get into the 21st century. All EU countries (and some others) have direct deposits and transfers as the standard way of transferring money since about 20 years, and since about 5 years it is cost-free and one-day across all the EU. The rest of the world runs mostly country specific system, as there is not that large a demand for cross country shifting, and exchange rates are also an issue in any such transaction. Because they have different ways that work fine since decades, other countries will consider the eCheck idea as a step backwards and will probably ignore it, so your answer is 'none'. International companies work with banks in a different relationship than retail customers, so they can do things you and me cannot do - depending on size and volume. Some large companies get a banking license and then handle their own stuff; medium sized companies make favorable contracts with banks (they are golden goose customers - never an issue, no brick and mortar presence needed, banks love them), or they simply suck up the transfer cost (if you move millions, who cares about a 40 $ fee). Small businesses whine and live with what they get...
I understand your anger. Still you should consider that the banks are a key factor in economic growth. Hurting them hurts us because its our money that makes them so rich.  As for the feds...you suggest private regulation. Firstly its slightly absurd to have the feds, the regulator of private businesses, controlled privately. Secondly, atleast government is resonable with economic policy in fear of elections, private regulation would do whatever made the tresury and hence business more money. Think bailout without sec regualtions.  There is no denying banking is a ethically dubious business but it is important to appriciate the complexity and genious of the economic system. Change is harder than outrage, it requires a stroke of genious both politically and economically.
BillShrink.com lets you compare credit cards based on all your specifics (miles vs. cash, where you shop the most, etc) and tells you what the best card is for your specific habits. MOD EDIT  Looks like billshrink.com is shut down.  From their site: Dear BillShrink customer, As you may have heard, BillShrink.com was shut down on July 31, 2013.   While we’re sad to say goodbye, we hope we’ve been able to help you be   better informed and save some money along the way! The good news is   that much of the innovative award-winning BillShrink technology will   still be available via our StatementRewards platform (made available   to customers by our partnering financial institutions). Moreover, we   expect to re-launch a new money-saving service in the future. To see   more of what we’re up to, visit Truaxis.com. We have deleted your personal information as of July 31. We will   retain your email address only to announce a preview of the new tool.   If you do not want us to retain your email address, you can opt out in   the form below. This opt out feature will be available until September   31, 2013. If you have already opted out previously, you do not need to   opt out again. If you have any further questions, contact us at   info@billshrink.com. Thanks, The BillShrink/Truaxis Team
I've been budgeting with MS Money since 2004 and was pretty disappointed to hear it's being discontinued. Budgeting is actually a stress-relieving hobby for me, and I can be a bit of a control-freak when it comes to finances, so I decided to start early looking for a replacement rather than waiting until MS Money can no longer download transactions. Here are the pros and cons of the ones I've tried (updated 10/2010): You Need A Budget Pro (YNAB) - Based on the old envelopes system, YNAB has you allot money from each paycheck to a specific budget category (envelope). It encourages you to live on last money's income, and if you have trouble with overspending, that can be a great plan. Personally, I'm a big believer in the envelope concept, so that's the biggest pro I found. Also, it's a downloaded software, so once I've bought it (for about $50) it's mine, without forced upgrades as far as I've seen. The big con for me was that it does not automatically download transactions. I would have to sign on to each institution's website and manually download to the program. Also, coming from Money, I'm used to having features that YNAB doesn't offer, like the ability to store information about my accounts. Overall, it's forward-thinking and a good budgeting system, but will take some extra time to download transactions and isn't really a comprehensive management tool for all my financial needs. You can try it out with their free trial. Mint - This is a free online program. The free part was a major pro. It also looks pretty, if that's important to you. Updating is automatic, once you've got it all set up, so that's a pro. Mint's budgeting tools are so-so. Basically, you choose a category and tell it your limit. It yells at you (by text or email) when you cross the line, but doesn't seem to offer any other incentive to stay on budget.
"You have to remember that there is no such actual thing as ""deregulation"". Even if regulations are light, the government is still legislating one way or another.   There are already regulations that cause wealth to flow from workers and consumers towards shareholders. It's just a question of which way legislation allows wealth to flow.   There is no empirical data to indicate that if the healthcare industry were ""deregulated"" that costs would fall. Lack of regulation is what leads to $2,000 epipens that cost $25 to make.   If it were deregulated, prices would rise because free market forces do not reign supreme: corporate greed does. If you can charge a higher price you will. But malpractice will definitely rise as well.   Take Kansas for example. Massive deregulation, leading to huge job losses, failing sectors left and right, and great big gaping budget holes with no free market rushing to fill the void.   On the other hand take the NHS. Much lower cost per person than the US, and each person pays a much lower percentage of their income than people in the US, in return for quality healthcare.   There is always regulation. It's just a question of who the regulation benefits to the detriment of whom."
I dislike reading opinion articles because most people have a construed understanding of monetary policy and macroeconomics.  I disagree completely about the Yuan possibly taking over as reserve currency. First of all, some countries use it as a reserve because they deal with china a lot and purchase a lot from china. when you purchase from china you either have to buy with Yuan or US dollar. we obviously print the dollar so we have no issue buying from them in dollar but many countries prefer to use the Yuan because they may have lower dollar reserves or its a higher transaction cost. Secondly, and probably the most important, is that China will be a failed economy/society most likely in the future. 1.5 billion people of many different ethnic groups. extreme inequality will lead to social unrest (already has). China has a lot of shit to take care of. It's quite laughable if anyone thinks the Yuan is a stable currency and can be a good reserve currency.   I posted a link for you to read if you want to understand the monetary system and what the Fed's role is. Here it is again:  http://pragcap.com/understand-the-modern-monetary-system/understanding-modern-monetary-system  read it and tell me what you think.
It depends on the timing of the events. Sometimes the buying company announces their intention but the other company doesn't like the deal. It can go back and forth several times, before the deal is finalized. The specifics of the deal determine what happens to the stock: The deal will specify when the cutoff is. Some people want the cash, others want the shares.  Some will speculate once the initial offer is announced where the final offer (if there is one) will end up. This can cause a spike in volume, and the price could go up or down. Regarding this particular deal I did find the following: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/expedia-to-acquire-orbitz-worldwide-for-12-per-share-in-cash-300035187.html Additional Information and Where to Find It Orbitz intends to file with the SEC a proxy statement as well as other   relevant documents in connection with the proposed transaction with   Expedia. The definitive proxy statement will be sent or given to the   stockholders of Orbitz and will contain important information about   the proposed transaction and related matters. SECURITY HOLDERS ARE   URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT CAREFULLY WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE   AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY   AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY WILL   CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. The proxy statement and other relevant   materials (when they become available), and any other documents filed   by Expedia or Orbitz with the SEC, may be obtained free of charge at   the SEC's website, at www.sec.gov. In addition, security holders will   be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement from Orbitz by   contacting Investor Relations by mail at ATTN: Corporate Secretary,   Orbitz Worldwide, Inc., 500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1000, Chicago,   Illinois 60661.
so far the only thing that I can think of that would make me want to go with H&R Block is the guarantee that they offer ( for a fee ) that says they will help you if you are ever audited for a tax return that you filed through them,  but I think that is given for both the software and the in person tax preparation.  so I guess if you like to ask lots of questions and get the answers nearly immediately I would go with an in person tax preparation person,  if they can't answer all your questions then that is something else to think about all together.
"&gt; All food companies are required to have the answers to a set of questions available, via email or website, phone, or standard mail. Those questions are determined by a combination of independent panel and consumer polling. What those questions are may change over time, allowing for a reasonably generous grace period for the companies to prepare.  Why should we trust big agro to release accurate information that may be damning to their business? This isn't like government where records have to be kept for FOIA requests. I'd expect them to pursue their own interests above all else, as they have done now by altering the laws in their favor.  &gt; I also think we need a series of third party organizations, rather than the USDA Organic system we have. What's acceptable and what isn't is super arguable, and rather than just taking the standard that exists (which IMO is not meaningful), folks can choose which standard they wish to head. Combined with the mandated transparency above, this would lower costs by removing the need for active investigation, and lead to more informed decision making on the part of the consumers.  The problem is that the USDA has been underfunded to the point that it's completely incapable of doing the amount of inspections needed. Having multiple sets of competing standards would be confusing to the consumer, and unless the terms labeled have legal weight it ultimately doesn't mean anything. I recall all the products mislabeled as ""organic"" until legal standards were published defining the term.  Consumers don't know what they need to be educated about, and rely on reporters and experts to make recommendations and revelations on their behalf. Today these groups are neutered to maximize agricultural profits, and public health is suffering. Agricultural workers are suffering.  &gt; Combined with the mandated transparency above, this would lower costs by removing the need for active investigation, and lead to more informed decision making on the part of the consumers.  I suggest the following alternatives:  * Fund the USDA properly * Allow journalists to report on our food supply chain without legal reprisal * Revoke all laws that restrict the first amendment when it comes to our food. ""Disparaging a food product"" should not be illegal in a free country. Public health should be more important than sales of unhealthful products."
It is probably safe to throw away the receipt.  Without a system to process and store receipts, they are of little use. With regards to personal finances I'm guilty of preaching without practicing 100% of the time, but here are some arguments for keeping receipts. To reconcile your statement to receipts before paying the credit card bill  - people make mistakes all the time.  I bet if you have an average volume of transactions, you will find at least one mistake in 12 months. To establish baseline spending and calculate a realistic budget.  So many people will draft  a budget by 'estimating' where their money goes.  When it comes to this chore, I think people are about as honest with themselves as exercise and counting calories.  Receipts are facts. To abide by record keeping requirements for warranty, business, IRS, etc... Personally, the only thing I've caught so far is Bank of America charging me interest when I pay my bill in full every month!
This is exactly what they are doing.  Examples would be the BRICS trading bloc and the ASEAN equivalent.  Along with the trade agreements that many countries have made with Iran, all of which completely bypass the American Dollar.    America needs to recognize that for many countries in the world, dumping their excess reserves in US Treasury Bonds is not in their best interest any longer.  Especially considering the fiscal situation in the US, and the policies that are used to manipulate bond rates.  (These policies are cross aisle, this is not a political statement)  American Imperial might is finite.  Americans ignore this at their own peril.  Edit: I would also add the regulatory and legal uncertainty in the US is also a problem.  By that I mean things like MF Global, Peregrine Financial, Knight Capital among others.
The Canada Revenue Agency describes in detail here what information businesses must generally include on their invoices so that GST/HST registrants can claim Input Tax Credits (ITCs) for the expenses. Quote: Sales invoices for GST/HST registrants You have to give customers who are GST/HST registrants specific information on the invoices, receipts, contracts, or other business papers that you use when you provide taxable goods and services. This information lets them support their claims for input tax credits (ITCs) or rebates for the GST/HST you charged. [...] The page quoted continues with a table describing what, specifically, needs to be on a sales invoice based on the total amount of the invoice; the requirements differ for: total sale under $30, total sale between $30 to $149.99, and total sale $150 or more. For the total sale under $30 category, the only things a sales invoice must contain to support an ITC claim are (1) the provider's business name, (2) the invoice date, and (3) the total amount paid/payable. i.e. When the total sale is under $30, there is no requirement for any GST/HST amount to be indicated separately, nor for a business number to be present on the invoice. Hence, IMHO (and I am neither an accountant nor a lawyer), if your Uber rides are for $30 or less, then you shouldn't expect a GST/HST number anyway, and a simple invoice as described should be enough for you to claim your ITCs. Whether or not the provider is registered in fact for GST/HST is beside the point. For amounts over $30, you need a bit more. While the page above specifies that the provider's business number should be included beginning with the next level of total sales, there are exceptions to those rules described at another page mentioned, Exceptions to invoice requirements, that specifically apply to the taxi/limousine case. Quote: Exceptions to invoice requirements GST/HST registrants are required to keep the necessary documentation to support their claim for ITCs and rebates.
"There are Cyber Security and Reporting Standards which Financial Service Provider (Banks and Financial services where customers deposit and/or transact fiat currency) You can find a comprehensive list on Wikipedia under Cyber security standards Depending on the geographic location there might be local Govt requirements such as reporting issues, data security etc. Concerning point 1. We have to differ between a fraudulent customer and an attacker on the banks infrastructure. Fraudulent customers / customers that have been compromised by third parties are identified with but not limited to credit scores and merchant databases or data from firms specialized in ""Fraud Prevention"". Attackers (Criminals that intend to steal, manipulate or spy on data) are identified/prevented/recorded by but not limited to IDS solutions and attacker databases. For firms that get compensation by insurances the most important thing is the compilant with law and have records of everything, they rather focus on recording data to backtrack attackers than preventing attacks. Concerning point 2. For you as customer the local law and deposit insurance are the most important things. Banks are insured and usually compensate customers on money theft. The authentication and PIN / TAN methods are most crucial but standard - these authentication methods consist of one password and one offline part such as a TAN from a paperletter or a RSA generator or card reader. WRAPUP: Financial institutions have to comply with local law and meet international standards. Banks use highly advanced Intrusion detection and fraud prevention which logically must be based on databases. For the average joe customer there is seldom high risk to lose deposits even if the attackers gains full access to the bank account but this depends a lot on the country you reside in. Concerning targeted attacks:"
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