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We believe that the problems associated with government indebtedness are more serious than on previous occasions when government debt was at similar levels because of poor demographics; the extent of private sector leverage; the global nature of the recession; independent central banks and the absence of capital controls, which make it more difficult to "inflate" away debt.

President's Letter: February 2010 Bernardi Securities I am convinced more than ever that the "perfect" bond market hedge does not exist. Many, many investors lost money over the last 18 months on "hedged" bond investments and swaps. Some would have seen their "hedged" investments wiped out entirely had not the government rescued certain financial institutions.

In this set of short articles, WTAS addresses topics ranging from the tax impact of employee bonuses to factors to consider in assessing the fair market value of alternative investments. The authors also discuss changes in state personal and corporate tax rates, the impact of widening state budget gaps on state taxes, and complications of the current estate and gift tax law.

The three taxpayers involved in the Gaines-Cooper case lost before the Court of Appeals because evaluating an individual's status of residence involves difficult questions of fact and judgment, and the taxpayers could not show that the Revenue and Customs Commission had applied guidance incorrectly. In this review of the decision, Deloitte recommends that UK residents seek professional tax advice and consider their positions carefully before leaving the UK.

Families who employ nannies may be violating federal and state tax and labor laws without even realizing it. And that includes nannies who are legal U.S. citizens, according to this article from Teresa Leigh Household Management. To stay in the clear, families need to collect and file appropriate payroll taxes, track hours worked, pay overtime and abide by minimum wage requirements.

In a relatively short period of time, the exchange traded funds market has expanded into a market of exchange traded products and evolved as an important tool used by many different types of investors. Believing investors need to understand the basics, Forefront Advisory offers an unbiased primer for those looking for general information about exchange traded products.

Residency rules in the 1973 IR20 booklet were in question in the Gaines-Cooper case, but the HMRC6 guidance of April 2009 may be more relevant now to those wishing to lose UK residency, according to Macfarlanes. However, the new guidance has been described as deliberately vague and a work in progress. The authors argue that the time has come for a comprehensive statutory residence test like that of the United States.

The Court of Appeals' recent decision in the Robert Gaines-Cooper case does not represent a change in UK residency law, Withers Worldwide notes. Instead, the decision reinforces what has always been good advice for those seeking to lose UK residency: Make a complete break with the UK and keep visits to a bare minimum.

Britain's new reduction of capital procedure provides a flexible and inexpensive way for family-owned businesses to restructure or return value to shareholders. This report from Withers provides practical examples of how the procedure can be used in paying dividends, demergers, share buy-backs as well as paying up unpaid amounts on shares and dissolving a company.

The unified managed household, the most recent extension of overlay portfolio management, extends overlay management services to households with multiple accounts, multiple individuals and multiple custodians. This paper from Natixis explains the evolution of overlay management and describes the benefits of the unified managed household, particularly for intergenerational wealth transfer.