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The Internal Revenue Service will close all of its public operations on five days from now through August because of employee furloughs, acting commissioner Steve Miller told employees in a memo today.

The tax agency will be closed and almost all employees will be furloughed on May 24, June 14, July 5, July 22 and Aug. 30, Miller wrote. The closing will affect operations such as the IRS toll-free lines and taxpayer assistance centers.

As many as two more furlough days may be needed in August and September, Miller wrote.

The euro fell versus all but two of its 16 major peers amid concern that the region

People often make emotional decisions about their finances. They think with their hearts, not their heads.

Financial planner Chris Snyder has seen all kinds of irrational behaviour among his clients. He gives many examples in his new book, Be Smart with Your Money (Civil Sector Press, $24.95).

“Charles, a doctor, retired to a small town. While he had been an excellent physician, he had very little financial knowledge or acumen,” Snyder writes.

“When it came to investing his money, he didn’t have a clue. What he did know was that if he had $50,000 in his bank account, he had a sense of comfort and security.

“This was something he’d learned from his father, who had gone through the Great Depression in the 1930s.”

Years later, Charles had a stroke. When taken from his small-town hospital to Toronto, he carried his bank book with him as a security blanket.

Keeping a high amount in a liquid, low-paying account was the best thing he could do, even if it didn’t make great sense financially, his adviser says.

“It is possible that over time, his fear could have been reduced and the money invested in a way that gave him a higher return,” Snyder explains, “but there was no doubt in my mind that the $50,000 was where it should be.

“Charles’ need to feel financially secure, combined with his lack of knowledge about things financial, made him rely on the $50,000 in his bank account for security.”

Snyder, now in his 70s, is a fee-only certified financial planner and chairman of ECC Group in Toronto. He’s the author of a Canadian personal finance classic, It’s Your Money, published in 1979.

Many financial practitioners cling to the rational decision-making model. Only a few, such as Snyder, use behavioural economics to make their advice more insightful.

In another example, he talks about a client who refused to open letters from the Canada Revenue Agency because he feared the tax department.

“Once, he opened one after it had been sitting in a pile of unopened mail for six months — and to his surprise, there was a cheque for $1,623 in the envelope. That was the good news.

“The bad news was that it was stale-dated and it took him a further four months to get the cheque reissued.”

Don’t view the CRA as your enemy, unless you haven’t declared all your income or filed your returns, he advises. Be reasonable with the CRA and it’s likely to be reasonable with you.

Among Snyder’s favourite books on how emotions can overrule logic are The Little Book of Behavioral Investing by James Montier and Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein.

Dan Ariely, a U.S. professor of psychology and behavioural economics, has written three bestsellers: Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality and The Honest Truth About Dishonesty (Harper).

On March 25, Ariely is launching an online course, A Beginner’s Guide to Irrational Behavior, which is free and open to anyone.

I signed up for the course, since I admire Ariely’s witty writing style. I also wanted to learn more about MOOCs (massive open online courses), which are gaining traction around the world.

Ariely’s course is sponsored by Coursera, a company founded by two Stanford University professors in 2012, which has partnerships with more than 50 universities in the United States, Canada and overseas.

“We envision a future where the top universities are educating not only thousands of students, but millions,” the company says about its vision.

“Through this, we hope to give everyone access to the world-class education that has so far been available only to a select few. We want to empower people with education that will improve their lives, the lives of their families and the communities they live in.”

Mastering your money is a vital skill. Maybe it will become easier with the help of books and courses that allow you to understand the behavioural gaps that hold you back.

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WASHINGTON—Republican Senator Rob Portman, who was on the short list last year to be the party’s vice-presidential candidate, said he reversed his opposition to same-sex marriage after learning in 2011 that his son is gay.

The Ohio senator announced that he now supports gay marriage in an opinion piece on Friday in an Ohio newspaper.

“I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn’t deny them the opportunity to get married,” Portman wrote in an op-ed piece in the Columbus Dispatch, titled “The Freedom to Marry.”

“That isn’t how I’ve always felt. As a Congressman, and more recently as a Senator, I opposed marriage for same-sex couples. Then something happened that led me to think through my position in a much deeper way.”

Portman said his 21-year-old son, Will, told the senator and his wife that he was gay in February 2011.

Portman’s announcement comes about a week before the U.S. Supreme Court is to hear oral arguments in two cases related to gay marriage. One challenges the 1996 federal Defence of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

In a related case, the court will also hear arguments that question a California law, known as Proposition 8, banning gay marriage. The cases will be argued on March 26 and March 27.

Portman told another Ohio newspaper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, he now believes same-sex couples who marry in states where it is legal should be eligible for the same federal benefits granted to heterosexual couples.

He was among the front-runners to be Mitt Romney’s vice-presidential pick during the 2012 election, but budget hawk Paul Ryan, a congressman from Wisconsin, eventually got the nod.

The Republican Party has become increasingly split on the gay marriage issue, with many arguing that socially conservative positions such as opposition to same-sex marriage are contributing to the party’s election losses.

An early Republican favourite for the 2016 presidential race, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, staged a defence of traditional marriage in a high-profile speech to a conservative conference on Thursday.

“Just because I believe that states should have the right to define marriage in the traditional way does not make me a bigot,” the 41-year-old Cuban-American told the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC.

Among the headliners at the CPAC event on Friday is Romney, who will be making his first major public speech since he lost the election.

Portman’s new position was supported by former opponent David Axelrod, who was President Barack Obama’s senior campaign adviser.

“Courageous decision by Rob Portman to endorse same-sex marriage, guided by the love of a parent rather than by party ideology,” Axelrod tweeted.

In his op-ed piece, Portman wrote of how he has “wrestled” with reconciling his Christian faith with the desire for his son to have the same opportunities as his siblings.

“Ultimately, for me, it came down to the Bible’s overarching themes of love and compassion and my belief that we are all children of God,” he said.

Portman told the Ohio newspapers in an interview that because of his son he was able to “think of this issue from a new perspective, and that’s of a dad who loves his son a lot and wants him to have the same opportunities that his brother and sister would have — to have a relationship like Jane and I have had for over 26 years.”

Portman’s son, now a junior at Yale University, told the senator that being gay was “not a choice,” and that he had been gay “since he could remember,” Portman told the newspapers.

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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will probably take two lessons from better-than- forecast job growth: his record easing is working, and the Fed should press on with its $85 billion monthly bond purchases.

Employment rose 236,000 in February for the third monthly increase above 200,000 in four months, pushing down the jobless rate to a four-year low of 7.7 percent, according to Labor Department data released today.

ELLIOT LAKE, ONT.—Missing bolts, crooked columns and steel beams that were rusted despite being new marred the construction of a doomed mall in northern Ontario, a public inquiry heard Wednesday.

John Kadlec, a structural engineer on the Algo Centre Mall project, testified that the shoddy workmanship he saw three decades ago was unprecedented in his experience.

“I’d never seen that many deficiencies in my life before,” Kadlec said. “I sent letters warning (the owner) about sloppy workmanship.”

The discovery of off-kilter columns prompted an unusual fix in which the construction company, York Steel, anchored the building to an adjacent rock face, the probe heard.

Despite the problems, Kadlec ultimately signed off on the construction of the mall, which collapsed last summer killing two women.

Based on reports from an inspection company, he said he was satisfied the deficiencies had “apparently” all been rectified.

Lawyer Joe Bisceglia, who speaks for another engineer who later inspected the mall, seemed incredulous at Kadlec’s seemingly nonchalant approach.

“It’s not every day that a building you design is out of plumb and is in such a condition that it has to be anchored to the side, in essence to a rock cut,” Bisceglia said.

“They put in anchors without consulting you and without making you inspect it and approve it?”

The engineer defended his actions, saying he was part of a team and decisions were made elsewhere. He said he only visited the building site three or four times and relied on inspection reports to outline the deficiencies.

At times, it was difficult to tell whether Kadlec, who emigrated from Czechoslovakia in 1970, was having language difficulties.

“Are you happy with this?” he asked Bisceglia at one point after a tortuous attempt at questions and answers.

At other times, he simply said he could not remember events or was unable to answer the questions.

Kadlec, who worked for Toronto-based Beta Engineering, also testified he was puzzled by the “unique” decision to put the parking garage above the mall when the usual practice was to put it underground.

He said he discussed his reservations with the original mall owners — Algocen Realty Holdings — to no effect.

“I didn’t like it, especially in this area,” Kadlec said. “We talked about it. I was a small man, but the decision was made somewhere else.”

The roof began leaking immediately. Asked if he ever warned the owner about the corrosive effects of water and salt penetrating the rooftop garage, Kadlec said he didn’t realize the problem was so serious.

Investigators believe water and road salt combined to destroy the weld of two steel structures, leading to the catastrophic collapse on June 23, 2012 of the pre-cast roof deck, which rained rubble down on shoppers and mall stuff.

Kadlec said he couldn’t remember if he had designed the structure to avoid a “progressive” collapse.

He also said he had no idea the system used to waterproof the roof had never been used before in North America, the inquiry heard.

“I know nothing about waterproofing, even to today,” Kadlec said. “It’s a different profession.”

Kadlec testified he is now allowed to practise engineering only by working with or for another professional engineer. The limitation was placed as the result of another ill-fated project in which he was involved: the roof of a mall in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., collapsed in 2009.

The inquiry continues Thursday, with two witnesses involved in the construction of the roof at the Algo Centre expected to testify.

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How’s this for holiday savings: a shopping haul of remote control cars, tablets, warm coats and boots worth $8,000 for just $1,300.

That was how well extreme couponer Joni Crothers and her “coupon-tourage” of 14 friends and family members did after 15 hours of shopping at 10 stores in Toledo, Ohio, on Black Friday.

It works out to about $450 an hour in savings. There’s a cherry on top of this shopping spree. It will be used to fulfill wish lists from 16 children in need.

Crothers knows what it’s like to be down and out around the holidays. She started clipping coupons when her husband lost his auto industry job four years ago. In the process, Crothers discovered a talent for discount hunting that was good enough to be featured on the popular TLC show “Extreme Couponing.”

She now uses her talent to give back to children she met through a local food bank. She even identifies with some of them.

“One of the kids we’re helping has a mom who lost her automotive factory job two years ago, and now her unemployment is running out,” she said. “These families just need to feel like there are people who care about them.”

The coupontourage had their shopping plans down to a science this year. Crothers started her Thanksgiving meal in the early afternoon so she would be ready.

The group met at Crothers’ home at 7:15 p.m. on Thanksgiving, earlier than their 9 p.m. start last year, since stores like , Fortune 500)and Toys R Us pushed their doorbuster sales up by an hour.

The crew then fanned out to Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, , Fortune 500), , Fortune 500), Bath and Body Works, , Fortune 500), , Fortune 500) and ) — stores that Crothers determined had the greatest number of items on the children’s lists.

She headed off to Target, where she found the crowds crazier and the people grumpier than last year cash advance companies.

“Most people are usually in the holiday spirit,” she said. “But not this year. Maybe it’s because the sales are starting earlier and they’re not getting family time in or time to rest.”

The coupontourage tuned out the bah humbugs and focused on their lists. They targeted each store knowing what they would buy: coats and boots from Kohl’s, remote control cars and baby dolls from Toys R Us, electronics from Wal-Mart.

They relied on money-back promotions on gift cards that many stores were offering, wherein stores give you a certain amount back for every gift card you buy.

Their strategy paid off. At Kohl’s alone, they spent $330 for $1,900 worth of items. At Toys R Us, they saved another 72%, thanks to the 60% off on hot toys offered during the store’s early bird special.

Crothers’ biggest coup was for a 15 year-old girl, who had put five books on her wish list, which would have cost the coupontourage more than $100.

Crothers had a different idea. She used the money she collected from buying gift cards to purchase a Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader tablet, which retails for $199, and plunked $40 of the group’s budget. The kid will also get a $50 gift card to download her books.

The 16 children will get a chance to see what the coupontourage snapped up at a “Happy Birthday Jesus party” that Crothers hosts at a local food bank on Christmas eve. Each kid is called up by Santa Claus to get a gift.

Just when the children think that’s the only present they’re getting, Crothers unveils the big cardboard boxes filled with the rest of the items on each kid’s wish list.

“That’s when it’s really neat, to see their faces,” she said.

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One thing’s for sure on the day after the election: the 2010 law to reform Wall Street isn’t going away.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had pledged to repeal the sweeping Dodd-Frank Act, the Democrats’ response to big banks’ risky behavior that led to the 2008 financial crisis. The law put curbs on banks’ ability to make risky investments and introduced new rules safeguarding some complex financial bets that spurred the bailout of insurer , Fortune 500).

It’s unlikely that House Republican attempts to roll back the reforms — efforts they’ve made since recapturing the chamber in 2011 — will get anywhere. Besides a re-elected President Obama and his veto power, Democrats retain the Senate with the help of a major champion of Wall Street reform, Harvard University professor Elizabeth Warren.

“This puts to bed any notion that Dodd-Frank will be repealed, so then the question becomes: Are we going to make changes around the margins?” said Mark Calabria, an economist at the libertarian Cato Institute who used to work for Republicans on the Senate Banking panel.

All signs point to yes.

Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, said in an October speech at the Bipartisan Policy Center that “there’s clearly a lot of additional work to be done.”

While some Wall Street reforms, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, are churning away, the law pushed to regulators a number of big decisions. They included how much cash banks should hold aside as capital cushions and stopping banks from making speculative bets, a provision named the Volcker rule after its chief proponent, former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker.

The result is that regulators have struggled to agree on the more controversial measures no fax cash advance. As of Nov. 1, regulators had missed 61% of their deadlines implementing parts of Dodd-Frank, according to the law firm Davis Polk.

For example, there’s still disagreement among regulators about whether the Volcker rule should allow banks the ability to take on some risk when setting up big, market-making bets on behalf of clients.

That’s a big deal for taxpayers, who would be on the hook if the Fed decides it’s in the nation’s interest to bail out a troubled bank whose risky bets arranged for a client go sour and threaten the financial system’s stability.

But a big unknown is how a second-term Obama administration could change the tone at federal banking agencies.

All indications are that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will step down. Rumors have swirled that Securities and Exchange Commission chief Mary Schapiro could step down before her term ends in 2014. Commodity Futures Trading Commission chief Gary Gensler’s term was up in April, although he can legally serve through 2013. And Fed chief Ben Bernanke’s term is up in 2014.

Obama won office with little to no support from Wall Street, which could make him think twice before he considers candidates from that sector to run financial regulatory agencies this time around.

And the pressing deficit and budget concerns could make divert the Treasury Department’s attention from anything else.

“If Obama goes with a budget person for Treasury Secretary, I think a lot of this financial regulation really starts to fall to the back burner,” Calabria said.

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The devastation from Hurricane Sandy did not impact the job market in October. But it may be a different story in November.

That’s because the government conducts its household jobs survey, which is used to tabulate stats like the workforce and unemployment rate, during the calendar week that includes the 12th of the month. The storm hit the East Coast far too late to have an impact on the October survey, but any Sandy effect will be felt in the November report.

October’s jobs report, which showed the economy added 171,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9%, came Friday as storm victims were still reeling. The government included a special note in the report to explain that Sandy “had no discernable effect ” on the October unemployment rate and workforce data, as they were collected before the storm.

Sandy made landfall on the New Jersey coast on Monday, October 29, more than two weeks after the employment survey for the month. But the survey for the November jobs report, which will be conducted the week of the 12th and released on December 7, may very well show job losses related to Sandy.

New Jersey and New York were especially devastated, with many coastal homes and businesses wiped off the map free credit score online. Some small businesses in those states may have to close their doors permanently, leaving their employees without work. Others may be able to rebuild, but that could take months in some cases.

That will likely lead to temporary layoffs, said Anthony Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University. But he thinks they’ll be offset by temporary hiring for the relief effort.

“It’s an odd thing, but destruction begets growth because of rebuilding,” Carnevale said, adding that Sandy “probably won’t affect the overall unemployment rate.”

Temporary layoffs don’t count toward the unemployment rate, Carnevale added, but temporary hiring is sometimes included as it can be categorized as part-time work. He doesn’t expect permanent layoffs will be widespread enough to move the barometer significantly, noting that “while Sandy hit a big part of the country, it’s still only one part of the country.”

The monthly jobs report has highlighted the nation’s continued struggle to recover from the economic downturn of 2008 and 2009. Roughly 12.3 million people remain unemployed, 40.6% of whom have been out of a job for more than six months.

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After largely escaping the wrath of Irene last year, coastal towns got walloped by Sandy this week.

Cleanup costs are expected to run into multiple millions of dollars, as municipalities try to deal with flooding, downed trees and damage to their waterfronts. The destruction that Sandy wrought this week was far harsher than last year’s storm, officials say.

“This was a thousand times worse,” said Matthew Doherty, mayor of Belmar, N.J., which lost half of its 1.2-mile boardwalk on the Atlantic Ocean. “This one sent our boardwalk two blocks inward.”

It will be days, if not weeks, before local officials throughout the states hit by Sandy tally up the costs, which include overtime, fuel, equipment and repairs to public property. Most will receive help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and from their states, but they still expect to incur significant expenses.

The Town of Babylon on hard-hit Long Island, N.Y., had 60 trees blocking major roads on Tuesday afternoon, and sections of the 53-square-mile municipality remained inaccessible due to flood waters of up to six feet, said Tim Ruggeri, communications director. Public workers will be out 24-7 until the streets are cleared.

“We’re expecting a lot of costs for the town, even with FEMA,” he said.

Even though Freeport, N.Y., had an all-volunteer fire department battling the nearly two dozen fires that were still burning on Tuesday, the Long Island community still expects to spend millions. Its parks were damaged, as was its beach in the 10-foot tide during the storm, said Emergency Management Director Richard Holdener. The village will have to pay plenty of overtime to its police and public works employees, some of whom are dealing with boats that were lifted five blocks away from the canal.

In New London, Conn., officials are dealing with the destruction of Osprey Beach, that was washed away in the storm along with the clubhouse there. The waterfront city suffered more downed power lines and debris in the road during Sandy than it did during Irene since the flooding and tidal surges were higher, said Zak Leavy, public information office.

About 80 miles west, Mayor Richard Moccia of Norwalk, Conn., couldn’t even get to his beach on the Long Island Sound because the road was underwater. His finance director was already in the office setting up spreadsheets to track overtime costs and other expenses to submit to FEMA.

The city remained in a state of emergency on Tuesday and is operating a shelter for flooded or powerless families. Some 240 people stayed there on Monday night.

One of the mayor’s top priorities is to get the schools back on track so children can return to class and voting can take place next Tuesday. But the majority of schools remained remained shuttered and officials announced they’d be closed the rest of the week.

“I can’t even calculate all the overtime,” Moccia said. As for the overall cost to the town, “I don’t know if it’s $10,000 or $1 million.”

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