The State of California has no budget and is paying its bills with "registered warrants" that it promises to redeem for cash by October 2nd. Unfortunately, the State IOU's won't pay your bills.

Many major banks stopped accepting State IOUs last week. In addition, regulators are calling the State IOUs "securities" under Federal law. This terminology restricts who can buy the registered warrants you have.

The California Treasurer's office is maintaining a list of the few bank(s) and credit unions that will let people deposit the warrants as if they were regular State checks.

The IRS wants you to know about a tax credit available for child care expenses.

The Child and Dependent Care Credit is available for expenses incurred during the lazy hazy days of summer and throughout the rest of the year.

Tip #1: The cost of day camp can count as an expense towards the child and dependent care credit.

The worst economic times are the best of times to pump up your business by talking to experts: your customers.

The economic downturn is no time to guess what your clients are thinking. Before investing in gut feelings or past remedies, find out what your customers - and ex-customers - want.

Just ask.

Sterck Kulik O'Neill wants to deliver service that earns your rating of 10 out of 10 on every scale! . Would you please let us know what you like about what we're doing now or what you would like us to do differently in the future?

ALL QUESTIONS ARE OPTIONAL. And, your responses are anonymous, unless you choose to identify yourself when you answer the questions.