1. THE SUNDAY REPUBLICAN NOVEMBER 13, 2005
BUSINESS D SECTION
Labor ARCHIE
RICHARDS
Paying
of Wovel
capital
gains
... O R : H O W T O R E - I N V E N T T H E
T
erry writes: “ I want
to make a significant
SHOVEL BY ADDING A WHEEL
investment in an in-
dex fund. But I’ve
heard that one shouldn’t buy a
mutual fund near the end of the to be an easier way to get rid of
BY MARC SILVESTRINI
year, because of incurring capi- all this snow.”
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
tal gains. Is this true?” So Noonan invented the Wov-
With index funds, you’re Had the driveway that leads el, a 6-foot long wheeled snow
okay, Terry. The problem you to Mark Noonan’s New Canaan shovel that leverages the user’s
cite applies to actively managed home been just a bit shorter, own weight to make the snow
mutual funds and can occur any none of this would have hap- removal process a lot easier on
time of the year. Here’s an ex- pened. the back, arms and upper legs.
planation: But Noonan’s driveway is 100 Like a shovel, the Wovel has a
Assume your neighbor buys feet long and clearing it of snow handle at one end and a blade at
shares of a mutual fund early in and slush is a major project that the other. But the similarities
the year. At about the same must be tackled at least a half- pretty much end there.
time, the fund purchases stocks, dozen times a year, even during Between the handle and
which rise nicely. the mildest winters. And the blade Noonan’s Wovel is
A year later, your neighbor truth of the matter is that equipped with a large wheel
sells his shares for a profit. At Noonan had simply grown that has an adjustable fulcrum
about that time, you buy shares weary of the job. point at its axis. The fulcrum al-
of the same fund. “One day about five lows the Wovel to work like a
The Wovel
A few days after your pur- years ago I was out there seesaw, enabling the operator
chase, the fund sells the prof- shoveling away and I to use his own body weight to
at a glance
itable stocks. began thinking about lift and throw snow and slush
The idea: Create a better
When the stocks are sold, alternative ways of with relatively little exertion.
your neighbor is no longer a getting this done,” he The mechanical advantage
snow shovel
The creation: The Wovel
shareholder. The capital gains said. “My arms hurt, provided by the fulcrum, plus
The creator: Mark Noonan
are therefore not allocated to my back hurt, I was the Wovel’s large 26-by-18-inch
Length: 73 inches
him. (If he sells his shares for a sore and tired... blade, makes it possible for
Weight: 26.4 pounds
profit, he incurs capital gains “I kept think-
See WOVEL, Page 2D
See WOVEL, Page
Color: black
on his sale of the fund, but not ing, there has
Construction materials:
on the sales of stock realized by
the fund.) Handle and body are tubular
It’s different for you. When steel, welded steel plates; wheel
the mutual fund sells the stocks and blade are injection-molded
for a profit, you are indeed a co-polymer polypropylene; axle
shareholder, and the capital is steel.
Price: $119.95
gains are allocated to you. You
Web site: www.wovel.com
must pay tax on appreciation
Phone: 1-800-430-0475
that benefited your neighbor.
Here’s where your year-end
concern came from: At the end
of 1999, lots of people bought
“hot” mutual funds that had al-
ready risen a lot. Early in 2000,
the funds sold stocks for big
profits. The capital gains were
allocated to the new investors,
even though they suffered big
losses when the funds turned
cold during the subsequent re-
CONTRIBUTED
cession. The investors paid
heavy capital gains taxes de-
spite incurring big-time losses.
That misfortune happened to
investors who bought in late-
1999, followed by sales in early
2000. But mutual funds can in-
OH, NATURAL
cur profits any time. Don’t hold
back from buying at year-end.
See STOCKS, Page 2D
See STOCKS, Page
MARKET
Natural gas cars coming soon to more showrooms
The Dow this week
Daily high, low and close for
BY JAMES HANNAH However, many of those who buy gas vehicles only to fleet operators, natural gas cars are allowed to use
the week ending November 11
natural cars aren’t driven by their is the only U.S. automaker that the less-crowded car pool lanes even
ASSOCIATED PRESS
10,700
pocketbooks. They like the idea of makes a natural-gas-only car for in- with a single occupant. The au-
10,680
10,660
EAST LIBERTY, Ohio — Selling having a cutting-edge car that’s less dividual motorists. General Motors tomaker has sold at 475 of the cars.
10,640
10,620
cars powered by natural gas to polluting and doesn’t rely on foreign Corp. offers natural gas trucks but
10,600
See ALTERNATIVE, Page 2D
See ALTERNATIVE, Page
American drivers is no small chal- oil for fuel. And Lindstrom said the sold fewer than 1,000 last year.
10,580
10,560
lenge for Honda Motor Co. Natural- car is being marketed as a second- Honda in April began selling the
10,540
10,520
gas stations are few and far between, ary, commuter car. Civic GX at dealerships in
10,500
M T W Th F and until recently the vehicles were Automakers developed natural gas California, where there
Week’s close: nearly as expensive to fuel up as vehicles in hopes their lower operat- are about 135 refuel-
+155.28
10,686.04
their gasoline-powered counterparts. ing cost, cleaner burning fuel and ing stations avail-
Now gasoline prices are up about non-reliance on foreign oil would able to the
Nasdaq 60 cents a gallon from a year ago and create a market. By 2004, there were public and
+33.04
2,202.47 motorists can buy a device that al- about 130,000 vehicles running on
lows them to get natural gas fill ups natural gas — most of them buses,
S&P 500 at home. Honda plans to expand government vehicles and com-
+14.58
1,234.72
sales of the natural gas Civic GX mercial vehicles. By compar-
next year to major cities around the ison, there were about 230
Russell 2000 +8.50 country. million gasoline-powered
666.66
The automaker, which makes the cars and trucks.
AMEX car in this western Ohio city, hopes The scarcity of refuel-
+11.89
1,696.58 to triple its retail business — going ing stations kept sales of
from about 500 cars this year to natural gas vehicles
NYS 1,500 in 2006. down, and some au-
+53.84
7,561.40
“The market is coming to us,” said tomakers abandoned
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gunnar Lindstrom, head of Honda’s their U.S. production.
AP
Honda’s natural-gas
alternative fuels division. Honda, which first sold natural
powered Civic GX.