Money in a Minute – Today’s Headlines From the World of Money

Get tax tips, check your refund status on your smart phone with the first app from the IRS

IRS.gov: “The IRS2Go phone app gives people a convenient way of checking on their federal refund. It also gives people a quick way of obtaining easy-to-understand tax tips. Apple users can download the free IRS2Go application by visiting the Apple App Store. Android users can visit the Android Marketplace to download the free IRS2Go app.”

Not so sweet – The price of chocolate could be going up

CNN/Money: Cocoa prices spiked 4 percent Monday, after political turmoil led to calls for a one-month export ban. “The Ivory Coast is by far world’s largest supplier of cocoa beans – providing between 30 percent and 40 percent of the world’s supply. With all the unrest, prices will likely keep rising.”

New Study – The first letter of your last name affects your buying habits

Huffington Post: A new study suggests that people whose last name starts with an “A” are less likely to respond quickly to marketing offers than those whose names begin with the letter “Z”. “The reason…boils down to the long-held practice of teachers lining their students up in alphabetical order. Kids who are often at the end of the line feel like the ones at the beginning get treated advantageously.” In other words, kids who are used to getting called on last become adults more likely to jump on the latest offer from Groupon.

Wall Street Traders Earn More Than Brain Surgeons

Bloomberg: “An oil trader with 10 years in the business is likely to earn at least $1 million this year, while a neurosurgeon with similar time on the job makes less than $600,000.”

GM sells more cars in China than the US

Yahoo Finance: “General Motors Co. sold more cars and trucks in China last year than it did in the U.S., for the first time in the company’s 102-year history. But despite GM’s gains in China, Toyota Motor Corp. managed to hold onto the title of world’s largest automaker.”