How To Get Your Tax Rebate Check

Taxpayers have been ringing the Internal Revenue Service telephones in record numbers trying to get answers about the upcoming economic stimulus payments.

In a recent report, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration noted that the IRS has been averaging more than 50,000 calls per day regarding the stimulus -- significantly above the normal volume of calls the agency gets this time of year. And this is still after the IRS spent $45 million mailing out more than 130 million notices explaining the payments.

One frequent question comes from people who owe taxes this year and are entitled to a stimulus check. Here's what one reader wanted to know: "I am about ready to send in my taxes and I owe money. Do I then have no choice but to await a paper check, or is there some way I can arrange for direct deposit?"

Jim Dupree, an IRS spokesman, responded: "Fill out your bank routing and account information before you submit the return and you'll receive your stimulus payment via direct deposit."

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Oprah Tosses Dr. Phil Overboard In Favor Of Dr. Oz

Yesterday's news that Oprah is developing a talk show featuring Dr. Mehmet Oz — who's been a regular on her show for some time now — comes as a slap in the face to that other guy who used to be known as "Oprah's Doctor": Dr. Phil McGraw.

The New York Post's Don Kaplan reports that the Dr. Oz show will be in direct competition to a show Dr. Phil is currently developing:

But the new show - slated to debut in the fall of 2009 - appears to be a direct rival to "The Doctors," a new syndicated show slated for next fall that will be produced by the McGraws.

McGraw, was, of course, discovered and groomed by Oprah in 2002 for his own show in exactly the same fashion as Oz is being prepped this year for daytime TV stardom.

Further, Kaplan reports that even though it appears that Oprah has been grooming Dr. Oz for a show of his own (especially given that she recently purchased the Discovery Health Network), TV industry professional were surprised by the aggressiveness of the move:

"It's mystifying," said MediaWeek's Marc Berman yesterday. "This certainly can be seen as diluting the audience for 'The Doctors.'

"But Oprah has clout," he said. "If she wants to put a show on TV, she will."

Dr. Phil's afternoon show is part-owned by Oprah - but "The Doctors" is being made totally by McGraw's own production company without the help or profit participation of Harpo.

Internet Stars Aline For Yahoo

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo Inc.'s last-ditch efforts to avoid a takeover by Microsoft Corp. appear to be setting the stage for a dramatic finale featuring a rich cast of Internet and media stars.

Eager to frustrate Microsoft in any way possible, Internet search leader Google Inc. has already agreed to help out Yahoo by participating in an unusual test that will gauge how much more advertising Google can sell for its struggling rival.

The two-week experiment announced Wednesday will be limited to ads posted alongside a small percentage of Yahoo's online search results in the United States.

Yahoo reportedly hopes to build upon the Google deal by combining its online operations with Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, which has been struggling to regain its stride after stumbling badly for years. Google already handles AOL's search advertising and owns a 5 percent stake in the Time Warner subsidiary.

As part of the AOL deal, Time Warner would make a cash investment in return for a 20 percent stake in the combined entity, according to a Wall Street Journal story that cited unnamed people familiar with the matter. Yahoo then would use the Time Warner cash to buy back stock to put some money in shareholders' pockets. Yahoo would pay between $30 and $40 per share for an unspecified amount of stock, the Journal said.

Microsoft's bid was worth about $42 billion, or $29.24 per share, as of Wednesday, when Yahoo shares closed at $27.77.

If Yahoo's maneuvering raises the pressure for a higher bid, Microsoft reportedly may mount its counterattack with a surprising ally _ Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., whose media empire already includes the Fox television networks, The Wall Street Journal and the popular online hangout MySpace.com.

If Microsoft and News Corp. were successful in a joint bid, it would unite three of the Internet's most popular Web sites _ Yahoo, along with MySpace and MSN.com.

The New York Times reported Microsoft's discussions with News Corp. late Wednesday, citing people involved in the discussions.

Yahoo had previously been exploring using an alliance with MySpace as one of its escapes from Microsoft.

All the negotiations are at a sensitive stage and still could unravel, according to the newspapers' reports.

Contacted late Wednesday, a Yahoo spokesman declined to comment on the reported AOL talks. Microsoft representatives didn't respond to inquiries.

The complex web of deals faces various complications.

Because Google and Yahoo control a combined 80 percent of the U.S. search market, any long-term advertising alliance between them almost certainly would have trouble getting antitrust clearance, analysts said.

A broader relationship between Yahoo and Google also would face intense political scrutiny, said Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., who chairs a committee overseeing antitrust issues.

A Yahoo-AOL combination probably would have to overcome shareholder skepticism because both companies have been fading in recent years. Before Microsoft announced its bid Jan. 31, Yahoo's market value had plunged by nearly $30 billion during a two-year period. AOL is now believed to be worth about $10 billion, about half of its value when Google paid for a $1 billion stake in 2005.

And Microsoft might alienate one of partners, Facebook Inc., if it teams up with News Corp. in an attempt to buy Yahoo. Microsoft last year paid $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook, which is the second largest online network behind News Corp.'s MySpace.com.

Yahoo has been working for more than two months to put together a package that trumps Microsoft's takeover bid.

Microsoft has set an April 26 deadline for Yahoo to accept its current offer, which was initially valued at $44.6 billion, or $31 per share. The deal's value has eroded because Microsoft wants to pay for half of the acquisition with its recently declining stock.

Analysts have said that Microsoft can afford to pay about $35 per share, or about $50 billion, for Yahoo without undermining its future earnings. Yahoo has indicated it thinks its franchise is worth at least $40 per share, or more than $55 billion.

Yahoo's ad tests with Google make a friendly deal with Microsoft less likely and raises the odds that Microsoft will follow through on a recent threat to lower its bid, said Standard and Poor's equity analyst Scott Kessler.

In a statement Wednesday, Microsoft reiterated its bid is fair and pointed out the antitrust problems likely to prevent Google and Yahoo from working together.

"This would make the market far less competitive, in sharp contrast to our own proposal to acquire Yahoo," said Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel. "We will assess closely all of our options."

Microsoft has said that if things can't be worked out amicably, it is prepared to oust Yahoo's 10-member board in a proxy contest that could prolong the drama into the summer.

If the Google tests were to begin immediately, they would be completed shortly before Microsoft's April 26 deadline.

Yahoo didn't specify when the trial run would begin but said the test doesn't mean it will join the thousands of other Web sites that rely on Google to place text-based advertising links next to search requests or their other content.

Under the deal announced Wednesday, Google will show ads tied to about 3 percent of the queries made in the United States through Yahoo's search engine _ the Internet's second largest after Google's.

Yahoo will still use its own technology _ acquired and developed at a cost of more than $2 billion _ to place ads next to the other search results on its Web site. The Sunnyvale-based company also will continue to distribute search ads to its own partners.

By flirting with Google, Yahoo is trying to prove it has other options besides succumbing to Microsoft, Kessler said. But he doubts most investors will take the Google alternative seriously, given the antitrust obstacles.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense for Yahoo to make an announcement like this when everyone knows a long-term relationship (with Google) can't happen," Kessler said. "It strikes me as somewhat desperate."

539,500 Toyotas Recalled After Window-Shattering Accident

WASHINGTON — Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling 539,500 Corolla and Matrix passenger cars because the bolts in the power window system can become loose and ultimately cause a window to shatter.

Toyota said Wednesday it had received reports of 143 cases in which the bolts at the bottom of the power window assembly became loose, caused the window to rattle or led to the window breaking.

Toyota spokesman Joe Tetherow said there had been one minor accident and 15 injuries reported. He said he did not know how many complaints Toyota had received of windows shattering. The affected vehicles are in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories, he said.

The recall involves 2003-2004 model year Corolla and Matrix vehicles equipped with power windows. Vehicles with manual windows are not part of the recall.

The automaker said if the window bolts become loose, motorists may hear an abnormal noise from the driver or front passenger door while operating the power windows.

The recall affects only vehicles sold in the United States, Tetherow said.

Toyota will notify owners of the recall in late April. Dealers will replace the driver and front passenger door glass bolts at no charge to owners.

For more information, owners can call Toyota at (800) 331-4331.

___

On the Net:

Toyota Motor Corp.: http://www.toyota.com/

(This version CORRECTS that affected vehicles are in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories, instead of only the United States, reflecting later information from the company.) )

Pilots No Longer Living The Dream

Among the jobs little boys dream of -- policeman, fireman, bulldozer driver -- airline pilot long held the added virtue of satisfying grown-up dreams: pay that reached $300,000 a year, 20 days a month off work, the prestige of one day commanding a $200 million airplane, and a lush retirement at 60.

But the airline industry's financial collapse this decade did away with much of that, leaving thousands of young men -- and increasingly women -- chasing a dream toward a disappointing reality.

"My wife thinks I'm nuts," said Jason Captain, 32, of Fort Worth who left the Navy last November, walking away from $75,000-a-year lieutenant's pay for flying military brass in and out of Guantánamo Bay.

Two Types Of Tax Fraud On The Rise

Thieves are increasingly obtaining fraudulent tax refunds by using the identities of lawful taxpayers, according to a government watchdog report released Wednesday.

The report, an annual document from the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, also noted a rise in the theft of taxpayer identities by people seeking to work without paying federal taxes on their wages. The Internal Revenue Service rarely prosecutes such cases, the report said.

Taxpayers who fall victim to either scheme face an uphill battle in sorting things out with the I.R.S., the report said.