These gains don't cause pain. A capital gain is the amount of money you pocket by selling one of your investments for more than you paid for it. Technically, capital gains only count for what's called a capital asset, but that's really just anything you own for investment purposes. Stocks and bonds obviously qualify, but your house and household furnishings can also count.

For tax purposes, capital gains are classified as either long-term (held for more than one year) or short-term (held for less than one year) and there are different tax implications for how long you hold onto a capital asset. For most long-term capital gains, you're taxed no more than 15% of the value of the asset. Short-term gains get taxed as regular income, so you pay the rate for the tax bracket you're in.

Capital gains can also be realized or unrealized. When you physically sell an asset like a stock, you've realized the capital gain. When you're holding the stock, and it has a value over its purchase price, but you're not selling it, you've got an unrealized gain, and you won't realize it until you sell.

In a perfect world, we'd all have capital gains. But no one¿s that smart or lucky. When the value of an asset at sale is below what you've paid for it, it's called a capital loss. The good news is that the government lets you count that loss against any gains you've had, lowering the taxes you pay. In fact, many people who sell a stock that has risen far over their purchase price tend to sell some stinkers, too, at the same time for the tax benefit. This is known as a capital-loss offset.

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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Acquisition of Stas gives Imtech strong position in German business intelligence market

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Comtex

Aug 20, 2008 (Hugin via COMTEX) ----Gouda - Imtech (technical services provider in Europe) has announced that it is acquiring the business intelligence specialist Stas GmbH. In 2007, revenue of more than 5 million euro was realised, with a staff of 50. The acquisition will directly contribute to the revenue per share. The management of STAS will remain in place after the acquisition, guaranteeing continuity.

Chairman Rene van der Bruggen comments: 'Business intelligence, dominated by software market leader Cognos - acquired last year by IBM - is one of the fastest-growing ICT markets in Europe. In the Netherlands, Imtech already holds a strong Cognos position. With the acquisition of STAS, a top-3 Platinum Cognos Partner, the position on the German business intelligence market will be significantly strengthened. Stas's Cognos position and know-how, combined with Imtech's strength on the German ICT market should lead to appreciable growth acceleration. At the same time, we're tightening our partnership ties with IBM and Microsoft. Imtech has the ambition to eventually become one of IBM and Microsoft's strongest partners in Europe.'

Stas Profile Founded in 1991 and located in Reilingen, near Heidelberg, Stas is a fast-growing specialist in software for business intelligence, providing solutions for both IBM Cognos (90%) and Microsoft Cubeware (10%). Stas is a top-3 Platinum Cognos Partner and one of the biggest Cognos partners in Germany. The company has some 600 clients and 450 service contracts with a good spread across the industrial, banking, commerce and financial service-providing sectors. Stas markets its successful solutions under the name Stas Control. These solutions comprise modular intelligence software intended for medium-sized enterprises (100-2000 employees) dealing with CRM, sales, procurement, financial reporting, accounting, HRM and production. Stas manages the entire service spectrum, from advising and consultancy to implementation, training and support. Licences, services and maintenance substantially contribute to the revenue.

Synergy Imtech's German ICT division (Fritz und Macziol and Infoma(R)), with more than 2,500 ICT clients, is one of the strongest players on the German ICT market. Stas's strong Cognos position, combined with the IBM network and Imtech's extensive clientele in Germany enables fast growth.

Imtech Strategy Imtech combines ICT, electrical and mechanical engineering in order to create complete technical solutions. The proportion of information and communication technology is growing rapidly. Imtech's total technological solutions are increasingly dominated by business intelligence and umbrella ICT applications. Strategically, the expansion of Imtech's European ICT activities is also important. Imtech is focusing specifically on strengthening this position as business partner to IBM and Microsoft. In the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK, Imtech has already built up a strong position on the ICT market as an IBM and Microsoft partner. With the acquisition of Stas, which fits perfectly into the strategic framework, the ICT position in Germany will be further strengthened. Earlier this year, Imtech already acquired ICT companies in the UK, Belgium and Switzerland with total revenue of 59 million euro.

Further information

Press: Analysts & investors: Mark Salomons Jeroen Leenaers Company Secretary Manager Investor Relations T: +31 (0)182 54 35 14 T: +31 (0)182 543 504 E: mark.salomons@imtech.eu E: jeroen.leenaers@imtech.eu www.imtech.eu www.imtech.eu

Imtech profile Imtech N.V. is a European technical services provider in the fields of electrical engineering, ICT and mechanical engineering. With over 18,000 employees, Imtech achieves annual revenue of more than 3.3 billion euro. Imtech holds strong positions in the buildings, industry and infrastructure/mobility markets in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Eastern Europe, the UK, Ireland and Spain and in the global marine market. In total Imtech serves 14,000 customers. Imtech offers added-value in the form of integrated and multidisciplinary total solutions that lead to better business processes and more efficiency for customers and the customers they, in their turn, serve. Imtech also offers solutions that contribute towards a sustainable society, for example in the areas of energy, the environment, water and mobility. Imtech shares are listed on the Euronext Stock Exchange Amsterdam, where Imtech is included in the Midcap Index and the Next 150 index. Imtech shares are also included in the Dow Jones STOXX 600 index.

SOURCE: Imtech N.V.

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