Are you at an increased risk of an IRS audit?

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has begun selecting returns for audit and will intensify its efforts of selecting returns after April 18, 2011.  So how do you know if you are at increased risk of being selected for an IRS audit? Those at greatest risk are individuals and businesses, reported to the IRS by court order, as participants of fraudulent or abusive tax practices. The IRS also rates each tax return using its Discriminate Function System (DFS).  Each tax return is assigned a score from the DFS.  If your score falls within a certain range, it may be randomly selected for an audit.  How the IRS scores each return is a closely guarded secret, known only to a select few.

10 stocks to watch in the week ahead

Applied Materials, the biggest supplier of semiconductor fabrication equipment, appears on an MSN Money list of recommended stocks. Investors have flocked to companies in the fast-growing markets for tablet computers and solar panels, as well as flat-panel displays for TVs and other consumer electronics. Applied Materials (AMAT, news) has a prominent stake in all three.