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Gas in 6 states, nation's capital tops $4 a gallon

2011-04-17T16:49:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON – Add New York to the growing list of states where gas prices are topping $4 per gallon.

On Sunday, the Empire State became the sixth state to top $4 for the average price of a gallon of gas, joining Alaska, California, Connecticut, Hawaii and Illinois, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge. The average price of gas also rose to more than $4 per gallon in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.

The next states to join the list could be Michigan, which has gas for $3.95 per gallon on average, and Indiana, where the average price is $3.94. Nevada, Washington and Wisconsin are close behind.

Hawaii has the highest price in the U.S. at $4.48 per gallon. Wyoming has the lowest, at $3.54.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_gas_prices

The national average for gas has increased for 26 straight days, and is now at $3.83 per gallon. That's up 29 cents from a month ago. Retail surveys suggest motorists are reacting to higher prices now by buying less fuel. Still, the government expects pump prices to keep climbing this summer as vacationers take to the highways.

For American drivers, the $4 mark harkens back to the summer of 2008, when oil rose to $147 per barrel and gas prices topped out at $4.11 per gallon before the economy went into a tailspin.

The rapid increase at the pump follows a parallel rise in oil. Since Labor Day, oil has risen 48 percent and U.S. gas prices have gone up 42 percent. The increases gained momentum in mid-February when a popular rebellion in Libya turned violent and shut down the country's exports. Crude has jumped 30 percent since then, with gas prices gaining 22 percent.

How To Select An Affordable Jail Bonds Service

2011-04-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

If you have to face a lawsuit, whom would you look for help? A professional bail bonds service can help your overcome the legal hurdle most efficiently.

If you have to face a lawsuit, whom would you look for help? A professional bail bonds service can help your overcome the legal hurdle most efficiently. If you are being arrested on criminal charges, you will be taken into custody. Jail bonds can help you avert this embarrassment. With proper backup from a bondsman you can ensure to obtain bail from the judiciary at the earliest.

A magistrate or a judge usually issues bail and settles the jail bond amount. It is dependent on a number of factors as well, most importantly- the severity of the crime for which the person is being charged and the judiciary's assessment of the accused and his/her likelihood to abscond. After settlement of the bail amount the accused individual can pay that amount and escape the humiliation of staying behind the bars till the trial is over. In other words, a bail is a contract between the accused and the judiciary by which the court allow the accused to remain free on the condition that he/she will make his/her appearance in all court proceedings until the case is settled in the house of law.

But what happens if you have to pay a jail bond amount that is well beyond your affordable limit? In such a situation bail bonds services come handy. Bondsman or jail bond agents will help you to meet the expenses of securing a bail from the court. A professional bail bond service will act as your guarantor and convince the court to issue you a jail bond on the condition that you will be present at all the courtroom sessions in person and will not flee!

However, if you wish to assist someone you know to secure bail by volunteering your assets, do not expect to get it back once the accuser makes his/her first court room appearance. Jail bonds guarantee that the person charged will attend all courtroom sessions until the matter is settled and further, the assets used in getting the jail bond won't be available till the conclusion of the case.

When it comes to selecting a proficient jail bonds service provider, you must look for the following traits before the selection-

1. The bandsman or the service provider must be quick to respond.

2. A professional bail bond service will help you secure bail in a confidential way as well.

3. The bondsman service agents should be proficient enough to resolve problems. They must be well connected with the legal authorities to help approve the bail at the earliest.

4. Above all, they must be experienced, honest, and reliable.

While selecting an experienced bondsman who can help secure jail bonds, Smyrna, TN residents need not look any further. Affordable Bail Bonds offers the best professional jail bonds service to Tennessee residents.

Easy Personal Loan or Bank Trap for you

2011-04-11T19:19:00.000-07:00

Most of you have heard, read, or seen on tv about Easy Personal Loan. more & more banks are offering these loans Ge countrywide, icicibank, hsbcbank, even citibank, previously they gave loans to only professionals like doctor's engineer's but now through citifinancial they are giving loans to people who are earning 4000/- or more per month the documentation are quite simple any ordinary person can meet their criteria Most of you have heard, read, or seen on tv about Easy Personal Loan. more & more banks are offering these loans Ge countrywide, icicibank, hsbcbank, even citibank, previously they gave loans to only professionals like doctor's engineer's but now through citifinancial they are giving loans to people who are earning 4000/- or more per month the documentation are quite simple any ordinary person can meet their criteria but the intrest rates are very high and the method of recovering the loan incase of default is illegal.

Are these loans really easy.

I suggest you never take a loan on a flat intrest rate as flat intrest rate's rip you off. only take a loan if you really
require it. Never take a loan for going on a vacation or for entertainment or any other reason Many people take loan and invest that in stock market, forex market or in any other investment scheme hoping to get higher returns but they under estimate the risk that if things go wrong the result would be worst. a few days of enjoyment and 36 months of loan repayment headache.

Check out these facts before you apply for one
They charge you a flat intrest rate of 20 to 36 % per year
They add you to defaulter's list and add your name to CIBIL so that you credit get's spoiled and you cannot avail any further loan
In a flat rate of intrest you continue to pay the same amount of intrest per month until you loan get's paid
this means your basic amount lowers every month but the intrest rates remain the same

For example if you take a loan of rupees 30,000/- for 36 months @ 20% per year they will charge you 18,000/- intrest
they will divide it ino Equated monthly Installments.(EMI) you basic amount keeps on decreasing but you pay the same intrest rate till the end of 36 months & besides that they will deduct processing fees from your basic loan you will only get around 27,000/- if you apply for a 30.000/- loan

They charge 300 - 500 rupees if your installment chq. bounces

They charge you 300 - 500 rupees late payment or penalty

They send goondas if you don't pay on time.

So Do you require an easy loan

This article is written by freshnewsin.com you can use this article on your site with this resource box intact www.freshnewsin.com.

The Best and Largest Banks in Asia

2011-04-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

United Overseas Bank (UOB is one of the leading banks in Singapore and Asia, offering a wide range of financial services including personal financial services, private banking, trust services, commercial and corporate banking, and so on.
United Overseas Bank (UOB is one of the leading banks in Singapore and Asia, offering a wide range of financial services including personal financial services, private banking, trust services, commercial and corporate banking, corporate finance, capital market activities, treasury services, asset management, venture capital management, and more. It has been ranked 'Asia's Third Strongest Bank' and the 'Strongest Bank in Singapore' by Asiamoney, as well as the 'Best Bank in Singapore' by Global Finance magazine.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC) is the largest bank in the world by market capitalization. The bank is a market leader in China in many business areas of commercial banking. It has received many awards form publications and intermediary organizations in the world such as Global Finance, The Asset, Asian Banker, and so on. ICBC is ranked top of all financial institutions in the Millward Brown Optimor's 2009 ranking of Top 100 Most Valuable Brands.
Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) is one of the largest banks in Korea measured in assets and the largest foreign exchange bank in Korea. It has won 'Achievement Awards' for Trade Finance and Cash Management from The Asian Banker. The Bank's Customer Service Center was recognized as the best call center in Korea in the 2010 Korea Service Quality Index (KSQI) survey conducted by Korea Management Association Consulting (KMAC).
Bangkok Bank is the largest bank in Thailand and has the largest overseas branch network of any Thai bank. It has one of the most extensive international networks in Asia, with branches located in China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and so on. Bangkok Bank has won the prestigious leadership awards from The Asian Banker, namely the overall most Promising Young Banker award in the Asia Pacific and the Talent and Leadership Development Award.
ICICI Bank is one of the biggest banks in India, offering a broad range of banking products and services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialized subsidiaries in the areas of investment banking, life and non-life insurance, venture capital and asset management. The Bank has won the "Banking Technology Awards 2010" at The Indian Banks Association in a number of categories including the Best Financial Inclusion Initiative, Best Online Bank, Best use of Business Intelligence, and Technology Bank of the year.

Debt Busters!

2010-10-31T03:54:00.000-07:00

Lance Pickett
Strategy: Live without the little things
Advice: Don't go too far -- like trying cloth diapers to save $60
My wife and I owed $18,000 in student loans, $6,000 in car loans, $2,000 in credit cards and $152,000 in my mortgage.
We were living paycheck to paycheck and I was tired of seeing my bank account zero out every month. So we wanted to get out of as much debt as possible as soon as possible. We started by saving an extra 1/12th of our total required expenses -- like mortgage, utilities and Internet -- each month, in order to have one month worth of bills saved up at the end of the year. Then we got excited and doubled that. In three years we had six months of living expenses and threw that into a high interest CD at 5%. That really got us going, seeing the money grow -- and we became obsessed with eliminating debt.
We just really took a look at what we need and only spending money on those things. I used to eat out a lot and that cost me $200 a month. Now we invite friends to "eat-in" at our house. We have a garden and purchase produce from co-op programs. Before we became debt-obsessed we would also get nice Christmas gifts for each other, but now we limit each other to $50.
Now, if there's something we want we put it on our "Dream Board," a cork board by our bedroom door that we see everyday. And it will stay there until we're debt free. It also has the loan schedule for our house, and each month we scratch off a month. Next to the schedule, we post our ultimate "want" that we agree to purchase -- with cash of course -- once our house is paid off. I have a 2010 Camaro waiting for me.
Cutting back so much has been hard, but we've learned a lot along the way. My wife learned some things are worth paying more for after trying to use cloth diapers -- which most people use as burp rags -- pinned inside training pants with plastic pants over them for our two kids, all so that she could reuse the diapers and not spend $60 a month on Pull-ups. As a result they both got horrible rashes, so we switched to a cheaper brand of regular diapers.
Altogether, we've paid off around $90,000 since 2005.

Apartment Building Cash Flow System.

2009-07-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, You CAN Become a Real Estate Millionaire!
Give Me a Few Minutes of Your Time and I'll Show You EXACTLY How!

From Monica Main
Real Estate Wealth Expert
Thursday -- 3:48 p.m.

Dear Future Real Estate Tycoon,

How are you? My name is Monica Main and I'm a self-confessed business opportunity junkie. If you've seen it on late night TV, I have it! Any "system" - from Ron Legrand, John Beck, Carleton Sheets, John T. Reed, Russ Whitney, Robert Allen - I HAVE! I even bought Carleton Sheets' course TWICE! (I couldn't go without the "new and improved" version.) I even have Dave del Dotto's and Tommy Woo's courses from way back when. (Do you remember those two?)

Did any of these get-rich-quick "systems" really work? Yes and no. Some gave me good ideas but NONE were "complete" from start to finish. I had to "cut and paste" from each system to get 70% of what I needed to become successful in real estate. Unfortunately, the other 30% was missing! Then, even worse, I had to "throw out" the 70% I learned and start over from scratch.

Yes, I wanted more than anything to make tons of money with real estate. I knew that owning real estate was the most PROFITABLE way to make money because real estate will never go away and it will ALWAYS keep going up in value. I don't care how "soft" the market is now. Fifteen years from now property will be AT LEAST DOUBLE what it is now. Also, every multi-millionaire, no matter how they made their millions (or billions), owns LOTS OF REAL ESTATE!

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"My wife has a rare medical condition that tapped us out financially. We had hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt and I truthfully didn't see any way out but bankruptcy.

I was already investing in property. I had 4 single family homes but the monthly cash flow was pitiful. It was only $320. I believed in real estate but knew there had to be another way!

After finding your secret system I was able to convert those 4 homes into 1 apartment building with 56 units that allowed us to go from a pitiful $320 per month in cash flow to $14,580 per month in cash flow.

I ended up doing another 3 deals. One of the buildings I used to flip for cash and paid off all of the medical bills PLUS had $65,000 left over. All I did with the building was paint it and put on a new roof and I was able to resell it for more than $300,000 in profit within a couple of months!

And this is just the beginning!

Thank you for everything and God bless!"

-- Tracy and Ken McNeill of Destin, FL

World's Billionaires 2009

2009-03-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

World's Billionaires 2009

12. S. Robson Walton

Net Worth: $17.6 billion

Source: Wal-Mart/U.S.

Age: 65

Marital Status: Divorced, remarried; three children

Wal-Mart remains the exception to the rule in the crumbling retail sector, thanks to its global footprint and deeply discounted prices. Also helping: the exodus of competitors like Circuit City and Linens 'n Things.

12. Alice Walton

Net Worth: $17.6 billion

Source: Wal-Mart/U.S.

Age: 59

Marital Status: Twice divorced

Wal-Mart remains the exception to the rule in the crumbling retail sector, thanks to its global footprint and deeply discounted prices. Also helping: the exodus of competitors like Circuit City and Linens 'n Things.
Shares down 25% since September.
Fourth-quarter profit hurt by lawsuit settlements, poor currency exchange; still beat analyst expectations.
Stake in solar-paneling outfit First Solar fared far worse; shares down 60% since August after surging 120% in previous 12 months.
Sam Walton started as J.C. Penney clerk in 1940; opened Newport, Ark., five-and-dime store Benjamin Franklin five years later. Lost lease in 1950.
With brother James started general store chain in Bentonville, Ark., in 1962.
Today Wal-Mart is world's largest retailer: 7,200 stores, 2 million employees serve 200 million customers. Sales: $378 billion.
Alice's Crystal Bridges art museum in Bentonville under construction. Collection already growing; acquisitions include Sargent's "Robert Louis Stevenson and His Wife," Benton's "Ploughing It Under."

12. Christy Walton & family

Net Worth: $17.6 billion

Source: Wal-Mart/U.S.

Age: 54

Marital Status: Widowed, one child

Wal-Mart remains the exception to the rule in the crumbling retail sector, thanks to its global footprint and deeply discounted prices. Also helping: the exodus of competitors like Circuit City and Linens 'n Things.
Shares down 25% since September.
Fourth-quarter profit hurt by lawsuit settlements, poor currency exchange; still beat analyst expectations.
Stake in solar-paneling outfit First Solar fared far worse; shares down 60% since August after surging 120% in previous 12 months.
Sam Walton started as J.C. Penney clerk in 1940; opened Newport, Ark., five-and-dime store Benjamin Franklin five years later. Lost lease in 1950.
With brother James started general store chain in Bentonville, Ark., in 1962.
Today Wal-Mart is world's largest retailer: 7,200 stores, 2 million employees serve 200 million customers. Sales: $378 billion.
Christy is the widow of John Walton (died 2005); donated seven-acre San Diego home to Cross Border Philanthropy.

15. Bernard Arnault

Net Worth: $16.5 billion

Source: Luxury goods/France

Age: 60

Marital Status: Divorced, remarried; five children

France's richest man lost $9 billion in the past year, as shares of his $22 billion (sales) luxury goods group, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, dropped 29%.
Sailing into new waters: bought Princess Yachts, one of Britain's oldest luxury motorboat manufacturers, last summer; picked up yacht builder Royal van Lent soon after.
Via his investment arm, Groupe Arnault, owns French tour operator Go Voyages and has a stake in French retailer Carrefour.
Built Le Cheval Blanc in French ski resort town of Courchevel, where he often likes to spend New Year's Eve.
Also owns two wineries with good friend, Belgian billionaire Albert Frere.
Father made small fortune in construction; Arnault put up $15 million from that business to buy Christian Dior in 1985. Still a family affair, as both son Antoine, 31, and daughter, Delphine, 33, sit on LVMH's board.
Wife is a concert pianist; Arnault himself reported to be an excellent piano player.

16. Li Ka-shing

Net Worth: $16.2 billion

Source: Ports, retail, energy/Hong Kong

Age: 80

Marital Status: Widowed, two children

Net worth of Hong Kong's "Superman" is down $10 billion in the past year, as stock of his publicly traded conglomerates Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa tumbled.
The two companies are about to start construction on a property project in Shanghai, China.
HW's retail group plans to open 120 stores in China in 2009.
Through the two companies, Li is world's largest operator of container terminals, world's largest health and beauty retailer by number of outlets, a major supplier of electricity to Hong Kong, and a real estate developer.
His second-largest holding: Canadian oil firm Husky Energy, which cut spending by almost a third for 2009.
Charitable foundation recently raised $510 million by selling 40% of its stake in Bank of China.
Avid golfer plays almost every day; sank his 15th hole in one in September.
Poor immigrant sold plastic flowers in Hong Kong in the 1950s.
Eldest son, Victor, helps him run businesses; son Richard struck out on his own in early 1990s and is a billionaire in his own right.

Source

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Mukesh Ambani

2009-03-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

World's Billionaires 2009

7. Mukesh Ambani

Net Worth: $19.5 billion

Source: Petrochemicals/India

Age: 51

Marital Status: Married, three children

Oversees Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company by market cap, despite stock falling 40% in past year

Merging his Reliance Petroleum with flagship Reliance Industries. As part of deal, will exercise right to buy back Chevron's 5% stake in Reliance Petroleum at $1.2 per share--the same price at which he sold it three years ago. Today the stock trades for $1.80 a share.
Increased stake in Reliance Industries last October; paid $3.4 billion to convert 120 million preferential warrants into shares.
Reliance Petroleum refinery on India's western coast began operating in December despite falling global demand and declining margins.
Late father Dhirubhai founded Reliance and built it into a massive conglomerate. After he died, Mukesh and his brother, Anil, ran the family business together for a brief time. But siblings feuded over control; mother eventually brokered split of assets. Brothers may be looking to bury hatchet; played joint hosts at mother's recent 75th birthday bash.
Has yet to move into his 27-story home that he's building at a reported cost of $1 billion.
Ardent fan of Bollywood films.
Wife, Nita, oversees school named after his father.

8. Lakshmi Mittal

Net Worth: $19.3 billion

Source: Steel/India

Age: 58

Marital Status: Married, two children

Indian immigrant heads world's largest steel company; ArcelorMittal was formed via hostile takeover three years ago.
Stock in company makes up bulk of his fortune; shares at a four-year low, with steel prices down 75% since last summer.
Company forced to pay heavy fines after a French antitrust investigation found 10 companies guilty of price-fixing in European steel markets.
Arcelor posted $2.6 billion loss in most recent quarter; announced plans to slow acquisitions, cut capital expenditures, pay down debt.
Started in family steel business in the 1970s, branched out on his own in 1994.
Initially bought up steel mills on the cheap in Eastern Europe. Company bought 19.9% stake in Australia's Macarthur Coal last year.
Also owns pieces of Mumbai's Indiabulls Group, London's RAB Capital; owns stake in, sits on board of Goldman Sachs.
Holds substantial cash; owns 12-bedroom mansion in London's posh Kensington neighborhood.

9. Theo Albrecht

Net Worth: $18.8 billion

Source: Supermarkets/Germany

Age: 87

Marital Status: Married, two children

Runs discount supermarket group Aldi Nord; firm holding up amid economic downturn. Sales expected to hit $31 billion in 2008.
After World War II he and older brother Karl transformed their mother's corner grocery into Aldi.
Brothers split ownership in 1961; Karl took the stores in southern Germany, plus the rights to the brand in the U.K., Australia and the U.S. Theo got the northern Germany stores and the rest of Europe.
Unable to operate Aldi stores in U.S., Theo developed discount food store Trader Joe's; now has more than 320 U.S. stores.
Also owns stake in Supervalu.
Became a recluse after being kidnapped for 17 days in 1971; said to collect old typewriters, loves golf.

10. Amancio Ortega

Net Worth: $18.3 billion

Source: Fashion/Spain

Age: 73

Marital Status: Divorced, remarried; three children

Railway worker's son started as a gofer in a shirt store.
With then wife Rosalia Mera, also now a billionaire, started making dressing gowns and lingerie in their living room.
Business became one of world's most successful apparel manufacturers.
Today Inditex has more than 4,000 stores in 71 countries. Sales: $12.3 billion. Ortega is chairman.
Company exported its cheap chic Zara stores to four new markets last year: Ukraine, South Korea, Montenegro and Honduras.
Stock up 1% in past 12 months, but fortune down because of weak euro.
Also has personal investments in gas, tourism, banks and real estate.
Owns properties in Madrid, Spain; Paris; London; and Lisbon, Portugal; plus a luxury hotel and apartment complex in Miami, a horse-jumping circuit and an interest in a soccer league.
Shuns neckties and fanfare.
Daughter Marta works for Inditex; recent speculation suggests she is being groomed to eventually replace her father.

11. Jim C. Walton

Net Worth: $17.8 billion

Source: Wal-Mart/U.S.

Age: 61

Marital Status: Married, four children

Wal-Mart remains the exception to the rule in the crumbling retail sector, thanks to its global footprint and deeply discounted prices. Also helping: the exodus of competitors like Circuit City and Linens 'n Things.
Shares down 25% since September.
Fourth-quarter profit hurt by lawsuit settlements, poor currency exchange; still beat analyst expectations.
Stake in solar-paneling outfit First Solar fared far worse; shares down 60% since August after surging 120% in previous 12 months.
Sam Walton started as J.C. Penney clerk in 1940; opened Newport, Ark., five-and-dime store Benjamin Franklin five years later. Lost lease in 1950.
With brother James started general store chain in Bentonville, Ark., in 1962.
Today Wal-Mart is world's largest retailer: 7,200 stores, 2 million employees serve 200 million customers. Sales: $378 billion.
Jim chairs Arvest Bank Group, Community Publishers.

source

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Lawrence Ellison

2009-03-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

World's Billionaires 2009

4. Lawrence Ellison

Net Worth: $22.5 billion

Source: Oracle/U.S.

Age: 64

Marital Status: Thrice divorced, remarried; two children

Database titan continues to engulf the competition; Oracle has racked up 49 acquisitions in the past four years.
Bought BEA Systems for $8.5 billion last year. Company still sitting on $7 billion in cash. Revenues up 11% to $10.9 billion in the six months ended Nov. 30, 2007; profits also up 11% to $2.4 billion. Stock down 25% in past 12 months.
Invested $125 million in Web software outfit Netsuite; took public in 2007, stock down 80% since. His shares are still worth $300 million.
Chicago native studied physics at University of Chicago, didn't graduate.
Started Oracle in 1977. Public in 1986, a day before Microsoft.
Owns 453-foot Rising Sun; built a smaller leisure boat because the long yacht is hard to park.
Squabbling in court with Swiss boating billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli over terms of next America's Cup. Recently unveiled hulking 90-foot trimaran he intends to use to win it.

source

5. Ingvar Kamprad

Net Worth: $22 billion

Source: Ikea/Sweden

Age: 83

Marital Status: Divorced, remarried; four children

Peddled matches, fish, pens, Christmas cards and other items by bicycle as a teenager.
Started selling furniture in 1947.
Opened first Ikea store 50 years ago; store's name is a combination of initials of his first and last name, his family farm and the nearest village.
Retired in 1986; company's "senior adviser" still reportedly works tirelessly on his brand.
Discount retailer now sells 9,500 items in 36 countries; prints catalog in 27 languages. Revenues up 7% to $27.4 billion in fiscal-year 2008.
Opened 10th store in China this February; planning to open first in Dominican Republic later this year.
Three sons all work at the company.
Thrifty entrepreneur flies economy class, frequents cheap restaurants and furnishes his home mostly with Ikea products.

6. Karl Albrecht

Net Worth: $21.5 billion

Source: Supermarkets/Germany

Age: 89

Marital Status: Married, two children

Germany's richest person owns discount supermarket giant Aldi Sud.
Retailer faring well amid economic downturn; analysts expect its 2008 sales to be up 9.4% to $33.7 billion. Sales in the U.S. up estimated 20% last year to $7 billion.
Plans to open 75 U.S. stores in 2009, including first in New York City.
With younger brother, Theo, transformed their mother's corner grocery store into Aldi after World War II.
Brothers split ownership in 1961; Karl took the stores in southern Germany, plus the rights to the brand in the U.K., Australia and the U.S. Theo got northern Germany and the rest of Europe.
Retired from daily operations.
Fiercely private: little known about him other than that he apparently raises orchids and plays golf.

source

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Carlos Slim Helú

2009-03-11T17:52:00.000-07:00

World's Billionaires 2009
3. Carlos Slim Helú

Net Worth: $35 billion

Source: Telecom/Mexico

Age: 69

Marital Status: Widowed, six children

# Economic downturn and plunging peso shaved $25 billion from the fortune of Latin America's richest man.
# Global recession testing his ability to live up to the principles he sets for his employees: "Maintain austerity in times of fat cows."
# Son of a Lebanese immigrant bought fixed-line operator Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) in 1990; now controls 90% of Mexico's telephone landlines.
# Would be a billionaire based on his dividends alone.
# Biggest holding: $16 billion stake in America Movil, Latin America's largest mobile phone company, with 173 million customers. America Movil and Telmex reportedly planning to jointly invest $4 billion to bolster telecom infrastructure in Latin America.
# Buying up cheap media, energy and retail assets.
# Last year took stakes in New York Times Co., former billionaire Anthony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media and Bronco Drilling; also increased position in Saks.
# Baseball statistics aficionado, art collector.

source

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Warren Buffett

2009-03-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

2. Warren Buffett

Net Worth: $37 billion

Source: Investments/U.S.

Age: 78

Marital Status: Widowed, remarried; three children

* Last year America's most beloved investor was the world's richest man. More from Forbes.com: • Billionaire Bachelors and Bachelorettes • Women Billionaires • Celebrity Billionaires gatesClick here for the full list of the World's Billionaires

* This year he has to settle for second place after losing $25 billion in 12 months. Shares of Berkshire Hathaway down 45% since last March

* Injected billions of dollars into Goldman Sachs, General Electric in exchange for preferred stock last fall; propped up insurance firm Swiss Re in February with $2.6 billion infusion. Admits he made some "dumb" investment mistakes in 2008.

* Upbeat about America's future: "Our economic system has worked extraordinarily well over time. It has unleashed human potential as no other system has, and it will continue to do so."

* Scoffs at Wall Street's over-reliance on "history-based" models: "If merely looking up past financial data would tell you what the future holds, the Forbes 400 would consist of librarians."

* Son of Nebraska politician delivered newspapers as a boy.

* Filed first tax return at age 13, claiming $35 deduction for bicycle

. * Studied under value investing guru Benjamin Graham at Columbia.

* Took over textile firm Berkshire Hathaway 1965. * Today holding company invested in insurance (GEICO, General Re), jewelry (Borsheim's), utilities (MidAmerican Energy), food (Dairy Queen, See's Candies). Also has noncontrolling stakes in Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo.
source

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William Gates lll

2009-03-11T17:18:00.000-07:00

The Top 20 Richest People in the World
Forbes

It's been a tough year for the richest people in the world. Last year there were 1,125 billionaires. This year there are just 793 people rich enough to make our list

The world has become a wealth wasteland.

Like the rest of us, the richest people in the world have endured a financial disaster over the past year. Today there are 793 people on our list of the World's Billionaires, a 30% decline from a year ago.

Of the 1,125 billionaires who made last year's ranking, 373 fell off the list--355 from declining fortunes and 18 who died. There are 38 newcomers, plus three moguls who returned to the list after regaining their 10-figure fortunes. It is the first time since 2003 that the world has had a net loss in the number of billionaires.

The world's richest are also a lot poorer. Their collective net worth is $2.4 trillion, down $2 trillion from a year ago. Their average net worth fell 23% to $3 billion. The last time the average was that low was in 2003.

Bill Gates lost $18 billion but regained his title as the world's richest man. Warren Buffett, last year's No. 1, saw his fortune decline $25 billion as shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) fell nearly 50% in 12 months, but he still managed to slip just one spot to No. 2. Mexican telecom titan Carlos Slim Helú also lost $25 billion and dropped one spot to No. 3.

It was hard to avoid the carnage, whether you were in stocks, commodities, real estate or technology. Even people running profitable businesses were hammered by frozen credit markets, weak consumer spending or declining currencies.

The biggest loser in the world this year, by dollars, was last year's biggest gainer. India's Anil Ambani lost $32 billion--76% of his fortune--as shares of his Reliance Communications, Reliance Power and Reliance Capital all collapsed.

Ambani is one of 24 Indian billionaires, all but one of whom are poorer than a year ago. Another 29 Indians lost their billionaire status entirely as India's stock market tumbled 44% in the past year and the Indian rupee depreciated 18% against the dollar. It is no longer the top spot in Asia for billionaires, ceding that title to China, which has 28.

Russia became the epicenter of the world's commodities bust, dropping 55 billionaires--two-thirds of its 2008 crop. Among them: Dmitry Pumpyansky, an industrialist from the resource-rich Ural mountain region, who lost $5 billion as shares of his pipe producer, TMK, sank 84%. Also gone is Vasily Anisimov, father of Moscow's Paris Hilton, Anna Anisimova, who lost $3.2 billion as the value of his Metalloinvest Holding, one of Russia's largest ore mining and processing firms, fell along with his real estate holdings.

Twelve months ago Moscow overtook New York as the billionaire capital of the world, with 74 tycoons to New York's 71. Today there are 27 in Moscow and 55 in New York.

After slipping in recent years, the U.S. is regaining its dominance as a repository of wealth. Americans account for 44% of the money and 45% of the list's slots, up seven and three percentage points from last year, respectively. Still, it has 110 fewer billionaires than a year ago.

Those with ties to Wall Street were particularly hard hit. Former head of AIG (AIG) Maurice (Hank) Greenberg saw his $1.9 billion fortune nearly wiped out after the insurance behemoth had to be bailed out by the U.S. government. Today Greenberg is worth less than $100 million. Former Citigroup (C) Chairman Sandy Weill also falls from the ranks.

Last year there were 39 American billionaire hedge fund managers; this year there are 28. Twelve American private equity tycoons dropped out of the billionaire ranks.
Blackstone Group's (BX) Stephen Schwarzman, who lost $4 billion, and Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts' Henry Kravis, who lost $2.5 billion, retain their billionaire status despite their weaker fortunes.

Worldwide, 80 of the 355 drop-offs from last year's list had fortunes derived from finance or investments.

While 656 billionaires lost money in the past year, 44 added to their fortunes. Those who made money did so by catering to budget-conscious consumers (discount retailer Uniqlo's Tadashi Yanai), predicting the crash (investor John Paulson) or cashing out in the nick of time (Cirque du Soleil's Guy Laliberte).

So is there anywhere one can still make a fortune these days? The 38 newcomers offer a few clues. Among the more notable new billionaires are Mexican Joaquín Guzmán Loera, one of the biggest suppliers of cocaine to the U.S.; Wang Chuanfu of China, whose BYD Co. began selling electric cars in December, and American John Paul Dejoria, who got the world clean with his Paul Mitchell shampoos and sloppy with his Patrón Tequila.

The Top 20 Richest People in the World

1. William Gates III

Net Worth: $40 billion

Source: Microsoft/U.S.

Age: 53

Marital Status: Married, three children

Software visionary regains title as the world's richest man despite losing $18 billion in the past 12 months.
Stepped down from day-to-day duties at Microsoft last summer to devote his talents and riches to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Organization's assets were $30 billion in January; annual letter lauds endowment manager Michael Larson for limiting last year's losses to 20%.
Gates decided to increase donations in 2009 to $3.8 billion, up 15% from 2008.
Dedicated to fighting hunger in developing countries, improving education in America's high schools and developing vaccines against malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS.
Appointed Microsoft Office veteran Jeffrey Raikes chief executive of Gates Foundation in September. Gates remains Microsoft chairman.
Sells shares each quarter, redeploys proceeds via investment vehicle Cascade; more than half of fortune invested outside Microsoft.
Stock down 45% in past 12 months.
"Creative capitalist" wants companies to match profit making with doing good.

source

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investment

2008-12-02T20:32:00.000-08:00

Investmen is a term with several closely-related meanings in business management, finance and economics, related to saving or deferring consumption.

Investment is the choice by the individual to risk his savings with the hope of gain. Rather than store the good produced, or its money equivalent, the investor chooses to use that good either to create a durable consumer or producer good, or to lend the original saved good to another in exchange for either interest or a share of the profits.

In the first case, the individual creates durable consumer goods, hoping the services from the good will make his life better. In the second, the individual becomes an entrepreneur using the resource to produce goods and services for others in the hope of a profitable sale. The third case describes a lender, and the fourth describes an investor in a share of the business.

In each case, the consumer obtains a durable asset or investment, and accounts for that asset by recording an equivalent liability. As time passes, and both prices and interest rates change, the value of the asset and liability also change.

An asset is usually purchased, or equivalently a deposit is made in a bank, in hopes of getting a future return or interest from it. The word originates in the Latin "vestis", meaning garment, and refers to the act of putting things (money or other claims to resources) into others' pockets. See Invest. The basic meaning of the term being an asset held to have some recurring or capital gains. It is an asset that is expected to give returns without any work on the asset per se.

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Budget deficit in 2008 surges to all-time high

2008-10-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON - The federal budget deficit soared to $454.8 billion in 2008 as a housing collapse and efforts to combat the economic slowdown pushed the tide of government red ink to the highest level in history.
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The Bush administration said Tuesday the deficit for the budget year that ended Sept. 30 was more than double the $161.5 billion recorded in 2007.

It surpassed the previous record of $413 billion set in 2004. Economists predicted a far worse number next year as the costs of the government's rescue of the financial system and the economic hard times hit the nation's balance sheet.

Some analysts believe that next year's deficit could easily top $700 billion, giving the next president a formidable challenge.

The administration blamed this year's record deficit on a litany of economic woes. The prolonged housing slump sharply reduced economic growth and has sent the unemployment rate rising, developments that reduce tax revenues.

"This year's budget results reflect the ongoing housing correction and the manifestation of that in strained capital markets and slower growth," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in a statement accompanying the deficit report. "While it will take time to work through this period, we will overcome the current challenges facing our nation."

Democrats said the administration's economic policies were responsible for the growing deficit. They noted that when Bush took office in 2001, the budget was in surplus with projections that total surpluses over the next decade would reach $5.6 trillion. Those surpluses never materialized. The economy fell into a recession and then faced unexpected costs such as fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and dealing with the aftermaths of Hurricane Katrina. Democrats also cite the costs of Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts as further reasons for the budget imbalances.

"The eight years of this administration will include the five biggest budget deficits in history," said House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, D-S.C. "The resulting debt will be passed to our children and grandchildren."

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said the national debt had climbed by more than $1 trillion while Bush was in office and "the next president will inheriting a fiscal and economic mess of historic proportions."

The credit crisis that has swamped the financial system is boosting outlays because of the costs of protecting the depositors of failed banks.

Those costs will increase significantly in coming years. The government faces the prospects of paying for the $700 billion rescue plan that will boost spending as the government spends $250 billion in coming months to buy stock from banks to bolster their balance sheets and also buys up bad assets currently on banks' books.

Both of those programs are aimed at relieving strains on banks so they can resume more normal lending and ease a credit crisis that is threatening to push the country into a severe recession.

Many private economists believe the country will not be able to escape a recession even if the rescue program is successful at getting banks to resume lending.

The Bush administration is projecting that the deficit in the current budget year will rise to $482 billion, but that estimate made in the summer does not include the costs of the rescue program passed by Congress on Oct. 3.

The deficit for 2008 reflected the costs incurred in recent months for a $168 billion economic stimulus program that Congress passed at the beginning of this year in an effort to combat the economic slowdown. Those checks did give the economy a boost in the late spring and early summer. That impact has now faded leading many analysts to project that the current quarter and the first three months of next year will show declines in overall input.

Stocks pull back as profit-taking sets in

2008-10-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK - Wall Street ended a relatively calm session with a moderate loss Tuesday as investors, while happy with the government's plans to spend up to $250 billion to buy stock in private banks, decided to cash in profits from the previous day's massive advance as they refocused their attention on the economy.
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It was the first time in nine sessions that the Dow Jones industrial average didn't close with triple-digit losses or gains although it did swing in a 700-point range. The Dow closed down 76 points a day after its record 936-point jump.

Big advances by many bank stocks helped offset some of the declines in the Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500 index, giving them a better showing for the day than the Nasdaq composite index, which fell more than 3 percent. The technology-dominated Nasdaq also lagged ahead of a profit report from Intel Corp., as investors were reminded of the troubled economy and its impact on corporate earnings.

Profit-taking set in after the Dow surged more than 400 points at the opening. Wall Street is expected to see jittery trading in the weeks and perhaps months ahead because of worries about the economy; stocks also tend to ratchet up and down when they're recovering from a plunge like the one Wall Street has suffered in the past two weeks.

"We don't know if the bottom is in," said Lincoln Anderson, chief investment officer and chief economist at LPL Financial, referring to the market's advance Monday after huge losses last week. "We certainly expect heightened volatility for a fair amount of time while we sort out just exactly what's going on."

Investors had snapped up stocks Monday in anticipation of the government's plan. President Bush said Tuesday the government would use a portion of the $700 billion financial bailout passed at the start of the month to inject capital into the nation's major banks, which have been slammed by souring mortgage investments. The move follows a similar one announced Monday by European governments to invest about $2 trillion in their own troubled banks.

The revised bailout plan differs from the original in that it aims to recapitalize banks, not just buy the troubled assets off their books at prices that could leave the banks with losses.

"This begins to penetrate the core of the problem," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at New York-based brokerage house Avalon Partners Inc.

Robert Dye, senior economist at PNC Financial Services Group, said the government's actions likely will help revive the credit markets, but now that the plan is place, investors are shifting back to concerns about the economy.

"These steps are not going to turn the real economy on a dime," he said of the government intervention. "The two keys to the fundamental economy right now are the job market and the housing market and both of those remain distressed."

"There isn't one bottom here. We're talking about multiple events. There will be a bottom in financial market and another in the labor market and one in the housing market. And they're not going to all line up," Dye said.

The Dow fell 76.62, or 0.82 percent, to 9,310.99.

Broader stock indicators also declined. The S&P 500 index fell 5.34, or 0.53 percent, to 998.01, and the Nasdaq fell 65.24, or 3.54 percent, to 1,779.01.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies, including many tech concerns, fell 16.24, or 2.84 percent, to 554.65.

Though the major indexes showed losses, advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 9 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 7.97 billion shares, compared with 7.1 billion shares traded Monday.

Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research, said investors pleased about the government's plan gravitated toward industrial companies, seeing them as more likely to benefit from a revived credit market than tech companies. That also helped send the Nasdaq lower.

"People are thinking more of the blue chips are going to respond," he said.

The Dow remains 34.3 percent below its Oct. 9, 2007 record close of 14,164.53, and could fluctuate around these levels as investors await signs of stabilization in the housing and job markets.

Cardillo said he believes the worst lows are behind the stock market, but other analysts have shied away from saying Wall Street had reached a bottom. The Dow has not yet fallen below its low during the last bear market, the closing level of 7,286.27 on Oct. 9, 2002.

Investors have been trying to regain their footing after a gruesome week that obliterated about $2.4 trillion in shareholder wealth. The Dow shot higher Monday after an eight-day losing streak that amassed point losses of just under 2,400, or 22.1 percent, bringing the blue-chip index to its lowest level since April 2003. That 18.2 percent weekly plunge in the Dow was the worst in the index's 112-year history.

Following the Columbus Day holiday, the U.S. government bond markets reopened Tuesday and indicated that investors' desire for safe assets remains strong. The three-month Treasury bill's yield, which moves opposite its price, rose to 0.30 percent from 0.21 percent late Friday, and the 10-year note's yield rose to 4.03 percent from 3.86 percent.

A drop in a key bank-to-bank lending rate indicates banks could be growing more willing to lend to one another. The London interbank offered rate, or Libor, for three-month dollar loans fell to 4.64 percent from 4.75 percent. Libor is important because many consumer loans, including about half of all adjustable-rate mortgages, are tied to it.

The recent sell-off in stocks came amid a seize-up in lending, as banks and investors around the world grew fearful about the creditworthiness of other institutions following the September bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the subsequent failure of thrift bank Washington Mutual Inc. Tight lending conditions make it harder and more expensive for businesses and consumers to get a loan, a headwind for economic growth.

Many of the nine banks the government identified as ones in which it will invest advanced Tuesday. Among them, Citigroup Inc. rose $2.87, or 18 percent, to $18.62, while Bank of America Corp. rose $3.74, or 16 percent, to $26.53. JP Morgan Chase & Co. fell $1.28, or 3.1 percent, to $40.71.

Intel fell $1.06, or 6.2 percent, to $15.93 ahead of its quarterly earnings report, which arrived after the closing bell. The chip maker's profit topped analysts' forecasts though the company warned the financial crisis is making it difficult to project results and that its fourth-quarter sales could fall short of Wall Street estimates.

Light, sweet crude fell $2.56 to settle at $78.63 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The dollar fell against most other major currencies, while gold prices declined.

Asian and European markets soared Tuesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 3.19 percent, after a more than 10 percent increase on Monday. Japan's Nikkei index, catching up from the country's market holiday Monday, jumped 14.15 percent — the largest increase ever.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 3.23 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 2.70 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 2.75 percent. source

Bulls keep running

2008-10-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK -- Stocks surged Tuesday morning, adding to the prior session's historic rally, as investors cheered the Bush administration's plan to recapitalize major banks.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) jumped 363 points in the early going. The Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index added 3.9% and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) gained 2%.

Stocks surged Monday, with the Dow industrials soaring some 936 points, or 11%, marking the largest-ever point advance for the blue-chip index. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also hit point-gain records.

Investors reacted to global efforts over the weekend and into Monday aimed at unfreezing credit markets and getting money flowing through the pipelines.

Treasury trading resumed following the Columbus Day holiday, and could give a good indication of whether all the recent interventions are working.

On Tuesday, the Bush administration announced plans to recapitalize U.S. banks in an effort to end the credit freeze that has slammed the global economy. Among the moves announced: a $250 billion investment in nine major banks and a plan for the the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will back up new senior bank debt for three years.

"These efforts are designed to directly benefit the American people by stabilizing our overall financial system and helping our economy recover," President Bush said in a statement outside the White House.

Overseas markets extended their celebration, with Japan's Nikkei surging to a single-day record gain of 14.2%.

European markets rallied for the second straight day. London's FTSE-100 was up 5.5% in afternoon trading, while Frankfurt's DAX and Paris' CAC-40 climbed by 5%.

Numbers: Soft drink maker PepsiCo (PEP, Fortune 500) reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings and said it would cut 3,300 jobs due to the global economic slowdown. Pepsi shares fell 3.8% in premarket trading.

Dow component Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500) reported higher third-quarter earnings that beat expectations. J&J shares rose 5% in premarket trading.

Dollar and oil. The dollar remained under pressure early Tuesday. The greenback was down against the 15-nation euro and the British pound, but was up slightly against the Japanese yen.

Crude prices, meanwhile, stepped higher. Prices, which have plunged some 43% from the record $147.27 a barrel set on July 11, were up $2.01 to $83.21 a barrel early Tuesday.

Oil prices have been under pressure amid worries that the global crisis would undercut demand. Late last week, OPEC announced it would hold an emergency meeting Nov. 18 to address the issue. source

Banco Santander buying rest of Sovereign for $1.9B

2008-10-13T17:33:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK - Banco Santander of Spain said Monday it would buy the other three-quarters stake in Sovereign Bancorp that it doesn't already own for $1.9 billion, extending a wave of consolidation as the banking industry struggles to deal with a load of soured debt related to mortgages.
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The Spanish bank already had a nearly 25 percent stake in Sovereign, a Philadelphia-based thrift, and will buy the rest with stock valued at about $3.81 for each share of Sovereign, a premium of 3.5 percent to Sovereign's closing price on Monday.

The deal, which had been rumored earlier in the day, was announced after trading closed Monday.Sovereign's shares fell 13 cents to $3.68 in the regular trading session but jumped 16 cents in after-hours trading following the announcement.

Like many U.S. banks, Sovereign Bancorp has been pummeled by rising mortgage delinquencies as the housing market tumbles. Its stock has lost nearly two-thirds of its value in the year to date.

The spreading credit crisis has already resulted in consolidation among national banks including Wachovia Corp., which is being bought by Wells Fargo & Co., and analysts say they've been expecting mid-size, regional banks to be next. Sovereign had said earlier Monday that it was in advanced discussions with Banco Santander.

The driving force behind the consolidation of regional banks is a lack of capital, said Doug Landy, a partner in the U.S. banking practice of law firm Allen & Overy. Large banks and very small banks have a much easier time raising capital than regional banks because big banks can tap into the international markets for cash, while small banks have a local connection.

Ralph Whitworth, a member of Sovereign's board of directors and chairman of its capital and finance committee, said in a statement that the company made the choice because of the "unprecedented uncertainty" in the marketplace.

Banks and other companies in the financial industries are losing money on bad mortgage bets and products that have repackaged these debts as homeowners struggle to keep up with their payments.

Later Monday, after the deal was announced, Sovereign showed just how much it was being affected by these bad bets as it pre-announced its third quarter earnings.

The company said it posted a loss of $982 million, or $1.48 a share in the period ending Sept. 30. That compares to net income of $58.2 million, or 11 cents a share, in the same period last year.

The loss includes a previously announced impairment charge on the bank's Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac perpetual preferred stock of $575 million. Those two companies, which bought mortgages and then resold them packaged as financial instruments, have been taken over by the government.source

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Prudential becomes latest insurer to warn

2008-10-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK - Prudential Financial Inc (PRU.N) is the latest major insurer to warn its quarterly profits would miss forecasts, as the shares of rivals were pummeled on concern they would need to raise capital.
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The second-largest U.S. life insurer said on Thursday that third-quarter profit would be cut sharply by losses on poorly performing annuity and investment products and a charge for a legal settlement.

That followed recent profit warnings at U.S. life and property insurer Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (HIG.N) and MetLife Inc (MET.N), the largest life insurer in the United States.

The latter sold new shares at a discount on Wednesday to bolster its capital, raising $2 billion, while Hartford earlier this week received a $2.5 billion capital injection from Allianz SE (ALVG.DE), Europe's biggest insurer.

"Insurers made big investments in mortgage-related securities and are also big holders of stocks and bonds in financial firms that have been wiped out or badly damaged by the credit crisis, such as Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual, said Alan Rambaldini, a life insurance analyst at investment research firm Morningstar.

"On top of that, bigger life insurers like Prudential get fees on the size of stock investments behind annuity products they sell to customers, which will drop sharply as the broader market plummets," he said.

'TRADING ON FEAR'

Among other life insurers, Lincoln National Corp (LNC.N), fell 35 percent to $18.31, Principal Financial Group Inc (PFG.N) lost 27 percent to $15.79 a share and Unum Group (UNM.N) fell 30 percent to $14.77.

Life insurance, as measured by the sectoral S&P Life & Health Insurance index (.GSPLIFE), was down 17 percent, making it the second-worst performing sector after automakers.

Even beyond life, XL Capital Inc (XL.N), a large Bermuda-based reinsurer, fell 54 percent to $4.01.

"The group (insurers) are trading on fear right now," said Bret Howlett, Standard & Poor's life insurance analyst. "A lot of investors are worried about capital positions in this unfavorable operating environment.

"People are worried about whether these companies are going to need to raise additional capital. In this environment, it's going to be difficult to raise that capital."

American International Group Inc (AIG.N) shares fell 25 percent to $2.39, one day after the company said it would get more liquidity from the government.

AIG, once the world's largest insurer, got an $85 billion loan from the government three weeks ago when it was on the brink of collapse. Under the new plan, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will take up to $37.8 billion in investment-grade, fixed-income securities from AIG in exchange for cash.

"The government has effectively provided them support for $110 billion. I think they have exhausted that avenue and so I think as they move forward their options have diminished," said Keith Wirtz, president and chief investment officer of Fifth Third Asset Management.

UNDER PRESSURE

Citing market volatility and extraordinary events affecting financial markets, Prudential has suspended all purchases of its own stock.

It said it has liquidity to meet requirements at the parent company and at all operating subsidiaries and, unless it enters into any strategic deals, its need to access the capital markets before the end of the year would be modest.

"We are comfortable with our risk profile and believe that we are in a strong position to manage through the current environment," said Prudential Chief Executive John Strangfeld, in a statement.

Prudential did not say when it would report third-quarter earnings.

Insurers have been under pressure to keep solid capital positions to maintain their ratings after their investments lost value as financial markets sank in recent weeks.

Keeping high ratings is essential for insurers because lower ratings can mean higher costs and, in some cases, even a loss of business. source

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Insurance giant AIG's role in market crisis probed

2008-10-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON - Less than a week after the federal government had to bail out American International Group Inc., the company sent executives on a $440,000 retreat to a posh California resort, lawmakers investigating the company's meltdown said Tuesday.

The tab included $23,380 worth of spa treatments for AIG employees at the coastal St. Regis resort south of Los Angeles even as the company tapped into an $85 billion loan from the government it needed to stave off bankruptcy.

The retreat didn't include anyone from the financial products division that nearly drove AIG under, but lawmakers were still enraged over thousands of dollars spent on catered banquets, golf outings and visits to the resort's spa and salon for executives of AIG's main US life insurance subsidiary.

"Average Americans are suffering economically. They're losing their jobs, their homes and their health insurance," Democratic House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman scolded. "Yet less than one week after the taxpayers rescued AIG, company executives could be found wining and dining at one of the most exclusive resorts in the nation."

The hearing also revealed that AIG executives hid the full range of its risky financial products from auditors as losses mounted, according to documents released Tuesday by a congressional panel examining the chain of events that forced the government to bail out the conglomerate.

The panel sharply criticized AIG's former top executives, who cast blame on each other for the company's financial woes.

"You have cost my constituents and the taxpayers of this country $85 billion and run into the ground one of the most respected insurance companies in the history of our country," said Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney. "You were just gambling billions, possibly trillions of dollars."

AIG, crippled by huge losses linked to mortgage defaults, was forced last month to accept the $85 billion government loan that gives the US the right to an 80 percent stake in the company.

Waxman unveiled documents showing AIG executives hid the full extent of the firm's risky financial products from auditors, both outside and inside the firm, as losses mounted.

For instance, federal regulators at the Office of Thrift Supervision warned in March that "corporate oversight of AIG Financial Products ... lack critical elements of independence." At the same time, Pricewaterhouse Cooper confidentially warned the company that the "root cause" of its mounting problems was denying internal overseers in charge of limiting AIG's exposure access to what was going on in its highly leveraged financial products branch.

Waxman also released testimony from former AIG auditor Joseph St. Denis, who resigned after being blocked from giving his input on how the firm estimated its liabilities.

Three former AIG executives were summoned to appear before the hearing. One of them, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg — who ran AIG for 38 years until 2005 — canceled his appearance citing illness but submitted prepared testimony. In it, he blamed the company's financial woes on his successors, former CEOs Martin Sullivan and Robert Willumstad.

"When I left AIG, the company operated in 130 countries and employed approximately 92,000 people," Greenberg said. "Today, the company we built up over almost four decades has been virtually destroyed."

Sullivan and Willumstad, in turn, cast much of the blame on accounting rules that forced AIG to take tens of billions of dollars in losses stemming from exposure to toxic mortgage-related securities.

Lawmakers also upbraided Sullivan, who ran the firm from 2005 until June of this year, for urging AIG's board of directors to waive pay guidelines to win a $5 million bonus for 2007 — even as the company lost $5 billion in the 4th quarter of that year. Sullivan countered that he was mainly concerned with helping other senior executives.

Sullivan also came under fire for reassuring shareholders about the health of the company last December, just days after its auditor, Pricewaterhouse Cooper, warned of him that AIG was displaying "material weakness" in its huge exposure to potential losses from insuring mortgage-related securities.

AIG's problems did not come from its traditional insurance subsidiaries, which remain healthy, but instead from its financial services operations, primarily its insurance of mortgage-backed securities and other risky debt against default. Government officials feared a panic might occur if AIG couldn't make good on its promise to cover losses on the securities; investors feared the consequences would pose a threat to the US financial system, which led to the government bailout.

AIG suffered huge losses when its credit rating was cut, thanks largely to complex financial transactions known as "credit default swaps." AIG was a major seller of the swaps, which are a form of insurance, though they are not regulated that way.

The swap contracts promise payment to investors in mortgage bonds in the event of a default. AIG has been forced to raise billions of dollars in collateral to back up those guarantees.

Sullivan said many of the firm's problems stemmed from "mark to market" accounting rules mandating that its positions guaranteeing troubled mortgage securities be carried as tens of billions of dollars in losses on its balance sheet.

This in turn, said former AIG chief executive Willumstad, who ran the company for just three months after Sullivan left, forced the firm to raise billions of dollars in capital. The federal rescue came after AIG suffered disastrous liquidity problems after its credit rating was lowered, forcing the company to come up with even more capital.

"AIG was caught in a vicious cycle," Willumstad said in the testimony.

Greenberg said that AIG "wrote as many credit default swaps ... in the nine months following my departure as it had written in the entire previous seven years combined. Moreover, "unlike what had been true during my tenure, the majority of the credit default swaps that AIGFP wrote in the nine months after I retired were reportedly exposed to subprime mortgages."

But Sullivan said the complex swaps had underlying value, even as the market for them froze, sending their book value plummeting and forcing AIG to scramble for collateral.

"When the credit markets seized up, like many other financial institutions, we were forced to mark our swap positions at fire-sale prices as if we owned the underlying bonds, even though we believed that our swap positions had value if held to maturity," Sullivan said.

The hearing is the second in two days into financial excesses and regulatory mistakes that have spooked stock and credit markets and heightened fears about a global recession source

Retirement accounts have lost $2 trillion — so far

2008-10-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON - Americans' retirement plans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months — about 20 percent of their value — Congress' top budget analyst estimated Tuesday as lawmakers began investigating how turmoil in the financial industry is whittling away workers' nest eggs.

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The upheaval that has engulfed financial firms and sent the stock market plummeting is also devastating people's savings, forcing families to hold off on major purchases and even delay retirement, Peter Orszag, the head of the Congressional Budget Office, told the House Education and Labor Committee.

As Congress investigates the causes and effects of the meltdown, the panel pressed economists and other analysts on how the housing, credit and other financial troubles have battered pensions and other retirement funds, which are among the most common forms of savings in the United States.

"Unlike Wall Street executives, America's families don't have a golden parachute to fall back on," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the panel chairman. "It's clear that their retirement security may be one of the greatest casualties of this financial crisis."

More than half the people surveyed in an Associated Press-GfK poll taken Sept. 27-30 said they worry they will have to work longer because the value of their retirement savings has declined.

Orszag indicated the fear is well-founded. Public and private pension funds and employees' private retirement savings accounts — like 401(k)'s — lost about 10 percent between the middle of 2007 and the middle of this year, and lost another 10 percent just in the past three months, he estimated.

Private retirement plans may have suffered slightly more because those holdings are more heavily skewed toward stocks, Orszag added.

"Some people will delay their retirement. In particular, those on the verge of retirement may decide they can no longer afford to retire and will continue working," Orszag said.

A new AARP study found that because of the economic downturn, one in five workers 45 and older has stopped putting money into a 401(k), IRA or other retirement savings account during the past year, and nearly one in four has increased the number of hours he works. More than one-third of these workers have considered delaying retirement, according to the study, which also found that more than half now find it difficult to pay for basic items such as food, gas and medicine.

The hearing came just as workers are receiving — or about to receive — their quarterly retirement savings account statements, which are likely to show disheartening drops in the value of holdings.

Jerry Bramlett, the head of BenefitStreet Inc., a retirement savings plan administration company, said there's a risk that people will overreact to the bad news by pulling their money out of the accounts, which could add to their potential losses.

"For participants with many years of retirement, a drastic abandonment of equity positions in their retirement account will only serve to lock in as-of-yet-unrealized losses. Markets do go up and down, and 401(k) participants must try to think long-term," Bramlett said.

Still, he said workers should do their best to diversify their retirement savings accounts and "perhaps consider less volatile investments."

On the heels of enacting a $700 billion market bailout, lawmakers are searching for ways to help workers who are feeling the ripple effects of the financial crisis.

"What should we be doing to try to find a way to salvage the retirement position of American workers?" said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, an opponent of the government rescue plan. Congress, he added, "rushed to protect Wall Street in hopes that some benefits would trickle down to workers."

The massive losses have already reopened a bitter and long-running debate about what role — if any — the government should play in helping workers save for retirement.

Some experts argue that the hefty tax subsidies that Congress has put in place in recent decades for 401(k) and other worker-contribution accounts have made people's retirement income less secure by shifting risks, decisions and costs from employers to people who often know little about investing.

"They are fatally flawed," Teresa Ghilarducci, an economist at the New School for Social Research, said of the tax-advantaged plans. "They're too risky, and it's not good policy to have workers run their own retirement plan. They want government help."

Common mistakes workers make include overinvesting in a single stock — often their company's — and participating in funds that carry large fees or involve excessive risk, the witnesses said.

"You cannot tell the participants at the bottom of your fund prospectus, 'Warning: Your psychology may lead you to make irrational choices,'" said Christian E. Weller of the University of Massachusetts Boston.

The current market turmoil adds to an already difficult retirement savings picture for Americans, who are increasingly shouldering the burden of managing and funding their own company-sponsored retirement savings plans as firms eliminate traditional pensions.

Even before the recent downturn, older Americans were on track to continue working longer. Twenty-nine percent of people in their late 60s were working in 2006, up from 18 percent in 1985, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the next decade, the number of workers who are 55 and older is expected to increase at more than five times the rate of the overall work force, the BLS reported.

Falling home values and now the decimation of much of their savings could plunge older Americans into period of austerity not seen in decades, Miller said: "The fear factor is huge, and they don't see the availability of resources to them to get well."

Orszag said the situation has little precedent in American history.

"The period that we're experiencing is arguably the greatest collapse in confidence that we've experienced since the Great Depression," he said.

said Source

Philamlife awaits buyer as parent firm sells assets

2008-10-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

NO SINGLE domestic insurer can afford to buy Philippine American Life Insurance Co. (Philamlife) and any taker will need the help of a foreign financier, analysts said, unless Manila’s top financial companies opt to expand their own insurance businesses.

And while the country’s conglomerates may have the ready cash to match Philamlife’s P170 billion in assets and net worth of P49.5 billion, the question is whether they would be willing to dip their hands into a non-core business, they added.

Even the Yuchengco Group of Companies, which has launched an offer, may need to find a partner, and an outside one at that, to purchase Philamlife, put up for sale by its parent firm in the US in the wake of a worsening financial crisis.

American International Group, Inc. (AIG) on Friday announced that it would be selling assets, Philamlife included, to repay an $85-billion lifeline extended by the US government. Philamlife, a wholly-owned unit, will be sold with some local affiliates.

Yuchengco group officials declined to comment when asked on the progress of talks following AIG’s announcement. Lorenzo V. Tan, president and CEO of Yuchengco-owned Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) said there was "no word at this time".

Philamlife has eight subsidiaries whose businesses include pre-need plans, bancassurance, healthcare, banking, credit cards, asset management, property and casualty insurance, property management and development, and business process outsourcing.

These subsidiaries are Philam Equitable Life Assurance Company, Philam Plans Inc., Philam Care, AIG Philam Savings Bank, Philam Asset Management Inc., Philam Properties, AIG Business Processing Services, Inc. and Philam Insurance.

"Philamlife is a very good candidate for acquisition. The ones interested in the financial assets would be foreign institutions," Astro C. del Castillo of First Grade Holdings, Inc. said.

"They [Yuchengcos] can get a good partner and sweetener and be part of a consortium and at the end of the day, they’ll have the controlling stake," another analyst said, noting how the Yuchengcos were able to buy Nippon Life’s insurance business. Nippon Life, a joint venture of the Yuchengco group and a Japanese firm, has been renamed Great Life Financial Assurance Corp.

The Yuchengco’s insurance business includes Great Pacific Life Assurance Corp. (Grepalife), unlisted non-life insurer Malayan Insurance Co. Inc., and Great Life Financial Assurance Corp. It also lists Funeraria Paz Sucat, Inc. and Lifetime Plans as insurance businesses.

Industry officials doubt the possibility of local insurers forming a consortium as a majority of Philippine insurance firms are mainly family-owned.

"I would discount forming a consortium. Who would have the controlling stake would be an issue," said Peter G. Coyiuto, former chief of the 34-strong Philippine Life Insurance Association and president of First Life Insurance.

Despite Philamlife being AIG’s "crown jewel" in Asia, analysts said prospective foreign buyers may cherrypick from the American financial giant’s insurance units in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong where the business is more lucrative.

"If you buy a company, you look at the future stream of income. AIG’s peak operation is in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan," Mr. Coyiuto said.

Conglomerates owned by the Gokongwei family, tobacco magnate Lucio Tan and retail tycoon Henry Sy would have the liquidity AIG needs but insurance may not be their cup of tea, analysts said.

The banking industry’s big players Metropolitan Trust and Bank Corp. (Metrobank) and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) are unlikely takers with each already having their insurance affiliates, analysts said. Metrobank has Axa Philippines, while BPI has Ayala Life. - source

Citi: Wells Fargo blocked from buying Wachovia

2008-10-05T04:46:00.000-07:00

Citigroup says NY judge temporarily agrees to block Wells Fargo from acquiring Wachovia

NEW YORK (AP) -- The fight over control of Wachovia intensified Saturday, as a judge temporarily agreed to block the sale of the bank by Wells Fargo, Citigroup announced in a news release.

State Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos issued the order blocking the sale of Wachovia Corp., which Wells Fargo & Co. had agreed to purchase in a $14.8 billion deal.

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Citigroup Inc. accused Wells Fargo of trying to cut off its earlier takeover offer of Wachovia's banking operations for $2.1 billion in a deal struck with the assistance of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. On Friday, four days after that deal was struck, Wells Fargo said it was buying Wachovia.

The litigation pits two of the largest remaining financial institutions against one another as the ongoing credit crisis leads the federal government to arrange marriages and sales among banking entities.

Wells Fargo and Citigroup did not immediately respond to messages left late Saturday seeking comment about the temporary order blocking the sale.

Wachovia spokeswoman Christy Phillips-Brown said in a statement the company believes its agreement with Wells Fargo is "proper, valid and ... in the best interest of shareholders, employees and the American taxpayers."

She said Citigroup is free to make a better offer to Wachovia under that agreement.

The FDIC said Friday that it "stands behind its previously announced agreement with Citigroup." It also said it would review all proposals and work with regulators of all three institutions to resolve the tug-of-war.

Citigroup says it has an exclusivity agreement that bars Wachovia from talking with other potential buyers. Its shares fell sharply after the surprise announcement of the Wells Fargo-Wachovia agreement. source

Colleges scramble as investment fund freezes

2008-10-03T05:38:00.000-07:00

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN, AP Business Writer Fri Oct 3, 1:02 AM ET

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - An investment fund that serves about 1,000 colleges and private schools partially froze withdrawals this week amid the credit crunch, forcing colleges to develop new plans to pay bills.
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Wachovia Bank, trustee for the $9.3 billion Short Term Fund offered by Commonfund, said Monday it was terminating the fund and establishing a process to ensure the orderly liquidation and distribution of the fund's assets. Wachovia initially told investors Monday that they could only withdraw 10 percent of their money, but that figure was increased to 34 percent by Wednesday and 37 percent by Thursday.

Commonfund, a Wilton, Conn.-based nonprofit that advises colleges and schools on money management, also said Thursday it put a 30 percent limit on withdrawals from its Intermediate Term Fund after investors in the Short Term Fund tried to withdraw money from that fund, said Keith Luke, managing director of Commonfund.

About 200 colleges and universities have about $1 billion in the intermediate fund, which is used for long-term needs, such as equipment plant purchases, he said.

"We just didn't have the liquidity in the fund to do that," Luke said. "We will relax that as soon as market conditions permit."

Partially freezing the Short Term Fund as officials prepare for liquidation prevents a run on money and protects investors, said Laura Fay, a Wachovia spokeswoman.

"It was not something we took lightly," Fay said. "In this environment, we felt this was the best way to proceed."

Some colleges are securing lines of credit because of the restriction on accessing money from the short-term account, according to Matthew Hamill, senior vice president of the National Association of College and University Business Officers. That means borrowing costs that effectively reduce their rate of return in the original investment, he said.

Hamill said he does not expect the issue to affect students and their families and noted that the crisis has eased somewhat with a greater percentage of cash allowed to be withdrawn.

"I think most institutions are feeling far more confident in the short run the fund will be there for what its needs are," Hamill said. "The remaining question on everyone's mind is exactly when the remaining balance in the account will be available."

Assumption College in Worcester, Mass. had about $20 million in the fund, but was able to get back nearly a third of that, said Christian McCarthy, the school's executive vice president and treasurer. The redemption and other funds enabled the college to pay all its bills, he said.

"It's been a tremendous inconvenience," McCarthy said. "It really did come as quite a shock. It is disconcerting."

The fund provides returns slightly above U.S. Treasury bills. About 85 percent of the fund was invested in high-quality commercial paper from blue chip companies, while the rest is in securities backed by mortgages and other assets, Luke said.

Amid the housing industry slump and turmoil affecting banks and credit markets, such investments have become increasingly unpopular as investors seek safer options like Treasury bills.

Commonfund said recently volatile markets have hurt the 15 percent to 20 percent of the Short Term Fund's portfolio held in mortgage- and asset-backed securities.

There have been no defaults in the fund's portfolio so far, Luke said.

"Credit markets have frozen, which has made trading of even the highest quality short term financial assets impossible at virtually any reasonable price," Commonfund wrote in a letter to clients Wednesday. "In light of these markets, we believe that the trustee feared that a sudden increase in redemptions could force a liquidation of securities in a frozen market and decided to take pre-emptive action."

Commonfund said it pledged $50 million of its corporate reserves in April to back the fund. Commonfund also said it was looking for a new trustee for the Short Term Fund in order to re-establish the program in largely the same form.

Fay said Wachovia's decision was not affected by last week's announced $2.1 billion deal for Citigroup to buy Wachovia's banking operations.

Wachovia's decision to slowly liquidate the fund is designed to prevent a rush by investors. When a fund sees such a rush, fund managers must sell assets — typically at a loss when it must be done quickly, and especially amid the recent market turmoil.

A slow liquidation helps protect investor returns and ensure each investor would be treated equally.

A rescue package approved by the Senate late Wednesday would let the government spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates say, that would allow frozen credit to begin flowing again and prevent a serious recession.

By the end of the year, investors in the Short Term Fund will be able to withdraw at least 57 percent of their money, Luke said. Asked if investors will ultimately get all their money back, Luke said, "We certainly expect that."

Commonfund is working with the colleges and schools to help them find alternative sources of financing, Luke said.

"We feel terrible for them," Luke said. "We want to help them. We're working very hard to do so."

Bethany College — a Lutheran school in Lindsborg, Kan., with 600 students and a $12 million budget — has $700,000 invested in the fund.

"Obviously we weren't planning on withdrawing all at once," said Aubrey Streit, a spokeswoman. "We're just re-evaluating our plan for how we will work with the cash flow over the course of the next academic year."

Bethany College is not in a state of panic, Streit said, but she noted that the investment was a significant part of its budget.

"It wasn't something we expected," Streit said. "It really makes it real to see the financial impact coming here."

Grinnell College in Iowa had about $4.8 million in the fund, but was able to withdraw 34 percent, said Russell Osgood, the college's president. With a $1.5 billion endowment, he was not worried.

"It has had no effect," Osgood said. source

White House, lawmakers plan new bailout deal

2008-09-30T06:26:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON - Hard-pressed U.S. consumers curbed their spending during August despite an unexpected jump in incomes, according to a government report on Monday that implied worry about the economy's direction was deepening.
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The Commerce Department said consumer spending was flat in August after barely edging up by a revised 0.1 percent in July, a much weaker outcome than forecast by Wall Street economists surveyed by Reuters who had a 0.2 percent spending rise.

Incomes from wages and salaries and all other sources rose by 0.5 percent in August, largely reversing July's revised 0.6 percent drop and well ahead of forecasts for a smaller 0.2 percent gain. Incomes had been boosted early in the year by payments made under an economic stimulus program but that has largely worn off.

"These payments are now winding down," the department said. Since about two-thirds of U.S. economic output is driven by consumer spending on goods and services and there has been a steady month-by-month loss of jobs in addition to the waning stimulus payments, prospects for spending in coming months are not promising.

"It looks like we are poised to see a real-term decline in personal consumption and that will likely result in a negative GDP number in the third quarter," said James O'Sullivan, economist at UBS Securities in Stamford, Connecticut.

The income and spending data had no impact on financial markets, which still were grappling with news of another U.S. bank merger and with details of the huge taxpayer-financed bailout program for U.S. financial firms.

Despite higher August incomes, consumers facing higher prices for gasoline and other items were unable to save more. The personal savings rate dropped to 1 percent from 1.9 percent in July.

Meanwhile, the report pointed to persistent inflation pressures. The personal consumption expenditures index on a year-over-year basis rose 4.5 percent in August, only barely below the 4.6 percent rise posted in July. Core prices that exclude food and energy were up 2.6 percent -- the highest rate since the beginning of 1995.

White House, lawmakers plan new bailout deal

2008-09-30T06:23:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON - Top congressional and White House officials, stunned when the House rejected a massive rescue plan for the nation's economy, scrambled to structure a new bailout proposal that would attract reluctant lawmakers and still soothe the unnerved financial markets.
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"Doing nothing is not an option," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said after seeing the $700 billion emergency package for the nation's financial systems fail 228-205 on Monday.

With the House not scheduled to meet again until Thursday, congressional leaders and Bush administration officials promptly sought to assess what types of changes could win over enough votes to guarantee success. President Bush planned to make a statement on the rescue plan at 8:45 a.m. EDT Tuesday.

The outcome of Monday's vote fed a huge sell-off in the stock market, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average into its biggest single-day plunge, 777 points. The House vote and the market's terrified reaction shook Washington and New York centers of power — even overseas markets — but no immediate solution seemed at hand.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday said in a statement that lawmakers should not start from scratch as they weigh their next move.

From the campaign trail, the Illinois senator proposed that one change would be to raise from $100,000 to $250,000 the amount of federal deposit insurance for bank accounts. He said that such a move would be a boost for small businesses and would make the U.S. banking system more secure as well as restore public confidence in the nation's financial system.

Obama also said further inaction would be catastrophic for the economy and for American families.

The bill's failure came despite furious personal lobbying by Bush and support from House leaders of both parties. But the legislation was highly unpopular with the public, ideological groups on the left and the right organized against it, and Bush no longer wielded the influence to leverage tough votes. Even pressure in favor of the bill from some of the biggest special interests in Washington, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Realtors, could not sway enough votes.

The legislation the administration promoted would have allowed the government to buy bad mortgages and other deficient assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates of the plan believed it would help lift a major weight off the already sputtering national economy.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson emerged after the vote and warned of a credit crunch that would affect American businesses and said families would find it harder to get student loans and car loans.

"We need to work as quickly as possible," he said gravely. "We need to get something done."

The sense of urgency was not universal. Many opponents of the bill argued that the package amounted to a too-costly commitment of taxpayer money to bail out financial institutions for their own mistakes.

Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., offered a typical sentiment. "I cannot with good conscience put Nevada's taxpayers on the hook for the foolish excesses of Wall Street," he said. "Congress should pass legislation that protects the taxpayer, assists with bad assets and allows the market to correct itself."

Immediately following the vote, Republican leaders blamed their failure to secure more votes on the partisan tone of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's pre-vote speech on the House floor. "There were a dozen members who we thought ... we had a really good chances of getting on the floor," said Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio. "And all that evaporated with that speech."

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the gruff but quick-witted chairman of the House banking committee, countered, "Give me the names of those 12 people and I'll go talk uncharacteristically nice to them."

Behind the bluster, lawmakers pledged to work again. Hoyer met with House Republican Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri, one of the lead GOP negotiators from the House.

Blunt, noting that the House would break for the Jewish holidays until Thursday, said, "We are going to have a couple days to see how the marketplace reacts to all this, and maybe that's a good thing."

House members weren't going home to campaign for re-election "until this is addressed," Hoyer vowed.

Both Blunt and Hoyer suggested that the Senate could vote first on a bill then send it to the House, but Senate leaders showed no inclination to take up a bill without being certain of its fate in the House.

"What would be wrong, I think, would be to act without some kind of clear indication from the House about how they're going to proceed," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. "We don't need to start all over."

The two men campaigning to replace Bush watched the situation closely — from afar — and demanded action.

In Iowa, Republican John McCain said that Obama and congressional Democrats "infused unnecessary partisanship into the process. Now is not the time to fix the blame; it's time to fix the problem."

Obama said, "Democrats, Republicans, step up to the plate, get it done."

The burden for votes fell more strongly on Republican leaders. About three out of five House Democrats voted for the legislation; only a third of Republicans backed it.

Republicans, already seeking possible votes, floated several ideas. One would double the $100,000 ceiling on federal deposit insurance. Another would end rules that require companies to devalue assets on their books to reflect the price they could get in the market. source

With deal's collapse, the McCain camp attacks

2008-09-30T00:10:00.000-07:00

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa: Besides stockholders whose portfolios were ravaged Monday afternoon, the one person with the most riding on the bailout bill that collapsed in Congress may have been Senator John McCain.

McCain had announced last week that he was suspending his presidential campaign to work to ensure the legislation's passage, even at the risk of skipping the first presidential debate unless a deal was locked down. (He later relented, debating without a deal.) He had called for the high-level White House meeting that some participants later called unhelpful. And after some initial hesitation, he had allowed himself to be identified with a bill that he thought necessary even if unpopular.

So when the deal fell apart on the House floor Monday, in no small measure because most of the chamber's Republicans balked at voting for it, the McCain campaign worked to contain the potential for damage. The first defense was to go on the offense.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a senior McCain adviser, said "partisan attacks" by Senator Barack Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress had caused some Republicans uncertain about the legislation to turn against it and so had "put at risk the homes, livelihoods and savings of millions of American families." The Obama campaign immediately dismissed that response as "angry and hyperpartisan."

Then, after Obama had urged Americans and the financial markets to "stay calm" in the wake of the rescue plan's collapse, while prodding Congress to "get this done," McCain hastily called a news conference here in which he, too, seemed to place some blame on Obama.
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"Senator Obama and his allies in Congress infused unnecessary partisanship into the process," McCain said, before adding in almost the same breath: "Now is not the time to fix the blame. It's time to fix the problem."

Both campaigns pledged to support efforts to resolve the situation, though they were short on details. McCain's campaign said he would continue to monitor developments closely to see whether more House Republicans could now be persuaded to vote for the bill, or whether it had to be amended to address their concerns. But his aides said there did not appear to be a need to return to Washington immediately, since Congress had recessed for Rosh Hashana.

Holtz-Eakin, the campaign's senior economic adviser, told reporters that "we don't have a specific proposal that we believe is the magic bullet."

"Having failed to have that bill passed through the House," he said, "I think it's time to regroup and see whether it's the content, whether it's the nature of the debate that went on on the floor of the House today, or whether people really just need to take one look around the financial markets and have a wake-up call and do the right thing."

Obama had said he was inclined to support the bill that failed Monday. But it remains an open question how much political capital he will seek to expend, or how invested he wants to become, in helping Democratic leaders win passage of a bill.

The failure of the measure took both camps by surprise. Obama, who was campaigning Monday in Colorado, had already sent reporters the advance text of a speech he planned to give lauding the agreement. And McCain, at a rally in Columbus, Ohio, seemed to be taking some credit for the bill.

Democrats had said all along that by inserting himself into negotiations, McCain had brought presidential politics to a delicate situation and could wind up hurting more than helping. After the House vote, his aides bristled at the suggestion that his involvement had in fact been a drawback, saying he had been instrumental in getting House Republicans a seat at the negotiating table and helping bring in more of their votes.

Holtz-Eakin said McCain had made "dozens of calls" on the bill, some to House Republicans who opposed it.

Aides to Obama said he had not directly reached out to try to sway any House Democrats who opposed the measure. But where McCain had accused Obama of taking a hands-off approach to the financial crisis, Democratic advisers said they believed that McCain now had a role in the legislation's failure.

As aides to both campaigns pointed fingers, Obama sought to stay above the fray and maintain a steady demeanor that advisers maintain has set him apart throughout the financial turmoil.

"One of the messages that I have to Congress is, Get this done," he said in Colorado after the House vote. "Democrats, Republicans, step up to the plate and get this done. Understand even as you get it done to stabilize the markets, we have more work to do to make sure that Main Street is getting the same kind of help that Wall Street is getting. We cannot forget who this is for. This is for the American people. This shouldn't be for a few insiders."

source

Bailout vote begins

2008-09-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

The House, following four hours of heated and emotional debate, started to vote Monday on a sweeping $700 bailout of the nation's financial system.

The debate included impassioned pleas for and against the measure from Democrats and Republicans alike. Even some of those arguing the legislation must be approved were quick to point out problems with it.

But in the end, the vote began with both Democratic and Republican leadership telling their members the only way to protect the economy from a spreading credit crunch was to vote for the difficult to swallow measure.

"Our time has run out," said Rep. Spencer Bachus, the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee. "We're going make a decision. There are no other choices, no other alternatives."

The vote comes after lawmakers and the Bush administration finalized legislation following a weekend of high-stakes negotiations over the controversial measure, which is designed to get battered U.S. credit markets working normally again.

"Today is the decision day," said Barney Frank, D-Mass., on the House floor. "If we defeat this bill today, it will be a very bad day for the financial sector of the American economy and the people who will feel the pain are not the top bankers and top corporate executives but average Americans."

House Minority Leader John Boehner told his members, many of whom objected the measure, that the had accept something he and many of them found distasteful.

"If I didn't think we were on the brink of an economic disaster it would be the easiest thing to say no to this," Boehner said. But he said lawmakers needed to do what was in the best interest of the country.

Leading House Republicans signed on to the proposal on Sunday after expressing earlier reservations. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Sunday he hoped for a vote in that chamber by Wednesday at the latest.

Earlier on Monday, President Bush and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hailed the measure and urged Congress to move quickly to pass it.

Bush, speaking at the White House, called the proposed measure "an extraordinary agreement to deal with an extraordinary problem." He said he is confident the measure will win bipartisan support.

"With this strong and decisive legislation, we will help restart the flow of credit so American families can meet their daily needs and American businesses can make purchases, ship goods and meet their payrolls," Bush said.

Bush acknowledged that many voters were opposed to helping out Wall Street with tax dollars, but said there is little choice to move forward with the plan. He said most if not all of the tax money spent to buy distressed mortgage-backed securities should be recouped when the Treasury sells them in the coming years.

"Every member of Congress and every American should keep in mind - a vote for this bill is a vote to prevent economic damage to you and your community," Bush said.

Bernanke, who had spent hours before Congress last week testifying in favor of the measure, issued a brief statement promising that it would restore the flow of credit to households and businesses. "I look forward to swift passage of the legislation," he said.
Buying troubled assets

The core of the bill is based on Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's request for authority to purchase troubled assets from financial institutions so banks can resume lending and so the credit markets, now virtually frozen, can begin to operate more normally.

But Democrats and Republicans - concerned about the potential cost - have added several conditions and restrictions to protect taxpayers on the down side and give them a chance at some of the potential upside if the companies benefit from the plan.

Key negotiators for the financial rescue plan were e busy trying to line up votes on Capitol Hill on Sunday. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told CNN he believes a majority of representatives on both sides of the aisle can and will support the bill.

On Sunday evening, the House Republican working group, which stringently opposed earlier drafts of the plan and offered a counterproposal, indicated it would support the bill, and its members are encouraging other Republicans in the House to do the same.

"Nobody wants to have to support this bill, but it's a bill that we believe will avert the crisis that's out there," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters.

But the bill did draw some opposition during the morning debate.

Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas, said the measure would leave a huge burden on taxpayers. "This legislation is giving us a choice between bankrupting our children and bankrupting a few of these big financial institutions on Wall Street that made bad decisions," he said.

Other conservative Republicans argued the bill would be a blow against economic freedom.

Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., said the bill posed a choice between the loss of prosperity in the short term or economic freedom in the long term. He said once the federal government enters the financial market place, it will not leave. "The choice is stark," he said.

But there were also Democrats who opposed the bill for not doing enough to help those who taxpayers facing foreclosure or needing unemployment benefits extended, or taxing Wall Street to pay for the rescue package.

"Like the Iraq war and patriot act, this bill is fueled by fear and haste," said Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas.
The crisis and a proposed fix

Banks and Wall Street firms, worried about both their own needs for cash and the condition of other institutions, essentially stopped loaning money to one another in recent weeks. That choked off the money being made available on Main Street in the form of mortgage loans, business loans and other consumer borrowing.

The crisis stems from problems in mortgage-backed securities, which saw their value plunge as home prices have gone into their worst slide since the Great Depression and foreclosures have soared to record levels. In turn, the market for trillion of dollars worth of those securities held by major firms evaporated, sending them down to fire sale prices and raising the risk of widespread failures among the nation's major financial firms.

Under the plan, Treasury will buy the mortgage backed securities, either directly from the firms or through an auction process. It may also arrange to provide guarantees for the securities up to their original values in return for premiums they would charge current holders of the securities.

To make the legislation more politically palatable, the bill calls for the government, as an owner of a large number of mortgage securities, to exert influence on loan servicers to modify more troubled loans to help prevent additional foreclosures. It also provides that the government will take equity in the firms that sell the securities to the government, and limits pay packages for top executives.

The legislation comes amid great upheaval in the nation's financial system. On Monday morning, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which insures deposits at failed banks, arranged for the sale of the banking assets of Wachovia (WB, Fortune 500), the nation's No. 4 bank holding company, to Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) for $2.2 billion in stock.

That follows three weeks of other shocks: the Treasury Department's seizure of mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500); Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy filing; rival Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500) purchase by Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500).

In addition, the Fed bailed out insurance giant American International Group (AIG, Fortune 500), loaning it $85 billion in return for a nearly 80% stake. while Washington Mutual (WM, Fortune 500), the nation's largest savings and loan, became the largest bank failure in history. To top of page..source

Obama, McCain give measured support for bailout

2008-09-29T05:14:00.000-07:00

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain on gingerly embraced a newly negotiated congressional deal for a $700 billion bailout of the hobbled financial industry.
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"This is something that all of us will swallow hard and go forward with. The option of doing nothing is simply not an acceptable option," McCain said. Obama said he was inclined to back it "because I think Main Street is now at stake."

True to form after a week of posturing, both campaigns sought to take at least partial credit for the outcome. Obama said McCain did not deserve any pats on the back.

"Here are the facts: For two weeks I was on the phone everyday with (Treasury) Secretary (Henry) Paulson and the congressional leaders making sure that the principles that have been ultimately adopted were incorporated in the bill," Obama said in an interview on "Face the Nation" on CBS.

McCain said the latest version of the plan meets his insistence of an oversight body to monitor the treasury secretary and limits the compensation of executives of financial institutions applying for loans.

"Let's get this deal done, signed by the president, and get moving, because the real effect of this is going to restore some confidence, and get some credit out there, and get the economic system moving again, which is basically in gridlock today," McCain told "This Week" on ABC.

The measure would allow the government to buy defaulted mortgages and other distressed housing-related assets, many of them held by Wall Street banks, in an effort to keep the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression from spreading throughout the entire economy.

Obama predicted quick passage of the measure, which he said contained important consumer-friendly provisions he had supported. "Today, thanks to the hard work of Democrats and Republicans, it looks like we have a rescue plan that includes these taxpayer protections," Obama said in remarks prepared for a Detroit rally. "And it looks like we will pass that plan very soon."

McCain made a show on Wednesday of "suspending" his campaign to return to Washington to help negotiate terms of a bailout agreement. He initially suggested that Friday's presidential debate be postponed if no deal was struck. But his campaign ads continued to air and McCain attended the debate even though there was no deal.

While McCain is not on a Senate committee involved with the financial crisis, he said Sunday he rushed back to Washington because he was not going to "phone in" his advice.

"I'm a Teddy Roosevelt Republican. I've got to get in the arena when America needs it," McCain said.

Republicans generally have said his participation helped prod the agreement. Democrats countered that his presence had little effect on the outcome and may have even delayed a deal.

"Whether I helped or hurt, I'll be glad to accept the judgment of history," McCain said.

McCain said he planned to return to full-time campaigning Monday.

He also said he probably would have voted for legislation to keep the government running even though it contained thousands of the type of pork barrel projects he strongly opposes.

The $634 billion measure passed the Senate on Saturday. It also includes $25 billion in taxpayer-subsidized loans for automakers.

Like McCain, Obama spent parts of several days in Washington because of the bailout talks. But he has returned to the trail and on Sunday he and running mate Joe Biden planned to attend a rally in Detroit, the home of the nation's auto industry. Michigan is a key battleground in the November.

Obama said in his television interview that he was inclined to support the bailout because it includes increased oversight, relief for homeowners facing foreclosure and limits on executive compensation for chief executives of firms that receive government help.

"None of those were in the president's provisions. They are identical to the things I called for the day that Secretary Paulson released his package," Obama said. "That I think is an indication of the degree to which when it comes to protecting taxpayers, I was pushing very hard and involved in shaping those provisions."

The safeguards were supported by many in Congress, including Democrats and Republicans.

Congressional leaders continued to work through the weekend on the bailout package and hoped to have a vote on the measure Monday in the House, with a vote in the Senate coming later.

The Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, credited McCain with helping to ensure that the bailout plan protected taxpayers. Reporters were kept at a distance when she made a campaign stop in Philadelphia, although Palin took one question about the $700 bailout agreement.

"I'm thankful that John McCain is able to have some of those provisions implemented in that Paulson proposal," she said. "I'm glad that John McCain's voice was heard."

Paulson Must Make $700 Billion Rescue for Banks Work

2008-09-29T05:10:00.000-07:00

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and congressional Democrats hammered out a consensus on spending up to $700 billion to rescue the financial industry. There isn't consensus on whether it would work.

Lawmakers reached agreement yesterday as House Republican leaders backed away from opposition to the proposal after it included plans to create insurance for mortgage-backed securities. The House and Senate are scheduled to vote on the bill early this week, although it wasn't clear last night that it has sufficient votes to pass the House.

Giving the Treasury authority to buy so many distressed securities from lenders is without precedent, and it's unclear how the government will pay prices that strike a balance between protecting taxpayers and preventing more bank failures. source

``This has a reasonable chance of pulling back from the brink and having some success, but it's far from certain that will be the case,'' said former Fed Governor Laurence Meyer, now vice chairman of consultant Macroeconomic Advisers LLC in Washington.

Stocks tumbled around the world after the worsening credit crisis threatened to topple more banks. In Europe, governments have been forced to rescue Fortis, Belgium's largest financial- services company, and three other institutions in the past two days alone.

Market Drop

The region's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index dropped 3.5 percent and futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index declined 1.8 percent. While the dollar strengthened against the euro and the pound, the cost of borrowing the U.S. currency for three months rose to 3.88 percent, the highest level since January. That's up from 2.81 percent a month ago.

``You're not resolving the two fundamental issues: You still have to recapitalize the banking system, and household debt is going to stay high,'' said Nouriel Roubini, chairman of Roubini Global Economics and economics professor at New York University.

The bill gives Paulson $250 billion at the start to buy assets, increasing the amount to $350 billion upon ``written certification'' from the president that the secretary is ``exercising the authority'' to buy assets. The Treasury chief, or whoever succeeds him, may use the remaining $350 billion if Congress fails to reject a request for it within 15 days.

Buying Assets

The proposed law lets Paulson buy assets ``at the lowest price that the Secretary determines to be consistent with the purposes of this Act.'' The bill doesn't require any specific method for the purchases beyond saying mechanisms such as auctions or reverse auctions should be used ``when appropriate.'' Treasury officials declined to discuss how the plan will be implemented.

Democratic and Republican leaders trust that Paulson can avert a collapse after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy and the government was forced to take over American International Group Inc. Success hinges on whether he can help banks raise capital after $556 billion in writedowns and losses, and get credit flowing through the economy.

``We have clearly seen a run of failures of financial institutions not like anything we've seen since the Great Depression,'' House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, told reporters yesterday. ``If we didn't do this, there would be far worse pain in the sense of the lending freezing up.''

`Fragile Situation'

The plan, which foreign banks with U.S. operations can also tap, failed to staunch concerns across global markets about the health of the banking system. Governments have been forced to rescue Belgium's Fortis, Iceland's Glitnir Bank hf, U.K. mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley Plc and Germany's Hypo Real Estate Holding AG in the past two days.

``It's a fragile situation,'' Paulson said in an interview on CBS television's ``60 Minutes'' program broadcast yesterday. ``It's gotta do it, and we're going to make this work.''

The draft legislation was posted on the House Financial Services Committee's Web site yesterday. It includes a provision to give taxpayers equity stakes in the companies that benefit from the plan.

The bill has a section aimed at limiting the pay of executives at companies that take advantage of assistance by prohibiting tax deductions for officials that exceed $500,000, which is half the normal deductible limit. It also allows ``clawbacks'' of money already paid to executives at troubled companies and forbids so-called golden parachutes.

Community Banks

The legislation takes steps to let some 800 community banks that held preferred stock in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the mortgage giants were taken over by the federal government on Sept. 7, make better use of losses for tax purposes than they would otherwise be allowed.

House Republicans offered early resistance to the Paulson plan. They complained that it put the country on the road to socialism and instead argued that elimination of the capital gains tax would spur a wave of investment that would render the bailout plan unnecessary.

House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio commissioned Virginia Representative Eric Cantor to draft a rival plan without telling Democrats or Paulson. The plan, which depended on self-funded insurance premiums, was abandoned after Democrats lashed out at Republicans at a White House meeting Sept. 25.

Limited Insurance

Ultimately, Republicans got none of the tax breaks they sought, though the bill includes a limited self-funded insurance program for companies that benefit from the bailout. Last night Boehner, the top House Republican, urged his colleagues to support the bailout plan.

Some House Republicans, such as Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, are still holding out. ``We now have a deal that promises to bring near-term stability to our financial turmoil, but at what price?'' Pence said in a letter to colleagues.

Pence called the plan ``the largest corporate bailout in American history'' and that it would ``nationalize almost every bad mortgage in America.''

Paulson, the 62-year-old former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. chairman, said such a strategy is necessary to stabilize financial markets. ``We will have turbulence and turmoil in our financial system for some time, but I believe that this is going to work,'' he said on ``60 Minutes.''

`Some Doubts'

Yet as members of Congress and their staffs worked late nights over the past week negotiating and writing compromise legislation, money markets failed to improve. ``It just raised some doubts in my mind whether this was going to be sufficient,'' said Meyer, who was on the Fed board when the Asian financial crisis struck in 1997.

Should the plan fail, ``there may have to be a more substantial participation by the federal government to buy mortgages,'' Frank said last night. Any alternative proposal would involve ``significant purchases directly of the foreclosed mortgages.''

Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, who will be on a five-member oversight board for the program, have signaled that their priority is shoring up the nation's banks even if it means they don't get taxpayers the cheapest prices for the devalued assets the government buys.

The proposal also sets the stage for an overhaul of financial regulation next year, something Frank is already planning. The draft bill requires the Treasury secretary to report to Congress and make recommendations by April 30 on whether to regulate additional participants in the financial markets.

``It'll give us some temporary respite from the earlier pressures,'' said Joseph Mason, a Louisiana State University finance professor who formerly worked in the bank-research division of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. ``If we don't use that respite to design more permanent policy, we will find ourselves back in the same place.''

What's All This Stuff Worth?

2008-09-25T05:12:00.000-07:00

What would you pay, sight unseen, for a house that nobody wants, on a hard-luck street where no houses are selling?

That question is easy compared to the one confronting the Treasury Department as Washington works toward a vast bailout of financial institutions. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. is proposing to spend up to $700 billion to buy troubled investments that even Wall Street is struggling to put a price on.

A big concern in Washington — and among many ordinary Americans — is that the difficulty in valuing these assets could result in the government's buying them for more than they will ever be worth, a step that would benefit financial institutions at taxpayers' expense.

More from NYT.com:

• Issue Is Payback, Not Bailout

• In Bailout Furor, Wall Street Pay Becomes a Target

• Retirees Filling the Front Line in Market Fears

Anyone who has tried to buy or sell a house when the market is falling, as it is now, knows how difficult it can be to agree on a price. But valuing the securities that the Treasury aims to buy will be far more difficult. Each one of these investments is tied to thousands of individual mortgages, and many of those loans are going bad as the housing market worsens.

"The reality is that we are not going to know what the right price is for years," said Andrew Feltus, a bond portfolio manager at Pioneer Investments, a mutual fund firm based in Boston. "It might be 20 cents on the dollar or 60 cents on the dollar, but we won't know for years."

While prices of most stocks are no mystery — they flicker across PCs and televisions all day — the troubled investments are not traded on any exchange. The market for them is opaque: traders do business over the telephone, and days can go by without a single trade.

Not only that, many of these instruments are extremely complex. Consider the Bear Stearns Alt-A Trust 2006-7, a $1.3 billion drop in the sea of risky loans. Here's how it worked:

As the credit bubble grew in 2006, Bear Stearns, then one of the leading mortgage traders on Wall Street, bought 2,871 mortgages from lenders like the Countrywide Financial Corporation.

The mortgages, with an average size of about $450,000, were Alt-A loans — the kind often referred to as liar loans, because lenders made them without the usual documentation to verify borrowers' incomes or savings. Nearly 60 percent of the loans were made in California, Florida and Arizona, where home prices rose — and subsequently fell — faster than almost anywhere else in the country.

Bear Stearns bundled the loans into 37 different kinds of bonds, ranked by varying levels of risk, for sale to investment banks, hedge funds and insurance companies.

If any of the mortgages went bad — and, it turned out, many did — the bonds at the bottom of the pecking order would suffer losses first, followed by the next lowest, and so on up the chain. By one measure, the Bear Stearns Alt-A Trust 2006-7 has performed well: It has suffered losses of about 1.6 percent. Of those loans, 778 have been paid off or moved through the foreclosure process.

But by many other measures, it's a toxic portfolio. Of the 2,093 loans that remain, 23 percent are delinquent or in foreclosure, according to Bloomberg News data. Initially rated triple-A, the most senior of the securities were downgraded to near junk bond status last week. Valuing mortgage bonds, even the safest variety, requires guesstimates: How many homeowners will fall behind on their mortgages? If the bank forecloses, what will the homes sell for? Investments like the Bear Stearns securities are almost certain to lose value as long as home prices keep falling.

"Under the current circumstances it's likely that you are going to take a loss on these loans," said Chandrajit Bhattacharya, a mortgage strategist at Credit Suisse, the investment bank.

The Bear Stearns bonds are just one example of the kind of assets the government could buy, and they are by no means the most complicated of the lot. Wall Street took bonds like those of Bear Stearns and bundled and rebundled them into even trickier investments known as collateralized debt obligations, or C.D.O.'s

"No two pieces of paper are the same,"said Mr. Feltus of Pioneer Investments.

On Wall Street, many of these C.D.O.'s have been selling for pennies on the dollar, if they are selling at all. In July, Merrill Lynch, struggling to bolster its finances, sold $31 billion of tricky mortgage-linked investments for 22 cents on the dollar. Last November, Citadel, a large hedge fund in Chicago, bought $3 billion of mortgage securities and other investments for 27 cents on the dollar.

But Citigroup, the financial giant, values similar investments on its books at 61 cents on the dollar. Citigroup says its C.D.O.'s are relatively high quality because they were created before lending standards weakened in 2006.

A big challenge for Treasury officials will be deciding whether to buy the troubled investments near the values at which the banks hold them on their books. That would help minimize losses for financial institutions. Driving a hard bargain, however, would protect taxpayers.

"Many are tempted by a strategy of trying to do both things at once," said Lawrence H. Summers, a former Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration. As a hypothetical example, Mr. Summers suggested that an institution could have securities on its books at $60, but the current market price might only be $30. In that case, the government might be tempted to come in at about $55.

Many financial institutions are so weak that they must sell their troubled assets at prices near the value on their books, Carlos Mendez, a senior managing director at ICP Capital, an investment firm that specializes in credit markets. Anything less would eat into their capital.

"Depending on your perspective on the economy, foreclosure rates and home prices, the market may eventually reflect that price. But most buyers are not willing to make that bet right now," he said. "And that's why we have these low prices."

Ben S. Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, told Congress on Tuesday that the government should avoid paying a fire-sale price, and pay what he called the "hold-to-maturity price," or the price that investors would bid if they expected to keep the bond till it was paid off.

The government would buy the troubled investments with the intention of eventually selling them back to the market when prices recover.

The Treasury has suggested it might conduct reverse auctions to determine the price for securities that are not trading in the market.

Unlike in a traditional auction in which would-be buyers submit bids to the seller, in a reverse auction the buyer solicits bids from would-be sellers. Often, the buyer agrees to pay the second-highest bid submitted to encourage sellers to compete by lowering their bids for all the assets submitted. The buyer often also sets a reserve price and refuses to pay any more than that price.

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Visit the Banking & Budgeting Center

But Mr. Paulson told Congress on Tuesday that the government would use many other means in addition to auctions, suggesting that it would exercise wide discretion over the final prices to be paid.

Financial institutions will have an incentive to sell their worst assets to the government, a risk that the Treasury will have to guard against, said Robert G. Hansen, senior associate dean at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. more

"I am worried that the people who are going to offer the securities to the government will be the ones that have the absolute worst toxic waste," Professor Hansen said. Even so, he added, the government could actually make a profit on its purchases — provided the Treasury buys at the right prices. Richard C. Breeden, a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the auctions could thaw parts of the markets that have been frozen since late last year.

"One of the problems that many institutions are having is finding any bid for some of these assets, even though they are not without value," said Mr. Breeden, who is chairman and chief executive of Breeden Capital Management, an investment firm in Greenwich, Conn.

"What are these assets worth?" asked Mr. Breeden. "Sometimes, because of fear or extreme uncertainty in the markets, you get in a situation in which there are no bids at all, or at least no realistic bids."

Email Marketing - Why Do You Want to Build a List?

2008-09-06T08:56:00.000-07:00

I think this is one of the a large number of important questions to answer. If you covet to craft a list for the purpose of making friends online and sharing information online, and you have no desire to make money on your list, that is probably how will be able to happen.

If, on the funny things hand, you have as your primary goal the act of making money as you fashion your list, later you am able to be that much more likely to do things that lead to causing money, as you build your list, and as you create systems to monetize the value of your list.

So why do you want to build a list? Why experience you been building a list?

Perhaps you suffer been producing a list provided the goal of monetizing so list, of making dollars with that list, but you haven't basically made any money with it.

My guess is, what has happened is that you have associated construction a list with making money, so you have simply built a list, thinking that just the act of building a list would make you that money. But who has probably not been the case.

You see, you have to employ specific strategies in record constructing to make that list building truly lucrative. You have to set things up so that they make you money for the very beginning, so that your subscribers are conditioned to spend money with you.

You have to come up with emails which are created specifically for the purpose of compelling your subscribers to spend bucks with you. You undergo to set up backend selling campaigns in such a way so once people spend money with you, they continue to spend funds with you. more

Welcome To Online-Data-Entry Jobs

2008-08-11T05:40:00.000-07:00

Are you tired of all the work from home scams?
After personally going through several scams, I sure was.

I would like to personally welcome you to Online-Data-Entry Jobs.com

My name is Laura Kauth and I am the director of Online-Data-Entry Jobs. A few years back I decided I wanted to quit my career of more than 20 years with a very large business firm so that I could spend more time with my young children. I searched the Internet for months looking for the right opportunity that could supplement my 6 digit income and allow me to do this without having to leave my home. As you are probably experiencing yourself, it is a tough task to try to find anything that can produce even a small income working from home. My specialty has been in the data entry field, so I decided to search for work-from-home data-entry jobs. I kept running into scam after scam and nothing that seemed to work. So I used my personal experience, and contacts. I did months of research to create my own programs that not only worked, but worked exceptionally well. I have created a complete step-by-step program for each of the types of data applications that I will share with you. These programs will allow you to do work from home doing data processing and typing in different fields of data-entry applications.

Data-Entry Work From The
Comfort Of Your Own Home

I Offer Many Data-Entry Jobs and Work-From-Home Opportunities for Data Processors

What Exactly Is a Data Processor?

A data processor enters data into the computer, by means of keyboard entry, scanning and voice recognition.He or she uses a class of programs that organize and manipulate data, numeric or textual. Here is a list of typical data processing applications.

The Types of Data-Process Applications Offered

There are many different types of data-process applications. Searching for work-from-home in data entry. You may have run across many different companies offering different types of
online-data-entry jobs. The most common data-processing jobs available for online work are:

Outsource Data Operator
Worldwide Data-Entry Processor
Marketing Typist
Data-Collection Research Assistant
Data Proofreader
Home Secretarial Work
Article Typing
Response Typist

These all qualify as applications of data-processing. Many sites will offer you an online training program for only one of these types of applications. Usually it is only typing ads for the company themselves and you will only be paid when someone joins. The problem I see is that you may try one of these applications, but if you are not pleased you are usually stuck with the program with no money back guarantee. I consider these a scam.

The Online-Data-Entry Jobs

I am going to give you ALL of these popular types of data entry with just ONE membership. You can then choose which one (or which ones) you would like to pursue further. Having done data entry for years, I understand everybody has different likes and dislikes when it comes to these types of jobs. This is why I offer all of these programs instead of just one. Many companies offering work from data entry will offer you one poorly written program with no guarantees. I will give you a lot of information insight for all the data-entry programs I offer. Including a brief job description and how much money you can potentially earn from doing the tasks at hand. I also give you a complete money back guarantee. All of these programs have been personally designed by myself using the experience I have gained.You will not have to experience all the pitfalls I did to get to the point where I am now. You will be able to move to the front of the class, so-to-speak with what I teach you. I offer you much more than just typing ads to the Internet unlike 99% of the other data-entry-jobs programs.

Worldwide Data-Entry Processor

This is the most popular of all of the data-entry jobs.This is because you can earn endless amounts of money with little or no experience. The key to this type of data entry is the training and tutorial. Many sites have tried copying sites such as mine,but they leave out the important details on how to do this successfully. As a Worldwide Data-Entry Operator you will assist thousands of successful Internet companies that pay on a commission bases. Your tasks will be to submit short lines of data to the Internet. Targeting readers that are searching for your content. You will get a list of thousands of companies that are set up to automatically approve you through our program. You can work as little as 1 hour per day and create some amazing revenue. This job has created my biggest paychecks to date. The companies are benefiting as well, with additional sales which could never be made without the help of Worldwide Data-Entry Operators. You can expect to earn anywhere between $20 - $35 (Average) for each transaction and making $1000 + per day is not out of the question. I will give all the training and tools you will need.You will be paid by mailed check or bank wire transfer on the 1st and 16th of every month like clockwork. This is a must for anyone wanting to work from home.

Outsource Data Operator

As an Outsource Data Operator you will work in a variety of virtual offices. Assisting with phone, or recorded, audio data transcription, customer service, data recording, data-processing projects and more. You will apply and receive assignments from the companies of your choice. I have compiled a list of the best companies for these types of data-entry work. I have personal experience in getting assignments from each of these companies,they have always paid on time for my completed work. I have eliminated the companies requiring years of past experience, this allows novice operators to do these assignments. I will also give you the needed training to be able to get the assignments, whether you have a lot of experience or no experience at all. Pay is usually between $9 - $20 per hour, or paid by flat rate for each assignment. You will be paid by your preference of mailed check or bank wire transfer with in 15 - 30 days of completed assignment, depending on each company's pay policy.

Marketing Typist

You will be working as a marketing typist directly for Online-Data-Entry Jobs. We pay you for typing ads for a select group of companies that we have handpicked that will produce some nice income. We give you complete training and all the tools needed to post ads that are extremely effective, and best of all, for free. We even have sources that pay you to post to their site. Don't make the mistake with this program of passing it up because you hear the word "Ad". It could cost you hundreds of dollars a day for typing some simple ads. You will be paid $18 - $28 for each completed transaction. Online-Data-Entry Jobs will pay you twice a month by Pay Pal account. We will get you signed up with your own affiliate account for free that will track all your earnings,updated in real time. We have had some great feedback from users of this program who had joined not planning on trying this opportunity. When they saw the tutorial and they put it to the test and started seeing results.

Data Collections Research Assistant

Online companies will pay you for your Internet data collections and research. I currently have over 300 companies in my database that pay you for data collection research on various projects. You will need to type your findings on any of the selected projects of your choice. The projects include focus and study groups and research on a large variety of subjects. You will get paid from $5 - $10 for a quick study, or $50 - $350 for focus and study groups. You also will have the opportunity to work for the courts and online mock jury companies as a virtual juror. I have found this to be very intriguing. Review cases and type your verdict and findings from the comfort of your own home. You will be paid directly by the companies following the study completion. You will be paid by check, Pay Pal or E-Gold pay accounts, depending on the company's pay policy.

Data Proofreader

As a data proofreader, you will get assignments to read through manuscripts and Web sites to look for grammar and spelling errors. You will be proofreading the following:

Dissertations, Essays,Research reports, Applications, Novels, Short stories,
Screenplays, Scripts, Articles, Books, Manuscripts, Proposals, Business plans, Presentations, Advertising copy, Press releases, Newsletters, Resumes, Cover letters, Dating profiles, Personal statements, Website text, Auto responders, Forms and letters.

If you have good grammar and spelling, this is a great opportunity. You can make very good money doing this type of work all in the comfort of your own home. Out of all the programs I offer, this is the only one that will requires testing and certification. I can help you to get certified. After you are certified the opportunities are endless and pay from $5-$100 per assignment for online and offline proofreading opportunities. Pay will vary depending whether you work online or offline.

Secretarial Home Business

The first program I started was doing home-secretary work for several companies in my immediate area. Since I started, this it has grown to be so huge, so fast. I have hired assistants to help with the growing demand of typing projects such as word processing, promotional material, invoices, articles, business plans, term papers, letters, memos, price lists, fliers, resumes and much more for companies that have outsourced these projects to me. I will show you exactly how to do this from start to finish. I will even include promotional material to start this, with detailed instructions on how to get work sent to you at home. All you need is to follow the directions and you will be doing work for companies in your area regardless of your typing experience. If you already have a computer and printer, the start up costs are very minimal, with only a few office supplies needed. This has proved to be the bread and butter of my programs, and it continues to grow as word of mouth gets out and companies continue to downsize. This program is so detailed that everyone that has followed this tutorial is seeing unbelievable success working at home.

Article Typing

The latest rave on the Internet is article typing. Because the Internet is growing so rapidly,many websites are in dire need of fresh content. I will show you how to create online articles, and what to type your articles about. In return, you will be paid between $5 - $100 for the rights to each article. The pay will depend on the length,subject demand and content of your article. You can also add additional streams of income from a few companies that I will identify,they will pay for simply placing in your articles. As another source of income, I will also show you how to publish your own articles to the Internet through Weblogs. I have different sources that pay you to link to your published blogs, they pay you when someone simply reads your article or clicks on any of the links. This has been generating incredible income, ranging in the hundreds of dollars per day for me and my current members. My training tutorial will show you how to do everything with no additional costs whatsoever. They will pay you by check, wired bank transfer or by PayPal.

Response Typist

As a response typist your job duties will be to post data to online forums and review panels. I have companies that pay you to post your messages, which can be pretty much about anything under the sun that is not vulgar, into these forums. You get paid for every post, reply, download etc. Other sites pay you for your reviews on certain subject matters. I personally love to express my opinion and now I get paid for it. I personally enjoy being a response typist because it is so much fun, getting paid to basically vent or express my thoughts only adds to this opportunity.

ADDITIONAL MEMBERS BENEFITS

Typing Training
I will also give you typing training that will help you

Learn proper touch-typing technique.
Learn how to position your fingers and how to reach each key.
Develop speed and accuracy.
Learn about other programs that can save time and improve productivity.
Develop proper ergonomics, so you can work more comfortably and avoid injury.
Explore alternate ways to input text into the computer, including speech recognition and assistive technology.

I will show you how to get Certified as a home typist. This will prove to be an added feature when it comes to your home-typing portfolio. The certificate will easily be obtained when you take my online typing training that I provide for free. You actually will receive online transcripts that can easily be verified and a copy of the certificate will be mailed to you directly. This is not required for any of the home-typing jobs, but is a very nice added feature that can make a difference in many of the opportunities I offer, as well as a nice sense of accomplishment.

Home Business Center
What so many Internet work-from-home businesses fail to teach you is that there is much more to working at home than just making money.
I learned I had to deal with so much more....

Learning about taxes for home based workers, and how to deal with them.
Finding affordable health insurance, now that my company was not paying.
Learning motivating factors that taught me how to deal with my home business.
How I qualified for SBA loans as a small business.
How I learned how to correctly apply for government grants,
I will also give you over 200,000 work-at-home jobs, from directories I have accumulated through my many years of research.

My Program Produces Results
I would like to share some of my earnings with you. This is my way of showing you that my programs actually work. I was always skeptical about a company who didn't show me stats proving that their program actually works. If a website will not show you proof their program works, it is more than likely a scam.

Here Are My Clickbank Pay Account Results for
Worldwide Data Processing and Article Typing

Click here for more info

How to Pick Good Real Estate Land Investment if You're Not Rich

2008-07-18T03:59:00.000-07:00

1. First of all, you crisis to get good sound advice from real estate (land) investment practitioners on where (which country?) and when to invest.

2. Understand the risks involved in the real estate (land) investment.

3. Next, look every where in for a reputed and good true estate (land) operator and manager to manage your real estate (land) investment.

4. Do the operator and manager of the real estate (land) investment have a solid and consistent track record of yielding good returns for investors?

5. Are this possession returns audited by a third party reputed auditor company?

6. Inquire about the Returns of Investment (ROI) and the length of the investment.

7. By applying the Rule of 72 invented by Albert Einstein to determine if the compounded takings per annum for the length of the investment is reasonable

8. Examine the new projects available and ask this sales staff how long before the projects are all filled by investors.

9. Be aware of the amount of tax needed to be filed for the returns to determine your net profit.

10. Does right now investment issue out you any indemnity like for example land title insurance or capital protection?

11. Overall, does this investment meet your mid to extended tedious work financial objective?

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Setting Investment Goals

The initial evolution towards financial independence is setting purchase goals. The technique of setting goals should embark on by acknowledging how type of investments you are interested in. For example, do you want to generate earning that you can use right now, do you wish to invest your money for your retirement, or do you want to make investments who ought to improve your net worth?

After you have set your speculative goals your next phase will be to identify investment products that will help you reach your investment goals. To do such you can use investment research tools like calculators, circumstances studies, tables and lists. You can find these tools online.

As you investigate investment products you will want to start selecting investments that you are interested in. When you have two or five speculative products that you are interested in you can start investigation these products. To investigate such packages you can review their performance history, you can lingo to the company that allows the product, and you can read through the product's promotional material.

The final phase in setting investment goals is to language to an investment professional. They am able to be able to tell you what speculative products are best for achieving your purchase goals. They will be able to moreover be able to tell you how healthful the investment products you have selected are. Before you visit with your financial qualified make absolute the current you craft a list of investment opportunity goals the current you have, as well as a input of questions that you have throughout the possession packages overly you have researched.

Buying Investment Properties

2008-07-18T03:56:00.000-07:00

Investment may be counted on the gross or the net basis. Net investment is gross investment minus depreciation. Investment may be ex-ante or planned or anticipated or designed investment; or it may be ex-post, i.e., actually realized investment, or when investment is not merely implemented or intended, but which has actually been invested or implemented. This is so real when Buying Investment Properties.

Another classification of investment opportunity may be private possession or public investment. Private investment is on private account, i.e., by private individuals, and public speculative is by the government. Private investment is persuaded by marginal efficiency of capital i.e., profit forecasts and the rate of interest. It is profit-elastic. Public purchase is by the state or local authorities, such as constructing of roads, public parks etc. In public investment, profit motive performs not key in into consideration. It is undertaken for social good and not for private gain.

Investment which is independent of the quality of income, is called autonomous investment. Such investment opportunity performs not vary with the rate of income. In other words, it is income-inelastic. Autonomous possession depends more on population growth and technical progress than on anything else. The impacts of change in income is not altogether ruled out, because even greater profit would more than likely result in more investment. But the lower of income is negligible as compared with the harm of population growth and progress of technical knowledge.

Examples of autonomous possession are long-range investments in houses, roads, public buildings and other forms of public investment. Most of the investment is undertaken to promote planned economic development. It also includes long-range investment to bring about technical progress or innovations. Public investment shows investment opportunity that occurs in direct response to invention, and much of the long-range investment, which is only expected to pay for itself over a extended period, can be regarded as autonomous investments.

Property Investment

2008-07-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Property speculative is knew a lucrative arena option. More and more people are buying speculative units in form to earn revenues continuously. With structures value rising in time, your investment opportunity will boon attain capital growth. Property possession is a powerful vehicle to earn superb returns however it performs still require knowledge and expertise on your part in order to find top notch investment deals. Property investment is predictable and strong investment opportunity platform than highly risky and volatile stock market.

But if one is reluctant on "what is property investment" it should be rather hard for him to obtain good provide of investment. If one is planning for homes investment, he must be in the know around it. Thereafter, one should carefully program where to invest? And finally, how much finance he if manage to invest and who can advantages him in managing finance?

This forecast is devised to guide you in the course of lifestyles investment in four easy steps. First of all "what is property investment"--- When one or more investors acquire places of company or property, it is referred as speculative of funds. It enhances economical transactions. Investment property can be in any form such as, commercial property, industrial property or personal property.

One can invest his funds in up-and-coming true estate markets for economic growth.

Once you suffer successfully invested your money you should be looking forward to earn excellent return of investment any time from the occupying property. The return of speculative obtained by you typically depends on whether the be an expense of of operating the houses is talked about or reduced. Capital growth as a result of investment opportunity is revealed for the enhancement or reduction in the structure value held by the investor.

As an investor you can earn eternal secure investment, if your places value may enhance when you wants to sell your property. And do remember wealth is generated when you buy and not when you sell. Property appreciation should be looked upon as a bonus and not somewhat that you count on in circumstances to create your money. It will be further advantageous to find out your aim in times ahead when you plan to sale your property.
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How Can You Achieve Success In Property Investment?

2008-07-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

Every one wants to invest in property. If you are not in the know what is homes investment it is not would&wshyp;be that you can achieve success. If you are planning for house investment, first and foremost of all you will suffer to be abreast something like it. Secondly, at which you should to invest? Thirdly, how much financing you providing manage to invest? And one who can help to manage finance. And more and more questions come in mind when an investor plant to piece of real estate investment.

This article should guide you in four steps How can you achieve success in properties investment. In this survey I is able to go in several principle and base of investment for an investor this he must be in the know based on information from how is livlihoods investment.

What is housing investment When one or further investors buy properties of company or property, he invest his funds. It increases economical transactions. Investment residences may be commercial property, industrial property or customized property, want attaining rental homes as investment opportunity in Bulgaria or any where. You can invest your finances in emerging real estate markets for economic growth.

After investment, an investor looks to come up with income on their investment opportunities every cycle from the occupying property. Return on investment depends on substantiate or lower in the cost of operating the property. Capital rise may be reflected by substantiate or detriment in the structure value apprehended by investor.

Investor can accomplish eternal secure investment if his property value may increase in value when he realizes to cash in on his property. Property possession in true estate or attaining a rental property or making an investment in Bulgarian properties is long endeavor investments. It could be other beneficial to achieve your job in coming years when you planning to turn over your property.

I am certain now you will be aware right about property investment after reading this article. My Next content would suggest you that field is right and at which you when and if invest your funds. More

Investments Solutions UK - High Return on Investment is Your Birth Right

2008-07-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

You will be striving hard for earning money but imagine your cash working hard for you. You can say this is unbelievable but it can be possible and investment solutions UK is construction it possible. Investment is the the majority of efficient tools as far as saving is concerned. Here you save a some amount of money and in the process of moment it transforms itself to a big fortune.

An investment can be perceived differently by weird individuals but multiple of the purchasers perceive it as a saving and an a multitude of income. An investment can be defined as any fashion of property, either in cash or kind, that has the possibility to grow in value or provide you an revenue in due course of time. These days numerous kinds of investment opportunity products are offered by possession solutions UK which are different combinations of four variables.

These four variables are cash (deposits), corporate bonds and gilts (UK Government bonds), equities (shares) and property. So, you can invest in various purchase solutions UK like regular savings, lump sum investments, currency ISA, maxi ISA, property, ethical investments, wrap accounts, investment bonds, distribution bonds, national savings certificates etc. These all investment opportunities are made up of the above described uni variables.

Also, such days most investment products are available in the form of funds which pool up people's money and are invested in a mixture of several purchase solutions UK want equities, bonds or even property and cash. A fund manager looked once these types of funds making use of their research and expertise. And this is as well fact overly the outcome of your speculative cannot be predicted exactly.

So, speculative experts advise to take great service while making an investment and to calculate the odds involved with the investments. This is always beneficial and it may substantiate your chance of getting better profits on investment which is the aim of any speculative solutions UK.
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The Advantages of Investment Trusts

2008-07-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

With all the investment opportunities available in the market, it is central to appreciate what you are attaining into. Each type of investment has a number of risks and advantages.

There are several service to getting a house through an Investment Trust as opposed to doing it directly into individual companies. Some of the main help are:

* You are leveraging the expertise of professional investors this own specific knowledge in the companies, markets and sectors mulled over for investment

* You can invest a efficient or considerable amount of currency in the one investment (the purchase faith itself), and you'll straight off get a diversified portfolio as of the belief will put your money into a variety of companies

* It causes it easy for you to build a monthly savings plan, ever since you can set aside a typical amount of money on a monthly motive for rendering bills to your Investment Trust.

* Investment Trusts are closed end funds, what does that really mean such a there are a set number of shares in circulation. The benefit of this is the current the underlying price of these types of shares is driven by supply and demand, and it is not uncommon for Investment Trusts to trade at a markdown to this net asset value.

* Investors that do not have the instant to actively manage their investments can get the benefits of a management bunch to do this work for them.

* It is important to intently evaluate any Investment Trust. Contact experienced Investment Trusts, ask the right queries and be confident that you are investing your money throughout expert investors.

If you would like to get started providing an possession certainty as soon as possible, provide SimplyFinance provided a bit of information, and our institutions will put you in touch amongst investment opportunity advisors that can be able to key all the problems you may have almost investing in an investment trust. When you are prepared to do the investing, this same advisor might sort over the the majority of investment trusts to find the right making an investment option for you and your specific needs and circumstances.
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Investments Solutions UK - It's Time To Make More Money

2008-07-10T08:08:00.000-07:00

When it comes to making money, you might be making use of your proficient knowledge and suffer to convert that knowledge into money. But when it comes to investment then you would be feeling a strange insecurity. You might be going to get confused as where to invest, how to invest, how much to invest or for how long to invest. Now, these days you can utilize various purchase solutions UK that are tailor-made to suit your budget and investment needs.

The issue is debatable that whether purchase is a saving or it is an a larger amount of traffic while selected perceive it as a saving some others as an !no! income. But, generally, we can say such a an purchase is an expanse which results in banking gain rapidly and in due way of time. If it is an purchase then it must experience certain features and amongst those features the foremost feature is that an investment must experience the potential to grow in price levels i.e., it when and if give you an income in future. Investment solutions UK endeavour to do the same for your financial benefit.

Numerous sorts of investment products are offered by speculative solutions UK these days. If you will hear just about all those purchase products then I am certain that you will become confused. But, do you know that the multitude of possession products are the combinations of five variables only. These uni variables are cash, (deposits), corporate bonds and gilts, equities (shares) and property.

These variables combine together and produce unique investment opportunity solutions UK fancy regular bank savings, Maxi ISA, lump sum investments, Cash ISA, PEPS, REITs, hedge funds, offset accounts, inheritance tax, secure income, investment bonds, wrap accounts, distribution bonds, countrywide savings certificates etc. These days many authorities are investing in non-traditional possession solutions as well like art, antiques, wine, stamps, books, ceramics, coins and select other articles.

Hence, consult your financial advisor and find out regarding many purchase solutions UK that can take home your endeavour winning in the long-term.
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Fed holds rates steady for now

2008-06-25T17:25:00.000-07:00

Wednesday June 25, 7:21 pm ET
By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
Fed holds interest rates steady, but cites inflation worries that could tighten credit ahead

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With inflation moving higher on its worry list, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday, ending nearly a year of cuts to bolster the economy, and hinted that the next direction for rates could be up.

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Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and all but one of his central bank colleagues agreed that the best course was to leave a key rate alone at 2 percent, as the country slogs through the crosscurrents of plodding economic growth and zooming energy and food prices that threaten to spread inflation.

That meant the prime lending rate for millions of consumers and businesses stayed at 5 percent. The prime rate applies to certain credit cards, home equity lines of credit and other loans.

The decision brought to a close a powerful series of rate reductions that started in September and extended through late April. It was the central bank's most aggressive intervention in two decades to shore up an economy bruised by the trio of housing, credit and financial crises.

On Wall Street, stocks ended with a modest gain. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 4.40 points to 11,811.83. Broader stock indicators managed to log stronger gains than the blue chips.

The Fed said it believes its rate cuts will "promote moderate growth over time" as they work their way through the economy. It also said risks that economic growth will falter appear to have "diminished somewhat."

At the same time, the Fed expressed heightened concern about inflation.

"Upside risks to inflation and inflation expectations have increased," the Fed said. Inflation eats into paychecks, corporate profits and erodes the value of investments. It is hard to control once it gets out of hand.

Some Wall Street investors and economists think the Fed, to fend off inflation, might be forced to start boosting rates as early as its next meeting on Aug. 5 or toward the end of this year -- possibly at the Dec. 16 meeting.

Others, however, think that's a situation the Fed would like to avoid -- especially given that the housing market is stuck in a deep slump, foreclosures are at record highs and jobs are harder to find. Raising rates too soon could hurt housing and deal a setback to the national economy. Those analysts believe the Fed won't start to push up rates until next year.

The Fed didn't signal that a rate increase was imminent, instead leaving the timing open.

However one member -- Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, wanted to increase rates at Wednesday's meeting. Fisher, who has a reputation for being extra vigilant on inflation, was the sole dissenter.

"The needle is shifting more to greater concerns over inflation as opposed to economic growth," said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Bank of America's Investment Strategies Group. "That means the Fed's next move in interest rates will be up but the Fed left its options open with respect to timing."

Although Fed policymakers believed the economy would eventually gain some traction, they acknowledged that conditions are delicate and the economy is not out of the woods yet.

"Labor markets have softened further and financial markets remain under considerable stress," the Fed said. "Tight credit conditions, the ongoing housing contraction, and the rise in energy prices are likely to weigh on economic growth over the next few quarters."

The economy has grown at a snail's pace in recent months. And, employers have cut jobs every month so far this year. The unemployment rate jumped from 5 percent in April to 5.5 percent in May, the largest one-month increase in two decades. The unemployment rate is expected to keep on rising in the months ahead, even if economic growth improves somewhat.

Hours before the Fed's decision, the government released a report underscoring the depth of the housing slump. New-home sales fell 2.5 percent in May, while home prices were down 5.7 percent from a year earlier, the Commerce Department said.

Mortgage rates are rising -- spurred by investors' concerns about inflation. Those higher rates spell yet more headaches for the flailing housing market.

In a string of speeches over the past few weeks, Bernanke and his colleagues have ramped up tough anti-inflation talk. They've done that to rein in inflation expectations of consumers, investors and businesses. If those groups think prices will keep on rising, they'll act in ways that can worsen inflation.

Bernanke, in a rare public utterance for a Fed chief, also has sounded a warning that the slide in the U.S. dollar could contribute to a rise in inflation. He has sought to use words -- instead of action -- to bolster the dollar and try to lessen inflation pressures.

Consumer prices in the first five months of this year have risen at an annual rate of 4 percent. That's down from a 4.1 percent increase last year -- the biggest jump in 17 years -- but is still too high for the Fed's liking. Gasoline prices and oil prices have set a string of record highs. Gas has topped $4 a gallon, while oil prices are at $134.55 a barrel.

The Fed said it expects inflation to moderate later this year and next but said rising prices for energy, food and other commodities are a cause of concern. Those increases have made people boost their inflation expectations. Thus, "uncertainty about the inflation outlook remains high," the Fed said.

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2008-02-28T20:41:00.000-08:00

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Microsoft opens door to open-source software community

2008-02-21T15:30:00.000-08:00

Agence France-Presse

SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft on Thursday announced it is increasing the openness of its software to appease antitrust regulators and please businesses trending toward more diverse computer systems.

Microsoft said it is making "broad-reaching changes" to its technology and business practices to enhance the ease with which its software interacts with partners, customers and competitors.

"These steps represent an important step and significant change in how we share information about our products and technologies," said Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.

"Our goal is to promote greater interoperability, opportunity and choice for customers and developers throughout the industry by making our products more open and by sharing even more information about our technologies."

Microsoft's newly announced principles apply to all its top-selling software and fit a patent framework addressed by European courts, said Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith.

"Microsoft is taking all necessary steps to make sure we are in full compliance with European law," Smith said in a conference call.

"The interoperability announcement represents the changed legal landscape for Microsoft and the technology industry."

EU competition regulators responded with a skeptical statement that "takes note" of Microsoft's "intention" to improve the compatibility of its software with rival products but still voiced antitrust concerns.

"This announcement does not relate to the question of whether or not Microsoft has been complying with EU antitrust rules in this area in the past," the European Commission said.

The commission has long accused Microsoft of abusing its dominant market power by making software that is incompatible with products made by its rivals.

EU regulators slapped a fine of nearly 500 million euros (741 million dollars) on Microsoft in 2004 for abusing its dominant market power.

A new European Commissions investigation targets the interoperability of a broad range of software, including Microsoft's popular Office package, with rival products.

Microsoft CEO Ballmer said in a conference call that the firm is backing its words with actions, posting more than 30,000 pages of previously safeguarded software protocol information online for anyone to view.

"Today's step is certainly qualitatively and quantitatively different from any step that we as a company have taken in the past," he said.

"We realize it is committing the company not just to mere words, but to actions that will live up to these principles completely."

Microsoft said it would post thousands of additional pages of software protocols on its website in coming weeks.

The protocols, previously only available for fees, show software engineers how to enable applications to communicate and exchange data with popular Microsoft programs such as Outlook.

A test of Microsoft's move will be whether developers can mine useful nuggets from the mountain of information, said analyst Michael Cherry of private firm Directions on Microsoft.

"If we really wanted to sit down today and do something, how long would it take us? And if we have problems, who do we ask?" Cherry said.

Microsoft's senior vice president of server and tools business, Bob Muglia, told AFP to expect the firm's software to be increasingly molded to work with other companies' products.

"These announcements are like McDonald's releasing the recipe for its secret sauce," said AR Communications strategic consultant Carmi Levy.

"This announcement signals that Microsoft is finally ready to commit to an entirely new business model. This is a radical shift from Microsoft's traditional bull-in-a-china-shop strategy."

Microsoft said its new principles include ensuring open connections, promoting data portability, increasing support for open connections, and fostering closer ties with the open-source community.

Open-source applications consist of software considered public property and freely available for people to use and modify.

People will be able to freely customize programs to work with Microsoft software, but if they sell applications for others to use, Microsoft will extract fees, according to Ballmer.

"In some sense we are opening up, and yet we retain valuable intellectual property rights," Ballmer said. "The clear message is that patents will be readily available for the right fee."

Why you should get your own self improvement video?

2008-02-13T03:15:00.001-08:00

It cannot be denied that what works for one does not work for another. If what your friends say and what you read does not seem to inspire you to improve yourself, then it is time to consider self improvement videos.

It cannot be denied that some people can better comprehend something when they see it on screen. That is the psychology behind these videos. Getting the focus of the person watching them like no other ways can do.

The need for self improvement is now an issue many people are focusing on. There are already a lot of self improvement articles out there. Not only that, a lot of experts are also lending their talent and expertise in helping people develop themselves.

With the internet came the easiest means of looking for self improvement advice from other people. For those who took pleasure in reading, they turn to articles and other forms of writing. But for those who just likes to sit back, see and listen, self improvement videos are the ones chosen.

There are websites that are capable of providing you with all the self improvement videos that are necessary to get your commitment power out and utilize it to whichever change or improvement you want to make with your own person.

These videos consist of information and exercises. When you start these readings and exercises, you will immediately feel the desired change inside yourself.

And with repetition of the exercises the change or improvements will become automatic. Repetition is the key to a life long improvement of your personality.

These videos are meant to aid in everlasting self-improvement and personal growth in all areas of life.
Some are concentrated on a few areas that many people may feel especially important and hard to improve.

For example, the people behind can help you with your effort for self esteem improvement. Low self-esteem and confidence are the cause of many personal as well as inter-personal difficulties.

Self improvement videos will assist you take command of your career as well as your financial freedom and independence. You can get the career you wish as well as the wealth and prosperity that you decide you deserve.

They can also help with building positive relationships and finally show you how you can apply the tools inherent for you to change habits.

These videos may not come cheap for some who would rather have self improvement tools that come for free. The only advantage in getting self improvement videos is that it will be available anytime you want to watch them.

Videos on self improvement are not the only tools you can use if you are intent on achieving personal improvement. There are also e-books and e-courses available.

Try to also see look at the other self improvement tools offered by these sites. Most of the time, the products offered are well reputed and researched thoroughly for quality and effectivity.

When to get a self improvement video? When it came to the point that the advices you get from family, friends and even on the internet are not getting through your head. This would also be your choice if you need a tool you can use anytime and anywhere to help you on your self improvement.

Chances are, if you have seen these self improvement videos twice or thrice, you have probably memorized all the things it had to say and show.

Self-improvement statistics guide in decision-making

2008-02-13T03:14:00.000-08:00

Statistics shows that about 75% of the people working today are unhappy with their current jobs. One reason is that their talents are wasted because it is not applicable for their current jobs.

That’s just one problem. You might have unreasonable demands placed upon you. You have to work really long hours to get anywhere. The paths to promotion may be blocked. You can’t get to where you want to be because of the view that people have of you, your experience, or your performance in the job.

Maybe a little self-improvement will help you out with that problem. You should know how to appreciate your job if you want to succeed in life.

If you are always late to your job, maybe it will become the reason for your termination. Why don’t you try to wake up early or if you’re always experiencing traffic, try to find other route. Self-improvement of your habits will help you succeed.

There might be criticism leveled against you that isn’t just. There could be too much politics or backstabbing, you have to grease the right palms to get ahead. The job may just not be what you expected. You were promised one thing, but it turned into something else.

One thing that you should do about backstabbing is always retain your temper at the right level. Don’t try to argue with your officemates of it will be another reason for firing you.

You have to get to the root of what is causing your unhappiness about where you are and what you’re currently doing. The easiest way is The Five Whys. Ask, “Why?” five times.

“Oh, I’m not happy.” Well, why? “Because I got passed for a promotion.” Why was that? “Because they didn’t value the project I was working on.” Why not? “Because management changed and they changed the objectives.” Well, why was that? You really sort of drill down to the root cause and find out what the problem really is.

Once you decide that you need a change - that's where the real fun begins. How to go about finding a new job or change careers completely.

There’s another way of looking at, the Top Ten Signs That You Need a New Job. It’s a bit like a Letterman Top Ten. They’re a bit tongue-in-cheek, but there’s a bit of truth in all of them.

10: You’re outgo exceeds your income. You just need more money.

9: The most rewarding thing you did this week was sharpen all 12 of your pencils to the same length.

8: You’re reluctant to be a Career Day speaker at your kid’s fourth grade class.

7: Everyone in your workgroup got a raise except you.

5: You were late for work three times this week, but you don’t care.

4: There’s a meeting at 3:00 to talk about the upcoming reorganization, but you’re not invited.

3: Your boss keeps forgetting your name.

2: You constantly daydream about being a forest ranger.

1: Your company was recently acquired and you spent two weeks worry that you’d be laid off. After that, you worried that you wouldn’t be.

Remember, finding a new job nowadays is really hard. So, before you decided to look for another job, always resolve your problems with your current job. Self-improvement will really help you in that.

Eliminating your addiction with self-help tapes

2008-02-13T03:11:00.000-08:00

Self improvement tapes help you to achieve your goal of quitting by detailed instructions. Full audio support can make a difference when you don’t have the time for lengthy therapy sessions and just don’t have the privilege of affording them. I have included some of the data’s which the tapes features and what it could do to help you along the way.

Hypnosis is an amazing tool for self-help. There is nothing as pleasant as allowing yourself to sink into a nice and easy trance and meditation from hypnosis and guided imagery. This self-esteem hypnosis tape is dedicated to helping you gain control over your life and your health by just sitting back and allowing the guided imagery to lead you to a healthy life and general self-esteem.

This self-esteem hypnosis tape is a safe and effortless way to aid in your goal to better health by inducing a trance state. It should be used at least a couple of times a day. It is important to find a quiet and secure place to listen to this hypnosis tape. It should never be played while operating a car and works best in complete isolation.

Pets often find a trance inducing tool such as this self-help tape intriguing and will try and be part of it so make sure they are out of the room before listening. I would also suggest that you keep the room semi-dark for the best trance quality. Allow yourself not to work hard at “doing it right.” All you need to do is let yourself go and enjoy the meditation trance state that develops naturally.

The self help tape or a CD “Attain and experience Inner Peace with -Tools For Balanced Living”. Is an example. “Tools For Balanced Living” is a Mindfulness Practice that guides you toward personal insight, body awareness, yoga postures and meditation. The Sedona Method will show you how to tap your natural ability to let go of any unwanted thought or feeling on the spot even when you are right in the middle of life’s greatest challenges.

This will free you to quickly and easily have all that you choose including the following: unshakable inner security, more money, better relationships, more radiant health and well being, more effective goal achievement plus break bad habits and other self-sabotaging behaviors, lose weight, stop smoking and sleep better.

THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY by by Susan Jeffers. Arrow (1987) 1991. How to turn your fear and indecision into confidence and action. As well as “OUR OWN HANDS - A BOOK OF SELF-HELP THERAPY” by Sheila Ernst and Lucy Goodison describes all kinds of therapy, from bodywork to psychoanalytically-based therapies, shows with sensitivity and clarity how to use those techniques which can actually free us and help us, and gives exercises to use in a self-help situation.

It is also important to realize that this meditation self-help and self-esteem tape is only one highly effective aid in your plan to induce self-esteem successfully. A good dietary program, exercise, and acupuncture will make your self-help program permanent over time. All you need is to assess the problems you need to focus on first as there are a lot of self-help topics which these audio books have.

Due to the fact that they all do have good results doesn’t mean you don’t need to chose which is right for you. Handpicking your choices can make a better difference and you can do it at your own home.

Self esteem improvement; Start now before it is too late

2008-02-13T03:10:00.002-08:00

Be determined to improve your self esteem and you are on your way to great achievement.

Do not let a low self esteem ruin your life. The way you think about yourself determines how you interact with others.

What are some examples of low esteem aspects in you mind that you need improvement on?

1. Nothing you do seems to go right
2. You believe that most people do not like you.
3. You believe that you are not attractive.
4. You choose something and it turns out to be the worst one.
5. You are afraid to converse with others for fear that what you say might not make sense.
6. You feel swallowed up in a whirlpool of frustration.
What’s wrong with you? Your thoughts, actually.

Stop thinking that the world is closing in on you. Get determined to achieve what you desire. Stop blaming other people for your misfortunes. The world is not your problem, you are your own problem.

From this moment on, begin the process of self esteem improvement. Think the right way and be determined to win, and win you will. Just remember that success never comes easily and that is why determination is its counterpart.

Oftentimes, one gets to the brink of success and with just a little disappointment or setback, they lose heart and give up too easily and too soon. A surefire candidate to low self esteem improvement. Who knows what great things might have been achieved if only they had persevered.

Without a high self esteem, your life could be rather boring. Change your thinking and begin to see yourself on top of the world. Make a very special effort to be what you really want to be.

You have to seriously decide either to remain in a miserable state of low self esteem, or acquire self esteem improvement and develop a high self esteem with good character and self image.
The origin of low self esteem.

A low self esteem could begin way back in childhood when children are made to believe that they are worthless. Their self confidence is eroded and they succumb to the idea that they can never achieve success in anything that they do. They were picked on, laughed at, pushed around, called ugly names, and treated with disdain. No wonder they grew up to be full of resentment.

If that was your experience, it is time you cut yourself loose from that mindset and do self esteem improvement. Start reading about the life of successful persons and you will soon discover that many of them had such low self esteem that they could not even complete an elementary education.

Many decided to override their low self esteem and improve their attitude, whatever it took. They became some of the greatest men and women that ever lived.

Low self esteem has never helped anyone else and it sure will not help you. It can only drive you into depression, anger, grudge, fear and all the other evils that it generates.

Re-program your thinking and control your state of mind. You must believe that you are worth much more than you think or you will remain at the foot of the ladder and never make an attempt to climb it.

Do not waste your life away with feelings of inadequacies. Instead, think of ways to go about self esteem improvement. Success is yours, just reach out and grasp it.

Self improvement advice: Meditation

2008-02-13T03:10:00.001-08:00

There are particular moments in life that when you wish you could depend on anybody’s self improvement advice. But even if they gave it to you with the best intentions, in case anything goes wrong, you are always going to blame those persons.

That is why specialists strongly advise you, every time you find yourself at a crossroads, to always take the decisions by yourself.

The question arising is: how can we know how to take it and which is the best solution?

No matter how young or old you are, you must have gotten to a point in your life when you have to take a big decision, which will probably affect your entire existence.

There is no doubt that there are certain moments in life when you feel helpless and disoriented and believe you could use some self improvement advice in order to figure out how to proceed with your life.

The answer is never simple. However, there is one self improvement advice that can be of great help and employed regularly will have great results.

It is called meditation and it has been used for centuries in certain rituals and by ancients civilizations. Even in old and famous books, like the Bible, people are invited to meditate, to discover and fight the evil in us and by knowledge to gain control over our decisions and our lives.

How do we proceed when meditating?

First of all, you need to be away from any source of distraction. You cannot analyze your deepest feelings and thoughts and watch a movie at the same time.

Secondly, you need to ask yourself a series of questions that will help you to better determine who you really are. The questions should relate to everyday aspects.

What do you like doing?

What made you most proud of yourself during your entire life?

What is it that you always wanted to do and you never found the time?

What role does money play in your life?

What is it more important for you, you family life or your career?

How much do you depend on others?

If you are worried about a certain decision, let all the questions be related to that issue. If you are just confused when asking the questions, think about the common topics that one has to deal with during his life.

Do not forget to write down the answers. Try to concentrate and to be sincere. After all, nobody will judge you.

All these questions will help you determine exactly where you stand and what is it that you want form life. All you have to do is to get the right interpretation of your own replies.

In order to do that, help yourself to a coup of tea or your favorite coffee and take the time to analyze them thoroughly. Mark with a red pen whatever you find pride worthy answers and with a black one the things that do not make you proud.

Post the list somewhere where you can see it more than once a day, or post it in more than one place.

You will notice that, step by step, even unwillingly, the black things on your list will start turning red. Do not forget to renew the list when most of it has turned red! It is the best way to always be aware what your expectations from life are.

Take this simple self improvement advice and see the positive results for yourself.

Self-hypnosis towards self improvement

2008-02-13T03:09:00.001-08:00

Self hypnosis is a great tool for goal setting and self improvement. Most people are surprised at how easy it is to learn self-hypnosis. And self-hypnosis, in turn, makes a lot of things much easier.

Self hypnosis is usually thought of as a person listening to an audio tape, mp3, or other mass-produced media, intended to induce a willingness to absorb suggestions centered around a specific topic such as weight loss, stop smoking, etc.

Unfortunately, this kind of hypnosis is generally prepared by someone who has never met the person being hypnotized, often presenting unwanted, even unpleasant imagery and suggestions.

For example, if you sunburn easily, that last thing you want to hear about is a slow walk on a sunny beach. In this case, the "self" in self hypnosis simply means that you listen to it by yourself.
How do you incorporate self improvement to hypnosis?

To be able to go about self improvement, there are certain aspects in you that should be addressed. Using hypnosis, the negative aspects that are serving as hindrances to improvement are eliminated.

A true self hypnosis would necessarily be designed and created by the very person who will ultimately use and benefit from it.

Unlike the mass-produced hypnosis, this hypnosis is made for the exact purpose the person wishes, including the precise words and phrases that mean the most to that particular person.

The true self hypnosis is thus crafted by the person to suit his or her own needs. The benefits derived could only be accomplished with such a personal, one-of-a-kind hypnosis. In this case, the "self" in self hypnosis really does mean that you are hypnotized by yourself!

Below is a short view of the self hypnotic process. Though lots of variations of this method have been used, these are the basic steps you have to go through in order to hypnotize yourself to accomplish self improvement.

1. Position your goals from the most important goal to the less important. If possible, your goals should be measurable.

2. For each goal, you should formulate fitting suggestions which means you have to convert your goals into specific instructions to your subconscious mind on how to achieve each goal.

3. Relaxation. Use the first minutes of your self hypnotic session to get as relaxed as possible. Try to forget all your worries and problems.

4. Start your hypnotic initiation phase by saying and repeating out loud the hypnotic words you have chosen, thinking of these words or listening to a hypnotic tape or CD customized for your hypnotic and goal fulfillment needs.

5. Apply the hypnotic suggestions you have made for reaching the specific goal you work with, say them out loud, think them or use a tailored hypnotic tape or CD.

Before you start up your self hypnotic exercises you should make a time schedule for it. Do your hypnotic sessions every day, five minutes a day is enough. Repeat your suggestions as often as possible during the day.

Measure your progress. Are you closer to your goal now than you were before you started? Ask yourself. If you answer negative to these questions, you have to rethink and reorganize your train of thoughts.

This is the only way you can find out if this method is really helping you in achieving your self improvement goals.

How to Motivate Yourself Forever

2008-02-13T03:08:00.001-08:00

Just as willpower is an essential factor in achieving success, at some point in time, discouragement and lack of motivation may hinder you from reaching your objective. And it is up to you, and you alone to devise techniques that will help you keep that drive within afire.

It is helpful to have visual goals. whatsoever that is you are working towards, make it visual. It maybe something material like a car, or a vacation you have been looking forward to for the longest time.

Take or cut out a picture of it and post it at a conspicuous place at work or at home where you can see it often. So that when you feel discouraged, this will remind you of your goal and will help you keep your spotlight.

Make a contract with oneself. According to motivational researches, people who write down to-do-lists are far more triumphant in achieving their intended goals than those people who just keep mental lists instead.

Putting something in writing somehow makes it more powerful psychologically speaking. This may also be the basis why most cultures have such a high regard in honoring contracts. In the contract, you may also include a certain reward that you will give yourself once you have accomplished the task.

After all, everyone likes to be rewarded for completing a good job. Even a simple pat on the back, “good job”, or “thank you” may do the trick to give the person the additional push to carry on, but unfortunately, these may not always be readily available. Considering that these are also essential in keeping oneself motivated, you must learn to find a way to get that encouragement on your own through pleasing yourself.

Abusive people lower your self-esteem and bring you down. Get these negative people out of your life. Surround yourself with positive people. Imitate their example. Smile amply and think happy thoughts.

These will give you a brighter outlook and lets you see a clearer picture of what you really want and a fresh mind to know what steps to take to get there. Rather than wait for things to happen, try to be proactive and MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. Inactivity idles the brain and stagnates your potential to reach your goals.

Read inspirational books and literature. These will help you improve your attitude and heal your mind. A book of success stories also proves to be encouraging. You will not only learn from others' experiences and derive confidence boosting insights from them but the story will be instrumental in motivating you to go for your goal and move ahead with your plans. If this still seems to falter, get training or education.

Oftentimes, not knowing how or where to start is frustrating. Knowledge is power. Having a clear understanding of how and where to start is empowering and it will provide the extra drive needed to hit the mark you are aiming at and follow it through.

Having enumerated all these tips and tricks to attain self-motivation, but still you seem to feel lacking that much needed drive, there is one last thing that you must try.

Whatever it is that you have been meaning to do, or wanting to achieve, JUST DO IT! Keep on aiming high and go for it! Actually getting your hands dirty best solves the problem of motivation. By “forcing” yourself to just do it, your momentum will pick up gradually as you go along and before you know it you have finished the task or have finally achieved your goal. Divide and conquer is the key.

Break down the apparently unattainable activity to small doable steps. Not only does it become less overwhelming, but seeing the "in the meantime" results will further your confidence that it can indeed be done.

Lack of motivation happens to us all, but if you do not encourage yourself to accept opportunities and be challenged, no one else will. It is most important to keep your eye on the goal, find ways to keep going, and in no time, you shall reap its benefits.

And if at the beginning you were just doing it for the material reward, you will also learn to realize that the fulfillment, satisfaction and self-achievement you derive from reaching your goal is a much enjoyable high that will keep the drive within constantly burning.

Put some additional self improvement link to your site

2008-02-13T03:05:00.001-08:00

As a Webmaster, you are forever searching for ways to make more money from your website. One of the better ways to do this is to add or link some self improvement concepts into the contents.

Many webmasters have found that there are a few key programs they can add on their sites for which they can honestly expect to make a few extra dollars, a few hundred extra dollars, and in some cases, a few thousand extra dollars every month.

The trick to linking income from third-party programs is to carefully select programs that are relevant to your site visitors, while insuring that the program you promote does not directly compete with your own offerings.

If you are giving something to your visitors that they will find useful, above and beyond your normal offerings that is considered an "added value" item. Not only will it give your customers something they appreciate, it will help them grow closer to you as a business owner. That way, there will appear a link between you and the customers to pave the way for improvement.

This is helpful in accelerating the trust level that your customers have with you and your business which can only serve you well over the long term. By adding this foundation of trust, your visitors will come back to your site and buy from you again because they know that they can trust you to treat them well.

On the web, more so than in brick-and-mortar, the trust factor is the most important hurdle that the small business owner must overcome with his potential customers. There are so many scams and rip-offs on the web, that an honest soul is especially appreciated.

It is important to select your "added value" offerings based on the interests of your web site visitors. The closer your offerings are to the needs of your target market, the more successful you will become selling your added value products.

If your website is concerned with self-improvement, self-esteem, dating, relationships, love or marriage, then you could do very well for yourself promoting the e-book, "How To Identify Your Soulmate."

Love relationships are failing in an alarming rate. In order to help as many people find happiness and self improvement. Years of research on love relationships would not be enough to understand these things.

Why do some fail and why some succeed?

No matter the specifics of the situation the reader may be in, "How To Identify Your Soulmate" can assist people in their quest to achieve success in their love relationships.

Products and services, which are relevant to the people who already visit your website and do not conflict or compete with your current offerings, are ideally suited to allow you to deliver added value offerings to your visitors.

These added offerings will help you to build the trust level that your visitors have with you. Not to mention that they will also help you add new layers of profitability to your website.

In the end, you should always strive to prepare your ezine or website to deliver more dollars. Target those people who want to have more than just material things in life. Add self improvement links to what you have already.

These added links and information would be your perfect vehicles to take you where you want to go.

Helping your consumers to gain more profits

2008-02-13T03:00:00.000-08:00

Consumers are individuals or households that consume goods and services generated within the economy. Since this includes just about everyone, the term is a political term as much as an economic term when it is used in everyday speech.

Typically when business people and economists talk of consumers they are talking about person as consumer, an aggregated commodity item with little individuality other than that expressed in the buy not buy decision.

However there is a trend in marketing to individualize the concept. Instead of generating broad demographic profile and psychographic profiles of market segments, marketers are engaging in personalized marketing, permission marketing, and mass customization.

A consumer is assumed to have a budget which can be spent on a range of goods and services available on the market. Under the assumption of rationality, the budget allocation is chosen according to the preference of the consumer, i.e. to maximize his or her utility function.

In 'time series' models of consumer behavior, the consumer may also invest a proportion of their budget in order to gain a greater budget in future periods. This investment choice may include either fixed rate interest or risk-bearing securities.

In the context of mental health, consumer is also a term applied to describe a person living with mental illness. Literally, it is not really what is states. They are the people seeking for help in their own profile of their mentality. You can let them gain their life back on track and achieve your goal at the same time.

Problems may also arise when dealing with your possible prospects.

Many patients are frustrated because, despite their best intentions, they seem unable to adhere to an exercise or "diet" program. Actually, there are several proven strategies that can be used to help us be successful in our efforts to improve an aspect of our lifestyle.

First, make a plan and make sure it fits their lifestyle. For example, if you're planning on beginning an exercise program, think ahead about how you're going to carve out the time in their already busy life. In this respect, anything you can do to make the exercise program a regular, daily part of your routine will be helpful.

It's often a good idea to ask those around you to help you in your endeavors. Anything you can do to help assure the support of your family, friends and co-workers will increase the odds of success.

Remember that most of the changes you make, whether changing what you prefer to eat, or changing your schedule to include exercise, will affect those around you. One of the best examples of this is the difficulty that smokers have trying to quit when those around them are smoking.

If you strictly adhere to a "proven" program that has succeeded for others, however, and fail to produce the results you want, you may become discouraged or filled with self-doubt. There are many reasons to explain why self-help techniques fail, and many steps to take to feel good about yourself regardless of the result. Like every other field, the "experts" in self-help disagree on just about everything.

Always remember this: no matter how smart or "successful" someone is, how much "proof" you're given, how much you trust or respect someone, or how logical something seems, it's just an opinion, just what worked for someone else, just a possible pathway to success.

Investment

2008-02-12T23:13:00.000-08:00

The Process - Knowledge Goals Plan Action Success What does it take to be a financial success? Create passive income where money works for you instead of active income where you work for money. Active income working for money, and when a person stops working the income stops too. Passive income is potential income such as investing in a business, real estate, stocks, bonds, options, forex, and commodities that can earn an investor income 24 hours day. There is risk in investing, and investors should become aware of this investment risk and manage the risk with strong money management. With passive income an investor can be earning money while not working. Start with attaining investing education and knowledge. Set dated investment goals. A goal with a date puts urgency to the goal. Its goals and dreams that move persons to take action and make them a reality. Create or obtain a sound and flexible investment plan. Then take action on the plan. The result in time will be financial success. It takes time and persistence for an investment to earn a strong return in the long term