Archive for the ‘Finance’ Category
Visa Card – Things You Should Consider First Before You Apply
If you are interested in applying for a Visa credit card, there are a lot of things you should consider first because there are so many types of cards. For instance, consider whether you fly frequently and would like a card that earns you frequent flyer miles, or if you need a card with a very low interest rate because you plan on keeping a balance, or if you are in need of a visa credit card for your business, child, or if you have bad credit. These are all things to consider first, because you don’t want to apply for credit card after credit card. It is better to decide what is best for you, and then begin applying.
Also, some very important things to evaluate on each card you are considering is introductory APR, introductory APR period, regular APR, annual fee, balance transfer and the type of credit needed for the card.
For instance, many credit cards provide an introductory APR to make the card more appealing and make you want to switch or apply for that particular card. IN some cases, visa credit cards will offer 0% interest for a year or six months, depending on the card. While the introductory APR can be a good thing because interest fees charged are either nothing or considerably lower than other cards, you need to keep in mind how long the introductory APR period lasts and what the APR is regularly.
If the introductory APR period lasts for six months to a year then that is a good period of time in which you can use the credit card to your advantage. However, you should keep in mind the date when the regular APR starts so you do not find yourself with high levels of interest rates and a large balance
The regular APR for a visa credit card can vary significantly depending on the type of card and the individual’s credit. Everyone wants a credit card with a low regular APR, but the truth is there are not that many credit cards with really low APRs. This is because credit card companies make a lot of money on charging interest from month to month.
Also, you should only apply for Visa credit cards with no annual fee. This is because there are many credit cards that offer the card with no fee, so there is no need for you to pay $50 or more per year simply to carry the card. Make sure the visa credit card you are applying for does not charge an annual fee.
Check and see if the visa card you are applying for accepts balance transfers from other credit cards. If the new visa card you are applying for has a low introductory APR then when you are approved you will want to transfer your balances from high APR cards in order to pay it off more economically.
Finally, check the type of credit needed for the visa card you are interested in. If the card information says you need excellent credit and you have poor credit, do not even waste your time and the affects on your credit report by applying for that card.
Housing Market Fallout
While some economists, during the early fall of the real estate boom, predicted that the situation will be soon under control, the latest forecast predicts a very uneven and rough road ahead for the housing market. And even a near miss with depression.
David Shulman, a senior economist for the quarterly University of California, LA, in his “A Near Recession Experience” report, stated from that the nation’s economic performance is expected to be “almost as close as you can get to avoid the technical definition of a recession.” That indicates the low growth in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. It is predicted that there will be a growth of only 1 per cent during the last quarter of 2007 and in the first quarter of 2008.
Such a slow economy with 1 per cent GDP growth pace has a high risk of falling into an actual recession. This increases the danger of things becoming worse.
According to David Shulman, this forecast is based on a Federal Reserve’s last week’s report that gave an idea about the dull employment numbers, and the slight fall in the value of dollar in recent weeks. Both these factors would probably have further reduced expectations in the forecast.
While the previous forecast called for housing starts to bottom out at an annual rate of 1.2 million to 1.3 million, the forecast report revealed today expects a range of 1 million to 1.1 million for housing starts. This forces the belief that the recovery will be more halfhearted with starts hardly recovering to a 1.4 million unit annual rate by the end of 2009.
With home prices falling 10 percent to 15 percent, housing starts are expected to witness a 55 to 60 percent peak to trough decline. A very similar drop-off took place during the years of 1986 to 1991.
As Shulman said, home price declines are expected to drop by the end of 2009. Florida Arizona, California and parts of the Northeast are probably at the most risk to the larger price drops.
According to the report, the credit tightening in the mortgage market has complicated property purchases in the high-priced states and the mortgage industry is moving towards more full documentation, real cash down payments and more serious income standards and that is going to take a lot of people out of the market at the current price structure. The problems in the mortgage market could take towards some harsh adjustments in the home prices.
The report also mentions that the national scope of the real estate foreclosure problem in some ways look similar to the great depression in the market. The forecast expects that by the end of this year, the Federal Reserve will cut down the federal funds rate from 5.25 percent to 4.50 percent. The cut will be done to support the economy and not for the financial market.
The report also mentions that the mortgage defaults and the foreclosure of the mortgages is the main reason in the fall of the local housing market.
Salary and benefits basics
In today’s scenario when the escalating prices are touching the sky, it becomes essential that your salary is able to provide you a satisfactory life in which all your basic necessities and a little more than that are comfortably met. But this actually does not happen. The salary structure progresses on a snail’s pace while the prices of commodities scale new heights. The question is what an individual should do in such a situation. The answer is the perks or the benefits that a company offers with the basic salary. The perks that are supplemented with the basic salary are a source of relief. A job that offers a basic salary of $90,000 per annum without any bonus should be discarded for a job that fetches you $84,000 with monthly benefits.
These perks are significant not just for the money factor but for the important aspects that they account for during our life. For instance the dental insurance takes care for all the expenses related to dental problems that the employee confronts after joining the company. Thus, perks lend the employee a more or less carefree life. They provide him with the biggest assistance i.e. financial and that too in some of the most expensive areas. Hence, perks are unbelievably significant.
But all the companies and businesses do not offer these benefits. Moreover, the kinds of benefits vary from workplace to workplace. Like the bank employees are benefited with medical assistance, travel perks during vacations, insurance etc. Whereas many a multinational companies and corporations provide perks on daily basis that primarily include the expense of food and commutation charges.
Some of the chiefly significant and common benefits are listed below:
• 401(k) plan-is meant to relieve the employee from the burden of taxation by the government. This plan is too fruitful in the long run for it enables the employee to make good stabilized savings throughout his job. This benefit is available only to those working in the private and not the government sector.
• 403(b) plan-is also of tremendous helps in saving money for retirement that is purged of all taxation but only till the time of its withdrawal. For once an individual retires and starts using the money from the 403(b) account, the income through it will be subject to regular taxation. There are certain other differences also between the 401(k) and 403 (b) plans. The 403(b) plan is meant for those who are employed under as per the IRS definition of businesses that are organized and working specifically for the religious, charitable, public safety testing, scientific, literary or educational purposes. Besides this the 401(k) pan allows investment in stocks while the 403(b) does not.
• Insurance facility- many employers bestow their employees with the insurance benefits. These benefits are extremely useful during the period when the employee is incapable to work and needs financial aid by sitting at home. Some companies offer full insurance coverage to their employees while there are others that provide with a comparatively limited coverage to the new recruitments. This coverage however gradually increases with the working years of the worker. Under the insurance facility are also included insurances like- disability insurance, dental insurance, short and long term disability etc.
• Healthcare benefits are included in the compensation package. There are various healthcare packages with different scope. The usual health care plans are HMOs, PPOs, and POSs.
• Vacation packages are also offered annually by some companies. In this benefit the company provides you with a certain amount of money that you can utilize in holidaying with your family. In case a trip is not on your itinerary, the money can act as a saving, as per the rules of the company.
• The Severance Package is active under the situation when the individual loses his job without any of his fault. This is not just extremely helpful to the employee but also saves any kind of legal action against the employer.
• Besides these, many multinational companies serve their efficient and crucial employees with a house, free phone calls and pick and drop facilities.
Breaking down Debt Consolidation Introduction
Debt Consolidation is a procedure that a number of different people follow nowadays and ultimately what it means is that the person that is swimming in debt that happens to be far above what they have the ability to pay back is going to be the person that goes through a procedure that combines all of those different loans into one source of debt and therefore allows themselves to pay back the consolidated debt in a much easier and less stressful manner. Read the rest of this entry »
Business Finance Expert Series: "what Every Business Owner Needs To Know About Factoring"
Factoring is a promising way to stimulate the cash flow of a company. Its growing popularity can be gauged from the statistics that factor finance approximately amount to $70 billion in United States each year. In United Kingdom it represented a total volume of 104.4 billion in 2002.
However, before leaping on the factoring (http:// www.hjventures.com/factoring/factoring.html ) bandwagon it is important for the business owner to know what makes a business suitable for factoring?
- Before making any decision the owner should have a list of his customers and they should be in sufficient number
- No customer should contribute over third of the turnover
- Customers are needed to accept the standard payment terms of the industry.
- Period of credit given to the customers should be reasonable
Following factors make a business unsuitable for factoring:
- When there are too many small invoices ( http://www.hjventures.com/factoring/invoice-finance.html )
- Factoring is unsuitable when it is sold to the public. It is only available for sales to commercial customers
- There is a provision for the customers to make part payments
- When there are many disputes and queries
- The business is not reliable, credible and sound in its operations
It is very important for the business owners to have a good understanding of these factors as they will be sharing important financial information of their business and will be in direct contact with the customers too. Earlier factoring was not widely used due to the ignorance of business owners regarding the benefits factoring could bring in to the company. Thus it is important for every business owner to be aware of benefits of factoring before using it in their business.
How Can I Buy A Home With Foreclosure On My Credit Rating?
If you have a bad track record when it comes to servicing debt, this will make up a large part of your credit report and will be a major factor in the decision by a creditor as to the approval of any future loans.
Having a foreclosure on your credit history is by far the worst event that can happen to your score.
Many people believe that once they have a foreclosure on their credit rating they will never be able to own a home again. This is not the case; all it takes is re-building your credit rating and employing good financial habits.
It may not be right away that you will be able to purchase a new home, since foreclosure stays on your credit history for 7 to 10 years – but in time it will be possible.
Build Your Credit History
Your FICO score will be affected by your foreclosure and this will be the case for up to ten years. Over this period it is likely that any application will be met with rejection.
You can build your credit rating by establishing new credit, in the form of pre-paid credit cards and paying them off every month; paying your bills on time and even obtaining store credit cards. Once you rebuild your credit and some time has passed, mortgage lenders will be more willing to take a chance on you.
Take Your Time
Don’t rush into trying to buy a new home immediately after a foreclosure. It can be possible to purchase a home this early if you have the funds available, or are able to secure a sub-par lender – but it also means you probably won’t receive a great deal on your mortgage.
These lenders can charge up to 6% more than the current average interest rate and they may also charge you additional fees.
Compare Mortgage Lenders
If you decide to try to purchase a home right after foreclosure, make sure you compare the lenders that are willing to work with you. Most sub-par and high interest lenders will offer very high interest rates and fees.
Get several quotes before making your final decision. Be careful of dodgy operators – checking their credentials with the Better Business Bureau is recommended.
Major Futures Trading Exchanges-Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Chicago Board Of Trade & Nymex
Futures trading is one of the ways to make money and grow your wealth overtime. Many people only invest in stocks. However, trading futures contracts like copper, wheat, corn, coffee, soybeans, pork bellies, cattle, crude oil, gold, ethanol, heating, gasoline, silver, interest rates, currencies and others can be highly lucrative.
If you want to profit from commodities than futures trading is the best and direct method of getting access to the commodity market. There are several active futures trading exchanges in the US. Three of the world’s largest futures exchanges are located in Chicago.
The largest futures trading exchange in US is Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). A large number of futures contracts get traded on CME that includes commodities, stock index futures, foreign currencies, interest rates, environmental futures and others.
The commodities futures that get traded on CME include live cattle, milk, lean hogs, feeder cattle, butter, limber, pork bellies, Goldman Sachs Commodities Index and fertilizer.
Now, one of the ways to trade stock market is to trade stock indexes like the various S&P 500 like the S&P 500 Midcap, Small Cap as well as the Russell 2000 and the NASDAQ 100. CME provides you with the opportunity to trade futures contracts on these stock indexes as well as their mini versions the E-Minis.
GLOBEX is the Electronic Trading Platform owned by the CME Group that allows the electronic trading of these contracts almost 24 hours a day. So you can easily trade almost all these contracts from the comfort of your home electronically using your computer.
The second most important futures exchange is the CBOT ( Chicago Board of Trade).The futures contracts that are available on CBOT include agricultural futures like the soybeans, ethanol, rice, corn, wheat and others. Mini contracts on corn, soybeans and wheat are also available for trading on CBOT.
Interest rate related futures contracts that get traded on CBOT include Treasury Bonds, FED Funds, spreads, municipal bonds, German debt and swaps. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures popularly known as Dow futures and its E-Mini version plus gold and silver futures and their mini versions also gets traded on CBOT.
Now the best place to trade crude oil, natural gas, gasoline as as well as a host of other energy futures in the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange).This is infact the global hub for energy trading and offers futures contracts on unleaded gasoline, heating oil, electricity, light sweet crude, natural gas, propane and coal.
Futures contract on precious metals like gold, silver, platinum and palladium also get traded on NYMEX. Futures contracts on metals like copper and aluminum also are available on NYMEX.
Why Buy Single Premium Life?
Single premium whole life insurance is not much different than the regular policies you are used to. But instead of making multiple payments every month, quarterly, or annually, you simply fund it with one large upfront payment.
This sound simple, but it does make this product a little different than other types of coverage you may have purchased before. This is a form of whole life, but it is guarateed with one payment. You understand that the death benefit of the policy will usually be a lot bigger than your initial payment. So this may be a great option if you want to turn a smaller lump sum of money into a much larger inheritance.
Let us say that a retired school teacher is comfortable with her pension and savings. In this example, she just inherited $22,000 from an uncle, and is certain that she will not need to use this money to enjoy her life. This woman could invest her money in a $100,000 policy. She will be assured that her son will be able to inherit a nice estate.
Now understand that the price you would pay for a particular policy will depend upon many different things like your age, health, the insurance company, etc.
Who should consider single premium life (SPL)? It is something to consider if you have a lump sum of cash that you would like to leave to your heirs. You can leave the money to your kids or a foundation.
You must be pretty certain that you will not need these funds soon. Understand that your policy could have early surrender fees. So it is probably not the right life insurance if you are not sure if you will need the money to live on.
Another advantage to the owner is a SPL policy’s ability to grow a cash value quickly. You can also have a place to borrow money from if you have to. You can also cash the policy in. The cash value should grow quickly since the insurance is already funded by the initial payment!
Many policies also have accelerated death benefit provisions. If the insured person is terminally ill, some of the death benefit can be used to provide care while that person is alive. Some also have nursing home provisions, so this can be a good way of planning for that possible need without another long term care insurance policy.
An SPLI policy is not the right solution for all people. If you do not have a lump sum of money, you may be better off with a regular life insurance policy and monthly payments. You should also understand that SPLI may be treated differently by the IRS. And finally, if you think you may need to withdraw your money in a short time, it will probably not benefit you. Some policies have charges for early distribution that can lower the value a lot.
