Saturday, January 9, 2010
Don't let this opportunity pass you by…
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The webinar with my former fund manager friend last Wednesday was a huge success.
The good news is that you can watch the recording.
Click here to access the replay:
Since this is just his free stuff, imagine how good his one year mentorship program is. Let me tell you, it is life changing. I finished the course last night and will never look at the markets the same way. Wow what an eye opener.
You owe it to yourself, and your portfolio, to watch this webinar, at least once (more if you have time).
Our host really did do trades as large as $50 million before he left the world of money management and he shares a little of his story and some insider tips, but most of the hour is spent on pure trading content.
I like to share good content with my subscribers and this one is well worth it.
Thanks,
Ave Ramel
P.S. The 1 year mentorship program closes for most of the rest of the year this Sunday night so check it out today.
P.P.S. Spend just an hour listening and go improve your trading immediately.
Click here to access the replay: Exchange Traded Funds
Labels: exchange traded fund, exchange traded fund etf, exchange traded funds, exchange traded funds etf, exchange traded funds etfs, exchange traded funds list, finance course online
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Thursday, January 7, 2010
Almost sold out! Watch the webinar recording asap
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The webinar last night with my friend the former money manager was 'sold out'! He gave us more powerful trading content than most paid courses. And, because the webinar was filled to capacity we are posting the recording.
Here's the link to register for the webinar replay.
One of the things he taught us is called the "Law of Association"; which states that in 5 years you will become like the people you hang out with and the books you read and the courses you study.
The bottom line is that if you want to learn to trade big, or profitably and consistently, you need to be around someone who does. Someone like our webinar instructor who used to trade $50 million at a time.
Here's a short list of only some of the highlights:
- A little known position sizing trick that can double your returns regardless of what market or system you trade.
- Two simple tricks that instantly remove 95% of your emotions in trading. As all traders know the emotions of fear and greed are the number one enemies of traders; beat them and you win.
- How some hedge funds hunt stops and a simple trick to avoid being a victim. Yes hedge funds, brokers and other individuals (not the "market") really do hunt stops.
- Why money managers only risk 1-2% per trade and still make great returns.
- Why trading is not a "zero sum game" and what this really means for the average trader.
- How to make strong profits using the daily charts and trading only 10 minutes per night.
- How Warren Buffett, Jim Rogers and others became great traders and investors.
- What the "gurus" selling hype trading courses are hiding from you and six easy ways to spot a counterfeit "trading teacher" from a mile away.
- One of his profit target strategies. (He has 4 proprietary tactics and gives us one, no charge).
- How to not be vague with your entries and stops like when others who say, "Buy a few cents, ticks, or pips above ___."
- A little known, no cost, scanner tool that can help you trade profitably, right now.
- A complementary excel sheet that does ALL the math for you so you can easily see the optimal position size and risk vs. reward ratio on all trades.
- Why ETFs are the best instrument to trade.
- Much more.
I promise it won't be a waste of your time. My friend really did do trades as large as 50 million before he left the world of money management. He did share a little of his story, but most of the hour is spent on the subjects above. As you know I like to share good content with my subscribers and this is one of them.
Click here to get the webinar replay:
See you there,
Cheers,
Ave Ramel
P.S. The $1,997 bonus day trade course might already be gone!
Labels: exchange traded fund, exchange traded fund etf, exchange traded funds, exchange traded funds etf, exchange traded funds etfs, exchange traded funds list, finance course online
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Monday, January 4, 2010
Stop Hedge Funds From Stealing Your Profits
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Have you ever had that feeling ... after you were stopped out and the market went back in your original direction, that a bank or large fund had hunted your stop and stolen your shares?
Well, that's because it's true!
My guest on our Wednesday night webinar, a former big fund manager, used to do just that. In small markets like penny stocks his firm could do it all by themselves.
In larger more liquid markets they would team up with other hedge funds. He says even some banks would do it.
So what can you do about it? Learn to either stay out of the market when the hedge funds are hunting stops, or profit from it.
We'll talk about how to survive the hedge fund hunters during his complementary webinar Wednesday at 9pm EST.
Go ahead and reserve your slot now - with over 217,000 invitations and only 500 spaces, you'll need to register and opt in early to get on the webinar.
Click here to register:
In addition to the long list of topics I listed in yesterday's email, he will also be discussing:
- How some hedge funds hunt stops and a simple trick to avoid getting caught, most of the time. Yes, hedge funds, brokers and other individuals (not the "market") really do hunt your stops.
- One of his four proprietary profit target strategies. He'll just give you this valuable tip for listening in Wednesday.
- How to avoid being vague with your entries and stops (like those "gurus" who say, "Buy a few cents, ticks, or pips above ___.")
- A little known, no cost, scanner tool that can help you improve your trades, now.
- A complementary excel sheet that does ALL the math for you. You'll be able to easily see the optimal position size and risk vs. reward ratio on all your trades.
I promise it won't be a waste of your time. My trader friend really did do trades as large as $50 million before he left the world of money management. He will explain how he learned these tricks-of-the-trade, but most of the hour will be spent on teaching you how to be a better trader. I like to share useful content with my subscribers and this is a big chance to do just that.
Click here to register for your free seat at the Wednesday night webinar.
Hope to see you there,
Cheers,
Ave Ramel
P.P.S. Don't place another stop before you hear how the hedge funds are gunning for your profits!
P.P.P.S. In only 1 hour, you'll be handed years of hard won experience from a big time trader (who's willing to spill the beans). Plus his 1 year mentorship offer will be unavailable after Friday December 4th. He is the type of teacher who likes to support his new students and doesn't need to keep selling courses.
Labels: exchange traded fund, exchange traded fund etf, exchange traded funds, exchange traded funds etf, exchange traded funds etfs, exchange traded funds list, finance course online
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Saturday, January 2, 2010
How The Pros Make More Money With Less Risk
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This Wednesday, January 6th at 9pm EST, join me for a free session with an ex $50 Million dollar fund manager when he reveals the secrets professional money managers use to:
- Risk 1-2% per trade and still make great returns.
- Instantly remove 95% of your trading emotions (as you know, fear and greed are the successful traders' enemy) with two simple tricks.
- He'll also show you how to reduce risk using his unique position sizing technique.
- A combination of a percentage risk stop and a technical stop.
- Plus an advanced tip using this concept that can instantly double your returns regardless of what system or markets you trade.
- He explains why trading is not a "zero sum game" and what this really means for you.
- How you can make profitable trades in only 10 minutes per night.
- Plus how Warren Buffett, Jim Rogers and others became great traders and investors.
- And, what the "gurus" selling hype trading courses are hiding from you and an easy way to spot a counterfeit "trading teacher" from a mile away.
- Much more.
Sound like a good use of an hour of your time? I hope so… in fact, since this invitation is going out to over 237,454 people and we've only got 500 seats, I'm sure it's going to "sell out" even though it is f.r.e.e.
So, if you think you can make it, go ahead and click here to reserve your spot.
Exchange Traded Index Funds
He will share a little of his story, but most of the hour will be spent showing you how to improve your trades. I like to share valuable information with my subscribers and this is a great opportunity to learn from a pro – for f.r.e.e.
He told me the other day that he could take even an average breakeven system and turn it into a profitable one by changing the money management and position sizing of the trades.
Now, what if you do that, on top of having a great system? You get long term consistent results; that's what.
To hear it straight from the expert, go ahead and click here to register.
Exchange Traded Funds
I look forward to seeing with you Wednesday night,
Cheers,
Ave Ramel
P.S. I almost forgot to mention that everyone who joins us gets a f.r.e.e bonus just for attending.
- Risk 1-2% per trade and still make great returns.
- Instantly remove 95% of your trading emotions (as you know, fear and greed are the successful traders' enemy) with two simple tricks.
- He'll also show you how to reduce risk using his unique position sizing technique.
- A combination of a percentage risk stop and a technical stop.
- Plus an advanced tip using this concept that can instantly double your returns regardless of what system or markets you trade.
- He explains why trading is not a "zero sum game" and what this really means for you.
- How you can make profitable trades in only 10 minutes per night.
- Plus how Warren Buffett, Jim Rogers and others became great traders and investors.
- And, what the "gurus" selling hype trading courses are hiding from you and an easy way to spot a counterfeit "trading teacher" from a mile away.
- Much more.
Sound like a good use of an hour of your time? I hope so… in fact, since this invitation is going out to over 237,454 people and we've only got 500 seats, I'm sure it's going to "sell out" even though it is f.r.e.e.
So, if you think you can make it, go ahead and click here to reserve your spot.
Exchange Traded Index Funds
He will share a little of his story, but most of the hour will be spent showing you how to improve your trades. I like to share valuable information with my subscribers and this is a great opportunity to learn from a pro – for f.r.e.e.
He told me the other day that he could take even an average breakeven system and turn it into a profitable one by changing the money management and position sizing of the trades.
Now, what if you do that, on top of having a great system? You get long term consistent results; that's what.
To hear it straight from the expert, go ahead and click here to register.
Exchange Traded Funds
I look forward to seeing with you Wednesday night,
Cheers,
Ave Ramel
P.S. I almost forgot to mention that everyone who joins us gets a f.r.e.e bonus just for attending.
Labels: exchange traded fund, exchange traded fund etf, exchange traded funds, exchange traded funds etf, exchange traded funds etfs, exchange traded funds list, finance course online
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Friday, January 1, 2010
A Scientific Breakthrough
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Hi,
At last, have finished the First VitaPlus Tour that will answer
a lot of your questions about this scientific breakthrough in
Health, Wellness, and Beauty.
You may now proceed to: First VitaPlus
The First VitaPlus Tour answers the ff:
- Five Power Vegetables
- Five Little Things You Should Know About First VitaPlus
- Prevention and Maintenance of Diseases
- Availability and Product Sizes
Cheers,
Ave Ramel
***Trust in the Lord with all your heart***
Labels: finance course online, health drink, health drinking, health drinks, new health drink
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009
How The Rich are Debt-Free
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Hi,
===========================================
Crisis ???
The Rich are debt-free and do really have
a lot of options in life.
If you want to be rich, you must know
- what kind of income to work hard for,
- how to keep it, and
- how to protect it from loss.
That is the key to great wealth.
Discover this kind of income in:
===========================================
Cheers,
Labels: become debt free, debt free, finance course online
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Friday, December 18, 2009
Living on a Cash-Only Diet
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Credit card reform kicks in Feb. 22, but it won't matter to these 5 readers. They cut up their cards and are going debt free. They share how they did it
William Hazelgrove
William Hazelgrove, 49, is a novelist who lives with his children, Clay, Callie and Careen, and dog, Bach, in St. Charles, Ill.
William Hazelgrove Went cash-only: 4 months ago
My challenge: Tracking purchases
We were the quintessential American family: We were carrying $22,000 of debt. We would reach for our credit cards constantly, and eventually our interest rates went through the roof and our credit lines got restricted. We realized if ever wanted to live within our means, we'd have to switch to using cash only.
It's been a sobering reality check since we come from a long line of people who relied on credit. We're paying off our debt and realize it's going to take a while to adjust, but already we feel more empowered. We own everything we buy, and we don't feel like we're skating on the edge of a cliff.
We use debit cards, so we're constantly afraid of going over the balance because you can get slapped with service fees. Not all charges hit immediately so you're constantly wondering if you've accounted for everything.
My solution: I try to keep my debit card balance above $100 at all times, and I keep a cushion of $5,000 in an account for emergencies. I keep every receipt and enter the purchase into Quicken. I download the debit card transactions online and check them with the receipts.
I think through the downturn, more and more people are realizing they don't have a safety net. We're all pretty much a few steps away from the guy who just lost his house. We're our own line of defense.
We have a priority order for our expenses: mortgage first, utilities second, then food and medical bills. We've spaced out our due dates with the different bill collectors so we have some breathing room.
Brooke MacDonald
Brooke MacDonald, 28, is an account executive at a public relations firm in Annapolis, Md.
Brooke MacDonald Went cash-only: 1.5 years ago
My challenge: Managing unexpected expenses
After I got my first job out of college, I bought a house and a car and the expenses added up quickly. I was in an embarrassing amount of debt and would dread going to the mailbox. The bills would arrive and I would feel sick. But I still wanted to go out with my friends and buy fancy things for my house.
I eventually had an "Ah ha!" moment and decided I couldn't continue living that way. I wasn't in such a bad position that I was getting calls from my creditors, but I enrolled into a debt-management program. They helped me lower my interest rates and space out the due dates.
I went cold turkey one day and instead of using credit cards, I started to charge all my purchases on a debit card. I've cut my debt by about 20% in the last year and a half, and I expect to be completely debt free in another two years.
I really budget everything out, because I know planning ahead is my path to financial freedom. But sometime it can get sticky. It's cruddy when you have a big car service bill or want to travel.
My solution: I pay all my regular monthly bills and put some money into saving, and then see what I have leftover to do what I want with, which is usually about $600 each month.
I've known that I want to go to Los Angeles for the holidays for seven months, so I started saving for a hotel, a rental car and everything else back then.
For more spontaneous buys, I have a different system. If I decide I want to buy something, like a new outfit that costs $75, I set money aside for it for at least a week. If I decide it's still important to me after that period of time, I buy it.
John Wilder
John Wilder, 59, is a marriage and relationships coach and author in New Castle, Ind.
John Wilder Went cash-only: 3 years ago
My challenge: Reserving travel accommodations
I decided to free myself from credit cards because the companies were so aggressive with late fees, and those really downgraded my credit rating. I had become a slave to the credit card master. Three years ago I decided enough was enough and quit using my card and stopped making payments on $12,000 in credit card debt.
I still owe the money, but the credit card companies usually write off balances after seven years. It's killed my credit rating, but it was dead anyway because of my late payments.
When I tapped out my credit card, I realized I still needed one. We are forced in today's society to have a credit card. For example, most hotels don't allow you to check-in using cash, and car rental companies require large deposits.
My solution: I use a prepaid credit card, Wal-Mart's MoneyCard, which shows up as a normal credit card when I make a transaction, but it's front-loaded. It doesn't let you charge more than you have on the card; once you're out of funds, your purchases will be declined. There's monthly maintenance fee attached that's less than $5.
I've been using it for about three years, and life is much easier. I wonder why I never did it before. I will never return to a traditional credit card.
Alex Cohen
Alex Cohen, 28, is a marketing manager in Philadelphia.
Alex Cohen Debt free: 3 years
My challenge: Saving for big-ticket items
After graduating from college in 2003, I moved into an apartment in Philadelphia with a roommate and got a job. But I was young and didn't know how to manage cash flow. I racked up thousands of dollars in past due bills and credit card debt.
It became really stressful and was a wake up call to either figure things out or make more money. My parents helped clear my debt, and the last thing I charged on my credit card was a new laptop. But I put myself on a payment plan right away. I projected the day I would become debt free: it was 18 months away.
But now it's been three years and since that day, I haven't used a credit card at all. It was hard at first, and I have had to make a paradigm shift to really figure out how to anticipate and prepare for expenses before I have them.
My solution: I'm a goal-oriented person, so what works for me is to open up different savings accounts for every purchase goal I have. It's a concept I read about called incremental savings.
I have several ING Direct savings accounts (they don't require a minimum balance) that I use to save for various things: emergencies, a house, car repairs, vacation, electronics (I really like gadgets) and furniture. I have a certain amount automatically withdrawn from every paycheck to start saving toward each goal.
It's basically a credit card in reverse. Instead of having what I want now and owing the cost plus interest, I delay gratification for peace of mind. When I own it, I own it.
Dawn Tulman
Dawn Tulman, 39, is a small business owner who lives with her husband, Rob, and children, Zachary, Alexis, and Nicholas, in West Hills, Calif.
Dawn Tulman Debt free: 4 years
My challenge: Running a business
My husband and I used to fund all of our living expenses on credit cards when we were starting a software company with my husband's family. The business was doing well, but it would take at least five years for it to turn to profit. We realized it wasn't moving quickly enough for us. If you're buying groceries with your credit card, something's wrong.
We were in between $15,000 and $20,000 of debt and had to settle out most of our accounts. But now I haven't had a personal credit card in over a decade, and we've been debt free for about four years.
We forego a lot of things like vacations, Starbucks coffee and eating out. When we have large expenses, like replacing a failed transmission, we opt to use our savings. Otherwise, we would be paying more in credit card interest than we earn on our savings account.
But I own two small businesses and running those without debt is more challenging.
My solution: My husband and I run a computer services company, and since the business is more service-based, there often isn't a need to use credit. We have customers pay us the same day as the service, which helps us generate enough cash flow.
But once we had to install $10,000 worth of computers for a real estate company. My debit card has a daily limit of $5,000, so we made a deal with the customer to purchase the computers.
I also have a product-based company that I couldn't have launched without credit. I had to make an initial investment in 2007 to make the product before the first shipment was made at the end of 2008.
The product is a jewelry box with a hidden lock mechanism, so I'm meeting with a mainstream gift seller soon to have it sold in stores, and I expect that will bring in cash flow to help pay down the business debt. I'll still keep a credit card for the company because it's easier to keep track of expenses, but I won't let us get crippled with debt we can't pay.
by Hibah Yousuf
Labels: cash only, credit card, finance course online
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Monday, December 14, 2009
U.S. unemployed face higher healthcare premiums
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Millions of unemployed U.S. workers face sharply higher health insurance premiums and loss of coverage as temporary federal subsidies expire, a healthcare advocacy group said on Tuesday.
With the U.S. unemployment rate topping 10 percent, FamiliesUSA is urging Congress to extend a measure that helps laid-off workers maintain employer-sponsored health coverage with a 65 percent subsidy on their insurance premiums.
A report released by the group on Tuesday said without the subsidy, insurance premiums would consume a significant portion of monthly unemployment benefits and in nine states exceed the average jobless benefit.
The subsidies began in March as part of the $787 billion economic stimulus and the nine months of benefits for the first group of recipients expired on Monday. The program runs through December and anyone laid-off before the end of the month remains eligible for nine months of subsidies.
Some Democrats are considering extending the program as part of new legislation they hope to pass before the end of the year to address unemployment. The issue will also likely be discussed at the White House's jobs summit on Thursday.
But Republicans worried about record federal budget deficits are expected to oppose extending the program.
If Congress fails to act, anyone losing a job in January and subsequently would receive no federal subsidies to maintain employer-sponsored health coverage through what has become known as the COBRA program.
Under that long-standing law, workers who lose their jobs can keep their employer-sponsored health plans for up to 18 months although they must pay the full premium. For many laid-off workers, the $1,111 average family monthly health insurance premium is too much, the group said.
"When workers lose their jobs, they often lose their health coverage as well," said director Ron Pollack. "For millions of laid-off workers and their families, the federal COBRA subsidies have been a health-coverage lifeline."
The report said that average monthly family COBRA premiums vary range from $979 in Idaho and $989 in Iowa to $1,246 in Massachusetts and $1,232 in Minnesota.
Labels: COBRA, finance course online, health coverage, health insurance premiums
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Friday, December 11, 2009
Most Americans not confident about financial future
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NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) – There may be small glimmers of hope in the economy but most Americans are not confident about their financial future and many think they are already poor, according to a new survey.
More than 70 percent of Americans questioned in a Zogby International poll said they could imagine becoming poor or already think they are.
"What they're saying is that they're one, two or three paychecks away from poverty," said John Zogby, the CEO of polling company. "This has a huge implication."
Consumer worry about sliding into poverty has already dampened early holiday sales, with people spending less so far this year and often hunting for bargains, experts say.
While Black Friday and Saturday sales increased 0.9 percent over 2008, totaling $16.77 billion dollars according to ShopperTrak, shoppers spent less on average last Friday than in 2008, according to the National Retail Foundation.
The gap between current difficulties and people's expectations for the future might be due to the economic crisis not being severe enough to fundamentally alter consumer behavior.
"There is a contradiction playing out in front of us between hopefulness and hopelessness," said Jenny Darroch, a professor at Claremont's Graduate School of Management in California.
A third of people questioned in the poll said they hoped to be better off a year from now, while 34.5 percent said they would be about the same. But in five years from now more than half said they'd be better off, the poll shows.
Darroch said the numbers show there is a "hope that the crisis will come to an end soon."
But it also indicates that the recession has not fundamentally dented the way consumers will behave in the future.
"People are being told that the crisis is coming to an end," said Darroch, adding that when it does people will probably revert to the same patterns of consumption.
Yet for Darroch not everything will be the same.
"In the future people may feel like they have more money, but they may be very cautious about how they spend it."
By Basil Katz
Labels: finance course online, financial future, poverty
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Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Bank of America to repay TARP, raise cash
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NEW YORK - Bank of America Corp. said Wednesday it plans to repay its $45 billion in government bailout funds in the next few days, a move that will help the troubled bank recruit a new CEO.
The bank said in a statement it would use available cash and raise $18.8 billion in capital to repay the money, which it received during the height of the credit crisis last year and after its purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co. earlier this year.
Bank of America has been searching for a successor to CEO Ken Lewis since the bank announced in late September that he planned to retire on Dec. 31. But the bank, burdened with government restrictions and close oversight after accepting the Troubled Asset Relief Program funds, has so far been unable to sign a new chief executive.
"It removes the stigma that we've had as a company," spokesman Bob Stickler said of the planned repayment. "We become more attractive to a CEO candidate. Whether that means we get somebody external is impossible to say."
The bank has said it was considering candidates from inside and outside the company. Stickler said a decision is expected "in the near future."
Investors were relieved by the news, and sent Bank of America stock up 3.3 percent in after-hours trading.
"This will help with the CEO search by taking off the pay restrictions," banking analyst Bert Ely said. "The word you keep hearing with Bank of America and AIG is that the compensation issues are a problem."
Insurance company American International Group Inc., which received a $182.5 billion bailout after running into trouble with complex credit derivative securities, has also had recruiting problems.
Ely agreed that the restrictions put forth by federal pay czar Kenneth Feinberg have likely been an obstacle to finding the best possible CEO candidate.
"There could be someone saying, 'I'm not going to take this job unless you pay back the money and get out from under the pay czar," Ely said.
The Treasury Department said in a statement it was pleased that Bank of America planned to repay the TARP funds.
The bank said it has paid $2.54 billion to the government so far in dividends on the TARP money. BofA said it is not yet exercising its right to repurchase warrants that the government received in return for the bailout money. Warrants are financial instruments that allow the holder to buy stock in the future at a fixed price.
As of Oct. 31, nearly 50 financial companies returned a total of $72.3 billion in bailout money. Other big banks, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley, repaid their bailout funds after they were given permission to do so by the government in June.
Treasury also made $6.79 billion in dividends from the TARP money and $2.90 billion selling warrants.
Bank of America received $25 billion as part of the initial round of bailouts when the credit crisis peaked last fall. It then received an additional $20 billion in January shortly after it acquired Merrill Lynch and it was learned that the Wall Street firm had billions of dollars in losses that Bank of America did not anticipate.
The bank said it will issue $18.8 billion in what are called common equivalent securities to help fund the repayment. It currently does not have approval from shareholders to increase the number of its common shares outstanding, but once it obtains that approval, investors holding these securities will be able to swap them for common shares.
Bank of America plans to hold a special meeting with shareholders in the next few months to vote on increasing the share count. The company also said it plans to raise an additional $4 billion from the sale of certain business units in the coming months.
Whoever becomes the new Bank of America CEO will have to deal with the rising losses on loans that all banks are contending with. Consumers unable to keep up with their bills have been defaulting on loans including mortgages and credit cards.
Bank of America lost $2.2 billion in the third quarter. Its losses were offset somewhat by investment banking income from Merrill Lynch.
The bank is also still facing investigations from federal and state regulators into whether it misled shareholders about the Merrill Lynch deal, including the fact that employees were given billions of dollars in bonuses shortly before the acquisition closed Jan. 1. At the time, Bank of America was also seeking the additional $20 billion in bailout money.
By SARA LEPRO, AP Business Writer
Labels: Bank of America, finance course online, Ken Lewis, tarp
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Monday, December 7, 2009
Recession intensifies GenX discontent at work
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CHICAGO - They're antsy and edgy, tired of waiting for promotion opportunities at work as their elders put off retirement. A good number of them are just waiting for the economy to pick up so they can hop to the next job, find something more fulfilling and get what they think they deserve. Oh, and they want work-life balance, too.
Sounds like Gen Y, the so-called "entitlement generation," right?
Not necessarily, say people who track the generations. In these hard times, they're also hearing strong rumblings of discontent from Generation X. They're the 32- to 44-year-olds who are wedged between baby boomers and their children, often feeling like forgotten middle siblings - and increasingly restless at work as a result.
"All of a sudden, we've gone from being the young upstarts to being the curmudgeons," says Bruce Tulgan, a generational consultant who's written books about various age groups, including his fellow Gen Xers.
This isn't the first time Gen Xers have faced tough times. They came of age during a recession and survived the dot-com bust of 2000. In recent years, though, more members of the generation — stereotyped early on as jaded individualists - had families or began settling down in other ways. It was time, they thought, to enjoy the rewards of paying some dues.
"We were starting to buy into the system, at least to some extent," Tulgan says, "and then we got the rug pulled out from under us."
Now, in this latest recession, nearly two-thirds of baby boomer workers, ages 50 to 61, say they might have to push back their retirement, according to a recent survey from Pew Research.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the age spectrum are Gen Yers, who are often cheaper to hire and heralded for their coveted high-tech knowledge, even though many Gen Xers consider themselves just as technologically savvy.
"It's so annoying," says Lisa Chamberlain, another Gen Xer who wrote the book "Slackonomics: Generation X in the Age of Creative Destruction." "First, it was always the baby boomers overshadowing everything. Then there was this brief period in the mid-'90s where Gen X was cool.
"Now it's, 'What are the new kids doing?' It's like 'Yo, hello, the Google guys are Gen Xers.'"
They can sound a little whiny. But there's also some evidence that Gen Xers really are being taken for granted at work.
One survey done this year for Deloitte Consulting LLP, for instance, found that nearly two-thirds of executives at large companies were most concerned about losing Gen Y employees, while less than half of them had similar concerns about losing Gen Xers.
The assumption is often that Gen Yers are the least loyal and most mobile, says Robin Erickson, a manager with Deloitte's human capital division.
However, she points out that a companion survey of employees found that only about 37 percent of Gen Xers said they planned to stay in their current jobs after the recession ends, compared with 44 percent of Gen Yers, 50 percent of baby boomers and 52 percent of senior citizen workers who said the same.
Everyone surveyed worried about job security. Gen X and Gen Y were most likely to complain about pay. But a "lack of career progress," was by far the biggest gripe from Gen Xers, with 40 percent giving that as a reason for their restlessness, compared with 30 percent of Gen Yers, 20 percent of baby boomers and 14 percent of senior workers.
Gen Yers, meanwhile, were more likely than the other generations to cite "lack of challenges in the job" as a reason they would leave, while baby boomers more often chose "poor employee treatment during the downturn" and a "lack of trust in leadership."
The Deloitte study warns of a "resume' tsunami" once economic recovery begins, especially among Gen Xers, and notes that many executives were largely unaware of employee complaints unrelated to money.
Such findings don't surprise Rich Yudhishthu, a 37-year-old Gen Xer who's a business development consultant from Minneapolis.
"The lack of promotional opportunities has pretty much killed job loyalty within a generation," he says.
Liza Potts, a 35-year-old professor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., agrees, but also notes that the disillusionment took hold for many of her peers as far back as childhood.
"Many of my friends had hoped to have jobs like their parents - places they would stay forever that would take care of them like they did their parents. But then we saw that start to crumble for our folks," she says, recalling friends whose fathers and mothers got laid off from companies such as IBM or had to relocate.
Now worried about their own foreclosures, debt and unemployment, her generation is left to do the soul-searching their parents did.
"Is there still time to become something different? Must we just accept where we are? Is there time to innovate elsewhere?" asks Potts who left her own career in the software and Internet industry for a life in academia. It's meant less money, she says, but also more freedom to choose her work hours and projects.
In Chicago, 40-year-old real estate agent Adon Navarette has taken on extra jobs to make it, from consultant for an energy supply company to starting his own health and wellness business. He's heard his peers sniping about other generations, but also thinks their experience with other rough economic patches makes them resilient, too.
It's a pivotal moment, he says.
"What's going to define me as a Gen Xer is how I come out of this. What's going to define me is, 'What have I done to allow myself to take advantage of the market when the market turns around?'" he says.
Sometimes, it means working for less money.
Jon Anne Willow, co-publisher of ThirdCoastDigest.com, an online arts and culture site in Milwaukee, is among employers who've recently been able to hire more experienced candidates for jobs traditionally filled by 20somethings.
They're hungry to work, she says. And as she sees it, that gives her fellow Gen Xers and the baby boomers she's hired a distinct advantage over a lot of the Gen Yers she's come across.
"When the dust settles, they'll be exactly as they were before and we'll just have to sift through them and take the ones that actually get it and hope the rest find employment in fast food," she quips.
Spoken like a truly jaded Gen Xer.
By MARTHA IRVINE, AP National Writer
Labels: finance course online, Generation X, GenX, recession
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Friday, December 4, 2009
U.S. offshore tax amnesty yields big response
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Some 14,700 rich Americans worried about a U.S. government crackdown on offshore tax cheats came forward to participate in a tax amnesty program, the top U.S. tax official said on Tuesday.
Participation in the Internal Revenue Service's amnesty program was "unprecedented" and the final number was nearly double the agency's estimate in October, U.S. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman told reporters in a telephone briefing.
The IRS amnesty program, which ended in October, offered reduced penalties for wealthy Americans who voluntarily disclosed previously undeclared foreign bank accounts and assets. "We were flooded with people coming in the final days of the program," Shulman said.
"The IRS has never got anything like that in response to prior initiatives," said Barbara Kaplan, a lawyer for high net- worth clients in New York. "It's a little higher than I anticipated based on the pace of my own practice and the panic that was out there."
While agency officials were still analyzing the amount of offshore assets and bank accounts disclosed, Shulman said "we are talking about billions of dollars coming into the U.S. treasury" from the amnesty program.
Of the 14,700 newly disclosed accounts, Shulman said many involved bank accounts in Switzerland and Europe, but assets were also hidden in more than 70 countries.
"The whole game around bank secrecy, around offshore (tax) evasion is changing" because of pressure from the U.S. Justice Department and from international capital markets, he said.
At the center of the U.S. efforts to combat tax evasion abroad is a case against Swiss banking giant UBS AG, which led the bank to agree to reveal the names of 4,450 client accounts.
Shulman also said the outpouring of hidden offshore accounts does not affect in any way the obligation of UBS to turn over those American account-holder names. There had been some speculation that success in the amnesty program would cut the obligation of UBS to turn over accounts.
"Some have misinterpreted this," Shulman said.
Although the amnesty program has ended, Shulman encouraged Americans with hidden offshore assets to continue to come forward and talk with the IRS about them. "It will be much worse for them if we find them first," he said.
CRITERIA
The U.S. and Swiss governments also released on Tuesday the criteria it used to arrive at the 4,450 accounts that parties agreed UBS would eventually turn over to U.S. authorities.
The Swiss Justice Department said it would hand over the names of wealthy U.S. clients of UBS with accounts holding more than 1 million Swiss francs ($986,200) where there is a reasonable suspicion of tax fraud.
Accounts of a lesser size could come under the deal where there is a "scheme of lies" identified, according to the document.
It describes suspicious activity that could be interpreted as tax fraud including the use of debit cards, cell phones or wire transfers to hide accounts.
Shulman said the agreement will give the U.S. accounts it is most interested in -- those where taxpayers exhibited the most egregious behavior, those that would be hardest for the U.S. to identify and accounts with the largest holdings.
Submission of data to U.S. authorities applies to UBS accounts held between 2001 and 2008 by U.S. citizens.
By Kim Dixon
Labels: finance course online, tax amnesty, ubs
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Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Great Recession: The numbers tell the story
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NEW YORK - A year ago this weekend, the Dow Jones industrial average had just finished a slow-motion crash. Over eight days, it fell 2,400 points, or 22 percent, and stood at 8,451.
One year later, the Dow is at 9,865. It's up 51 percent from a 12-year low of 6,547 on March 9 - when some investors feared the financial world was coming to an end.
But the complete story of the Dow's journey since the economy soured goes back a little further. Two years ago this week, on Oct. 7, 2007, the Dow set its record high of 14,164.
What followed was a three-act play. For five months, from October 2007 through the collapse of investment bank Bear Stearns in mid-March 2008, the Dow fell 2,000 points in an orderly fashion as investors anticipated a garden-variety recession. From mid-March until Labor Day, the Dow rose and fell but was little changed.
Right after Labor Day, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and AIG failed over 10 days. The credit markets froze, and investors panicked, fearing another Great Depression. There were rallies amid the downward spiral that ensued, but over six months - until the low on March 9 - the Dow fell 5,000 points.
So where do we stand today?
The seven-month rally since March has yet to wipe away all the losses, but few expected that the Dow would be edging back to 10,000 so soon. Unemployment is close to 10 percent, but other parts of the economy are stabilizing. Consumers are still hunkered down, but retail sales showed a slight gain in September. The panic of last fall has been replaced by the resignation that the worst is over but it might be years before the economy booms again.
"The problems that we're dealing with - there's a little bit less urgency," says Alan Levenson, chief economist at T. Rowe Price Associates. "We've stopped what could have been fatal bleeding."
Here's a by-the-numbers look at the stock market and the economy since the eight-day crash one year ago:
• $11.2 trillion: Total losses in the stock market from the Dow's peak in October 2007 to the March 2009 bottom.
• $4.6 trillion: Total gains in the stock market since March 9.
• 6: The number of the 10 worst point drops in the 113-year history of the Dow that occurred in 2008. The 777-point drop on Sept. 29, 2008, ranks No. 1.
• 3: The number of the 10 worst percentage drops that occurred in 2008. The Sept. 29 decline of 9 percent is the third-biggest behind 22.6 percent on Oct. 19, 1987, and 10 percent on April 14, 2000.
• 92 percent: Decrease in Citigroup Inc.'s share price from Oct. 10, 2008, ($13.90) to March 9 ($1.05).
• 341 percent: Increase in Citigroup's share price from March 9 to Friday's close of $4.63.
• 18-20: The historical average for the Volatility Index of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, also known as the VIX, or "Fear Index."
• 89: Where the VIX peaked last October.
• 23: Where the VIX was on Friday.
• 16 percent: The amount by which the Dow's closing level on Friday was higher than its average close the previous 200 days. Earlier this month the number hit 20 percent, the highest since the early 1980s.
• $6.5 trillion: Value of assets in stock mutual funds at end of 2007.
• $3.7 trillion: Value at the end of 2008.
• $4.5 trillion: Value at the end of August.
• -$72 billion: Net cash flow (money put in minus money taken out) for stock mutual funds in October 2008.
• -$25 billion: Net cash flow in March.
• $4 billion: Net cash flow in August.
• $9: The amount, out of every $10 investors put into mutual funds in August, that went into bond funds.
• $855.40: The price of an ounce of gold on Oct. 10, 2008.
• $1,048.60: The price of an ounce of gold on Friday.
• 6.2 percent: Unemployment rate a year ago.
• 9.8 percent: Unemployment rate today.
• 95.2: Consumer confidence two years ago. Reading above 90 means the economy is on solid footing; above 100 signals strong growth.
• 25.3: Consumer confidence in February — record low.
• 53.1: Consumer confidence today.
• 2.8 percent: Decline in retail sales in October and December 2008.
• 2.7 percent: Increase in retail sales in August.
• 4.75 percent: Federal funds rate two years ago.
• 1 percent: Fed funds rate last October.
• 0 - 0.25 percent: Fed funds rate today.
• 4.81 percent: London interbank offered rate (LIBOR), the amount banks charge each other to borrow money for three months, at its peak, on Oct. 10, 2008.
_0.28 percent: Three-month LIBOR rate Friday.
• -0.5 percent: Personal savings rate in 2005 as home prices were soaring.
• 6.9 percent: Personal savings rate in May.
• $975 billion: Credit card debt held by Americans last September.
• $899 billion: Credit card debt held at the end of August, down 8 percent.
• 7 million: Home resales in 2005, a record year.
• 4.5 million: Home resales in January at annual rate.
• 5.1 million: Home resales in August at annual rate.
• $245,000: Median price of homes sold in 2006 — record high.
• $213,000: Median price of homes sold last October.
• $195,000: Median price of homes sold in August.
By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer
Labels: dow, finance course online, Great Recession
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Monday, November 30, 2009
Obama's new term: 'Insurance reform'
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If you haven't been paying attention, you might have missed it. But with the substitution of one word, President Barack Obama was able to redirect his health care message from uninsured Americans to those who already have insurance.
In his Wednesday night address, Obama talked about "health insurance reform" a noticeable shift from the "health care reform" he had been talking up until late last week.
With support for reform softening, Obama attempted to move the conversation away from the talk of taxes, public plans and the other divisive issues dominating Congress and the headlines back to how his reforms would help the 160 million Americans who already have insurance. The pivot was an attempt to reframe the bill as something that directly benefits most Americans, instead of a subsidy for the uninsured.
"I realize that with all the charges and criticisms being thrown around in Washington, many Americans may be wondering, 'What's in this for me? How does my family stand to benefit from health insurance reform?" Obama asked. "This is not just about the 47 million Americans who have no health insurance. Reform is about every American who has ever feared that they may lose their coverage if they become too sick, or lose their job, or change their job."
Obama used the term 'health insurance reform" in his Saturday radio address and repeated it again on Monday when he jabbed the insurance industry, saying: "Even as America's families have been battered by spiraling health care costs, health insurance companies and their executives have reaped windfall profits from a broken system."
Linda Douglass, a spokeswoman for the White House Office of Health Reform, explained the shift saying, "Much of health reform is health insurance reform: getting rid of pre-existing conditions, discrimination based on age or gender, rescissions, in which insurance companies suddenly withdraw coverage when you get sick."
But the term also has distinctive political advantages. Insurance reform, insiders say, likely polls better than a more general reform message because it targets something voters know, understand and don't particularly like. And, it has the added bonus of setting up the insurance industry as a political punching bag.
'I think they're pivoting because they're looking at cratering poll numbers that people are seriously concerned about too much government, too much spending and turning health care over to Washington. And they're trying to change that story and looking for a boogeyman," said a health care insider. "People aren't buying what they're selling so they're trying to change the subject."
Emphasizing insurance reform also allows Obama to begin highlighting insurance market changes as a principal part of reform, and not as an also-ran to its glitzier partner, the government-run health insurance option.
"If Obama's unable to reach a consensus, a bipartisan package on a public plan and financing, then this may be opening the door to a fallback position of insurance market reform," said health care consultant Phil Blando. "That may be wishful thinking on my part, but it's possible."
Perhaps a bit ironically, Obama's recent message dovetails with the industry. America's Health Insurance Plans began airing a national television ad this week that promotes providing affordable coverage for everybody that doesn't deny insurance to those with pre-existing health conditions.
"We agree that health insurance reform is a critical part of health care reform and health insurance reform means getting everyone in, making sure that pre-existing conditions are a thing of the past and that people have a guaranteed source of affordable coverage," said AHIP spokesman Mike Tuffin.
Chris Frates
Labels: finance course online, health care, health insurance, reform
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Friday, November 27, 2009
Meltdown jolts consumers from financial fairyland
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CHICAGO - The stock market bounced back, just as it has for nearly three decades. It just doesn't feel that way.
Last year's financial meltdown knocked the swagger out of Americans' views toward investing. The baby boomers who forged the Reagan bull market; survived the 1987 crash; bought Amazon.com at $2 a share and sold at $100; brushed off the collapse of the dot-com bubble and kept plowing money into their 401(k)s are reassessing what they once believed.
It's hard, after all, to keep the faith in buy-and-hold after the market crashed harder than at any time since the Great Depression. It's hard to trust your financial adviser after Bernard Madoff stole billions from his clients. Most of all, it's hard for a generation that equated personal finance with investing in stocks to accept that the rules have changed.
People are still investing. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 58 percent since hitting a 12-year low on March 9. 401(k) participation rates have held steady.
But financial planners around the country say there is a sense that people are returning to basic principles that were shunted aside: Maximize your savings; limit your use of credit cards; keep a substantial emergency fund; know how much risk you can tolerate; diversify your investments; don't try to short-cut your way to wealth.
"Before the market chaos, there was a very low savings rate, inappropriate use of credit cards, too much risk in investments, excessive spending on residences," says Tom Warschauer, a finance professor at San Diego State University. "Virtually every type of financial decision was being made in a kind of fairyland atmosphere, thinking 'This will lead me to be better off' when in fact that was never the case."
Warschauer, who also sees clients as a certified financial planner, predicts the new behavior could last for a decade. Others financial planners say people still believe in the market; they're just more realistic.
"People were in shock for a while. Now they're reassessing their situation and being very pragmatic, especially about their retirement," says Mark Jamison, a vice president at financial services firm Charles Schwab Corp. "They are learning that if you're willing to work a little more, spend a little less, take Social Security later, things can still work out all right."
___
The jolt to investors hurt so much because it hurt so many.
A generation ago, most people had no direct stake in the daily dealings on Wall Street. Fewer than 6 percent of households owned mutual funds in 1980. Four years later that number had more than doubled, thanks to the birth of the modern-day 401(k) and an economic boom that followed the severe recession of 1981-82. It nearly doubled again, to more than 24 percent, in 1988. By the turn of the century about half of all households owned them.
Wall Street can thank the baby boomers for that. They bought the idea that stocks would always go up - or if they fell, that they would rebound quickly. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 23 percent on Black Monday in October 1987 - its largest one-day percentage drop. But it took just 15 months to make that up. And a decade later the Dow had nearly quadrupled from there.
Boomers piled their money into the latest market fad - whether it was biotechnology stocks, the Internet or exchange-traded funds. They put the money for their children's college education in 529 plans and saved for retirement by investing in 401(k)s and IRAs.
Then came the crash. The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 55 percent of its value from October 2007 to last March. Even with the recent bounce back, it remains 32 percent below its peak.
And with three-plus months to go, it has been a lost decade. The S&P began 2000 at 1,469 and is now 27 percent lower at 1,068. This decade trails only the 1930s as the worst in the modern investing era, and not by that much. Losses this decade have averaged 3.2 percent annually, compared with 5.3 percent a year in the '30s.
The market turmoil has lengthened careers and delayed retirements.
David Sinclair, 62, of Rio Rancho, N.M., retired in 2007 from his job as budget officer for a federal agency. He was confident his savings of more than $500,000, bolstered by a government pension, would be enough to support him and wife, Debra. He had spent 20 years playing by the rules and carefully planning for retirement.
But then the value of his portfolio fell 33 percent, and he ended up back at work at his old desk.
"One of my goals when I retired was to do a lot of traveling," he says. "With the way things were going, it became pretty apparent that I'd be lucky to take a trip every three years."
___
It might seem we've been here before — in this decade.
The collapse of the dot-com bubble, the terror attacks on Sept. 11 and a recession sent the stock market reeling to three years of double-digit losses from 2000-02.
Then it was over. As in the past, the consumer helped the economy roar out of recession with a surge in spending. Stocks rebounded 26 percent in 2003 to start a five-year run that lasted through 2007.
Why can't it happen like that again?
Consider:
• The tech crash was different. The stability of the entire financial system was never in jeopardy, as it was with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and the tech crash didn't affect all investors.
"It was sobering, but if you held (mostly) non-tech stocks you did well," says Austin Frye, a certified financial planner in Aventura, Fla. "The lesson from that was you need to spread your money around a little."
• The first baby boomers turn 65 in just two years. When that happens, the 78-million-strong group will begin the long process of removing its wealth from the market.
There is evidence that the nation's love affair with stocks is already ebbing. Just 45 percent of U.S. households owned stocks or mutual funds by 2008, down from 53 percent in 2001, according to the Investment Company Institute, a mutual fund industry trade group. That number is unlikely to increase as the biggest, richest and most invested generation starts to cash out.
• The consumer is tapped out. Even as their stock portfolios begin to recover, consumers are left with deflated home values and debts piled up during the boom years. If they spend less and save more for years, as many predict, corporate profits may be sluggish and stock gains muted.
• The U.S. economy will be wrestling for years with the effects of the Great Recession and the record amount of government debt it spawned. That could lead to higher taxes. At the same time, a share of global wealth is gradually shifting to markets in developing countries, especially China and India.
• For many, cash and bonds have become the new stocks, reflecting investors' desire for safety and security.
About two-thirds of the money flowing into the $11 trillion U.S. mutual fund industry in the second quarter went into bond funds and one-third went into stock funds, according to the research firm Strategic Insight. That's roughly the reverse of the pre-crash ratio.
Bonds have far outperformed stocks this decade. While the S&P has been taking a beating, a benchmark bond index has posted 6 percent annualized returns and an 83 percent cumulative return since the start of 2000, according to Morningstar, an investment research firm.
Typical of many financial advisers, Joy Slabaugh of EST Financial Group in Delmar, Del., says liquidity is a priority of her clients.
"People are leaving tons of their money in cash and not wanting to move it," she says. "They want it to be cash, they want it to be FDIC-insured, and that's that."
And it's not just the little guy who is cooling on stocks. Some financial professionals have questioned the buy-and-hold approach to stocks, along with the strategy of putting 60 percent of a portfolio in stocks and 40 percent in bonds.
Money manager Rob Arnott says the past year has challenged some basic premises behind what he calls the "cult of equities."
"There's nothing wrong with stocks if you buy them at sensible prices," says Arnott, chairman of Research Affiliates in Newport Beach, Calif. "There's something very wrong with buying stocks when they're terribly expensive, and assuming that time will heal all.
"The notion that stocks will always help us if we're patient - well, how patient do you have to be?"
By DAVE CARPENTER, AP Personal Finance
Labels: finance course online, financial market, financial planners
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
'Greatest Trade': How You Can Make $20 Billion
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Even as the financial system collapsed last year, and millions of investors lost billions of dollars, one unlikely investor was racking up historic profits: John Paulson, a hedge-fund manager in New York.
His firm made $20 billion between 2007 and early 2009 by betting against the housing market and big financial companies. Mr. Paulson's personal cut would amount to nearly $4 billion, or more than $10 million a day. That was more than the 2007 earnings of J.K. Rowling, Oprah Winfrey and Tiger Woods combined.
How did he do it? Believing that a housing-market collapse was coming, Mr. Paulson spent over $1 billion in 2006 to buy insurance on what he then saw as risky mortgage investments. When the housing market cracked and the mortgages tumbled, the value of Mr. Paulson's insurance soared. One of his funds rose more than 500% that year. Then in 2008, he shorted financial shares, or wagered that they would fall in price, profiting again when these companies collapsed.
And are there any investing skills that average investors can learn from his success? Yes. There are no guarantees, of course, but the success of Mr. Paulson and a few other underdog investors lends encouragement to individuals trying to compete with Wall Street's pros.
Adapted from "The Greatest Trade Ever: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of How John Paulson Defied Wall Street and Made Financial History," by Gregory Zuckerman. Broadway Books. Copyright © 2009 by Gregory Zuckerman.
Here are eight investing lessons of Mr. Paulson's $20 billion gamble, the greatest trade in financial history:
1. Don't Rely on the Experts
Many investors lost big in 2007 and 2008 as housing crumbled and the stock market tumbled. But no one lost more than commercial and investment banks caught with toxic mortgage-related securities. These bankers were the very same ones who created these investments, and Wall Street's top analysts had vouched for their safety, even as Mr. Paulson and others bet against the investments.
Lesson: When Wall Street is wheeling out its latest can't-miss product, be skeptical.
2. Bubble Trouble
Some academics argue that financial markets have become more efficient. But a rash of financial bubbles in recent years -- including housing, energy, technology and Asian currencies -- suggests that markets are becoming harder to navigate, and are more prone to overshooting. Today, investors of all sizes read the same articles, watch the same business-television programs and chase the same hot tips. They invariably head for the exits at the same time.
Lesson: Have an exit strategy -- and cash to cushion any tumble.
3. Focus on Debt Markets
Most investors track the ups and downs of the stock market but have only a vague sense of moves in debt markets. That's a mistake. Early signs of trouble were seen in sophisticated markets that don't get much limelight, like the subprime-mortgage bond market. These problems eventually felled the housing and stock markets, and the overall economy, a set of falling dominos that Mr. Paulson and his team correctly anticipated.
Lesson: Debt markets can do a better job predicting problems than stock markets.
4. Master New Investments
Mr. Paulson scored huge profits by buying credit-default swaps, a derivative investment that serves as insurance on debt. When risky mortgage bonds tumbled in value, Mr. Paulson's insurance soared. But many experts were flummoxed by CDS contracts or shied away from educating themselves about these relatively new investments.
Mr. Paulson and his team had no experience with CDS contracts. But they put the time into learning about them.
Lesson: Educate yourself about the range of exchange-traded funds being introduced, some of which can play a valuable role in a portfolio.
5. Insurance Pays
A number of investors worried about a bursting of the housing market, but few did much about it, even though insurance, such as CDS contracts, at the time were selling at dirt-cheap prices. Out-of-the-money put contracts -- options that pay off only if the market tumbles -- also were trading at reasonable levels. As cheap as this insurance was, many pros ignored it.
Lesson: Don't underestimate the value of a safety net, such as put options.
6. Experience Counts
Some of the biggest winners in the meltdown were middle-aged investors dismissed by some as past their prime. But they had experienced past market downturns, while some of the bankers and analysts caught flat-footed knew only good times.
Lesson: A historical perspective can be a valuable tool.
7. Don't Fall in Love
With an Investment. In early 2009, Mr. Paulson became more bullish about the banks and financial companies that he had wagered against in 2008, after determining that these companies had improved their balance sheets. The moves resulted in profits this year.
Lesson: Even the greatest trade doesn't last forever.
8. Luck Helps
In early 2006, Mr. Paulson determined that housing was in trouble and set out to profit from the impending fall. But some housing experts already had determined that real estate was overpriced; others had wagered against housing but could no longer stomach their losses. Just months after Mr. Paulson placed his historic trade, U.S. housing prices began to fall.
Lesson: Don't risk too much in any one trade, even one that seems like a sure thing.
Write to Gregory Zuckerman at gregory.zuckerman@wsj.com
Labels: finance course online, hedge-fund, John Paulson
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Monday, November 23, 2009
Billions in unclaimed bonds date to World War II
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HELENA, Mont. - The federal government is facing a lawsuit over billions in unclaimed bonds that date back to the patriotic fundraising efforts of World War II, leading to a showdown between states who say they should be given the money and a Treasury Department that claims ownership.
World War II sparked an unprecedented bond buying campaign, spurred on by one of the largest advertising campaigns ever seen - a drive wrapped in dutiful pleas from celebrities, politicians and cartoon characters alike.
Most American families bought at least one bond at the time and many never cashed them in - thanks in part to a 40-year maturity in the bonds. And those same "Series E" war bonds continued to be sold by the federal government until 1980.
More than $16 billion worth of the bonds are unclaimed, either lost or forgotten about with the death of the original purchasers.
The state attorneys general suing the Treasury Department charge that the federal government made no effort to find those people. They want the money given to the states, who have a legal system in place for finding the owners of unclaimed funds.
"It's better for the millions of American who are the rightful owners to have it returned to the states, because the states will make a real effort to find them," said David Bishop, a partner at Kirby McInerney who is representing the states in the suit. "And if after searching for them they can't find them, the money can go to work in the communities where the bonds were purchased."
The Treasury Department counters that it indeed tries to find owners of the unclaimed bonds, and says it has a Web site where people cam simply type in their Social Security number to see if they have one. And it points out that the money is not just laying around somewhere.
"One of the misunderstandings out there is that there is a lot of cash sitting somewhere in a drawer. Money from savings bonds was used to run the daily operating expenses of the government," said Joyce Harris, with the Bureau of the Public Debt. "These are obligations of the federal government, not the states. There is no pot of gold out there just waiting for someone to grab it."
The Treasury also points out that most of the unclaimed bonds are far more recent than the original World War II era bonds. And overall, 99 percent of people claim their bonds.
And those who don't cash them often choose to do so for tax reasons, or perhaps out of a sense of patriotism, Harris said.
"Quite frankly, people are aware of the bonds," she said. "A majority, when you contact them, are aware of the bonds."
It's not like the states will get the money free of obligation, about $55 million in the case of Montana. The states would be obligated to pay bondholders no matter if it takes them decades - or longer - to show up. In the meantime, though, states usually earmark the interest earned on such unclaimed money for schools or other purposes.
Steve Bullock, the attorney general for Montana, said states - not the federal government - have legally been granted the right to deal with unclaimed money.
"First and foremost I think it is the right thing to do. I think it is money that should be with Montanans," Bullock said. "It's an important action to bring just to protect the state's interest.
The complaint was first filed in Federal court in New Jersey in 2004 with New Jersey and North Carolina as the plaintiffs. Montana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Missouri later joined the case. All states would benefit if the lawsuit is successful.
The case will come down to constitutional arguments. Attorneys for the federal government are arguing the states don't have standing on what they see as a contract issue between the original purchasers and the Treasury Department.
The states expect arguments in the case to be made later this year on a motion from the federal government to dismiss the case.
By MATT GOURAS, Associated Press Writer
Labels: bonds, finance course online, unclaimed WWII
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Thursday, November 19, 2009
A Source of Cash: Those Old Savings Bonds
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It Might Be Time to Redeem Matured Savings Bonds, But Getting Cash Can Be Tricky
Remember those savings bonds your grandparents gave you for your second birthday?
Now might be a good time to dust them off and see how much they're worth, especially if decades have passed since you received them.
"There are $16.7 billion of matured savings bonds out there that people have not redeemed," says Joyce Harris, a spokeswoman for the Treasury Department's Bureau of the Public Debt. "It's money that can be used in tough times."
Savings bonds are sold by the U.S. Treasury to raise money for the U.S. government and can't be sold to other investors. In other words, you can only redeem them; you cannot trade or sell them.
The bonds never expire, but they do reach maturity and stop accruing interest. Savings bonds that are no longer earning interest include Series E bonds issued from May 1941 through September 1979, Series H bonds issues from June 1952 through September 1979, and Series HH bonds issued from January 1980 through September 1989, according to the Treasury Department's financial-services Web site, TreasuryDirect.gov.
There are several ways to redeem savings bonds. Newer electronic bonds can be redeemed through TreasuryDirect.gov. For older bonds, call the Treasury's Savings Bonds Direct customer-service department at 1-800-245-2804 to find out how to proceed.
The fastest way to redeem Series E, Series EE and Series I paper bonds, says Ms. Harris, is to go to your local bank. But first check with a bank to make sure it redeems bonds. She also suggests calling ahead to see what is required for redemption. Some banks may only redeem bonds for customers with longstanding active accounts.
Also, be sure to check the value of your bonds before heading to the bank branch. You can use the savings-bond calculator found in the tools section of TreasuryDirect.gov. If a bank teller informs you the bonds are worth less than the calculation you received online, call Savings Bonds Direct before authorizing redemption.
If you need cash, you also may want to redeem some of your bonds that are still earning interest. First check their current value and their earnings rate. If you're thinking of redeeming relatively new bonds, know that you can't redeem a bond for at least a year after purchase, and you'll forfeit three months' interest if you redeem the bond in its first five years.
The features of savings bonds have changed considerably over the years. Currently, the U.S. sells Series EE bonds that earn interest at a fixed 0.7% rate. The fixed rate for new EE bonds is set each May 1 and Nov. 1.
Meanwhile, the earnings rate for Series I bonds is a combination of a fixed rate, which applies for the life of the bond, and a semiannual inflation rate. The initial combined rate for bonds purchased from May through October of this year: 0%, reflecting the fact that consumer prices have actually declined.
by Anna Prior, Wall Street Journal
Labels: finance course online, savings bond
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Thursday, June 25, 2009
GMA 7 Video Reveals The # 1 Source of Income Today
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by showing you a video clip from a very popular TV Show
on GMA 7 Channel.
The video is about the number one secret on how to earn
$300, $1,000, or even $6,000 per month, just by staying at
home.
The video clip is in Tagalog. Sorry po!
The TV Hosts chose to speak plainly to most Pinoys for us
to really understand.
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Labels: clips, download free videos, finance course online, free video, free video download
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Saturday, June 20, 2009
Obama puts critics of financial overhaul on notice
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WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama said Saturday that current financial rules exploit consumers and he put critics of his proposed overhaul on notice: "While I'm not spoiling for a fight, I'm ready for one."
Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to defend his recent proposal, which is intended to prevent a repeat of the breakdown that has sent the U.S. economy reeling. But such major changes face a fight in Congress and opposition from some leaders in the banking and insurance industries.
In the address, Obama focused on a consumer watchdog office that he wants to set up.
"This is essential," Obama said. "For this crisis may have started on Wall Street. But its impacts have been felt by ordinary Americans who rely on credit cards, home loans and other financial instruments."
The Consumer Financial Protection Agency would take over oversight of mortgages, requiring that lenders give customers the option of "plain vanilla" plans with clear and affordable terms.
"It will have the power to set tough new rules so that companies compete by offering innovative products that consumers actually want and actually understand," Obama said.
"Those ridiculous contracts - pages of fine print that no one can figure out - will be a thing of the past. You'll be able to compare products, with descriptions in plain language, to see what is best for you."
More broadly, Obama's changes would begin to reverse the easing on federal regulations pressed by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Democratic leaders in Congress are promising legislation will get passed this year, but that depends in part on how Congress answers big questions about the overhaul, including the role of the Federal Reserve.
"I welcome a debate about how we can make sure our regulations work for businesses and consumers," Obama said. "But what I will not accept - what I will vigorously oppose - are those who do not argue in good faith."
By that, Obama said, he meant those who defend the status quo at any cost. He didn't name any people or organizations, but said special interests are already mobilizing to fight change. He called that typical Washington.
"These are the interests that have benefited from a system which allowed ordinary Americans to be exploited," Obama said.
The president said he would stand up for his plans, saying: "While I'm not spoiling for a fight, I'm ready for one. The most important thing we can do to put this era of irresponsibility in the past is to take responsibility now."
By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer
Labels: credit cards, finance course online, financial rules, home loans
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