Hey Webmasters! I’ve got another affiliate program you can use to make some easy $$$

This affiliate program is operated by the popular AllPosters.com site. The AllPosters.com Affiliates Program is an easy way to make money with your website. Link to AllPosters.com and earn 20% of every purchase made by your site visitors at their website. If the visitor decides to purchase within 10 days of their last visit from your website, you’ll still earn commission on the sale! You can link to AllPosters.com from a selection of over hundreds of thousands poster and art print images as well as poster stores and mini stores. They have posters related to just about everything (e.g. movies, music, sports, art, animals) so no matter what the content of your site is, you will find images that are a good fit. It’s easy to sign-up, track your sales, and build links because the site generates all the HTML code for you.

Click here to sign up for this affiliate program

Good luck!

Alan

Greetings! In my previous post I told you how you can find out which are the weakest banks and thrifts in the U.S. Now it’s time to share the link where you can find out which ones are the STRONGEST. If you happen to be with a bank listed on the weakest list, jumping on board with a bank listed on the strongest list seems to me like a smart move. Once again this list is produced by Weiss Ratings, and I thank them kindly for taking the time to research this information. Here is the link to the strongest banks and thrifts in The United States of America:

http://www.weissratings.com/strongest-banks-and-thrifts-in-us.php

I hope you find this useful.

Cheers,

Alan

Hi everyone. I’ve got some  useful bit of info to share with you. In a recent post on my “finance blog” I’ve got two links to the weakest and strongest US banks list product by Weiss Ratings and I though that this info would be very useful to share with you folks here on this blog.

If your bank happens to be on that list you may wish to consider finding yourself a financially stronger bank.

Here is the link to the weakest US banks and thrifts list:

http://www.weissratings.com/weakest-banks-and-thrifts-in-us.php

Kudos to Weiss Ratings for doing the research!

Oh, before I finish this post I want to let you know that in my next one I will post the link to the strongest US banks and thrifts. You can find it on the Weiss Ratings page too but I’ll post it here for convenience sake.

Cheers,

Alan

Attention affiliate marketers!

The guys over at Forex Impact are doing it again, only in a way BIGGER than the Forex affiliate programs industry has
EVER seen!

http://www.triadformula.com/affiliates/?aid=forexguru

If you wanna make some big $ You GOTTA get involved in this one – here’s why…

***They pay the biggest commissions -  50% which
means you’ll earn from $1000-$1500 PER sale…

***They have the BEST prizes – they are giving away
a Lotus Elise, A Ducati Super Bike, a Rolex, and more…

***They have a high conversion rate – the last
3 launches they did, sold “a combined 9 MILLION
dollars,” and all the affiliates involved got massive
checks (they’ve paid out millions)!

Now…they are about to release an all new version
of their flagship trading strategy, Triad 2.0, and you
REALLY want to get in on this one…

Go watch this video NOW to see the Lotus you can win,
and learn about all the special bonuses you’ll receive for
being a part of the biggest launch in 2010!

http://www.triadformula.com/affiliates/?aid=forexguru

Go check out the goods on the Triad launch – once you
see the video you’ll want in for sure.

PS: You can even qualify for a very private mastermind
with Anthony Trister, Ryan Deiss and all of the top Forex
affiliates in the industry!

Go see how…

http://www.triadformula.com/affiliates/?aid=forexguru

By Elliott Wave International

Stress test results for the biggest European banks were recently released, while the largest U.S. banks took their first stress tests in May 2009. But most people don’t really care how much stress their banks are under; they are more worried about their own stress levels. One thing that adds to personal stress is worrying about whether their deposits are in a safe place. Bob Prechter has encouraged people to find the safest banks for their money since he originally wrote his New York Times best-selling book, Conquer the Crash: You Can Survive and Prosper in a Deflationary Depression in 2002. This excerpt explains why banks of all sizes are riskier than they used to be (think about portfolios stuffed with derivatives, emerging market debt and non-performing commercial loans). You can also get a list of the Top 100 Safest U.S. Banks — two banks per state — that was just updated in late June with the latest available data by joining Club EWI and receiving EWI’s Safe Banks report.

* * * * *
Excerpted from Conquer the Crash: You Can Survive and Prosper in a Deflationary Depression, by Robert Prechter

Many major national and international banks around the world have huge portfolios of “emerging market” debt, mortgage debt, consumer debt and weak corporate debt. I cannot understand how a bank trusted with the custody of your money could ever even think of buying bonds issued by Russia or Argentina or any other unstable or spendthrift government. As At the Crest of the Tidal Wave put it in 1995, “Today’s emerging markets will soon be submerging markets.” That metamorphosis began two years later. The fact that banks and other investment companies can repeatedly ride such “investments” all the way down to write-offs is outrageous.

Many banks today also have a shockingly large exposure to leveraged derivatives such as futures, options and even more exotic instruments. The underlying value of assets represented by such financial derivatives at quite a few big banks is greater than the total value of all their deposits. The estimated representative value of all derivatives in the world today is $90 trillion, over half of which is held by U.S. banks. Many banks use derivatives to hedge against investment exposure, but that strategy works only if the speculator on the other side of the trade can pay off if he’s wrong.

Relying upon, or worse, speculating in, leveraged derivatives poses one of the greatest risks to banks that have succumbed to the lure. Leverage almost always causes massive losses eventually because of the psychological stress that owning them induces. You have already read of the tremendous debacles at Barings Bank, Long-Term [sic] Capital Management, Enron and other institutions due to speculating in leveraged derivatives. It is traditional to discount the representative value of derivatives because traders will presumably get out of losing positions well before they cost as much as what they represent. Well, maybe. It is at least as common a human reaction for speculators to double their bets when the market goes against a big position. At least, that’s what bankers might do with your money.

Today’s bank analysts assure us, as a headline from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution put it on December 29, 2001, that “Banks [Are] Well-Capitalized.” Banks today are indeed generally considered well capitalized compared to their situation in the 1980s. Unfortunately, that condition is mostly thanks to the great asset mania of the 1990s, which, as explained in Book One, is probably over. Much of the record amount of credit that banks have extended, such as that lent for productive enterprise or directly to strong governments, is relatively safe. Much of what has been lent to weak governments, real estate developers, government-sponsored enterprises, stock market speculators, venture capitalists, consumers (via credit cards and consumer-debt “investment” packages), and so on, is not. One expert advises, “The larger, more diversified banks at this point are the safer place to be.” That assertion will surely be severely tested in the coming depression.

There are five major conditions in place at many banks that pose a danger: (1) low liquidity levels, (2) dangerous exposure to leveraged derivatives, (3) the optimistic safety ratings of banks’ debt investments, (4) the inflated values of the property that borrowers have put up as collateral on loans and (5) the substantial size of the mortgages that their clients hold compared both to those property values and to the clients’ potential inability to pay under adverse circumstances. All of these conditions compound the risk to the banking system of deflation and depression.

Financial companies are enjoying big advances in the current stock market rally. Depositors today trust their banks more than they trust government or business in general. For example, a recent poll asked web surfers which among a list of seven types of institutions they would most trust to operate a secure identity service. Banks got nearly 50 percent of the vote. General bank trustworthiness is yet another faith that will be shattered in a depression.

Well before a worldwide depression dominates our daily lives, you will need to deposit your capital into safe institutions. I suggest using two or more to spread the risk even further. They must be far better than the ones that today are too optimistically deemed “liquid” and “safe” by both rating services and banking officials.

by Nilus Mattive

Fidelity just released a new report and it’s pretty depressing.

The upshot? A record number of Americans are making hardship withdrawals from their 401(k) retirement plans. Worse yet, the number of U.S. workers borrowing from their plans is also at a 10-year high!

I’ll get to why this is so disheartening in a moment. But first …

A Quick Look at the Ways to
Remove Money from a 401(k) Plan

The 401(k) plan is the most ubiquitous retirement account in the United States, and for good reason: Any money employees contribute is not counted for income tax purposes. Instead, it’s taxed — along with investment earnings — upon withdrawal.

So how and when can money come out of a 401(k) plan?

The first way is upon retirement, which is defined by the tax code as the contributor reaching age 59 ½. At that point and beyond, any money that comes out of a 401(k) plan is simply taxed as regular income.

The second way is through separation of employment. In this case, the contributor has four choices, which boil down to:

1. Leaving the money where it is
2. Rolling it over into a new employer’s plan
3. Rolling it into an Individual Retirement Account
4. Withdrawing it.

When done correctly, the first three options don’t result in any taxes or penalties. However, the fourth option DOES (unless the employee also happens to meet the conditions for retirement discussed above).

In short, money that comes out of a 401(k) plan before the contributor reaches age 59 ½ results in both regular income taxes being due but ALSO a 10 percent early withdrawal penalty.

The third way is through what is known as a “hardship withdrawal.” While they’re not required to do so, most 401(k) plans allow contributors to remove money under certain circumstances — including medical expenses, the purchase of a principal residence, tuition and related educational costs, and funeral expenses.

Individual plans have some leeway in how they specifically define “hardship” and what particular events can trigger withdrawals, but the IRS does provide the following guidelines:

“For a distribution from a 401(k) plan to be on account of hardship, it must be made on account of an immediate and heavy financial need of the employee and the amount must be necessary to satisfy the financial need. The need of the employee includes the need of the employee’s spouse or dependent.

“Under the provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the need of the employee also may include the need of the employee’s non-spouse, non-dependent beneficiary.

“A distribution is not considered necessary to satisfy an immediate and heavy financial need of an employee if the employee has other resources available to meet the need, including assets of the employee’s spouse and minor children. Whether other resources are available is determined based on facts and circumstances.”

In a few specific cases — such as death, permanent disability, or termination of service after age 55 — the IRS will not impose the 10 percent early penalty on these withdrawals. But in most other cases it will.

Worse, employees will also be required to pay ordinary income taxes on the amount removed.

And they will most likely be barred from contributing any new money to any employer retirement plan for at least the following six months!

The fourth way to remove money — temporarily — from a 401(k) is through a loan. Many plans will also allow participants to take out loans from their 401(k) accounts.

Generally, these loans have five-year terms — unless it’s for a primary residence — and carry fixed interest rates. Repayments must be made in regular installments, and everything goes back into the 401(k).

Now, Here’s Why I Find All the Current
Borrowing and Withdrawing So Troubling …

Obviously, a lot of Americans have hit rough patches lately … and other sources of credit remain in short demand … which is why hardship withdrawals are at an all-time high.

Borrowing from a retirement account now could leave you struggling down the line …

But with so many people nearing retirement already grossly underfunded, watching even more money flow out of their accounts is going to prove catastrophic down the line.

And since most of those withdrawals are getting hit with not just regular taxes but also the additional 10 percent penalty, we’re talking about a lot of nest egg money getting vaporized before it even goes toward their immediate needs!

Oh, and get this — Fidelity said 45 percent of the people who took a hardship loan last year took ANOTHER ONE this year!

What about all the 401(k) borrowing going on?

Well, on the surface it’s better to take a loan than an outright withdrawal because taxes and penalties aren’t assessed.

Still, there are a couple of things I find problematic:

#1. Unlike hardship withdrawals, there are no hard-and-fast rules on loans. So there’s no guarantee that this money is truly being borrowed for dire circumstances. People could simply be tapping their future retirements in the same way that they tapped their home equity a few years ago.

#2. While it’s true that this money should ultimately be repaid, and at least the interest will go back to into the retirement account, it essentially means that very little new money will be contributed. The end result will be a lower final balance and the loss of the very tax advantages that make 401(k)s attractive in the first place.

Look, if you’re absolutely stuck right now, then you’ve got to do what’s necessary. But in my opinion, you should avoid 401(k) hardship withdrawals at all costs … and think long and hard before you consider borrowing against your future retirement.

After all, the other typical sources of retirement income are looking shakier than they ever have before … and the folks tapping their 401(k)s may find themselves completely out of options in their golden years.

Best wishes,

Nilus

Recently there have been some encouraging signs that Congress is finally willing to admit what should have been evident two years ago.   Even after a $150 billion bailout, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are still bankrupt and should be abolished.  Indeed Rep. Barney Frank, a longtime champion of Fannie and Freddie has made a few statements alluding to this and I have signed on to a letter asking him to clarify his remarks and hold hearings on this topic.  There seems to be a growing consensus in favor of abolishing Fannie and Freddie.  This is the good news.

The bad news is that instead of simply returning to the free market, Fannie and Freddie will probably be replaced with something equally damaging, and at this point we can only guess what that will be.  One possibility is that instead of these two giant Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) the government will deputize thousands of smaller banks to do the same thing – that is to securitize mortgages with taxpayer guarantees to encourage lending that otherwise would not happen.  In other words, there will be a myriad of smaller Fannies and Freddies, and government involvement will reach even deeper into the financial sector.

Fannie and Freddie, and thus the taxpayer, has an alarming $5 trillion exposure to the mortgage market.  To some, spreading out this risk might seem tempting, and a smart thing to do.  But the fact remains that if a bank expects to lose money on a loan, so will the taxpayers.  Playing around with structures and definitions will still not deal with the root problem – government meddling in the housing market, playing fast and loose with our tax dollars, and central planning by the Federal Reserve.

Banks have complex risk assessment strategies in place that help them forecast if a particular loan will make them any money or not.  If they expect to make money, they will approve the loan.  If they have doubts, sometimes they will ask for a co-signer to improve their odds.  You might do this willingly for a friend or a relative if you didn’t mind losing some money on their behalf, but current government policies essentially force taxpayers to become cosigners for risky borrowers that are complete strangers, who the banks have already determined to be bad risks.  Taxpayers have no choice in the matter because politicians decided a few decades ago that dangling homeownership in front of more people seemed like a good way to garner votes.

That was sold to voters as a compassionate gesture to the poor and beneficial to society as a whole.  After all, how could giving more Americans an ownership stake in society be bad?  The combined policies of loose credit and government backing increased the demand for housing and drove prices sky high.  When the housing market heated up to the breaking point everything came crashing down.  Those suddenly facing foreclosure saw the reality of government compassion.  Truly, when government offers you a gift, you should eye it with great suspicion.

Another tragedy is that many job seekers are now tethered to their locations because of upside down loan obligations.  It takes a lot of effort with their bank and damage to their credit scores to figure out how to get out and move to a place where there are jobs.  Will the government now be seeking ways to subsidize renters in some way because of this lack of mobility?  Some think so.

My hope is that for the long term stability and health of the economy, the government will extricate itself from the market altogether and let it normalize.  My fear is that in its usual misguided efforts at solving one crisis, it will create a thousand others.

Ron Paul

Article syndicated by Alan’s Money Blog:

http://alansmoneyblog.com

There are lots of “newbies” on the financial affiliate marketing
scene. They look good on the surface, talk a good game, but the
reality is that many of them are just testing out stuff they
learned at a weekend marketing seminar.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for a solid, reputable, and
highly ethical financial affiliate program, check out what’s
going on at Profits Run.

* These guys have been marketing online since 2001.

* They were among the very first to implement big ticket product
launches in the forex and stock niches, cranking in around $20M
in launches in just a few years.

* They shelled out over $2M in affiliate commissions in just
2009 alone.

* Their in-house trading “guru” has been trading the markets
since 1974.

* Their in-house marketing geek & company co-founder has been
recognized by top internet marketers such as Jeff Walker,
Stephen Pierce, Yanik Silver and others as a product launch
expert.

* They’re constantly spending big bucks ($1M+ so far) on paid
media testing out promos with “cold traffic” to make sure what
you get WORKS and CONVERTS.

* They have a REAL OFFICE with real employees.

* They have a dedicated affiliate manager to make sure YOU get
taken care of.

* …and maybe best of all, they have a HUGE new product launch
in the Forex markets coming up this October.

But there IS a catch.

* This is a CLOSED affiliate program and you need to apply.

However, since I am inviting you, there’s a very good chance
you’ll be accepted.

Go here and get in on the action:

http://www.profitsrun.com/z/?i=773362&l=q74

To your success,
Alan

p.s. It’s not every day that you’ll find a “top gun” affiliate
program like this one, so make sure you explore this while this
invite is still valid:

http://www.profitsrun.com/z/?i=773362&l=q74 Share and Enjoy:

If you ever wanted to trade options the RIGHT way… safely,
confidently, and effectively… while lowering your risk…
(the way the professionals trade)…

You’ll want to read every word below.

Here’s why…

Options University is opening their ultra-popular Live Trading
Labs up to a limited number of new student traders.

(And…they’re giving away $794 worth of their
best options education courses…For F-R-E-E)

*******************************************************
Follow the link below to get all details now:

===> http://www.optionsuniversity.com/iscript.php?3440_A97484_21853
*******************************************************

Ready for an unprecedented, inside look into how
professional traders find successful trades and
how they manage risk?

Better yet, to get ‘live’ actionable trading ideas?

The Live Trading Labs will give you the luxury of watching
expert options traders as they identify the most profitable
trades that the market has to offer, and then TRADE THEM.

Live in front of your eyes…

So it’s clear to me that this is one of Options University’s
best services yet!

To learn more about it…

I’d like to invite you to attend a preview webinar to be held
THIS Tuesday, August 24th, at 9:00 pm EDT.

On this webinar, Options University will give you a “pull
back the curtain” preview of the Live Trading Labs, and show
you what they are all about. (and how you can make money)

Plus…

You’ll find out how you can score yourself $794 in primo
options education if you decide to join the Live Trading Labs.

But I think you’ll truly be bowled over by what will be
revealed on these webinars.

So, without further delay…

Here’s the web page to get more information, and to register
for one of these complimentary webinars:

===> http://www.optionsuniversity.com/iscript.php?3440_A97484_21853

Please clear your calendar on Tuesday for this webinar if
you can, because…

This one could cause your options trading portfolio to
catapult to the next level!

Best of luck!

Alan

P.S. Don’t put this off if you want to get into the world of options trading!

Options University’s Live Trading Labs service is unique
in the world of trading education.

I don’t know of any other product or service that gives
you this much ‘hands-on’ experience, with professional
traders guiding you every step of the way to successful
options trading.

At least attend the webinar on Tuesday, and make up your
mind whether or not this service is for you.

Here’s that registration and information page once again:

===> http://www.optionsuniversity.com/iscript.php?3440_A97484_21853

The Economic Crisis No One Saw Coming: A Convenient Untruth

August 9, 2010

By Elliott Wave International

The single most convenient untruth about the 2008 (and counting)
financial crisis is that it was unforeseen. For two years policymakers
have insisted “There was no way to know ahead of time” that
the liquidity boom would come to a screeching halt. Back in November
2008, in fact, the usually tight-lipped Queen of England herself
publicly described the turmoil of international markets as “awful” and
openly asked a panel of experts from the London School of Economics “Why
did nobody notice?“

Her Majesty is right: Most financial authorities did
NOT notice the crisis before it was too late. Comedy Central’s “The
Daily Show with Jon Stewart” of all places provided the
most poignant evidence: A March 2009 video montage
shows executives and economists from the world’s leading financial
firms repeatedly forecasting continued upside strength in stocks,
plus renewed bull market growth in financials — right as debt
markets came unhinged and the US stock market headed into a 50%-plus
selloff.

Dubbed the “8-Minute Rap” (after the “18-Minute
Gap” of Nixon’s Watergate tapes), the Daily Show video feature
sent an equally powerful message, as the clip
below makes plain.

Yet even as the mainstream authorities failed to detect the
economic earthquake moving below their own feet, somebody did “notice” well
in advance. That person was EWI’s president Bob Prechter.

The clip below is from a 2007 Bloomberg interview.
Clear as PLAY, the foreseeable nature of the crisis emerges from
Bob’s October 19, 2007 interview.

As the historic trend change began to unfold, Bob issued this
timely insight:

“We’ve seen the first crack in the credit structure
with a huge drop in commercial paper… These are the harbingers
of a change toward the downside for the stock market, commodities
including oil, and the debt market itself.”

Don’t believe the convenient untruths. Get objective market
analysis today. Download
this free report that contains valuable market forecasts directly
from the desk of Bob Prechter.