http://pfblogs.org/ Delivering all the personal finance blogs you can handle -- and then some. contact@pfblogs.org en-us Copyright 2010 2010-03-11T02:32:29-05:00 http://pfblogs.org/ A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that New York City owns the name Tavern on the Green because the former operator of the landmark restaurant in Central Park, Warner LeRoy, had trademarked the name "fraudulently." ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591625 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591625 DealBook 2010-03-11T02:32:29-05:00 Gary Gensler, head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is the leading contender to oversee the instruments that played a key role in the financial crisis. ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591626 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591626 DealBook 2010-03-11T02:25:06-05:00 This post is from a new FiscalGeek staff writer: Kevin Mercadante. I’m very excited to have him contributing to the site. You can find out more about him at his own blog Out Of Your Rut. In the world of personal finance we often hear the term “good debt” thrown around in discussions of debt or of debt payoffs. But is there really such a thing as good debt, or do we use the term as a backdoor justification to overextend ourselves to pay for things we really can’t afford? Mortgages and student loans are regarded as good debt since they afford us the ability to increase our wealth and employment value in the world. Bad debt includes credit cards and consumer installment loans, and floating somewhere in the middle are auto loans—perhaps defined as good or bad based mostly by their size. Why Good Debt may not be as good as we like to think We have little trouble seeing the problems with bad debt, but let’s take a closer look at the debts we might call good. Mortgages. The major positive aspect of mortgage debt is that it’s used to purchase shelter, which is a necessity. It’s ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591624 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591624 FiscalGeek 2010-03-11T02:15:39-05:00 It is estimated that in 2010 we will have 181 million Americans carrying credit cards.  Now this is interesting given that Census data from 2008 only shows 113 million households.  The credit card is ubiquitous flowing through our economy like a river of easy money.  Yet credit cards have become a major pitfall for many consumers.  Hidden fees, double-cycle billing, and criminally high interest rates have pushed many Americans into financial tight corners.  The credit card as it turns out is a dangerous financial item even if you can have a kitten screened onto the card. If we want to understand the credit card industry we first should take a look at the most popular cards out on the market: Source:  Creditcards.com In total there are 631 million credit cards in circulation from Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.  Now given that we only have 308 million people in the U.S. many under the age of 16, many people have multiple credit cards.  It doesn’t seem odd for people to spend and buy with basically creating debt with each purchase.  The above chart also shows the amount of debit cards out in circulation.  In fact, making debit cards virtually identical to credit cards ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591623 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591623 My Budget 360 2010-03-11T02:10:22-05:00 Hickey and Walters (Bespoke) submit: The S&P 500 Financial sector rose once again yesterday, making it nine up days in a row for a total rally of 6%. Since 1990, there have only been two other periods where the sector rallied for nine straight days. In each of those prior periods, the streak ended at nine days. Complete Story » ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591621 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591621 Seeking Alpha 2010-03-11T02:07:33-05:00 This would make a really great companion piece to the Bill Maloni article we re-posted Wednesday night, but alas we can only give you a taste of this comprehensive analysis.  Doomers would be wise to head for the Washington Post (click on the title) and read the whole thing. You can enjoy WaPo's ads over there, too . WaPo: "Politics, shaky economy create no rush to restructure Fannie and Freddie" "Any suggestion now about future changes could destabilize the market," said Karen Shaw Petrou, managing director of analysis firm Federal Financial Analytics and a longtime observer of housing finance policy. "The U.S. mortgage market is so fragile that all Treasury needs to say is 'boo' and it could fall apart." ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591619 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591619 Housing Doom 2010-03-11T02:01:47-05:00 Edward Harrison submits:August 2009 was the high point of American’s satisfaction with the economy during Barack Obama’s tenure. Interestingly, this meshes with the data on the ground.Complete Story » ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591622 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591622 Seeking Alpha 2010-03-11T02:01:44-05:00 This is a series of posts about what you will find in Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University course. This is week four (week one — week two and week three) This week’s lesson focused on getting out of debt. We’re getting to the meat of the plan now, and I was eager to hear Dave’s ideas [...] ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591620 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591620 Personal Finance Advice 2010-03-11T02:01:21-05:00 Parity Between US Buck and Loonie? That is what the CIBC and their analyst Zafar Bhatti thinks. Same reasons as previous Loonie flights but still worth noting: Commodity prices, and Canada being the Northern Resource Kingdom to the U.S. (and a lot of the world) Potential for higher interest rates in Canada, thus strengthening the dollar (remember targets are June) Canada is a good investment in terms of our credit balance. Yes our Government is in debt, but nothing like the Americans, and most of our debt is held by Canadians themselves (i.e. Savings Bonds), so we are a good risk (maybe we can get a Amex Platinum for Nations?) An excellent quote from the CIBC is: …This puts the Bank of Canada between a rock and a hard place, if they signal rates are going to rise, the Canadian dollar will make a run for parity or stronger… A blip over the summer with a subsiding in the fall might be a good thing for Canadian consumers, maybe. Big Deal! Well, actually it can be a very big deal if the Canadian dollar gets really strong, it will cause Canadian products to be too expensive for your Yankee cousins (whether the Canadian dollar strengthens against the Chinese currency ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591616 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591616 Canadian Personal Finance Blog 2010-03-11T01:51:12-05:00 Joseph L. Shaefer submits: This is the market’s “strong season.” Flush with cash from bonuses (some ill-gotten, some well-deserved), New Year raises (small for most of us in the real world, absurd for those who pump out the "news" on Wall Street) and new-found stock gains for the past 12 months, the market “should” do well in the rosy glow of all this for another month or two. But. Even as a tree given artificial growth stimulants grows ever fuller, with new limbs, branches and pretty bright green leaves, if the roots and trunk haven’t had time to grow in circumference apace, it gets weaker. It still looks better than it did before all that artificial stimulus, but it is now more subject to the vagaries of wind, rain, lightning and infestation. You must strengthen the roots and trunk, or the tree may be prettier but it is also weaker and more susceptible to unexpected damage. Complete Story » ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591613 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591613 Seeking Alpha 2010-03-11T01:45:56-05:00 Jeff Miller submits: Critical thinking helps in any field. I have the pleasure of participating in a discussion list that explores many issues where critical thinking is a focus. The members have a wide range of ages and specialties. They are quite different from average people in two respects. They are intellectuals (an unpopular group in today's society) and they are critical thinkers (an endangered species). The leader of the group is my own favorite professor. Anyone who learned and implemented his approach (including reading his most noted book) would be more successful in any field, including investing. Here is one of his recent challenges to the participants: Lawyers are often correctly ridiculed as truth facilitators because they are reason shoppers, i.e., they know in advance what their conclusion is to be. Then, like a theologian with a closed system who is fully aware that he or she has X as a conclusion, the advocate uses “because” formulations because it sounds right to do so. Isn’t one supposed to be “reasonable” after all?Complete Story » ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591614 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591614 Seeking Alpha 2010-03-11T01:21:20-05:00 Wednesday was another in a string of boring days – welcome boring days, given that Old Man Winter seems finally to be loosing his icy grip – with stocks rallying again (+0.5%). The quiet is certainly helping stocks, and assuming the S&P can break through the January highs around 1150 it looks like a fairly easy cruise to 1175 merely on technical momentum (that level is the ultimate target of that inverted head-and-shoulders pattern, and also roughly the projection off the Nov and Jan highs). After that, though, I am increasingly skeptical. The low levels of risk aversion admit of two potential outcomes: a slow and painful grind higher, or a sharp and painful trade lower. Either way, painful.The 10y note contract yesterday weakened 6 ticks, with the 10y yield moving back to 3.72%. The market was a little weaker than that prior to the 10y auction bidding deadline – in quiet markets, the concession for supply is more obvious. After the auction, which went fine, prices recovered somewhat.Complete Story » ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591615 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591615 Seeking Alpha 2010-03-11T01:13:50-05:00 Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, your have to be extremely careful. In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a free downloadable and sortable Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 3%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date and the yield.Sempra Energy (SRE) ex div date: 3/16/10 market cap: $12.4B yield: 3.21%Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (MPW) ex div date: 3/16/10 ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591608 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591608 Trading Goddess Stock Blog 2010-03-11T01:08:00-05:00 Apple printed a new 52-week high.The iPad could see 50 tablet rivals this year. http://bit.ly/ddQ5Vx  not bad for next AppleTV...RIMM Gains 1.7% marketshare at AAPL and PALM expenseAAPL more puts than calls bought todayI hope AAPL iPad can do what CyberPad A4 can do - http://tinyurl.com/yhcyq37 Here's what ads might look like on the iPad: http://bit.ly/aRyLEp Apple Could Earn $400 Million in 2010 from Ebooks Alone http://bit.ly/9j80uaApple iPad expected to be more popular than forecast - Business News http://shar.es/mb2LuBiggest challenge next is iPad execution and salesBill gates and steve jobs wanted to sue Sun http://goo.gl/91jgCan AAPL rally be sustained?The iPad changes everything http://shar.es/mbpZl"Google and Amazon continue to push NASDAQ higher". - http://tinyurl.com/yc5nzpf Robert Citrone's hf Discovery Capital has increased AAPL positions by 22.8%. More than 17% in his portfolio http://bit.ly/c9pNfDIn my charts, I used three indicators. The force Index indicator. I used the force index indicator, which is an indicator measuring the force of bulls during uptrends and the force of bears in downtrends. It takes into account price and volume. I applied a 13-day exponential moving average (EMA) of the force index to help track the trend. When the trend is positive, the color is blue; when the trend is negative, the color is ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591611 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591611 Short-Term Trading 2010-03-11T00:52:00-05:00 Portfolio Monkey was recently featured in the March issue of Money Magazine’s article on “The 20 Best Money Websites.”  The article points to Portfolio Monkey’s tools in helping investors better assess the quantitative risk and also growth potential for their portfolio. Here’s a link to the online version of the article on CNN Money Bookmark to ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591610 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591610 Portfolio Monkey 2010-03-11T00:51:21-05:00 Mark your calendars on March 14, 2010, the date here in the Philippines where our own boxing pride Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao will battle against the boxer from Ghana, Joshua Clottey. In view of this upcoming boxing match which will surely once again unite the Filipinos all over the world, a lot of pacquiao supporters wants to know where they can possibly watch Pacquiao vs Clottey Live Stream. Thanks to ABS-CBN News for providing the list of malls that will show Pacquiao vs Clottey Fight Live. I am very sure that these malls that will show the Pacquiao-Clottey live fight will be jampacked with a lot of supporters of Pacquiao. Here are the partial list of establishments and malls that will show the Pacquiao-Clottey Live Fight together with their costs of watching it: Shangri-La Plaza, Shang Cineplex - P700 per head, food and drinks not included - Call 633-2227 to inquire about seat availability National Sports Grill — Greenbelt 3 - P500 per head (main dining hall) and P300 per head (Al Fresco), food and drinks not included - Booking is made on a first come, first served basis Dencio’s Metrowalk - P620 per head, inclusive of breakfast (beef tapa), iced tea, and beer - Booking is made ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591600 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591600 Aspiring Entrepreneur 2010-03-11T00:41:00-05:00 (This is a guest article by Garrett Driscoll*)Debt collectors can be very difficult to deal with. They get paid based on their ability to collect a debt, so they have a pretty big incentive to get the money owed. Creditors (like credit card companies, mortgage holders, etc) outsource these debt collections to collection agencies. These agencies get paid based on what they collect, so they are determined to get that fee. I've recently read that in one instance a collector called a debtor at work 80 times in 1 day. Sometimes a collector's efforts to collect a debt can turn into harassment. This is why you need to know your legal rights.Fortunately, there are government protections against harassment from any type of debt collector, lawyer, or collection agency. A law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was created to stop unwanted disturbances from collectors. The FDCPA covers personal, family, and household debts like credit card, medical, and mortgage debt. There are certain rules that these collection agencies need to abide by or they are in breach of the law. If they break these laws you can even seek punitive damages against them.These rules are: They can only contact ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591607 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591607 Grad Money Matters 2010-03-11T00:39:00-05:00 BP is on the verge of sealing a $6bn deal for international oil and gas assets from US-based Devon Energy that could propel the oil major into the sought-after region off Brazil’s... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591596 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591596 Alphaville 2010-03-11T00:35:33-05:00 Shares in Tullett Prebon jumped nearly 26% to 390p on Wednesday after the UK-based interdealer broker headed by Terry Smith disclosed it was in preliminary talks with a “third... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591597 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591597 Alphaville 2010-03-11T00:32:52-05:00 I am having something called writer block.Just not feeling right now to do anything because of all the confusion in my life.Hopefully i'll be fine and back in 2-3 days. ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591602 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591602 Indian Thoughts 2010-03-11T00:30:04-05:00 Vikram Pandit, Citigroup’s chief executive, is on Thursday expected to outline an ambitious new strategy to investors and predict that the US bank could earn as much as $20bn... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591598 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591598 Alphaville 2010-03-11T00:28:59-05:00 Shinsei, the Japanese bank, is preparing to raise about Y75bn ($830m) in fresh capital as it reconsiders its planned merger with a rival domestic lender. Shinsei believes that a merger with Aozora,... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591599 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591599 Alphaville 2010-03-11T00:26:22-05:00 So the other night I was wasting precious hours of my life sifting through reams of "interesting links" recommended by those I follow on the Twitter-sphere when I came across one called The Waistline Test, which assesses whether your writing is ‘flabby’ or ‘fit’:The test works by counting percentages of words in five categories commonly associated with stodgy sentences: weak verbs, abstract nouns, prepositions, adjectives/adverbs and 'waste words' (it, this, that, there). For every writing sample you submit, you will receive an overall fitness rating ranging from lean to heart attack territory: Lean Fat-free Fit and trim In excellent condition Needs toning Would benefit from a light workout Flabby Judicious editing required Heart attack territory May call for editorial liposuction! My initial thought? Brills!But then fear set in.What if I took the test and it spat back horrific results to ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591595 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591595 Brunette on a Budget 2010-03-11T00:20:00-05:00 Germany and France on Wednesday urged the EU to consider banning speculative trading in credit default swaps, launching a probe into trading in CDSs on sovereign bonds of EU member states,... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591584 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591584 Alphaville 2010-03-11T00:15:14-05:00 Macquarie Group, the Australian investment bank, may buy more US assets and add bankers servicing mid-sized US companies in a push to boost US business following five North American... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591585 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591585 Alphaville 2010-03-11T00:12:44-05:00 China Mobile has agreed to pay Rmb39.8bn for a 20% stake in Pudong Development Bank, finalising a deal that drove down China Mobile’s shares after the news first leaked out two weeks ago.... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591586 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591586 Alphaville 2010-03-11T00:10:31-05:00 Tullow Oil, the UK’s largest independent oil explorer, said China’s CNOOC and Total of France are expected to each take a one-third interest in its Ugandan oil assets in Uganda... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591587 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591587 Alphaville 2010-03-11T00:09:08-05:00 Northern Rock’s old loan book, dubbed its “bad bank” due to the once poor quality of its assets, is on course to return to profit as early as this year, outpacing the so-called... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591588 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591588 Alphaville 2010-03-11T00:06:29-05:00 You have to pity the plight of the active investor as study after study demonstrates the merits of indexing for the average investor. But a recent column in the Globe & Mail by Dan Richards titled “Only the truly active fund managers lead the pack” provided many active investors an opportunity to taunt those in the passive camp. “So, what do you say to that, Mr. Index Investor?” captures the gist of many of the emails I received. A confession first: I haven’t fully read the paper titled How active is your fund manager? A new measure that predicts performance by Martijn Cremers and Antti Petajisto of Yale University that Mr. Richards refers in his Globe article. Still, it quickly becomes pretty clear that measuring how much a fund manager deviates from the index is not an infallible metric. First, it is necessary to define one of the metrics the Yale Professors devised to measure how much a fund deviates from the index. They call it “Active Share”, which is simply a measure of how the weightings of stocks in a mutual fund portfolio deviates from the benchmark index. Long-only mutual funds will have an active share between 0 and 100. Index ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591583 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591583 Canadian Capitalist 2010-03-11T00:05:31-05:00 (Business Wire) JP Morgan Worldwide Securities Services (NYSE: JPM) announced that it has been selected by the Government of Canada to provide an expanded set of collateral management services for derivatives. A derivatives collateral management client since March 2002, the Government of Canada also utilizes the firm’s treasury management and derivatives trading services. Darren Measures, clearance & collateral management sales head for J. P. Morgan, said: “We are very pleased to extend our relationship with the Government of Canada. In a market where credit risk mitigation is the focus of industry attention, J.P. Morgan continues to lead the market in derivatives collateral management outsourcing based on our business knowledge, reputation in derivatives, and collateral management expertise.” Having introduced the industry’s first end-to-end collateral management solution for OTC derivatives service in 2005, J.P. Morgan now manages balances of over $70 billion in collateral on behalf of more than 40 clients. J.P. Morgan’s collateral management solutions enable clients to better reduce their counterparty credit risk through effective and efficient collateralization. For OTC derivatives, services include Credit Support Annex (CSA) management, margin demand, agreement and dispute management, automated OTC portfolio reconciliation, collateral eligibility testing, valuation and agreement, collateral settlement instruction and safekeeping, re-hypothecation, substitutions management, cash ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591594 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591594 American Banking News 2010-03-11T00:04:38-05:00 A former partner of Cazenove, the UK bank now owned by JPMorgan, was found guilty on Wednesday of insider dealing charges in a high-profile court victory for the UK’s FSA watchdog.... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591589 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591589 Alphaville 2010-03-11T00:03:04-05:00 At the beginning of the week I pointed out the stock chart for Mastercard (MA). While the stock is relatively expensive for most traders, a positive for these type of stocks is the massive point swings they can experience. In my analysis at the beginning of the week I was basically looking for the stock to fill the gap it created a couple weeks back. This move was sparked by larger than normal volume, and the stock subsequently filled the gap in less than a week; however, volume did subside with each passing day. See my stock charting basics. Now we have reached my initial price target and are sitting at a point of resistance. At this point, I would consider (a) taking some profit or (b) continue to watch for confirmation of break into next trading level, which has technically already happened, but I would like to see another close higher and perhaps larger volume. According to the current chart, if this new support holds, then look for the next price target of $265. ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591591 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591591 The Wild Investor 2010-03-11T00:01:36-05:00 One of Goldman Sachs’ top China bankers will leave the firm, following several former colleagues who left the group to establish mainland private equity funds. Fred Hu, the bank’s... ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591581 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591581 Alphaville 2010-03-11T00:00:41-05:00 The Congressional Oversight Panel (COP) released a new report: The Unique Treatment of GMAC Under the TARP [T]he Panel remains unconvinced that bankruptcy was not a viable option in 2008. In connection with the Chrysler and GM bankruptcies, Treasury might have been able to orchestrate a strategic bankruptcy for GMAC. This bankruptcy could have preserved GMAC’s automotive lending functions while winding down its other, less significant operations, dealing with the ongoing liabilities of the mortgage lending operations, and putting the company on sounder economic footing....The federal government has so far spent $17.2 billion to bail out GMAC and now owns 56.3 percent of the company. Both GMAC and Treasury insist that the company is solvent and will not require any additional bailout funds, but taxpayers already bear significant exposure to the company, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) currently estimates that $6.3 billion or more may never be repaid.In light of the scale of these potential losses, the Panel is deeply concerned that Treasury has not required GMAC to lay out a clear path to viability or a strategy for fully repaying taxpayers. Moving forward, Treasury should clearly articulate its exit strategy from GMAC. More than a year ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591606 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591606 Calculated Risk 2010-03-10T23:59:00-05:00 My system has moved higher to +1325. I really don't have much to say tonight that I didn't say yesterday so I will keep it short. The Dollar has been stuck in a very tight range between 79.50 and 81.50 since the market bottomed in early February. Which way will it break and how will equities respond? That's what I am thinking about at the moment. ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591605 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591605 The Trend 2010-03-10T23:57:00-05:00 By Guest Blogger Andrew Salmon Professional athletes are in peak physical condition and can serve as inspirations to us all. Here are five things we can learn from pro athletes about staying fit. 1. Every Muscle Is Important Pro athletes have well-muscles, proportioned physiques. This is not so they can land that underwear ad. It’s because the human musculature is a system something akin to a series of pulleys. Every muscle group has to be fit and developed. The same applies to us. When you exercise, make it a full body workout. Image: sxc.hu 2. The Importance of Diet Eating right is crucial to an athlete’s performance. There’s a lesson in that. But the thing to look out for here is the danger of overeating. Professional athletes eat like horses. They have to since they expend enormous amounts of energy staying on top of their game. But check out the diet ads for men on TV and in magazines. Almost always they feature one or more pro athletes plugging a diet/meal plan because they needed to lose weight. The thing is, after they retired, they no longer needed to gobble down every scrap of food in sight. But over the course of their careers they became ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591617 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591617 Yielding Wealth 2010-03-10T23:52:17-05:00 When my daughter was sick last month I looked all over for the thermometer and couldn’t find it. I’d finally had enough: it was time to clean out the nether regions of my bathroom. I wasn’t even exactly sure I’d find it in there, but it was as good of a place to start as any. Thankfully, it was.  In fact, it was hidden right in here somewhere. Can you guess where? Vanity Before: Neither could I. I began by emptying out the whole thing. It’s amazing how much crap stuff fits into such a small space. I didn’t stop there, but turned my attention to the areas under the sinks. Under Sinks Before: Okay, so not horrible at a glance? But completely unorganized. I didn’t know where anything was. And it was dirty, too. So I took all that stuff out and overflowed a large container. Can I say again? It’s amazing how much crap stuff fits into such a small space. This container sat in a very convenient spot in the middle of the family room for several days. It was supposed to be in my face and impossible to ignore. Unfortunately, it turned into a fixture that everyone started walking around and ignoring like it was a ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591593 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591593 Budgets Are the New Black 2010-03-10T23:48:09-05:00 As another hint that the economy is getting back on its feet, new reports from RealtyTrac show that the amount of foreclosure filings in the United States rose at the slowest pace in four years in February. This revelation suggests that government efforts to slow bank seizures of property have begun to have a marked impact on the housing market. Image: respres/flickr February saw 308,524 households receive notices of default, auction, or seizure last month, a figure that amounts to a 6 percent increase in filings from a year earlier. This is the smallest increase since RealityTrac, the California-based default data seller, has recorded since it began tracking this figure in January 2006. Still, foreclosure rates rose for the 50th straight month, topping 300,000 foreclosures for the last twelve months. According to RealityTrac’s CEO, James J. Saccacio, the findings show that the government’s efforts to keep people in their homes have capped monthly foreclosure activity, but also that many people across the country are still suffering and at risk of foreclosure. Post from: EveryJoe Foreclosure Rate Slows to Four-Year Low ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591618 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591618 Yielding Wealth 2010-03-10T23:46:30-05:00 Units that can charge multiple devices — cell phones, iPods, gaming systems and more — are becoming very popular. Rather than having to deal with a number of different chargers, you can use one convenient product. For an eco-friendly choice, look for chargers that run on solar power. Image: CableOrganizer.com The JuiceBar Solar Charger ($42.83) enables you to charge several different devices using light — a totally clean energy source — without having to tote around a variety of AC adapters and cords. This compact device is equipped with solar cells that begin to charge immediately upon contact with light. Includes 12 of the most commonly used adapters for cell phones, iPods, MP3 players, portable gaming systems and other devices. To get more information and to make a purchase, visit cableorganizer.com. This affordable little charger Post from: EveryJoe JuiceBar Multi-Device Pocket Solar Charger ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591582 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591582 Yielding Wealth 2010-03-10T23:40:35-05:00 The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. (MW) Q4 2009 Earnings Call March 10, 2010 5:00 pm ETComplete Story » ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591579 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591579 Seeking Alpha 2010-03-10T23:39:09-05:00 Me pregunto, ¿cuándo la clase política se pondrá los pantalones largos en esta crisis? Populares y Socialistas no hacen más que boicotearse de forma cruzada mientras, en el medio, están millones de españoles como rehenes, y por sobre todas las cuestiones, más de cuatro millones de parados. Las posiciones parecen irreconciliables, unos miran a la derecha, y otros a la izquierda, pero ¿de quién?. Desde mi punto de vista, no lo hacen en uno u otro sentido, sino que le dan la espalda a la ciudadanía que les ha votado. Mientras trabajadores, desempleados, estudiantes, autónomos, empresarios, trabajadores, etc. están pidiendo a gritos que se les escuche y comprenda, mientras los dos partidos políticos mayoritarios están inmersos en la idiotez. Y al margen de las ideas políticas con las que cada uno comulgue, parece vergonzosa la baja calidad de debate y la búsqueda de soluciones comunes, está cada vez más lejos. Ahora, la presidenta de la Comunidad y del PP de Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre, ha anunciado que su partido emprenderá una “campaña de rebelión” contra la subida del IVA que plantea el Gobierno de Zapatero, con mesas para firmar, charlas informativas en distritos y municipios y actos sobre este tema. ¿Una rebelión en 2010 cuando el país ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591575 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591575 Finanzzas 2010-03-10T23:34:49-05:00 Good Evening: U.S. stocks continued their recent advance today, and the benchmark S&P 500 has now posted positive closes in eight of the previous nine trading sessions. Though the rally is most likely attributable to price momentum and rising risk appetites, more than a few will credit today’s levitation in share prices to statements made this morning by former European Commission president, Romano Prodi. “‘For Greece, the problem is completely over,’ said Prodi, who was also Italian prime minister, in an interview in Shanghai today. ‘I don’t see any other case now in Europe’.” (source: Bloomberg article below). Over? And not just for Greece, but for all EU nations? Mr. Prodi may turn out to be right some day, but Greece has yet to roll over huge slugs of debt, and neither the EU nor the IMF has yet wired Athens a single euro. This drama may recede from the headlines for a while, but it is far from over. Mr. Prodi sounds like a police officer trying to clear a crowd away as they gawk at a burning building. “Move along, folks, there’s nothing to see now. The ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591580 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591580 The Big Picture 2010-03-10T23:32:07-05:00 Wow, we just learned about a new $150 paid online study about movies through Valued Opinions. Sign up for Valued Opinions or log into your account / check your survey emails and look for survey 109904037. Other people have recently been invited to a different movie study for $75! If you haven’t signed up for Valued Opinions yet be sure to sign up ASAP! ***Some survey sign up links are only available for a limited time, so be sure to sign up NOW so you don’t miss out on future high paying surveys! Valued Opinions Sign Up Link If you don’t receive these particular survey invitations, please don’t be discouraged. Valued Opinions sends out lots of paid survey invitations, so watch your email! If you receive a high paying survey invitation from any paid survey site, let us know so we can give everyone a heads up! Related posts:Paid survey site with paid surveys up to $50! Exclusive survey panel invitation for our readers! $50 paid online survey! Paid survey site with paid surveys up to $50! Updated sign up link! $30 paid online survey alert! Get paid up to $50 a survey & get paid to try new products – update on Valued Opinions ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591574 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591574 Engineer a Debt Free Life 2010-03-10T23:30:58-05:00 The My Parent Rewards Discount Card is now offering a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. My Parent Rewards combines all coupon books from across the U.S. and Canada into 1 membership card, so that members can receive discounts at over 100,000 local businesses, including 2-for-1 offers and up to 50% off coupons for dining, shopping, golfing, attractions, museums, services, travel, and much more. Check out this 30-Day Free Trial of My Parent Rewards to save at over 100,000 locations across the U.S. and Canada. The My Parent Rewards 30-day trial is absolutely free and only requires you to submit a single-page form for instant access to print your coupons online. There is no credit card requirement and no cancelation requirement to participate in the My Parent Rewards free trial offer. We previously reviewed the My Parent Rewards Discount Card Offer, but this new 30-day free trial provides a great opportunity to try My Parent Rewards for free. Take advantage of this free trial offer to see what My Parent Rewards has to offer in your area, and remember to print your My Parent Rewards membership card to present when redeeming your coupons. There is an annual fee of $20 to participate in My Parent ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591573 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591573 Maximizing Money 2010-03-10T23:28:22-05:00 Your medical expenses can be income tax deductions depending on how you file your taxes and how high your medical bills are. We all know that health care costs just keep going up, lets take a look at how you might be able to get tax deductions for these expenses. Tax Deduction Requirements In order to be able to claim medical expenses as income tax deductions, your health care costs for the past year must be greater than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (line 38 of tax form 1040).  If you are eligible you can claim all of the covered expenses in excess of the 7.5% of adjusted gross income threshold.   The other requirement is that you have to itemize your deductions.  If you use form 1040 EZ and claim the standard deduction then you can’t deduct your medical expenses. The idea behind using a percentage threshold as opposed to a dollar amount was to prevent wealthier tax payers from claiming expenses that they can actually afford while assisting less wealthy taxpayers who could get in serious financial trouble due to medical expenses.  Of course, 7.5% of your AGI is still a lot of money for most people so many of us ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591612 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591612 Money Smart Life 2010-03-10T23:26:30-05:00 Los problemas eléctricos acompañarán a los impuestos. Las empresas eléctricas pretenden que José Luís Zapatero deje de lado sus proyectos de subida del IVA, en búsqueda de encarar crecimiento económico. La respuesta de la patronal eléctrica Unesa, es que toda la operativa que pretende realizar el Ejecutivo en materia energética llevaría a una subida del 65% en el precio de la luz. Por su parte, el sector no aprueba en absoluto al mix energético que propone el documento. Dado que el crecimiento de la energía eólica y solar es tan contundente, se prevé que aún sea caro para los consumidores. Actualmente, la estrategia de la Unión Europea es lograr en 2020 que el 20% de la energía sea de origen renovable. Este cálculo, según las entidades eléctricas, es erróneo, en base a que la demanda viene creciendo a pasos agigantados. Debido a esto, y en su consecuencia, las compañías eléctricas piden que el documento cuantifique el coste de contar con estas tecnologías. No obstante, se espera que generen un aumento del presupuesto del régimen especial en más de un 140%. En concreto, las eléctricas señalan que el Gobierno pretende multiplicar por cuatro la actual potencia entre solar fotovoltaica y la termosolar, llegando así a los ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591576 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591576 Finanzzas 2010-03-10T23:24:18-05:00 ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591568 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591568 Aspiration's Purse 2010-03-10T23:21:00-05:00 Does it make sense? ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591569 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591569 Short-Term Trading 2010-03-10T23:19:00-05:00 Critical thinking helps in any field.  I have the pleasure of participating in a discussion list that explores many issues where critical thinking is a focus.  The members have a wide range of ages and specialties.  They are quite different from average people in two respects.  They are intellectuals (an unpopular group in today's society) and they are critical thinkers (an endangered species). The leader of the group is my own favorite professor.  Anyone who learned and implemented his approach (including reading his most noted book) would be more successful in any field, including investing.  Here is one of his recent challenges to the participants: Lawyers are often correctly ridiculed as truth facilitators because they are reason shoppers, i.e., they know in advance what their conclusion is to be. Then, like a theologian with a closed system who is fully aware that he or she has X as a conclusion, the advocate uses “because” formulations because it sounds right to do so.  Isn’t one supposed to be “reasonable” after all?This approach to reason stands the standard sequence of “reasons and evidence and the conclusion” on its head.  The result is a revised sequence of cognition or “reverse logic.”  But when I look at the ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591578 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591578 A Dash of Insight 2010-03-10T23:18:39-05:00 This St. Patrick’s Day cocktail is sure to bring you the luck of the Irish — or at least a little luck with the ladies. The Leprechaun cocktail offers a St. Patrick’s Day twist on gin and tonic. Ingredients: 2 oz Irish whiskey tonic water twist of lemon for garnish Method: Pour the Irish whiskey over ice in highball glass. Choose an whiskey such as Bushmills or Jameson. Top it off with tonic water. Garnish with a lemon twist. Image: IGNACIOLEO at sxc.hu Post from: EveryJoe Leprechaun Cocktail ... http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591590 http://pfblogs.org/entry/1591590 Yielding Wealth 2010-03-10T23:16:07-05:00