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Monday, March 14, 2011

Making Money Tips

By Phil Izzo

A roundup of economic news from around the Web.

–Mortgage Interest Deduction: Howard Gleckman points to research looking at the cost of reducing the mortgage interest tax deduction. “The deduction for interest on home mortgages may be the most beloved of all tax subsidies. A politician needs only to muse about repealing or restructuring the deduction to be set upon by suburban mobs (led, perhaps, by real estate agents and mortgage lenders). But a new analysis by my Tax Policy Center colleagues Ridathi Chakravarti and Dan Baneman finds that most taxpayers would barely notice the change in their tax bill even if Congress dramatically restructured the subsidy. And with some changes, many of us would end up paying lower taxes than we do today. In the unlikely event Congress simply repeals the mortgage deduction, the average tax bill would increase by $710. But those who earn between $30,000 and $40,000 would pay an average of about $70 more while those making more than $1 million would pay an additional $4,000. “

–Crowding Out: Menzie Chinn sees no evidence of the public sector crowding out private investment. “Relative to my September post, the ten year TIPS is slightly up, but the five year remains at zero (well, actually negative). This means that whatever upward pressure there is on government interest rates due to the large supply of government debt, it is being offset by low demand from the private sector (or by demand from offshore sources). Of course, the crowding out of investment phenomenon relies upon a variety of assumptions. It follows from a two asset model (money, bonds), with the right parameter values. With three assets, one can get “crowding in”. And even if interest rates had risen, if investment depends upon income (or the change in income), one could still get a net increase in investment from a positive fiscal impulse. Another implication of having interest rates at zero (at least the five year real) is that if fiscal policy is made more contractionary (as in some recent plans), then the contractionary impact should be large (this is just the mirror image of fiscal policy effectiveness in a liquidity trap).”

–Global Imbalances: Kenneth Rogoff looks at global imbalances. “With policymakers and pundits railing against sustained oversized trade imbalances, we need to recognize that the real problems are rooted in excessive concentrations of debt. If G-20 governments stood back and asked themselves how to channel a much larger share of the imbalances into equity-like instruments, the global financial system that emerged just might be a lot more robust than the crisis-prone system that we have now. Unfortunately, we are very far from the idealized world in which financial markets efficiently share risk.”

Compiled by Phil Izzo

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some awesome articles on 43 ways to save money, foods you don't need to buy organic, and how to keep your head after losing your job.

Friday, March 11, 2011

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Founded in 2009 by Amanda Steinberg, DailyWorth is definitely a each day electronic mail newsletter that includes material on economic literacy and income management skewed in the direction of a female audience. DailyWorth’s topics collection from ways to organize your finances to tax tricks to saving recommendation. And DailyWorth has an amazing editorial staff to make content. MP Dunleavey, formerly a particular finance columnist along with the New york Instances and at this time a contributor with Moolah magazine, is major DailyWorth’s editorial staff.

Regardless of unions’ lengthy hatred of Scott Walker, the new governor is shifting to tackle the two the indicators in the illness and therefore the illness itself-the public-sector union scheme that has molested Wisconsin’s taxpayers and their youngsters by gaming the strategy. Unions like Wisconsin’s teachers’ union [WEAC] (which was Wisconsin’s biggest-spending lobby in 2009) are extraordinarily adept at fixing the product by using spending millions to elect politicians who, in turn, reward the unions with the expense on the taxpayers.

the Wisconsin battle, when as compared to private-sector negotiations is about: one) the Scope of Bargaining, two) Union “Income” Safety [Right-to-Work vs. Pressured Dues], three) irrespective of whether Wisconsin should certainly be the unions’ dues assortment company [payroll deduction of dues], and 4) if public-sector unions should really be ‘recertified’ by keeping elections each individual yr.

set the images internet to present our jobs team at msnbc.com, and photographer Jim Seida mentioned, why really do not we just publish it being a slide present? I was skeptical to start with - would that crimp the writing? - but during the finish I was advocating performing it this way once the picture group was skeptical. I thought much more individuals would browse thru it this way, and it will be worth an experiment.”

commercial fishing boats based in Crescent Metropolis put to sea very last night time when the tsunami alert was foremost broadcast. It is much easier to experience out massive waves at sea than at the dock. Now many of people boats are working reduced on fuel, however they are unable to return to port whilst the surges continue, said Chris Renner, owner of C. Renner Petroleum Co. in Crescent Town, which serves the fleet

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On Monday evening, I watched my to start with, The Very last Phrase host Lawrence O’Donnell.
Though O’Donnell laudably tried using to focus the audience’s consideration onand hopefully last, Charlie Sheen trainwreck interview, courtesy of the tragic undertow that threatens to pull Sheen underneath for great, I used to be overtaken, not by the pulling around the thread, in addition to the voracious audience he serves. It did not make me sad, it produced me angry.

In terms of celebrities, we could be a heartless nation, basking within their misfortunes like nude sunbathers at Schadenfreude Beach. The impulse is understandable, to some diploma. It could be grating to listen to complaints from most people who benefit from privileges that the majority of us can’t even envision. When you can’t muster up some compassion for Charlie Sheen, who tends to make further cash to get a day’s deliver the results than the majority of us will make inside of a decade’s time, I guess I can not blame you.

With all the fast tempo of activities on the internet and also the advice revolution sparked by the World wide web, it’s really very easy for that technologies market place to believe that it’s one of a kind: perpetually breaking new ground and engaging in things that no person has ever before completed prior to.

But there can be other sorts of internet business which have already undergone several of the very same radical shifts, and have just as good a stake from the foreseeable future.

Take healthcare, for instance.

We normally think of it as a tremendous, lumbering beast, but in fact, medicine has undergone a series of revolutions inside the previous 200 a long time which are a minimum of equal to these we see in technology and info.

Less understandable, but nevertheless in the norms of human nature, is the impulse to rubberneck, to slow down and consider the carnage of Charlie spectacle of Sheen’s unraveling, but of your blithe interviewer Sheen’s life as we pass it in the most suitable lane of our everyday lives. To be sincere, it could be hard for folks to discern the big difference among a run-of-the-mill consideration whore, and an honest-to-goodness, circling the drain tragedy-to-be. On its very own merits, a quote like “I Am On a Drug. It is Described as Charlie Sheen” is sheer genius, and we cannot all be anticipated to take the total measure of someone’s everyday living just about every time we hear one thing amusing.

Rapid ahead to 2011 and I am seeking to check out means of currently being a little more business-like about my hobbies (largely music). Through the end of January I had manned up and commenced to advertise my weblogs. I had developed several numerous blogs, which were contributed to by close friends and colleagues. I promoted these actions thru Facebook and Twitter.

2nd: the tiny abomination the Gang of 5 about the Supream Court gave us a 12 months or so in the past (Citizens Inebriated) truly contains a little bit bouncing betty of its very own that could really perfectly go off within the faces of Govs Wanker, Sacitch, Krysty, and J.O. Daniels. Seeing as this ruling prolonged the idea of “personhood” to both equally companies and unions, to look at to deny them any right to run within the legal framework that they were organized beneath deprives these “persons” on the freedoms of speech, association and movement. Which implies (when once more, quoting law college trained family) that both the courts really need to uphold these rights for that unions (as particular person “persons” as assured through the Federal (and most state) constitutions, or they have to declare that these attempts at stripping or limiting union rights must utilize to major businesses, also.

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/> [style="text-decoration: underline;">Ed. note: This post is authored by Evan Jowers and Robert Kinney of Kinney Recruiting, sponsor of the Asia Chronicles. Kinney has made more placements of U.S. associates and partners in Asia than any other firm in the past four years. You can reach them by email: asia at kinneyrecruiting dot com.]

Evan here, writing from a lounge on a short layover at LAX. Robert and I just returned to the US this morning from another exhausting China trip (8+ meetings per day makes for early rises and late evenings), something we repeat about every other month. No surprise, but all indications on the ground, from meetings with various corporate / cap markets partners at top law firms in HK / China, we are still planted solidly in an economic and deal flow boom there.

We have been averaging about 2 US associate or counsel placements per week in Asia so far this year, a blistering pace that can’t continue quite frankly, but is an indicator of how hot the market is right now (see recent Asia Chronicles ATL posts for more details on this hiring boom or do a search at theasiachronicles.com for such info).

Just the fact that Robert and I can set up meetings on short notice with the leading corporate partners of top US and UK firms in HK / China (especially in a boom market where time is at a premium for such persons running multiple big deals on understaffed teams) is a major difference between Kinney and other recruiting firms trying to break into the increasingly hot US associate biglaw lateral hiring market in HK / China. Remember that just about every US and UK firm in HK / China are hiring US corporate associates at this time, so you should not settle for a recruiter / agent who simply is aware of openings and can provide a list of firms and can name a few partners there.id="more-61267">

Here are just a few glaring differences between Kinney and other recruiting firms offering services in HK / China markets:

-100+ references of US associates we have placed in HK / China recently, within a few years.

-Our top recruiters don’t only represent partners.

-We provide a long-term agent relationship, lasting years instead of weeks or months.

-Kinney Asia recruiters all split time in both Asia and US markets, thus are able to meet with US based associate candidate clients, meet with top US firm management regarding their Asia strategy, and of course meet with law firm partners and associate candidates in Asia.

We can provide over 100 references of US associates we have placed in HK / China in the past few years. Other recruiting firms can provide no more than a fraction of this number. No other recruiting firm has placed even one third of this number of US associates in HK / China in the past few years.

When a recruiter calls you about China opportunities, I suggest that you ask him / her exactly how many US associates they have placed in HK / China recently? And don’t just take their word for it, ask for references of these alleged placements and speak to (or at least email) at least 10 such persons before you give the recruiter your resume. Why is this important? Well, it is not possible to be fully informed and connected in a market if you are not making large numbers of placements there. Further, while it is always possible for a recruiter to make a few placements and have those persons think highly of them (who knows if higher numbers would be a very negative reference), 100+ references of US associates placed within a few years in a market is fail proof.

Why would you want to put your job search in the hands of a recruiter with just a few or even zero US associate placements in HK / China, verses a recruiter with dozens and more than 30 in the past year?

Our best recruiters work with associates and partner candidates, not just partners. Robert Kinney and I have had success in placing partners and groups in HK / China, but we still work directly with associate candidates, along with our other Asia team recruiters, Alexis Lamb, Yuliya Vinokurova, Danielle Cyr and Peter Guttensohn. I mention this because at most recruiting firms, the best recruiters focus on partners and pass on associate candidates to less experienced and less successful recruiters. Sure, partner placements are much more lucrative, but Robert and I thoroughly enjoy working with and acting as long-term advisors for US associates in Asia and we will not stop doing so. For example, I have made on average about 30 US associate placements per year in Asia, even though I am moving partners as well.

We provide a long-term agent relationship with our associate client candidates, not simply a quick job search and resume distribution service. At Kinney, our Asia focused team starts working with a number of our associate candidate clients months and even years before they are ready for an Asia job search, in some cases those relationships go all the way back to the candidate’s law school years (when we offer advice on which 2L summer spot to take, regarding China practices at particular firms). Of course we also place plenty of US associates who start job searches in Asia immediately upon being referred to us, but many are already long-term relationships when a job search starts. We have also placed numerous US associates a second time in Asia, whether in-house or another law firm after a few years at their first firm in Asia.

Keep in mind that even if you are ready to start an Asia job search right away, even in this hot lateral market it can be a long process for some very qualified candidates. You can’t afford to entrust your job search and representation at various firms to a recruiter who simply emails your resume and hopes for the best. Robert and I, along with our other Asia recruiters, are personally involved in advocating for our candidates over the long-term, if need be. We are close with the relevant partners and can bring up your candidacy in person or by phone whenever it is appropriate to do so. It is not simply a case of emailing a resume and hoping for the best, with only being able to provide administrative services of coordinating interviews. It is quite shocking but that is all you are going to get from the vast majority of recruiters out there, despite what their 10 to 20 minute sales pitch may be upon meeting you.

Don’t lose sight of the fact that once you are submitted to a firm by a recruiter that recruiter unfortunately “owns” your candidacy at such firm for 6 months or more, causing most recruiters to focus on simply being able to make the submission, rather than provide a service.

Our Asia recruiters are on the ground in Asia and US, and all of our Asia team spends time in our New York and Hong Kong offices. It is not uncommon for a NYC based associate to call Kinney to start a job search and within a week both meet a Kinney Asia recruiter in NYC and for that same Kinney recruiter to be advocating for them on the ground in Asia, meeting in person with relevant partners in Asia on their behalf. No other recruiting firm can offer this because quite simply, we travel more than others do and happen to have offices in both US and Asia. We make it a point, for example, to have at least one recruiter on the ground in Hong Kong, 365 days a year.

The Kinney difference is more than just what has been briefly outlined above. Feel free to reach out to us any time at asia@kinneyrecruiting.com for more info.

Last week it was Bullard, Lacker and Kohn throwing the spin around and today it was Dudley with a notable assist from Buffett. And, since it was month-end, headline writers got the green close they wanted with the third month of gains. Kohn’s comments last week were incoherent overall while Dudley’s TV appearance consisted of misleading BS with comments like, “The Fed is keeping its mandate” and, “It’s unwise to overreact to rising commodity prices.”

Overreact? I don't see anyone reacting, other than speculators who are BUYBUYBUYing more and more commodities as the prices rise. In fact, as of February 22nd, Hedge Funds had taken the largest speculative net long position on oil futures since June 2006, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly Commitments of Traders report. "Money managers are looking and seeing the Middle East situation is far from resolved," said Carl Larry, president of Oil Outlooks & Opinions in Houston. "The upside is unlimited, depending on how bad things get."

Of course I mean no one in THIS country is reacting. In more thoughtful nations, people are rioting. Although, did you know there are more people protesting in Madison, Wisconsin this week than in Tripoli, Libya? No, you wouldn't know that because that's not the way the Corporate Media in this country reports things, is it? To be fair, in Libya, the Government is threatening the protesters with guns while Governor Walker is only threatening to fire the protesters in Wisconsin. Makes you kind of proud we live in a Democracy, doesn't it?

Bad news that will be ignored this morning includes a 0.5% drop in ICSC Retail Store Sales (those pesky small businesses), who are losing consumer discretionary dollars to energy producing companies - like Koch Industries! Chinese PMI fell again in February but still an expansionist 52.2 but a separate HSBC survey shows a more significant drop to 51.7, a 7 month low. I apologize for the link there to the Liberal rag-sheet NY Times but the WSJ apparently has no idea Chinese PMI went lower as their headline on the same subject is "Asian Factory Data Show Growth Intact." I must say I am proud to live in a country where we are free to choose the facts we want to hear from such a wide variety of media outlets. Imagine how dull it would be if there was just one truth and we all read the same thing...

Ben Bernanke addresses Congress today and tomorrow and those people will hear the same thing and draw completely different conclusions from it but we're playing the Dollar bullish as other countries are loosening their money to keep up with us and I do believe there will be enough anti-Fed noise made this week that QE3 begins to be called into question. Of course, it's budget showdown week as well and, as Paul Krugman points out: "While low spending may sound good in the abstract, what it amounts to in practice is low spending on children, who account directly or indirectly for a large part of government outlays at the state and local level." Krugman points to the "Texas Miracle" and it's not-so-miraculous aftermath:

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The ultimate in repairing a bruised reputation for business

Saturday, March 5, 2011

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Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some great articles on how to have a successful yard sale, uses for plastic grocery bags, and making money online doing simple tasks.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

personal finances help

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Evan here. Please check out our daily blog at www.theasiachronicles.com where we will have more posts than those that appear here. Today, for example, we have this post and also a post from Alexis Lamb regarding the Singapore market – “Singapore Swing.”

Please note that Robert Kinney and I will be working from our Hong Kong offices for a few weeks later this month and can be available for meetings with our readers then. Alexis, of course, is based permanently in Hong Kong.

Three Quick hits of the day (a new feature at theasiachronicles.com): One US firm in Hong Kong now has an expat / cola allowance of over $90,000 for single associates and over $100,000 for married associates; Almost every strong US cap markets practice in HK / China is hiring lateral associates now; It has recently become more common for US and UK firms in Singapore to offer an expat / cola allowance, albeit much smaller than in HK (for years, most firms offered no allowance in Singapore).

While interviewing for a US associate position in Asia can be quite different from interviewing for a spot down the street in New York or another major domestic market there are also some similarities to a job search in any domestic market. The key determining factors on whether you will have a chance at interviewing are top firm experience and impressive law school academics. The other obvious factor determining whether you will be asked to interview, at least for most positions in Asia, is language skills (Mandarin, Korean, Japanese). id="more-56969">

However, once you are in an interview, whether by phone, VC or in person, your stellar resume is not going to help you as much as it would in an interview for a US position. Overseas partners are looking for the right personality fit much more so than in a large domestic office. A major reason for this is because the offices are much smaller overseas, making it harder to hide a misfit (even a junior associate can be the face of the firm), but there are other reasons as well.

At a basic level, the factors that are especially important to demonstrate in an interview overseas are these:

• you have an entrepreneurial nature;

• you have a high level of maturity for your experience level;

• you have an outgoing personality (not overly “academic” in nature);

• you are able to fit in with different cultures;

• your personal presentation is generally positive; and

• you are a team player (no prima donnas need apply)

• you have a demonstrated interest / connection to your target market

These are obviously all factors that are relevant in any interview at least as “plus factors”, but these particular factors are especially important in Asia.

Keep in mind that within minutes of your first interview, most partners can pretty much figure out whether you have these attributes. Any of us at Kinney Recruiting can figure this out about candidates we speak to in minutes as well.

There is a much less structured environment for associates in busy overseas U.S. practices (at the smaller offices or newer practice groups it can be similar to working in a exciting start-up company, albeit one extremely well financed).

The market is such in Asia, especially in China, that firm clients are not nearly as institutionalized as in the major US markets. Sure, many US firms in Asia opened offices there initially to follow major clients. Nevertheless, the pitch environment is much more of a free-for-all in Asia, especially in China. A firm not being on the preferred vendors list at an i-bank, fund or other entity often does not even prevent representation from happening in Asia (while it is more difficult, a series of one time waivers for a firm by a client are not uncommon). In China especially, considering all the state run enterprise business, the vast majority of the IPOs being handled by PRC banks, and many emerging companies and funds, there is a lot of pitching going on by firms for this work. Further, while in New York deals are done mainly over the phone, in Asia there are a lot of in-person meetings throughout the process.

Needless to say, there is a lot of client contact for even junior associates, especially when in China a non-Chinese partner may be leaning heavily on his Mandarin-fluent associates for a lot more than due diligence. Mid-level associates in Asia are typically running their own deals.

In many instances in Asia your training is one-on-one mentoring from a partner or two, quite commonly with no senior associates in between.

Maturity is especially important in Asia because associates are given as much responsibility as they can handle. Simply put, a mature person can balance his or her workload between competing demands more than an immature one. There can be a lot of travel to meet with major clients and each associate, no matter how junior, is usually a vital part of their office’s overall practice and client development and retention. Each associate is also expected to be a self-starter and figure out things on the fly much more than is the case in a domestic office of the same firm.

The smaller offices of course make personality fit and personal presentation more important, for obvious reasons. As an associate at a top U.S. practice in Asia, you are more of a vital piece of the entire office’s practice and your personality is going to directly affect the firm’s practice. Senior partners overseas, especially those that moved to Asia from U.S. offices, have in many cases put a tremendous amount of effort (and some career risk) into building their book of business and reputation in a foreign country. Thus, they can take a lot of pride in their accomplishments, as they should. Understandably they want to avoid placing their reputation and practice in the hands of an associate with whom they do not have a strong personality fit or who cannot be counted on to be at his or her best every day.

As an associate in a large New York (or other major US market) office, with hundreds of attorneys, you surely know a number of very impressive young associate colleagues who are perhaps a bit over academic, but perform just fine in that large office environment. However, being too academic and not well rounded will not serve well in an entrepreneurial and less structured environment of a busy small overseas US corporate practice of a top firm. We have seen countless cases where the less impressive candidate on paper wins out over the more impressive resumed candidates, due to being better rounded and the right personality fit.

Most US partners who have been in Asia for a few years or more have experienced a hire gone bad simply because the US associate ultimately could not commit to the geographic market. Asia, especially China, is hot now and is considered “the place to be.” There are many very well intentioned and able young professionals in the US who believe they would like to relocate there, but ultimately find out later that the region is not for them. Thus, many US partners will take a jaded approach into an interview with a US associate who does not have an obvious connection to the particular target Asia market. Of course, a connection to the market is not a requirement to land there (if it were, most partners you are interviewing with would never have landed there to begin with), but the lack of a strong connection will need to be dealt with in an interview. It is ok to want to be in Hong Kong, for example, because it is an exciting market, has great deal flow, and you have visited there a few times, but the message has to be conveyed loud and clear in an interview and you need to be prepared to take on this elephant in the room early.

Keep in mind that U.S. firms have more risk with hires they make overseas, due to the high level of responsibility each associate has, and also because associates are simply less fungible in small, busy overseas offices. The past two years of economic downturn in the West caused full and partial hiring freezes at firms globally, even during most of the recent 20 months boom in China. Many U.S. practices in Asia have found themselves to be severely understaffed when just one or two associates leave, combined with increased deal flow. In a busy and competitive lateral hiring market in Asia, it can easily take a U.S. practice up to six months to replace a key associate that has not worked out.

Further, there is the added cost a firm takes on when hiring a U.S. associate lateral, especially if from the U.S. markets, such as annual housing / expat packages (which can run from $40,000 to $140,000 depending on the Asia market and firm) and international relocation costs, which includes up to two months in a luxury serviced apartment. Some firms even handle private school tuition for associates’ children.

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Fox News Caught Smearing Ron Paul | Death and Taxes

Fox News was caught flagrantly deceiving viewers in a smear on Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

Washington Extra – Royal news | Analysis & Opinion |

As is increasingly the case, the United States is finding that talking pro-democracy is one thing. Dealing with the aftermath of uprisings another.

ABC News Correspondent Beaten in Bahrain - The Hollywood Reporter

Miguel Marquez says he began yelling "Journalist!" during the military crackdown to show he wasn't a protestor.

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Fox News Caught Smearing Ron Paul | Death and Taxes

Fox News was caught flagrantly deceiving viewers in a smear on Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

Washington Extra – Royal news | Analysis & Opinion |

As is increasingly the case, the United States is finding that talking pro-democracy is one thing. Dealing with the aftermath of uprisings another.

ABC News Correspondent Beaten in Bahrain - The Hollywood Reporter

Miguel Marquez says he began yelling "Journalist!" during the military crackdown to show he wasn't a protestor.

benchcraft company scam

Fox News Caught Smearing Ron Paul | Death and Taxes

Fox News was caught flagrantly deceiving viewers in a smear on Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

Washington Extra – Royal news | Analysis & Opinion |

As is increasingly the case, the United States is finding that talking pro-democracy is one thing. Dealing with the aftermath of uprisings another.

ABC News Correspondent Beaten in Bahrain - The Hollywood Reporter

Miguel Marquez says he began yelling "Journalist!" during the military crackdown to show he wasn't a protestor.

benchcraft company scam

Fox News Caught Smearing Ron Paul | Death and Taxes

Fox News was caught flagrantly deceiving viewers in a smear on Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

Washington Extra – Royal news | Analysis & Opinion |

As is increasingly the case, the United States is finding that talking pro-democracy is one thing. Dealing with the aftermath of uprisings another.

ABC News Correspondent Beaten in Bahrain - The Hollywood Reporter

Miguel Marquez says he began yelling "Journalist!" during the military crackdown to show he wasn't a protestor.

benchcraft company scam

Fox News Caught Smearing Ron Paul | Death and Taxes

Fox News was caught flagrantly deceiving viewers in a smear on Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

Washington Extra – Royal news | Analysis & Opinion |

As is increasingly the case, the United States is finding that talking pro-democracy is one thing. Dealing with the aftermath of uprisings another.

ABC News Correspondent Beaten in Bahrain - The Hollywood Reporter

Miguel Marquez says he began yelling "Journalist!" during the military crackdown to show he wasn't a protestor.

benchcraft company scam

Fox News Caught Smearing Ron Paul | Death and Taxes

Fox News was caught flagrantly deceiving viewers in a smear on Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

Washington Extra – Royal news | Analysis & Opinion |

As is increasingly the case, the United States is finding that talking pro-democracy is one thing. Dealing with the aftermath of uprisings another.

ABC News Correspondent Beaten in Bahrain - The Hollywood Reporter

Miguel Marquez says he began yelling "Journalist!" during the military crackdown to show he wasn't a protestor.

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Fox News Caught Smearing Ron Paul | Death and Taxes

Fox News was caught flagrantly deceiving viewers in a smear on Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

Washington Extra – Royal news | Analysis & Opinion |

As is increasingly the case, the United States is finding that talking pro-democracy is one thing. Dealing with the aftermath of uprisings another.

ABC News Correspondent Beaten in Bahrain - The Hollywood Reporter

Miguel Marquez says he began yelling "Journalist!" during the military crackdown to show he wasn't a protestor.

benchcraft company scam

Fox News Caught Smearing Ron Paul | Death and Taxes

Fox News was caught flagrantly deceiving viewers in a smear on Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

Washington Extra – Royal news | Analysis & Opinion |

As is increasingly the case, the United States is finding that talking pro-democracy is one thing. Dealing with the aftermath of uprisings another.

ABC News Correspondent Beaten in Bahrain - The Hollywood Reporter

Miguel Marquez says he began yelling "Journalist!" during the military crackdown to show he wasn't a protestor.

benchcraft company scam

Fox News Caught Smearing Ron Paul | Death and Taxes

Fox News was caught flagrantly deceiving viewers in a smear on Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

Washington Extra – Royal news | Analysis & Opinion |

As is increasingly the case, the United States is finding that talking pro-democracy is one thing. Dealing with the aftermath of uprisings another.

ABC News Correspondent Beaten in Bahrain - The Hollywood Reporter

Miguel Marquez says he began yelling "Journalist!" during the military crackdown to show he wasn't a protestor.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Making Money With Options

Obama want to reform Fannie and Freddie. There are a few options on the table, but Little Red Riding Hood does not think the porridge in any of the bowls is quite right.

Please consider White House wants less government in mortgage system

The Obama administration wants to shrink the government's role in the mortgage system -- a proposal that would remake decades of federal policy aimed at getting Americans to buy homes and would probably make home loans more expensive across the board.

The Treasury Department rolled out a plan Friday to slowly dissolve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored programs that bought up mortgages to encourage more lending and required bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis.

The first option proposed by the administration would give the government no role beyond helping poorer and middle-class borrowers through agencies like the Federal Housing Administration, which provides insurance on mortgage loans.

The second and third options would give the government a role as an insurer of mortgages, and each would prompt mortgage companies to pass along fees to borrowers.

Under one, the government would step in to guarantee private mortgages during a severe economic downturn, such as another housing slump, but would provide limited support during normal times.

The third option would be more complex. The government would insure a targeted range of mortgage investments that already are guaranteed by private insurers -- serving as a "reinsurance" broker to those financing companies. In the event the private insurers couldn't pay the owners of the mortgage investments, the government insurance would pay.

The third option would leave the government with the largest role and probably have the smallest impact on mortgage rates. While lenders would have to pay fees, which would ordinarily drive rates higher, the government guarantees would also make mortgages a safer investment. That would attract more private money and hold rates down.

The correct option is to get rid of Fannie, Freddie, the FHA and HUD. The government should not provide any backstop or any guarantees at any time. Unfortunately that option was not on the table.

Some are concerned that private lending may dry up. If it did, so what? The government has no business promoting housing or taking on risks best suited for private markets.

Here's the deal: If lenders knew there was no government guarantees, they would not make as many stupid loans. If they don't make stupid loans, there is far less risk that lending freezes up in the first place.

Moreover, if somehow the lenders do go broke as a consequence of making poor loans, bondholders and shareholders will pay the price, not taxpayers. Pray tell, what is wrong with that?

Cheering the Demise of 30-Year Mortgages

In a free market, we may very well not see many 30-year loans issued. Why would any lending institute want to lend for 30 years at an interest rate of 5% anyway?

We might even see new products like 8-year, 10-year, or 12-year loans. Such loans would help ensure equity paybacks quickly, reducing risk for everyone on both sides of the transaction. If that forces people to buy a smaller house, so be it.

A home should be an affordable place to live, not a debt-trap or method of leveraged financial speculation for 30 years.

Borrowing short and lending long for 30-years (while attempting to hedge in between) is a recipe for disaster. Fannie and Freddie have already gotten into serious trouble over it. If that practice stops, we will all be the better for it. Thus, we should all cheer the demise of 30-year loans.

If we would just get government totally out of the way, housing will recover a lot quicker, with home prices far more stable, than with government guarantees or half-assed measures. It's time we remove the government crutch completely. For more on this line of thinking, please see Mortgage Rates Hit 1-Year High; NAR Whines for Government (Taxpayer) Support of Fannie, Freddie; "*" the NAR

We have tried everything else, and everything else failed, so why not try the free market for a change.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Peter Shumlin, the newly elected governor of Vermont, has a plan for health-care reform: Rather than repeal it, he wants to supercharge it. His state will set up an exchange, and then, as soon as possible, apply for a waiver that allows it to turn the program into a single-payer system. You can read a summary of the plan here (Word file). I spoke with Shumlin this morning, and a lightly edited transcript of our conversation follows.

Ezra Klein: The report (PDF) prepared by Dr. William Hsiao offered three options for Vermont: single payer, a strong public option and a form of private-public single payer. My understanding is that you're backing the third option. What separates it from a traditional single-payer system?

Peter Shumlin: Single payer means something different to everyone. The way I define it is that health care is a right and not a privilege. It follows the individual and not the employer. And it’s publicly financed. The only difference between single-payer one and single-payer three in Hsiao's report is that in single-payer three, the actual adjudication of payment is contracted to an existing insurance entity. So the state doesn't have to set up a new bureaucracy to run it. His modeling suggests that’d be more economical. It's a minute difference.

EK: And why go to a single-payer system at all?

PS: In Vermont, this is all about cost containment. There are 625,000 people in Vermont. We were spending $2.5 billion on health care a decade ago. Now we’re above $5 billion. And we project we’ll be spending a billion dollars more in 2014. This is where everyone has failed in health-care reform. And this will go after three of our main drivers of costs.

First, Vermont spends 8 cents on every dollar on administrative costs, just chasing the money around. That’s a huge waste of money. Second, we’ll use technology to conquer waste. You'll get a Vermont medical card, and everyone’s medical records will be on that card, so you’ll go into a doctor’s office and they’ll know what the last doctor did to you. That helps avoid duplication of services. And the last piece, the most challenging, is remaking the payment system so providers are paid for making you healthy, not for doing the most procedures.

EK: Single-payer systems often lose on the ballot and in the legislature. No state has successfully managed to pass one into law, much less implement it. And the objection that usually stands in the way of these projects is that I'm happy with my health-care insurance, and I don't trust the government to create something new and put me into it. How do you answer that?

PS: I suspect I’m the only politician in America who won an election in this last cycle with TV ads saying I was going to try to pass the first single-payer system in America. This election was a confirmation of my judgment that Vermonters are tired of enriching pharmaceutical companies and insurers and medical equipment makers at the expense of their family members. The reality in Vermont is that there are not very many Vermonters who are happy with the current system. We’re losing our rural providers. Our small hospitals are struggling. And Vermonters are lowering their coverage and paying more and more for it.

EK: How will the funding work? Right now, a lot of money comes from employers. What happens to their share?

PS: Where health care has failed is in designing a cost containment mechanism that works. That’s the really hard part of our job. So I’m asking us to spend the next 12 months designing the tools for cost containment. Once we do, we'll figure out how to structure the way we pay for it.

EK: One of the things you asked of Dr. Hsiao was to preserve provider incomes. How can you do that while cutting costs? At some point, doesn't lower spending also mean fewer doctors or hospitals or lower incomes?

PS: The reason Vermont has the opportunity to be the lab for a different kind of change is that we don’t have a lot of high-paid physicians in Vermont. We have a lot of low-paid physicians. We have rural providers who’re making less than they did when they graduated from medical school. Our cost driver is not that we have a lot of physicians running around in Mercedes-Benzes. It’s waste in the system.

EK: How will this interact with other systems? Let's say I have Kaiser Permanente. I come to Vermont and break my leg. What happens?

PS: Nothing different than what happens right now. You’d go to one of our providers' offices, and they’d bill Kaiser for that one. No different than if you break a leg in France or Switzerland. Radical as this seems to Americans, the rest of the world has figured this out and gotten it right. We keep getting it wrong, and we’re paying for it.

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Friday, February 11, 2011

Making Money Advertising

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Many people make tons of money on the internet. Many other people want to make money on the internet but don't know how.

The first step is you should get a PayPal account. The reason for this is most of the programs I will talk about, pay out through PayPal. The other way they will pay out, is by a check sent directly to you through the mail.

After you get your PayPal account you should consider joining a free web hosting site such as BraveNet. You can also build a website that has banner ads. Then, you can advertise your referral links to make some extra money. Your site should be about something you are interested in such as a hobby so you can easily add content. Having extra content will get your visitors to return and be more likely to click on an ad or direct link. If you have little,or no experience, in making websites or using HTML then I suggest you create a blog at a site such as blogger.com

After you get your BraveNet account, and/ or PayPal account,then your ready to get started. The first program I recommend is Mylot. The reason for this is you can make an of average $1.00 a day by posting topics, discussions and comments. Plus, this is a great way to advertise your websites. You can start topics such as "I just made a new website at..." Also,
you can put comments on others ideas about making money online. If you want to make about $1.50 a day
then you need to make 50 posts, 10 new discussions and 10 new pictures uploaded. Also make sure each post is at least four lines.

After joining Mylot and if you did decide to make a website or blog, then I suggest you join Adbrite. You just copy and paste the HTML in your document.After about two days, there will be a banner ad or text ad in the space you chose. You will earn money for your CTR, which is your add views divided by your ad clicks times ten. To make the most money, make sure after your page has loaded you can see the entire ad space. The better you can see it the more you will get paid and the more clicks you will get which will improve your CTR.

Next, I suggest you join Absence. This is a lot like Adbrite.Although, all the ads are text based and you will get paid by your PPM or Pay Per thousand (clicks.) This means that the more times people click on your ads the more you will get paid. Make sure to never click on your own ads because they will instantly ban you and take all the money you have earned.

After that, you should join SFI which you can make money by referring others and by advertising their products. The best way to do this is by advertising there gateways. A gateway is a website that they design but has your code in it so they can track of who made the referrals. You should put a link on all your sites such as "to join SFI to make money click here." Or if your advertising there product gateways, "click to find more Info on purchasing..."

To get more exposure to your site or to your SFI gateways then you should join a traffic exchange like Traffic Swarm.

Up until now all I have talked about is if you already have a website or blog, but if you don't, there are many other sites where one is not needed for success.

The best one is CashCrate. All you have to do is fill out surveys or complete offers and sign up for random stuff. There is a minimum $10 payout and no kidding I met it in less than an one and a half hours! I suggest you get a second email address to sign up for all of these offers and surveys, because they might give you spam(junk email)but it is worth it.

There are a lot of other sites you should join such as ClixSense, AdBux and LinkGrand which are PTC (pay to click) ClickSense being the best but the others are worth a look. Slash My Search and Zot Spot pay you to make searches just like you were using Google.

Monday, March 14, 2011

By Phil Izzo

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Friday, March 11, 2011

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Top 5 Articles

Other Essential Reading

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Friday, February 11, 2011