Online financial news
Goldman Sachs Facts
A cynic would point out that both the new Greek and Italian leaders are Goldman Sachs insiders. As is the new European Central Bank president, Mario Draghi. Press Europe has the details:
Draghi was Goldman Sachs International’s vice-chairman for Europe between 2002 and 2005, a position that put him in charge of the “companies and sovereign” department, which shortly before his arrival, helped Greece to disguise the real nature of its books with a swap on its sovereign debt.
Monti was an international adviser to Goldman Sachs from 2005 until his nomination to lead the Italian government. According to the bank, his mission was to provide advice “on European business and major public policy initiatives worldwide”. As such, he was a “door opener” with a brief to defend Goldman’s interest in the corridors of power in Europe.
The third man, Lucas Papademos, was the governor of the Greek central bank from 1994 to 2002.
Realtor Falls Down & Video Goes Totally Viral!
From our own experience, very few strategies have worked quite as effectively as real estate video marketing. There’s just something about this form of advertising that gets viewers fully engaged and willing to take action. I’m not any type of psychological genius, but it seems to me that using video and being authentic have a powerful effect on helping people to let down their guard.
Prospects dont want to be tricked into anything, and many have been burned before. Perhaps this also has something to do with our culture conditioning us from age 3 and up to be leery of salesmen and other forms of pushy tactics. For
3 Foolproof Tips for Better Credit Health
Good credit can do more than get you approved for a new credit card or loan; it helps you save money by getting you the best terms and rates on credit cards, mortgages, auto loans and more. If you’re new to the credit world, never fear; CreditKarma.com has gathered a few of the most time-tested methods for keeping up good credit health for anyone, no matter where your credit is starting from.
Let’s take a look at three of the best tips and how you can implement them in your credit life.
Your credit report is a long and data-rich document that contains information about your credit and financial life. Are you paying off a student loan? It’s there. Have you ever made a late credit card payment? Unfortunately, that’s there too.
According to the 2010 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey, approximately two thirds of adults haven’t checked their credit report in the past year—even though it’s free. Avoid joining
Options For Transferring Qantas Frequent Flyer Points To Velocity
Virgin has some of the most affordable domestic and international flights available, making the Velocity Rewards program even more popular for some frequent flyer cardholders.
In the past Qantas has taken the top title for airline-based rewards cards, but more and more people are starting to see the value in the Velocity program, which tends to require less points for flights and offers just as many cardholder benefits.
It is also easy to transfer the points from a credit card to the Velocity program at any time and anyone with an eligible rewards card can claim points and choose to redeem them through Velocity Rewards instead.
Someone with a card like the Citi Select or American Express Platinum Edge, for example, will earn rewards points that can be transferred to either airline program.
Unlike specifically linked rewards cards like the Virgin Flyer or many other Qantas cards, which limit the points to just one airline program, with this option people have more flexibility and control over how points are used.
Different providers will earn different point amounts when they are transferred over, with most American Express and Diners Club cards earning one Velocity point for every card reward point and most bank-issued cards earning one Velocity point for every two reward points.
There exceptions to this point ratio, however, like the following point transfer offers:
- Citibank cards receive one Velocity point per 1.5 Citi Rewards points
- ANZ’s Business One cardholders receive one Velocity point for one Business One point; and
- ANZ’s Rewards cards receive one Velocity point per 2.25 ANZ Reward points
It definitely pays off to check how many Velocity points a particular card will earn you and what cards may be eligible.
Once you have decided that you would like to transfer points from your card to the Velocity Rewards program it is a good idea to make sure you are not set up for automatic points transfers to the Frequent Flyer program. Aut
Choose the Roth IRA for a Safe Retirement Life
Which should you choose? The Roth IRA or the Traditional IRA? Go to this site roth-ira.org and learn which one is better.
Come an economic meltdown, and we workers are shaken by it so hard that we wish we started saving for our future before. Worry not for you have the Roth IRA to save you. Even during a meltdown, the Roth IRA can keep you damage-proof for you keep investing in it every year.
Just a meagre amount of 5 grand every year may sound like its a very small amount right now, but in the future, when you retire and are withdrawing money, you have your entire life’s savings in front of you (Which obviously is a huge sum if you started saving at a young age).
To add to this, the Roth IRA comes with add-on benefits and tax advantages too. Read more…
Truisms of a Financial Crisis
So much information and so many ideas come to us daily in the financial press. We’re able to fill up our trash basket in just minutes.
In The Financial Times, for example, Larry Summers recently offered a solution to America’s housing debt problem. And in The Herald Tribune our favorite comedian, Thomas L. Friedman, tells us about the next Internet revolution and what a wonderful world it will create.
Meanwhile, stocks appear to be on the march again. The Dow is up over 4% for the week. And oil is back over $90 per barrel.
Once again, ‘recovery’ hopes are building. The Europeans just have to sort out their debt mess. And Americans too!
And that should be easy. There are so many smart people on the job!
In Europe, Monsieur Sarkozy and Frau Merkel — not to mention an army of technicians, bankers and delusional incompetents — are finding ways to solve Europe’s debt crisis. How? By adding more leverage…debt…and confusion. To simplify,