Does one reward credit card give you the same benefits as any other rewards card? Lloyds TSB have launched their Rewards American Express Credit Card, their first loyalty card, which offers customers one point for every pound they spend, customers can use their points at retailers such as Debenhams, Marks & Spencers, UCI Cinemas and PC world. They are also offering 0% balance transfers for the first six months and then a 16.9% standard rate after this initial period. Lloyds intend to market their new card to their existing cardholders before venturing to the wider market.
Some leading experts say that the new card from Lloyds isn’t all it is cracked up to be. When the customer has earned 2,000 points they will receive only a £10 voucher which is redeemable at certain retailers. That is only a half a percent reward rate.
Compare it to the American Express Blue Card, which offers 2% cash back for the first six months and 0.5% thereafter on purchases up to the sum of £4,000 and then 1% above this sum yearly. The
We hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! We are ready to get back trading full time in 2012! Today was my first day back and I started it off with a nice 2 point EET trade! The VIX was really low, about 22. So this type of day I really want a quick one and done. Truth be told, I would have been happy with 4 ticks. However, I start my trades with a 2 point profit and adjust accordingly to my system rules. The market was slow, but in a blink of an eye it dropped about 10 ticks and I was out with a quick 2 pointer!
We are making a MAJOR announcement to our students tomorrow and we will then blog about it as well! Stay tuned!!
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The Belgian biotechnology company, Cardio3BioSciences, a leader in the discovery and development of regenerative and protective therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, today announces it has secured a total of €3.1 million in non-dilutive funding from the Walloon Region and the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
The Walloon Region funding takes the form of recoverable cash advances and will be used to industrialise a number of Cardio3 BioSciences projects including establishing a new bioreactor for the production of the Company’s lead product, C3BS-CQR-1 (C-Cure®), a highly innovative stem cell approach for the treatment of heart failure. Th
Total revenue for Australian life insurers has fallen from $23 billion in the year ending September 30 last year to $15.4 billion in the corresponding period this year.
The latest figures from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) show the drop in revenue also hit insurers’ profits.
After-tax profits for the year ending September 30 this year were down 12.3% to $2.5 billion, compared to $2.8 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Net premiums to September 30 were $27.7 billion compared to $27.3 billion in the corresponding 12 months last year, and net policy payments were $30.7 billion this year compared to $26 billion.
Volatile global investment markets have also dramatically reduced this source of income for life insurers.
In the year ending September 30 last year, investment income was $11 billion, but this has fallen to $2.4 billion in the most recent period.
The life insurance industry had total assets of $228 billion at September 30, compared to $234 billion 12 months previously.
The fall in investment income and assets can be attributed to insurers holding 46% of their portfolios in equities and 33% in debt securities on September 30 this year.
In addition, 9% of portfolios were held in cash and deposits with 7.3% in investment properties.
Total expenses for life insurers in the 12 months ending September this year were $11.8 billion, compared to $11.1 billion in the corresponding 2010 period.
Commission on winning new business in the year ending September 30 were $1.47 billion, while trails for the period were $1.9 billion. T
One of the most unsavory entries you can see on your month-end credit card statement is a credit card penalty fee. Why? Because, along with being charged a high rate of interest on the penalty, the fee is totally unnecessary if you manage your debt repayment properly.
Nonetheless, with many of us having numerous creditors to repay each month, including possibly several credit card companies, the chance are that at some point you will be charged a penalty for your credit card usage. As such, getting to know your issuers penalty policy is essential.
In this regard, each card provider will normally have a different penalty policy; so, without a careful review of the card agreement between you and the provider, it is difficult to say exactly what penalties you may be subject to. The following, however, are some of the industry standard fees you should keep in mind:
the most obvious fee is the late payment fee. This fee is levied against you if you fail to pay your minimum repayment amount on the statement payment date.
Hi everyone. I was off yesterday, and I did not have a chance to update the blog Monday. So playing a little catch up. Today and yesterday were both one and done trading days. Monday was a one and done trading day for most, but not all.
I was actually beta testing some software that conflicted what I was looking at and I took a losing trade. It really doesn’t matter WHY I lost, does it? Not to me. I lost money so I had to recover and profit. And that’s what I did throughout the first hour of the day!
So far the volatility has decreased slightly, but the trading is still great! Obviously we have HUGE concerns overseas and most believe the Euro-Zone will be in a financial crisis, soon. Or should I say a bigger financial crisis. We wish them well. I hope they do not choose to continue to kick the can down the road like we do in the US.
One thing for sure is that volatility will increase as the EU concerns will have an impact on US Mark. So