PediaWorld

Sweet November… well, not really: The war lingers ondollar,investor, for purposes unknown to most and oil prices continue to rise. Credit woes dominate the financial headlines, and value stocks seem intent on extending their correction into a seventh month. Investors want a stronger dollar while lower interest rates (and lower taxes) are clearly more beneficial. Neither political party has a candidate that supports real tax reform for both investors and corporate job creators, nor has the counter productive United States Regulation Industry stopped growing faster than most world economies. In terms of issue breadth alone, November is becoming the worst month (or the best buying opportunity) since July of 2002, and possibly since October of 1987. Just who makes this good/bad determination anyway, the Wall Street institutions, the media, investment letter writers? Why are rallies considered good and corrections bad? Will we remember 2007 as the year of the Grinch or will the leaves and the market stop falling in favor of a Santa Clause rally? Only the phantom knows for sure.

Every fall, good year in the market or not, I remind my clients that the final calendar quarter is a very special time. November is particularly exciting because it hosts the convergence of four Katrina-level forces, all of which are part of Wall Street’s conventional wisdom while none of them lead to intelligent investment decision making. And this year we have a special treat in the form of a Category Three market correction in the Value Stock sector. (October ’87 was a Short Five; June ’98 through January ’00 was a long Four.) A five-force November Syndrome can be particularly destructive; no wonder the media is giving it so much attention… carnage at last!

Force One is the mad rush of the lemmings to realize losses on equity and/or income securities for absolutely no investment reason at all… just because they have fallen in price from the time that they were purchased. Assuming (as I always do) that we are dealing with “Investment Grade Securities”, lower prices should more logically be seen as an opportunity to add to positions cheaply than as an opportunity to reduce the 2007 tax liability on our other investment earnings. Losing (your) money is only a good idea in the eyes of accountants, particularly if the reasoning for buying the security was sound in the first place, and assuming that the issuing company is still profitable. This “tax-loss” lunacy is comparable to barging into your boss’ office and demanding a cut in pay, and it could be eliminated entirely by some intelligent tax reform. Have hope investors, I’ve heard a rumor that candidate Romney is talking about eliminating taxes on investment earnings.

Similarly, letting your profits run, as instructed by Force Two, in order to push the awful things into 2008 is just foolishness. Talk to those geniuses who didn’t take profits in 1999 (or in August, ’87) and who are still waiting for their stocks or Mutual Funds to bounce back! The objective of the equity investment exercise is to take profits… the more quickly and more frequently, the better. There are no guarantees that the profits will wait for you to pull the trigger at your personal tax convenience. And patting yourself on the back when you have unrealized gains within your income portfolio is equally absurd. What’s better, a 10% profit in your hand today, or 6% over the course of the next twelve months? Profits need to be taken when they appear… the investment gods are watching.

Force Three takes the form of a trade, and is innocently called a Bond Swap… one of two reasons why your broker sold you those short-duration, odd lot positions in the first place. Now he has the opportunity to pick your pocket by exchanging them at a “nice tax loss” for another bond with “about the same yield”. He gets a double dip commission (yeah, I know it’s not on the confirmation notice, but a mark-up is applied to each side of the trade), and you get a bond either of longer duration or lower quality. Somehow it’s OK now to buy the longer duration bond. Really, this is how they finance their Christmas Shopping! If you don’t fall for the swap con, he won’t be too upset… the rapid turnover of your portfolio nets him a cool 3% on each maturing issue anyway.

As if all of this isn’t enough, Wall Street gangs up on you some more with a self-serving strategy that is blithely referred to by the Media as Institutional Year End Window Dressing…a euphemism for consumer fraud. In this annual Shell Game, Mutual Fund and other Institutional Money Managers unload stocks that have been weak and load up on those that are at their highest prices of the year. Always keep in mind: (a) that Wall Street has no respect for your intelligence and (b) that the media talking heads are entertainers, not investors. Institutions must show how smart they are by having quarterly and annual reports that reflect their unfailing brilliance, so they boldly sell low and buy high with your retirement nest egg.

It would be an understatement to say that the sum of these year-end strategies typically adds to the weakness of the weak and “proves” the intelligence of buying the strong. The November Syndrome is a short-lived annual investment opportunity that most people are too confused to notice, much less appreciate. Simply put, get out there and buy the November lows and wait for the periodic and mysterious January Effect to happen. The media will talk about this phenomenon with wide-eyed amazement as they watch many of the horrid become torrid for, seemingly, no reason at all. What’s happening, you might ask? Well, those professional window dressers are now selling their high priced honeys and replacing them with the solid companies they just sold for losses. Interesting place, Wall Street… tough but manageable. Take the profits and pay the dreaded taxes. Buy the November lows, even add to existing holdings. More often than not, this proves to be a winning strategy if you stick with investment grade securities.

Do you own a house? If so, you already have realized the Greatest American Dream, which many of us continue to work hard to have. Additionally, because you already have a house, you already have easy access to money through Home Equity Loan or Home Equity Line Credit.

It is thus easier for you to acquire funds for myriad of reasons. Lenders can provide you a credit of up to 75% of your total equity.

Funding children’s college education or renovations for your house or even for purposes of paying off the entire balance of your primary mortgage may be available through home equity loan or line of credit.

You may even opt to consolidate your debt, like your credit cards and other unsecured credits with the options available in a home equity loan or line of credit.

This facility is getting to be very popular nowadays because of the convenience of owing only one institution and the added advantage of lower interest rates. In addition, interests in consumer loans like your home equity loan or line of credit is tax deductible.

The facility of acquiring loan through home equity loan or line of credit is flexible in various payments terms depending on the institution that is providing you with the loan.

All of these flexibility and advantages of acquiring a home equity loan and line of credit notwithstanding needs some intelligent decision-making. This is because even with the numerous advantages available in a home equity loan or line of credit, the only one and most important factor to consider is the fact that you put your house as collateral.

Consequently, failing to pay your debt may cause you to loose the most precious asset you have, your home.

For this reason, before you embark on the convenient way of acquiring a loan through home equity loan or line of credit, you may need to consider if you really need this facility.

There may be other loan facilities available where you can choose from, thus you may not need to put your house as collateral. However, admittedly considering taxes and interest rates may lead you back to home equity loan or line of credit. In this case, you may need to seek additional advice.

I have been mentioning home equity loan or line of credit. This is because the two differ in one most significant factor. Home equity loan is a facility where you get the proceeds of your loan lump sum. On the other hand, home equity line of credit is a facility where you have a credit line, just like in a credit card, where you may opt to get funds only when you need it.

However, in a home equity loan, you pay equal installments throughout the duration of the paying period and you pay part interest and part principal loan. In the case of home equity line of credit, the interest rates are variable and you may choose to pay interest only.

The negative side of this is that you need to pay a balloon payment at the end of the term, which may be hard for you if you are not ready to pay such a huge amount. You may end up taking another loan, which will put you at a disadvantageous position later on.

Finally, financial experts recommend that before you embark on acquiring a home equity loan or line of credit, you may need to do your homework by shopping around for the best terms, payment options, and conditions where the lender may consider you in default. Analyzing your needs may be an additional advantage for you to make the intelligent decision.

For additional information and advice, you may refer to various financial management websites before you decide if home equity loan or line of credit is good for you. You may find other loan facilities that will not be as risky, but understanding what you need and how you need it may be necessary.

What is no load life insurance? No load insurance is fairly uncommon, but many consider it better than the average whole life insurance package. Life insurance no-load simply means that it is not commissioned-based.

The first year payments are much less compared to traditional life insurance packages. No load life insurance also has other notable features like zero cash surrender charges and earlier cash value accessibility. However, most life insurance companies still do not offer no load insurance. Still, if there is no load insurance available in your area, you should consider getting no load insurance instead.

How Does No Load Insurance Exactly Work?

No load insurance isn’t exactly made to eliminate the need for life insurance agents or brokers. Instead, the fee structure of no load insurance has been changed. Life insurance advisors are paid by potential life insurance clients. This fee is considerably smaller than what one would pay with a traditional whole life insurance package sold through an agent.

Another advantage of a no load insurance policy is that because more of your life insurance premiums are not channeled into agent commissions, more of it can build cash value immediately. This means you can borrow from your life insurance policy in as early as a year.

Many states require that the no load insurance professional be licensed before he can provide any life insurance advice. Try to find out if your state issues such licenses, and be sure to look for it when you talk to a life insurance advisor.

No load insurance is sometimes called low load insurance. However, they are both the same. The best route is to look for a company that specializes in providing life insurance advisors.

If you have a penchant for modifying your car, then you should also get a proper car insurance to protect its beauty while it is running on the road. You might be spending thousands of dollars in modifying the car and the joy of creativity might be short-lived if your car gets damaged easily.

Some car enthusiasts modify their car just to give it a different look while others do to enhance the performance of the machine. It costs quite a few dollars and after having spent your hard earned money to modify the car, you should also take necessary steps to protect it.

So before you opt for car insurance, you should keep a tab on the amount that you have spent in modifying your car. The cost of modifying is going high everyday, as the equipments are costly.

There are several car insurance companies offering various car insurances for modified vehicles. But negotiating with them for a modified car can be a tricky job. A car insurance company while assessing a modified car looks at the modifications as an increased risk since the manufacturer did not do them.

Car insurance companies feel that with modifications, you car stands a higher risk of getting into accidents and thus the chances of making claims also go up. Car insurance companies are here for business and higher chances if making claims means serious loss in their business.

So in such cases modified car insurances some for a higher premium rates as compared to other car insurances. Always expect the more the number of modifications in your car, higher the premium rates you have to pay for the car insurance.

With several companies offering car insurance online, getting a modified car insurance has become very easy. Car insurance online is the best way to avail insurance as your search gets wider and you also end up saving time and money.

Car insurance companies are generally more aware in calculating the risk factor while offering such insurance policy for your modified vehicle. Generally car insurance companies lack the speciality in estimating the performance and the safety of the car. They end up underestimating the value of the car and it is advisable to look out for car insurance companies, who specialize in modified cars.

While searching for car insurance online, you will get several insurance companies offering their policies at reduced rates. But think twice and weigh all option before taking the final plunge.

As elementary as it may sound, no matter how much money you make, you still need to find ways to hold onto it. There are many small steps to take that will add up to big savings in the end. If you value the assets you have accumulated, or if you feel you should be accumulating more, take this advice and make some minor changes.

Firstly, take a look at your life insurance policy. If you have no children or grown children or if you are no longer married, then you make want to reassess your need for life insurance. The whole purpose of a life insurance policy is to safeguard the people you are leaving behind such as spouses and children. If you have no spouse and your children are self-sufficient, it is unnecessary.

Keep your car. You paid it off, you deserve it! Most people feel that once the car loan is paid, they need to go ahead a get a new car with a new car payment. It is wise to keep the car you now own for at least a few more years, ideally three or four. Smart savers will even bank the money they were using for their car payment since they are used to paying it monthly. In a high interest savings account, that money will grow before your eyes.

Pay off the plastic! High credit card balances are the downfall for many consumers. With huge interest rates averaging 15%, large balances will steal your potential savings. One solution is to shop around for a better rate. Many credit card companies will offer a lower interest rate for balance transfers. Simply locate the card with the lowest interest and transfer your big balance. One important thing to remember is that paying down that card will save you lots of money in the long run. It is simple, the longer it takes to pay down the balance, the more interest will fly out of your pocket. What good is paying interest for you? No good at all. By paying interest you are shelling out money to the credit card company because of poor planning in paying off the balance so make those payments!

Yet another way to save your earnings is to raise your homeowners and car insurance deductibles. Although it is wise to consider how much you will need to dish out in the case of a claim, a higher deductible will save you money on your monthly payments. Look at it this way, a monthly payment is a guarantee, but a claim is not. As always, stay cautious and never think that you are exempt from claims, but raise that deductible anyway. In the case that you must file a claim, a $1000 deductible will hurt more than $500, but you can save up to 20% yearly in monthly payments by hiking that deductible.

Bermuda is not only famous for the shorts. It has earned a reputation as a world-class centre of commerce. There are in excess of 8.000 “exempted” companies registered in Bermuda, taking advantages of Bermuda’s favourable corporate tax structure and its highly professional business environment. It is a highly respected jurisdiction with tax neutrality and no exchange controls for non-resident undertakings.

Historically Bermuda has been a very popular tax haven for the American glitterati and today it is a stable, almost local tax haven for many American companies seeking to reduce their tax liabilities. The legal system in Bermuda is similar to that used in America and so many Americans feel comfortable with this particular jurisdiction. So to say, Bermuda is protected under a United States defense umbrella. Furthermore it is attractive to Hong Kong citizens seeking a tax haven in which to establish an offshore company, as the Bermuda Exempted Companies have been approved by the Hong Kong stock exchange for listing purposes.

The principal statute governing the formation and operation of Bermuda companies is The Companies Act 1981 as from time to time amended. Companies are generally incorporated with limited liability and perpetual existence. However an exempted company may also take another form of company, as follows: limited duration company, company limited by guarantee, unlimited liability company or mutual company. The recent introduction of several amendments to The Companies Act 1981 has simplified the incorporation procedure and has enabled a Bermudan Exempt company to play a significant role within the modern financial centre.

The features of the exempt company are as follows:

• Taxation. Bermuda exempted companies are granted an exemption from all forms of taxation in Bermuda (such as income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax or estate duty) until the year 2016 or such subsequent date may be enacted by Parliament.

• Registered office. Every company must have a registered office in Bermuda, the address of which is registered with the Registrar.

• Directors. An exempt company must have two individuals resident in Bermuda, either as directors, or one as secretary and one as director, or one as secretary and one as ‘permanent representative’.

• Shareholders. A minimum of one shareholder is required and bearer shares are not permitted. The beneficial ownership of the company must be revealed to the Government at the time of incorporation.

• Business activity. An exempt company may carry on business from within Bermuda only in connection with transactions and activities external to Bermuda. The most common business activity of exempted companies is investment holding.

• Continuations. Bermuda law provides that companies may continue into, and discontinue out of, Bermuda.

Bermuda Registrar of Companies registers all Limited Liability Companies, which include Local Companies, Foreign Sales Corporations, Exempted Companies and Overseas Companies under the guidelines of The Companies Act 1981. It plays a significant role in the management and daily operation of international and domestic businesses, and therefore has a responsibility to all Bermudians for the industry’s success.

And it’s natural that the cost of maintaining the good reputation of Bermuda’s company registry continues to increase. Thus recently it was announced a 6.5% increase in company fees, applicable from 1 April 2008. On the one hand, it is sad news for both local and international companies registered in Bermuda. On the other hand, this measure will ensure that the government has the necessary financial resources to address improvements to regulatory framework and, in that way will protect Bermuda’s name as a premier jurisdiction in international financial services.

The success of Bermuda as a professional business center is due to its social and political stability, excellent communications, sound regulatory regime, progressive legislation, and high calibre of professionals.

Structured settlements were introduced in Canada and the United States in the 1970′s. They were introduced as an alternative to lump sum payments, common in insurance settlements and lottery winnings. In the decades since, they have also been accepted as legal financial instruments in England and Australia.

The aforementioned common law countries have decided to include structured settlements in their statutory tort laws. These four countries handle tort law and the settlement packages a little bit differently, but the general overall definition applies across the board. In a nutshell, a structured settlement by legal definition is a statutory agreement to pay a specified sum of money over a period of time, on a payment system.

Payment Arrangements

When someone wins a court settlement (or if they settle the case beforehand), the insurance company often gives the winner a choice of taking a specified amount of money in a lump sum, or a bit more money if the insurance company can enter into a structured settlement arrangement.

Of course, it is in the insurance companies best interest to pay the claimant in a structured settlement, because the insurance company can earn interest, during the structured payment cycle, on the full sum of money it would have paid in a lump sum.

The insurance company wins in the profit game, when they get to enter into a structured settlement. They will be able to invest the full sum of money owed, and they get to earn interest or dividends on the money in hand during the payment period.

Structured settlements are most often paid out in the form of an annuity over a period of time. An annuity is also legally classified as a financial instrument. Once again, the financial institution will gain an additional financial advantage, because they can collect interest or earn other kinds of income on the bulk amount, during the payment period.

Annuity & Structured Settlement Buyouts

Structured Settlements for a great deal of clients are the ideal solution. Payments spread out over a period of time allow clients to balance their finances and pay bills in the years to come. Some people get their settlement payments $300, $1000 or even more each month. Sometimes they may include lump sum payments many years in the future. This is fine as long as their life is humming along and their bills are being paid.

Yet, circumstances sometimes get in the way, and people need the lump sum cash right away to solve some issue that has come up in their lives.

Because both annuities and structured payments are a legally-binding financial agreement, those items can potentially be transferred to another person under the terms of the laws that have been set up to manage these financial products. But, when faced with a serious financial crunch, some people hastily sell their annuities and structured settlements to the first company who would be willing to buy them for a lump sum amount.

These companies who are willing to buy-out annuities and structured payments are commonly referred to as “Factoring” companies, because they use “Factors” to determine how much future payments are currently worth, and how much they should buy them for.

The Standard Method of Selling A Structured Settlement – Persistence and Patience (not always used)

We have all seen the countless ads on TV from a various companies, “Get Lump Sum Cash Now.” For years, people have turned to factoring companies in their time of financial need. Smart consumers will learn from the insurance companies. Have you ever been involved in a car wreck? The insurance company requires for you to get three estimates and then they will pay the company that offers them the best deal.

The smart consumer will also invest a little bit more of his or her time to make sure they get the best deal for their annuity or structured settlement. They will call at least three factoring companies and get competitive bids from each. Then they will go back to the three aforementioned companies and see if any are willing to beat their best offer.

It can be tiring and time-consuming to follow through in this process, but for the average person, it could be worth several thousand or even tens of thousands of dollars in one’s bank account at the end of the process.

The Better Method of Selling a Structured Settlement – Open Marketplace Auction

A new way of dealing with this issue has recently been introduced to the marketplace. Websites allow Structured Settlement owners the ability to list details of their payments, and receive cash bids directly from Top-Rated Funding firms.

The process is relatively simple. Clients sign up for a free account and list the details of the payments they receive. Once an account is created and the details of the payment arrangement are known, Funding Firms can log in and make cash bids directly on the purchase of the settlement. Each firm can see the current highest cash offer, and if they wish to beat it with a higher cash price, they can do so.

Sellers do not need to worry about being called countless times by salespeople because the contact information of the settlement owner is not shared. When a factoring company makes a cash bid on the settlement, the service notifies the settlement owner of the new bid via email.

Having settlement buyers compete in an open marketplace lowers the profit margin for funding firms, and forces the lowest possible discount rates to be applied when funding companies compete to buy future payments. This in turn ensures that clients can get the maximum amount of money back from their settlement.

The Importance of Comparison Shopping

Two siblings had been receiving separate, but identical annuity payouts in the form of a structured settlement from an accidental family member death. Sibling one got into a financial crunch. When this happened, sibling one called a “Factoring Company.” She was offered a lump sum buyout, and although the offer was much lower than the value of the settlement, sibling number one didn’t realize the importance of shopping the competition, and sold her settlement for $70,000.

Sibling number two heard about the buyout and thought that it would be nice to have her cash now also. But, sibling number two was not as desperate for an immediate buyout. Sibling number two took the time to shop around for a better deal. Sibling two managed to uncover an online service, and they helped to secure the best offer possible. Sibling number one got a $70,000 buyout and was initially happy with her cash buyout.

Sibling number two came to the service with the same initial $70,000 buyout offer for the settlement. After working with the service, sibling number two got offered $100,000 for the same settlement sibling number one sold for $70,000.

Sibling number two sold her settlement for $100,000 to JG Wentworth who is an auction partner in the service. While sibling number two did get the best possible deal, sibling number one unfortunately has to live with the fact knowing that she made a $30,000 mistake by not shopping the competition.

In Conclusion

Your structured settlement or annuity is the foundation of your financial future. If you find yourself in financial need now, you should at the very least give yourself a couple more weeks to shop your deal to the competition. You might be telling yourself that you cannot afford to wait, but the truth is that you cannot afford to take the first bid that you are offered. In some cases, jumping at the first offer could be the equivalent of financial suicide to a structured settlement owner.

So, be patient and persistent in the process of finding a buyer for your settlement. And remember, if you are willing to negotiate with a car dealer on the price you pay for a car, then there should be no reason in the world that you should not negotiate with a factoring company when you are looking for a buy-out of your settlement.

With more and more financial institutions emerging, there is an ever increasing emerging need for high risk companies such as insurance, banks, central banks to manage their assets and liabilities better. Here comes the need for liability asset management software.

In proper discussion, there are all types of assets which may anytime be turning into a liability or have already turned into liability even without the authorities knowledge.

How to safeguard against running the risk of having liabilities?

What was previously haphazardly addressed is now focused upon strategically in order to reduce the risk, cut the losses and optimize the profits for the institutions.

Can applying and capitalizing liability asset management improve your business?

Since liability asset management is basically a new field, it has not yet caught on in the market. However, it is slowly been used by many insurance companies where the liability assets are high and also the banks where non-performing assets are becoming a cause of concern these days, especially the sub-prime issues haunting banks now.

How are the staff applied liability asset management?

Courses are available for the staff to be trained on how to use liability asset management to cut losses and stabilize income from liabilities.

What does the course focus on?

It focuses on how to concentrate upon getting the best out of a bad deal with the minimum deployment of people and resources. It also coaches how to organize strategies and techniques to recover written-off losses and hence optimize the profits of the company. This way, less and less financial institutions are saved from going bust.

What is actually liability asset management?

It is the act of managing one’s liability as the name implies. All organizations have liabilities. While some organizations have a high liability base like insurance and banks, there are other companies which have their liabilities limited to the benefits offered to retiring staff, or superannuation programs, etc.

If assets and liabilities are handled properly, they can be turned into strengths. There are always ways and means whereby the liabilities can be used to actually promote the organization image and profits. This will make shareholders smiling.

There are benefits.

#1 The superannuation benefits can actually go a long way to motivate staff to work more and better; the allowances that are given in expense accounts can be streamlined to give more at less expense by cutting the trivialities and increasing the comfort, and so on.

#2 It can also recovered the debts.
When debts are recovered in banks, it can be one of the biggest and the most vital fields of liability asset management. This will enable the company to learn how to recover with the maximum possible at minimum expense.

So, this is why liability asset management is slowly becoming an accepted facet of any organization, a must-have in the package of any successful and profitable organization.

Many have started looking at an offshore account as a means of maximizing their finances. Seemingly business executives are seeing the rewards of offshore banking without understanding the full picture. Whether this type of account will benefit you or your business is dependent upon individual circumstances, it is possible to do yourself more harm than good when investigating this topic.

A general misconception about an offshore account is that it will wipe off any tax that you might have to pay, either on business or personal earnings. It is probable that you will have to declare any money in your offshore bank account and almost certain that you will have to inform your domestic taxation authority of any money you or business earns. This is especially true of EU residents and US citizens. Unfortunately opening an account outside of your native country will not be a great way to avoid paying taxes; it simply does not work like that.

The majority of people who will benefit from this kind of account will work and carry out business outside of their home nation. If your business trades in a variety of countries this could be applicable to you. The way in which an offshore account will help these types of business is that it provides a centralised location where it is possible to manage financial transactions wherever in the world they may be.

If your business deals multi-nationally an off shore account can be ideal as it gives transactions in multiple currencies, usually at reduced conversion rates. An offshore account also offers those who have set up business in politically or economically unstable nations an account that will not be troubled by economic turmoil or political upheaval.

If you think your personal or business finances fall into any of these categories there are two main considerations when deciding on which offshore banking services to choose. Your first consideration when opening an account should be the service provider. Your next and equally important consideration should be on the jurisdiction that will benefit you or your business most.

Any provider that you may decide is worthy to hold your account should be reputable. Large financial institutions are ideal as these are generally regarded as ‘safe.’ Fundamentally you need a company that will not fall into bankruptcy shortly after you open an account; there is a wide variety of less reputable offshore banking services on the internet that should be disregarded for their financial worth.

Jurisdiction put simply is the country in which the bank is operating; a crucial consideration is how well the financial industry is regulated in that particular country. Understanding what protections as an account holder you possess within the country is also vital, after all this is your business and personal earnings at stake.

After these two major considerations are fully understood it is time to make an informed choice on the type of account and the variety of account services you require. You need an account that suits your personal and business dealings and selecting the various banking features will assist in this. However the more features you add to your account the more expensive it is likely to be; more costly is not necessarily the best way forward.

It is important when opening an offshore account that you do not over stretch yourself. Understand your own banking needs and more importantly look at your finances realistically. Pick an account that caters for your needs and no more, if your business operates internationally it could be worthwhile, but purely using the service in an attempt to avoid taxes is unrealistic. If you follow this advice having an offshore account for you or your business could become a financial reality.