How Expansion Score Can Help You?

Your credit score is the inviolable sanctuary of your financial life. Today good credit rating is the ticket to the most beneficial credit card offers. Having established good credit, you can count on the credit offers and loans with the most favorable terms that will let you save thousands of dollars. It is no need to talk about credit score importance. Everyone understands it. Today the question of establishing or re-building one's credit is more acute. You can find a lot of information on how to improve your credit score in the Internet. Let's look what are the most common rules on how to improve credit score. If you want to raise your credit score, stick to the following rules: pay all the bills on time, never miss or be late with your payments on a credit card, do not apply for too many credit cards, do not close several credit accounts at the same time. But shall you do if you have no opportunity to pay your balance in full every month and make more than minimum payments? What if you fail to get approved for the credit card you want? Is there another way of improving or establishing good credit rating? The Fair Isaac Corporation offers a new method to build credit score. The so-called Expansion score created by FICO lets you get approved for a credit even if you get rejected by credit card companies. The main thing that differs Expansion score from usual credit score, is that it is based not on your credit history but on the information about your rent payments and utility. Consumers with no credit have been usually advised to apply for a pre-paid or a secure credit card. They have been deprived of many credit features. But now thanks to Expansion score, consumers with bad or no credit have an alternative. They have more chances to get a credit card now. Expansion score gives benefits both to credit cardholders and to creditors. The benefit of young people who are just starting their credit history and people who take pains to recover after past financial mistakes are quite evident. But how creditors can benefit from this new way of calculating credit score? Thanks to strong competition on the credit market, credit card companies have to make up new ways to attract customers. Of course, all credit card companies want to get trustworthy and responsible clients. Expansion score reveals consumers payment abilities and creditworthiness. No doubt, it is better to give credit to people who are characterized as reliable according to Expansion score, than to approve for credit without any payment data. It is not a hard task to get your Expansion score today. FICO has created a special website. Everyone can visit the site and enter his/her data on rental, utility, and phone payments into the field. This way you create your online payment report that you and credit issuers can check any time. About the Author. Miranda Bloomfield is a financial writer. Her works is full of useful information about credit cards. Financial directory

Is it Possible to Overcome Credit Card Debt?

There is no doubt that credit cards are useful and convenient. Having credit cards people can make purchases online or travel without carrying annoying cash in their wallets. Unfortunately, some people misuse their credit cards. The fact is that having sufficient funds available tempts them to buy things that they can't really afford. As a result, they get into credit card debt. If you are one of such people, don't be upset. Don't think that it is the end of the world. There are several ways of overcoming debt. And one of the best ones is credit card debt consolidation. Credit card debt consolidation involves transferring your balance from a credit card with high interest rate to low rate plastic. Having low interest rate allows you to reduce your credit card bills and save a lot of money on interest. In many situations transferring your credit card balance can be the best step if you want to cut down your credit card cost. But be careful, there are several catches that can lead you into a financial trap. First of all, when choosing a new card for transferring balance, check what your credit limit will be. If your credit limit is not big enough, you can end up having several credit card debts instead of one. Mind that zero introductory rates are just introductory. They won't last forever. Usually, they can last up to 15 months. Try to pay off your credit card debt or the biggest part of it in full within this promotional period. The next point you should take into consideration is how long this promotional period is and what interest rates you will have afterwards. The fact is that many people don't pay attention to this fact and, as a result, they have financial problems. If you feel that you won't be able to pay off your credit card debt in full during the set period of time, then get a low rate plastic. Though these credit products don't come with zero APR, you can be sure that your interest rates will remain the same when the promotional period is over. Control your spending and try not to accumulate more debt. Cancel your old plastics with high interest rates. In this situation you will have fewer credit cards tempting you to spend more money. So, if you have faced credit card debt and now you have damaged credit score, you can still improve the situation. You can raise your credit rating to forget your debt past. However, mind that it requires a lot of patience and efforts. . Financial directory

Compare Mutual Funds with these Key Statistics

Comparing mutual funds is fairly simple when you have a good understanding of the key statistics and know how to employ them effectively. The key statistics listed below should serve you well in comparing mutual funds. Mutual Fund Returns. *Average Return. *Risk-Adjusted Return. Mutual Fund Risk. *Standard Deviation. *Beta. Risk-to-Return. *Sharpe Ratio. *Coefficient of Variation. *Treynor Ratio. You'll find these statistics readily available on the Internet at sites like Yahoo! Finance. These key statistics should be used in the order in which they are listed. Risk and return should not be used independently to compare mutual funds. Indeed, you need to use one of the measures of risk-to-return to compare mutual funds on a relative basis. Published annual returns are usually computed by compounding monthly returns and multi-year averages are usually computed as the geometric mean of the annual returns, which yields a compound return and is the metric that will tell you how well you would have done if you had been invested in a fund over the period of interest. However, the arithmetic mean, i.e., a simple average of the annual means, is the appropriate metric for evaluating a mutual fund's ability to deliver good returns. The returns delivered over various periods of time will give you a good feel for a fund's ability to consistently deliver good returns. More weight should be given to the longer periods. The returns published by independent sources should be total returns (they include dividend and capital gains distributions) net of fees and expenses. Be sure to verify this. In investing, risk is measured in terms of volatility. Total risk is measured by the standard deviation of returns and it is the standard deviation that should be used to compare mutual funds. Beta is a measure of residual risk, i.e., the risk inherent in the overall market. Beta is an indicator of the volatility of a security relative to a broad market index such as the S&P 500. Although we have a natural aversion to risk, risk is what justifies earning a return in excess of that of riskless securities like T-bills, but expected returns must be commensurate with the level of risk. If two mutual funds have equivalent returns but one has a significantly higher standard deviation, the one with the higher standard deviation should be rejected in favor of the other. If, on the other hand, two mutual funds have equivalent risk-adjusted returns, you may prefer the riskier of the two if you have a high risk tolerance, as it has the potential to deliver higher returns. The risk-adjusted return is calculated by dividing a fund's return by its standard deviation then multiplying by the standard deviation of a relevant index. For example, if you are comparing emerging markets stock mutual funds, an appropriate index would be an emerging markets stock index. Using a relevant index rather than the S&P 500 isn't absolutely necessary but it has the advantage of providing you with the opportunity of comparing the individual funds with the index. If none of the funds you are comparing can beat the index on a risk-adjusted basis, then you should look at some other funds or buy the index. The final quantitative step in comparing mutual funds is the use of some measure of risk-to-return. Here the Sharpe ratio is the hands-down winner for use in comparing mutual funds, as it is computed using total risk. The coefficient of variation is a quick and dirty substitute for the Sharpe ratio. The Treynor ratio considers the degree of diversification in its computation and is best used for evaluating the competence of funds' managers. The Sharpe ratio is the excess return (the actual return less the risk-free rate) divided by the standard deviation. The result is the real return per unit of risk. When comparing similar mutual funds, preference should always be given the one with the highest Sharpe ratio. Choosing one with a slightly lower Sharpe ratio might be appropriate if it displayed a lower degree of correlation with the other securities in your portfolio. By themselves, the yield and expense ratio won't tell you a lot, but they should be factored into returns and you should verify that they have been. Yield is a consideration if one of your objectives is to produce a stream of income. Also, in taxable accounts, yield creates a tax liability. Turnover will affect return to the extent that trading costs eat into returns, but it will always be reflected in the returns. In tax-deferred accounts, turnover that pays its way is not an issue. Turnover is an issue in taxable accounts, as it generates capital gains tax liabilities. Finally, manager tenure should always be a consideration when evaluating and comparing mutual funds other than index funds. A mutual fund with a good long-term record under the same manager is highly desirable, and there should be a co-manager or fully indoctrinated prot'g? to carry on in the manager's absence. Always compare apples to apples. Your comparisons will be most valid if you compare mutual funds that are in the same asset category, similar in size and managed by the same style. For instance, don't compare a huge large-cap growth fund with a tiny small-cap value fund. If you use these key statistics effectively to compare mutual funds, you should be very satisfied with most of your selections. But nothing is certain in investing, so be prepared for an occasional disappointment. Mike Kennedy created and operates Your Complete Guide to Investing in Mutual Funds, a comprehensive resource for individual investors, where you can learn more about comparing mutual funds. Financial directory

Credit Cards with Tempting Perks

Nowadays credit card market is full of plastics with various designs and shapes. In spite of the fact that you have the best credit card with low interest rates you are tempted to apply for a plastic with alluring terms and conditions and incredibly generous rewards. Those who would like to stay aside from all the others credit card companies have created excusive plastics that make you feel special. You don't have to be rich to acquire such cards. All you need is to have steady credit rating to consider the credit cards that offer wonderful perks. It's a well-known fact that customers tend to choose something creative while shopping. Something new always attracts them. The main feature of original goods is innovation. Credit cards are not the exception. So credit issuers try to attract people's attention by creating the cards with rather unusual but attractive perks. No one can deny the fact that we choose credit cards that suit our lifestyle and preferences. So credit card companies offer credit cards that meet the requirements of different categories of consumers. Credit cardholders enjoy new ideas and experiences. What types of credit cards can attract the consumers' attention? If you have a child and enjoy spending more time with him then there is a great card for you. With Disney Rewards credit card you can get discounts in restaurants and marketplace situated in Disneyland. After making the first purchase you have a wonderful opportunity to get a $15 gift card. Sports fans are not the exception and they also have a chance to apply for special credit cards to suit their lifestyle. For instance with football credit cards you have a chance to attend special matches and events and even meet famous football stars. All you have to do is to accumulate points. There are also credit cards for golf and figure-skating lovers. Credit card companies have created credit cards for those who want to turn their hobbies into an extra income. Yoga lovers are free to receive special rewards such as yoga classes, holistic spas and others. You see that the number of credit cards with rewards is uncountable. They catch your eye at once. But don't be in a hurry. Read the fine print before applying for the chosen credit card. If you have any difficulties concerning credit cards and their options you can easily ask online credit card questions and get answers. Measure thrice and cut once as the proverb runs. Financial directory

Terminal Wealth Dispersion, Life Expectancy and Individual Retirement Accounts

Terminal wealth dispersion is the technical term that describes the variability of the future value of investment portfolios. This inevitable variability means that no one knows what the value of their investment portfolio will be when they reach retirement age or at any time during their retirement. And the uncertainty of individual's life expectancies compounds this problem. Hedging against the risks associated with these two factors places an onerous burden on individuals. Although this hedging could result in a very comfortable retirement, if one can afford the hedge and their timing is right, the potential downside risk is so great that it may be deemed unacceptable by many individuals. So one has to ask "Do individuals really prefer to forgo a sure but modest retirement income and play the odds with their retirement savings in hopes of being very well off in retirement?" With individual accounts, individuals lose the benefit of the pooling of risks. The two risks that force individuals to over-save are investment risk and the risk of living beyond the average life expectancy. In both cases the outcomes, terminal wealth and life span, are highly variable. When the risks are pooled for a large number of individuals over many overlapping life spans, the average outcomes are highly predictable, which is what makes traditional pension plans work so well. Traditional pension plans exist, for all intents and purposes, in perpetuity. This being the case, they can build reserves during good times in the financial markets and weather the bad times, thus enabling them to make consistent payouts to retirees regardless of the timing of their retirement. Unfortunately, individuals do not get to choose their holding periods or the years of their retirement and must take whatever comes along, and what comes along might be good or it might be bad. Thus individuals must set savings goals that are sufficiently high to hedge against the risk of the average return of an investment portfolio over its holding period falling well short of that which would be expected very long term. The relatively short duration of individual's holding periods leave them very susceptible to the effects of market cycles, which are notoriously unpredictable in amplitude and frequency. Being broadly diversified mitigates this risk but does not eliminate it, as it's entirely possible for a worldwide bear market to occur during one's holding period. Then at the end of the holding period for wealth accumulation, a second holding period begins, which will be the term of retirement, and this second holding period carries the same risks as the first, but at a time in life when there is no source of income to make up for portfolio under-performance. The other component of risk that individuals must hedge is the risk represented by the uncertainty of one's life span, which means that individuals must aim even higher when setting their savings goals. The managers of large pension plans can depend on retirees living on average for only the average life expectancy of employees who reach retirement age. The average life expectancy for someone who reaches the age of 66 is currently 82 years, and 66 is currently the age when workers are eligible for full Social Security benefits, which makes it a reasonable baseline. Based on those assumptions, the average term of retirement would be 18 years and pension plans should only have to be funded to the extent necessary to cover the cost of this average term of retirement. Individuals, however, don't know how long they're going to live, so they must over-save to ensure that they don't run out of money before they run out of time. This need to over-save is independent of the first need, thus the need to over-save is compounded, i.e., an individual needs to save enough to cover the cost of living well beyond the average life expectancy and the targeted amount of savings at retirement age must be great enough to ensure with a reasonably high level of certainty that the actual amount on hand at retirement is at least the bare minimum necessary to get by on. A popular estimate of the term of retirement for which individuals must plan is 30 years. Saving enough to cover the cost of a 30-year retirement is a much greater burden than saving for an 18-year retirement, but planning on a shorter retirement exposes individuals to tremendous risk. It also exposes taxpayers to tremendous risk, as individuals who outlive their savings will undoubtedly require some form of public assistance to make ends meet and are likely become wards of the state when they become physically incapable of caring for themselves. An individual who bases their retirement saving on living to the age of 96 but only lives to be 82 will have forgone a lot of pleasures in life, such as travel, fine dining and better vehicles, that they could otherwise have enjoyed. But many individuals just don't have the level of income required to support the saving rate necessary to amass the wealth required to hedge against the downside of terminal wealth dispersion and the possibility of living well past the average life expectancy. For them it's not a matter of forgone consumption, it's a matter of going through life with the knowledge that they are likely to spend their golden years living in abject poverty and that that will be their reward for 40 or 50 years of hard work. And it gets worse! Some economists now believe that within 15 years or so, 100% of Social Security benefits will be spent on medical expenses: Medicare Parts B and D premiums, copayments, uncovered expenses and medigap insurance premiums. If that becomes the case, anyone without substantial savings or a defined benefit pension will be looking for public assistance the day after they retire. With the situation already at this state, adding private Social Security accounts to the mix would be like throwing gas on a fire, as individual Social Security accounts carry the same risks as other individual retirement accounts. Those who have tried to kill Social Security since its inception find private accounts very appealing. But, not so coincidentally, most of them seem to be in the enviable position of not needing Social Security to support their retirement. More recently, younger workers, too, have come to oppose Social Security, but not for the same reason as the traditional opponents. Young workers may be crushed by the burden of social Security and may never receive any benefits from the system. Those who oppose Social Security simply because it's a social program should be expending their efforts on reforming it rather than killing it. If Social Security had been managed like a pension plan rather than a pyramid scheme, its current situation wouldn't be so dire. Indeed, it might very well be a fully funded, functional system. CalPERS and other large public employee retirement plans have operated successfully for decades, with success being defined as being able to meet their obligations, not having an adverse effect on the financial markets, no scandalous events attributable to malfeasance by the plans' sponsors and being free of influence from elected officials. There's no reason that Social Security can't also be managed in such a manner. It would literally take an act of Congress to do this, but the hardest part for Congress would be letting the system run without their interfering with its operation. Passing off the burden of retirement to individuals was a great deal for corporations but it's a very poor deal for most individuals, and extending individual accounts to include the Social Security system would only make a bad situation worse. It's not a poor deal for all individuals because there will be some who can afford to save a substantial portion of their income and whose holding periods will coincide with bull markets, thus putting their wealth in the upper range of their terminal wealth dispersion, and who also live a long, healthy life. They will be the ones who benefit from over-saving and living beyond the average life expectancy, but they may end up forfeiting a portion of their wealth in the form of taxes to support the less fortunate. I don't believe that is what the public expects from a well-conceived system. Resources: Mike Kennedy created and operates Your Complete Guide to Investing in Mutual Funds, a comprehensive resource for individual investors, where you can learn how to factor terminal wealth dispersion into your financial plan. Financial directory

Identity Theft Issue: Company Posing as Another Company

Identity theft is becoming an increasingly frequent problem that threatens the privacy and personal safety of people both outside and within online circles. While it is hard to believe, a mounting trend across the Internet involves fraudulent companies posing as reputable companies. This is one of the latest ways individuals are becoming tricked into giving out their personal information, which is then often used in a malicious manner. Many people are falling victim to this ploy, as identity thieves are successfully posing as reputable companies by using commonalities within their correspondences that consumers easily identify. Why Are There Company Imposters? Individuals with the prospects of stealing an identity or private information from another is quite interested in using a variety of tactics to trick people into giving out their personal details. They use the information they collect when posing as other companies to steal money from online banking accounts or charge items to a victim's credit card numbers. Some identity thieves aren't even interested in the money, but simply want to "borrow" an identity so they may apply for credit cards, car loans, driver's licenses, and other pieces of identification that conceal their own identity when committing illegal acts. How Does This Happen? Identity thieves may hack into a company's online presence and install programs that allow them to act as a representative. This is one of the hardest things to accomplish, as the latest spyware and firewall protection aims to alert companies when a hacker is trying to infiltrate their system. Another way identity thieves attempt to trick Internet users is to produce correspondences that look exactly like the ones a real company would send out. Usually, they mimic the appearance of an actual email, using trusted logos and lingo. Still, in many cases, there are glaring clues to detect an imposter. What To Look Out For. When reading emails regarding credit card companies, online banking, or personal information, it is suggested to scan the fine print and assess the overall correspondence. Common signs may appear that are easy to identify when you know what to look for. For example, most reputable companies address their clients by their name when sending emails. An obvious sign of something "fishy" is when the usual activity of a company suddenly changes, such as the way they address you or the wording of their email. If are all of sudden referred to as "Dear Customer," an identity thief may have contacted your email address on a whim and is now attempting to trick you. When companies randomly ask you to verify your personal information, it is unlikely they would send an email to confirm such important details. Before clicking on any links or submitting info, it is suggested to place a phone call to the company. One of the number one triggers that entities posing as another company tends to do is for your Social Security number. Once this piece of information gets into the wrong hands, there is no telling the kinds of damage that may take place; therefore most trusted companies will not ask you to reveal your Social Security number over the Internet. An Example of a Company Imposter... PayPal has a reputation of being a target for spoof emails and outsiders trying to "phish" for information regarding their consumers. PayPal representatives constantly stress that they always use first and last names in all correspondences. If an email supposedly sent by PayPal addresses you as "sir or madam," you have a company imposter on your hands. Upon further inspection, you will find that they are tempting you to click on a link and verify personal information, which is something PayPal will not ask you to do online. Overall, any company may attempt to assume the identity of another. In the end, it is important to recognize the problem and take all necessary precautions to avoid a potentially devastating situation. So stay alert! Beware! Author and internet entrepreneur Bernard Pragides offers expert advice and tips regarding identity theft. Learn more about identity theft and fraud by visiting his blog at and his website for more helpful information. Financial directory

A common sense approach to data security as applied to offshore accounting service

One of the first things you hear about offshoring is that it would increase the potential for data theft. Let us assess this perception in a common sense way. When we talk about any "increase" we have to say compared to what. In this case the CPA has to assess the data security for on-shore operations before he can assess the increased risk posed by offshoring. What is the typical level of data security in a small business or a CPA office? Since there are few staff members, there is little separation of duties. Such lack of separation encourages internal security problems. The data resides in paper files. Paper files are vulnerable to fire and water damage. The office is not physically secure. Staff members, leasing office personnel, and janitors have keys to the office. Any of them can copy confidential data. Paper records are not shredded before being discarded. The computers have no protection from unauthorized users or have relatively weak password control. Often the password is taped to the workstation. Any email communication is done in the clear. Workstations have recording devices which makes it easy to copy data. Usually all workstations have email and internet access. It makes unauthorized transmission of data easy. Let us look at how these factors change when accounting is sent offshore. Internal control improves because the people who are authorizing the transactions are separated from the people doing the record-keeping. All files are maintained electronically. Such data is backed up to an off-premises secure server. So threats from fire, water, and copying are significantly reduced. Offshore contractors restrict physical access to keep unauthorized people out. Workstations have access to only the data that is processed on that workstation. Email communications are encrypted. All recording devices on the workstations are disabled. Only supervisors have access to email and internet. We believe that best security practices can be installed when the client, the CPA, and the offshore contractor work together. The first line of responsibility lies with the client. Technical solutions are not enough. They must be combined with good practices in everyday management of the company. The CPA should advise the client to implement the common sense measures advocated in this pamphlet. The offshore contractor must apply the same real world as well as technical solutions to security. The offshore contractor must consider the sensitivity of the data being entrusted to them and take appropriate measures to safeguard the information. A responsible contractor would only accept data than is essential to the task. Let us now look at whether popular offshore destinations like India are more vulnerable to data theft. According to a March 2007 Symantec report entitled Symantec Internet Security Threat Report Trends for July- December 2006, US was the country with highest level of malicious activity. China was next and India did not make it into the top ten. Another common sense conclusion one can draw is that the thieves concentrate on high value targets. During 2005, 2006, through June 20, 2007 they reported 155 million records having been compromised. Out of that less than 1000 records were compromised in attacks that netted 100 records or less. Thus records from an offshore contractor serving small businesses are less likely to be a target of identity thieves. The CPA needs to assess the sensitivity of the data and put a value on it. The CPA can have the contractor include a liquidated damages clause if the said data is compromised. If the contractor is not willing to agree to a reasonable liquidated damage figure, find another contractor. Data security is a complex issue. However, we can enunciate certain principles that can be applied by a small business: Collect the least amount of data needed to serve the customer. Since a large proportion of data theft involves the employees, screen them carefully. In addition, the employees need to be trained to recognize various strategies used by criminals to facilitate data theft. Take security measures in the office; for example use a locked mailbox, lock the office when it is empty even for a short period of time, shred any paper records before disposal, reformat hard drives before donating, selling, or returning a computer etc. Take common sense precautions against cyber attacks. Encrypt the sensitive data, use firewalls, and keep your internet security software updated. Comply with any specific security standards that are applicable to your business. For instance credit card information needs to be secured to a specific standard. Providing security costs time and money. In a competitive world no business can spend more on security than what the market would pay for. Ultimately security is determined by the customers? willingness to pay. While more money can buy more security, one must remember that no security is absolute. Just think about how many times classified information has been stolen from the US government. Eventually there will be a security breach. How do you deal with such a breach? It seems that the best approach is to inform the individuals or businesses whose data have been compromised, notify the law enforcement authorities, and support the affected parties to monitor their credit reports. Security is a multi-faceted problem. The key to success is co-operation between the client, the CPA, and the offshore contractor. No one party can be effective without the others. Financial directory

Credit Repair Myths and Truth

If your credit rating is small it is impossible for you to apply for good credit cards with low interest rates. In case you have a plastic, evidently the interest rate is rather high. No one wants to have low credit score so great pains are taken to raise it. Everything concerning is not an easy thing to understand and consequently there are a lot of consumers who are not aware of credit card matters. That is the main reason for misleading notions concerning credit cards and credit repair. Some cardholders don't think about any financial problems until they face them. And in this case they are ready to believe anything. So what are the main credit card myths? First of all most consumers think that it is impossible to correct their credit reports. It's not true. In reality credit cardholders should check their credit reports for mistakes. In case you see any errors you have to contact the main credit bureaus to correct them. Another myth is that you can't check your report and even if you are allowed to do this it will cost much. Although credit bureaus offer services for a charge, it is rather small. Besides the main credit bureaus provide you with free credit report once a year. So you are free to check your credit report three times a year for free. One more wrong thought about credit is that it can be repaired at once. Perhaps such tricks are created by credit card companies who want to attract the customers' attention. Most credit cardholders are ready to believe that lie and as a result they face more serious problems. There are some people who believe that bankruptcy can be a good start. Actually filing for bankruptcy is the last thing to appeal to. It's better to avoid this action as it may have a bad impact on your credit loans. The last thing most people are mistaken in is that they shouldn't take part in credit repair. It's not exactly true. Your attorney will only help you to find answers to your questions. The rest actions are your duty. All in all, credit repair is the right thing when it comes to raising your credit score. You have to be well-informed about the existing credit card myths. Luckily it is not a difficult matter to know it. You are free to ask questions and apply online for credit card. It is the best way to protect yourself from financial problems. Financial directory

Benefit From Business Credit Card Terms

Do you have your own business or planning to start one? Is it a new business or an established one? Business credit card is exactly what you need because it is available for business owners, executives, and employees. In fact, plastics have changed for the best over the years and become much more helpful to the owners of small businesses and their employees. In practice, business and traditional credit cards have much in common. They mostly offer the same features such as low introductory rates, cash back rebates, travel rewards, and etc. However, business credit cards have many additional benefits in comparison with traditional credit cards. There are a few reasons why it is worth getting a business card in particular. First of all, it separates your business funds from your personal ones. As a business owner, you co-sign your employees for the business credit card of your company. Moreover, with a business card you avoid paperwork. You keep track and control your employees? spending because your annual report contains all purchases that are made on your account. The main idea of all business cards is to help manage business income and expenses. Does is make a sense? You are likely to get a credit card that will correspond to everything that you need. Nowadays we can choose from a great variety of best credit card offers. Comparing credit card offers can be challenging. What is best for one business owner may not be good for another. So it is important to consider a multitude of factors, including fees, interest rates, rewards programs and benefits. As your business has been growing and developing, it is necessary to start building credit for your business as soon as possible. It is the quickest and easiest way to obtain credit when you have a business card. If you a responsible business owner look for credit cards with 0% balance transfers and 0% APR for the introductory period. Find out how much you will have to pay when the introductory period is over. Many credit card issuers offer credit cards with no annual fee that makes it more beneficial. Nowadays most major credit card companies such as Discover or MasterCard track the categories of your monthly spending. They provide you with quarterly and annual reports. It is most useful during tax time and when you use the same plastic for your own expenses. What if you often go on business trips? If you travel much on business, you should apply for frequent flyer credit card. What a wonderful opportunity to save on business flights! In order to provide business owners with various rewards for business travelling, many credit card issuers have teamed up with some well-known airline companies. So, before applying it is important to decide what features your company will use most often. In fact, all major credit issuers offer business credit cards with extremely attractive features that are helpful to the owners in everyday spending. Be sure to look carefully over the terms and conditions for each specific card before applying. Financial directory

Turkish Mortgage Update

One Source - Every Turkish Mortgage. A Mortgage for Every Client! www.TurkishMortgageCentre.com Product Update for Residential Cross Border Mortgages: New - 4.80% 'Samurai' mortgage, (Mortgage Loan in Japanese Yen Currency), See below for rates on other currencies?. New - 100% Loan to Value, Residential Property in Turkey, Now available-Terms & Conditions apply. New - Turkish Equity Release, Up to 70% of appraised value, Not always require a UK credit report, Proof of income will be required. New - Self Certification, No proof of earnings required. Max LTV 50%; Ideal for: High Net-Worth Individuals, Property Portfolio Investors. New - Lower Interest Rates, The lowest interest rates for. EURO mortgage fixed periods are: 1yr - 6.40%, 3yrs - 6.70%, 5yrs - 6.90%. Lowest Interest Rates for Residential Cross Border Mortgages: YEN Japanese - 4.80%, CHF SwFr - 5.65%, EURO - 6.60%, $USD Dollar - 6.96%, GBP Sterling - 7.50%. YTL Turk Lira. Upon Application. Interest Fixed Periods: 1-20 Years, Maximum Loan Maturity: 20 Years, Standard Loan-to-Value: 50% - 75%, For Additional information on cross border residential mortgages in Turkey please click on the link: FAST TRACK Newsletter (You will not need Adobe PDF software to read the page) More Finance: Commercial mortgage finance include Commercial Real Estate Finance for all asset segments. Advantaged terms for loan values above Euro 5 million+ Non-recourse commercial real estate finance is not widely available for loan values below Euro 3 million. Turkish Mortgage Centre is the leading agency finance house in Turkey having arranged instituional finance for leading international insurance companmies, private equity fromsm and fund managers. Senior and Non-Recourse Mortgage Finance - Turkey, Mezzanine Mortgage Finance - Turkey, Land-share, Construction & Completion Finance - Turkey, Off-Plan & Installment Finance - Turkey, Leaseback - Turkey, Commercial Mortgages - Turkey. Supporting transaction management and closing services include: Ancillary Services - Turkey: Lenders Advisory Services - Turkey, Brokers Clearing Services - Turkey, Due Diligence - Turkey, Turkish Contracts & Conveyance, Registered Appraisals - Turkey, Investment Valuations - Turkey, Tax Optimised Structures, Sharia Compliant Structures, Title Insurance - Turkey, Macro, Sector &Theme Research - Turkey. The Turkish Mortgage Centre provides an extensive range of financing solutions for property investors in Turkey - twenty five years cross border and domestic financing in Turkey serving project developers, investment grade asset & portfolio managers, financial institutions, and corporate financiers. The market leader in Turkish cross-border retail mortgage origination, aggregation, and packaging, supported by proprietary BPM systems, in-house transaction management, closing, and support services for Istanbul and Turkish coastal regions. Financial directory

Design a Credit Card Deal for Your Needs with Capital One!

Capital One now has introduced do-it-yourself website that gives all its customers a unique chance to create a credit card deal that meets all your requirements including your personal tastes and lifestyle. With the help of this service you will be able to create a credit card ideal for you! You can choose rewards, interest rates and even a card without any annual fee according to your credit history. The only thing left for you is to point out your credit level and start designing your plastic. Decide what type of a credit card you would like to get: a plastic for good credit, a rewards credit card poor a cash back one and go for it! The first thing that to have to do is to determine your credit history: bad, good or excellent credit history. Capital One has its own criteria. According to them, a customer has a good credit rating if he/she has been a cardholder for more than 3 years; had a credit limit of more than $5,000 and has never been late with credit card payments (loan payments or credit card bills for more than 60 days during the previous year. After you made sure what credit history you have, you are free to make your choice. The range of multiple credit card deals options is rather wide - it may be a credit card with 1% or 1.25% cash back on your purchases or a plastic with gas or miles rebates. As soon as you've chosen basic rewards, other multiple credit cards bonuses may be cancelled. For instance, you choose to get a 2% cash back bonus on your gas purchases, you will no longer have no zero Intro APR and you will not be able to get additional rebates. Moreover, your credit card will them feature an annual fee and the interest rate as high as 17%. Fortunately, the above-mentioned deal is not the best one available. I you wish, you can start it again and choose another deal that suit you better. If you prefer to earn 1 mile per every dollar spent with your airmiles credit card, you will get other benefits such as 25% annual bonus! Choosing this option you will earn bonus miles considerably faster. Your plastic will feature no annual fee, zero APR on purchases for several months and you will be lucky enough to get a competitive interest rate of 14.9% or 16.9%. Having chosen the card, you are free to decide upon its design. Capital One bank has its logo to offer or you may choose an individual image - nature, flowers, animals and so on. Thus, the number of options is determined by your credit history - the better your credit card score is, the more offers you can choose from. If your credit history is excellent that is you've been a credit user for more than 5 years, had a credit limit more than $10,000 and you've never been late with your payments for more than 60 days on your payments, you will be lucky to choose from a diversity of credit card benefits! So, advantages of applying for multiple credit card deals are evident! Use credit cards correctly to keep your credit score high, feel free to design the best credit card deal with Capital One! Andrea Domini is a staff writer at Credit-Card-Analyzer.com writing articles and news about looking best deals on credit cards. She is a good specialist in different credit card deals and is well-known in financial circles. Financial directory

New Opportunities in Emerging Countries

As the uncertainty about short-term credit markets and medium-term economic growth projections has been weighing down on the financial markets in the developed world, investors search for new growth and diversification opportunities has been rapidly shifting to the 'Blue Chip' emerging economies - the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China). According to the latest figures from Morgan Stanley, total market capitalization of BRIC economies currently stands at around 1.18 trillion. This pales in comparison with the US markets, which enjoy total market capitalization of 9.65 trillion. However, since the beginning of this summer credit crisis, investors fleeing the turbulent waters of the established financial centres in Europe and the US have been pumping funds into the BRICs and across a wider range of emerging economies in general. Since the end of August, the emerging markets equity funds swell by some 23.2 billion in new cash. In the last week of October alone, according to the report in the US-based Financial News, global emerging markets equity funds gained ca 3.94 billion, marking the highest weekly figure ever recorded. Why the economies of Brazil, Russia India and China are becoming important: There are several important structural reasons as to why the BRICs are becoming increasingly more important as financial assets destinations for international investors. First, there is a "catching-up-with-the-Joneses" argument that suggests that recent inflows of funds into the BRIC economies follows on the heels of an earlier surge of private equity flows. A classical financial markets growth paradigm suggests that the flows of funding to new and/or rapidly growing markets can be divided into three main stages. The first stage is characterized by increased investment from the private equity funds and M&A activities. The second stage of the bull markets is usually associated with the investment funds following after the private equity money. Finally, in the last and longest bull market stage, individual investors move into the markets. Between January and August 2007, some 20 billion in private equity funds moved into the emerging markets, suggesting that by the year end some 48-50 billion private equity investments will be allocated in the emerging economies. The vast share of these funds is flowing into the BRICs. In the public financial markets, M&A activities in BRIC economies reached the highest three-month volume on record in Q3 2007 - 82 billion. The total January-through-September volume of transactions backed by private investors breached 150 billion, up 50% from the same period in 2006, as reported by Dealogic.com - financial analysis services provider. Of these, some 117 billion is attributable to BRICs - up 132 percent on the same period in 2006. This suggests that the first stage of the new bull markets in the BRIC economies is well underway and that one should expect significant uptake in the inflow of managed funds into these markets as well. Second, there is an argument that the BRIC economies have much more upside potential for future growth than their European and US counterparts. In part, this argument is about the overall markets growth capacity. In the US, the ratio of total markets capitalization to GDP stands at around 1.1:1 or almost an inverse of the 1:1.12 average ratio for the rest of developed countries. In China the same ratio is 5:1, with the mainland equity markets capturing only 20 percent of the overall GDP of some 2.24 trillion economy. In Brazil, the country's market capitalization stands at 35% of its GDP - a ratio of market capitalization to GDP of 1:2.9 or more than three times lower than that in the US. This ratio was significantly improved by the 2.55 billion strong flotation of Bovespa - the holding company for the Brazilian stock exchange - this October. Perhaps more important are the longer-term growth trends in the BRIC economies' incomes. One recent study from Goldman Sachs has projected that the combined GDP of the BRIC countries will exceed that of the current G6 (United States, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, and Italy) before the year 2050. However, more pertinent is the short-term process by which the current growth in the world's economies translates into financial markets performance. According to the latest Grant Thornton International Super Growth Index 2007 - the index that captures the trends in rapidly growing companies around the world - the BRIC countries led the world in terms of overall growth potential for their companies in 2004-2006. The 2007 figures, compiled before the realisation of the current financial crisis in the US and Europe, put the BRICs at a parity with the world-wide average. However, the growth potential realized by the companies in any given year translates with a lag of 1-2 years into the financial markets performance in the majority of developing countries. The reason for this is that in countries with less advanced financial markets, privately held firms tend to often outperform, on average, publicly listed companies. As these companies gain momentum, more and more of them go public, with their record of growth translating into lagged markets performance. Big EU economies also fared well, but not as well as in 2006. The UK gained 10.42% (down from 32.47% growth in 2006), Germany was up 24.04% (also down from 38.23% in 2006), and France advanced 14.56% after rising 37.60% last year. These results were not reflective of the poor French and German economies performance in the end of Q2 and the beginning of Q3 2007. Impact of current credit market upheaval: Another important consideration not reflected in the table above is the expected slowdown in overall economic performance in the countries impacted by the current credit markets upheaval. This slowdown is currently forecasted to be in the region of 0.3-0.5 percentage points of overall global GDP growth rate, but is not expected to feed through into the BRIC economies. Thus, the parity in supergrowth index reflected in the table above for 2007 is likely to translate into a strong advantage to the BRIC economies over and above the world average. Amidst all this optimism, it is important to note, that while the emerging markets may represent a very strong growth opportunity, their performance is susceptible to sharp corrections and dramatic downturns in response to a wide range of endogenous and exogenous shocks. For example, in December 1994 Mexican peso devaluation led a general run on the emerging economies' financial markets, which declined by some 24 percent in a very short period of time. In another global wave of market crises, Russian debt default on August 17, 1998 has wiped out 19 percent of the emerging markets capitalization around the world. Within 6 months following Thailand's decision to devalue its currency in July 1997, the country financial markets suffered a 37 percent loss. In addition, based on some broader indices of emerging markets performance, since September 2001 there has been at least five major (magnitude of 10 percent or more) markets corrections. Despite, and often because of, the overall stellar performance of the BRIC markets this year, some analysts and high profile investors, such as Warren Buffett and Alan Greenspan, believe that some of the emerging markets are becoming overvalued. Other observers believe that the markets in BRIC economies have a long way to go before reaching their zenith. Between 2001 and today, the MSCI China index, which includes shares that can be held by foreigners, has jumped 501 percent, but earnings in Chinese companies that can be held by the foreigners have risen at approximately 33% on average over the same period, yielding gains of roughly 554 percent over the same time, according to the data from Morgan Stanley. Russian Micex index increased by 780 percent, while profits in its member companies have grown by around 430 percent, suggesting underlying earnings growth of around 690-900 percent. Similarly healthy price to earnings and profits to earnings ratios hold for India's Sensex. It is important to recognize that with rapidly dissipating prospects for significant economic growth in Europe, Japan, the US and elsewhere in the developed world, emerging markets provide investors with an opportunity for higher-risk and higher-return gamble. These markets are not for the faint-hearted or short-term investors and their inherent complexities highlight the need for in-depth understanding of their fundamentals, companies research and timely management - all hard to achieve for an individual retail investor. For investment advice, signup to the RaboDirect eZine or visit the RaboDirect Investor Centre for investment articles. Financial directory

New Year's Investment Resolutions

Every year, as January come around, most of us avail of the opportunity to review the year that has passed and make a list of resolutions to better ourselves in the one to come. While many of these centre on giving up cigarettes or joining a gym, it is equally an ideal time to review your investment strategies, see how they performed and make some new year investment resolutions. Here are six simple resolutions to help review the investing mistakes you may have made over the last year, and move forward in 2008. 1. Keep a rational, long-term approach. The new year provides a perfect time to look back on the performance of your portfolio and ensure that it has been adequate and remains aligned with your long-term goals. While it is an ideal time to reassess your goals, the first step in realising this is of course to make sure that you have defined, long-term investment goals in place. In a previous article on common investor pitfalls, we discussed how short-term financial targets (like raising enough finance to buy a luxury car) can be easy to dismiss, whereas long-term goals (such as achieving a level of financial security or wanting to own a home) are more solid. Another pitfall was poorly defined and vague investment goals, which can often lead to half-hearted efforts to achieve them. So for example aiming to "hold a 1m pension portfolio by 2018" is a much better target than "being rich in ten years". Having defined, rational and long-term goals in place can help you to avoid the mistakes of chasing short-term performance and reduce your propensity to act impulsively when the market swings, which is particularly important in the current environment. Advances in technology and market transparency have given all levels of investors easy and often free access to a range of very useful sources of data and information. But volatile years such as 2007 have also spawned a flood of online sources of buy and sell tips and touts, urging you to abandon your long-term strategies and invest and trade in stocks and funds that offer the promise of "getting rich quick". While a small number of investors have been very successful in timing the market in the short-term, for the majority, a longer term strategy that will see you through the ups and the downs will provide performance more in line with fundamental goals. Rather than trying to find short cuts, successful investment strategies are guided by the basics of regular investing, diversification and other tried and tested rules. Also, simple common sense should remind you that by the time you're hearing about the success of the latest hot stocks or strategies publicly, you will have already likely missed the run-up, and any advantages will be already well embedded in their current prices. 2. Do your due diligence. A good resolution when reassessing your goals (and throughout the year in making any investment decision) is to ensure you always do the necessary due diligence. When considering adding new assets to your portfolio, it is crucial to investigate all the features of the asset, including: information surrounding the industry or market it is in; how the class or individual asset is likely to fare in future economic conditions; what is a good price for them now and in the future (using valuation methods under a range of scenarios); and how they fit into your existing portfolio. Considering new equities for example, it is crucial to research the company and know exactly what business it is in, what it produces and how these goods or services are created, who are its competitors and customers and what are the major risks it faces. You should also research the management team, the CEO and the board, looking at issues such as their past performance, the company's stock option policies, and even who actually sits on the board (is it made up of family and marginally qualified friends for example'). As companies and all assets are dynamic in nature, all the aspects of this due diligence process need to be ongoing throughout the year. When you look back on the decisions you've made in previous years, it may well be that it paid to take someone's advice, but the key going forward is not to take their word for it, and to do your own research and investigations to see if you would come up with the same conclusions. 3. Focus on values not prices. 2007 saw a lot of hype about the opportunities for investors deriving from the volatility that featured in the markets during much of the year. However, one of the biggest mistakes investors can avoid in 2008 is placing too much emphasis on prices and short-term performance and not enough on fundamental values. In conducting a review of your equities for example, if you only look back only at the price performance they achieved in the last 12 months and ignore the underlying values of the companies behind them, it is easy to make very poor investment decisions. For example, a high price achieved throughout the year could easily have been the result of a run of speculative investing. If this price has fallen by the end of the year, it is not always a sign that the company is underperforming. On the other hand, the business itself may have deteriorated from this high due to a variety of 'real' factors, meaning that the fundamental values are actually lower and probably shouldn't be expected to recover any time soon. Sticking to this resolution doesn't mean blinding yourself to potential bargains in the market - and at the moment these do exist caused largely by people selling off their shares in the various waves of panic we saw throughout last year. It simply means that your definition of what constitutes a bargain looks not solely at price, but also at how (and why) this price deviates from fundamental values. 4. Live in the present and look to the future. When trying to value companies or any assets and their potential performance, it is crucial to always do so in the context of the current and future environment, and not where they were last year. Looking forward to 2008 this is a critical resolution to keep up, with factors such as house prices, lending and credit conditions and many company's sales in a very different position than at the start of 2007. It is essential to value your investment assets based on today's fundamentals and not those of the past. A very good practical example of this to keep in mind for the new year is in looking at company's balance sheets while conducting your due diligence. In previous years, when debt was relatively cheap and risk premiums were low, a 'good' balance sheet with only a small amount of debt and leverage might not have been particularly attractive for investors, perhaps indicating a management style that was overly adverse to risk. However in these post credit-crunch times, strong balance sheets have become important again and offer solid downside protection, an attractive strategy in uncertain environments. A related point here is to always look towards future earnings rather than relying on past performance to guide your investment choices. This is one of the most repeated statements in any of the many investor guides and articles that you might come across, and is even quoted in the selling documents for new funds and other instruments, yet remains one of the most ignored. Past returns do not guarantee future success and it is critical to adequately stress test your investments for pessimistic as well as more optimistic future scenarios. 5. Pay attention to both macro and micro conditions. It is a very useful resolution for this and every year to ensure that you pay attention to industry and economic conditions as well as just researching a company or particular asset class. If you are buying equities for example, you are betting on the success of the entire industry and not just that of a particular company or group of companies within it. While many investors hone in on the specific attributes and performance of a company, the fact is that all companies go through different business and product cycles that depend crucially on the overall industry and wider economy. For example looking at property-related assets or financial-based equities over the last year, nearly all investors suffered to some extent at some point during 2007 no matter what specific companies they invested in. While it is a tempting time in 2008 to go 'bottom-fishing' among weaker property or lending companies, even if these companies are currently very cheap, they will still need good fundamentals to survive and make viable additions to your portfolio. Important also to remember is that simply looking for 'hot' industries may not guarantee investment returns either. For example, various green industries are cited as some of the hot investment sectors for the future, however some of these rely on high capital expenditure, require significant re-investment of profits or are even reliant on government intervention for success. These financial and political risks can make some of these stocks already too expensive given potential returns. 6. Take action. Just as we all know that simply buying the gym membership is not going to make you fit, simply knowing that you need to reassess your portfolio and carry out some of the step above is no good unless you go out and do it. You may look back on 2007 and wish you had put your money here or there (or wish you hadn't), but the only way not to repeat these feelings of remorse next year is to take action and follow through on your investment resolutions. For more investment advice signup to the RaboDirect eZine or take a look at the RaboDirect Investor Centre for investment articles. Financial directory

How to ride out an economic downturn

Lenin once said the surest way "to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation." Comrade Vladimir was clearly never the owner of a high carbon-spewing SUV or he would have also added driving one to those petrol guzzlers to his list, but he certainly knew a thing or two about the soul-grinding business. So if you're thinking of making any resolutions this New Year, they really should include this one: finding a safe route between the inflation virus that is going to sap your income and savings of its spending power and the government's determination to squeeze as much direct and indirect taxation out of you. I know a few people who've already jumped on a plane for overheated tax-havens like Dubai and Panama. Or you can stay here, stop throwing your over-taxed money around like an eejit and discover that it really doesn't take a genius to ride out an economic downturn. You might even make some money. ASK FOR A LADDER. But first, if you are in the proverbial hole, ask someone for a ladder. If you've never had someone review your taxes, assess your debts and assets or picked out a decent pension fund for you, 2008 should be your 'Year of the Advisor'. The rich didn't get that way through sheer hard work; they had help. Since most of us are basically just good at our own jobs and not at other peoples' as well, you should pay money to consult someone who knows about maximising earnings, minimising tax and creating genuine wealth. If you don't have the name of a fee-based, independent financial advisor (ask friends and family for a referral) contact the Financial Regulator at 1890 200 469 and get them to check their register to see if there is one listed in your area. Expect to pay in the region of 150 an hour for the advisor's service and expertise but don't waste their time or your own money - go prepared with a concise list of all your financial accounts, contracts and policies so that these can be easily accessed and reviewed. Then take their advice. BE A TAX TIGHTWAD. The Government has just admitted to being down about 1.6 billion in tax at the start of this year. This doesn't auger well for those of us who not only pay income tax, but VAT, CAT, CGT, and all the other little 'Ts'. With no obvious tax fraud campaigns on the horizon, the Exchequer will be counting on the Revenue to bring in every tax penny from the tax compliant as well as the evaders. If you don't get a professional tax check, at least take the time to claim all your legitimate tax reliefs and allowances in 2008. Go onto the Revenue website www.revenue.ie where they have provided a helpful list of these deductions. The most obvious ones that are overlooked (to the tune of over a billion euro a year) are for health and dental expenses, private rent payments, bin charges, trade union fees, etc. Mad as it sounds, there are still stay-at-home mums with small kids who don't claim the 900 annual per child tax credit to which they are entitled. INFLATION BUSTERS. The official inflation rate is 5% at last count, but anyone who eats and drinks, pays a mortgage or rent, travels via public or private transport, pays for health insurance or alas, has an expensive shoe habit, knows it is much, much higher. So here's a novel thought: spend less and save/invest more this year. Spend less by buying fewer shoes or cappacino's, takeaways, dvds, alcohol, cigarettes, electronic gadgets, widescreen tv's, weekend breaks. Eat the groceries you buy, rather than throw a third of them away due to spoilage and waste (that's over 4,000 for the average family). Drive a smaller, fuel-efficient car and save thousands in tax, petrol, insurance and maintenance costs (especially after July when new VRT rules come in.) On the savings front, open the highest yielding demand and savings accounts you can find (you might want to start on this site) for short-term interest and access. But realise that inflation and DIRT - just as Vladimir predicted - are going to reduce your nest egg by at least 6% a year if you spend your interest. In just five years a 10,000 stake earning 5% will only have the spending power of about 7,400, a 25% loss in wealth. Instead, you need to start investing in the stuff that is so in demand, and so short on (and in) the ground - such as oil and gas, metals, water, foodstuffs and the machinery that extracts and produces all these goods and commodities. Set aside a portion of your salary every month to buy into these sectors through individual shares or funds of shares; ETFs and the RaboDirect investment suite of global commodities are worth a look. Precious metals like gold, platinum and silver have also surged in price, not just because they're useful to wear and put into catalytic converters, but because an increasing number of people are concerned not just about getting a return on our money, but of our money. If you can wind these funds into a tax-efficient pension, all the better. Without the benefit of a crystal ball, I've no idea if the optimists who say that everything will be wonderful again in Ireland Inc in 2009 are right or not. I look across the pond to America and I have my doubts. All I know, dear comrades, is that bracing yourself for a bumpy ride sounds like a better option than standing in front of what might turn out to be a runaway train. Visit RaboDirect for more finance articles or signup to the RaboDirect eZine.. Financial directory

Take a Chance to Build Good Credit History

There is no doubt that nowadays it is really difficult to get along without credit cards. Everyone admits the fact that plastics have become an integral part of his/her everyday life. Can you imagine a person without plastics? It is almost impossible to imagine such things. Today everyone has at least one credit card. And it is not a problem at all to get a plastic. There are a lot of people with no credit history who think that they won't be able to obtain a plastic or any other type of credit because of lack of credit score. However, it is a wrong assumption. Having employment or any other means of steady income, you will have a chance to get a credit card. In fact, you can find a lot of credit card companies and banks that offer special credit cards for people with no credit. However, don't apply at all banks and credit card companies that offer such plastics. Mind that each time you apply for credit, your potential lenders make an inquiry on your credit report. Since all your rejections will be reflected in your credit report, your potential lenders may think that you have lack of cash, therefore, you will have some difficulties in paying off your credit. At first, you are to find a bank or a credit card company that offers credit cards for those who just start establishing their credit history. Don't be upset if you can't have an excessive credit limit at first. When you prove that you are a loyal customer and a good paymaster, you will have a chance to have more extended credit limit in the future. Though a credit card for people with no credit is not so beneficial as the best credit cards, they give you an opportunity to build a sufficient credit history. Many people choose secured plastics to establish their credit history. The fact is that it is safe to get a secured credit card as the first one, as these credit products are limited to the sum of money you deposit to your creditor. Mind that choosing your first credit cards is a very important decision that can influence your financial future. No matter what type of plastics you have chosen to start building your credit history, you are to make all your payments in full on time. If you use your credit cards wisely you will establish good credit history that you will need in the future to get the best credit cards of your dream. Take this chance and you will change your financial situation for the better. Financial directory

Investment Diversification with Mutual Funds

One of the biggest benefits of mutual funds is that they provide the means for individual investors to achieve broad diversification in their investment portfolios. Although many wealthy individuals and institutions use mutual funds as at least the core of their portfolios, having considerable wealth is not necessary to construct a well-diversified portfolio with mutual funds. Indeed, it's possible to assemble a well-diversified portfolio of mutual funds with as little as $100,000, a fairly well diversified portfolio with $50,000 and an adequately-diversified portfolio of index funds with much less. Having a well-diversified portfolio is important for three reasons. First, diversification can best be described as not putting all of your eggs in one basket. Mutual funds are large diversified portfolios and thus provide automatic diversification within their respective asset classes. Investing in a number of mutual funds to spread your investable funds across a variety of asset classes increases your level of diversification and decreases your aggregate exposure to risk. As investment risk is measured in terms of volatility, decreasing aggregate risk decreases the volatility of the value of your portfolio, thus sparing you the roller coaster ride that you would experience if you held only a single asset class in your portfolio, such as large-cap domestic stocks. Second, although expected return diminishes with risk, the relationship is disproportionate and favors return. Well-conceived diversification has the potential to considerably reduce the aggregate risk of your portfolio at the cost of a relatively small reduction in your expected return. So your get a much smoother ride for a minimal cost. Third, over the past 25 years or so, there have been a number of studies conducted that have concluded that asset allocation accounts for between 90% and 96% of your success as an investor, where success is defined as maximizing return at a level of risk that is consistent with your level of risk tolerance. Individual security selection accounts for the rest of investors' long-term success. Now, just being broadly diversified won't get you into that 90% to 96% range, but it's a big step in the right direction. A viable model that defines the composition of an efficient portfolio is required to allocate your capital across the various asset classes in a manner that will reap the full benefits of diversification. Diversification and asset allocation are not synonyms, as diversification is just a part of asset allocation. Diversification is a matter of degree; it describes the degree to which you have diversified away company-specific risk. Full diversification within a market, in theory, eliminates all company-specific risk, leaving your portfolio exposed only to systematic risk, which is the risk inherent in the market as a whole. So, that brings up the obvious question: What is The Market? The S&P 500, Russell 1000 and Wilshire 5000 are often used as proxies for "The Market." But they're only proxies for the U.S. stock market. To be fully diversified, you would have to be invested in all of the publicly traded securities (stocks, bonds, real estate and commodities) worldwide and your investments would have to be broadly diversified within all asset classes in that aggregation. This can actually be achieved by holding a collection of index funds. Asset allocation describes how your capital is distributed to the diversity of asset classes you have chosen to hold in your portfolio, i.e., your investment universe. If you had chosen full worldwide diversification, your next step would be to determine how to allocate your capital across that aggregation of asset classes. One possibility would be to hold what's known as the Market Portfolio. To do this you would have to invest in all those asset classes on a market capitalization-weighted basis. That would by definition be an efficient portfolio and constructing such a portfolio is possible with index funds. It's also possible with regular mutual funds, but getting and maintaining the appropriate weightings would be pretty tricky and require a lot of time and effort. Beyond the Market Portfolio, there are just about as many ways to select asset classes and allocate capital as there are portfolio managers, investment advisors and newsletter editors. Although they're mostly based on the same financial theories, everyone has their own model and their own forecasts to fuel their models. But going any deeper into asset allocation would diverge too far from the topic of this article...diversification. In real estate it's location, location, location. In investing it's diversification, diversification, diversification. You must be adequately diversified, otherwise you will be exposed to too much risk with respect to your expected return. And no asset allocation model can compensate for under-diversification, as your chosen degree of diversification defines the investment universe across which asset allocation must take place. With thousands of mutual funds to choose from, there's no good reason for anyone to be under-diversified. Learn more about portfolio diversification and other investing basics at Your Complete Guide to Investing in Mutual Funds, a comprehensive resource for individual investors. Financial directory

Loans with No Credit Check - Need of the Time

A few days back, Jack was searching for payday loans but could not find it. The reason was as usual--bad credit score. Desperation was mounting, and then someone suggested him to search payday loans online. Magic happened--he got payday loans with no credit check. He is happy as his problem is solved now. Like Jack, if have bad credits, you also can take loan with no credit check. Even the person who has previous all settled bankruptcy can also get loans no credit check. As it is very clear by the name the lender will no check your credit score while lending this loan. For a person with bad credit history, loans with no credit check are none less than the embodiment of a wish. Though people with good credit history may not be able to visualize any direct benefits in no credit check loans, but in actual practice these loans are beneficial for them also. The clause no credit check reduces approval-timing and bring payday loans quickly for everyone. Elimination of credit check from the approval process of the loan simplifies it. Generally, a lender has to engage a person for credit check. The salary of that person goes from borrowers' pocket. No credit check reduces the burden of that salary, so the rate of interest of your no credit check loans can be lower. Benefits of no credit loans payday loans are many. But one should not show over eagerness to take loans only because of this clause. The other things related with loans always should be verified beforehand. Ask about approval timing, as you take a payday during emergencies so it should be instant. At least you should get money within twenty four hours otherwise you are going lose one day from the term of the loan. Rate of interest always should be a concern. The lower it will be the more beneficial your no credit check loans will be. There are various online companies offering no credit check loans. But it is always better to check their credibility. The easiest way to differentiate among these companies is--read the content on their website with caution. Anybody claiming something extravagant is likely to be a fraudulent. The vice-versa of the fact is also true. Do this simple test and get beneficial payday loans with no credit check. Visit www.paydayloansnocreditcheck.co.uk for more... Financial directory

Cash Back Credit Cards Are a Good Bet

Today there are a lot of credit cards available with many variations of interest rates and fees, terms and incentives. Every person can find a good variant for him of herself. There are balance transfer credit cards, student credit cards, cash back credit cards and many others. Nobody likes to pay too much for purchases or for loans. If you can get a discount, why not use this opportunity? Some of credit cards like cash back credit cards feature special rewards programs. Getting a credit card that offers cash back sounds good, isn't it? Cash back credit cards give cash rewards for purchases made with the card. As a matter of fact, all of cash back credit cards have different features. Using a cash back credit card is a great way to save cash because it rewards you for your spending. This kind of credit cards usually requires a good credit rating for approval. So what type of features to look for in a cash back credit card? It is important to know how the credit card company repays the cash rebates. When the cash rebates are added to the account at the end of each month, it is the best way to get paid back. However, it is not always the case. Cash back credit cards usually pay the cash rebates in the form of gift cards, or check that has to be requested by phone. Cash rebates may also be limited. For example, a company may advertise a generous 3% cash rebate, but limit rebates to $500 per year. When determining which credit card is the best for you, remember that all credit cards have unique terms and conditions to be compared before filling in an application. Before applying for a specific cash back credit card, take the time to read over the terms and conditions. Look for certain features that may make the card more profitable. Some cash back credit cards lower the percentage of cash back given after a certain dollar amount of purchases is reached. Other cards don't give the highest cash back until a certain amount of purchases have been made. Actually, frequent shoppers can find cards that give cash back for their favorite stores to help save a buck or two on their favorite items. For the average person there are some places such as groceries, pharmacies or gas stations where it is possible to earn larger cash back percentage on purchases and save around 3% on daily costs. Taking this fact into account, you can put extra cash back in your pocket without any efforts. Some cards like American Express Blue Card and the Chase Freedom Card offer higher cash back percentages, depending on how you use the card. If you use your cash back credit card properly you can save money. This variant is good for those who do not carry large balances from month to month. There is no doubt that credit cards are rather helpful if you use your credit card wisely. Financial directory

Credit card

The variety of credit cards presented on the market today is amazing. Credit cards for beauty, for pet lovers, for those who like cruises and Disneyland and car credit cards. They are of great popularity in the US as everyone there has a car. If you have a family, most probably, there are two or even more cars in your garage. And car credit cards are issued right for those car drivers who like the convenience and comfort and want to save. Nowadays a car isn't considered to be a luxury piece as it was many years ago. But at the same time looking at the brand of any car, we estimate its owner and his or her status in the society. Those people with high status prefer to drive chic and expensive cars and it is noticeable at first blush. But it really does not matter how expensive or cheap your car is, you can get a car credit card and enjoy its benefits. How much do you pay for your car's maintenance? I believe a pretty penny. Repair works, wheels balancing, gas, new tires and so forth - all these spendings can make your wallet thinner and harm a family's budget. You may reduce your expenses with car credit cards as they come with rewards programs and prevent you from falling into debt. As soon as you get this card your car will seem to be not so expensive treat for your budget. The principle of such cards is simple. You spend with your plastic making daily purchases and earn points. Accumulate necessary amount of points and redeem them for car services or free gas! The insurance of your car will be also cheaper with the card. The same principle of frugality is offered by the majority of gasoline credit cards issued for frequent customers of gas stations. So, you may choose the best card for you and your car among them or among car credit cards. Talking about car credit cards, it should be mentioned that such cards are issued for people with cars of such brands as Audi, Subaru, Chrysler, Volkswagen, and some other. So, your card will be more beneficial if you have one of the mentioned brands. Today credit card companies are ready to offer Audi Visa Signature Card, Volkswagen Platinum Visa, Mercedes-Benz Visa Signature, GM Credit Card, Subaru Platinum MasterCard and other striking cards by brands that come with benefits. Say, you make purchases for your Volkswagen with the card. You can get 2 redeemable points for every purchase and one point per every dollar spent. Alluring, isn't it? Besides credit card deals cash back, car credit cards offer rather attractive features: no annual fee, zero interest credit card for purchases and balance transfer for up to six months, and nice ongoing rates. But they require a good credit history. So, if you don't use a car credit card yet, just think that you may solve your financial problems by saving money on the maintenance of your "iron horse" and keep your auto in a good state. Kelly Garcia. Financial directory

Sport is Better With Credit Cards

Physical education is a special term that includes different kinds of activities such as fitness, gymnastics, aerobics and many others. Sport itself can be defined as vigorous physical activity governed by a number of rules or customs that involves sports competitions. Sport mainly helps people keep fit that is good for health. Sport can be one of the strongest passions that a person has. Sometimes passion can grow into obsession. There is no doubt that sports and games are popular all over the world. People have a special interest in sport that has been growing constantly. Many young people devote their lives to sports and games and become loyal to it. As a matter of fact, sport has become commercial these days. Sport news informs us not only about victories but also the sums of money paid for this or that victory. There is no matter if it is amateur or commercial, sport attracts much attention. It is important to distinguish between doing sport and watching sport events. These are two different things. Some people would rather watch different sport competitions than do sport. They simply prefer to support their favorites. Sport fans are devoted to their favorite teams and never miss sport events. They are eager to get information. Moreover they are mad about getting an autograph of their favorite sportsperson. Major US Credit card companies such as Visa, Master Card, American Express know their business well. They have always been looking for ways to make their credit cards more attractive to specific consumer-groups. In order to help sport fans get closer to sports they have designed special rewards credit cards which are called sports reward credit cards. The plastics are issued for those who cannot imagine their life without sport. It is another just type of a consumer credit card that meets the need and requirements of sport fans. It has a wide popularity not only among sport fans but also among athletes themselves. Actually, with this credit card you can get special sport-related perks and redeem your bonus points for gift cards, for example, for sport products and autographed merchandise. Moreover, some of them are actually low rate credit cards. Most card issuers offer a great number of different sports credit cards such as World Series of Poker Visa Card, Major League Baseball Extra Bases Credit Card, Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Rewards Platinum Plus Visa Card and many others. Sports credit cards are aimed not for showing off your love to sport. They offer many unique rewards to the cardholder. Are you a fan? Or you simply like a certain kind of sport? There is a variety of reward programs offered through sports credit cards that can be the best reason to sign up for. Before applying look for the necessary information and read all the terms and conditions. You can find out what suits you best and how to get it. Let your credit card make your life easier, more colorful and enjoyable. Financial directory

Is It Easy to Establish Credit History?

Today many people face the problem of establishing sufficient credit history. It may seem quite easy to apply for a plastic. However, there is no guarantee that this or that credit card will be useful for building good credit. The fact is that plastics for no credit score are not so good, as those for good or excellent credit history. What is the best choice for people with no credit? In fact there are several tips for people who plan to establish credit. Learn how to build credit history and use your plastics responsibly. It's true that it is almost impossible to get the best credit card, if you have no credit history. As a rule, creditors are extremely particular about this very point. And it is a kind of the endless circle: for obtaining plastics you need payment history, and to establish your credit history you need to carry credit cards. Nevertheless, you still have an opportunity to establish your credit history, even if most creditors are not willing to give you plastics. Mind that there are banks and credit card companies specializing in credit products for people with bad or no credit history. And these credit products can be a helping hand for people who do their best to build a solid credit history. For example, credit cards from First PREMIER bank can be the best choice for you. Having these plastics you may be sure that all your credit activity will be reported to 4 credit bureaus. Remember that since you don't have credit history, your creditors will take other factors into account. These factors help them to estimate your creditworthiness. For instance, one of these factors can be your employment history. Your steady income, the way you hold your job, and periods of your unemployment will be more important for your creditors than the words about your trustworthiness and responsibility. Secured credit cards can also help you to establish your credit history. One of the peculiarities of these plastics is that to activate your account you are to deposit a sum of money in the bank. This amount of money will determine your credit line. These credit cards will prevent you from getting into debt, as you won't be able to spend more than you deposited. So, no credit history is not a problem. You still have a chance to establish your credit history and build your financial future. Financial directory

Store Credit Cards - Are They So Profitable?

While making purchases at your favourite retailer, you may pay attention to store credit card offers. Really, 10% of discount may seem a great advantage. Take your time and think twice before applying for this store credit card. You will get rewards and discounts as well as high rates and large fees. Nowadays, large department stores and shops try to encourage customers to spend more. They offer special credit cards to their regular customers. Such offers help to save a considerable sum, but they usually come with too high interest rates. Let's sort out how profitable store credit cards are. No doubt, shopping is an integral part of our life. We buy lots of things every day. Have you ever thought of signing up for a store credit card to get that 10% discount? The aim of retailers and department stores is quite clear. They wish to get more customers soever. Really, having a Bloomingdale's card, you will be inspired to shop there rather than in a store where you have no discounts. Making store credit card appliation, keep in mind that all rewards and discounts do not come from nowhere. They are not gifts. Anyway, store credit cards are not the same. For instance, a Gap credit card offers a 10% rewards certificate. The interest rate on the card is 21%. Default rates are higher.How do you think, can those rewards cover these huge rates? Besides, there is another problem with this type of plastic. It is their reward scheme. Some retailers allow you to start earning points after your first credit card purchase. But many store credit cards require you to spend much to qualify for credit card rewards. And still, do you wish to charge $1,000 to get that $25? Is it that profit you dreamt of? Finance experts give advice on this matter. If you want to buy a big-ticket item with that large discount, apply for this store credit card, and pay off the balance at once to avoid paying interests. Then you may cut your card into two halves. Perhaps, you will find it strange to hear, however, it can help you to avoid further problems with this card. Eventually, if you are looking for a perfect deal, you'd better choose a regular credit card with low interest rates and zero percent introductory rates. Thereby, you are free to charge your purchases and pay no interest, at least for a that introductory period. Financial directory

Save Your Time with Instant Approval Credit Cards

The world is developing with great speed. New opportunities appear day by day. Everything is being created for people's convenience. Such things as fast cars, fast airlines make our lives easier and help us to save time. What for waste your time waiting if you have a chance to save it for more pleasant things? Instant approval credit cards are a special invention for those who don't want to bother themselves by going through numerous banking procedures. You don't have to waste time waiting for the credit issuer's approval. Instant approval credit cards help to make the process of applying for a plastic quicker and easier. After filling out the application form you will receive the letter via e-mail within some seconds. You will be notified if you have been approved of the desired credit card or not. In spite of the fact that the application process for an instant approval credit card takes some seconds, you won't receive the card immediately. The process of getting the card and receiving access to money takes several days. Some people are mistaken to think that if they are approved for an instant approval plastic they can start purchasing with it at once. Of course you are free to go shopping but you won't be able to use your new card. The peculiar thing about this credit card is a fast approval process. Still you have to wait for the card itself. Time-saving approval process is not the only positive thing about instant approval credit cards. If you have a look at numerous offers you will see instant approval credit cards with low APR, zero introductory rate and advantageous rewards programs. Don't be in a hurry! Look through the deals and choose the best one for you. Spare some time choosing the best card and take advantage of it for a long time. One more thing you should keep in mind applying for an instant approval credit card is you credit score. It's true that the application process takes several seconds but it doesn't mean that banks won't examine your credit history. Most instant approval credit cards are created for people with excellent credit rating. However, nowadays thanks to large competition on the credit card market credit card companies are glad to meet the consumers' needs. So, if your credit history is bad you can pay your attention to First PREMIER credit cards. You will definitely find the best instant approval credit card according to your credit score. Financial directory

Stock Tips

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www.3sharetips.com. Financial directory