One Step Closer To Bankruptcy
I have written a couple articles so far about the downfall of GM and Ford, although I have mostly focused on GM. GM announced today that they are going to offer some 113,000 hourly employees a severance package in the six figure range to leave and waive their rights to their healthcare benefits. Here is the link to the article making the announcement: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,188732,00.html.
If I were in the position of some of these workers I would have a difficult decision to make. You have to weigh the fact that you would possibly get $140,000 to walk away from GM and the healthcare benefits you have worked years to secure against the fact that GM may go out of business by the time you retire and you would have turned down the package and still not get the healthcare benefits.
I know, you think I am crazy because I say GM may go out of business, right? Most people do think I am crazy when I say that. I bet a lot of people never thought Enron would crumble either and on paper they were a strong company. GM is a failing company on paper. The article above states that GM announced last week a loss of $10.6 billion. They have been losing billions and billions for years. They are well over $300 billion in debt and they continue to struggle with labor issues, declining market share, and more. I would like to know how anyone thinks they can stay in business.
As I have said in previous articles, GM is known for their cars but they are actually just as involved in mortgages and other financial tools through GMAC. GMAC has done well for the past few years because of the recent housing boom but they will pay the price within a couple years, adding to their already worsening financial situation. A former co-worker of mine was an attorney and he did closings on the side to make extra money. He did them for GMAC. He said many of the loans he did closings for were usually for people in bad shape financially. A lot of them were ARM mortgages or interest only mortgages.
What is going to happen is once the rates climb higher these people will end up not being able to make their mortgage payments because the payments will have increased too much do to the adjustable rates. GM is going to end up losing a lot of money on this side of their business as well.
Oldsmobile went out of business a couple years ago and there has been some speculation that another one of the GM brands will be going out of business as well. I have read some experts articles that feel Pontiac will be the next to go do to slipping sales. Chevy is obviously the staple of the company, Cadillac does pretty well from what I have read, Saturn is one of the more successful brands as well. Hummer is a niche market and they continue to develop that to market to more types of customers. Saab is a foreign car and most people probably do not even realize they are owned by GM so they will most likely make the cut. This leaves Pontiac. The sales on their highly marketed GTO were weak and with good reason. I dont think you can bring back a legendary name like the GTO and make it nothing more than a glorified Cavalier/Grand Am.
I have always stuck by my belief that bad management has brought GM to the position it is in and the GTO is the perfect example. They didnt build a car that lived up to the name and yet they were trying to pre-sell the cars for $35,000 or more.
GM should really be studied in MBA programs in management classes. It should be made the example of what can happen when you have an industry leading company for decades fall apart because of some bad decisions. It has got to send, or at least should send a message that regardless of how big a company gets you still need to stay on top of your game or you could risk going out of business as well.
Maybe GM will fix things and end up not going out of business. Maybe things arent as bad as they appear to be. If you are reading this and you are a manager be sure to take a close look at what you are doing and make sure it is the right thing to do. If you are just an interested reader keep watching the headlines over the coming months and look for more bad news from GM, I think it is coming.
Why Bankruptcy May Not Always Be The Best Option When
Why Bankruptcy May Not Always Be The Best Option When In Trouble
It’s a sickening feeling when your debts start to stack up, your marketing strategy is failing, and it doesn’t look like you’ll ever be profitable. Your family is getting stressed, your business can’t pay its bills, and customers are starting to make angry phone calls asking why the things they paid for aren’t happening.
At this point, many people feel ready to throw in the towel. I’m here to tell you why you shouldn’t be one of those people.
A Proverb.
There’s an old Chinese proverb I’d like to share with you: the temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed. Nowhere is this more true than in home business. You might feel like you’re failing over and over again, until you feel like giving up. The paradox, though, is this: you haven’t really failed until you’ve given up.
Never Fear.
If you really want to, there will always be ways to raise money for your company. You probably have all sorts of bills for things you don’t use, not to mention possessions that could be sold or downgraded. Did you know that the average person has thousands of dollars worth of random stuff just lying around in their home? In other words, you can always find the money if you’re really determined and not afraid of losing everything.
The only thing you should really try to protect is your house and some money for basic food — everything else is expendable. Never forget that the worst thing that can really happen to you is that you’ll have to go out and get a job. Would that really be so tragic?
Fear is your enemy in business. You cannot give in to your fear and give up before you’ve given it your all — the real reason why so many home and small businesses fail is that their owners chicken out and run away at the first sign of trouble.
The Captain Goes Down with His Ship.
When the chips are down, the only thing to do is to stake your personal success on the success of your business. After all, what’s the point in bailing out before you have to? You’re guaranteed to lose money that way.
Someone once told me that the difference between an average Joe and an entrepreneur is this: the entrepreneur will not give up on a business until his creditors come and take everything he owns. And even then he might try to hide from them and keep things going from his friend’s basement.
Don’t Tell Customers.
It might seem dishonest, but for goodness’ sake do not tell any of your customers that things are going wrong because your business is in trouble. They will immediately run a mile, putting your business in a far worse situation than it was before. You must always try to make it look like everything is going just fine — admitting problems will put the final nail in your business’ coffin.
Try a Voluntary Agreement.
If your creditors are at the point of knocking on your door, you should try to get a voluntary agreement with them before you even consider declaring bankruptcy. This is when you negotiate your debts down to a lower level using the threat of bankruptcy, and your creditors sign an agreement with you to say that they will leave you alone once you’ve paid that money.
The Absolute Last Resort.
I simply cannot get across to you how much you should not consider bankruptcy as a viable option, ever, until you are absolutely forced into it. Think of it as being like suicide: the absolute last resort. Would you commit suicide because your business was going badly? I hope you answered no — which means that you shouldn’t consider bankruptcy either.
Having had a bankrupt company stays with you for a long time in everything you do: your credit rating, your employment history, and even just in the way you think of yourself day-to-day. It’s better to have everything wrestled from your hands than to give it up voluntarily — otherwise you’ll always be tortured by wondering what would have happened if you’d kept going just a little longer.
What Is Your Bank Charging You? A Guide To Bank
What Is Your Bank Charging You? A Guide To Bank Charges
When you’re shopping around for a bank account there are a lot of factors to consider. Many people go for up-front incentives, such as money paid into the bank account, vouchers or a gift. However, it is worth looking at bank accounts in more depth to find out what you might be paying for various transactions. Here are some of the transactions that banks might charge you for.
Authorised Overdraft
An overdraft is like a short term loan. The bank gives you permission to spend more than the funds you have in your account. This amount is usually fixed in consultation with the bank and may be reviewed at stated periods. Some banks have a free authorised overdraft up to a certain limit and charge for any balance over that limit. This is the best way to arrange an overdraft.
Unauthorised Overdraft
When customers spend more than they have in their accounts without arranging an overdraft limit, this is known as an unauthorised overdraft. Banks penalise customers heavily for this by charging an unauthorised overdraft fee of more than 35 in some cases. The excess spending will also be charged interest at a higher rate than normal.
Cheque Services
Some banks charge for clearing cheques more quickly than the standard period (this can range from three to seven days depending on the banks involved and the day of the week). There may also be fees for processing cheques in a foreign currency.
Taking Money Out
Sometimes customers need to set up direct debits, where companies take certain sums from a bank account each month. They may also wish to set up standing orders, where they arrange to pay a certain amount to another bank account or company each month. Some banks charge a setup fee for these services. . It is also worth looking at the daily withdrawal limit on a current account. This can vary widely depending on the bank you choose.
Other Bank Charges
Banks may also charge for other services such as:
1. setting up a loan facility
2. changing or issuing foreign currency
3. writing cheques that exceed the cleared balance in an account
4. stopping a lost cheque
Banks will also charge customers if they have to write to them about an infraction of bank rules, such as exceeding the overdraft limit or defaulting on loan repayments. This means that defaulting customers have to repay the debt as well as the additional charges.
Doing some research could save consumers a small fortune in bank charges. In addition for looking for incentives, consumers should look for banks that keep their charges as low as possible. With a bit of digging, it is easy to find banks with:
5. an automatic overdraft limit for which there is no charge
6. free standing orders and direct debits
7. free transfers between banks
8. low unauthorised overdraft fees
9. low charges for other bank transactions
Choosing a bank that fits this profile will help with overall financial health.
UK Finance and Auditing Regulatory bodies
The role of the regulatory bodies in the UK Financial dealings is very important. We cannot neglect their role in UK Finance. There are many regulatory bodies for UK Finance and Auditing. Some of them are mentioned here.
A non-governmental independent organization called the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is available in the UK. This UK Finance company is funded by the financial services industry. The policies, plans, and rules of the UK Finance company are transparent and open. It is funded by the companies that it regulates. The website of this organization has information for consumers on their rights and regulation. It also gives information on the financial products available. The financial services industry in the UK is regulated by FSA. They have enforcement powers and investigative powers. They have the power to regulate deposit taking, Insurance investments, and Mortgage lending and general insurance advice.
Financial Ombudsman Service is another organization the helps the customers to solve any UK Finance disputes with the financial firms in UK. Complaints about Banking services, credits cards, endowment policies, health and private medical insurance, mortgages, motor insurance, and National Savings & Investments can be done with the assistance of Financial Ombudsman Service. They also help you on complaints about savings plan and accounts, stocks and shares, and travel insurance. For more details on the types of coverage that is done by them you can visit their website. Before you approach them for resolving the issues it is better you complaint to the concerned organization first. If the problem is not solved by the organization then you can approach the Financial Ombudsman Service for assistance.
The public trust office is another regulatory body related to UK Finance that helps people to control their money and property. The audit commission is another independent regulatory body that is responsible for monitoring whether the public money is spent economically and efficiently. Effective spending is monitored in government services, housing and health services. Fire and rescue services and criminal justice services are also monitored for spending of the UK Finance. The audit commission works closely with the Deputy Prime Ministers office, Department of Health and the National Assembly for Wales. They aim is to achieve excellence in their work. They support local democracy and public accountability. You can reach this office in Millbank tower, Millbank, London. Visit their website for the latest news and events.
Bona Vacantia is an organization that is responsible for administering the estates of person who die without any heirs. The assets of companies and trusts that have failed are also collected by the Bona Vacantia. They also provide assistance to companies and estates. This division does these works with cost effective casework. This work is done within the legislative and legal constraints. They work in business like manner. The dealing is mostly open and informative all through the case.
The National Audit Office is another regulatory body that monitors the public spending on behalf of the Parliament. This office is lead by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The taxpayer is saved by their work.
Life After Bankruptcy
So you’ve finally been discharged from your bankruptcy, and now you are free to do whatever you want again. The world is your oyster!
But before you grab a bucket and head for the beach, there are a few things you need to know. First of all, a bankruptcy discharge is not a license to shop. That itch to celebrate your newfound freedom might almost impossible to ignore, but if you want to stay debt-free, you are going to have to lay low for awhile, especially in the three months after your discharge.
Here’s why: you probably feel like you’ve been in debt forever, but you’re not the only one who knows it. Credit card companies have caught the scent too, and chances are you’re getting applications left, right and center these days. Talk about tempting! The best thing you can do is to throw those applications right into the recycle bin, regardless of how much this or that company says they want to help you rebuild your credit. The truth is they don’t want to help you rebuild; they want to help you get back in the position that caused you to go bankrupt in the first place.
Those ‘high-risk’ cards come with a lot of caveats – the fee you pay to get the card, for instance. Some cards will actually charge you for the card by placing it on your card. So if your card has a $100 limit and it cost you $75 to get, guess what? You only have $75 in credit. Go over that, and get ready for some nasty fees.
So how can you get your life back to normal? Before you do anything else, you have to change your spending habits. Really think about the cost and quality of things and put yourself in control. For example, is it really worth it to buy that brand-name bread when the store brand is just as good and costs a dollar less? It’s a small-scale example, but if you can apply that kind of thinking in baby steps, pretty soon you’ll be able to apply it to everything you buy, no matter how large. So clip coupons, try to buy when things are on sale, and don’t go hog wild when you do buy.
Second, prioritize your bills. Your most important, must-pay-on-time bill every month should be your rent or mortgage. It’s your shelter, and without it, handling anything else that comes your way becomes a lot more difficult. Your utilities are next, because you have to be able to cook and store your food. Your third most important bill might be the telephone, the fourth your cable TV or satellite, and so on. Take an average of how much of your pay check goes for rent/mortgage and bills. Then, set aside a little bit of each check to put toward each bill. It might be tedious, but trust me; it will be worth it once you get into the flow.
The second thing you have to do is save up $500, doing the same as you’ve done for your bills – take a bit out of each pay check. Only this time, open a new account. Once you’ve saved $500, run to your nearest bank and request a secured bank loan for that amount. The bank should have no problem granting your request, as the money’s already there. For the next 90 days, make your payments on time, every time. You will be amazed at how much faster this will build your credit than those high-risk cards!
If you have to use credit, why not do so to your advantage? Here’s how: purchase an item that’s on sale with your credit card. Then, when your credit card bill arrives, pay the item off in full. That’s it! You get to enjoy your new item for a month before you have to pay for it. If you can stick to this, your credit will have nowhere to go but up.
By applying the above tips, your credit will be given a boost at a time when you need it the most – in the first 3 or 4 months after a bankruptcy discharge. You’ve been given a second chance. Don’t give up – you can do it!
What Is Insurance Premium Finance?
A premium finance transaction involves the borrowing of money from a bank or hedge fund to pay the premiums of a newly originated insurance policy. Premium finance is available to seniors age 65 and older. The majority of financed policies have a face amount of over $1,000,000. The senior will borrow the money for a predetermined length of time ranging from 2 years to life. The same banks and hedge funds involved in life settlements are also the lenders for premium finance transactions.
Senior citizens who qualify for premium finance are typically in good health with a high net worth. Financing is a great financial tool for senior citizens who need the coverage of an insurance policy for estate planning or wealth transfer. It allows these health seniors to purchase the policy at little to no out of pocket costs.
Many of the financing options available today are approved by the insurance carrier. These programs, called recourse financing, involves the client putting up a letter of credit or other form of collateral to offset the loan should there be a default. Non-recourse financing uses the policy as the only collateral requirement for the loan. Should the insured default on the loan the rights within the policy would revert to the lender. It should be noted that there are no documented incidences of a lender exercising the letter of credit or collateral in a recourse finance deal. The lender always takes over the policy as in a non-recourse program.
At the end of the loan term the insured can pay the total loan amount plus interest to the lender and keep the policy. If the coverage is no longer needed or wanted the policy can be marketed and sold in the secondary insurance market. The proceeds from the same will be used to pay back the lender with the remainder going to the insured. If the policy is no longer needed or wanted and not saleable the policy will revert to the lender.
Premium financing is the fastest growing sector of the secondary insurance market. Many baby boomers are asset rich and cash poor with a need for the protection provided by an insurance policy. All seniors who fit into this category should contact their financial advisor or life settlement and premium finance broker to discuss the options available to them.
Tips For Getting Finance After Bankruptcy
Unless you are willing to pay terribly high interest rates, you should try to raise your credit score as much as possible. The lower your credit score, the higher the risk for the lender to grant you a loan and the higher the risk, the higher the rate. This is unavoidable, of course there are special situations that may have caused your financial breakdown, but there are no means to avoid this and lenders cant take subjective facts into consideration when it comes to fixing the interest rate.
Repairing your credit
Repairing your credit may take some time, but here is the way to start. Open a savings account and start making regular deposits. You dont need to deposit large amounts, but the fact that you have an income that lets you put away an amount of money regularly will soon be recorded to your credit history and will highly contribute to raising your credit score and improving your credit history. This is just the first step but as a first step, the most important one.
Credit Cards
Once youve a reasonable amount of money in your savings account, use it to apply for a secured credit card. Secured Credit Cards are just like regular credit cards only that you can only borrow the money that youve previously transferred to an account. There is no risk for the card issuer so youll be able to get it even if your bankruptcy is close in time and your credit is not that good.
After using your secured credit card for a while you can apply (if you havent been offered one yet by that time) for an unsecured credit card. Your credit score improvement will most surely let you get approved without hassles. Make sure you use the card wisely, make small purchases pay the credit card balance always in full if possible, and never miss a payment nor make late payments.
Using your credit card wisely will help you skyrocket your credit score. Now is the time to start requesting small personal loans. Asking for small loan amounts will guarantee that youll get approved. Your regular monthly payments will do the rest, your credit score will soon reach a status where youll be able to request personal loans at very reasonable interest rates.
Final Steps
At this time you should have reached a good credit tag and youll be able to obtain any financial product that you need. Refinancing your home loan would be the next wise step to continue improving your credit score. Or you could request a home equity loan. Either of them will prove to future lenders that you are able to commit to repaying higher amount loans and that youve finally put behind your bankruptcy.
Internet Banking – How Secure is it?
The biggest concern that people have when they start using Internet banking is security. The media is full of scare stories about foreign hackers breaking into thousands of bank accounts and draining out all the money, leaving some poor old couple missing their life savings. Many people have even been scared out of signing up for Internet banking at all by these kind of stories, thinking that it somehow puts them at risk. However, as long as you take the time to learn a little about the Internet, nothing could be further from the truth.
Before we go any further, there is one thing that is absolutely the most important thing you can know about Internet banking security. It is this: there is absolutely no guarantee that emails are from who they say theyre from. E-mail was designed back before people were concerned about Internet security (thats why you get so much spam), and if you know what youre doing, its really very easy to make an email look like it came from absolutely anyone, anywhere. With this in mind, you should simply ignore any email that says it comes from your bank, and never click any links that the emails may contain.
Thats the biggest risk out of the way, but there are still a few other things to watch out for. When you go to your banks website, make sure that youve really ended up at the right place by looking for the address in the address bar towards the top of the screen it should be the address of your banks website, not anything strange. Also, make sure to look for the padlock icon in the bottom-right of your screen, as this tells you that your connection is secure. If youre ever in doubt, close your web browser and start again, copying the banks website address carefully from a letter they sent you.
The Value of Finance and Debt Related Domain Names
Why domain names can be a good investment!
We have a number of generic finance related domain names and have recently added to these through the 14,000 investment in debtconsolidation.co.uk and the purchase of debtfree.co.uk.
It’s true that debt consolidation is one of the hottest terms especially in respect of PPC’s and we believe we will get free traffic from people guessing the domains when they are looking for debt consolidation or debt free i.e. people that are looking for debt consolidation will enter debtconsolidation.co.uk in the toolbar rather than searching for debt consolidation on a search engine. Both debt consolidation and debt free are amongst the most searched for terms on the internet and you would therefore expect a percentage of people looking for these terms to guess the domain. Many domain investors use the overture search rank as a key to the potential value of a generic domain. i.e. if a lot of people search for a term then a smaller proportion will second-guess what the domain name will be.
A good generic domain name can also help with search engine placement. Approximately 12 months ago debtconsolidation.co.uk used to be at the top of google for debt consolidation but someone must have failed to renew! www.debtconsolidation.co.uk is already on the 1st page of msn.co.uk for debt consolidation out of 17,265,739 results. Debt Consolidation is a very hard term to get to the top of especially only after website was launched 2 weeks ago. (Website is still temporary!). So I believe domain name has played a big part in it. This seems especially true for msn. Try searching for debt consolidation loans on msn and look at all the domains that are top! Only 1 in the Top 10 doesn’t have debt consolidation loan in the domain name!! That’s the beauty and the value of a generic domain!!
A domain name can also be of use through pay per click advertising (PPC). We advertise extensively through google adwords and what we have found is that the domain can have a direct effect on your Click through ratios (CTR’s) and hence the amount you need to pay per click. We advertise on google and where the domain is similar to the search terms you generate significantly more traffic (hence why espotting (miva) insist you include the search term in your title).
When you are valuing a domain for a business as well as looking at how much people will pay for a PPC it is also worth looking at how much they will pay for a successful application. This is really where the true value can be seen.
We are therefore confident that generic domain names (that are business related) are definitely good investments for the future and it’s wise to buy before others realise it too! We will definitely be looking for new ones that come available.
I think some of the bigger companies aren’t on the same page yet. It is too difficult to get approval for a purchase off someone who doesn’t understand the potential value. Often they also outsource their internet advertising so there is no one in the business that understands the internet.
So to summarise a domain name can have considerable value if it is able to generic free relevant traffic to your website. Also as the internet grows and users become more sophisticated in how they search then we would expect the value of domain names to increase further.
Useful Tips For Carrying Out Online Banking Transactions
With the internet available in most homes and businesses across the globe, its understandable that consumers are presented with many opportunities such as online banking and even online shopping. In the United Kingdom,millions of people are now using the internet in accessing their bank accounts and millions also are regularly doing their shopping online. But on the other hand, most of these people are still concerned about the security of their accounts whenever they access it on the internet. Using a computer is said to be the safest way in either banking or shopping, but it is also advised not to let your guards down while you are making transactions online.
The possibilities of becoming a victim of online banking fraudulence are said to be very low,and online banks committed themselves in keeping it this way, because most online banks systems proved that they could not be easily attacked, instead most criminals turned most of their attention in gathering many of the information directly from online banking customers. Most often, these criminals are using Phishing where in they send e-mails at random, as if they have seem to be sent by a genuine online bank.
This is the attempt they make in order to convince customer to disclose their personal security information, a ,method seen more on websites run by scam artists. There are some usueful tips, however, on conducting safe banking transactions, the first being to know who you are dealing with. Always remember to type the banks web address into your browser. Never go to the site via a link from an email. Never divulge personal information requested through an email. Your bank would not ask for this information.
In case you are in doubt, try contacting the bank or the building society by dialing the given contact number. Always keep your passwords and PIN numbers safe. Be extremely cautious of unsolicited emails or phone calls asking you to give any information regarding your personal details or card numbers. Always keep this information a secret and be cautious of giving your information to someone whom you do not know.
Your online bank would never call or contact you just to ask you regarding your passwords, PINs, or any personal information. Third is always keep a hold of your money. Do not be fooled by certain convincing e-mails that offer you the chance of making easy money. If an e-mail looks too good to be true, the possibility for it to be fraud is there, and it is difficult to prove that the sender is who they say they are. And lastly always check your online banks website. If you are in doubt, check your online banks website since it is a good place for you to get help and guidance on every transaction on the internet that you make in a safest way. Also regularly look for specific information and guidance regarding on how to protect your PC and also yourself while making online transactions.
The most important thing to do in order to make your online banking transactions safe is by keeping your computer safe, because it is the most important tool in making your online banking transactions. Most internet security software is available for download or purchase on the internet, or you may purchase them at your local computer store. This is another and one of the most effective ways for you to protect your computer, your transactions, and also yourselves.