How to Improve your FICO Score

It is important for you to understand that trying to raise your FICO score is quite similar in nature to losing weight. There is no quick fix and it is absolutely going to take time. Quick fix efforts for improving your credit score can most certainly back fire if you are not careful. The best advice for you to follow is simply to manage your credit in a responsible manner over a period of time.

Tips for Payment History

1. Make sure that you are paying all of your bills on time. When you have delinquent payments or accounts in collection, you could be putting a serious negative strain on your FICO score over all.

2. If you have missed any of your payments, then you need to get current and you need to stay current. The longer that you manage to pay your bills in a timely manner, the better your credit score is going to be.

3. Understand that paying your collection account off is not going to remove it completely from your credit report. The delinquent collection account is going to sit on your credit report for a period of 7 years before it disappears.

4. Understand that if you are having trouble when it comes to making ends meet, legitimate credit counselors and working with your creditors may actually help you. You may not be able to improve your FICO credit score on an immediate basis, but you can begin to improve your management of your credit, paying on time, to improve your credit over time.

Tips for Amounts Owed

1. You need to keep your balances low on your credit cards and other types of revolving credit as well. When you have high outstanding debts, this can have a negative impact on your credit.

2. Make sure that you are paying debt off rather than simply moving it around. Pay your debt down and you will surely improve your credit score over a period of time.

3. Do not close out any unused credit card accounts because it is not going to raise your score in any way but rather may actually hurt you in the long run.

4. Do not open a bunch of new credit cards if you do not need them because this strategy is not going to improve your credit score. This approach could quite possibly backfire, lowering your credit score as a result.

Credit History Length Tips

1. If you have only been managing your credit for a short period of time, do not open too many accounts too quickly because too many new accounts will lower your average account age. This could have a serious impact on your credit score in a bad way.

source: richcreditdebtloan.com

Federal Loan Consolidation: Key Qualifying Aspects to Consider

It is common practice to see federal governments invest in the future of its population. An effective way to do so is through providing loans, either to encourage or sustain growth in industries and in education, but there is a drawback. These loans create debt, and sometimes those who benefit from the loans can struggle to repay them. The solution to the problem? Federal loan consolidation plans.

Consolidation can rescue a borrower from bankruptcy court. There are many reasons why a borrower might find it too difficult to repay the loans they have taken out, ranging from the financial impact of a weakening economy to the destructive impact of an act of God. Normally, securing loan approval depends on proving the ability to repay, but in these cases, proving an inability to meet existing repayment terms is essential.

The key to a bright financial future is to properly manage the debt created by federal loans. Even though these typically come at a lower interest rates than those charged by private lenders, consolidation can make a real difference.

Difference Between Federal and Private Consolidation Programs

Normally, there are two types of loans to take out: namely private loans and public loans. The terms can differ greatly, with private lenders seeking to make a profit on their investment and, for the most part, public or federal lenders not. With federal loan consolidation, the distinction is similar.

The differences are manifest in interest rates, with the federal option clearly less expensive due to the low interest rates that are charged, compared to those charged by private lenders. The result is that consolidation loans are much more affordable so, as long as an applicant qualifies, securing loan approval is no great problem.

The problem is that many business owners take out both federal loans and private loans, and mixing these loans in one consolidation plan is not always a good idea. This is especially true since the federal options have low interest and good terms anyway, so it is harder to improve on them than private loans.

Qualifying for Consolidation

Qualifying for a federal loan consolidation plan is pretty straightforward, with loan authorities requiring proof that the applicant is in financial difficulties. Help is granted only to those in debt to the federal government, and not to any other loan source. The chief sectors to benefit are agriculture and commerce.

The farming industry is known to be one of the most heavily supported in practically every country. And in the US, there is a wide range of loans available to aid the sector, including Farm Loans, Commodity Marketing Loans and Farm Storage Loans. These are issued through the FSA. Borrowers on these schemes qualify for a consolidation loan, but securing loan approval is reserved for those in the most serious situation.

Businesses operating in the commercial sector can also benefit from a long list of financing schemes designed to stimulate growth and employment. The range of federal loans includes Small Business Loans, Indian Loans for Native Americans, and Physical Disaster Loans for businesses that have suffered damage to property, infrastructure and facilities.

Criteria to Satisfy

Of course, meeting the stated criteria is essential if an applicant is to have any chance of securing federal loan consolidation. The good news is that this is not particularly difficult; all that is really needed is to prove financial difficulties. What is more, securing loan approval is dependent on the severity of the financial situation of the applicant, not their credit score, and on the ability to meet the restructured repayments.

The purpose of federal loans relate to aspects other than financial. For example, repairs may need to be made to a warehouse after a tornado hit town, or flooding damage may mean a business must close for several weeks. Federal governments are happy to provide support if it means people keep their jobs.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Wise

Mystery 'orb' memories haunt The Shining

(CNN) -- As Halloween approaches, my 10-year-old daughter is getting excited about choosing a scary costume for trick-or-treating and the prospect of a bucket full of sweets.

I usually accompany her, but this year has stirred memories of a genuinely spooky encounter, re-awakened by a recent assignment for CNN.

The British Film Institute is about to release the full 144-minute version of The Shining -- 24 minutes more than previously seen in Europe. If you're of a nervous disposition, the thought of subjecting yourself to additional minutes of what many regard as the most terrifying movie ever made might be a less than appealing one. But true horror fans are licking their lips in anticipation.

The film -- directed by the brilliant Stanley Kubrick in 1980 -- is now regarded as a masterclass in movie-making but at the time it was largely received with the scratching of heads and a mood of disappointment.



Kubrick adapted the film from the book written by horror novelist Stephen King -- and that's where my connection begins.

In 1974 King and his wife stayed at the majestic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, a small town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The hotel was due to shut down for the winter season and the Kings were the only guests in the place, echoing round the long empty corridors and silent ballroom. By the time they checked out of Room 217 the next morning -- Halloween - King had the bones of his chilling story.

I visited Estes Park 34 years later and decided to take my family to the Stanley Hotel.

Although Kubrick's film was shot at the Timberline Lodge in Oregon (exteriors) and Elstree studios near London (interiors) the resemblance is uncanny.

Our guide told us the hotel was inhabited by a number of ghosts, sometimes appearing in photographs as balls of energy. The warning was met with a mixture of giggles and suspiciously raised eyebrows.

We were about to shuffle along another carpeted corridor when my wife gave a cry of surprise: "Look at this!"

We gathered round her camera to see an image of the staircase on which were three orbs of light -- different sizes, different opacities, different to anything I'd ever seen before. They hadn't appeared to the naked eye nor had they appeared on anyone else's camera.

During the rest of the tour our group achieved a degree of minor celebrity by repeating the feat at several other locations within the hotel. There was one on the wood-panelled ceiling of the ballroom and later, when we checked back through all the pictures, we discovered that another had appeared on the photograph we took of the reception before meeting or tour guide.

The images were taken in different places, with very different lighting and of the 200 photographs we took during our holiday no orbs appeared on any other photograph -- nor indeed on any photograph ever taken on that camera before or since. We were amused and baffled but promptly forgot about them when we returned to London.

This month, covering the story of the extended version of The Shining came my way and while researching it I remembered the photographs.

So when I went to interview the film's executive producer Jan Harlan at his home in the ancient English city of St. Albans, an hour's drive north of London, I took them with me. He talked eloquently about Kubrick and his movie.

"It was a film that shows nothing but ambiguity. And this is what Stanley wanted," he said.

I showed him the pictures. He seemed amused but like me could offer no plausible explanation. They too remain ambiguous and I'm happy for them to remain so.

But for some fans of the film, ambiguity leaves a void which must be filled with conspiracy theories. Some claim to have discovered hidden messages about anything from the Holocaust to the plight of Native Americans, and to Kubrick's apparent use of the film to confess to helping the U.S. government fabricate the Apollo moon landings.

"It's amazing how this film invited speculation and fantasy in the audience. Which is good," said Harlan. "It's a great compliment to Kubrick that people go into orbit about it."

"Orbit" eh? Is that another deliberate clue... no, I'm not going down that road. I'll stick to my own photographs instead. And if there is anyone out there with a good theory (conspiratorial or otherwise) about those we'd love to hear from you.

source: CNN

World shares gain as U.S. storm damage seen limited

LONDON - World shares rose modestly while the dollar weakened on Tuesday as the initial impact of a massive storm in the United States looked to have been less severe than feared.

The greenback was also knocked by a resurgent yen after the Bank of Japan disappointed many investors by easing policy less aggressively than had been hoped after a slump in factory output and exports during September.

However, activity was subdued everywhere since U.S. share and bond markets were closed on Tuesday as one of the biggest storms to hit the country, codenamed Sandy, left large areas of New York City without power or public transport.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.75 percent at 1,101.90 points and, after gains earlier in Asia, the MSCI world equity index had risen 0.3 percent to 328.88 points.

U.S. stock index futures, which kept trading in Europe, edged lower but volumes were very light. .N

Strategists said it was too early to tell what impact the destruction caused by Sandy might have on markets.

"Volumes are very low with Wall Street (closed), which makes today's gains quite fragile, and the potential impact of the storm for the insurance sector, estimated at around $20 billion, has not been priced in yet," said Patrice Perois, trader at Kepler Capital Markets in Paris.

Demand for the dollar and U.S. bonds tends to rise in times of reduced appetite to take on risk, but if widespread damage prompts speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve could ease monetary policy further to shore up the economy, they could fall back.

Across European stock markets' attention was on corporate earnings with results from well known names like Deutsche Bank, Swiss banking giant UBS and oil major BP lifting prices. UBS shares leapt over four percent as it confirmed a plan to cut 10,000 jobs.

Britain's FTSE 100 index was up 0.8 percent, Germany's DAX index up 0.9 percent and Switzerland's SMI index up 0.5 percent.

Modest BOJ move

In currency markets, the yen rose broadly after a new plan from the Bank of Japan to increase its asset purchases by 11 trillion yen ($138 billion) disappointed some market players who had positioned for a more aggressive increase.

"It was a very skeptical response to the BOJ policy meeting, made worse by the fact they have revised lower the growth and inflation outlook," said Jane Foley, senior currency strategist at Rabobank. "That has seen the yen unwind a lot of the softer tone we saw going into this meeting."

The dollar hit a one-week low of 79.28 yen and was down 0.3 percent against a basket of major currencies at 79.67 points.

The weaker dollar helped the European common currency climb 0.4 percent to $1.2958, with lower yields on Spanish and Italian bonds adding to the better mood.

But gains for the euro are still expected to be limited by continuing questions over whether Greece can agree a deal with its creditors, and when Spain might request financial aid.

Spain fell deeper into recession in the third quarter and prices rose sharply in October, according to new data, keeping pressure on the government to take some action as the prospect of further civil unrest grows.

"Spain's economy is suffering terribly, which will continue to hit government revenues, and a modest decline in bond yields will not solve the problem," said Kit Juckes, strategist at Societe Generale.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has maintained an ambivalent stance towards applying for a politically embarrassing rescue that would kickstart an ECB bond-buying programme and ease financing costs.

Investors, too, seem willing to wait; 10-year Spanish bond yields were little changed at 5.66 percent.

German government bonds, the benchmark of European fixed-income markets, were also mostly flat.

Italy was even able to sell 7 billion euros of new five- and 10-year government bonds at its lowest cost since May 2011.

Italian 10-year yields were 3 basis points lower on the day at 4.98 percent, having risen about 25 basis points in the last two weeks.

Oil floats

In oil markets, prices were edging higher as traders awaited news of the damage inflicted by Sandy on refineries and pipelines, although weaker demand from the storm-hit region capped gains.

Brent crude for December rose 13 cents to $109.57 a barrel, recovering from a fall to $108.75 earlier, while U.S. crude for December was up 40 cents at $85.94.

U.S. gasoline futures were little changed at $2.7530 a gallon, after climbing more than 5 cents on Monday on expectations of tighter supply.

"People are just holding back a little bit to see if there's any real damage and impact, and at the moment it's too hard to see," said Bjarne Schieldrop, an analyst at SEB in Oslo.

source: interaksyon.com

New ‘Star Wars’ movies – dream come true or cosmic yawn?

LOS ANGELES – For years, it seemed like another “Star Wars” movie was just a dream, stillborn in a galaxy far, far away.

But down on Earth, the Walt Disney movie studio had different ideas, announcing on Tuesday that it planned not one but at least three new “Star Wars” movies, starting in three years’ time.

Disney’s $4 billion acquisition of George Lucas’ Lucasfilm and the multibillion-dollar “Star Wars” franchise surprised investors and caused mixed reactions among movie fans, many of whom had little appetite for more Luke Skywalkers and Jedis.

“The series had stagnated creatively. This could go well…Or not,” said Facebook user Chris Goodson.

Another user, Peter Campbell, voiced his disbelief, asking, “Is this for real? Oh please, enough with the Star Wars movies.”

Lucas, whose imagination gave pop culture Princess Leia and her crazy cinnamon-bun hairstyle, the anti-hero Darth Vader and the catch phrase “May The Force Be With You,” has insisted for years that he would make no more than the three original films and three prequels.

Lucas has often expressed frustration with criticism from many avid “Star Wars” fans who have taken issue with his director’s cuts of the films.

“Why would I make any more,” Lucas told the New York Times in a January interview about the “Star Wars” movies, “when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?”

But seven years after the last picture, “Revenge of the Sith,” Disney said on Tuesday it saw room for “Star Wars Episode 7″ in 2015, with Episodes 8 and 9 to follow at two or three year intervals.

Some fans welcomed the prospect of new films. On the Facebook “Star Wars” page, user David Schmoyer said “it brings dreaming back to the place where many of us began to dream.”

Others were less happy. User Andreas Pedersen called it “the worst April Fools’ joke ever,” while another fan, Brandan Sullivan, said “this might be the death of Star Wars.”

“People don’t seem to be recognizing that taking Star Wars out of George Lucas’ hands is the best possible thing for the franchise,” Jesse Taylor counter-argued on Twitter.

In addition to new films, characters like Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi may find a home on the Disney XD cable TV channel, targeted at young boys.

Furthermore, Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger told reporters on a conference call that there was “ample opportunity” to extend the franchise in Disney’s global theme parks, cementing the place of R2-D2 and Han Solo alongside Mickey Mouse and the Little Mermaid.

“Cool for another Star Wars but not sure I like Disney backing it,” commented Janel Halstead on Facebook.

The “Star Wars” franchise has earned some $4.4 billion at the global box office since the first film was released in 1977, making it the third most successful movie property after “Harry Potter” and the “James Bond” series.

Like the boy wizard and the suave British secret agent, “Star Wars” has also spawned an empire of books, games and toys so large that it is often dubbed the “Expanded Universe.”

It has also inspired a mini-industry dedicated to examining philosophical, spiritual and mythical themes, with many observers seeing Luke Skywalker as an embodiment of Jesus Christ and some seeing Yoda as inspired by a Mormon prophet.

Lucas, 68, said in a video posted on the StarWars.com website on Tuesday that he had story treatments for Episodes 7, 8 and 9 that he would hand over to producer Kathleen Kennedy to develop in partnership with Disney.

In the same video, Kennedy said Disney was the “best company possible to take Star Wars into the future,” and assured Lucas that she would adhere to his creations.

“The main thing is to protect these characters to make sure they continue to live in the way you created them,” Kennedy said.

source: interaksyon.com

Nokia to ship new Windows Phone 8 Lumia smartphones this week

HELSINKI — Nokia late on Monday said its high-end Lumia 820 and 920 phones, which will run on Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 software, will this week reach first operators and retail outlets in France and Britain and later in Russia and Germany as well as other select markets.

In the United States, AT&T will start selling the devices in early November. Verizon Wireless will begin selling Lumia 822 and T-Mobile will offer Lumia 810, Nokia said.

source: interaksyon.com

‘South Park’ takes aim at Lance Armstrong

LOS ANGELES – Animated TV comedy satire “South Park” is taking aim at a disgraced icon who seems a lot like seven-time Tour de France winning cyclist Lance Armstrong.

In a teaser clip released on Monday by Comedy Central, an episode titled “A Scause for Applause” shows residents of the fictional American town standing in line to get their yellow wristbands removed.

While the teaser for the October 31 episode does not refer to Armstrong by name, Comedy Central said in a statement that it deals with “the recent news of drug use by a beloved icon” and “the world is left feeling lost and betrayed”.

Armstrong, who was stripped of his cycling titles and banned for life earlier this month for doping, used yellow wristbands to promote his charity Livestrong.

In the “South Park” episode, the news has left the town enraged and upset as chubby foul-mouthed Eric Cartman, one of the show’s four lead children, declares “I can’t believe we all got duped”. Hapless schoolboy Clyde Donovan yells “lying jerk” and school counselor Mr Mackey sobs as his bracelet is removed, saying, “I don’t know what to believe in anymore”.

Armstrong, 41, who became a hero after battling cancer to dominate the world of professional cycling, has always denied allegations of taking performance enhancing drugs.

He was banned from the sport for life after 11 of his former team mates testified against him and the United States Anti-Doping Agency published a report which alleged he had been involved in the “most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen”.

“South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are known for responding quickly to current affairs and taboo subjects for their raunchy comedy show, which has become a cult hit.

They previously landed in hot water after showing late Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin with a stingray barb in his chest less than two months after his sudden death from a stingray attack, and drawing the Muslim prophet Mohammed dressed in a bear costume in a 2006 episode.

source: interaksyon.com

Low-budget spooks scare off gore for Hollywood horror

LOS ANGELES – After almost a decade in which torture films dominated the box office, horror movies are returning to ghostly thrills with a new slew of low-budget productions making big money for studios.

The success of 2009′s “Paranormal Activity” – which was made for $15,000 and grossed more than $107 million at U.S. box offices – has fueled a thirst in audiences and movie studios for things that go bump in the night.

Halloween audiences previously gripped by the gory “Saw” franchise about a sadistic serial killer are flocking this season to see supernatural horrors, with “Sinister” and “Paranormal Activity 4″ providing otherworldly scares for the spooky festivities.

The supernatural trend, with very little blood, started this year with “The Woman in Black” and “The Apparition”, and will spill into 2013 with upcoming horror films including “Mama”, “Evil Dead”, “Carrie”, and ghostly spoof “Scary Movie 5″, which will parody “Paranormal Activity”.

“It’s a return to a more classic style of suspense,” Henry Joost, who co-directed the third and fourth “Paranormal Activity” films with Ariel Schulman, told Reuters.

“When you’ve just been obliterated with gore, having it slammed in your face for a decade, you respond by seeking the opposite.”

“Sinister”, currently playing in U.S. movie theaters for Halloween-loving audiences, features an author (Ethan Hawke) who discovers home videos of mysterious murders and soon finds himself pursued by an otherworldly presence.

Director Scott Derrickson said audiences were drawn to bloodless supernatural horrors as a means to escape from news about wars and violent killings.

“There’s something about the real-world pain and violence that has enveloped the American reality, that makes films like (“Saw”) not necessarily the catharsis that people are looking for,” Derrickson told Reuters in an interview.

“Saw”, made for $1.2 million, grossed more than $55 million at the U.S. box office in 2004 and spawned a franchise, leading a slew of films dubbed “torture porn” for the excessive use of gratuitous violence.

The trend produced the “Hostel” trilogy, 2006′s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” and 2008′s “The Strangers”.

But while the “Saw” franchise initially brought in big money for movie studios – the second and third films each grossed more than $80 million at the domestic box office – the profits slowed by 2009, when the franchise’s seventh and final film “Saw 3D: The Final Chapter” was made for $20 million and grossed only $45 million.

“The torture porn stuff really played itself out, ‘Saw’ and ‘Hostel’, they were just too much. People want to be engaged with the story and not just grossed beyond imagination,” Bradley Jacobs, film editor at Us Weekly, told Reuters.







In comparison, the “Paranormal Activity” franchise, which relies on suspense and strange phenomena, has revamped the genre with a more cost-effective model since most of the scares are off-screen and on deliberately grainy footage, minimizing the need for costly special effects and action shots.

The second “Paranormal” film was shot for an estimated $3 million and made $84 million, while the third film, made for $5 million, has grossed more than $104 million in North America.

“The profitability of making a film for less than $5 million and hedging the bet of the financiers and the studios with a possible giant upside becomes extremely attractive,” Derrickson said.

“Sinister”, made for $3 million, has grossed $39 million after three weeks in U.S. theaters. “Paranormal Activity 4″, which cost $5 million, has made more than $42 million since it opened on Oct. 19.

“Audiences realized that the feeling of suspense and the anticipation of horror is actually more emotionally impacting than graphic horror itself in these low-budget movies,” Derrickson said.

The “Paranormal Activity” franchise was released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc, while Lions Gate Entertainment’s Summit studio distributed “Sinister” as well as the “Saw” and “Hostel” films.

source: interaksyon.com

TV5 princess Ritz Azul is FHM’s November cover girl

The latest cover girl of FHM Philippines is no other than TV5 primetime princess Ritz Azul, whose voluptuous figure adorns the magazine’s November 2012 issue.

In the cover image shot by Roy Macam, the 18-year-old actress is shown wearing a body-hugging and translucent white leotard while sitting cross-legged on the hood of a luxury car.

Before the big reveal on Monday, the guessing game on the magazine’s website over the weekend gave three clues: (1) neither a Kapuso nor a Kapamilya; (2) played the role of a sexy dancer in her primetime show; and (3) resembles Mariel Rodriguez, Isabel Oli and Rhea Santos, but a “future crush ng bayan” in her own right.

Ritz, of course, is a homegrown Kapatid talent and a product of the “Star Factor” talent search,  the precursor to “Artista Academy”.

Last year, she made heads turn with her daring portrayal of a showbiz aspirant in “Mga Nagbabagang Bulaklak”, which won for her the Outstanding Breakthrough Performance by an Actress from the ENPRESS Golden Screen TV Awards and the Amazing Female Newcomer from Yahoo! Philippines OMG Awards.

A mainstay of the sketch-comedy show “Lokomoko” and the comedy fantasy series “Kapitan Awesome, Ritz will soon play Derek Ramsay’s love interest in TV5′s upcoming superhero series “Kidlat.”

This FHM pictorial is the first sexy shoot for the actress, who happens to be the Sangguniang Kabataan chairperson in her village in her hometown in Pampanga.

source: interaksyon.com

Candy Crush Saga, Facebook Favorite, Heads to the iPhone

King.com has been producing nothing but hits on Facebook since it launched its first game on the platform in April. So much so that it’s now the #2 creator of social games on the social network, second to only Zynga.

Now it is releasing one of its most popular games to date, Candy Crush Saga, on iOS. It’s available for iPad, iPad mini, iPhone and iPod touch in November.

The Bejeweled-like game currently has an astounding 5 million daily active players on Facebook, making it the 4th most popular game and largest casual social game on the social network. The mobile version of Candy Crush Saga will offer a similar gameplay experience to the Facebook version and will keep track of player’s leaderboards, progress, and virtual goods purchased across both platforms.

“One game after another is a hit, because we take games that are hit before [Facebook],” Riccardo Zacconi, CEO and co-founder of King.com told Mashable.

The company first releases all of its games on King.com in the form of a single level timed game you play along with your friends, trying to achieve the highest score in the allotted time.

When a game is successful in that form, King them turn it into a saga franchise and releases it on Facebook, and later mobile.





Candy Crush Saga is following in the footsteps of King’s Bubble Witch Saga that the company launched on Facebook earlier this year and on mobile in August.

Zacconi says that players that started playing Bubble Witch on Facebook often play on mobile, but return to the Facebook game as well.

“This is increasing gameplay by 50% on top incrementally,” he says.

There’s no denying Bubble Witch Saga’s popularity. The game is currently the 10th most popular iPad app in the United States, and the 4th most popular iPad game in the App Store.

Gaming on Facebook as a whole is growing, and growing fast. The social network recently revealed that 251 million people played games on Facebook in September 2012, up from 226 million in September of 2011. Right now gaming on the social network is anyone’s game, and it looks like King is up to the challenge.

“We have a very simple strategy: to launch good games and the best games everywhere,” says Zacconi. “For me this is the most important launch this year.”

Candy Crush Saga will be available for iOS in November and later for Android.

source: mashable.com

Tomorrow Is a Big Day for Facebook’s Stock

The New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ are both planning to re-open on Wednesday after having ceased all trading for two days as a result of Hurricane Sandy. For some employees at Facebook, Wednesday probably can’t come soon enough.





The first of three big lockups for Facebook stock expired on Monday, giving employees the option to sell off their shares in the company for the first time since Facebook went public in May. In total, 234 million shares of Facebook stock were freed up as part of the lockup expiration, but because the stock market was closed, employees and shareholders have been unable to trade that stock so far this week.

That all changes on Wednesday.

Facebook employees have spent more than five months watching as the company’s stock plummeted from its IPO price of $38 a share to as low as $17.55 in early September, without having the option to sell off any of their shares. CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly acknowledged to employees that the declining stock price was “painful” to watch for all.

On the day that the stock hit its all-time low, Facebook announced that it would bump up the first lockup expiration date for employees from Nov. 14 to Oct. 29, which some argued was an attempt by the company to boost employee morale. Since then, Facebook’s stock has staged a bit of resurgence and currently sits at $21.70 a share. While that’s well above the low point, it’s also still well below the IPO price — in fact, as of earlier this month, Facebook employees had lost an average of $2 million each since the IPO.

The big question going into Wednesday is how quickly Facebook employees will be to pull the trigger on cashing out their stock. If they flood the market by selling millions of shares, it could send a signal to investors that even Facebook employees are not confident in the company’s future, which could have a significantly negative impact on the company’s stock price.

A similar situation took place back in August, after the first lockup period expired for 271 millon shares held by Facebook insiders. Peter Thiel, one of Facebook’s first investors, quickly sold off nearly all the stock he owned in the company (about 22 million shares), a red flag for investors that hurt the price of the stock.

The average Facebook employee selling this time around certainly doesn’t have 22 million shares to sell, but if employees begin to sell off en masse, it could have a similarly damaging impact on the stock. What’s more, in two weeks, another lockup period will expire for a whopping 777 million shares, which could disrupt the stock’s performance even further.

source: mashable.com

John Lloyd Cruz on relationship with Angelica: ‘I can truly say I’ve never been happier’

She wrote him a song. He gave her a Mercedes Benz SLK.

John Lloyd Cruz and Angelica Panganiban are no longer denying that they are a couple. At a press conference last week for “A Beautiful Affair”, John Lloyd’s new teleserye with perennial screen partner Bea Alonzo, he was bombarded with questions about the perfect Sundays he’s been spending with Angelica lately, and an extravagant gift he delivered to her garage recently.

“Wala naman kaming dine-deny. Basta gano’n lang. We don’t talk openly about it lang,” he said.

He blushed when reminded of “Barcelona”, the song Angelica wrote for him. What about that ring that she posted on Twitter? It’s not what you might think it is. “Part ng costume niya ‘yun sa isang movie na ginagawa niya,” he said.

But he came clean when pressed about that posh sedan, reportedly worth over P5 million, which trumps the Mini Cooper from Angelica’s previous boyfriend, Derek Ramsay.

“Hindi naman kailangang gawing issue. Ang laki-laki naman ng pera ko. Pero ‘pag mahal mo ang isang tao, kakayanin mo namang ibigay ang lahat-lahat sa kanya,” he said frankly.

There’s no more denying it – John Lloyd is deeply in love.

“Mahirap sukatin. But I can truly say I’ve never been happier. Masayang-masaya talaga. Maganda ngayon ang trabaho ko, ang career. Kaya siguro nasasabi ko na I am inspired. Dahil ito ang nangyayari now,” he said.

“Iba nga ‘yung nararamdaman namin. Hindi namin nilalagyan ng label. Kasi nakakalito lang ‘yun. At hindi naming ipinipilit. What is here and now. In the moment. In the present. Anything can happen,” he added.

This romance is not more than four months old. He’s not naive; he knows this first flush will fade.

“Ngayon, nasa cloud 9 ka, kinikilig ka pa. When you fall in love with that person, merong time na panay kilig talaga. But that can last for a certain time lang. Hindi naman ‘yun magla-last forever. ‘Yung commitment mo with the person ang kailangang mag-last. Kung paano n’yong aalagaan that commitment with each other,” he explained.

Surely, he’s excited about this coming Christmas, which will be their first together. Any plans?

“Hindi ko pa alam kung ano ang magiging plano. Kasi dadating ang family ni Angel and the reason excited siya doon na sila magi-stay sa bagong bahay niya. So, Pasko, sa side niya, sa side ko. And as of now, talagang ini-enjoy lang namin ‘yung moment. Walang pressure.”

He is also very pleased that Derek has only good words to say about him.

“Salamat sa magagandang sinasabi. Bakit, may kailangan bang ipagtanggol? Totoo naman ‘yung mga sinasabi niya. Pero wala namang kailangang ipagtanggol. Sinasabi lang niya ang totoo. Ang mga tao lang naman ang nagbibigay ng sari-sari nilang mga impressions. Kasi nga, dapat sa mga ganitong sitwasyon, ‘yung mga taong involved na lang ang dapat ang nakakaalam ng kung ano at bakit sa mga nangyayari. May karapatan namang magsalita ang bawat isa sa amin.”

What about his ex, Shaina Magdayao? What if ABS-CBN decided to pair them again in the near future?

“Wala naman siya sa plano. Kung magsasama uli, ang network na ang magde-decide noon. Trabaho naman ‘yun. At saka bakit ako ang tatanungin about it?”

As for being paired with Angelica, that has already happened with “24/7 In Love”, the Star Cinema movie that will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Star Magic, ABS-CBN’s talent management company which handles both their careers. They headline one of the six episodes in the omnibus film, and that episode was shot in Vietnam last summer. And by now, it is well known that Angelica broke up with Derek after coming home from that shoot.

And if it’s up to John Lloyd, this screen pairing should never happen again. Why? “Yung nagawa naming project na ’24/7′, ‘yun na ang last. I dunno. Basta ‘yun lang ang take ko. Parang mas gusto ko na hindi kami magkatrabaho pa. For now. In the future, I don’t know,” he said.

It’s a safe bet that Star Cinema won’t grant this particular wish. But for now, let us allow John Lloyd to wallow in romantic bliss.

You know what was the best thing he said in that home video shot by Direk Dante Nico Garcia of an intimate dinner hosted by Angelica for John Lloyd and two other companions?

“Nag-e-exist pala ang ganitong klase ng happiness.”

source: interaksyon.com

Sandy wreaks havoc across Northeast; at least 11 dead

(CNN) -- Though no longer a hurricane, "post-tropical" superstorm Sandy packed a hurricane-sized punch as it slammed into the Jersey Shore on Monday, killing at least 11 people from West Virginia to North Carolina and Connecticut.

Sandy whipped torrents of water over the streets of Atlantic City, stretching for blocks inland and ripping up part of the vacation spot's fabled boardwalk. The storm surge set records in Lower Manhattan, where flooded substations caused a widespread power outage. It swamped beachfronts on both sides of Long Island Sound and delivered hurricane-force winds from Virginia to Cape Cod as it came ashore.

Sandy's wrath also prompted the evacuation of about 200 patients at NYU Langone Medical Center.

"We are having intermittent telephone access issues, and for this reason the receiving hospital will notify the families of their arrival," spokeswoman Lisa Greiner said.

In addition, the basement of New York's Bellevue Hospital Center flooded, and the hospital was running off of emergency backup power. Ian Michaels of the Office of Emergency Management said the main priority is to help secure additional power and obtain additional fuel and pumps for the hospital.

The storm hit near Atlantic City about 8 p.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center reported. It packed 80-mph winds at landfall, down from the 90 mph clocked earlier Monday.

Superstorm Sandy's wrath

"I've been down here for about 16 years, and it's shocking what I'm looking at now. It's unbelievable," said Montgomery Dahm, owner of the Tun Tavern in Atlantic City, which stayed open as Sandy neared the Jersey Shore. "I mean, there's cars that are just completely underwater in some of the places I would never believe that there would be water."

Dahm's family cleared out of Atlantic City before the storm hit, but he says he stayed put to serve emergency personnel. At nightfall Monday, he said the water was lapping at the steps of his restaurant, where a generator was keeping the lights on.


The storm had already knocked down power lines and tree limbs while still 50 miles offshore and washed out a section of the boardwalk on the north end of town, Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford told CNN. He said there were still "too many people" who didn't heed instructions to evacuate, and he urged anyone still in town to "hunker down and try to wait this thing out."

"When Mother Nature sends her wrath your way, we're at her mercy, and so all we can do is stay prayerful and do the best that we can," Langford said.

And in Seaside Heights, about 30 miles north of Atlantic City, Police Chief Thomas Boyd told CNN, "The whole north side of my town is totally under water."




In New York, lower Manhattan's Battery Park recorded nearly 14-foot tide, smashing a record set by 1960's Hurricane Donna by more than 3 feet. The city had already halted service on its bus and train lines, closing schools and ordering about 400,000 people out of their homes in low-lying areas of Manhattan and elsewhere.

Flooding forced the closure of all three of the major airports in the area, LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty. Water seeped into subway stations in Lower Manhattan and into the tunnel connecting Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, while high winds damaged a crane perched atop a Midtown skyscraper under construction, forcing authorities to evacuate the surrounding area.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters there was an "extraordinary" amount of water in Lower Manhattan, as well as downed trees throughout the city and widespread power outages.

"We knew that this was going to be a very dangerous storm, and the storm has met our expectations," he said. "The worst of the weather has come, and city certainly is feeling the impacts."

The storm was blamed for more than 2.8 million outages across the Northeast. About 350,000 of them were in the New York city area, where utility provider Con Edison reported it had also cut power to customers in parts of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan to protect underground equipment as the storm waters rose.

But as water crept into its substations, Con Ed said it had lost service to about 250,000 customers in Manhattan -- including most of the island south of 39th Street.

Five things to know about Sandy

At least five people had been killed in storm-related incidents in New York state, including three killed by trees falling on homes in Queens and in the town of New Salem, near Albany, city and state officials said. Falling trees were also blamed for three deaths reported in New Jersey and one in Connecticut, authorities there told CNN.

In West Virginia, a woman was killed in a car accident after the storm dumped 5 inches of snow on the town of Davis, said Amy Shuler Goodwin, a spokeswoman for Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's office.


And before hitting land, it overwhelmed the sailing ship HMS Bounty, a replica of the historic British vessel, off North Carolina. Fourteen of the ship's crew of 16 were rescued, but the body of one deckhand was found Monday evening and the ship's captain was still missing Monday night, the Coast Guard said.

Sandy had already claimed at least 67 lives in the Caribbean, including 51 in Haiti.

Sandy's storm surges were boosted by a full moon, which already brings the highest tides of the month. And forecasters said the storm was likely to collide with a cold front and spawn a superstorm that could generate flash floods and snowstorms.

"It could be bad," said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Steven Rattior, "or it could be devastation."

Mass transit shut down across the densely populated Northeast, landmarks stood empty and schools and government offices were closed. The National Grid, which provides power to millions of customers, said 60 million people could be affected before it's over.

On Fire Island, off Long Island, the water rose above promenades and docks on Monday afternoon, homeowner Karen Boss said. Boss stayed on the island with her husband despite a mandatory evacuation order. She said they own several properties and a business there and had weathered previous storms.

"I'm concerned that it might come into the first floor," she said. "If that's the case, I'll just move into another house that's higher up."

Based on pressure readings, it's likely to be the strongest storm to make landfall north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, CNN senior meteorologist Dave Hennen said. The benchmark storm, the 1938 "Long Island Express" Hurricane, contained a low pressure reading of 946 millibars; Sandy had a minimum pressure of 943 millibars. Generally speaking, the lower the pressure, the stronger the storm.

In Sea Bright, New Jersey, Yvette Cafaro scrawled a plea on the plywood that covered her burger restaurant: "Be kind to us Sandy." The seaside area largely dodged last year's Hurricane Irene, but Cafaro was not optimistic that Sea Bright would be spared Sandy.


"Everything that we've been watching on the news looks like this one will really get us," she said. "We're definitely worried about it."




Its arrival, eight days before the U.S. presidential election, forced President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, to alter or cancel several campaign stops. Obama flew back to Washington from Florida, telling reporters at the White House that assets were in place for an effective response to the storm.

"The most important message I have for the public right now is please listen to what your state and local officials are saying," Obama said. "When they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate."

And in Ohio, Romney asked supporters to drop off items and cash at his "victory centers" to be donated to victims of the storm.

"There are families in harm's way that will be hurt -- either in their possessions or perhaps in something more severe," Romney said.




By Monday afternoon, 23 states were under a warning or advisory for wind related to Sandy. Thousands of flights had been canceled, and hundreds of roads and highways were expected to flood. And according to a government model, Sandy's wind damage alone could cause more than $7 billion in economic loss.

Sandy was expected to weaken once it moves inland, but the center was expected to move slowly northward, meaning gusty winds and heavy rain would continue through Wednesday.

On the western side of the storm, the mountains of West Virginia expected up to 3 feet of snow and the mountains of southwestern Virginia to the Kentucky state line could see up to 2 feet. Twelve to 18 inches of snow were expected in the mountains near the North Carolina-Tennessee border.

"This is not a typical storm," said Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett. "Essentially, this is a hurricane wrapped in a 'nor'easter.'"

source: CNN

Hurricane Sandy strengthens as it nears US East Coast

NEW YORK - Hurricane Sandy, the monster storm bearing down on the East Coast, strengthened on Monday after hundreds of thousands moved to higher ground, public transport shut down and the stock market suffered its first weather-related closure in 27 years.

About 50 million people from the Mid-Atlantic to Canada were in the path of the nearly 1,000-mile-wide (1,600-km-wide) storm, which forecasters said could be the largest to hit the mainland in US history. It was expected to topple trees, damage buildings, cause power outages and trigger heavy flooding.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday the Category 1 storm had strengthened as it turned toward the coast and was moving at 20 miles per hour (32 km per hour). It was expected to bring a "life-threatening storm surge," coastal hurricane winds and heavy snow in the Appalachian Mountains, the NHC said.

Nine US states have declared states of emergency, and with the US election eight days away President Barack Obama canceled a campaign event in Florida on Monday in order to return to Washington and monitor the US government's response to the storm.

"This is a serious and big storm," Obama said on Sunday after a briefing at the federal government's storm response center in Washington. "We don't yet know where it's going to hit, where we're going to see the biggest impacts."

Sandy killed 66 people in the Caribbean last week before pounding US coastal areas with rain and triggering snow falls at higher elevations as it moved north.

Forecasting services indicated early Monday the center of the storm would strike the New Jersey shore near Atlantic City on Monday night. While Sandy does not pack the punch of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005, it could become more potent as it approaches the US coast.

Winds were at a maximum of 85 mph, the NHC said in its 8 a.m. (1200 GMT) report, up from 75 mph six hours earlier. It said tropical storm-force winds reached as far as 485 miles from the center.

Seventeen people from the replica HMS Bounty abandoned ship while stranded at sea off North Carolina in the path of the hurricane, roughly 160 miles from the center of storm, the US Coast Guard said on Monday.

"The 17-person crew donned cold water survival suits and lifejackets before launching in two 25-man lifeboats with canopies," the Coast Guard said, adding it was determining which aircraft or vessel was best-placed to launch a rescue.

The three-masted tall ship was built for the 1962 movie "Mutiny on the Bounty."

New York and other cities and towns closed their transit systems and ordered mass evacuations from low-lying areas ahead of a storm surge that could reach as high as 11 feet.

All US stock markets will be closed on Monday and possibly Tuesday, the operator of the New York Stock Exchange said late on Sunday, reversing an earlier plan that would have kept electronic trading going on Monday.

The United Nations, Broadway theaters, New Jersey casinos, schools up and down the Eastern Seaboard, and myriad corporate events were also being shut down.

'Don't be stupid'

Officials ordered people in coastal towns and low-lying areas to evacuate, often telling them they would put emergency workers' lives at risk if they stayed.

"Don't be stupid, get out, and go to higher, safer ground," New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told a news conference.

Forecasters said Sandy was a rare, hybrid "super storm" created by an Arctic jet stream wrapping itself around a tropical storm, possibly causing up to 12 inches of rain in some areas, as well as up to 3 feet (1 meter) of snowfall in the Appalachian Mountains from West Virginia to Kentucky.

At 8 a.m. (1200 GMT), the NHC said Sandy was centered about 265 miles southeast of Atlantic City and about 310 miles south-southeast of New York City.

Worried residents in the hurricane's path packed stores, searching for generators, flashlights, batteries, food and other supplies in anticipation of power outages. Nearly 284,000 residential properties valued at $88 billion are at risk for damage, risk analysts at CoreLogic said.

Transportation systems shut down in anticipation. Airlines canceled flights, bridges and tunnels closed, and national passenger rail operator Amtrak suspended nearly all service on the East Coast. The US government told non-emergency workers in Washington, D.C., to stay home.

Utilities from the Carolinas to Maine reported late Sunday that a combined 14,000 customers were already without power.

The second-largest oil refinery on the East Coast, Phillips 66's 238,000 barrel per day (bpd) Bayway plant in Linden, New Jersey, was shutting down and three other plants cut output as the storm affected operations at two-thirds of the region's plants.

Oil prices slipped on Monday, with Brent near $109 a barrel. "With refineries cutting runs, we're likely to see a build-up in crude stocks which could be driving bearish prices at the moment," said Michael Creed, an economist at National Australia Bank in Melbourne.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered the evacuation of some 375,000 people from low-lying areas of the city, from upscale parts of lower Manhattan to waterfront housing projects in the outer boroughs.

While Sandy's 85 mph winds were not overwhelming for a hurricane, its exceptional size means the winds will last as long as two days.

"This is not a typical storm," Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett said. "It could very well be historic in nature and in scope." (Additional reporting by John McCrank, Edith Honan, Caroline Humer, Paul Thomasch and Janet McGurty in New York; Barbara Goldberg in New Jersey; Gene Cherry in North Carolina; Dave Warner in Philadelphia; Tom Hals in Milford, Delaware; Mary Ellen Clark and Ebong Udoma in Connecticut; Matt Spetalnick in Washington)

source: interaksyon.com

Jets report: Rex Ryan struggling to regain team's 'pulse'

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—After the Jets lost the final three games of the 2011 season and missed the playoffs, Rex Ryan admitted he had lost the “pulse” of his team.

One has to wonder if Ryan, a players’ coach, is having the same problem this season. Ryan said he “never saw this coming” after the Jets (3-5) were embarrassed by visiting Miami on Sunday, claiming his team had a great week of practice.


Certainly Ryan and his staff will have a lot to do during the bye week as they try to fix the myriad problems. He already announced he is giving his players the entire week off before they return Nov. 5 to prepare for the game at Seattle six days later.

This would seem a logical time to perhaps make the switch at quarterback from struggling Mark Sanchez to Tim Tebow, given the fact offensive coordinator Tony Sparano will have an extra week to design a game plan around Tebow’s skill-set.

Still, there is a lot more wrong with this team besides Sanchez. The Jets’ defense and rushing game on offense aren’t as strong as those units were for Denver last season, when Tebow had his success.

One wonders if Tebow truly can make a difference without those elements in place, but it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Ryan, Sparano and the desperate Jets decide to go that way.

source:  aol.sportingnews.com

Helping Mom Save Money and Feel Independent

As we get closer to winter here in the Northwest, everyone’s minds start thinking about power outages, storms, and cold weather. Honda-EU2000i Normally we only have a few power outages each year and they traditionally don’t last very long.  Once in awhile, we get hit with horrible storms that cause power outages that can last a number of days.  Where we live, we normally don’t lose power for more than a couple days at a time but my mother’s home is a bit more remote and tends to experience power outages that can last upwards of a week in a severe storm.  Last year my mother had to go through one of those long power outages and we ultimately went over and picked her up and had her stay with my sister for a few days.

My mom is fiercely independent.  She stayed in the cold dark house for 4 days before finally giving in to our pleading to come stay in a warm house until her power was restored.  While she appreciated the hospitality, she really hated the fact that she wasn’t able to stay in her home.  Once the power was back on, she immediately started researching permanent backup power generators.  She needed the kind that automatically come on and use natural gas so she never has to worry about running out of fuel.  Her main concern was keeping the refrigerators going and keeping the gas furnace running.  It turns out that a permanent solution would have cost upwards of $5000 when you include the electrician charges.  When you are living on social security, that’s a lot of money.

A couple weeks ago, I woke up in the middle of the night and was having trouble getting back to sleep.  I started thinking about her options and realized that for a fraction of the cost, we could buy her a small portable Honda generator (inverter) that would power a few lights, her refrigerator and her gas furnace fan.  I started to research options and found that you can buy a Honda EU2000i generator online for about $900.  As I researched further, I found plenty of videos and forum posts talking about how people had done just what my mom needed.  The beauty of it is that it’s incredibly quiet, light enough for her to carry, and can last for 9 hours on 1 gallon of fuel.  After talking with my mom, and hearing the excitement in her voice, I knew it was the right approach.

I received the generator a few days ago and am still in awe of how small and quiet it is.  I’m going to add a furnace transfer switch and test out the generator at her house over the next couple weeks.  If all goes well, she’ll be ready for any storm that mother nature throws her way.

source: everybodylovesyourmoney.com

Help! My Health Insurer won’t Pay the Bill!

My Health Insurer is Not Paying the Bill

I am willing to bet that many of you have encountered a situation where you noticed an error in your medical bill, but your health insurer delays in fixing it and paying the remainder of the bill.

I am encountering my first such scenario. I’ve learned some important lessons, but the situation is still not resolved. So I thought I’d share what I’ve learned and then turn over the advice giving to those of you who have been down this road.

I’ll follow up with the end results in a later post.

Long story short:

1. This year, I switched from a traditional PPO, to a high deductible health plan (HDHP) through Cigna, in order to save money on our health insurance.

2. My wife and I both wanted to take advantage of a $200 HDHP bonus incentive for showing up for an annual physical, which is a preventative service and 100% covered by the HDHP. We did so, the appointment was paid for, no problem, and we later received $400 in bonuses in our health savings account (HSA).

3. At the appointment, the doctor scheduled routine preventative blood work for both of us. There was no suspicion of illness.

4. We get our blood work done, and later get bills for the full amount. Mine was $153 and my wife’s was $459, much to our shock!

5. After a few months, numerous interactions in which the Cigna told us we need to call our doctor because they did not use “preventative” CPT codes (doctor says they did, and really have no incentive to make that up). However, I am able to get them to pay all but $16 of mine and $120 of my wife’s.

6. $136 is better than $612, but I’m pretty damn determined. If everything is truly “preventative”, I shouldn’t have to pay anything at all. I don’t care that the payment would come from funds contributed by my employer to my HSA! It’s about principle. By this time, one of the bill’s has a threat of upcoming collections on it – which gets me even more fired up. I call Cigna back, and this time, did what I should have done in the first place – received a confirmation # on the case and the rep’s name. He tells me they will re-submit the claim.

7. I awaited their verdict on the re-submission.

8. Once again, Cigna comes back with the “non-preventative CPT codes” argument.

Lessons learned thus far:


document everything
get a case confirmation # right away
get the name/number/extension/email of the rep.  you call, to help instill a bit of accountability on their end to resolve things
triple check every medical bill you receive to make sure it is correct


 Medical Bill Apathy

This whole situation has been very frustrating and makes me wonder how many people simply give up on medical bills or don’t realize there is an error in the first place. My determination has already prevented a loss of $476, however, I won’t stop until they pay the full $612.

If they stall again, however, I’m out of ideas on how to make that happen.

Your Advice on Getting the Health Insurer to Pay the Medical Bill

Have you been in a similar situation where the insurer seems to be lagging on paying the bills? How did you get things resolved?
Have you tried bringing in a third party to help you resolve the billing dispute? Did it work?

 source: 20somethingfinance.com

 

 

 

 

2013 Child Tax Credit Drops to $500. Better Get that December C-Section or Inducement Scheduled Now!

A close friend of mine is expecting the birth of their first child towards the end of this year. His wife has an estimated due date of Dec. 29. My advice to them? If you were planning on scheduling a December c-section or inducement, better schedule it now before all of the appointment slots get booked!

Why?

The difference between a December 31, 2012 birth and a January 1, 2013 birth could cost them $1,000 of additional tax liability. And since the child tax credit is scheduled to drop from $1,000 to $500 in 2013, they may never see a $1,000 credit again.





Here’s a bit of history on why this is happening.

The Child Tax Credit Drops in 2013

As part of the Obama tax cut deal reached with Republicans, the previous Bush tax cuts that raised the Child Tax Credit to $1,000 from $500 were extended through 2011 and 2012.

Without further extension (an agreement seems unlikely at this point, but you never know), the child tax credit drops back down to $500 in 2013.

  
What is the Child Tax Credit?

 For those looking for a little more background, the Child Tax Credit allows you to claim a maximum $1,000 per qualified child (as noted, that drops in 2013 to $500).

This is a non-refundable income tax credit, meaning that if your credit exceeds your income tax liability, then you won’t get a check for the difference.

Still, non-refundable credits are great, because they represent a subtraction from your actual tax liability, which is much more valuable than a deduction (which is only a subtraction from your taxable income).

However, if your income is below a certain threshold, you can also claim the ‘Additional Child Tax Credit‘, which allows you to get a refund for the difference if your credit exceeds your tax liability.

Can you Claim the Child Tax Credit in the Year the Child was Born?

What if the child was born in the second half of the year, or even the last day? Can you still claim the child tax credit for that year?

In short, yes. Publication 972 lists this as one of the exceptions in which you can claim the credit.

Child Tax Credit Income Levels & Qualifying Criteria

The Child Tax Credit is limited if your MAGI is above a certain amount. The amount at which this phase-out begins varies depending on your filing status. For married taxpayers filing a joint return, the credit phase-out begins at $110,000. For married taxpayers filing a separate return, it’s at $55,000. For all other taxpayers, the phase-out begins at $75,000.

According to the IRS Child Tax Credit FAQ, a qualifying child for this credit is someone who must also meet the qualifying criteria of six tests: age, relationship, support, dependent, citizenship, and residence. So you’ll want to double-check that your child qualifies before filing for the credit.

There are also tax credits for child care you may want to look in to.

Deep Thoughts by G.E. Handy

So, let me first state that I would not recommend anybody schedule an early inducement or c-section for a January estimated due date just to be able to shave off $1,000 in tax liability. But for those due in mid or late December, holding off until January could cost you $1,000! And that’s why I’d expect a near record number of births the last week of this year, moreso than previous years.

And to that point, it got me thinking some crazy thoughts…

You would have to assume those that are aware of this special tax scenario are on top of their finances. And they are probably fairly intelligent, or well educated on top of that. Which makes me wonder:

    

Do babies born in the last week of December have a higher average IQ than those born in other weeks of the year?

What is the average income of the households they are born into vs. other weeks of the year?

Ponder those deep thoughts for a moment…

source: 20somethingfinance.com

iPad mini won’t upset low-end market: analysts

Apple Inc’s latest product will attract new customers but the higher-than-expected price is unlikely to make it a threat to low-cost tablets such as Amazon.com Inc’s Kindle, analysts said, in a muted reaction to the new tablet.

Only a few analysts revise their price targets for Apple’s shares ahead of the company’s quarterly results announcement on Thursday. The shares were flat at $615 in morning trade on the Nasdaq.

Canaccord Genuity raised its target on the stock to $800 from $797, while Barclays Capital cut its to $800 from $810.

The 7.9-inch mini version of the iPad has most of the functions and features of the full-size $499 iPad but is cheaper by $170.

However, the $329 price for the Wi-Fi only model was higher than many analysts had expected and some said the gadget might struggle to compete with the cheaper Amazon Kindle Fire and Google Inc’s Nexus 7, which have prices starting in the $159-$199 range.

The device may also lure buyers away from Apple’s flagship 10-inch tablet, they said.

“We were hoping the price would be at least a little lower given its competition is situated as low as $99, with many starting in the $199-$249 range,” Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes said.

His new price target of $800 is more in line with those of other analysts, although most targets are still well above Apple’s current share price.

Demand for Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire is unlikely to be much affected by the launch of the mini given the significant price gap, Nomura Equity Research said.

On a positive note, the high price made it less likely that the device would eat into Apple’s margins, the brokerage said.

Barclays estimated iPad mini sales at more than 5 million units in the December quarter, while Canaccord Genuity forecast sales of 9.25 million units during the three months. Apple sold about 17 million iPads in the quarter ended June.

The iPad mini will help Apple reach a new customer base that may not have been able to afford the higher-end version, Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley said.

“While we believe these strong sales will come largely at the expense of Apple’s competition, we concede iPad Mini will likely cannibalize iPad and iPod Touch sales,” Walkley wrote in a research note.

Despite the cannibalization, the mini should greatly expand the market for iPads, whose sales have exceeded 100 million units in just two-and-a-half years after the tablet was introduced, Needham & Co analyst Charlie Wolf said.

Apple will enjoy a very happy holiday season on its refreshed product line and because of the “hopelessly backlogged” iPhone 5 orderbook, he said.

source: interaksyon.com

Tech focus now on Microsoft Windows 8, Surface tablet

SEATTLE — Firm sales numbers for Microsoft Corp’s Windows 8 and its new Surface tablet will not be available for three months, but it may be clear long before then if it has a hit on its hands.

“We can definitely gauge it by chatter,” said Emily Chan, an analyst at Bernstein Research. “There is a slight learning curve, so I don’t think we will see that big pop that iPad saw.”

Microsoft is desperate for the new-look, touch-friendly Windows 8 to grip customers’ imaginations, as it looks to regain ground lost to Apple Inc and Google Inc in mobile computing and shake up the moribund PC market.

Perhaps more important is its new own-brand tablet called the Surface, available only through its own stores and website, which will challenge Apple’s iPad head on.

“I’d want to know the sales – and return rate – of the Surface,” said Sarah Rotman Epps at tech research firm Forrester. “But those numbers will be hard to get since Microsoft is the only retailer.”

Early reviews of the Surface have been mixed, generally praising the slick hardware, but faulting battery life and the limited software and applications available.

Some worry that the first Surface model, which runs on a stripped-down version of Windows 8 called RT that is not compatible with old Windows programs, will cause some confusion and dissatisfaction among customers.

The three models for sale on Microsoft’s U.S. website are already on back order, suggesting strong demand, but it is not known how many Surfaces Microsoft has manufactured.

“The fact it’s back ordered is indicative that there’s consumer interest,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at tech research firm Gartner. “How Microsoft introduces it, evangelizes it and explains it will determine long term success.”

Ballmer noise

Microsoft has not said if it will reveal sales figures for Windows 8 or of the Surface before its next scheduled earnings on January 24. The company tends to trumpet good news and stay silent otherwise.

After the launch of Windows 7 three years ago, CEO Steve Ballmer waited only a month to announce strong sales. A year later, he waited only 10 days to report record-breaking sales of the Kinect, the motion-sensing add-on for the Xbox. But Microsoft has never shared the sales of Windows-powered phones, which have a lowly 3 percent of the market.

If Ballmer stays silent about Windows 8 sales, it might indicate a less than stellar performance.

“I would definitely take it a sign that it’s not super, super strong, but I won’t take it as something negative,” said Chan at Bernstein, who is expecting 8.3 million Surface sales by the middle of next year.

That averages out at about 1 million a month, a third the rate of the iPad, which notched up its first million sales in 28 days and has now sold more than 100 million units, averaging about 3.2 million a month.

Gartner forecasts that Surface and other tablets running Windows RT will sell about 2.3 million units this year and 9.3 million next year, grabbing about 2 percent and 5 percent of the worldwide tablet market, respectively.

Door-busters

Retail activity will be closely watched. Microsoft will have more than 60 brick and mortar stores open for the release of Windows 8 on Friday, half of them ‘pop-up’ stores that will stay open for the holiday shopping season.

Third-party retailers are cautiously optimistic.

“We have seen pretty good response to our pre-orders for Windows 8,” said Best Buy Co Inc spokesman Jeff Haydock. “Quite honestly, I don’t know what to expect from Friday. I don’t know if there will be lines or not. My sense is it will take some time for people to kind of come into the stores and check it out.”

Best Buy may give some color on how PC sales are going when it reports earnings on November 20.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the No. 1 U.S. retailer, said U.S. pre-orders for Windows 8 PCs “have been better than expected.”

Online retailers Amazon.com Inc, Newegg Inc and TigerDirect Inc have been silent on Windows 8 pre-orders.

The full impact of PC sales on retailers will not be evident until chains report same-store sales for November.

Quick reaction

One early indicator of Windows 8′s success will be the contents of the online Windows Store. Microsoft has had a harder time drumming up interest among developers for Windows 8, given the risk that there will be fewer users than competing platforms.

Microsoft will not disclose numbers, but there are expected to be 5,000 or so third-party apps available to U.S. users, in comparison with the iPad’s 275,000. Some big names such as Facebook Inc will be missing.

In social media, the tenor of comments on the Twitter hashtags #Windows8 and #Surface will give an indication of their reception after Ballmer unveils them both on Thursday.

Many users likely will be shocked by the new design, which dispenses with the Start button and features square tiles for apps.

“Public reaction to the new UI will depend how well Microsoft explains why ‘different’ is better and teaches how the new experience works,” said Gartenberg. “That all starts on Thursday.”

By the numbers

The ultimate test for Windows 8 will be PC sales.

Industry trackers are expecting a bump for PC sales in the last two months of the year, but not enough to rescue the whole year, which is forecast to dip for the first time since 2001.

Some analysts had expected an uptick in production of laptops ahead of the Windows 8 launch, but PC makers facing an uncertain global economy have been wary about committing.

Chip maker Intel Corp, which is a good gauge of future PC demand due to its position early in the production process, expects the PC business to grow at only half the normal seasonal rate in the fourth quarter.

Chief Executive Paul Otellini recently told analysts he expects to have a better understanding of the success of Windows 8 in 90 days.

Stephen Baker, an analyst at retail research firm NPD Group, is expecting a 10 percent jump in PC sales for November and December over last year, but said comparisons will be difficult given a profusion of new devices and the volatility of year-ago data.

Fourth-quarter PC shipment numbers from research firms Gartner and IDC will not be published until early January, although analysts say PC makers might start to drop hints about demand before then.

“There will likely be many milestones, but very few will ultimately be decisive. The key point is will PC sales continue to shrink or will they experience a boost,” said Al Hilwa at research firm IDC. “We can probably begin to properly judge that with some ambiguity in January.”

source: interaksyon.com

Tom Cruise files $50-M lawsuit over claims he abandoned Suri

LOS ANGELES – Tom Cruise filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit on Wednesday against magazines that claimed he had abandoned his daughter, Suri, following his divorce from actress Katie Holmes.

The “Mission: Impossible” star filed the lawsuit in U.S. court in Los Angeles against the publishers of celebrity magazines In Touch and Life & Style. Cruise’s attorney Bert Fields said in a statement.

“Tom is a caring father who dearly loves Suri. She’s a vital part of his life and always will be. To say he has ‘abandoned’ her is a vicious lie. To say it in lurid headlines with a tearful picture of Suri is reprehensible,” Cruise’s lawyer, Bert Fields, said in a statement.

The lawsuit refers to two cover stories published by the magazines in July and September with the headlines “Abandoned by Daddy” and “Abandoned by her dad.” The September story from “In Touch” claimed that six-year-old Suri, the only child of Cruise and Holmes, had gone more than 44 days without seeing him.

The magazines, owned by privately held German publishing group Bauer Media, did not immediately return calls for comment.

Holmes filed for divorce in June after six years of marriage, seeking sole custody of Suri, in a move that took Cruise by surprise when he was filming in Iceland. They swiftly agreed to a custody arrangement and settled other matters but details have been kept private.

Fields said that despite repeated stories in celebrity media about Cruise and his personal life during his 30-year Hollywood career, the actor rarely resorted to litigation.

“He’s not a litigious guy. But when these sleazy peddlers try to make money with disgusting lies about his relationship with his child, you bet he’s going to sue,” he added.

Fields said Cruise was seeking damages of $50 million and would “undoubtedly give the money to charity” if he wins the case.

source: interaksyon.com

International Mortgage Trends

In our modern, global and egalitarian society, home ownership is accepted as the main way families build wealth.

It is also one of the main metrics by which to measure the “health” of an economy.

Because so much economic activity (and inactivity, if you ask the Supreme Court) depends on personal attitudes and sentiments, it is useful to examine the opinions of home owners and aspiring homeowners. The Genworth International Mortgage Trends Report for 2011 shows some interesting behaviors in the countries they surveyed: Australia, Canada, UK, Ireland, USA, India, Mexico, Italy.

The report revealed:

    Two in three American respondents believe it is a good time to buy a home
   
   The average age of first time homebuyers in the US has increased since the 1970s (27.3) to
    the 00s    (31.6).

    In the United States, 40% of respondents use half or more of their income servicing debt.

    28% of American respondents overpay their mortgage.

    Canadian respondents are generally more comfortable with mortgage debt

    The more impoverished countries (Mexico and India) had respondents that had lower debt
     to income ratios and less tolerance for borrowing more than eighty percent of a home’s value.



If you read the news lately it would seem like the US housing market is on the rebound, with new housing starts flirting with levels not seen in a few years, which shows how we have progressed since the 2011 international mortgage trends report was researched.

Mortgage rates are low and prices are generally low in the US.

Where I live, the market has been flat for the last three years, but that’s much better than a down market,. We are fortunate to have equity in our home, but I feel bad for those who are underwater.

Across the board buyers are starting to stir and take advantage of the lowered cost of home ownership. For a while much of the activity was wealthy people or investors buying second and third properties, becoming wealthier while the majority tried to scrape their jaws off their 401k statements.

That is the point we strive to reach when we practice the art of personal finance.

When the market is down, the person who is debt free is capitalizing, buying assets, taking advantage of lower share prices. Down markets represent opportunities instead of worries. Housing crashes become clearance sales.

Decisions start to come without emotion, based on research and planning instead of stumbling and reacting.

Success comes from learning the wants, needs and beliefs of the majority of people. This will bring rewards even when the business cycle does its little shimmy.

source: marriedwithdebt.com

AT&T Upgrade Fee Is a Poke in the Eye

I recently had to buy a new phone after my 3 year old iPhone 3GS became unusable. AT&T Wireless, as usual, stuck me with an upgrade fee – this time it went from an annoying and distasteful $18 to a ridiculous $36.

Like usual, I called and asked that it be waived. The lady told me it was not even possible in her computer system to do so.

A few minutes later she told me her job would be in jeopardy if she waived it.




 I asked her, “so lying to your customers doesn’t put your job in jeopardy? You just told me you weren’t even able to do it.”

Caught in a lie, she muttered something about if she did it, a manager would see and she’d get in trouble, but if I’d like, she could let me talk to a supervisor. She also said she could give me a $25 credit right now.

Rather than take this any further and risk a fist-sized hole in my drywall, I took my $25 credit.

Please pardon my rant, but AT&T Wireless must not think I’m a valued customer when they stick me with an “upgrade” fee for the privilege of being a customer for another two years.

As a longtime customer who has spent over $10,000 with this company, I am very put off when asked to pay a fee SIMPLY FOR BEING A CUSTOMER.

What the Heck is an Upgrade Fee?

Upgrade fee? Seriously?

I’m not upgrading anything. I bought a lower grade phone.

I am asking to continue to give you money every month for the next two years, not to move into your basement.

Hell, they should call me and thank me for being a customer, not charge me a fee.

There AT&T, are you happy? After getting $10,000 from me, you had to shake out another $11.

If you need $11 that bad, should I even trust your company?

If You Are Going to Extract Money From Your Customers, Be Smarter About It

Look, if you really need to recover more money from customers because the price of “upgrading” has gone up (SIDE RANT: Maybe the reason your cost of signing papers for customers is going up has something to do with the army of frat bots I saw with iPads strapped to their hips last time I was in your store).

If I’m correct, Verizon Wireless doesn’t charge an upgrade fee. I suspect that this is not because they don’t like money, but because they are smart enough to just sneak it into the price of their phones or plans, or whatever other way they are using.

Which is my point.

If you have an increased cost of doing business, RAISE YOUR PRICES. Don’t hide behind some silly “upgrade fee.”

That puts you in the company of those late-night infomercials selling a ten-dollar product with twenty-dollar shipping and handling.

Say what you want about AT&T vs Verizon – at least Verizon pretends to care about their customers, or maybe more shocking, they realize that treating a customer right is good business in the long run.

How to Get AT&T Upgrade Fee Waived

If you’ve never had your AT&T Wireless upgrade fee waived, just call in and ask. I don’t think the employees in the store have the power to do so.

Even if you’ve had it waived before, call anyway. They at least deserve to know how you feel about their fee.

They may have to escalate you to a supervisor or manager, or they may offer you a credit for a smaller amount in the hopes you will be tired of fighting and relent.

Most likely they will waive the fee for you.

It has worked for me almost every time.

source: marriedwithdebt.com