Refinancing Mortgage Loan

On most of the occasions whenever the mortgage rates fall people run for refinancing mortgage loan. Refinancing mortgage loan can reduce your rate of interest and can help to extend the duration of repayment. It also helps to reduce your periodic payment compulsions in many ways, reduce the risk and helps to liquidate the equity that has mounted up in the real estate property during the period of the ownership. To get a refinance done on your mortgage, your home must have enough value so that you can justify your new loan.

In the real sense, refinancing mortgage loan can lower down your monthly payments due on the mortgage loan either by refinancing it into a lower interest rate mortgage or by increasing the duration of the mortgage loan, so that you can do the repayment over a long period of time. The cash saved in this can be used to pay the principle amount of the mortgage loan by reducing the payments further. In another way, refinancing can be used to convert available equity of your house into liquid cash, which can be used for other purposes or expenses like child's higher studies or repair and restructuring of house.

Refinancing mortgage loan reduces the risk related with your existing loan. If you refinance your mortgage loan from adjustable rate mortgage to fixed rate mortgage then you can avoid the risk of fluctuating interest rates, and can ensure yourself a steady interest rate over the period of the mortgage.

Consider following tips if you are planning to take a refinancing mortgage loan:

- You should take quotes from at least four to five lenders so that you can compare the quotes and go for the best refinance deal.
[
- It is very vital to know what are the closing fees, lender fees, and other third party fees. Since increased costs can sabotage the benefits received low interest rate payments

- Before taking any decision on refinancing mortgage loan you should study the market properly and search for the best refinance deals you can get around. While comparing, make sure that you compare the Annual Percentage Rate (APR), which is the annual rate inclusive of additional cost on the mortgage.

- Negotiate the interest rate with your lender. Even if you go to a new lender, you can negotiate the interest rate. While negotiating the interest rate always keep other refinance related fees in mind. Make sure that your lender does not charge you any extra amount of fees against lowering your interest rates.

- You should understand the fees that are negotiable or can be avoided for saving money on your mortgage. There are lender related fees, which may be negotiable and government related fees that are generally not negotiable. If you are successful to negotiate a lower fee, just make sure that it doesn't increase the interest rate.

- Before riding on the refinance bandwagon, make sure that you plan o stay for a substantially long period in the refinanced property. This will help you avail the maximum benefit of low interest rate refinancing mortgage loan.

Article Source: ArticlesBusiness.net

#1 Mortgage Refinancing , #1 Mortgage Refinancing, provides refinance quote financial marketplace which connects consumers with finance lenders who will help you develop a solid financial plan for your home. For more information please visit Refinancing Mortgage Loan

By: ratetake

About Winter Sports Travel Insurance

As the days grow shorter and summer becomes a memory, many of us will be turning our thoughts towards planning a winter vacation, especially one involving winter sports such as skiing. Travel insurance is an often overlooked part of holiday planning, but if you plan on taking part in sporting activites then it really is essential.

A normal travel insurance policy will probably not be up to the standard you need for winter sports, and if things go wrong you could be left facing a huge bill. So what features should you be looking for in a policy?

- Injury Cover

No matter how accomplished a skiier you are, hurtling down a mountain is always going to be more risky than simply lying on a beach working on a tan. And if you do have an accident, a mountainside isn't the easiest place for medical services to reach. If you're unlucky enough to need a mountain rescue or airlift to hospital, you'll be facing a bill running into the thousands even before you get medical attention. This sort of expense is likely to be specifically excluded on a standard insurance policy, but will be an integral part of almost any winter sports cover.

- Equipment

Most winter sports require expensive equipment, and where there are valuables there's always the chance of theft. Your insurance should provide enough cover to fully replace your equipment with brand new items if necessary, right there at the resort. Even if you plan to hire your equipment, the hire company will probably require insurance - and your own policy is likely to be cheaper than the standard one they'll try to sell you.

- Liability

Even the best skiiers or snowboarders can be involved in an accident in which someone else gets injured. Whether or not an accident is your fault, you could end up being taken to court and this is usually a long and expensive process. A decent insurance policy will cover costs from any legal proceedings and / or compensation payments.

- Closure of Piste

If bad weather (or warm weather!) means that the pistes are closed and you can't ski, your policy should pay you compensation to cover the costs of any pre-booked lessons or lift fees, and many will even include a payment simply to cover the inconvenience of not being able to ski.

- Off Piste

A final point to note is that a standard winter sports policy will probably only cover you for accidents that occur when skiing on designated pistes. If you plan to go off-piste, then make sure your insurance will cover this - you'll probably have to pay a supplement.

As with most kinds of insurance, paying out for travel insurance can seem like a waste of money. However, if you find yourself caught up in an accident on the mountainside then the costs involved can be truly frightening and you'll be glad you took the time to arrange adequate cover in advance!

Article Source: ArticlesBusiness.net

Nick Hunt is a contributing writer for 1Stop Personal Finance, where you can read more about winter sports insurance in the travel insurance section of the site.

by : Nick Hunt

8 Easy Tips for Cheaper Home Insurance

No one likes paying for home insurance, but it's a necessary evil for most of us. This doesn't mean you have to pay through the nose for it though - try these 8 easy tips for cheaper home insurance and see how much you could reduce your premiums by.

- Shop Around

By comparing prices from several insurance companies, you'll probably be able to reduce your premiums by a substantial amount. This may seem obvious, but research has shown that a surprisingly large proportion of people either just renew their current policy, or get only one or two quotes. Many insurance web sites will automatically compare dozens of policies for you, making this one of the easiest ways to reduce your insurance bill.

- Buy online

If you buy your policy online you can often get a discount of up to 20% on normal prices, because there are less administration costs involved and the savings can be passed on to you.

- Combine your buildings and contents policies

Many insurers will give you a discount if you take out both types of home insurance with them, and this usually works out cheaper than getting the two kinds of policies from different companies.

- Pay upfront

Although most insurers let you pay your premium in monthly instalments, many will charge interest for this. If you can afford to pay a full year's premium in advance, then this will work out cheaper in the long run.

- Don't claim for small amounts

Making many small claims can increase your insurance costs, as your insurer may see you as a greater risk and increase your premiums. You will also lose any no claims discount your policy has. Of course, you're entitled to claim for anything your policy covers, but ask yourself if making a small claim is really worth the hassle and possible future costs.

- Voluntary excess

This is related to the last point. Insurance policies feature something known as 'excess', which basically means that the policy won't pay out on claims below a certain value. On some policies, if you choose to raise your excess to a higher level, then your premiums will be lower.

- Increase your home security

Beefing up your home security with better door locks, window locks, outdoor lighting, and alarm systems can all result in lower premiums. Ask your insurer what you could do to get extra discounts.

- Reduce your cover

Many policies feature benefits that you might not need, such as cover for personal possessions while travelling, or 'free' legal advice. Look through your policy and see what parts of it you really need - by cutting your cover down to size you may be able to reduce your premium.

Article Source: ArticlesBusiness.net

Nicholas Hunt is a financial writer for OneStop Finance. You can find a more detailed version of this article at Getting Cheaper Home Insurance, along with more information on home insurance in general.

by : Nicholas Hunt

How to Use the Recession to Grow Rich

This recession holds nothing but trauma for a lot of people around the world. But it needn't be so. Many people start businesses and make money during the recession. Many people including me can look back and say "that recession was the making of us" I know - I've lived through four of them and done well each time, luckily 1969 was not good. 1975 was grimmer. 1989, not nice at all with house prices falling. 2000 yuk! with all those internet companies going bust. Every recession is caused by madmen. They are all energetic, greedy, with brains but without common sense. This one is no different from the others. This includes the people who buy stuff they cannot afford and use credit.

Let us assume you have nothing now. First, your immediate aim is to build up some funds, you can't do anything with out funds. It will take time, huge commitment and effort. If you haven't got the drive, and the self-discipline then give up now.

If you have no money now. How to save some:

Saving is simple, everyone can do it. It means that you have to get more income, and at the same time spend less than you earn. No short cuts, just get on and do it.

My daughter came back from university during the last recession and announced she was going to get a job in the holidays. Her mother told her not to be ridiculous, no students could find work during that dreadful summer when the recession started.

That Monday she came home having landed not one, but three jobs. She had a part-time job for the council waste department in the morning handling complaints, a separate sales office job nearby for the afternoon, and a restaurant job in the evening to which she added weekend work. She is a grafter. All she did to land them was to ring up her old friends from school who were at work. She rang everyone she knew, just chatted to them on the phone, and landed the jobs.

She told us she preferred two part-time jobs to a full time job because she could earn more that way and it was easier to earn extra cash by volunteering for extra work in a part-time job.

She spent less money because she was at work the whole time. She had fewer coffees at Starbucks. She aimed to save 1 hour of her income every day. In fact she saved nearly half of what she earned. No borrowings, no credit cards, nothing was spent if she if not have to spend it. No clothes, no travel, no weekends away. She made sandwiches for lunch, and ate free in the restaurant kitchen.

How do you save this 1 hour a day? Well, it is not too difficult but you need to make a little sacrifice here and there. Stop taking that extra cup of coffee. Don’t have a pastry. Cut back on the evenings out a bit. Less clubbing, less drinking. Less partying. Not, no partying, just less partying.

Do some studying for your new career instead of going out?


You don’t have to give up everything. Just work out what 1/8th of your income is, and put that money away. (That is 1 hour a day). And calculate what you need to stop buying to save that amount. You’ll surprise yourself.

That is a good start - you don't have to do this for ever but you'll be getting into a good habit.

Improving your income:

However, you don't get rich just by saving money and buying less. You've got to look at a much more profitable avenue as well - your income.

So next, you'll need to earn more money. Most people stay in poorly paid jobs for far too long. Either you must get a better one, or you must get promotion.

You may have to do a bit of learning at this stage, you may have to study. Go to the reference library and do it there rather than buy books or attend courses. The reference library will give you masses of ideas, best place for research. You'll need this library later when you are working for yourself and setting up your own enterprise. Work out what you could earn doing something else and then go for it.

In a job now? How to do better:

If you are in a well-paid job now, then make sure you do the job well, don’t make trouble for the bosses, work out how you can be promoted to a higher level and then ask for that promotion, or ask for a raise. But take care, you need to give them a reason to agree to your request for money.

Just demanding it is no good, you’ll upset them.

Tell them you’ll work differently to earn them the money back and then you’ll get the raise you want. Don't demand extra money for doing nothing. Look for opportunities in the work they do.

See how you can improve it and get them better results and then suggest that you will do it for them because you would like promotion and a slightly better pay rate.

You need to see it from their point of view. If you don’t work well, if you make trouble or are slipshod then they will be reluctant to give you a raise. Or maybe your income is governed by a set of salary rules. In this case, look for promotion to a higher grade, or find another job.

Very often, once they see your initiative they'll find a different and better opportunity for you in their organisation. But if you are working for the kind of dumb boss or dead organisation that does not want to know, then you'll have to leave.

Never be afraid to ask for a raise but always suggest how you can improve on the results in return for it.

Look, nobody ever said it was going to be other than hard work. I see you repeating this process several times over in reasonably short periods as you climb up the success ladder. Use every job as a stepping stone and a training course for the next one. I once had nine jobs in ten years, you may have to move to improve.

You'll get wide experience this way. You are selling the most important thing in your life, yourself.

The kind of opportunities which come up in Recession:

Here is where to search for ideas to suggest to your bosses to improve their income and yours as well.

Look for any ideas which will help to save money for your employers. Their life is tough in the recession as well.

Maybe your firm can use less materials in some way. Suggest ways of saving money on the things they buy from outside.

Their money is often wasted when their activities are not well planned. Their money is wasted also when they must make rush decisions or change their minds too often.

Perhaps you might spot things which will make them less reliant on outside services, things which you and others can do just as well as part of your job now. Perhaps they are buying the wrong things, or from the wrong suppliers.

A practical example. A friend of mine in a low paid part time afternoon job, suggested to her boss that the company's money was being wasted through having office lighting left on, and also having equipment such as computers left on stand-by overnight.

She suggested that she could work an extra hour into the evening until everyone had gone home, and then go round and check on the lights and equipment. They were delighted with the idea.

Three months later and after a couple more ideas like that, including one where the telephone could be diverted to her home phone so that any customers ringing in late could be answered, she was promoted to supervisor. She has gone on from there.

I know what you are going to say - you are going to tell me that you work for the kind of boss who does not care about these things, or who has no power to make the sort of decision you want. This is a case where you are going to either go upstairs to the big bosses with your ideas, and to hell with what your boss thinks, or you are going to leave and get a better job in a more responsive company. You've got a good story to tell them at your job interview, haven't you? That gives you a head start over the other candidates.

Now to getting more money seriously:

In the end you'll need to work for yourself. This is not as hard as it sounds. Start off the easy way, by picking some activity that you know well, if you can.

Talk with friends and others who are doing it already. Otherwise go to the reference library and hunt round for ideas.

If you can do something first in your spare time while you have a normal job. That way you will start small, with low risk and if it does not go right then all you have lost is you time and effort. Your first ideas will probably be no good. But everything you try will add to your experience.

Here are a few ideas at random, all stupid and not for you, I know, but to give you the flavor of what I mean.

One friend of mind has got an allotment on which she grows her own family's vegetable and fruit. That saves her significant money each year by itself. She takes her surplus products and sells them on a stall in a market, and at boot sales. Later, she started to buy in goods from others and started a regular door-to-door delivery service. She was a shop without a shop.

Another went around her neighbours and asked if she could help them to sell some of the old things they had stored in their attics and did not want any more. She split the takings with them, and provided receipts. She only took things she thought she could sell on E-bay. This turned into a slightly more profitable business where she cleared attics for people and took extra rubbish to the tip for them.

Well, you say, they could take the rubbish for themselves couldn't they? Yes, but they lived in nice areas, in nice houses, they had some money and they could not be bothered to do it. This later turned into a service she offered to small businesses, where she took old machinery such as computers from offices and got rid of them. When the stuff was too heavy for her she hired a laborer to help.

Another set herself up as an authority on solar heating, and saving electricity and gas costs. She would talk people through how to do it, for a fee. This turned into a good business when she did it for small companies. They paid better and they could not be bothered to do it for themselves. She studied the subject properly. She was a consultant earning quite good money within a year.

A painter and decorator I know, took evening classes to become a carpenter as well. He then set up a service for businesses in a district where he visited their premises every six months to do an audit and to find out what they wanted. Someone is always wanting some shelves putting up, or an office decorated. Later, his customers started to ask him to find suppliers and builders for special projects.

If you are already running your own business then here is how to make it a lot more profitable:

See if you can change it slightly to hit people's needs in a recession. They are looking for safety first, for saving money, for improving their income, to pay lower prices.

If you are running your own business and are self-employed, then do two things. First of all get more high value customers and drop off the low value customers, work hard at sales - but only to profitable, no trouble, customers.

Next, raise your rates and prices. Aim for ten per cent, but do it in small bites. Do it to new customers first, get them on the higher rate, then you can do it to your existing customers particularly the ones who give you trouble. The only time you’ll lose customers because of a rate rise is when you don’t supply good service.

Take it nice and easy and give them plenty of warning. When you put up your prices try to build in some extra service or new product so they don’t feel so bad about it.

Don't reduce your prices in the hope that sales will go up as a result. If you cut your costs by the amount of your price reduction, that is ok. This needs a true cost cut.

Look at your housing costs:

Now lets start making some money.

Don't buy in a falling market. Wait until it turns up then if you are renting then you may find a way of raising a mortgage and buy your own house. But that only works in a rising market.

But at the moment you may find it more flexible and easier to rent rather than own. It may be profitable to sell your house, so long as you put the money into an asset which will improve. Such as you and your new business idea. Whatever you do, don’t spend this money you raise on a new flashy car, or holiday abroad.

Not right now perhaps, but remember that in the long run property and land will increase in value. It may pay you, if you’ve raised some cash to go back into the market at some time. Always keep your property investment small until you have built up substantial funds.

Never invest more than you can afford to lose if the market crashes. The mistake people make is to get too greedy and go for the big one. They borrow too much money, and spend all they have. The property drops in value and they are wiped out. But remember that in seven years out of eight this does not happen – the market will increase. Just invest what you can afford and don’t get greedy. Also learn your craft, do the research and don’t buy on emotion.

Then, when you have money to spare, you can start thinking about buying some stocks and shares and some gilts and fixed interest securities. You’ll get plenty of new advice at this stage. The old game will come back, bit by bit. But it does take time. a few years.

Good luck. And be rich.


By john winkler

Don't Wait to Get a Dental Insurance Quote

Dental Expenditures are quite an expensive value, purchasing a dental health insurance will surely cut fees from dental services. Many people in Seattle don’t have dental insurance, believing that they can just get insurance when they have a cavity or need a filling. This is a terrible way of thinking. Dental problems don’t always have to be lingering cavities that worsen over time. A dental emergency is just as likely happen out of the blue, whether it is from a child’s overthrown baseball striking you in the jaw or from cracking a tooth on a bone.

If you suffer an emergency and you don’t have good dental insurance, you are going to have to pay out of pocket – and this can become quite expensive. Dental care without insurance is not cheap, and had you only gotten a dental insurance quote and chosen a plan, you could have saved a lot of money.

When you begin your search for a dental insurance quote, the obvious and easiest place to start is online. With a quick search, you can find dozens of different companies offering different plans and quotes. They will vary in price, depending on just what they cover and what percentage they cover. Almost every plan available will include a certain amount of dental visits, cleanings, and x-rays. However, there are plans from which you can choose that covers orthodontics, crowns, root canals, and oral surgery.

Different types of dental plans will cover you either by paying a percentage of the procedure’s cost, or by paying a fixed amount. Although there is still the cost of the deductible for most major procedures, this cost is far smaller than what you would pay out of pocket. Keep in mind, too, that many policies will have a maximum payout.

When you are looking at each dental insurance quote you get from the various companies, look at not only the price of your premium, but also what you will be getting for your money. In addition, learn which insurance different dentists in the Seattle area take so that you can see the dentist that you want.

As long as you know what you want, and are willing to do the research to find the best insurance policy for you, then it is easy to find dental coverage. Find out as much as you can about the policy; and make sure the dental insurance quote for your company of choice has everything you want before signing anything.

By CarsonCarson Evans


HSBC Snaps Up £350m Indonesian Stake

Bank sticks to preference of making acquisitions in emerging markets but is able to fund deal from own resources
HSBC demonstrated its ability to weather the banking crisis when it announced a $607m (£351m) deal in Indonesia yesterday which allows Britain's largest bank to double its presence in the world's fourth-most populous nation.

The arrangement to buy an 88.9% stake in Bank Ekonomi follows frenzied speculation that HSBC would buy a troubled investment bank or bail out one of Britain's banks. Instead, it defied the rumors and stuck to its preference of making acquisitions in emerging markets. It is able to fund the deal from its own resources.

The transaction is the latest illustration of the banks' divergent approaches to dealing with a crisis that has forced Lloyds TSB, HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland to raise capital from the government.

Barclays, however, has bought the Wall Street businesses of collapsed Lehman Brothers in a signal it is determined to expand in the face of market adversity. Alex Potter, banking analyst at Collins Stewart, believes three strategic strands are developing.

The first is the move by strong banks such as HSBC and French bank BNP Paribas to conduct deals in the mayhem. BNP Paribas is now the largest retail bank in Europe after buying assets from the distressed Dutch-Belgian combine Fortis.

The second are those banks hunkering down for the financial crisis by taking government support and the third are the "select few that fall between the two - which externally look weak but have internal confidence", said Potter. Barclays, which has avoided the government-backed bail-out of the banking sector by promising to raise funds in the private sector, falls into this category.

Sandy Flockhart, chief executive of HSBC in Asia, stressed HSBC was not moving to buy distressed assets. "This is not a bust bank or a bank with problems behind it. It's a conservative, well-managed bank and in view of that it should be easier to take it through to the next stage," said Flockhart.

Prudential, the insurance company, is considering the potential takeover of parts of the Asian empire of AIG, the insurer part-nationalized by the US authorities.

Like Barclays, Prudential is looking for potential investors in the Middle East to back its expansion plans and might also call on existing shareholders to support a cash call in the event that it proceeds with the takeover.

Prudential's trading statement today will be scrutinized for any details of the need to raise fresh funds to finance an offer at a time when the City is becoming more concerned about the financial strength of the insurance sector.

© Guardian News & Media 2008

Wall Street Banks in $70bn Staff Payout

Staff at six banks set to to pick up huge payouts despite being beneficiaries of the $700bn US bail-out
Financial workers at Wall Street's top banks are to receive pay deals worth more than $70bn (?40bn), a substantial proportion of which is expected to be paid in discretionary bonuses, for their work so far this year - despite plunging the global financial system into its worst crisis since the 1929 stock market crash, the Guardian has learned.

Staff at six banks including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are in line to pick up the payouts despite being the beneficiaries of a $700bn bail-out from the US government that has already prompted criticism. The government's cash has been poured in on the condition that excessive executive pay would be curbed.

Pay plans for bankers have been disclosed in recent corporate statements. Pressure on the US firms to review preparations for annual bonuses increased yesterday when Germany's Deutsche Bank said many of its leading traders would join Josef Ackermann, its chief executive, in waiving millions of euros in annual payouts.

The sums that continue to be spent by Wall Street firms on payroll, payoffs and, most controversially, bonuses appear to bear no relation to the losses incurred by investors in the banks. Shares in Citigroup and Goldman Sachs have declined by more than 45% since the start of the year. Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley have fallen by more than 60%. JP MorganChase fell 6.4% and Lehman Brothers has collapsed.

At one point last week the Morgan Stanley $10.7bn pay pot for the year to date was greater than the entire stock market value of the business. In effect, staff, on receiving their remuneration, could club together and buy the bank.

In the first nine months of the year Citigroup, which employs thousands of staff in the UK, accrued $25.9bn for salaries and bonuses, an increase on the previous year of 4%. Earlier this week the bank accepted a $25bn investment by the US government as part of its bail-out plan.

At Goldman Sachs the figure was $11.4bn, Morgan Stanley $10.73bn, JP Morgan $6.53bn and Merrill Lynch $11.7bn. At Merrill, which was on the point of going bust last month before being taken over by Bank of America, the total accrued in the last quarter grew 76% to $3.49bn. At Morgan Stanley, the amount put aside for staff compensation also grew in the last quarter to the end of August by 3% to $3.7bn.

Days before it collapsed into bankruptcy protection a month ago Lehman Brothers revealed $6.12bn of staff pay plans in its corporate filings. These payouts, the bank insisted, were justified despite net revenue collapsing from $14.9bn to a net outgoing of $64m.

None of the banks the Guardian contacted wished to comment on the record about their pay plans. But behind the scenes, one source said: "For a normal person the salaries are very high and the bonuses seem even higher. But in this world you get a top bonus for top performance, a medium bonus for mediocre performance and a much smaller bonus if you don't do so well."

Many critics of investment banks have questioned why firms continue to siphon off billions of dollars of bank earnings into bonus pools rather than using the funds to shore up the capital position of the crisis-stricken institutions. One source said: "That's a fair question - and it may well be that by the end of the year the banks start review the situation."

Much of the anger about investment banking bonuses has focused on boardroom executives such as former Lehman boss Dick Fuld, who was paid $485m in salary, bonuses and options between 2000 and 2007.

Last year Merrill Lynch's chairman Stan O'Neal retired after announcing losses of $8bn, taking a final pay deal worth $161m. Citigroup boss Chuck Prince left last year with a $38m in bonuses, shares and options after multibillion-dollar write-downs. In Britain, Bob Diamond, Barclays president, is one of the few investment bankers whose pay is public. Last year he received a salary of 250,000, but his total pay, including bonuses, reached 36m.

© Guardian News & Media 2008

Edge Funds Shake in the Teeth of Financial Storm

Two major US hedge funds reveal they are under pressure due to global market turmoil
Thousands of hedge funds are expected to go bust in the next few months, amid fears that the secretive sector of the financial industry will be the next to buckle under the pressure of global market turmoil.

Tumbling stock markets and a reluctance among banks to do business with hedge funds has further worked against an industry known as much in recent years for multimillion pound bonuses and jet-set lifestyles as the increasing reliance of pension funds and other investors on its investment returns.

Two major funds in the US revealed today they were under pressure. It is estimated that 20-50% of the 10,000 hedge funds worldwide are vulnerable to a squeeze on their funds.

Highland Capital Management, a US fund that has seen its assets fall in value since March by almost a quarter, to $33bn (?19bn), is expected to close its flagship Highland Crusader Fund and one smaller fund after suffering losses on high-risk loans. It was the world's largest non-bank buyer of leveraged loans last year, according to Bloomberg.

Citadel Investment Group, one of the world's largest hedge funds, told investors that returns for one its major funds would swing wildly as it was battered by the markets. Its $18bn worth of funds have fallen by 30% in value this year, despite putting a third of the funds into cash.

Recent figures from Hedge Fund Research revealed a 15% rise in the number of hedge fund liquidations.

The prospect of a sharp downturn in the industry's fortunes follows 10 years of rapid growth, as wealthy investors and then institutions such as pension funds reaped supercharged returns. In 1990, there were 610 hedge funds worldwide; this year there were 10,233. Average gains in the late 1990s topped 20% a year.

Short selling became a particular favorite as traders saw an opportunity to borrow shares in a firm and sell them in the expectation that the price would fall.

Philip Falcone, who earned ?1.7bn last year from his Mayfair-based firm Harbinger Capital, is believed to have made ?280m from shorting HBOS prior to its rescue by Lloyds TSB.

To cope with the crisis, several hedge funds are expected to follow the example of RAB Capital, the beleaguered fund that lost millions of pounds in Northern Rock. Last month, it persuaded investors in its troubled Special Situations Fund to maintain their investments for three years, by threatening to liquidate the fund.

Many of the industry's leading players have expanded rapidly in recent years, based on borrowed funds which they have used to multiply their gains. However, banks have become increasingly reluctant to lend for hedge funds to make bets, except at prohibitive interest rates.

The collapse of Lehman Brothers has also hit hedge funds, many of which relied on the investment bank as a counter-party in complex trades with clients. Several funds are believed to be in financial trouble after being told they must wait to access funds locked up in the US bank.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, the administrators for Lehman Brothers, who are demanding that ?8bn of funds be repatriated from New York as part of a rescue plan for the bank's London operations, have denied the hedge funds have access to accounts holding hundreds of millions of pounds.

© Guardian News & Media 2008

HBOS's Australian Arm Sold to Commonwealth Bank of Australia

HBOS clinches sale of its BankWest operation to Commonweatlh Bank of Australia.
HBOS last night clinched the sale of its BankWest operation to Commonweatlh Bank of Australia as it part of its desperate action to shore up its balance sheet ahead of its rescue takeover by Lloyds TSB.

In announcing the sale, HBOS admitted it was taking a loss on the sale of £440m and would need to write off £250m of goodwill from the transaction. The original transaction by HBOS in 2003 to buy the remaining stake in BankWest that it did not already own was itself the cause of controversy.

Because of the capital that will be released, HBOS said it would have £8bn of extra funds and would be able to boost its crucial regulatory capital cushion.

HBOS said Lloyds TSB was supportive of the transaction that has been rumored since its funding difficulties emerged in April.

Colin Matthew, chief executive of HBOS International, said the deal was in the best interests of shareholders. "This transaction will further enhance the group's capital position and reduce the group's wholesale funding requirements".

Shares in HBOS collapsed more than 40% on Tuesday as the City awaited details of a government bail-out of the banking sector. The slide its price means that Lloyds is offering to pay twice the current value of HBOS shares – leading to speculation that the deal was running into difficulties.

© Guardian News & Media 2008

US Considers Following British Example of Taking Stakes in Banks

Treasury secretary close to injecting public funds in return for equity holdings on Wall Street
The prospect of the American authorities following Britain's lead by taking ownership stakes in top banks has done little to cheer Wall Street, with sickly US stocks slipping exactly a year after hitting their all-time high.

Officials say the US treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, is seriously considering a direct intervention to aid struggling institutions by pumping billions of dollars of capital into banks in return for equity stakes.

Such a move would address fears that a $700bn (£407bn) government plan to buy banks' distressed mortgage-related assets may not be enough to re-establish confidence and to get banks lending to each other once again.

Paulson alluded to the possibility at a press briefing yesterday without giving any details, saying that a bail-out bill approved by Congress provided "broad, flexible authorities" for his department to "inject capital" as well as to purchase banks' troubled assets.

"We will use all of the tools we've been given to maximum effectiveness, including strengthening the capitalization of financial institutions of every size," he said.

Citing treasury officials, the New York Times reported today that recapitalization has become one of the most favored options under discussion in Washington, where there has been mounting alarm at a week-long rout in share prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened this morning with a rise of 187 points but within 90 minutes, it had given up its gains and was in negative territory, slipping by 84 points to 9,168. The blue-chip index has lost 35% since touching a record high of 14,165 a year ago to the day.

Among the big losers was America's biggest carmaker, General Motors, which saw its stock dive by 20% on ongoing fears about its cash position as sales of new vehicles suffer a steep decline.

There was a glimmer of economic relief, however, as the weekly number of new claims for jobless benefits dropped by 20,000 to 478,000. The figure slipped back from a seven-year high but remains above 400,000 - a level considered by experts to be an indicator of a recession.

In a note published today, Citigroup's global equity strategist Robert Buckland said corporate earnings were down 9% from their peak worldwide and are likely to fall by a further 15%. He said the profit cycle would not bottom until the end of 2009 at the earliest.

"The escalating financial crisis has battered world equity markets," said Buckland. "The failure of the policy response so far means that the risks of a major global economic downturn are rising by the day."

Any move by the US government to recapitalizes the banking industry is likely to prove controversial in a nation which prides itself in its free-market ethos.

William Isaac, a former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission, said it could be necessary to address a "serious crisis of confidence". Already this year, 13 high-street banks have collapsed in the US, including big names such as Washington Mutual and California's IndyMac Bancorp.

Critics have accused the authorities of inconsistent treatment with some allowed to go bust and others, including Wachovia, rescued through takeover deals arranged by the government.

"There's just a lack of confidence because we don't know which bank is going to go next," said Isaac. "Banks we never thought would go, have gone."

The credit crunch has prompted banks worldwide to write off $592bn of losses on the declining value of derivatives, credit-linked assets and mortgage-related securities. The IMF expects these losses to double to $1.4 trillion. But according to the financial data firm Bloomberg, banks have only raise $442.5bn of new capital to make up for their losses.

© Guardian News & Media 2008

5 Ways to Make an Impact and Grow your Business

Looking to grow your business? Here are 5 simple techniques you can use to add value and make a positive impact on others.
Do you have a hard time remembering the name of someone you just met? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. People forget who you are too. And when you're trying to grow your business, being forgotten can be bad news. So, what can you do to be more memorable and make a big impact on others? Sure, you could dress unusually or give yourself a funny nick name – that might work, at least initially. But, for long-term success, you'll be much more memorable if you simply make positive impressions on others and add value to their lives.

Here are five techniques you can use to make an impact on your customers, acquaintances and business partners:

Mail Them a Handwritten Note

We seldom receive handwritten mailings anymore – this is what makes them so special. The next time you mail something to someone you know, send it in a hand addressed envelope with a handwritten note. Your envelope will be the first one they open and the most memorable piece of mail they receive all week (or month).

Send Them Some Useful News and Information

Next time you read a magazine or newspaper, think about who you know. Chances are, someone on your contact list would be interested in reading that article too. Clip it and send it - along with a handwritten message. You can also email web articles, send suggestions on a great book you've just read, or give them a heads up about an upcoming networking event. You're not selling a thing - just offering value.

Talk About What Interests Them

A big part of being memorable is being likable. It's hard to like someone who only talks about themselves or their services. It's like listening to an infomercial - boring! Figure out what your customers like to do when they're not at work. Do they like to cook, love the Washington Redskins, fly fish, or have 17 grandchildren? These things are important to them. If you encourage them to talk about their interests, you will be VERY memorable.

Buy them a Cup of Coffee

It can be hard to build connections during short phone calls or emails. If you want to get to know someone better - invite them out for a cup of coffee. You'll have some extra time to get to know them, and they won't feel like they're giving up hours of their time. Think about some subjects you can talk about prior to your meeting. Keep the conversation light, but make the most of your time. Don't just sit there, sipping away those precious minutes together.

Introduce Them to Someone you Know

I'll bet that many of the people you know could benefit from meeting each other. Maybe a friend of yours writes a blog or is President of an organization that could help one of your contacts. Or, maybe they're both looking for an early morning running partner. Think about your network of friends and associates and find creative ways to help them to connect. You'll help build their network and yours as well.

Making a big impact isn't easy and it doesn't happen overnight. It takes time and persistence. But, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it, right? So, starting today, think about what you can do to be more memorable. If you do it right, I guarantee you won't be forgotten.

By Kathy Hrach

The 10 worst mistakes you can make when selling your privately owned small business

Thinking about selling your business? You are not alone. CNN Money reports that 35 million baby boomers are expected to retire between 2000 and 2020. If you are approaching retirement or soon will be, chances are you’ve considered putting your business on the market for one of the following reasons:

• You feel burned out;
• Industry conditions have changed;
• You are facing health issues;
• Your business has matured and plateaued;
• Your business is doing well;
• It’s a good market for the sale of a business.

In the end, no matter what your scenario or reason for selling, your objective is to get the most money for your blood, sweat, and tears. Here are ten mistakes not to make when selling your privately owned small business:

1. Not Knowing Your Business’s True Market Value:
Different buyers will have different perceptions of value and some will pay far more than others. Unless you know your business’s range of value you are handicapped in the process. Knowing value is always the best starting point when you plan to sell your business.

2. Having Customers, Employees and Others Know that you are Planning on Selling:
Keeping the entire process completely confidential is essential, otherwise you create the risk of losing employees, customers, and vendors. This will negatively impact both value and marketability.

3. Stating an Asking Price:
Putting a price on a business creates a ceiling. If you are able to find that “value added” buyer who will pay a premium for your business, a stated price may result in a lot of money left on the table.

4. Providing Seller Financing:
There are a number of lenders who will finance buyers wishing to purchase privately owned businesses. Your objective should be to get “cashed out”. If you do provide any financing, it should be a small percentage of the sales price.

5. Allowing the Buyer to Control the Process:
If you allow interested buyers to dictate “what” and “when”, you will find that you end up going through lots of processes (such as due diligence) numerous times rather than only once, which should be done solely with your prevailing buyer.

6. Not Having Multiple Buyers Involved in the Process:
There is an old saying in the mergers and acquisitions industry: “one buyer is no buyer.” This simply means that with three or four buyers competing for your business you are more likely to end up with the best possible transaction regarding price, tax
structuring, getting cashed out, and having a low litigation risk profile.

7. Not Understanding Essential Tax Issues:
After tax dollars in the sale of a corporation can vary between 45% and 85% of the sales price based solely upon tax structuring issues. This means that you need to understand the process before you start the process.

8. Neglecting Your Business While Trying to Sell the Business:
Psychologically, once you decide to sell your business there is an inclination to slow down or spend time on the selling process to the detriment of the business. If you do this, earnings will suffer and it will lower your business’s value, negatively influencing
marketability.

9. Handling the Process Without Professional Help:
If you are struggling with the decision to hire a professional to help sell your business, consider these gruesome war stories about people who
have traveled this path alone and ended up:

• Paying more in taxes than they might otherwise have had to;
• Sold far below their true range of value;
• Financed the buyers and ended up not getting paid;
• Spent time and money during the process and still did not get
their businesses sold;
• Ended up with poor legal documentation resulting in legal problems.

Typically, the sale of a privately owned business involves a large percentage of the seller’s net worth. Don’t begin your learning curve at ground zero.

10. Paying Front End Fees to Merger and Acquisition Firms or Brokers:
If you elect to get professional assistance you are advised not to pay brokers and others front end fees other than the necessary fees to close the transaction. Many firms in recent years have collected substantial sums of money from clients without ever selling their business. Ultimately, how you sell your business is just as important as how you run it. Do your research and carefully consider engaging the services of an experienced, proven professional with a stellar reputation.

About the author:
Barry Evans writes about san diego merger and acquisition firm. Learn more at http://www.acquisitionservicesgroup.com/.

Page Rank Checker

Increase your back-link numbers and therefore your website's page rank by: 1.Back-links, page rank and keywords ANALYSIS and 2. Back-link rotation exchange rotation system & Google-Bot detection and behavior analysis

Related Website