Tuesday, March 16, 2010

U.S. Stocks Advance as Fed Pledges to Keep Rates Low

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Deborah Kostroun reports on the performance of the U.S. equity market today. Stocks rose, with the Standard & Poors 500 Index reaching a 17-month high, as the Federal Reserve said it will leave its main interest rate near zero for an extended period to safeguard the economic recovery. (Source: Bloomberg)



Barratt Says Gold Price May Surpass $1,200 by Year End

March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Jonathan Barratt, managing director at Commodity Broking Services Pty, talks with Bloomberg's Susan Li and Paul Gordon about his forecast for the price of gold. Barratt, speaking from Sydney, also discusses crude oil, copper and sugar prices. (Source: Bloomberg)



Bob Chapman : Banks and Insurance companies will go bankrupt , always pay in cash and get out of CDs and life insurances

Bob Chapman 2055 Banks are in trouble


Bob Chapman : never keep more than three months household operating expenses in any bank , and for a business not more than six months , businesses need to have cash flow if they do not they are stuck , pay as many bills as possible with cash , when you go to the supermarket do not use the credit card , do not use a check or some sort of other payment , pay cash ...also if you have CDs with banks get rid of them , go to gold coins and shares and if you have a lot of money you can get involved with treasuries from Canada and Switzerland , and the reason why is , if you must be in some kind of currency those currencies will stand up the best ...in the future they will be the best of the bad lot , the real answer is gold and silver related assets , also there are seven major insurance companies that are in serious trouble , there arer going to be in the future insurance companies that are going to go under , if you have cash value life policies , if you have annuities get out of them " says Bob Chapman ...you should put your money in gold and silver assets

Bob Chapman : Get your cash out of the Banks and The Stock Market - we will have Bank Holiday ande the Stock market will crash by the end of this year
Mr. Chapman also known as The International Forecaster is a 74 years old. He was born in Boston, MA and attended Northeastern University majoring in business management. He spent three years in the U. S. Army Counterintelligence, mostly in Europe. He speaks German and French and is conversant in Spanish. He lived in Europe for six years, off and on, three years in Africa, a year in Canada and a year in the Bahamas.

Mr. Chapman became a stockbroker in 1960 and retired in 1988. For 18 of those years he owned his own brokerage firm. He was probably the largest gold and silver stockbroker in the world during that period. When he retired he had over 6,000 clients.

Starting in 1967 Mr. Chapman began writing articles on business, finance, economics and politics having been printed and reprinted over the years in over 200 publications. He owned and wrote the Gary Allen Report, which had 30,000 subscribers. He currently is owner and editor of The International Forecaster, a compendium of information on business, finance, economics and social and political issues worldwide, which reaches 10,000 investors and brokers monthly directly, and parts of his publication are picked up by 60 different websites weekly exposing his ideas to over 10 million investors a week.

In June of 1991, at the request of business associates, and due to retirement boredom, he began writing the International Forecaster.
Bob Chapman : do not expect the government to guarantee your bank account , it is bankrupt

$3 Gas - Breaking Point ?

Discussing what number will actually crimp the consumer, with Jason Schenker, Prestige Economics and John Kilduff, Round Earth Capital.














3 Effective Ways in Searching for Credit Card Companies to Process Online Business Transactions

3 Effective Ways in Searching for Credit Card Companies to Process Online Business Transactions

Inquiring about credit card companies in banks, searching the Internet, and calling the customer support of credit card companies are the most effective ways in looking for credit card companies that can process your online credit card transactions.

When your online business can accept credit card transactions, your sales will surely increase and so will the cash flow. In today's competitive market, accepting credit card payments are giving the customer shopping convenience. Oftentimes, successful online businesses do accept credit card payments as it has been proven to increase sales. However, finding companies that provide credit card processing services can be confusing and sometimes misleading. A lot of them are often initiated by third party services. They usually have higher rates too. Looking for financial companies that offer online credit card transaction services can be easier when you are looking for the at the right places. Below are the ways you can do to be able to easily find the credit card processing company that is appropriate for your online business:

Inquiring about credit card companies in banks

Most banks do not easily grant credit card processing services to online businesses. However, they are the direct financial centers that could give you some recommendations in finding companies that provide credit card processing services. Some banks may approve in providing credit card processing services to your online business given that such online business is credible enough to pass the bank's standards. In case that your application for this type of service will not be approved, you could always easily ask the bank personnel to provide you with other options.

Searching the Internet

By simply browsing and using search engine sites such as Google and Yahoo, you could easily learn information about credit card processing companies. The Internet could give you sites that recommends a number of companies that provides such service. Online sites such as Electronictransferservice.com and Business.com are some search engines that have browse providers where you can gather companies that offer merchant credit card processing. Also read FAQ pages and forums about financial and business topics to learn the most rated and recommended companies for credit card processing service.

Calling the customer support

Another option of finding credit card processing providers is by calling the customer support hot line of financial companies which can usually be obtained through the Internet. Personally ask questions and references about credit card processing. The customer service support will gladly provide you all the necessary information that you will need to know with merchant accounts. Evaluate all the vital information that the customer representative provided and assess which company will best suit your online business.

Online credit card transactions do not just limit their services for online businesses. Church credit card processing options are also gaining popularity as one of the online credit card uses today. This just goes to prove that plastic payments have a promising development. Online businesses can greatly benefit from the efficiency of this developing payment trend. Be knowledgeable and practical in choosing your credit card processing company. Compare information and rates to maximize the potential sales of your online business.

Investing in the Stock Market and Gold for Beginners

The stock market has not looked the greatest in the last couple of years. With the credit crunch and the recession the stock market has taken some big hits, but 2010 is showing some very positive results. If you are a beginner looking to invest in the stock market and gold there are a few things you should know.
Gold is a very hot commodity right now. In recent years gold has been bouncing back to the top for investors. Therefore, you may want to look at the prices of gold as they stand right now and where experts believe the prices are headed. It can be very easy for you to gain stock market earnings by investing in gold. Research is the key for any stock market investment.
Before you can even begin investing though, you need to have the capital to do so. This means paying off any of the payday advance loans and lines of credit you may have. Once your other debts are paid off you can use your current salaries to invest in the market. You should not invest in the market unless you can afford to lose a little of your starting capital. Mistakes and certain choices are bound to make you lose.
You also need to start off with a good amount to invest so that you can diversify your stock portfolio. The phrase “never put all your eggs in one basket” is very important when it comes to the stock market. By having a diversified portfolio you are able to make money, sell off some stocks, and ensure that you are in the best industries rather than just one industry.
Basically, when you invest you need one investment company from each industry you want to invest in. For example, you would invest in one gold company, not two or three since they compete against each other.

Gold is an Armageddon Hedge

Kirby Daley talks about Gold and the risk trade.













3 Helpful Tips for Companies with Bad Credit History in Applying for a Merchant Account

Even if you have a bad credit history or standing, you can still apply and be approved of a merchant account. To increase your chance of being approved, you need to clear your bad credit records and look for merchant account providers that cater to companies with bad credit history. In addition, you need to compare providers’ products, services, and specific guidelines regarding the credit and financial aspects.

In order to increase sales and improve profitability, you need to open a merchant account that enables you to accept credit card payments for your business. However, if you have a bad credit history, you might find it hard to be approved of a merchant account because of the higher financial risks involved in providers, especially with regards to chargebacks and the proliferation of fraud. To help you open a merchant account even with bad credit, consider the following useful tips:

Clear your bad credit records

To increase your chance of being approved for your merchant account application, you need to improve your credit standing. There are certain credit information agencies that do the research and monitoring of credit standings, such as Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. These bureaus are the sources of credit reports that merchant account providers use in evaluating their applicants. Once your credit issues have been resolved and settled, you need to inform these institutions so that the bad credit record you have will be cleared, thus improving your credit standing and increasing your chance of being approved with your merchant account application. If you are under the state of bankruptcy, you are required to wait for six months after being cleared of such condition before you can request these institutions to remove such credit information.

Look for merchant account providers that cater to companies with bad credit history

Some merchant account providers are more compliant with applicants that possess imperfect credit background as they understand that it is normal for companies to sometimes incur late payments as well as overdue debt and loan payments. As long as these instances were not repeatedly or excessively listed in the credit report, some providers still allow you to set up a merchant account. Just as long as you have not also been involved in serious cases of bad credit history, such as bankruptcy, you have a good chance of getting your business a merchant account. Just look for these providers, without having the need to spend a lot of your time inquiring over merchant account providers known to be strict with credit history. Banks, for example, are known to disapprove applicants with poor credit history as they are governed by more stringent measures concerning risk and fraud management. Banks, being vital financial institutions, need to minimize the risk of having to incur more costs due to poor performing or fraudulent clients. Merchant account providers, on the other hand, whose main business is to set up a merchant account, would always find a way to increase their sales and cater to the needs of their market, thus making them more compliant in approving applications. Examples of these providers include National Merchant Bancard at Sunvirtual.com, Freeauthnet.com, and Total Merchant Services, among others.

Compare providers’ products, services, and specific guidelines regarding the credit and financial aspects

Always included in the process of choosing a merchant account provider is to make a comparison of their products, services, and costs. Since you are opening a merchant account under a different condition, that is having an imperfect credit history, is it important to pay attention to certain costs that may differ among providers. Chargeback costs and penalties may be higher in this case. Aside from costs, providers may set a different condition in handling chargebacks. Merchant account providers usually hold a certain amount in your merchant account in order to secure them of your payment in case the need for a chargeback arises and to avoid the proliferation of fraudulent activities.

To make things clear for you, when a chargeback takes place or when a need to refund an unsatisfied customer happens, the sum of money is taken from your merchant account. In case you have insufficient funds in your account, the merchant account processors temporarily have the burden of refunding the customer, thus the need for additional chargeback fees aside from the cost involved in the processing of the chargeback. Your due balance will then be collected when funds are already available in your account. The risk comes in now, especially when it takes longer time for your company to cover the chargeback, affecting the financial operations of the merchant account provider. Imagine their losses if many companies have insufficient funds in their merchant accounts. To address this problem, merchant account providers settle for a hold amount in your merchant account to cover possible chargebacks. The amount is said to be computed based on a certain percentage of your monthly sales and released in three to six months time.

As long as you do your part in correcting your bad credit history and you deal with the right merchant account provider that answers your needs, you can very well be approved of a merchant account. Soon, you will be ready to accept credit cards and other electronic forms of payment that will help boost your business and make it more profitable.
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