Finance guide

It’s the biggest event that concerned and affect all the countries of the world since the Second World War. Certainly, effects are different but not really any less serious. The World Bank’s bill of loss amounts to 1.4 billiards of dollars.

No death like would be in war, but companies closing down, banks going bankrupt, and the logical aftermaths: job cuts. The unemployment appears in all their forms: short time working, structural unemployment, long term unemployment.

Even countries we thought safe, have seen an upsetting unemployment rate and no part of society is spared. All kind of fields undergo this new burden. For instance the London bourse employed 31 000 persons, now they are no more than 9 000, a very alarming figure for the first financial place.

250 000 persons lost their employments in the American financial fields in 20 months and 55 000 just in New York City. You have already heard all this sad news? It’s maybe time to surpass the crisis and to think about the future. The world crisis can’t last eternally. Unfortunately even if we would like to imagine it, we can’t give a precise “the End” as for a movie.

A lot of economies depend on the American economy. The end of unemployment will tally with the come back of economic growth. Companies will reopen because the demand will be strong and they will need labor. Household consumption will increase, virtuous circle will start again. However it needs to find employment for more than 20 millions persons who lost their job!

Some countries will leave this crisis with a lot of damage and rebuild their economies. It will ask for strong efforts and important cohesion but it will be a “happy end”!

Tags: american economy, bankrupt, companies closing down, London bourse employed, unemployment, world economy crisis

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Who has never dreamed of having his own house? It’s one of the first things you draw as a child…” my future house”. The problem is that it isn’t half as easy to get yourself a house, because you have to obtain your loan. No loan, no house!

The recent global financial and economic crises show the importance of home loans since it was the base of bad mortgages. Now banks are more skeptical than they used to be and want more proof of repayment to give this indispensable first key.

How much a bank is willing to lend you is largely dependent on your regular, steady income. Some lenders apply a 40-45 percent limit as a thumb rule. They assume that 40 percent of the total income can be set aside for repayment towards a home loan.

Are you already burdened by a personal loan and a vehicle loan? Banks usually have access to the applicant’s debts and financial obligations. A poor credit history, previous defaults and huge debts adversely impact the loan eligibility.

A lot of home loan rates exist to give you some advice and you have a large choice and possibility to compare. But be careful! If you are a bad option with low income, it could be the banks which choose the more attractive customer!

So, you have to figure out your budget to avoid a bad surprise, and see to it that your home doesn’t become a frightening burden. To know the level of your spending capacity you have to take into account your income, current monthly expenses, down payment and the interest rate. You have some rights whose could help you and that you should know.

Some answers about the loan:

You can have several home loans, the only constraint is your ability to pay
The home loan could be for any type of home
You are allowed to take a loan to buy a home in another city
You can take a loan for a second home
You can take a loan to buy a plot of land but you will get no tax benefits

Some advices for the home:

Don’t buy a home, if you are sure to leave the place in a little time
Be sure of your credit history
Have a rational budget
Buy in a district with good schools
Take help of professionals
Choose with attention between rates and point
Begin with some homework

Now your hunting can begin!

Tags: burdened by home loans, global finance and economic, home loan advice, importance of home loans

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President Barack Obama has announced a new tax proposal on 04th May 09 for US multinational companies. The basic idea of Obama’s new tax rule is to close a loophole that allows US firms to avoid paying tax on profits earned from overseas operations in countries like India. In addition, it helps to generate incremental revenue for the US government. Deloitte tax analysts estimate that the Obama tax policies could boost overall US corporate taxes on average by 8%.

The US administration aims to save $210 billion over the next decade. It is important to note that most of the American multinational companies earn more than 50% revenues from overseas operations. Under the corporate tax system , companies that invest on overseas operations would not be able to receive deductions on their U.S. tax returns until they pay taxes on offshore profits.

Obama asked Americans to pay taxes if they outsource a job in other countries. Some big multinational corporations are struggling to block the portion of Obama’s new tax system. But Obama replied to them as “I want to see our companies remain the most competitive in the world. But the way to make sure that happens is not by outsourcing jobs to overseas”.

CEO of Infosys Technologies, India’s second-largest IT service provider states that, “Right now, I do not see any impact on Indian IT firms”. A real fact is that many companies are depending on Indian firms for growing their total earnings, so they will outsource jobs to India for earning more revenue.

Tags: avoid paying tax, Obama's new tax rules, Obama's new tax system, Obama's tax policies, Obama's tax rules

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Life’s uncertain. You just never know what is going to happen the next second. You might win a lottery, you might bump into the love of your life, or you might lose your job. As much as we love to think that our life is going to full of roses, it isn’t really always so. The recession hit the world so hard, thousands have lost their jobs and many have lost a lot more than that. Everything might be going absolutely perfect for you and you might not see the need to take any kind of measures to help you in times of need. It is a known fact however, that you never really know when everything’s about to change.

They say if you lose you lose your money, you’ve really lost nothing, but if you lose your health, you’ve lost a lot. While bad health can’t really be compensated with anything, there are ways to prepare yourself for the worst. Prolonged sickness, surgical procedures, severe injuries, or even a traumatic event will need medical attention of some kind, and quite naturally, a lot of money as well.

This is where health insurance comes in. In the United States, if you do not have a health insurance, then you have to pay all expenses out of your own pocket, which sometimes could run into quite a hefty sum. Health insurance works just like any other insurance. In other words, it secures you financially, should your medical bills run wild at some point. There are many kinds of health insurance policies. Sometimes, organisations or companies insure their employees, or one can take up an individual health insurance as well.

Different policies cover different things so it is a good idea to thoroughly go through what it has to offer. Your interests and needs may vary as well. The first step of course is to understand that you need a health insurance and why you need it. When you’ve decided you want to take one, it would be a good idea to go through loads of them to decide which one’s best for you. There are websites that provide you with all the information you will possibly need to know before taking one up. You can fill in details with them and get health insurance quotes. Choosing then, should not be too much of a problem. All the information regarding the instalments, what the policy covers, how you should be going about it et al may be obtained easily from one such website. Health insurance was introduced in the 17^th Century for a purpose, to secure yourself. Pick a good insurance policy for yourself today.

Tags: Health Insurance, Health Insurance Quote, health insurance quotes, Individual health insurance

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Due to the slowing-down of the American economy and stock market fluctuations, thousands of IT people are facing more job cuts in recent days throughout the world. The economic downturn has affected every sector including IT, Banking, BPO, marketing, media and telecommunication.

Banks have cut almost 125,111 jobs since the credit crunch started last July 2008. According to the bank annual reports, a sample of UK and European investment banks shows several increased employees by 30% to 40% at the end of 2007. But the recently announced 10% cut at banks brings banks’ staff level back to that of the beginning of 2007.

Swiss bank UBS, one of Europe’s banks is facing major financial problems. It has lost billions of dollars over the past two years. Swiss newspapers reported that UBS will announce big job cuts soon. The bank has already announced plans to cut about 11,000 jobs; most of them are in investment banking.

Major Job cuts are unfortunately unavoidable in the IT sectors. Recently IBM announced that it will lay off a large number of U.S. employees in its global-businesses services unit and many of the positions will be transferred to IBM employees in India.

India’s economy is also slowing down. According to a report by a trade body, call centers and business process outsourcing providers in India are likely to cut more than 25% of their staff.

Other companies announcing job cuts include: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Honda Motor Co. and scientific instrument maker Varian Inc. Drug Company Pfizer Inc. They may cut as many as 2,400 sales jobs.

This negative impact will only stop when housing prices stabilize and some economic confidence returns, said David Wyss, Standard & Poor’s chief economist.

Tags: Continue job cuts, economic downturn, job cuts in IT Banking BPO Marketing Media, major financial problems, stock market fluctuations

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Experts say that Gold Bullion is one of the ways to make money, safeguard wealth and protect ourselves from the ruin of price rise over the years. Keeping this in mind, investors have started investing money in gold bars as a short term investments rather than in equity markets.

Mike Glaser, futures broker at LaSalle Futures, says that “people are trying to form a technical double bottom in equities but I just don’t think you can stop the inventible. I think we could see the S&P fall to 650 and I think gold will move higher.” He finally concluded that the gold markets will continue to look strong as equities continue to fall.

Apart from a volatile market, some of the other factors that affect gold price are oil price, dollar rate, Gold demand and inflationary pressures.

As inflation is a primary driver of both oil and gold market, the price trends of both will tend to be the same. Moreover, gold miners are major consumers of oil. Already oil prices have reached $100 a barrel and there is a possibility for it to reach even $ 200. This can raise the gold price to $1000.

Gold is not related to dollar, but investors go for gold as it protects them from the weakening dollar. If the dollar rate decreases further, investors will invest more on gold and the gold rate will rise more. When inflation rises, commodity prices will rise and push up the gold rate.

As per the general rule, with rise in demand of an item the cost of the item will increase. The demand for gold continues to increase in Asian countries, especially China and India. Already, the supply is unable to meet the demand. A report also confirms this by stating that the price of gold has increased more than 250 percent in the last five years. The gold rate has reached to a high level of $ 900 per ounce on April 2, and it fluctuates between $885 and $900.

To put it in the nut shell, given time, the price of gold is sure to shoot up to $ 1000.

Tags: gold rate will increase, inflation in gold and oil, inflationary pressures and gold, investing money in gold, money in gold bar, mutual fund investment, stock market investment

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With the constant changes in the current economic status, it is important to save money for your future requirements. Many of us might think that we need to give up all our pleasures in order to save money. But it is not true. We simply need to make a few adjustments in life and minimize our unnecessary expenses. Here we will discuss some basic ideas that you can follow if you want to start saving money.

You can open a savings account and deposit a fixed amount from your salary every month. This is one of the most effective ways to save money.

Make a list of things that you want to buy whether it is food stuff or gifts or school supplies. Generally people have a very tough time resisting the temptation to purchase extras while shopping. Without a list, you will buy items that you simply do not need. Be sure that you spend your money on quality items within your budget.

Restaurants are convenient, but they cost you. No matter how busy you are, there are simple meals that you can prepare at home.

Use your spare time to earn extra cash. For example, during exam periods in schools, colleges and universities, there’s a shortage for exam invigilators since the teachers and lecturers still have other work to attend to. You can enquire at local institutions and earn a fair bit of cash for a couple of hours of work.

Avoid using credit cards. If used properly, credit card are not a problem. But the problem arises when people make heavy purchases using credit cards and do not pay on time.

When it comes to non-perishable items like cereals, tinned goods, rice, beans, pasta, coke, toothpaste, body wash, shampoo, toilet paper etc, buy in bulk at supermarkets. It helps you save quite a bit of money,

Whenever possible, borrow your favorite books instead of buying them. The card to your public library is free.

Tags: avoid unnecessary expenses, deposit a fixed amount, part time job, save your money, start saving money, using credit cards

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Education is not only a source of knowledge; it also helps to develop the personality of an individual which includes the way of talking, leadership qualities, skills, general knowledge etc. But quality education is still a dream for people who can’t really afford it. In such a case they can easily go in for education loans and go on to study.

You can get a student loan in secured and unsecured forms. If you have any valuable document, then you can apply for security loans. However if you don’t have anything to pledge, then you can apply for unsecured education loans. The amount of education loans varies from bank to bank. Generally the maximum amount of loan offered by bank is Rs. 10 lakhs for studying in India and 20 lacks for studying abroad. Education loans carry lower interest rates so that students can repay the loan easily after they’re done with the course.

Student loans cover the tuition fee, hostel fee, library charges, administrative charges, equipment, instruments and uniform charges, examination fees and whatever other stuff you might need. Education loans are generally granted for graduate/postgraduate/professional courses in any stream.

Students can pay the loan back after completion of the course or six months after getting placed, whichever is earlier. Most of the banks offer EMI facilities for students i.e. repayment of the loans can be done in Equated Monthly Installments.

If the budget is tight, student loans are great ways to obtain college education. Use it effectively and fulfill your education needs.

Tags: Education loan, loan for students, secured education loans, unsecured education loan

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Tata Launched Nano on the 23rd of March 2009, priced at Rs.1 Lakh. The Tata Nano is a rear-engined, four-passenger city car built by Tata motors, aimed primarily at the Indian market. The primary question that most bike manufacturers must be asking themselves is ‘Will the launch of Nano affect bike sales?’ Experts say that the launch of Nano will not have any impact on bikes sale.

Owning a car is a dream for many middle class families. Tata introduced the cheapest car ever, to full fill this dream of many. People who have a passion for premium bikes that cost Rs 80,000 will not migrate to the Nano, as their aim is to own a premium bike. However small a car is, the maintenance cost of it is much higher than that of a bike maintenance cost.

Managing Director and CEO of Hero Honda, Pawan Munjal told reporters at the Annual Conference of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), “The price of Nano is closer to a high-end bike, so it will not have any impact on the low-end two-wheeler bikes market. And high-end motorcycles have a very different kind of consumer base. So I don’t think even this segment will be affected by Nano. Also, apart from the price, there is a fair difference between the cost of ownership and maintenance of Nano and two-wheelers.”

It may attract existing two-wheeler owners, (currently about 50 million), to upgrade to a car. Analysts at the equity research firm Merrill Lynch expect the Nano to target 1.2 million potential customers of used cars and marginal two-wheeler owners.

According to me, it may affect the sale of used cars rather than bike sales.

Tags: car and two wheeler, India car sales, India finance, Nano car

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No one can accurately predict what will happen in next minute, it may be any tragic or unavoidable incidents. But you should be aware of unavoidable circumstances that may occur at anytime, and pre-planned to face those challenges; also you have to be courage enough to meet them mentally and financially. In order to make yourself get ready for that, you have to do the certain things that are listed below.

Not only personal accidents, the natural disasters like cyclone, earthquake, fire, etc will destroy almost all the things both movable and immovable properties without any indication. So prepare yourself to get relieved from these accidents, by taking insurance of preferred type especially for home.

Before filling up the insurance form sit and read the document carefully, clear your doubt with the insurance company executive, which helps you avoid unnecessary tension in critical period and at insurance renewal time.

Most people are not giving importance on insurance renewal notices; they just simply sign the form and send it to the insurance company. Actually the renewal process is to take updates of your insured properties. Before signing and returning the renewal notice, recall yourself and collect the information about what are the new things you bought in the last year and what are the alterations you made in your home, you should inform those updates to insurance company similarly if you have sold anything, you have to inform that to the insurance company.

If you got home content insurance, then you are insuring your personal property for the replacement cost of buying the same thing new. At the same time, the home building insurance value should include the cost of labor and materials apart from the building value. The building value will increase for each year even if you didn’t do any improvement in your home, so you should be ready to pay him the difference accordingly.

Keep your insurance documents safer than other property documents, and make sure that home buildings insurance and renewal notices reflect the payments and other dues you made for the year.

Tags: home building insurance, home content insurance, Home insurance, insurance renewal, insurance renewal notice

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