MAKING MONEY

Stocks vs. funds: Which is right for you?

2009-05-28T19:20:00.002+02:00

By Walter Updegrave, Money Magazine senior editor

Walter Updegrave is a senior editor with Money Magazine and is the author of "How to Retire Rich in a Totally Changed World: Why You're Not in Kansas Anymore" (Three Rivers Press 2005).
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NEW YORK (Money) -- Question: I'm planning to invest some money in the stock market, but I'm wondering whether I should buy mutual funds or individual stocks. Which do you think is better? And in the event I decide to go with stocks, which ones to you think are really good buys now? --Monique Thompson

Answer: The stocks vs. funds issue has always been a biggie for individual investors. But the question of whether you should go it alone or turn over your money to a mutual fund manager who'll invest it for you is even more critical today, if only because this uncertain economy and volatile market make the rewards for success and the cost of failure that much higher.

Clearly, the answer will vary from person to person, depending on such factors as how much money you have to invest, how well versed you are in the ways of the financial markets and how much time and effort you want to put into your finances.

It's also clear that each approach has advantages and drawbacks. With mutual funds, you get convenience, a diversified portfolio and the security of knowing that you have an experienced stock picker working full time on your behalf.

On the other hand, you have less control over your investments - not just which ones you choose, but when you recognize gains. That can be an issue when it comes to taxes. If the fund manager sells enough shares at a profit so that the fund has realized capital gains in a given year, you'll have to pay tax on a share of those gains even if you haven't sold shares of the fund (assuming you hold the fund in a taxable account).

If you decide to buy stocks on your own, you definitely have more control over what you own and when you sell. But you've also got to be willing to devote more time and attention to your investments.

So as I see it, the decision to go with stocks or funds comes down to a realistic assessment of how much you want to make your own investing decisions and your ability to handle that responsibility. Here are three questions you might ask yourself to help you with that assessment.

Am I willing (and able) to analyze companies' prospects? You don't have to be a rocket scientist to identify promising stocks. But you should be able to evaluate a company's finances. What sort of earnings growth is it likely to achieve? What's the value of its assets? Is it vulnerable because of a heavy debt load or a weakness in its product lineup?

But even that's not enough. You've also got to be able to assess whether it's selling at an attractive price. If a company has solid earnings and an impeccable balance sheet but is so popular that it's trading at a bloated share price, buying it may be an invitation to subpar returns.

There are many ways you can develop stock-picking skills. CNNMoney's Money 101section has easy-to-read lessons on everything from assessing stocks to putting together a portfolio. The American Association of Individual Investors also offers lots of information about stock investing [www.aaii.com/basics/] that's geared toward beginners, as does the Learn [www.weseed.com/learn/learn.html] section of relatively new site called WeSeed.

But until you at least familiarize yourself with the basics of stock investing, stick with funds (or at least keep all but a tiny portion of your money in funds).

Am I ready to devote the time and effort to monitor my holdings? As we know from recent experience, the investing world can change dramatically. I certainly don't want to suggest you need to be buying or selling stocks every time the market or the economy reverses course or the fortunes change for a company whose stock you own. But there may be times when you should react.

If a company's potential has dimmed, you may want to sell some or all of your shares and plow the proceeds into a firm that has a rosier future. Conversely, if one of your stocks has racked up such huge gains that it now represents an outsize percentage of your portfolio, you may consider selling some shares to avoid having too much riding on one stock.

There may also be times when you can turn the tax system to your advantage, say, by selling shares that are trading for less than you paid for them and then using the loss to trim your tax bill.

Keeping an eye on your portfolio and making occasional adjustments isn't a 24/7 job. But you should be prepared to spend at least a few hours a week tending to your holdings. If you're not disposed to put in that amount of time - and possibly more during periods of upheaval - then you're better off in funds, which generally require less attention.

Do I have enough money to make it worthwhile to choose stocks on my own? Here, mutual funds offer a clear advantage for most investors. By using a tool such as Morningstar's Fund Screener, you can easily find funds that allow you in for a minimum initial investment of as little as $500, even less in some cases. Many of the funds on our Money 70 list of recommended funds also require a minimum of $1,000 or less. And once you're in, you can typically add to your account in increments of $50 to $250.

If you want a reasonably diversified portfolio of stocks, on the other hand, you're talking about a much larger investment. You don't have to buy in round lots of 100 shares as was the case back in the day. But at the same tie you don't want brokerage commissions to eat up your returns. So even if you figure on paying a modest $10-per-transaction brokerage fee, you'd probably want to invest a minimum of $1,000 per stock in order to prevent your costs from exceeding 1% of the amount you invest. (Remember, you'll also have to pay a fee when you sell.) Assuming you'll need at least 20 stocks to create a balanced portfolio, you're talking about investing in the neighborhood of $20,000 to $25,000, if not more.

You can always invest smaller amounts, either initially or when adding shares. But the less you invest, the higher the percentage of your return that gets eaten up by brokerage fees.

One final tip: If you're relying on personal finance columnists or cable TV pundits for stock picks, then my feeling is that you probably shouldn't be in stocks at all.

The point to buying individual shares is that you think you bring something to the table that adds value and can boost your return - in-depth research, expertise at valuing securities, a sense of discipline that prevents you from buying or selling on emotion.

But if all you're going to do is buy on someone else's say so - in other words, substitute their judgment for yours - you'll save yourself a lot of time, energy and money by acknowledging that upfront and sticking to funds.

Major GM bondholders OK revised deal

2009-05-28T19:02:00.000+02:00

By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Treasury Department and a committee of major bondholders at General Motors have reached a deal that could give creditors a larger stake in GM than previously offered as long as they agree not to fight the government's plans for a quick bankruptcy at GM.

The agreement, revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by GM (GM, Fortune 500) early Thursday, would essentially give the bondholders 10% of the company but also give them the rights to buy an additional 15% of the company's stock at a low price.

The deal is unlikely to allow GM to avoid bankruptcy, however. If anything, it might clear away potential obstacles to the government's plans to use bankruptcy as a way to turn around the nation's largest automaker.

As part of such a filing, GM would emerge with only its more profitable plants, brands, dealerships and contracts. GM's unprofitable plants, contracts and other liabilities that the company can no longer afford would be left behind in bankruptcy court.

According to Thursday's filing, the new offer is structured so that the assets of GM that would remain in bankruptcy would receive a 10% stake in a "new GM" that would be used to pay bondholders. The old GM would also technically receive the right to buy the 15% stake in the new company that emerges from bankruptcy.

In the original offer to bondholders, which was soundly rejected earlier this week, creditors would only receive a 10% stake in a new GM.

The filing also disclosed that GM will not repay the loans it has already received from the government or much of the additional federal aid it will get as part of the bankruptcy.

The government has already given GM $19.4 billion to fund operations and cover losses this year, and total help is expected to exceed $50 billion.

GM will pay back $8 billion of that sum. The government will also receive $2.5 billion in preferred shares of GM that pay a dividend and are more similar to a loan than stock.

But more than $40 billion of federal help to GM will be converted into a 72.5% stake in the new company. This means that for taxpayers to make back any of the money loaned to GM, it will have to be because shares of the new GM increase dramatically in value following an exit from bankruptcy.

A trust fund run by the United Auto Workers union would also have a 17.5% stake in the new GM, as well as the right to buy an additional 2.5% stake.

So far, investors aren't fighting back to change CEO pay levels

2009-05-24T07:54:00.000+02:00

By Rachel Beck, Associated Press
NEW YORK — This was the year corporate governance experts predicted that investors, stung by plunging stock prices as the recession intensified, would finally demand big changes in CEO pay levels and ineffective boards.
But so far during this spring's annual meeting season, there have been few examples of investors fighting back. Shareholders have yet to vote down a single executive pay plan at U.S. companies and only a handful of corporate directors have lost investor backing. Support for corporate management is still the status quo.

"It turns out (U.S.) shareholders may be more accepting of how things work than the perception really is," said Charles Elson, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware.

In contrast, five companies in England already have lost shareholder votes on executive pay this year. The latest came Tuesday when oil company Royal Dutch Shell Group's pay plan was rejected. There was also significant dissent, though not by a majority, at three other British companies, according to RiskMetrics, a financial risk management company.

That kind of activism comes six years after what is known as "say on pay" was first used by British shareholders. While those votes don't require boards to take any action, they still allow investors to make themselves heard.

Largest bank failure of '09: Equity firms get BankUnited

2009-05-22T19:05:00.000+02:00

WASHINGTON) (Reuters) — U.S. bank regulators Thursday closed troubled lender BankUnited Financial, Florida's largest bank, and sold its banking operations to a private equity consortium that includes WL Ross & Co.

BankUnited, which had $12.8 billion in assets and $8.6 billion in retail deposits, is the biggest of 34 U.S. banks to fail so far this year.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said it estimates BankUnited's failure will cost its insurance fund $4.9 billion.

The private equity group buying BankUnited is headed by John Kanas, a veteran of the banking industry and former head of North Fork Bank. Other members of the group, besides WL Ross & Co, include Carlyle Investment Management, Blackstone Capital Partners, and Centerbridge Capital Partners.

BankUnited's 86 offices will open on Friday during normal business hours, the FDIC said.

BankUnited is the largest failure since California-based Downey Savings & Loan was closed in November with $12.8 billion in assets.

The private equity group will recapitalize BankUnited with $900 million in new capital, the FDIC said.

The FDIC said selling the bank to the consortium was the least costly option and noted that "in the near future" it will provide general guidelines for how private equity investors can make investments in banks.

"Due to the interest of private equity firms in the purchase of depository institutions in receivership, the FDIC has been evaluating the appropriate terms for such investments," the FDIC said in a statement.

Copyright 2009 Reuters Limited.

Bank of America raises $13.5 billion selling stock

2009-05-20T21:05:00.000+02:00

CHARLOTTE (AP) — Bank of America (BAC) said Tuesday that in less than two weeks it has raised $13.47 billion through the sale of 1.25 billion shares at an average price of $10.77 each.
"We're pleased to have this portion of our capital plan completed," said Chief Financial Officer Joe Price, in a statement Tuesday. "This strengthens and diversifies our capital structure."

The government recently released the results of "stress tests" it ran on the nation's 19 largest banks to determine if they would need additional capital to protect against losses should the economy worsen. It found that Bank of America would need an additional $33.9 billion, more than any other bank reviewed.

Bank of America launched a plan to raise the capital through asset sales and stock offers. It recently sold part of its stake in China Construction Bank to Asian investors for about $7.3 billion, which together with the stock sales, put the bank well past the halfway mark in its capital raising goals.

BofA executives have said they are mulling sales of the bank's Columbia asset management unit, as well as several other businesses. The bank previously said it planned to sell its First Republic Bank unit, which it inherited when it bought Merrill Lynch & Co. in January. Those sales could help raise $10 billion.

Geithner expects banks to pay back $25 billion

2009-05-20T21:02:00.000+02:00

By Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — Treasury SecretaryTimothy Geithner expects financial institutions to repay $25 billion of their government rescue loans in the coming year.
He also told the Senate Banking Committee Wednesday that a public-private partnership to help banks shed their bad assets will begin operating in the next six weeks.

The program would combine up to $100 billion in government money with private investments in hopes of building a purchasing pool of up to $1 trillion.

Bank lending has in part been hindered by the amount of real estate-related loans and securities on banks' balance sheets. Treasury has received applications from more than 100 potential fund managers to help run the program. Geithner says Treasury will inform applicants of their preliminary approval in the "next several weeks."

The program was announced March 23 and some lawmakers have questioned why the program is not yet up and running.

Stocks inch higher as oil jumps

2009-05-20T20:50:00.000+02:00

By Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK — Investors' optimism about the nation's banks wavered Wednesday, erasing most of a big early advance, but energy stocks showed some of the biggest gains after oil topped $62 a barrel for the first time since November.
Financials turned mixed after enthusiasm about Bank of America's ability to raise billions of dollars by selling stock couldn't erase fears that banks are still a long way from scrubbing all the stains off their balance sheets.

Bank of America's stock sale puts it more than halfway toward raising the $33.9 billion in capital the government is requiring as a result of its stress test of 19 big banks. The company already raised $7.3 billion from the sale of a business in Asia since the government issued its report cards for banks on May 7.

Geithner's gift to Wall Street

2009-05-18T20:34:00.001+02:00

By William D. Cohan, contributor
Last Updated: May 18, 2009: 10:39 AM ET

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NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Imagine if you were not really in the market for a house but the government came along and said that it would finance 94% of a home's purchase price with a mortgage rate of less than 3%. Still not interested? Wait, Uncle Sam has some additional sweeteners: if you do the deal and buy the house for only 6% down, you also get the equivalent of rental income every month to the tune of at least an annualized yield of 10% of the purchase price.

But wait there's still more: if, say, after two years, you decide you don't want the house any longer, you can just walk away from it. No need to pay the balance of the mortgage (it won't affect your credit rating), and you can keep the rental income received to date.

That's essentially the deal that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has offered qualified professional investors who participate in the so-called TALF (Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility). Two months into the program as the first TALF- backed deals hit the market, you can see why the likes of hedge fund Fortress Investment Group are drooling over it. "I'm a big believer in the impact that TALF can and should have," Fortress CEO Wes Edens said on a May 6 investor call, adding that he expects that Fortress will be "a big participant" in the TALF program "three to six months from now."

0:00 /24:35Geithner opens up
The first few TALF deals -- one for Ford Credit (the financing arm of the automaker), another for American Honda Receivables Corp., a third for the student loan company Sallie Mae and a fourth for motorcycle icon Harley Davidson -- shed some light on our tax dollars at work.

"I've had accounts that dropped everything they were doing to take a look at this TALF financing," one Wall Street trader explained. "It was like nothing they had ever seen. It beats any financing that the private sector could ever come up with. I almost want to say it is irresponsible." For instance, Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU, Fortune 500), the large insurer and investment manager, borrowed $786 million from the TALF as of March 31 and put up only $50 million to do so, some 6.4% of the deals.

In case you're not totally conversant with the alphabet soup of financial remedies emanating from the Obama Administration, here's a brief refresher: Geithner and the Federal Reserve announced the launch of the TALF in March. The TALF is a $200 billion (on its way to $1 trillion) non-recourse lending program to private investors as a way to encourage them to buy newly underwritten securities backed by auto loans, credit-card receivables and student loans, among other asset classes. (The TALF program is set to extend, in June, to the issue of new commercial real-estate mortgage-backed securities.)

These securitizations were once upon a time a key component of the so-called "shadow" financing system that helped raise trillions of dollars of capital worldwide. Of course, the securitization and sale of mortgage-backed securities was one of the leading causes of the current financial crisis as the people who took out the underlying mortgages started to default upon them in unexpected numbers. Still, Geithner has determined, correctly, that getting these securities circulating again is crucial to restoring the health of the credit markets. The Treasury designed the program, but it is the Federal Reserve that provides the government's share of the capital. "The increase in the TALF is expected to help stimulate both new issuances and the removal of assets from bank balance sheets," Credit Suisse wrote to its shareholders on May 8.

Investors interested in borrowing from the TALF program have to be approved by the Treasury and then, once approved, have to set up an account with a broker-dealer that is subject to a variety of the usual terms and conditions. The investor then must indicate a desire to buy, say, at least $10 million of one of the dozen or so deals, worth an aggregate of around $25 billion, which have come to market since the TALF program was set up in March. An early test for TALF was a May 5, $1.5 billion car-receivables securitization for American Honda Receivables Corp. and underwritten by JPMorgan Securities (JPM, Fortune 500) and BNP Paribas Securities. Investor demand for the deals so far is said by one trader to be "strong" and the deals are selling well. The real market test, though, of TALF will come when the first deals involving CMBS (Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities) start coming to market in the next few months.

The way the TALF works in practice is this: The amount of equity an investor has to put up, or the "haircut" as the TALF documents call it, depends upon the assets involved, the term of the loan or lease of the underlying asset (say, a car) and the credit quality of the underlying borrower. A loan to buy a three-year security backed by a group of credit-card receivables from high-quality borrowers would require an investor to put up 6% of the capital -- a 6% "haircut" -- and then can borrow the rest from the TALF through his brokerage account. To buy a two-year high-quality credit-card receivable security, a borrower would put up 5% of the face amount of the securities purchased. Auto receivables require as 12% equity investment for a three-year security. Small business loans require 5% down. Student loans require 10% down for a three-year deal.

An investor interested in a $10 million slice of three-year credit card receivable would put up 6% of the money -- $600,000 -- and borrow the balance of $9.4 million from the TALF at a rate of three-year LIBOR plus 100 basis points (Attention K-Mart shoppers, that's 2.85% at this moment.) Depending on all sorts of assumptions, the yields on these investments are said to be in the 11% to 15% range, especially attractive since the TALF loans are non-recourse to the borrowers -- you can just walk away and lose only your underlying equity investment and the collateral but you are not held responsible for the unpaid portion of the TALF loan itself.

In addition, the TALF loan is not marked-to-market so if the underlying collateral deteriorates in value, the investor is not required to put up more equity. What's more as the car payments or credit-card payments on the underlying security are made, the payments are distributed to the government and the investor on equal footing -- that means the investor starts getting paid back at the same time as the government even though the government is the senior secured creditor and even though an investor has put up only a small fraction of the original money. One private equity investor, who would not normally have looked at investing in such a deal but did, called this particular aspect of the TALF "shockingly good."

But who will the TALF deals be shockingly good for -- the players on the field or those of us in the bleachers? If what Geithner calls "our lending facility with the Fed" does its job and jumpstarts the credit markets then the extraordinary concessions the government has made to attract private capital may have been worth it.

William Cohan is the author of House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street, published this month by Doubleday Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Stock selloff accelerates

2009-05-13T20:21:00.000+02:00

Dow sinks 200 points; Nasdaq, S&P 500 drop almost 3%. Reports show weaker-than-expected consumer spending and a big jump in foreclosures.

By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A stock selloff gained steam Wednesday afternoon, with the S&P 500 sliding for the third session in a row, as weaker retail sales and a report showing a big number of foreclosures gave investors a reason to retreat.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 200 points, or 2.4%, with under 2-1/2 hours left in the session. The S&P 500 (SPX) index fell 25 points, or 2.7%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) dropped 48 points, or 2.8%.

The worse-than-expected retail sales was dragging on stocks, said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. He said investors were also a little jittery about the bevy of banks rushing to raise capital to pay back the government bailout money they received.

Detrick said that over the last two years, when the monthly retail sales report missed forecasts, the S&P 500 generally closed more than 1% lower on the session.

"We were due for a pause here and with questions about the consumer and the banks, investors are finding an excuse to take some profits," he said.

Stocks seesawed Tuesday as investors showed caution after a roughly 2-month rally that propelled all the major stock gauges by at least 30%. That hesitation remained in place Wednesday.

Stocks have risen since early March on bets that the economy is close to turning a corner. But April reports on retail sales and the housing market threw such bets into question.

Economy: Retail sales fell 0.4% in April, according to a report from the Commerce Department released before the market open. Sales were expected to hold steady, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. Sales fell a revised 1.3% in March.

Sales excluding volatile autos fell 0.5% in April, after dropping 1.2% in the previous month. Economists forecasts had called for a rise of 0.2%.

The number of U.S. households facing foreclosure jumped 32% in April versus a year ago, according to RealtyTrac. More than 342,000 homes received notices of default in the month, up 1% from March.

In other economic news, March business inventories fell 1% after falling 1.4% in the previous month. Economists expected inventories to have fallen 1.1%.

Company news: AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) shares slipped as the company's CEO discussed restructuring plans at a House hearing about how the company plans to pay back billions in government loans.

In other news, Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) was fined a record $1.45 billion by the European Union for allegedly anti competitive practices, a decision the chipmaker plans to appeal. Shares were little changed.

Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) posted a $9.9 billion quarterly loss after the market close Tuesday and also asked the government for another $6.1 billion in aid.

GM (GM, Fortune 500) shares continued to slide on concerns that it will have to file for bankruptcy, with the stock touching $1 per share, the lowest level since 1933.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers topped winners six to one on volume of 690 million shares. On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners beat advancers four to one on volume of 1.09 billion shares.

A billion reasons to charge for luggage

2009-05-13T20:17:00.000+02:00

The money-losing airline industry reaped more than $1 billion last year from excess baggage fees

By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The round of baggage fees that came last year may have annoyed the heck out of customers, but according to government figures, they were a billion-dollar lifesaver for cash-strapped airlines.

Baggage fees from the U.S. airline industry totaled $1.15 billion in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

0:00 /Airline earnings grounded
Traditionally, airlines would not charge for the first two pieces of checked luggage unless they exceeded weight limitation. But in February of 2008, United Airlines, owned by UAL Corp., (UAUA, Fortune 500) began charging $25 for the second checked bag. In July of that year, US Airways (LCC, Fortune 500) started charging $15 for the first checked bag.

Many of the competing airlines followed suit. This was in addition to a whole host of other fees for once-free services and products, such as meals, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as ordering tickets via phone and redeeming flight miles.

American Airlines, owned by AMR Corp., (AMR, Fortune 500) topped the industry, according to the DOT, gleaning $278 million in baggage fees during 2008, followed by US Airways, with $187 million, and Delta Air Lines (DAL, Fortune 500), with $177 million. The baggage fees for United Airlines totaled $133 million last year, while Northwest (which merged with Delta in 2008) totaled $121 million and Continental Airlines (CAL, Fortune 500) made $97 million.

Southwest Airlines (LUV, Fortune 500), which avoided much financial hardship through successful hedging of fuel prices, totaled $25 million in excess baggage fees in 2008, the DOT said, the least among the seven major carriers. Southwest promotes itself as not charging excessive fees.

"I am positive consumers don't like the fees but they have little choice other than to change their behavior," said Rick Seaney, chief executive of Farecompare.com. "Southwest is the lone holdout on this point."

Seaney was speaking from the A-La-Carte Pricing Conference in Miami on Tuesday. The conference host, a company called Airline Information, estimates that excess luggage fees could total $3.5 billion in 2009.

"2008 was only a partial year for bag fees," said Seaney. "These numbers will be up dramatically in 2009 and are here to stay even though the justification to add these fees was related to the run up in fuel prices early last year."

0:00 /2:05United's new 'big' policy
While the added charges have fueled resentment among some passengers, airlines blamed the price of fuel, which escalated to unprecedented levels. In the U.S.-based airline industry, fuel costs averaged more than 30% of all operating costs in 2008, according to the DOT, compared with five years before, when it was 14%. But while fuel prices in 2009 have come way down off their highs, the fees are still there.

"We think the passengers are being gouged by these baggage fees," said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, an advocate for passengers. "They initially came into effect from the high fuel costs. But since the fuel costs have fallen off, they haven't rescinded these fees."

A decline in business and vacation travel stemming from the recent recession has also posed serious threats to the industry, which has met the drop in demand by cutting capacity in scaling back its least fuel-efficient flights.

David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, an airline industry group, defended the baggage fees as necessary to the survival of a money-losing industry.

"The first quarter for the industry is still a multi-billion dollar loss," said Castelveter. "I don't know of a business model that calls for a company to lose money. I fail to understand why the industry is demonized for trying to return to profitability."

Castelveter also said the "a la carte" nature of the baggage fees favors the light travelers who don't have to "subsidize" the passengers with lots of luggage.

Harlan Platt, a finance professor at Northeastern University College of Administration in Boston who follows the airline industry, said that a checked bag costs an airline $15 on average, so the fees are designed to alleviate that cost.

"It's hard to argue with user fees," he said. "Why should a guy who's not bringing luggage on the plane pay for the guy who's bringing too many bags?"

Stempler disagreed. He said that travelers have limited control over their luggage-toting behavior, considering certain restrictions, like those applying to liquids.

"Passengers can't always carry their luggage on board because of the strict [Transportation Security Administration] rules," he said.

First Published: May 12, 2009: 12:04 PM ET

Will 'world's best job' earn tourism dollars?

2009-05-06T20:20:00.000+02:00

(CNN) -- The "best job in the world" contest has generated huge interest around the globe, but the jury is out on whether that will translate into more tourism dollars for Queensland, Australia.

Ben Southall will move into a three-bedroom beach home overlooking the Great Barrier Reef.
"That's the million dollar question," said Anthony Hayes, CEO of Tourism Quensland, which sponsored the contest.

"Quite frankly you can have $150 million worth of publicity, but if it doesn't generate sales you've really wasted your time on a pretty story."

A British man beat 34,000 other applicants Wednesday to win the right to stroll the white sands of a tropical island in Queensland, Australia, file weekly reports online to a global audience and earn a cool $100,000. Watch as lucky winner is revealed »

For the winner, Ben Southall, the six-month assignment is a far cry from his old job as a fundraiser.

"I love discovering new places," Southall said in his hyperkinetic minute-long application video for the position.

"Last year, I drove all around Africa, I crossed deserts, climbed mountains, run marathons, bungee jump, mountain-bike, scuba-dive and snorkel everywhere because I'm practically a fish myself."

Oh, and he rode an ostrich.

He will move into a three-bedroom beach home overlooking the tropical island's Great Barrier Reef. For six months, he will feed the fish, clean the pool and send weekly blog and video reports on what is happening on the island.

Other benefits include free return airfares from their nearest capital city, transport on the island, computer and camera gear and travel to other islands.

Fiat boss tries to transform auto industry

2009-05-05T20:54:00.000+02:00

CNN) -- A former accountant from Toronto is looking to remake the auto car industry.

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat, has ambitious plans to combine with Chrysler and GM Europe.

1 of 2 When Sergio Marchionne took the helm of Fiat five years ago, the carmaker was driving toward insolvency and saddled with more than $12 billion in debt. Four years and 15 profitable business quarters later, Marchionne is attempting to position Fiat just behind pole sitter Toyota in the race to win global car customers.

"I've heard him speak many times and it's clear he's got a certain target in mind of what scale is necessary to succeed," said John Bonnell, an auto industry analyst with J.D. Power and Associates.

Although Fiat, like many automakers, lost money in the first quarter this year due to the credit crisis, Marchionne is making an impressive play to take advantage of the troubles at GM and Chrysler.

A combined company of GM Europe, Chrysler and Fiat would generate about $100 billion annually with sales of between 6 and 7 million cars a year, according to Fiat.

"Clearly they're trying to take advantage of the opportunity when a lot of stakeholders may be willing to accommodate them," said Bonnell, the auto analyst. "It may be their only opportunity to get to the kind of scale necessary to succeed in this market."

In an interview with the Financial Times, Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of Fiat, detailed a plan to separate Fiat Auto core car divisions and join with Opel/Vauxhall, Saab and GM's other European operations.

Last week, Fiat agreed to take an initial 20 percent of Chrysler as the U.S. manufacturer filed for bankruptcy protection.

"It's an incredibly simple solution to a very thorny problem," Marchionne told the Financial Times.

Marchionne hopes to have the deal finished by the end of this month, and list shares for the new company -- which may be called Fiat/Opel -- by the end of August.

Chrysler to lose $4.7B this year

2009-05-04T21:07:00.000+02:00

By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
May 4, 2009.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Chrysler LLC expects to lose $4.7 billion this year and to continue to lose money for the next two years, according to a filing from one of the company's top financial advisors.

Robert Manzo, a financial advisor hired by Chrysler for help with the company's bankruptcy process, estimated in the filing that the company will have cash expenditures far greater than losses for the next few years. Chrysler is estimated to go through about $15.7 billion this year as part of its restructuring.

The company filed for bankruptcy Thursday as part of a deal with the federal government, unions, some lenders and Italian automaker Fiat to keep the company from being shut down.

The filing also discloses the company lost $16.8 billion in 2008,. That's about the same as what larger rival General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) lost in 2008, excluding special items, and worse than the $14.6 billion lost by Ford Motor Co. (F, Fortune 500) last year.

Manzo's filing forecasts that Chrysler will lose about $900 million in 2010 and another $300 million in 2011, before finally reporting a $100 million profit in 2011.

Grab Market Share Now With Your Website!

2009-03-12T20:46:00.001+01:00

Now is the time to grab market share. When every penny counts, one important place you can really put your marketing dollars in and truly track results is with your website.

Here are five things to try to help increase the amount of traffic to your website and keep visitors coming back.

The first tip is to have proper page titles. This refers to how each page of your website is named. A proper title means that it contains key words and relevant information that describe the content of the page. The order of the words within the name is also an important factor. Make sure that the most relevant keyword appears first. Remember, the closer the title describes the page, the likelier it becomes to gain a better ranking in search engines.

Adding additional relevant keywords to your homepage is another thing to try. While your homepage may already have some relevant text, it needs to spell out your services in terms that people would use to search for you. Also keep in mind that if your text is in flash or graphics, search engines are not able to read it.

Speaking of content, another thing that is a must is keeping your content fresh. Keeping your content fresh plays a very big role in keeping visitors coming back. A content management system is a great tool that allows site owners to upload new content any time they want. Visitors will come back to your site again and again as long as it meets their viewing expectations and it provides them the information they are looking for.

Fourthly, improve the links that point to your site. Some search engines such as Google use the number of links pointing to a site as a measurement tool. You should not only check how many sites link to your site but also check how relevant the data is that links to you. You can find this information on alexa.com or by using Google.

Finally, start a blog and put relevant articles on it that contain important keywords. Link the blog back to your main website. Blogs are easy to use and a fun way to communicate real time information. A blog for your business can be implemented within 24 hours and can have a huge effect on your relationships and website traffic. It is a unique way to connect with existing clients and build trust with prospects.

Stop Foreclosure Yourself and Save Time and Money

2009-03-05T19:09:00.001+01:00

If you've never lost your job or ran into financial difficulty then it possibly might be that a foreclosure is nothing you have had to deal with. However if you're like far too many in the United States today then you may be facing the possibility of foreclosure on your home or property as you read this article. There is no doubt about it - foreclosure is an ugly thing to have happen in your life, but it is something that can be stopped if you make some right moves.

The first caution is to not jump in and start contacting these companies that claim that they can stop foreclosure for you. Although many of these companies may be legitimate and they probably could stop the lender from taking back your home. You can most likely do the same actions yourself and save yourself a lot of time and money.

The first thing that you want to do is find out which division in the bank - where your loan is through handles the details of working with somebody in a bad loan situation. Once you are talking to the proper people you'll find that you get somewhere much quicker.

Take into consideration that your bank or lender does not want to foreclose on your property and take it back if they do not have to. If there's any way that you can show them some good will and that you are willing to make some sort of payment, they can often times drastically reduce your payments for you without refinancing your loan and stop foreclosure on your property.

If you need more foreclosure help then quickly head over to http://foreclosure-help-now.com where you will find helpful foreclosure tips, advice and resources including information on foreclosure plans, negotiating and more Stop Foreclosure.

Saving Money on Printer Supplies

2009-02-15T20:09:00.001+01:00

During these hard economic times, we're all searching for ways to save money on basic consumer products. Although the price of printers remains low, the money spent on ink cartridges adds up quickly, especially if you do a lot of high-volume printing. Over the lifespan of your printer, it's not unusual for your ink and toner costs to exceed the original price of the printer itself. So take a look at this guide, and you'll find some simple solutions to saving money on printer supplies.

1.) Print in "Draft Mode": Most modern printers have a setting that uses less ink for each print job. Although your text may be lighter than normal, you should take advantage of this great feature when you don't need perfect results.

2.) Buy in bulk: Buying printer supplies in bulk may cost a lot up front, but it's a great way to save money in the long run. Most manufacturers offer significant savings if you purchase their consumables in large quantities, including paper, ink and toner.

3.) Opt for remanufactured or recycled cartridges: These cartridges go through a recycling process, so that they can be sold and reused at a much lower cost. During this process, the returned ink cartridge is disassembled and cleaned thoroughly. Once they are refilled with fresh ink, each individual cartridge is inspected and then tested to ensure premium quality.

4.) Proper installation and storage: After you remove the ink cartridge from its package, make sure you install it immediately to prevent any ink from drying out. If you're storing your cartridge for future use, make sure you put it in a cool, dry place that's protected from dirt and dust. You'll also need to keep track of the expiration date-using the cartridge after this date may result in low quality printing or clogging of the printer nozzle.

5.) Clean the cartridge regularly: As you continue to use your printer, a small amount of ink will be left in the nozzle after each print job. Over time, this dried ink will build up, causing the device to jam or to produce substandard quality output. Nowadays, most printers come with a maintenance program which can be used to remove clogging. You may have to pay a little extra, but it's definitely a worthwhile investment.

The best way to find great deals on ink cartridges is to shop online. If you choose to go this route, look for online retailers that ship for a low cost or no fee at all.

Is Maverick Money Makers Just Another Scam Or the Real Deal?

2009-02-15T20:07:00.000+01:00

Searching on the internet for a course, book or website that teaches you how to make money online can be very overwhelming. There are thousands of money making websites online so which one really delivers?

Recently I came across Mack Michaels Maverick Money Makers website. Here was a website that shared the same claims as most others so my initial thought was "Is Maverick Money Makers Just Another Scam?"

As I scrolled down through all the fluff like all websites I came to his videos. Watching the videos I was impressed by the quality and Mack Michaels way of delivering his message. This guy knows how to teach and explains everything in great detail making it easy for anyone to follow along.

After reviewing his website and doing my own research over the next several days I decided to join Maverick Money Makers Club and see if this site was the real deal. I figured I had nothing to lose as it is backed by a 60 day money back guarantee.

Boy was I surprised ...Mack Michaels has put together numerous video tutorials that teach in great detail everything needed to begin making money online.

The video tutorials are broken into the following sections:

· Complete Core Training System - 12 Comprehensive Videos each over 45 minutes giving you step-by-step tutorials

· Quick Money Blueprint System - 7 Videos showing you 7 quick ways to start making money online immediately!

· Skillset Training System - 20 videos that teach everything from setting up a Google Adwords campaign to setting up a domain name.

Let me just make one thing very clear, every video is over 40 minutes packed with very detailed information. Mack Michaels does a fantastic job explaining everything making it very easy for anyone to learn.

Mack Michaels also provide the following:

· Brilliant Niche Market Ideas - Hundreds of niche markets that are bugging to be marketed to.

· Turnkey Products to Sell - Hundred of niche markets that he includes ebooks, banners, articles, etc for each. This is huge as it gives you everything needed to begin marketing right away.

· Your Point and Click Rolodex - Mack Michaels give his members all his tools and links so you too can build a successful online business.

And last but not least...

Millionaire Mindset Coaching - 10 audio files from Mike Vance that provide coaching to get you thinking like a millionaire. Some of these are over 4 hours long...very powerful!

There you have it, a quick look into Maverick Money Makers. Is it a scam, absolutely not! There are few websites out there that really deliver and this is one of them.

Night Photos Make Money

2009-01-21T20:09:00.000+01:00

Today a lot of photographers that are trying to make money with photos are using digital photography. There is a lot of money to be made with photography marketing. Some of the top selling images are of night photos. A reason that theses photos are so popular is just because of the cool effects that are put off by the lights. This is really shown to be true if the lights are moving. The trails that are put off by moving lights is something that most people enjoy looking at.

If you wanted try your hand at night photography and maybe even getting that one shot that will have you making money with your photography, you will need to realize that as rewarding as night photography can be, it can be very challenging.

To help you overcome some of the challenges of night photography you will need to have decent equipment. An SLR style camera is recommended, this is because the SLR camera is very versatile and it has features that allow you to take great night time photos. Beside this benefit you may think that the SLR style camera is recommended because you use the same lens for both view finder and taking the picture. You may also think that the SLR style is best because you can swap lens. In both cases you would be right but the main reason to use the SLR style camera is because you can use a tripod.

When you are choosing a tripod to use in night photography or in any other field of photography,get one that is sturdy. A reason for you to take careful consideration when picking out the tripod is that night photography requires long exposure and this means that the camera will have to be held steady for long periods of time. You do not want to lose a great shot because a little breeze began to blow.

If you are serious about making money with photos and earning a living with photography marketing, you will want to invest into the two things that has been talk about here. I hope that you can see that the tripod can be just as important as the camera, especially in night photography.

Internet Marketing - Uncover 5 Methods to Make Money Through Internet Marketing

2008-11-17T19:42:00.000+01:00

It doesn't matter if you have the best products and services over the internet, if you don't know how to properly market your offerings, you surely won't be able to generate decent sales.

Here's how you can make money through internet marketing:

1. Know the online behavior of your target market. Before you choose the marketing tools to use, you need to understand your prospects first. How often do they go online? What websites do they usually visit? Are they active members of relevant forums? Are they registered members of any social networking site? Do they often use the search engines? By knowing all of these things, you can easily figure out the best tools to use that can help you better connect with these people.

2. Advertising budget. Are you willing to spend money for your advertising cost? If so, how much? There are so many free and effective marketing tools that you can use. However, if you want a more aggressive approach in promoting your products, it is highly recommended that you also use paid advertising tools such as PPC advertising, banner ads, search engine marketing, and affiliate marketing.

3. Hire some help. If you are going to use all the effective marketing tools simultaneously, you will need to hire some people who can help you out. Depending on your needs, you may hire ghostwriters who can write your ebooks, newsletters, and your articles. You may also hire forum posters, bloggers, affiliate marketers, SEO specialist, and link builders.

4. Website. Keep in mind that your website plays a crucial role in your internet marketing strategies. If you want your target market to give you a visit and if you want to convert these people to buying customers, you better make sure that your website is well-designed, speaks volume about your credibility and expertise, and it must be easy to navigate.

5. Go with article marketing. If you don't have money to spare for your advertising cost and if you don't have the means to hire people to promote your products, you may use article marketing as your primary advertising tool. You can use this tool for free and as long as you care to do the process right, it can offer you all the elements that you need in growing your ebusiness -- search engine traffic, expert status online, and higher page ranking.

By the way...do you want to learn exactly how to create a high income online business by meeting the needs of people in your niche through coaching, consulting, and teaching online classes?

Making a Profit With Property Investments

2008-11-04T20:12:00.001+01:00

How it begins

Estate investing can be an everyday learning experience for both novice and successful property investors. What matters really is that if you want to deal in the property market and build a property portfolio you would need to buy properties sensibly and well researched. To get firsthand experience in real estate investing you could start by working with a property investment company. This is how many property investors have started their property portfolios.

Financing your Property Investment

This aspect of the property investment is being discussed first as it is the most important criteria. It is important that you work with right bunch of professionals who can help you arrange the best balance of finances. It is the first piece of the puzzle and there are a number of professionals that would help you. These professionals are financial advisers; mortgage brokers and finance experts who can help you get some of the best deals on your financial requirements. Ensuring you finance your property the right way is the very first crucial step towards a successful return on your endeavor.

Join a Property Investment Club

If you are good at residential property investments and would like to increase your profits then property clubs are quite lucrative. This would provide you with the opportunity to interact with other successful property investors and help you learn much more about the property investment market. Over a period of time you will network with some heavy-duty investors at the property investment seminars that are held by such clubs.

Why they help

The members of such clubs have plenty of experience in real estate consulting and some of these people invest in overseas real estate. Besides learning about property investment locally, you will also become skilled at making international property investments. Some of the opportunities that you may get can be some of the best property investments you may ever make.

Being a Part of Property Management Companies

If you are not satisfied with the property investment appraisal that investment clubs offer, you can also try your hand at property management companies. The advantage that you will have with such companies is that besides the usual property investing they are also into rental real estate investing. The rental property business is very profitable but carries a fair amount of risk. The rental property investment involves both residential and commercial real estate investing.

What Else

Residential income property concerns profits by leasing apartments and flipping real estate by using off-plan property investments. If you want to make money by flipping real estate you must have a sound financial plan so that the investment deals can be closed quickly. You would need to have strong knowledge about the real estate market and find sellers that are in a rush to make a sale. Once you close the property deal, you would have to market the property correctly so that you make a sale with a sizeable profit.

Ian Clark is a real estate consultant and advisor in UK. He has extensive experience in all aspects of Real Estate Investment built over 20 years . He is also the Director of Midas Estates, an online real estate website offering property investment opportunities in UK and overseas. Midas Estates is a Property Investment company with an aim to provide maximum capital growth for the clients as the majority of the clients are looking to secure financial security in the shortest time possible. Ian's honest presentation of the real estate investing business, including both profit and risks is respected for his sincere, candid approach. He is highly regarded as one of the most sound, dependable source for the specifics behind the sometimes tricky and exigent facets of real estate investing.

Sports Picks For Sports Betting

2008-10-31T20:30:00.000+01:00

People who love to watch sports often become so mentally and emotionally involved in their favorite sports that they often want to become involved with sports betting. If you are interested in making bets on the outcomes of sporting events, you should learn about some of the factors that are relevant to placing bets.

First, you should take into consideration the sport on which you wish to bet. Whether you want to bet on baseball, football or basketball, you will find that particular factors for each game will make a difference about teams you will want to gamble on.

Regardless of the sport on which you want to bet, you will want to pay close attention to the past performances of the teams and players as well as the conditions under which they will play in order to make a good bet. Other factors that give advantages to some sports teams include home team advantage and game time or date.

If you do not have enough time to study the statistics that you need to know before you get involved in sports betting, you should find a service that provides sports handicapping information from professionals who study and know the game.

When you are ready to find a sports picking service, you want an innovative service that offers advanced systems of betting that put the odds in your favor. Perhaps the most important thing you should look for is the track record of the service. If the service has made accurate picks at least sixty percent of the time, such a service would be a service that you should trust to make your picks.

When you are ready to start taking your sports betting seriously, you should visit Best Bet on Sports where professionals guarantee you can make money on your sports bets.

A best place for the online sport betting is a place that provides vital information on the best picks for baseball, basketball, football, and much more. For more information on such a place, visit BestBetOnSports.com.

Skettis tägliche Suche - ein großer Geld-Hersteller

2008-10-31T20:28:00.000+01:00

So sind Sie an der Skettis täglichen Suche interessiert? Besser bilden Sie, dass „Skettis täglich“ sucht, weil es wirklich drei von ihnen gibt! Überrascht? Es ist nicht immer einfach, alle Informationen betreffend die täglichen Suchen zu finden, die vorhanden sind. Das Lernen über die Suchen, die in Skettis vorhanden sind, ist eine gute Idee zwar, weil sie ziemlich rentabel sein können.

Tägliche Suchen sind eine vollständige neue Brut der Suche, die nach der brennenden Kreuzzugexpansion für die Welt von Warcraft freigegeben wurde. Anders als ihre traditionellen Bruder können tägliche Suchen jeden Tag wiederholt werden und die Belohnungen über und über ernten beim Ihre Fähigkeiten an die Suchen schnell und leistungsfähig abschließen fortwährend verbessern.

Skettis ist im SüdOstteil des Terokkar Waldes und erfordert eine Fliegeneinfassung zurückzugreifen. Wenn Sie nicht eine Fliegeneinfassung haben, sind Sie nicht in der Lage, irgendwelche Suchen leider abzuschließen. Geben Sie nicht auf täglichen Suchen zwar auf - es gibt viel von anderen, zum zu tun, die ohne eine Fliegeneinfassung fertig sein können.

Es gibt zwei, die Regular täglich in Skettis sowie eine kochende Suche sucht. Die zwei regelmäßigen Tageszeitungen sind alle Zeit vorhanden und können abgeschlossenes tägliches folglich sein. Die kochende Suche ist ein Teil der kochenden Umdrehung, also kann sie oder kann möglicherweise nicht an irgendeinem gegebenen Tag vorhanden sein. Sie müssen die kochende Suche des Tages heraus überprüfen, um zu sehen, wenn es möglich ist, sie abzuschließen.

Feuer über Skettis ist eine Suche, die Sie erfordert, startende Gebühren zu nehmen und um Skettis zu fliegen, das arakkoa Brutplätze sprengt. Sie sind in den Oberseiten der Bäume und der Gebäude. Diese Suche kann recht schnell sein, aber Sie müssen für das erwachsene arakkoa heraus aufpassen, das um das Versuchen, Sie weg von Ihrer Einfassung zu klopfen fliegen.

Entweichen von Skettis ist eine ziemlich Standardeskorteart Suche. Sie müssen den Gefangenen finden und ihn der Plattform oder des Gebäudes dann weg eskortieren, die er innen ist. Es ist viel kürzer als die meisten Eskortesuchen zwar und setzt häufig Zeit härtesten Teils findet ihn gerade fest. Sie möchten vermutlich löschen wenig vor, wo er geht, damit er nicht getötet erhält.

Rache ist ist eine kochende Suche geschmackvoll, die einen riesigen Kaliri Flügel von Skettis erfordert, um es abzuschließen. Wenn Sie nicht eine Fliegeneinfassung haben und diese Suche aufkommt, sind Sie vermutlich besser gestellt auf es gerade überschreiten und warten, um eine kochende Suche zu tun der Next day.

Wenn Sie zu Skettis für eine dieser Suchen vorangehen werden, würden Sie gut gedient, um alle zu tun. Warum? Sie haben bereits die Zeit verbracht, vollständig zu fliegen unten dort, Sie konnten Ihre Position außerdem nutzen. Denken Sie an sie auf diese Weise: wenn Sie 5 Minuten auf Spielraum und 5 Minuten eine Suche tuend verbrachten, schreiten Sie bei 1 Suche pro 10 Minuten. Wenn Sie die zweite Suche in anderen 5 Minuten tun, schreiten Sie jetzt 1 Suche pro 7.5 Minuten, und wenn Sie alle drei tun, werden Sie sich einer Suche pro 5 Minuten nähern. Das ist viel besser als das Fliegen, heraus dort gerade, zum einer einzelnen täglichen Suche abzuschließen. Auch wenn Sie alle drei Suchen tun, haben Sie fast 30g und schließlich, das wirklich der Punkt ist, Recht?

Make Money With Online Auctions

2008-10-31T19:48:00.001+01:00

Make Money With Online Auctions
Anyone can make money with online auctions

This article is intended to teach you step by step how to get started and more importantly, make money with online auctions. We will teach you how to start a home based online auction business. Please leave us comments, questions, or success stories so that we can improve this guide.

Earning money from online auctions is one of the best ways to get started with your own home based business. It's one of the easiest home businesses to start, maintain, and earn a profit with. In fact almost anyone can do it, even teenagers! The concept is simple; buy a product cheap and sell it for a higher price. Think of it like having a neighborhood yards sale, you can sell old items that are just laying around the house or forgotten about in your attic. You can find unused items from your neighbors and friends, or buy a product online for cheap.

Online Banking

2008-10-29T20:37:00.001+01:00

For many small businesses, it can be difficult to keep great records and keep track of expenses. Online banking is a great tool to use if you have a small business. Here are some tips on using online banking effectively.

If you have a small business, look into online banking. Where else can you check your balance up to the minute with a click of the mouse, transfer money from one bank to another, or pay bills easily. Online banking is one of the greatest innovations on banking in the last decade. The internet has made it extremely easy to keep track of our businesses finances more easier than ever before.

Most business online banking accounts usually come free with any business account or for a small monthly fee at some smaller banks. There are plenty of services that your bank usually offers along with online banking. Most large banks offer online banking and many smaller community banks are now getting into the service. With online banking you can control your business finances at your office, home or half way around the world. So, if you need up to date balance information, transferring options or to pay bills fast and easy nothing beats online banking. It is like being at the bank in person.

Make Money Online -Without Spending a Cent

2008-10-21T19:11:00.001+02:00

Making money online used to pretty much require you to have your own Web site, products to sell and some marketing savvy. But a new generation of dot-coms have arisen that will pay you for what you know and who you know without you having to be a web designer or a marketing genius.
But it's hard to tell hype from the real deal. I did a search on "make money online" and "making money online", and much of the information out there is just promoting various infoproducts, mostly about Internet marketing. I see why people sometimes ask, "Is anyone making money online besides Internet marketing experts?"

So I put together a list of business opportunities with legitimate companies that:

Pay cash, not just points towards rewards or a chance to win money
Don't require you to have your own Web domain or your own products
Don't involve any hard-selling
Aren't just promoting more Internet marketing
Give a good return on your time investment
In the interest of objectivity, none of the links below are affiliate links, and none of them have paid or provided any other consideration for their presence here. These are legitimate companies with business models that allow you to get paid for a wide range of activities.
Help friends find better jobs.

Sites like H3.com connect employers with prospective employees, many of whom are already employed and not actively job-hunting, via networking - the people who know these qualified candidates. Rewards for referring a candidate who gets hired range from a few hundred dollars to as much as $5,000 - not chump change. This is a great way to break into the recruiting business with no overhead.

Connect suppliers with buyers.

Referral fees are a common practice in business, but they haven't been used much in online networking sites because there was no way to track them. InnerSell provides that. Vendors set the referral fees they're willing to pay, then when a deal happens, you get 70% of the referral fee.

Provide business contact information.

One of the greatest challenges in sales is getting accurate contact information about prospective customers. A growing number of services have launched in the past couple of years to help address this, but most rely on members to maintain their own contact information. Jigsaw, on the other hand, pays members to help keep information up-to-date on the people they know, not just themselves, and pays them to do so ($1 for each unique new qualifying contact you put into the system). According to Jigsaw, in their first payout after launch, the top ten point-earns each received more than $750.

Become a semi-pro reporter.

Creative Reporter is a new program from Creative Weblogging that lets just about anyone become a paid reporter/blogger. They're looking for people to create original, but non-exclusive, blog posts / articles of 250-500 words on topics including parenting, celebrities, travel, mobile technology, and more. Pay is $10 per 1,000 page views on your posts (that's excellent pay for Web writing, although there's no telling how much traffic/money you'll actually get).

Related: Professional Blogging

Write your own blog.

You don't have to have your own Web site, or install blogging software, or even figure out how to set up the advertising. At Blogger you can set up a blog for free in less than five minutes without knowing a thing about web design, and Blogger even automates setting up Google AdSense so you can make money off your blog by displaying ads and getting paid when people click on the ads. To make even more money from it, set up an affiliate program (see below) for books, music, etc., and insert your affiliate links whenever you refer to those items. You'll have to get a lot of traffic to become a six-figure blogger, but pick an interesting topic, write well, tell all your friends, and you're off to a good start.

Related: Monetizing Your Blog

Advertise other people's products.

If you already have a Web site or a blog, look for vendors that offer related but non-competing products and see if they have an affiliate program. Stick to familiar products and brands - they're easier to sell. To promote those products:

Place simple text or graphical ads in appropriate places on your site
Include links to purchase products you review or recommend in a blog, discussion forum or mailing list you control
Create a dedicated sales page or Web site to promote a particular product
They all work - it just depends on how much time you have to spend on it and your level of expertise with Web design and marketing.
Related: How to Really Make Money on the Internet With an Amazon.com Affiliate Site

The above list is by no means comprehensive, but it highlights some of the new and interesting ways to make money online without investing any money, without having a product of your own, and without having expert sales and marketing skills. Most of all, unlike taking surveys or getting paid to read e-mail, the potential return on your time investment is substantial.

Finding Unclaimed Money by Person Name

2008-10-08T19:50:00.001+02:00

Perhaps you have heard about free unclaimed money on the internet, on television, in the newspaper, or from a money hungry friend. Sounds interesting, right? Now you decide to check it out for yourself and your family members. Who knows, there might be some money out there that is yours! You can look up the possibilities of finding unclaimed money by person name. It's easy. And it is free.

To start, remember this most important point: you never have to pay someone to search this out for you. It is free information available to anyone from your local state government Treasurer's Office. If you get an email saying you have money and they can find it for $29.99, ignore that, those websites are a scam. Some have been shut down by the government.

Okay, when you reach the Treasurer's Office, whether in person or online at their official website, you want to find the Unclaimed Property office or link. If you or the person who you are trying to help have lived in any other state, go online and do the same thing at every state you have lived in, or that relatives may have lived in. Who knows, maybe they left you a little inheritance you did not know about? Many people have "secret" accounts at banks and credit unions, or hide assets in a secret bank box. These are a little harder to find. If you have lots of time, check every state, you never know!

Right now, estimates are that over $300 Billion dollars in unclaimed money is being held by the government escheats offices in the 50 states in the US. This money can come from a variety of sources, from dormant bank accounts to unclaimed inheritances and class action lawsuits, and more. If not claimed, it will fall to the government. That is what "escheats" means, "that which falls to one". They have to provide time for people to claim, and each state has its own laws on that time limit.

To start finding unclaimed money by person name, online, enter the name into the search box. Do this again and again, for every possible form and name that person of interest has ever used. Were they married? Did they use an alias? What was the maiden name of a woman? You might also want to put in other family members names, especially if it is your own name you are trying to look up. The search will quickly tell you if you name falls among those owed money by the government escheats office. If you are at an office, fill out the form.

Never pay anyone a fee for finding unclaimed money by person name. You don't have to. This is a free government service available to you or anyone who wants to use it. When you do receive your money, cash the check immediately, or it could end up back in the unclaimed property department again!

The easiest way to find unclaimed money is by visiting an unclaimed money search site. All you need to do is enter your name, press one button and you will find out within seconds if there is money waiting for you. Click over to my site and learn about the best ways to search for unclaimed money

QYAO

2008-09-18T09:42:00.007+02:00

Qyao set out to create the Social - Economic Network, harnessing the power of Internet-based social and economic networks to directly benefit the Members who help to create the community.

Becoming a member of Qyao is simple. Complete a brief sign-up page (name, age, location and email address.). Once you're a Member, you can start earning Money online and even get a Franchise.

(Position of Franchise Advisor requires a commitment to lucrative work. Work contains communication with all media advertising Franchises and it can be part time or full time. Applicant can start part time and switch to full time in probation period. Full time Franchise Advisors have guarantied minimum monthly payout. Part time Franchise Advisors get paid depending on their work.
Franchise Advisor earns flat payout and commission. Flat payout is $7,800.00 per Franchise unit and 5% monthly commission of Franchise unit income each month. After 3 month probation period Franchise Advisor’s guarantied minimum payout is $15,000.00/month. )

just COPY AND PASTE THIS LINK BELOW
http://qyao.com/general.php?REF=72381

Save big on a tiny income

2008-09-16T12:31:00.000+02:00

Editor's note: Join columnist MP Dunleavey and a group of women as they seek to strip away the myths around money, liberate themselves from debt and find financial sanity. Follow the ongoing quest of the Women in Red every other Wednesday in Dunleavey's column on MSN Money.

When I wrote an article describing how some of the Women in Red could save more, I got an earful from frustrated readers, many of whom don't earn as much as the women in the group.

"Let's deal with the real world," wrote one woman, who declined to give her name. "If I had that kind of income I could save easily. Try (saving) on the incomes of most of us working, single moms, which is more like $2,500 a month! Cut our expenses? How???"

Carrie Bowers, 29, of Colorado, added: "How would the average service worker go about saving for retirement, a child's education (or even (her) own in hopes of moving up in the world) on less than $18,000 a year? Some financial advice for the public-transit set would be appreciated more than you know."

With her dunce cap on, this writer decided to unearth smart savings strategies anyone can use, no matter how much they earn -- from real-life tips contributed by women on our blog, to the abundance of savings stories right here on MSN Money.

As you might expect with such a wealth of ideas, there are many ways to fire up your inner-savings goddess. Try one, try 'em all.

Spare change = big bucks

Stash a dollar in a jar every time you do the laundry, says blogger LBL.

Save all your $5 bills in a coffee can. (My husband and I do this so we have extra fun money.) Or save all your $20 bills in shoe box ("I saved for a trip to Europe this way," says Bowers, who earns $1,800 a month working in a cafe.)

Cash in your spare change. Many banks and credit unions will sort your change without charging a fee. Or, do it yourself: "We invested in a $30 coin sorter, which has paid for itself three times over," writes a reader who calls herself darcie1590.

Salt away all those little rebates, refunds and reimbursement checks.

Take free money. Now some institutions, like Bank of America and even PayPal, are offering what you might call "spare change" savings plans. Bank of America will round up any purchase you make and deposit the extra change in a savings account for you. For a limited time, they'll even match your spare change up to $250. If you use the PayPal debit card, they'll refund 1% of your purchase immediately, wrote Kit on the blog. Other cards may offer similar deals; don't let free cash pass you by (but beware of hidden fees).

More from MSN Money
10 times you can’t afford to skimp
Quiz: Are you a smart spender?
10 easy ways to save $500 or more
20 great ways to save on a shoestring
The real reason you're broke
Calculator: Is your debt too high to handle?

Don't even think about it

Even if you love to save, it can be hard to sock away that cash -- unless you let Mother Technology do it for you. Nearly everyone on the blog -- and in the WIR -- has an automatic transfer set up from their checking to their savings.

You can do this anywhere you bank, but a number of readers favor ING Direct.

At 3.4%, ING pays a lot more interest than you can get on most no-minimum savings accounts.

Because the account is online -- and there's no direct ATM access -- you can't touch your savings without thinking about it.

Savers can set up multiple sub-accounts at no extra charge -- for different purposes (vacation, new roof, Sally's sweet 16).

To test-drive ING's basic savings plan, I set up an account in 15 minutes to have $25 a week taken out of checking and put into a little account I nicknamed "Happy Money." I'm richer already!

Play little money games

Create bank errors in your favor. "If I spend $2.16 on a coffee, I deduct $3 (in my check register)," writes AJ. "It really adds up." Several readers share AJ's strategy, including a blogger named Natalie, who even rounds down her paycheck. A $425 check would become $400 in the check register -- and the $25 is saved.

Make a fair trade. One reader swapped her cleaning skills for day-care time for her child; Beth of the WIR recently helped a neighbor build a fence in exchange for some pocket money; in exchange for some editing, a friend is going to organize my messy apartment. The swaps are endless -- and the savings can be huge. "You can get together with friends and have a clothes or furniture/house item swap," adds Nancy.

Switch from paper to plastic. A surprising number of women are mega-advocates of relying on credit cards as a way of controlling spending. Some get cash back or miles; some just feel handling cash is too risky. "I don't carry cash, I don't use cash," writes Chris. "This has helped to curb impulse spending, which equates to effective saving." Caveat: These responsible souls pay the card balance in full each month, often depositing the cash for purchases in advance. Ahem!

Divide and conquer. Divide the total amount of your car insurance (or other irregular expense) by 12 and sock away that amount each month so you don't get caught short. Lea says she won't blow her holiday budget this year because she's used this system to save each month for gifts.

Never pay full price

Buy non-perishables in bulk (i.e., cereals, rice, pastas, dried fruit and canned goods); bulk prices are much lower.

Share the savings. Bowers says one friend will buy toiletries and such at a warehouse store and divvy the spoils up with friends.

Buy generic instead of brand-name products. "I've stopped eating Cheerios in favor of Toasty-O's -- my paycheck loves me for it, and my tastebuds don't know the difference," writes Chada.Sign up to be notified whenever MP publishes a new article.
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Research before you buy. Most readers say bargains can be found for any item if you put a little time into finding discount Web sites, clearance centers, warehouse outlets and the like.

"Look at the Pottery Barn catalog, shop at Goodwill," writes Chada again. "You'd be amazed at what you can turn into a masterpiece with a little paint and stain."

Fly cheap. Renee recommends mobissimo.com and itasoftware.com -- both travel search engines that comb the Web to find the lowest of the lowest possible prices.

Build it, grow it, make it, cook it yourself
A big way to save on a small income is to embrace DIY as your financial salvation. In addition to sewing, making gifts and homemade cards, cooking at home, and baking everything from scratch, here are some other creative ways to save:

"We've made lamps, a window seat, a bar, our headboard, a corner sofa and various tables and shelves," writes Kelly. "It's saved us a fortune."

"There is little that can't be cleaned with (a mix of) vinegar and baking soda," writes ylm23. "We use the mix throughout the kitchen, bathroom, dining room -- and have scrubbed pots and pans with it."

"Don't forget gardening as a money-saving venture," writes a green-thumbed reader. "One year, I fed the four of us and a neighbor for almost four months from a 10-by-15-foot garden."

CANSLIM Stock Trading System

2008-09-14T19:36:00.000+02:00

Stock traders across the globe look for new trading strategies to profit from market. Trading strategies largely differ according to traders' profit goals, type of trading, risk-tolerance, account size and personal preferences. CANSLIM is one of these trading strategies, which is considered as highly successful for most traders. CANSLIM is most beneficial for long-term traders and investors.

CANSLIM is actually a stock screening strategy, developed William O'Neil. It is a growth stock investing strategy (strategy of investing in stocks of growing companies) which combines both fundamental analysis and technical analysis to screen stocks. CANSLIM trading system aims at buying good growth stocks before a major price rise.

CANSLIM is an acronym of various indicators/features to be considered when screening a stock for trading.

'C' Represents Current Earnings: For any stock to be qualified as a CANSLIM stock, it should have great increase in current earning per share; more than 18%.

'A' Represents Annual Earnings: CANSLIM stocks should have high increase in annual earning per share; more than 25% for; more than 25% for last three years.

'N' Represents New: There should be something new related to the stock. CANSLIM traders look for companies which are under new management, or introduced new product, or undertaken new project or of which stock have touched a new high.

'S' Represents Supply/Demand or Shares Outstanding: Good CANSLIM companies should have less shares outstanding; less than 25 million shares is good, less than 5 million is better. The less the number of outstanding shares the greater the chance of upward price movement for every good news.

'L' Represents Leader: Trading stocks of leading companies (leaders of an industry or market) is better than trading stocks of followers; and every market should have at least one leader.

'I' represents Institutional Sponsorship: There should be more than 3 institutional traders or mutual funds interested in stock you are choosing. The greater the number of institutional sponsors, the larger their size are and the better their past performances, the better the stock.

'M' represents the market: Market timing is very important. Traders should use various technical analysis tools to predict and confirm trends, retracements and corrections. Buy when all major markets are going up.

CANSLIM stock trading system has proved more effective than most other long-term trading strategies. It considers various aspects of company, market and economy to make most accurate trading decisions at right time. But success of CANSLIM trading strategy require vastly on traders knowledge, his access to market data and strict following of rules.

NobleTrading stock trading and investing blog is a daily updated resource for novice and expert stock traders. Get informed about different markets, trading strategies, charting techniques, indicators and portfolio management. Get more info on CANSLIM stock trading system

Making Money Online

2008-09-12T19:32:00.002+02:00

There are countless e-books, programs and systems for making money online. More are being released every day. There are money making programs that involve affiliate marketing, data entry, incentivized freebie websites, foreign exchange, real estate, stock market, e-bay and lots more. Too many to list here. Many of these money making systems are simply e-books and others are complete money making programs. All are geared at teaching you how to make money online. It's been reported that 50% of new businesses in America are online businesses. There is a lot of money to be made online. But, and here's the kicker, it will probably cost you more money than you can spare trying to learn how to make money online. Most of these programs and systems that teach how to make money online flat don't work as advertised. Especially if you chose the wrong products. Even if you are diligent and do your home work the fact is that 98% of people that try to learn how fail. Between the scams and scammers as well as the Internet gurus. There are a host of people out there that know you will fail and just don't care. As long as they get some of your money they'll promise you anything to get you to buy their product.

As I said, even if you do your home work. There is still a chance you'll get involved with a program that doesn't work. That said, it is still very important that you do your home work. Research anything before you buy. Find out from others what has worked and what has not worked for them. That is not a guarantee that a program of learning to make money online will work for you. But it will help you avoid that scams. Which are products strictly aimed at getting your money and don't teach you anything. There are real programs that teach you how to make money online. A good way to distinguish the real programs from the scams is by looking for what others are saying about the product. Another good way to tell a real program is if there is contact information available before you buy. Any worthwhile program of teaching how to make money online will have a way to contact someone that can answer question about the program before you buy it. A name, phone number and address of a real person is a good sign that it is a legitimate offer and something that can work.

I've learned all this from experience. Over the last couple of years. I've tried a lot of ways to learn how to make money online. I was in that 98% failure bracket but I didn't give up and you shouldn't either. There are programs that will work for some people and not for others. Nothing will work for everyone. More will not work than will work. If you really want to learn how to make money or even if you already know how but can't seem to find the right program. You can learn a little something from my mistakes and failures. Find an actual business that will make money online. One with training, support and contact information. One that you can not find any negative reviews on and is affordable to join. A legitimate online business will have no commissions to split, no passing up sales and no down line to build. To make money you have got to sell something. So you need an online business with multiple ways to make money online and does not have up sales or recurring costs once you join.

Make Money Selling Part Time Online

2008-09-12T19:29:00.001+02:00

To make money selling online it takes a little work but it is well worth it. For a few hours of work a week you can supplement your income to make things a little easier in life. Extra income part time is very possible and can lead to a full time income in a short amount of time. You just need some knowledge, tools and resources. All that can be attained from the internet.

The internet can be very intimidating to someone first starting out. But it doesn't have to be, the little fish still can make money selling online without any of the big fish eating you. That's the beauty of the internet there's room for all the fish no matter the size. The first thing you need to do is find something you like to do or something you are interested in. Take a look at the things around your life, do you have a hobby that with a little more attention you could make money selling online. Maybe you could involve your family in the project and make it both fun and profitable.

One of the best ways to start right away and with very little money is online sites like ebay and craigslist. In just a few minutes you can setup accounts on these sites And start making money selling online the same day. The products you sell is up to you. Almost anything can be sold on these sites. They do have a list of things you can not sell, but it is a short list. Ebay has a world wide market so finding a buyer for your products is very good. Craigslist is a good site for big items because you can place ads in just your local area, setup a time and a place for the customer to pick up the item and that save the cost of shipping it.

Finding products to sell is not hard, you will be surprised all the things around the house that you don't use anymore but has value and can be sold to someone else. Get all your friends and family members looking for things for you to sell. Your friends and family along with you looking for products to sell can keep you with things to sell for a long time. As you gain the experience you need to make money selling online you can move in to different areas of online selling.

That's just a few of ways you can make money selling online part time. So with a little of your time and just few sites on the internet that require little or no experience to start you on your way to a part time income that could grow to a full time income. You can use some of the profits from your part time business to invest in the tools and resources needed to gain the knowledge to take your business to the next level. You can do it, you just need to start doing it as you can. So invest in yourself to get the knowledge to start you on the path to success and the freedom that extra money can bring.

Earn money

2008-08-29T16:47:00.002+02:00

The internet is a world of unlimited prosperity and money making opportunities. If you have looked around on the internet for ways to earn or make money online I am sure you have come across your fair share of ideas. While some of these ideas seem viable I'm sure their are many others that you seemingly dismissed as scams. Well here I want to present to you five ways that you can earn or make money online.

1. Sell products on eBay. eBay is the worlds largest marketplace with millions of users shopping every month. So how can you capitalize on this? Find a niche that you are comfortable with and research product and selling prices to see if you will be able to make a solid income. When you find a profitable niche list your item starting with a low bid. You will also need to feature your item as this will bring tons more traffic and sales.

2. Make money as an affiliate marketer. Affiliate marketing involves selling other people's stuff and getting a commission off of every sell. You can go to places such as clickbank and cj.com to find items to sell that pay excellent commissions. Advertise your products through article marketing and Google AdWords for fastest results.

3. Become a free lance writer. If you are a good writer then there is money to be made on the internet. You can easily earn or make money online by writing articles or press releases for other people. Their are people who make a very good living online using free lance writing.

4. Create an information product to sell. These products are relatively inexpensive to make and they can give you an incredible advantage in online marketing. creating your own product gives you instant credibility and show people that you are serious about your business.

5. You can earn or make money online by adding special HTML code to your website. This is a technique that is not well known but has been making internet marketing experts very wealthy over the last few years. It just takes basic knowledge of HTML and is very easy to do.

These are five excellent techniques you can use to earn or make money online. While online marketing takes work you can succeed if you possess the drive and determination to do so.

Do you want to discover how to make $126,433 online in the next 12 months?