Posts Tagged ‘ economy ’

Facebook’s Challenging Environment

27/03/2012
By
Down graph in front of newspaper stock market tables

Facebook’s meteoric rise from dorm-room-prank to one of the world’s most valuable companies (based on recent valuations) has been well documented. The website is used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide and in February of 2012, Mark Zuckerberg, the famous CEO of Facebook, announced that the Company had filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an Initial Public Offering. Facebook seems poised to capitalize on its success and its soon-to-be inflow of fresh capital, but is it all tailwinds for the company or does it face considerable headwinds as well? Competitors Want a Piece of the Pie Competition from other social media companies, including the up and coming Google+, could affect the profitability of Facebook. If users choose to migrate to other social media sites, Facebook’s current staggering usage rates (845 million active users a month) could drop dramatically, and with fewer users come lower income from...

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The History of the Stock Exchange

12/03/2012
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stock market

Today the stock market is an integral part of our economy, and it is hard to imagine a time when it didn’t exist. That time was over 300 years ago. But, towards the end of the 17th century, when trading started in Jonathan’s Coffee House, situated near the Exchange Alley in the city of London, things began to change. In 1698 businessman and coffee drinker John Castaing issued a document called The Course of the Exchange and other things‘ which was essentially a list of goods which could be bought or sold. Of course, people have always traded goods for thousands of years but this is first official record we have of any sort of organised and premeditated buying and selling. The word spread fast and soon people were flocking to Jonathan’s Coffee House to do business. This carried on for a few years until men were regularly being...

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Will Our Economy Recover?

10/03/2012
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Economy Recover

Although positive news about the economy is beginning to become more prevalent, many people feel that the United States economy remains mired in the doldrums. Government debt continues to expand, housing values continue dropping, energy prices remain volatile and people are waiting for the proverbial next shoe to drop. There are three fundamental problems facing the US economy: business-unfriendly government policy, tepid job creation and a weak US dollar. All of these problems are interrelated and can be solved by the economic growth which the US economy is poised to experience thanks to two recent trends: new energy production in the Marcellus Shale and Bakken Formation and ongoing wage increases in China. Business-Unfriendly Government Policy Current government policy is business unfriendly in two ways. The first problem is the rapidly expanding government debt and the lack of serious plans to meaningfully address it. Not only does the high level...

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What is a short sale?

22/02/2012
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Short sale

In this volatile economy, foreclosure rates are sky rocketing. For a home owner, their last chance at avoiding a foreclosure is a short sale. For the buyer, that can be tough situation to move into. The decision to put an offer on a home that is being sold as a short sale can be confusing. Researching a short sale before making an offer is a wise decision. A short sale simply means that the home will be sold at a price that is short the amount of the current mortgage note. Typically this occurs when the home owner falls behind in their payments and they are trying to sell the house before a foreclosure takes place. How Does a Short Sale Work? Typically the owner is selling their home with a real estate agent at a price lower than the cost of the current mortgage. When an offer is...

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What`s Next For The Housing Market?

08/12/2011
By
home buying

Experts tend to agree that 2012 will see home prices rising slightly. Coming from Fiserv, a firm that accurately predicted that 2011 home values would drop, there’s a good chance that this prediction isn’t too far off the mark. On the other hand, some predictions slate 2012 to be just like this past year, with home prices declining by as much as 7%. This is most likely due to the staggering six million homes in delinquency stages, which could mean massive foreclosures in the New Year. Even though mortgage rates will continue to be low, there simply won’t be enough qualified buyers in 2012 to make much of a dent in the excess inventory. Mortgage rates themselves will stay low at around 4%. The Federal Reserve will even continue purchasing securities in order to keep these mortgage rates low, so it is the perfect time to buy for those...

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5 Ways to Stretch Your Grocery Budget

21/11/2011
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Grocery budget

With the economy we have right now, it is important that we learn how to maximize our income. We can do this by being more careful with how we use our money. There are things that we can live without. But there are also things that we have to allocate money for. This includes food. If you are the bread winner of your family, you know that grocery shopping can be a constant drain on your resources. In order to help you with budgeting, here are five ways to stretch your grocery budget. Plan your meals in advance. Before making that grocery list, decide first what your dishes are going to be for the week. This will save you both time and money. By planning your meals in advance you will get to buy only what you need. Shop in Farmer’s markets. The food here is fresh and a...

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4 Indicators That Predict Rising Gold Prices

09/11/2011
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Gold Prices

Over the last few years, gold has experienced a sudden price spike, similar to what occurred in the 1980′s. As of today (Nov 3, 2011), gold sits at $1762 an ounce, which is down $134 from an all time high of $1896 (on September 2011). Experts are mixed as to whether gold is teetering on the edge of a bubble, or if it will continue to gain value in the long term. If we look at past events which contribute to increases and decreases in the price of gold, we may be able to determine its future value by examining these “predictors”. Predictors of Gold and Precious Metal Prices Inflation – Stimulus programs are currently propping up the economy and have been introduced in many other countries to fight the global recession. As more money is printed, paper currencies tend to be worth less. The inflation of currency makes...

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How the Economy Has Affected Mortgage Rates

30/08/2011
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During the past few years we’ve seen the housing market take a plunge downward as lower mortgage rates have remained in place, while the economy has desperately tried to recover. Recently there has been a slight increase in the mortgage rates and buyers are wondering if the rates will continue to increase. One of the largest factors that influence mortgage rates as a whole is the state of the economy. As a general rule, when the economy improves, the rates increase and during a recession the rates decrease. The State of the Economy Inflation plays a critical role in all of this movement, working with supply and demand. In an up economy demand is high and the price for supply increases. In a slow economy supply is abundant with very few buyers. Over the past years as the economy has continued to worsen, the mortgage rates have remained at...

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The Coming Credit Card Debt Apocalypse

10/08/2011
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At the worst possible time for millions of Americans struggling to feed their families and maintain their residences amidst a still stifling post recessionary economy — much of the United States still besieged by ruined markets and bleak financial indicators — the multinational banking conglomerates effectively controlling credit card debt accounts within this country have embarked on a massive roll back of borrowing opportunities.  According to experienced analysts with knowledge of the consumer finance industry, the recent dramatic about turn of corporate emphasis will impact not only new applicants (whether hoping to get approved for their very first credit card or merely trying to land an additional line of credit) but also those existing borrowers in good standing who may see their balances abruptly cut without warning. “The banking community enjoyed such incredible profits around the turn of the twenty first century, that — there’s no other way to...

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Crime Trends and the Economy in 2010

08/07/2011
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When the economy isn’t at its highest levels, more people are out of work, financial hardships are increasing, and more spare time is readily available, one would assume that crime rates would increase, and vice versa; when the economy is flourishing, crime would go down. While it would make sense to link a time of poor economic growth and benefit to an increase in crime, despite what we’d consider to be common sense, a solid link may not exist between the two. Simply put, many other factors come into play when determining what causes crime rates to increase and decrease at any given time. What many fail to realize is that in most cases, a true causal relationship simply does not exist. While the economy may play a role in how crime-filled society is or isn’t, history has shown no true pattern. In the early 1990s crime decreased sharply;...

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