Sources of Vitamins When D Is What the Doctor Ordered
Getting enough Vitamin D is much typically not a huge issue for most people today, but it was just a few years ago that a lack of this vitamin was a serious health issue. As recently as the early 1900s, many children suffered from rickets, a severe malformation of legs caused by a lack of Vitamin D.
Vitamin D is vital to the formation of strong bones. When both children and adults don’t get enough Vitamin D, they may have a tendency toward skeletal problems, such as osteomalacia, rickets and weak bones. This is also one of the vitamins that can help regulate growth, making it very important for children in their formative years.
You may think that milk is a natural source of Vitamin D, but milk is actually fortified with several vitamins, including Vitamin D. The practice began in direct response to the high number of rickets cases that hit the United States in the early 1900s. While milk is a good source of Vitamin D because it’s fortified with this vitamin, it’s not a natural source.
Some fish are high in Vitamin D and make excellent sources of this vitamin during a typically daily intake. Two of the more common are tuna and salmon. That means that a tuna sandwich for lunch each day can provide a significant start on the amount of Vitamin D needed to maintain healthy bones. Mackerel, sardines and cod are also sources of Vitamin D - which means those doses of cod liver oil had some serious health benefits for the pioneers who had access to few real medicines.
Eggs are another natural source of Vitamin D. You can use eggs in many ways to increase the amount of Vitamin D in your daily diet. Egg salad sandwiches are a quick “on the go” option, but boiled eggs also make a good “fast food” for breakfast or as a mid-morning snack.
Many people don’t like liver, but beef liver is a good source of Vitamin D. There are other benefits of liver, including the fact that this is an excellent natural source of iron - important if you’re trying to boost your iron or battle anemia. Unfortunately, it takes quite a large serving of beef liver to significantly increase the amount of Vitamin D in your diet.
One thing to remember is that many dairy products are fortified with Vitamin D, but are not natural sources. That means that milk, cheese and other dairy products won’t help you get the Vitamin D you need unless those products have been fortified with this important vitamin. Be sure to check the label before you assume that you’re getting the Vitamin D you need from your daily dairy consumption.
Bob Benson is the founder of Vitamins online. You can check out our website at http://www.nutritional-vitamin-supplements.info.
[tags]vitamins, health supplements[/tags]
tips-on-how-to-cut-your-monthly-expenditures
Tips On How To Cut Your Monthly Expenditures
Writen by Joseph Kenny
Money can certainly be tight for many of us, and most of us could use a few tips on how to cut down our monthly bills. While not all tips will ever work for anyone, a number of these can be used by most - that means that there should be something here you can use. Here are a few ideas on how to cut down on your monthly expenses.
1. Combine Your Credit Cards
Most credit cards have a rather high interest rate on them - at least anything is high if it is greater than 0% APR interest. Many credit card offers will now give you 0% APR interest rates for balance transfers and give you great savings each month. All credit card offers are not equal, though, so you should do a little comparison shopping in order to get a good one. If you cannot get a credit card with this level of interest, then try to get one for as low a level as you can get. Also, watch out for balance transfer fees.
2. Comparison Shop
Rather than doing impulse buying, you will usually save a considerable amount of money by looking around for those better deals. This may mean it takes a little more time to shop, but it will help your bottom dollar line. By saving money on good deals, however, should mean that you may have a little more money at the end of each month to either put into savings, or, pay a little extra on those bills to reduce your debt. Much comparison shopping, as you know, can be done on the Internet - and save you some gas money, too.
3. Reduce Your Bills
While this may sound like it is so easy, it may not be for some. Some ways, however, that many can begin to save even more money is by cutting back their thermostat one or two degrees. That little bit can really add up over a year. Another way may be to take that new car and trade it in for a good used one - one that might get a little better gas mileage, too. Other bills that could be reduced may be your Internet service providers (which can be obtained for as little as $6.95), cable TV, and maybe even your car insurance could give you more savings if you increase your deductible.
4. Eat At Home More
Another great expense in many homes is the frequency of eating out. It obviously costs more to eat at a fast food restaurant than it does at home. Besides, it is healthier to eat a balanced home cooked meal than you will ever get at any fast food chain. Another thing that will help is if you plan your menus, and don’t go food shopping when you are hungry. By eating at home more often, it could be possible to save as much as $20 to $30 each week - something that you could put into savings, or use to help reduce your debt in other areas. And another thing, eating at home more could give everyone a little more family time, too.
5. Know Where Your Money Is Going
Most homes have no real idea of where every penny goes. If you keep track of every penny for about two or three weeks, you will know. But as you look over the things you spend money on each week, you may conclude that a lot of money was spent on things that you could have done without. Knowledge, someone said, is power, and knowing where your money is actually going will help you make some wise corrections.
As you become more conscious about where your money is going, and start to make more informed choices about your expenditures, you will soon find other ways to save even more. It all starts with making yourself conscious of where it is going, and knowing what do you want and need to do with it.
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Joseph Kenny writes for the Personal Loans Store and offer more information on secured loans and other loan topics available on site. |
be-wary-of-credit-cards
Be Wary Of Credit Cards
Writen by Martin Lukac
Credit card companies are very smart and a little tricky.
I recently received a credit card offer that said I could pay off my debts with it and shop without guilt. It was a credit card offer. Pay off my debt?
Those are the two things that most people want out of their finances. And now a credit card says that it can give those things. That’s a little far fetched. But many are probably willing to fall for it.
For example, I have a friend that thinks her credit cards are great. She is always saying that she’ll just charge something. After all, she says, that’s what the cards are for. She says they have zero interest for a year and then really low rates. So far, her credit card debt sits around $15,000. I warned her that she will be in for a surprise. And that credit card companies can raise rates anytime that they want to.
You don’t have to know much about finances to know that borrowing money to pay off what you borrow isn’t getting rid of debt. It is simply moving it around. I’m sure that you have heard that you have to get out of debt a hundred times. That’s because it is the truth. Getting out of debt is the best way to have a sound financial future.
By getting deeper into debt by using a credit card is not the way to go. What the credit card company wants to do is for you to pay off all your debt with their card. Then you owe them the interest from all that debt. You are simply paying them the interest that they will probably hike up to an amazing amount. And you are in debt that will take forever to pay off.
It works for them, but what does it get you? You still have the debt, you still have the payment. Think about it this way: the credit card company isn’t looking to help you, they want to help themselves.
Can you shop without guilt with a credit card? I don’t see how. You know you are racking up unnecessary debt. If you have the money in your pocket and you don’t need it for anything else, you can shop without guilt. And you don’t need a credit card.
The problem is that credit cards do actually take that money out of your pocket, making every spending spree a guilt trip. A credit card is not money. It costs you money. By paying off your cards, you free up your money so that you can shop guilt free forever.
Don’t get me wrong. Credit cards are not evil. They aren’t bad. It’s how we handle them that is bad. There are plenty of people out there that handle their credit cards wisely. They pay off their balance each month, meaning that they never pay interest at all.
But credit card companies don’t want you to do that. If you do, you don’t make them any money. They want you to use your card more. For example, I have a credit card that hasn’t had a balance on it for years. I only keep it for dire emergencies. It is in a safety deposit box so that I can’t touch it for anything else. The card company is constantly sending me those credit checks and upping my benefits. They offer return rewards, points and cash back if I use it. They want me to have to pay them for years and years.
Rewards are a tricky business. Okay, if you really want them, go ahead and use the card. But pay it off every month. Someday you will realize that you have to spend at least $100 to get one dollar in rewards. It isn’t worth the effort.
Next time you are tempted by a credit card offer, look deeper into it. And see the years of debt and misery that most people find there.
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Martin Lukac, represents http://www.RateEmpire.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies! Visit http://www.RateEmpire.com today |
selfdirected-real-estate-iras
Self-Directed Real Estate IRAs
Writen by Jo Ann Joy
If an IRA owner wants to set up a self-directed IRA, certain steps must be followed. In order to set up a self-directed IRA, an LLC should be formed to act as holding company for the IRA property. The LLC should be incorporated where the IRA real estate is located. The LLC should have a tax ID number and a separate checking account. The IRA owner can be the member-manager. The members of the LLC can be the IRA Custodian acting on behalf of the IRA owner and the IRA owner. The LLC will be the purchaser and the mortgagor of the real estate purchased with IRA funds.
The self-directed IRA must be set up with an IRS-qualified custodian, and the IRA will have a custodian account funded with IRA funds only. The IRA owner must comply with all custodian requirements in timely manner. The IRA owner must report all transactions, income, and expenses to custodian, in most cases before the transaction occurs. The custodian will keep records of all investments, transactions, contributions, and distributions and file required reports with I.R.S.
The IRA owner must send contract, title, closing, appraisal, and other documents to custodian for approval and with wiring instructions to fund transaction. IRA funds from the LLC bank account must pay closing costs, maintenance, mortgage payments, and other expenses
A third-party property manager can be hired and paid by with IRA funds. The IRA owner cannot be compensated for property management, commission, accounting, or other duties performed. Property-related expenses must be paid from LLC checking account with IRA funds. No “self-dealing” is permitted, and IRA funds cannot be co-mingled with personal or other funds. Property-related income must be deposited into the LLC checking account and becomes IRA-owned funds. The IRA owner can continue to make IRA contributions to the custodian account in the full amount allowed by I.R.S. The IRA contribution limits still apply, and the custodian keeps track of contributions and report them to IRS.
According to the IRS, a “disqualified person” cannot directly or indirectly buy, sell, or use the IRA real estate. A disqualified person would be the IRA owner, the IRA owner’s spouse, children, parents, and children’s spouses. A disqualified person would also be fiduciary of the IRA owner, an entity owned 50% by the above-stated relatives of the IRA owner, or a 10% owner, officer, director, or highly compensated employee of such entity. The tax laws prevent “self-dealing” between the IRA, the IRA owner, and disqualified persons.
IRA real estate mortgages are usually 70% loan-to-value. The IRA loan must be non-recourse. It is recommended that the IRA real estate be appraised yearly to determine the actual value of the IRA investment. The IRA property can be sold, and the proceeds from the sale must be held in a separate account until they are reinvested. Net income or gain from the non-leveraged portion of real estate is part of the IRA and is not taxed. Net gains from sale of the leveraged portion of the IRA real estate are taxable as capital gains.
Before setting up a self-directed IRA, you should consult a tax professional who is familiar with IRS laws relating to IRAs. Many accountants are opposed to self-directed IRAs, because they are concerned about the lack of IRS guidance on the subject. They are also concerned that the IRS may eventually consider self-directed IRA investments to be taxable IRA distributions.
The foregoing is a general discussion only and should not be relied upon as an opinion or advice on legal, tax, investment, or other aspects of IRAs or self-directed IRAs.
Jo Ann Joy, Esq., MBA, CEO Copyright 2006 Indigo Business Solutions. All rights reserved. You may contact Jo Ann by phone at (602) 663-7007, by fax at (602) 324-7582, by email at joannjoy@Indigo Business Solutions.net, and by mail at 2313 East Ocotillo Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016
For more information about these and other important business topics and for legal consultation, please visit our website at http://www.IndigoBusinessSolutions.net The future of your business starts here.
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About the author Jo Ann Joy is the CEO and owner of Indigo Business Solutions, a legal and business consulting firm that differs from other business consulting firms, because it offers comprehensive legal and business counseling. Jo Ann has a law degree, an MBA, and a degree in Economics, but she is not a traditional attorney. Rather, she is a strategic business attorney who works closely with clients to create and implement strategies that will greatly improve their performance and success. Jo Ann uses her talents, expertise, and education to inspire enterprising and imaginative people to make their goals a reality and enjoy professional and personal growth. Her background includes commercial and real estate law, accounting, financial planning, mortgages, marketing, product development, and business strategies. She ran a successful business for 10 years, and she has written and given presentations on many different legal and business subjects. |
make-a-budget-to-help-your-dreams-come-true
Make a Budget to Help Your Dreams Come True
Writen by Monica Resinger
A budget is a very important tool when you are trying to meet financial goals. It helps you to see where your money is going and therefore helps you determine where you can cut back. It also gives you something to go by when you get paid rather than piddling your money away. If you are serious about managing your money, a budget is an absolute necessity.
When my husband and I first got married over 14 years ago, we had no idea of how to manage our money. Well, my husband had a little idea, but not me. I worked but I was very frivolous and piddled my money away. We always had a hard time paying our bills because of this. I had nothing to show for my money except make-up, restaurant reviews and other un-necessaries. Then my son came along and changed all of that. I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom.
We also wanted to have more money to travel, save for retirement and college funds, and purchase our own home. This was our motivation for preparing a budget. We knew we had to start managing our money better to be able to do these things and it seemed impossible to have any of it at the time but we had to start somewhere. You should do some thinking as to why you’d like to have more money. Everyone wants to have more money for some reason or another. When you think of reasons, write them down at the top of a piece of paper. This will help you stay on track and give you motivation to stick to your budget.
So anyway, we made a budget and we stuck to it because we had our goals in the back or our mind — first and foremost, to be able to stay home and raise our son. The way we made our budget was to list out everything we HAD to pay to live. We listed rent, power, garbage, phone, gas and food and the amounts we paid on them in a month. Then we listed our credit card bills and the monthly minimum payment amounts. We listed miscellaneous for items like clothing or birthdays that come up. You can list your budget list on the paper that you listed your reasons for wanting to save/manage money. You’ll have to put some thought into some of these items such as food and gasoline. Be sure to be accurate and honest about how much you spend on these items. Look back into your checkbook and add it all up. If you write down less than what you actually spend, it will be harder to cut back.
Once we had made our list of everything we had to pay, we looked at it to see if there was anywhere we could cut back. We saw that we could probably cut back the money we spent on food by using coupons, shopping sales and discount stores, so we lowered the amount we originally budgeted. We saw that we could probably cut back the amount of money we spent on gasoline by making fewer trips to the store, only driving when absolutely necessary, etc. So we lowered that amount also. We vowed to cut back on our power usage — turn off lights when leaving a room, dry clothes on the line, wear sweaters so we can set the thermostat lower, etc. We stuck to these amounts and made it.
At first we didn’t have any money left after paying our necessities but that was okay because we had a roof over our head and I was able to stay home and raise our child. As my husband got raises then eventually started his own yard service, we began to have a little extra money left after our budget was paid. This enabled us to go out once in a while and add a new amount onto our budget called `savings’. Our savings account is where we strive to save for vacations, home improvement, retirement funds, etc. We currently put 20% of our income in there.
Within a few years, we were able to purchase our own house, remodel it a little at a time, make our credit card bills smaller (we eventually hope to be rid of them), buy a nice car and truck and visit Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm. The reason I tell you this is to show what can happen if you do make a budget and stick to it.
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About The Author © 2001, Monica Resinger Monica is a married, stay-at-home mom who is a freelance writer and publisher of three home and garden ezines. To read more of Monica’s articles, go here: http://www.geocities.com/plantldy.geo/articles.html If you like this article, you will probably like Monica’s newsletter `Creative Home Money’. It features articles like this and reader’s questions and answers about living frugally and making money from home. Subscribe by sending a blank e-mail to: CreativeHomeMoney-subscribe@egroups.com |
About Alternative Health Supplements
These days, there are plenty of pills out there offered by your local pharmacy to cure what ails you. But you can never be too sure that the products pushed on us by the food and drug administration are the best thing for you. A lot of these pills have side effects, and some of them are not tolerated well by certain people.
To that end, there are numerous alternative health supplements offered that can help your body get into the best shape it’s ever been. Here are the facts on some of them:
Coral calcium- This supplement is great to help your body. You probably know that your body needs calcium to maintain its bones and teeth, but most people don’t realize that you need a certain level of calcium in your bloodstream as well.
If you don’t keep replenishing this calcium, your body will begin to sap the calcium from your bones and teeth to maintain the level in your blood. This can result in bone and teeth shrinkage, and can make them brittle and cause movements to be painful. Coral calcium is a source of calcium that surpasses most of the others. Available in supplement form, coral calcium can be a great buy.
Another one of the alternative health supplements offered is fish oil. Harvested from fatty fish, this oil contains substances known as omega-3 essential fatty acids. Containing the fatty acids DHA and EPA, fish oil has been linked to memory improvement and general brain health, considering DHA is a substance that needs to maintain its presence in the brain. Also, the American Heart Association recommends that you take fish oils to help maintain heart health. It can help to decrease your risks of heart disease or cardiac arrest!
These are two of the alternative health supplements offered these days that can help lead your body to great health. Hopefully they can help you!
Why not check out our nutrition guide at http://www.nutritional-supplement-guides.com/nut-ebook.html
and also what supplement we personally use for our nutrition needs at http://www.nutritional-supplement-guides.com/what-we-use.html
John Gibb is the owner of Nutrition guides, a website offering free nutrition advice and a quality nutrition book for newsletter subscribers.
[tags]Nutrition, health vitamins, nutrition supplements, nutrition guide[/tags]
payment-protection-insurance-is-it-just-a-scam
Payment Protection Insurance: Is It Just A Scam?
Writen by Joseph Kenny
Payment protection insurance (PPI) has taken a bashing recently. PPI is a type of insurance designed to protect repayments on financial products if borrowers find that they are in financial difficulty.
PPI has been examined by the Financial Services Authority, criticised by Which? and is now under investigation by the Office of Fair Trading. Most of these organisations are concerned about protecting consumers’ rights. They are worried about:
Given these concerns, it’s a good time to find out more about whether PPI is really the right choice for borrowers.
Why Have PPI?
It’s difficult for borrowers to know how their financial circumstances are going to change. When they are taking out a mortgage, loan, credit card, store card or other financial product, the sales person often offers PPI. The reasons why it might be a good idea are:
All of these circumstances mean that borrowers might not be able to meet the repayments on the mortgage, loan, credit card or store card. This could result in arrears, defaults, County Court Judgements (CCJs) and, depending on the type of loan product, the loss of their home. Payment protection insurance is designed to make sure that repayments are met, avoiding this sticky financial situation.
Inside PPI
PPI is available to most people aged 18 to 65 who are employed for at least 16 hours a week or have been self-employed for a long period. Once borrowers have signed up for the insurance, they have to wait a certain period before making a claim. This is usually 60 to 120 days. Once they do make a claim and have it accepted, their payments can be covered for a period of 12 months or more, depending on the policy.
One key thing that borrowers should be aware of is that the sellers of some financial products add the cost of the PPI policy to the credit being offered. This means that borrowers can end up paying interest on the insurance policy. This is one of the many reasons that PPI selling has been criticised. Borrowers should also look into the cost of the insurance, as this varies widely.
Beyond PPI
Many borrowers do not realise that they do not have to take out PPI at the time of buying a financial product and the people who are selling PPI often do not make this clear. There are some stand alone PPI providers who may provide a better choice. Borrowers who repay loans from earnings should also consider an income protection policy, which will protect most of their income rather than individual financial products.
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Joe Kenny writes for CardGuide.co.uk, offering the latest information on credit cards, more ireading on credit card payment protection insurance. |
Natural Health Supplements
These days, you can’t be too concerned about your health. With possible toxins and lower nutritional values found in the foods we eat and the things we drink, many people have taken to buying supplements to help aid their health. Here’s a list of natural health supplements that can lead you to a more sound and healthy way of life:
Saint John’s Wort: Used for over 2,000 years, this supplement is a simple plant that can greatly aid depression. One of the most widely used natural health supplements, in a double-blind clinical study, Saint John’s Wort was proven to be equally as effective as pharmaceutical antidepressants, while giving less side-effects then their drug company counterpart.
Bee pollen: People take bee pollen in supplement form to help increase energy and vitality. In addition to offering several required vitamins and minerals, bee pollen acts as an enhancer to the immune system, as well as being a useful tool in cleansing the body of harmful toxins.
Athletes have been known to take bee pollen regularly to help enhance their endurance, stamina, recovery time from exercise, and more. It may also prove to be helpful in alleviating the pesky symptoms of hay fever. With all these possible uses of bee pollen, it’s amazing to find out that it can also be used to aid in weight loss. A substance in the pollen known as lecithin helps to stimulate your metabolism and flush fat from your system. This is another one of the most widely used natural health supplements.
Fish Oil:
Harvested from the bodies of fish, fish oil is purified through a scientific process and turned into supplement form. Containing Omega-3 fatty acids, these natural health supplements can have numerous effects on your body for the better. For one, fish oil can aid in preventing the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. It has also been associated with better memory, clearer thinking, and health of the heart.
One of the best nutrients for brain health, this supplement’s effect on your body can be vast. Be sure to only purchase pharmaceutical grade fish oil, however, since this is the process which removes the heavy metals found in fish due to pollutants. If your fish oil is not pharmaceutical grade, you run the risk of consuming such dangerous materials as mercury.
Why not check out our nutrition guide at http://www.nutritional-supplement-guides.com/nut-ebook.html
This no nonsense book will tell you everything you need to know about nutrition.
Ans also, what supplement we personally use for our nutrition needs at http://www.nutritional-supplement-guides.com/what-we-use.html
John Gibb is the owner of Nutrition guides, a website offering free nutrition advice and a quality nutrition book for newsletter subscribers.
[tags]Nutrition, health vitamins, nutrition supplements, nutrition guide[/tags]
wall-street-to-main-street-news-views-and-commentary-april-21-2006
Wall Street to Main Street: News, Views and Commentary: April 21, 2006
Writen by Louis Victor
It’s Friday April 21, 2006, and it’s the last day of the trading week as the earnings parade rages on with numbers coming out from Apple Computer (NASDAQ: AAPL), Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), E Trade (NYSE: ET) and the big shocker, not in our eyes, but for those doubters was Google (NASDAQ: GOOG).
The NAMC Newswire’s “Wall Street to Main Street” segment in its entirety is only available to subscribers as of Monday April 17, 2006. Don’t miss out and Keep in mind that all subscriptions are free and will remain that way. All that you need to do is go to www.namcnewswire.com and add your email address to receive the full segments.
Remember that you can always listen to the NAMC Radio on Streetiq.com, the leader in financial podcast. www.streetiq.com
Political Front
In Italy the court confirmed that center left leader Romano Prodi was indeed victorious in this tight election but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his team refuse to concede. Talk about denial.
President Bush’s Press secretary Scott McClellan exits stage left as the shakeup continues in the Bush administration.
China;s President Hu Jintao had an eventful visit to Washington State, , from endorsing the java house Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) as he sat with Starbucks Chief and visionary Howard Schultz to addressing software piracy with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) founder Bill Gates, and we should mention that Boeing (NYSE: BA) didn’t do too bad either as China placed yet another order for 15 Boeing 737 aircraft that have a list price of $982.8 million.
So for those that doubt that China is working hard to be a global player, open your eyes because more deals will be coming down the pike with various U.S. based companies. Now President Hu’s visit to Washington D.C. to meet with President Bush was not a fireworks celebration visit as was hoped for but that is a work in progress. More importantly for U.S. companies is China’s willingness to do business and that is what investors are concerned about, as long as China continues to keep their door open for more business with U.S. based companies there will be opportunities for investors to capitalize on it.
Movers and Shakers
Some major movers in Wednesdays trading session included Valmont Industries (NYSE: VMI) which traded up $6.26 to close at $49.76, NL Industries (NYSE: NL) which traded up $1.41 to close at $11.41, Amphenol Corp (NYSE: APH) which traded up $6.36 to close at $58.54, Knight Capital (NASDAQ: NITE) which traded up $2.78 to close at $17.16, TravelZoo (NASDAQ: TZOO) which traded up $5.16 to close at $33.75, Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) which traded up $4.01 to close at $29.76 and Adams Resources and Energy (AMEX: AE) which traded up $3.40 to close at $38.92.
In yesterdays trading session companies such as Alliance Data Systems (NYSE: ADS) traded up $6.66 to close at $54.80, Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) traded up $4.71 to close at $55.19, MoneyGram (NYSE: MGI) traded up $2.86 to close at $34.90, Steve Madden (NASDAQ: SHOO) traded up $11.11 to close at $49.24 and Swift Transportation (NASDAQ: SWFT) traded up $6.76 to close at $32.01.
Lets Talk about Apple Computer
Apple Computer (NASDAQ: AAPL) has garnered their share of doubters, but at the helm of this empire sits probably one of the great visionaries of business, Steve Jobs. He has played a great poker game with analyst over the years and continues to have that shock factor.
The company announced their earnings and it caused the stock to surge, they said that the company earned $410 million or 47 cents a share for the quarter ended April 1, 2006. That is compared to earnings of $290 million or 34 cents a share a year earlier. This was attributed to the increased sales of iPods and the increased shipments of Macintosh Computers. The general analyst consensus was 43 cents a share.
Other companies mentioned in this section include Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Pixar (NASDAQ: PIXR)
Subscribe to WSMS and get our input in its entirety www.namcnewswire.com
The Rebirth of an American Icon: General Motors
General Motors (NYSE: GM) has been down and out for some time now, from losing market share to facing lawsuits and possible bankruptcy. About a week ago we evaluated General Motors’ position and came to the conclusion that the company would start to turnaround, granted it would not be a swift move but in the $19 range it would be worth the wait.
The reason we see this happening is simple, if you back a dog into a corner it will do one of two things, submit or fight back, and with the line up at General Motors and the influx of foreign cars hitting U.S. streets, you can bet that they will fight with all they have. So this would entail the company taking drastic measures to boost their revenue stream, even if it means cutting the CEO Rick Wagoner loose, which may be a possibility in 2006.
Subscribe to WSMS and get our input in its entirety www.namcnewswire.com
Google Tears the Shorts in Pieces
Now anyone following Wall Street to Main Street knows that we like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) at NAMC, even when it dropped down into the $300 range again, we liked it even more. While doubters lined up out the door and analyst heed and hawed about the company, Google just took a page out of Steve Jobs guide of how to shock the street and did they ever. Those doubters that held Puts or shorted the stock are going to be in some pain this morning.
The company announced their earnings after the bell yesterday and hit one right out of the park ala Apple Computer. They announced net income of $592 million or $1.95 per diluted share that was up from $1.29 the same period last year, revenue jumped to $2.25 billion above the analyst range of $2.05 to $2.24 billion, the company reported a profit of $2.29 a share up 60%. This sent the stock into overdrive in after hours trading as it traded as high as $445 a share.
Other companies mentioned in this section include eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO)
Subscribe to WSMS and get our input in its entirety www.namcnewswire.com
Readers Speak
We received an email from one of our readers/listeners Amy from San Francisco, California and she made a suggestion for Wall Street to Main Street, She said that we should make the NAMC Radio WSMS segment a little more entertaining.
Amy, this is why we like to hear from our readers/listeners, we want the input and we are going to take that into consideration. It’s actually not a bad thought. Thanks for the email Amy and maybe we’ll have you on the show.
Note for Next Week: WSMS will feature one company a day as our growth pick in the technology industry and we will give you highlights of the company as well as some research information so that investors can do their due diligence. So that is five companies in five days and we’ll call it the “Furious Five”. These companies may trade on the NYSE, Nasdaq, Amex or OTCBB market, but they are sure to peak your interest. So if you are not receiving Wall Street to Main Street you are going to want to beging getting it in your email box daily just go to www.namcnewswire.com
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Louis Victor is the host of the syndicated podcast show and financial newsletter “Wall Street to Main Street” which is featured on the NAMC Newswire Radio. He has been involved in the financial industry for over two decades, on the retail and investment banking ends. He is also well versed in the advertising and marketing industries, which has given him insight into market trends and unqiue companies that may be under the radar. |
history-of-previous-european-currency-unions
History of Previous European Currency Unions
Writen by Sam Vaknin
The Euro feels like a novelty - but it is not. It was preceded by quite a few Monetary Unions in Europe and outside it.
To start with, countries such as the USA and the USSR are (or were in the latter’s case) monetary unions. A single currency was or is used over enormous land masses incorporating previously distinct political, social and economic entities. The American constitution, for instance, did not provide for the existence of a central bank. Founding fathers, the likes of Madison and Jefferson, objected to its existence. A central monetary institution was established only in 1791 (modelled after the Bank of England). But Madison (as President) let its concession expire in 1811. It was revived in 1816 - only to die again. It took a civil war to lead to a budding monetary union. Bank regulation and supervision were instituted only in 1863 and a distinction was made between national and state-level banks.
By that time, 1562 private banks were printing and issuing notes, some of them not a legal tender. In 1800 there were only 25. The same thing happened in the principalities which were later to constitute Germany: 25 private banks were established only between 1847 and 1857 with the express intention of printing banknotes to circulate as legal tender. In 1816 - 70 different types of currency (mostly foreign) were being used in the Rhineland alone.
A tidal wave of banking crises in 1908 led to the formation of the Federal Reserve System and 52 years were to elapse until the full monopoly of money issuance was retained by it.
What is a monetary union? Is it sufficient to have a single currency with free and guaranteed convertibility?
Two additional conditions apply: that the exchange rate be effective (realistic and, thus, not susceptible to speculative attacks) and that the members of the union adhere to one monetary policy.
Actually, history shows that the condition of a single currency, though preferable, is not a sine qua non. A union could incorporate “several currencies, fully and permanently convertible into one another at irrevocably fixed exchange rates” which is really like having a single currency with various denominations, each printed by another member of the Union. What seems to be more important is the relationship (as expressed through the exchange rate) between the Union and other economic players. The currency of the Union must be convertible to other currencies at a given (could be fluctuating - but always one) exchange rate determined by a uniform exchange rate policy. This must apply all over the territory of the single currency - otherwise, arbitrageurs will buy it in one place and sell it in another and exchange controls would have to be imposed, eliminating free convertibility and inducing panic.
This is not a theoretical - and thus unnecessary - debate. ALL monetary unions in the past failed because they allowed their currency or currencies to to be exchanged (against outside currencies) at varying rates, depending on where it was converted (in which part of the monetary union).
“Before long, all Europe, save England, will have one money”. This was written by William Bagehot, the Editor of The Economist, the renowned British magazine. Yet, it was written 120 years ago when Britain, even then, was debating whether to adopt a single European Currency.
Joining a monetary union means giving up independent monetary policy and, with it, a sizeable slice of national sovereignty. The member country can no longer control its the money supply, its inflation or interest rates, or its foreign exchange rates. Monetary policy is transferred to a central monetary authority (European Central Bank). A common currency is a transmission mechanism of economic signals (information) and expectations, often through the monetary policy. In a monetary union, fiscal profligacy of a few members, for example, often leads to the need to raise interest rates in order to pre-empt inflationary pressures. This need arises precisely because these countries share a common currency. In other words, the effects of one member’s fiscal decisions are communicated to other members (through the monetary policy) because they share one currency. The currency is the medium of exchange of information regarding the present and future health of the economies involved.
Monetary unions which did not follow this course are no longer with us.
Monetary unions, as we said, are no novelty. People felt the need to create a uniform medium of exchange as early as the times of Ancient Greece and Medieval Europe. However, those early monetary unions did not bear the hallmarks of modern day unions: they did not have a central monetary authority or monetary policy, for instance.
The first truly modern example would be the monetary union of Colonial New England.
The New England colonies (Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire and Rhode Island) accepted each other’s paper money as legal tender until 1750. These notes were even accepted as tax payments by the governments of the colonies. Massachusetts was a dominant economy and sustained this arrangement for almost a century. It was envy that ended this very successful arrangement: the other colonies began to print their own notes outside the realm of the union. Massachusetts bought back (redeemed) all its paper money in 1751, paying for it in silver. It instituted a mono-metalic (silver) standard and ceased to accept the paper money of the other three colonies.
The second, more important, experiment was the Latin Monetary Union. It was a purely French contraption, intended to further, cement, and augment its political prowess and monetary clout. Belgium adopted the French Franc when it attained independence in 1830. It was only natural that France and Belgium (together with Switzerland) should encourage others to join them in 1848. Italy followed in 1861 and the last ones were Greece and Bulgaria (!) in 1867. Together they formed the bimetallic currency union known as the Latin Monetary Union (LMU).
The LMU seriously flirted with Austria and Spain. The Foundation Treaty was officially signed only on 23/12/1865 in Paris.
The rules of this Union were somewhat peculiar and, in some respects, seemed to defy conventional economic wisdom.
Unofficially, the French influence extended to 18 countries which adopted the Gold Franc as their monetary basis. Four of them agreed on a gold to silver conversion rate and minted gold coins which were legal tender in all of them. They voluntarily accepted a money supply limitation which forbade them to print more than 6 Franc coins per capita (the four were: France, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland).
Officially (and really) a gold standard developed throughout Europe and included coin issuers such as Germany and the United Kingdom). Still, in the Latin Monetary Union, the quantities of gold and silver Union coins that member countries could mint was unlimited. Regardless of the quantities minted, the coins were legal tender across the Union. Smaller denomination (token) silver coins, minted in limited quantity, were legal tender only in the issuing country.
There was no single currency like the Euro. Countries maintained their national currencies (coins), but these were at parity with each other. An exchange commission of 1.25 % was charged to convert them. The tokens had a lower silver content than the Union coins.
Governmental and municipal offices were required to accept up to 100 Francs of tokens (even though they were not convertible and had a lower intrinsic value) in a single transaction. This loophole led to mass arbitrage: converting low metal content coins to buy high metal content ones.
The Union had no money supply policy or management. It was left to the market to determine how much money will be in circulation. The central banks pledged the free conversion of gold and silver to coins. But, this pledge meant that the Central Banks of the participating countries were forced to maintain a fixed ratio of exchange between the two metals (15 to 1, at the time) ignoring the prices fixed daily in the world markets.
The LMU was too negligible to influence the world prices of these two metals. The result was overvalued silver, export of silver from one member to another using ingenious and ever more devious ways of circumventing the rules of the Union. There was no choice but to suspend silver convertibility and thus acknowledge a de facto gold standard. Silver coins and tokens remained legal tender.
This became a major problem for the Union and the coup de grace was delivered by the unprecedented financing needs brought on by the First World War. The LMU was officially dismantled in 1926 - but died long before that. The lesson: a common currency is not enough - a common monetary policy monitored and enforced by a common Central Bank is required in order to sustain a monetary union.
As the LMU was being formed, in 1867, an International Monetary Conference was convened. Twenty countries participated and discussed the introduction of a global currency. They decided to adopt the gold (British, USA) standard and to allow for a transition period. They agreed to use three major “hard” currencies but to equate their gold content so as to render them completely interchangeable. Nothing came out of it - but this plan was a lot more sensible than the LMU.
One wrong path seemed to have been the Scandinavian Monetary Union.
Sweden (1873), Denmark (1873) and Norway (1875) formed the Scandinavian Monetary Union (SMU). The pattern was familiar: they accepted each others’ gold coins as legal tender in their territories. Token coins were also cross-boundary legal tender as were banknotes (1900) recognized by the banks of the member countries. It worked so perfectly that no one wanted to convert the currencies and exchange rates were not available from 1905 to 1924, when Sweden dismantled the Union following Norway’s independence. Actually, the countries involved created (though not officially) what amounted to a unified central bank with unified reserves - which extended monetary credit lines to each of the member countries.
The Scandinavian Kronor held well as long as gold supply was limited. World War I changed this situation as governments dumped gold and inflated their currencies, engaging in competitive devaluations. Central Banks used the depreciated currencies to buy gold at official (cheap) rates. Sweden saw through this ploy and refused to sell its gold in the officially fixed price. The other members began to sell large quantities of the token coins to Sweden and use the proceeds to buy the much Stronger Swedish “economy” (=currency) at an ever cheaper price (as the price of gold collapsed). Sweden reacted by prohibiting the import of other members’ tokens. Without a fixed price of gold and without coin convertibility, there was no Union to talk of.
The last big (and recent) experiment in monetary union was the East African Currency Area. An equivalent experiment is still going on in the Francophile part of Africa involving the CFA currency.
The parts of East Africa ruled by the British (Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika and, in 1936, Zanzibar) adopted in 1922 a single common currency, the East African shilling. Independence in East Africa had no monetary aspect because it remained part of the Sterling Area. This guaranteed the convertibility of the local currencies into British Pounds. Regarding this a matter of national pride (and strategic importance) the British poured inordinate amounts of money into these emerging economies. This monetary union was not disturbed by the introduction (1966) of local currencies in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The three currencies were legal tender in each of these countries and were all convertible to Pounds.
It was the Pound which gave way by strongly depreciating in the late 60s and early 70s. The Sterling Area was dismantled in 1972 and with it the strict monetary discipline which it imposed - explicitly and through the free convertibility - on its members. A divergence in the value of the currencies (due to different inflation targets and resulting interest rates) was inevitable. In 1977 the East African Currency Area ended.
Not all monetary unions met the same gloomy end, however. Arguably, the most famous of the successful ones is the Zollverein (German Customs Union).
At the beginning of the 19th century, there were 39 independent political units which made up the German Federation in what is today’s Germany. They all minted coins (gold, silver) and had their own standards for weights and measures. Labour mobility in Europe was greatly enhanced by the decisions of the Congress of Vienna in 1815 but trade was still ineffective because of the number of different currencies.
The German statelets formed a customs union as early as 1818. This was followed by the formation of three regional groupings (the Northern, Central and Southern) which were united in 1833. In 1828, Prussia harmonized and unified its tariffs with the other members of the Federation. Debts related to customs could be paid in gold or silver. Several currencies were developed and linked to each other through fixed exchange rates. There was an over-riding single currency: the Vereinsmunze. The Zollverein (Customs Union) was established in 1834 to facilitate trade and reduce its costs. Most of the political units agreed to choose between one of two monetary standards (the Thaler and the Gulden) in 1838 and nine years later, the central bank of Prussia (which comprised 70% of the population and land mass of the future Germany) became the effective Central Bank of the Federation. The North German Thaler was fixed at 1.75 to the South German Gulden and, in 1856 (when Austria became associated with the Union), at 1.5 Austrian Florins (this was to be a short lived affair, because Prussia and Austria declared war on each other in 1866).
Germany was united by Bismarck in 1871 and a Reichsbank was founded 4 years later. It issued the Reichsmark which became the legal and only tender of the whole German Reich. The currency Union survived two world wars, a devastating bout of inflation in 1923 and a collapse of the currency after the Second World War. The Reichsmark became the solid and reliable Bundesbank. The Union still survives in the Deutschmark.
This is the only case of a monetary union which succeeded without being preceded by a political arrangement. It survived because Prussia was sizeable and had enough real power and perceived clout to enforce compliance on the other members of the Federation. Prussia wanted to have a stable currency and introduced consistent metallic standards. The other states could not deprive their currencies of their intrinsic values. For the first time in history, coinage became a professional economic decision, totally depoliticized.
In this context, we must mention another successful (on-going) union - the CFA Franc Zone.
The CFA (French African Community) is a currency used in the former French colonies of West and Central Africa (and, curiously, in one formerly Spanish colony). The currency zone has been in existence for well over three decades and comprises diverse ethnic, lingual, cultural, political and economic units. The currency withstood devaluations (the latest one of 100% vis a vis the French Franc), changes of regimes (from colonial to independent), the existence of two groups of members, each with its own central bank, controls of trade and capital flows - not to mention a host of natural and man made catastrophes. What makes it so successful is maybe the fact that the reserves of the member states are hoarded in the safes of the French Central Bank and that the currency is almost absolutely convertible to the French Franc. Convertibility is guaranteed by the French Treasury itself.
France imposes monetary discipline (that it sometimes lacks at home!) directly and through its generous financial assistance.
Europe has had more than its share of botched (the Snake, the EMS, the ERM) and of successful (ECU, the United Kingdom and Ireland) currency unifications.
A neglected one is between Belgium and Luxembourg (BENELUX is the political alignment which includes the Netherlands).
There is no real currency union here. Both maintain separate currencies. But their currencies are at parity and serve as legal tender in both countries since 1921. The Belgian Central Bank controls the monetary policies of both countries, with the exception of exchange regulations which are overseen by a joint agency. In both 1982 and 1993 the two countries considered dismantling the union - but this was not serious talk, the advantages being so numerous (especially to the smaller partner).
These three currency unions have all survived due mainly to the fact that one monetary authority has been responsible, at least de facto, for managing the currency.
What can we learn from all this (not insubstantial) cumulative experience?
(A) A dominant country is required for a Union to succeed. It must have a strong geopolitical drive and maintain political solidarity with some of the other members. It must be big, influential, and its economy must be intermeshed with the economies of the others.
(B) Central institutions must be set up to monitor and enforce fiscal and other policies, to coordinate activities of the member states, to implement political and technical decisions, to control the money aggregates and seniorage (=money printing), to determine the legal tender and the rules governing the issuance of money.
(C) It is better if a monetary union is preceded by a political one. Even so, it might prove tricky (consider the examples of the USA and of Germany).
(D) Wage and price flexibility are sine qua non. Their absence is a threat to the continued existence of any union. Fiscal policy (money transfers from rich areas to poor) are a partial remedy. They can mitigate and ameliorate problems - but not solve them. Transfers also call for a clear and consistent fiscal policy regarding taxation and expenditures. Problems like unemployment plague a rigid, sedimented union. The works of Mundell and McKinnon (optimal currency areas) prove it decisively (and separately).
(E) The last prerequisite is clear convergence criteria and monetary convergence targets.
Judging by these requirements, the current European monetary union did not sufficiently assimilate the lessons of its ill begotten predecessors. It is set in a Europe more rigid in its labour and pricing practices than 150 years ago, it was not preceded by serious political amalgamation, it relies too heavily on transfers without having in place either a coherent monetary or a consistent fiscal policy.
This monetary union is, therefore, likely to join its forefathers and remain a footnote in the annals of economic history.
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About The Author Sam Vaknin is the author of “Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited” and “After the Rain - How the West Lost the East”. He is a columnist in “Central Europe Review”, United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia. His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com |
