Clipmarks | Finance Clips

BUDGET MONTHLY

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:18:48 GMT

clipped by: peggyjsmith

Clip Source: www.calcxml.com

How Much Am I Spending?

Assumptions

Monthly or annual figures?

Expenses

Mortgage payment or rent

Vacation home (mortgage)

Automobile loan(s)

Personal loan(s)

State income taxes

Federal income taxes

Charge accounts

FICA (social security taxes)

Real estate taxes

Other taxes

Utilities

Household repairs and maintenance

Food

Clothing and laundry

Educational expenses

Child care

Automobile expenses (gas, repairs, etc.)

Other transportation expenses

Life insurance premiums

Homeowners (renters) insurance

Automobile insurance

Medical, dental and disability insurance

Entertainment and dining

Other and miscellaneous expenses

Charitable contributions

Professional services

Major home improvements and furnishings

Gifts

Hobbies

Club dues

Recreation and travel

Tags: finance

US Bailout Unfairly Helps Carmakers

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:49:10 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.spiegel.de

The $700 billion bailout passed by US lawmakers on Friday may amount to indirect aid to America's ailing automobile industry, Berlin fears. Even worse, Germans are furious over a $25 billion handout to carmakers made earlier last week.

The German automobile industry is unhappy. Twice in the last week, the United States government has reached deep into the American pocketbook in an attempt to shore up the country's economy. And both times, struggling US carmakers have been the beneficiaries. According to information obtained by SPIEGEL, the government in Berlin is concerned that fair competition in the automobile industry may have been compromised.

Tags: united states, germany, cars, economy, finance

Financial joke...

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:50:28 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: I guess just because you make 10's of millions in salary -- well, you really shouldn't be expected to actually KNOW about the financial health of your company?

That's run-away capitalism for you: get all the bene's without the responsibility...

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Testifying before the committee, Lehman’s chief executive, Richard S. Fuld Jr., said that he took full responsibility for the decisions he made while at the helm. But he also told lawmakers that it was unreasonable to expect that he should have seen the financial crisis coming.

Tags: finance, economy, bailout, crooks

Credit Crunch Turned Major Health Threat

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:13:42 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken

Clip Source: www.russiatoday.com

Credit crunch turned major health threat

The world financial crisis seems to be a major threat not only for people’s wallets but also for their health.

Medics say that stress caused by worries over family finance and the possibility of losing a job is weakening the workers’ immune systems. This leads to many cases of flu and stomach problems.

Another reason behind the health crisis is the rising price for food. Shoppers who experience a lack of cash tend to switch to cheaper junk food.

Citizens are focused on their finance and they completely forget about their health. They stop jogging in the morning and are not that eager to visit the gym as it become too expensive for many families.

And the latest figures from the UK’s leading absence management company FirstCare say that more than 380,000 people are getting sick every day.

Doctors are also sounding the alarm because many can turn to smoking and alcohol use to cope with the pressure of the credit crunch.

Ten Tallest Buildings in the World

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:42:28 GMT

clipped by: infopunk

Clip Source: www.dirjournal.com

Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan – 1671 ft (509 m) 101 Floors

Shanghai World Financial Center – 1614 ft (492 m) 101 Floors

Petronas Twin Towers – 1483 ft (452 m) 88 Floors

The Sears Tower – 1451 ft (452 m) 108 Floors

Jin Mao Tower – 1380 ft (421 m) 88 Floors

Two International Finance Center (IFC) – 1362 ft (415 m) 88 Floors

CITIC Plaza – 1283 ft (391 m) 80 Floors

Shun Hing Square – 1260 ft (382 m) 69 Floors

Empire State Building – 1250 ft (381 m) – 102 Floors

Coming Up

Burj Dubai, Dubai, The United Arab Emirates (167 Stories)

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), is the official body that determines which buildings fall under the ‘The World’s Tallest Building’ category. It ranks the height of buildings, based on the height to the architectural top of the building, highest occupied floor, top of the roof or the tip of the building.

Tags: buildings, tall

Bernanke, Paulson, Trichet May Act to Unblock Lending (Update1)

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:50:56 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Rates are also surging in the commercial paper market that many U.S. companies use to finance their day-to-day operations. Yields on overnight U.S. commercial paper jumped 0.94 percentage point to 3.68 percent.

`The Federal Reserve must now act as a clearing house'' for banks and ``must also take another bold step: outright purchases of commercial paper, said Bill Gross, manager of the world's biggest bond fund at Newport Beach, California-based Pacific Investment Management Co.

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index having its steepest intraday decline since 1987 and emerging markets, until now the locomotives of the world economy, hit particularly hard: exchanges in Russia and Brazil halted trading.

One less complicated step would be for central banks to lower rates in concert. Traders are betting that the Bank of England will lower rates at a meeting this week, and that the Fed will cut its benchmark by at least half a point at or before an Oct. 28-29 gathering.

Clip Source: www.bloomberg.com

In the U.S., Federal Reserve chief Bernanke yesterday signaled he's preparing measures with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to unfreeze markets where loans aren't secured by assets.

Bernanke is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook from 12:30 p.m. in Washington today. He and Paulson meet with European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and their other Group of Seven major-nation counterparts Oct. 10 in Washington.

It's those markets that are now ground zero for the crisis. A series of high-profile failures of financial institutions in the U.S. and Europe has made banks wary of trading with each other and sent rates soaring. The three-month London interbank offered rate, or Libor, that banks charge each other for loans was 4.29 percent yesterday, close to the highest since January.

``Libor is the problem and it has been the problem all along,'' said John Roberts, managing director at Barclays Capital Inc.

If they fix that, they are on their way to fixing a lot of things.

Tags: fed chief bernanke, treasury sec paulson, oct.10 meeting, european central bank trichet, london interbank rate

LA man kills family, himself over financial woes

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:27:17 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Dick'n'George will get a laugh out of this.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

A 45-year-old Los Angeles man who was allegedly distraught over money troubles has shot and killed his wife, three sons and mother-in-law before taking his own life, police said.

The father of three, who was not immediately identified by authorities, was believed to have shot five members of his family and then himself sometime after 6:00pm on Saturday (local time), a Los Angeles police spokesman said.

It's "a very tragic scene, total devastation inside this home," deputy chief Michael Moore told reporters at a news conference.

"We believe this to be a murder-suicide."

The man, a former employee of major accounting firms who had an MBA in finance but was having trouble finding a job, left three letters in the home detailing his financial difficulties, police said.

"We believe that he has become despondent recently over financial dealings and the financial situation of his household and that this murder-suicide event is a direct result of that," deputy chief Moore said.

U.S.Treasury's Kashkari to Lead Bank Bailout Office (Update1)

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:02:14 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: ``We need to think through what's the best for securities, for loans, to help strengthen the balance sheet of the institutions.'' Anthony Ryan, the Treasury's acting undersecretary for domestic finance, said in an interview today on CNBC. ``We are focusing on the broader issues, the mortgage- related assets.''

Senate confirmation is required to fill the position for which Kashkari will be nominated. The Treasury hasn't specified the length of Kashkari's tenure, or whether the White House would nominate him officially. The Bush administration remains in office until January.

Ben Dover, "Dewey Screwem and Howe" via tom mcguire

Clip Source: justoneminute.typepad.com

Nice to see the that Hank Paulson and the US Treasury have a sense of humor - the bailout will be run by Neel Cash-n-Carry. Legal counsel to be provided by Dewey Screwem and Howe, I have no doubt.

Clip Source: www.bloomberg.com

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Treasury will name Neel Kashkari, assistant secretary at the department, to run the $700 billion Wall Street rescue program on an interim basis, according to a Treasury official.

Kashkari will be designated the interim head of the new office of financial stability, created in the bailout legislation Congress passed last week. The Treasury aims to buy troubled assets such as home loans and mortgage-backed securities from banks and other financial institutions in an effort to shore up global credit markets.

Kashkari, a former vice president at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is currently assistant secretary for international economics and development. He has been one of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's key advisers on housing issues.

Tags: paulson, treasury, new office of financial stability, neel kashkari, former vp goldman sachs

The Love of Money is the root of all Evil

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:30:55 GMT

clipped by: Eaglewings
clipper's remarks: The old saying goes that if it appears to be too good to be true it is.

Easy credit has been the ruin of our financial houses. People have overextended in many areas and housing was just the next obvious liberal pursuit. Conservatives teach that less is more and learning to live responsibly in all areas of life is the best approach.

Liberals would have us believe that you can have it all and at someone else's expense.

The bible teaches that the love of money is the root of all that is evil.

Clip Source: www.onenewsnow.com

A Christian financial expert says America's current financial liquidity problem can't be solved by a government bailout or the policy of a new elected official, but only if people take responsibility for their sin.

Bentley believes the country's current financial woes can be attributed to the sin of greed and the failure of Americans to acknowledge that sin and repent of it before God.

Tags: economy, depression, loans, financial, finance, government. sin. greed, vice

the sad state we are all in

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:20:14 GMT

clipped by: gizzmoman

Clip Source: my.earthlink.net

McCain calls Obama a liar, faults his Chicago ties

Dow finishes below 10,000 for first time since '04

Lehman sought millions for execs while seeking aid

Clip Source: my.earthlink.net

LOS ANGELES - An unemployed man with an advanced finance degree who was despondent over his own financial problems shot and killed his wife, three children, mother-in-law and then himself in an upscale home in a gated community, police said Monday.

A Los Angeles County forensic technician investigates inside an open garage at the home where six bodies were found in a gated community in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles on Monday, Oct. Damian Dovarganes

Officers found the bodies Monday morning after the wife failed to show up at a neighbor's home to go to work, Deputy Chief Michel Moore said. The deaths occurred sometime after Saturday evening.

Police: Jobless father kills family, self

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:39:11 GMT

clipped by: rmowery
clipper's remarks: very sad.

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Police: Jobless father kills family, self

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A man distraught because he could not find work shot and killed his mother-in-law, his wife and three sons and then killed himself inside a home in an upscale San Fernando Valley neighborhood, police said.

Authorities said the man had an MBA in finance but appeared to have been unemployed for several months and had worked for major accounting firms, such as Price Waterhouse, police said.

The two-story rented home is in gated community in Porter Ranch, about 20 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

The names of the victims have not been released, said Deputy Chief of Police Michel Moore.

The shootings were discovered at 7:15 a.m. Monday, when a neighbor called police to report that the wife had not picked her up as she usually did to take her to her job at a pharmacy, Moore said.

Tags: jobless, father, killing, los angeles, mba, economy

Dow Jones hit 4 years old record

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:48:59 GMT

clipped by: barnabasnagy

Clip Source: barnabasnagy.com

Monday, Dow Jones fell 10000 points. London’s FTSE 100 fell almost eight percent — the biggest one-day fall since 1987. Germany’s DAX 30 and France’s CAC 40 also saw significant drops of between seven and nine percent. - Remarks CNN

Tags: asia, beast, crisis, dow jones, economy, eu, finance, global, market, usa

Idiocracy

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:28:54 GMT

clipped by: crom74

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Mortgage forgiven for woman, 90, who shot herself

AKRON, Ohio - Mortgage finance company Fannie Mae said it is forgiving the mortgage debt of a 90-year-old woman who shot herself in the chest as sheriff's deputies attempted to evict her.

Addie Polk's plight was cited by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, on Friday before the House voted to approve the $700 billion financial rescue package. Kucinich voted against the plan.

Fannie Mae announced later Friday that it would dismiss its foreclosure action, forgive Polk's mortgage and allow her to return to the Akron home where she's lived since 1970.

"Just given the circumstances, we think it's appropriate," Fannie Mae spokesman Brian Faith said, citing Kucinich's statement and news reports. "It certainly made our radar screen."

The Obama Sell Off

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:44:07 GMT

clipped by: ColoradoRight
clipper's remarks: I know that the reason I moved everything I had out of the markets is that if Obama gets in he's going to destroy a minimum of 1/7th of the economy with his medical idiocy. He's also going to destroy investment with his tax increases and who can tell where the next huge failure will come from with that kind of uncertainty.

Better to sit on the sidelines and see what happens than try to guess exactly what the Democrats might destroy next.

Clip Source: hughhewitt.townhall.com

Part of today's sell-off has also got to be the reaction of the business community to the prospect of Obama in power backed by a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. The full agenda of the modern left, never a realistic possibility in this country until this month, now seems possible if not plausible. Of course capital is scared and cash accumulating on the sidelines. The prospect of radical change is never comforting to investors.

The very panic that has caused the sell-off could also deeply damage Obama's recent momentum. He is, after all, a complete rookie and without any executive experience in good times much less a crisis. Is the country really going to roll the dice on Ayers' friend and neighbor and Rezko's partner, so that he can team with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to redesign the American economy in the middle of a global financial crisis and a war?

Tags: obama, democrats, finance, sell, wall street, stocks

Stricken Iceland sends out financial SOS

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:13:33 GMT

clipped by: sunstreak509

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Iceland was seeking the financial help of the US and Scandinavian countries last night as politicians and businessmen scrambled to save the country’s economy.

Officials were locked in meetings for most of the weekend, with the Government hoping to come to some sort of resolution before stock markets open this morning. The country’s banking problems led to the nationalisation last week of Glitnir, one of its largest lenders, as depositors pulled out their funds.

Tags: economy, finance, business