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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Things That Piss Me Off About the Financial Meltdown

You say that is ok I will get into a money market fund because my money will be safe and liquid there. Well not anymore. The Wall Street Journal reported that a huge money-market fund, the Reserve Primary Fund, announced Tuesday that it lost money as its net asset value fell below the hallowed $1-per-share level, the first time one of these conservative funds has had a loss in 14 years. The reason is was debt securities it holds issued by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. This means that more losses may be in store for other money market funds. The S&P and Standard and Poor’s have placed several funds on credit watch for possible downgrades.

What does this mean for you the person living on Main Street? We are facing potentially the largest financial meltdown in history. This crisis will not only have ramifications in the United States but around the world.

The thing that pisses me off about all this is when those individuals in their Ivory Towers were looking down and seeing how much money they were making rather then seeing what the moral hazard is they wanted deregulation. They wanted the government to stay out of their business. Now that they are all strugiling and the businesses are collapsing they want the regulation and begging the government to bail them out.

As a community and as a country we are going to suffer. We need to stand up to all the politicians who make these laws and start voting them out. We need to make them understand that they are not in Washington to do the bidding of lobbyist but the bidding of the American People. What makes our country any better then any other country? Nothing because what we call bribery based on the activities of other nations we call here lobbying. We need to stop playing on words. If it looks like a bribe and it smells like a bribe then it is a bribe. Deep pockets buy good government for those who can afford it. The rest can all suffer based on that philosophy.

Stop the madness people. It is time for a financial revolution. The best way that we can affect change is by hitting where it hurts the most. Not by wars and fighting and killing but by hurting the deep pockets. Stop voting for the same people over and over again. Stop picking only Democrats and Republicans. Both parties have controlled this country for over 100 years. What is different from that and a dictator? Nothing!

Check out 104inc.com and join the revolution of people who want to break the monopoly on deep pocket businesses. 104inc will help the little guy unlike Yahoo and Google.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Will you be my sugardaddy?

CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 15: Queen Elizabeth...

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

What a mess.

Lehman Brothers went belly up this weekend. Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch. American International Group (AIG) is on the edge bankruptcy or being acquired for pennies on the dollar. Last week the federal government took over Federal National Mortgage Association and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

When JP Morgan Chase took over Bear Stearns last March, the US government set a potentially ugly precedent of not letting financial companies fail. This happened again with the takeover of the quasi-government agencies: Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

Rumors of Lehman Brothers demise started last week. The Government went into the weekend saying that it wouldn’t bail out Lehman. The Government put the burden of finding a solution on the private sector. Several financial institutions were in the running, but it boiled down to Bank of America or death. The answer was death.

It was kind of strange: Bank of America started the weekend in talks to acquite Lehman Brothers, but ended up with a different partner: Merrill Lynch I guess they didn’t want any more subprime garbage after acquiring Countrywide.

The next piece of the puzzle is seeing what happens with AIG. AIG was downgraded by Standard & Poors, Fitch, and Moodys. This will cost AIG billions of dollars. They now need to raise capital and it looks like they will have to sell assets or find a sugardaddy.

The catch to AIG is how much money they need. They used to have a market capitalization of around $200 billion. At the end of the day on September 15^th, their market capitalization was around $15 billion. They are looking for financing of $50 billion. Why would someone lend a company money for 3x their market value? Will they be too big to fail? Or will we the taxpayers be their sugardaddy?

Check out www.104finance.com for more information about this crazy financial situation we seem to have gotten ourselves into.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Free Online Advertising Tips - Two Free Advertising Tips

Image via Wikipedia

Local small businesses have shoestring advertising budgets and can't afford to spend thousands of dollars on yellow page advertising or on Google pay-per-click Ads. So here are four free advertising tips to help you save thousands of dollars a months and still get more value from each dollar you spend.

You can use these Four free advertising Tips as much and as
you need to.

Free Online Advertising Tip #1 - Register for a free http://104inc.com business account .

When you register you can take advantage of their "Free" basic listing. This will allow your business to be listed on over 2000+ websites for free. Registering on 104inc.com alone will help your website/store increase online and foot traffic; generate quality leads from targeted local customers. They also offer 45 day free trial of the upgraded package if you fully want to take advantage of their powerful lead generating tools.

Free Online Advertising Tip #2 - Send a press release or newsletter.

You always have the opportunity to write a newsletter or press releases monthly to promote your business. This is one of the best free advertising tips for you to take advantage of.

This monthly newsletter or press release can be mailed or e-mailed to your customers and update them on a unique product or service you offer.

Make your release interesting and offer discounts or sales to
your business clients.

People love success stories so make sure to spotlight a success story from the past month or quarter. You might talk about a new product or a client who found success using your product or service.

Then once it is finished, you can submit it to local
news outlets or you can publish it online.

The best place to release your story is by using the website at http://104News.com. When you visit the site click on "feedback" on the top right hand side of the website and submit your story.

These first two tips will really help in your quest for free online advertising.

For two more Great tips visit Free Online Advertising Tips - Four Free Advertising Tips

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Free Advertising For You And Your Business

The satellite office campus of :en:eBay in the...

Image via Wikipedia

We all want free advertising for our online business. Any new ways to publicize ourselves and our business is the key to making money. Finding free advertising is never easy, but 104inc.com helped me drive traffic to my site faster then I ever imagined. As the owner of BuyatDiscounts.com and my own eBay store advertising has always been my number one cost. With over 120 million Websites currently registered, it is increasingly difficult for anyone other than a large company to stand out.

Locating most websites has become as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. How do you expect your Website to stand out? Most registered Websites are long, multiple-word names, and are difficult to remember and type. This leads to slow growth, wasted advertising dollars, and minimal return on investment. How many times have you seen a billboard or truck offering a service you really need; repeating the website to yourself a few times, but you end-up forgetting it by the time you get to a computer?

I know most eBay sellers are always looking for a great opportunity to link their online stores with relevant websites and get free online advertising. After hours of research I was finally able to find an online business listing with basic FREE advertising services. 104Inc provides endless opportunities for branding, networking and increased exposure. All I had to do was visit 104inc.com and click on register at the top right of the website. You fill out your business details and add your website link. Your profile will be reviewed and then added to relevant domains for free advertising.

You can never go wrong with free advertising and what I loved the most about their product is the Geo-Targeting technology, individuals and businesses alike can maximize their potential by easily being located, regardless of size or popularity. Geotargeting is the practice of customizing an advertisement for a product or service to a specific market based on the geographic location of potential buyers. Every country, province, state, county or city in the world can constitute a niche market for certain products or services at certain times. On 104inc.com, geotargeting can help small businesses to compete with national brands and can ensure that large corporations effectively make use of their advertising resources.

This was exactly what I was looking for to promote my eBay business and thought I might share with the rest of the eBay community. Hope it helps! Please leave comments if this was helpful and feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Enjoy the FREE advertising.

You Must Vote Or Risk Death!

Image by comicbase via Flickr The time will shortly be upon us. Obama? McCain? None of the above? Let's face it, America. Every John Q. Taxpayer has been taking jab after jab from the government the last 8 years. It's time for a change, and that change is now! There are those strongly for McCain, and those strongly for Obama. Equally so, there are those who are still undecided, and some, sadly, who could care less. Let me implore you all that the country is in absolute turmoil. Need some help deciding, then you, family, and friends should visit 104Vote.com, a keen website with great articles and reviews of all things politics.

In the meantime, allow me to say the following: when former President Clinton was in office, there was a surplus. There were 22+ million new jobs, a booming economy, etc. Since "W" took the reigns, all that has faded, leaving a flurry of foreclosed homes, disgruntled unemployed workers, and a deficit that ten Bill Gates' couldn't get us out of.

Still need help voting democrat. OK. Here it is. Log on to 104Vote.com and after reading many articles, you'll see that you can only spell change O-B-A-M-A. The man is primed and ready to rock the nation and bring the United States of America back to the international supremacy we were globally known for. He's ready to bring the value of the dollar back, to lower taxes, and all that other good stuff. Sure, most politicians say the same thing, but after what Bush did to the country, aren't you ready for a change? And with McCain (Bush II) running, what would be the difference? He's agreed with Bush on over 90% of bills that crossed his desk over Bush's two terms. So, if he agreed with arguably the worst president in history, what would make him any different.

Nothing.

OBAMA 2008. Register to vote today! Vote in November, log on to 104Vote.com, and get ready for great years to come!

What To Do Now That Your Number One Fantasy Football Player Tom Brady is Hurt?

GLENDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 03: Quarterback Tom B...

Image by Getty Images via Daylife There were a couple of key injuries to some NFL players this past weekend. One is obvious, the other maybe not as much. The obvious key injury was to Tom Brady. The other player who was injured was Nate Burleson.
It looked like Nate Burleson was going to be Matt Hasselbeck’s number one receiver with Deion Branch and Bobby Engram out with injuries. The Seahawks ground game isn’t very impressive. The other concern for the Seahawks is who is Hasselbeck going to throw to?
You have to be suicidal if you took Tom Brady with your 1st or 2nd pick in your Fantasy Football draft this year. You got less than one quarter’s worth of action and he is done for the year.

You did have to wonder how much you would get out of Brady this year: he was hurt during the AFC Championship game last year and didn’t do much in the Super Bowl. He didn’t play during the pre-season because of another injury. So, you shouldn’t have expected him to put up numbers like last year. But, who would have expected a torn ACL? Did he just come back too early?

The only Patriots’ fantasy value this will help is Matt Cassell. Randy Moss is not going to get as many -touchdowns as last year and you have to wonder if he will have a meltdown with a non-Pro Bowl Quarterback. Wes Welker, Brady’s most consistent target, won’t see as many catches and yards as he has in the last couple of years. Maybe the Patriots’ running game will be used more. But, if other teams’ defenses are focusing on the running game, it might not work out so well for the Pats.

It will be interesting to see how the Patriots and Seahawks cope with the injuries and see how fantasy owners will deal with the loss of Brady. Hopefully they drafted a decent back-up quarterback, or they might have to make a costly trade.
One of the places you can check out football information is www.104football.com .

Monday, September 8, 2008

Why Does Oil Spike Up So Quickly?

Speculators knock OPEC off oil-price perch

Image by Barrybar via Flickr

It was less than a month ago where I wrote an article about oil and why (based on analyst’s opinions) the price has increased so much, going up to $147 per barrel back in July. You gotta love the stock market, including mutual funds and commodities, because they never cease to amaze or surprise anyone. In just four short weeks, oil has come down to under $108 per barrel. How in the world does oil spike up so quickly? More importantly, how does it plummet so drastically? Oil prices have decreased over 25% in the last four weeks, which makes me laugh when I think about all of those big shots from Goldman Sachs and such who predicted that oil will hit $200 by the end of summer. If you want to find some of these articles, simply go to www.104oil.com and you’ll find hundreds of them and others that are related.

The thing that I get tired of is the amount of speculation there is about oil, with “experts” giving their “expert opinions” on things. There are many reasons (based on analyst’s opinions from articles I found on 104Oil.com) as to why the price of oil has decreased so much. The economy of “powerful” countries, such as China, is weak and in jeopardy of a recession. Demand for materials and other goods have decreased due to these countries having weak economies and reducing their output. Furthermore, specifically with China, the currency there has increased in value, which obviously makes exports less desirable, hence, causing a decrease in the output of products. Yet, the average person would conclude that if a county’s currency appreciates in value, why would it be having economical problems? For that, stay tuned for another article…we’re talking about oil here.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Tip #2 - Preparing to Sell on eBay?

Image via Wikipedia

Using online auctions is a relatively inexpensive way to promote your products or services. On the downside, they can be very time-consuming to post to - especially if you're only making a few dollars profit per sale. Several steps are involved before you can post your auction on major sites such as; eBay or Yahoo! Shopping Auctions. If you're new to selling via online auctions, the following steps will make listing your item a smooth and easy process.

1). Plan your item title and description. Give some thought to naming and describing your item. What will buyers most want to know about it? What are its most appealing characteristics? What words might buyers use to search for your item?

2). Write your HTML code. If you plan to include HTML, complete and test your code before you get started with the listing process. Learn more about HTML.

3). Have a good picture of your item in an appropriate digital format. JPEG (.jpg) is recommended. If you host your own photos, have your photos uploaded to your service. In some cases, you'll need your photos stored on your computer's hard drive.

4). Have the item on hand. Keep the item close by in case you think of other things you want to add to your description. In addition, you'll want to ship the item to the buyer ASAP.

5). Plan your pricing. You may want to do a little research into the selling prices of other items similar to yours. This will help you set your starting price.

6). Registration. This usually will require your credit/ debit card and bank account information. It is recommended you write down your registration information (username and password) or save it in a place you will remember in the future.

You're now prepared to sell your item!

A few things to keep in mind after you've made the sell:

1 Communicate With The Buyer. Some auction sites offer a checkout service in which you must verify before receiving payment. Contact the buyer directly if you have not heard from the buyer within three days of your listing's end.

2 Receive Payment eBay and Yahoo offer their own payment solutions. Another popular method used by auctioneers is PayPal. If the buyer hasn't already made payment, send them a letter explaining how they should proceed.

3 Ship Your Order Immediately You don't want your buyer to get angry. Many auctions

provide buyer and seller feedback systems. It's hard to sell products with a bad rating and several negative buyer comments.

Sarah Palin Attack Dog or Barracuda?

Image by bobster1985 via Flickr

Another week, another political convention. This week kicks off the Republican National Convention that will see the nomination of John McCain for President and Sarah Palin for Vice-President, though the schedule is in flux with Hurricane Gustav that has landed in Louisiana.
McCain named Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, as his running mate on August 29th. She was more or less a surprise pick. She is not well known on the national scene, at least from a media perspective.

The first day of the convention was greatly abbreviated. The only real speakers were Laura Bush and Cindy McCain putting out a call for help for the areas affected by Gustav. They also made announcements of some projects that the Republicans will be undertaking to help victims of Gustav. This fit with the theme for the day: Service.

The theme for Tuesday was Reform. The main speakers of the evening were Laura Bush, George Bush, Fred Thompson, and Joe Lieberman. President Bush gave a very short speech about McCain and didn’t really say too much. Fred Thompson followed and defended the choice of Sarah Palin for vice-president and helped define McCain a bit more. He was followed by Joe Lieberman, who was the Democratic vice-presidential nominee 8 years ago. Lieberman went between praising McCain, defending Palin, and hitting out at Barack Obama. The keynote speech to be given by Rudy Guiliani was moved to Wednesday.

Wednesday the theme is Prosperity. Palin gave her acceptance speech tonight and America got their first real chance to know her. Palin filled the vice-presidential role of attack dog. And she did a good job of attacking Barack Obama and Joe Biden. McCain is going to have a tough time topping her speech. Also speaking were Mitt Romney, Meg Whitman, Mike Huckabee, and Kay Bailey Hutchinson. The speeches once again seem to focus on John McCain, but not on any policy stances for the candidates.

Thursday will be John McCain’s day. The theme for the final day of the convention is Peace. The day is supposed to showcase McCain’s idea of American goodwill and our pursuit of peace in the world. McCain tops off the evening with his acceptance speech. Then the campaign can begin with 60 days until Election Day.

The convention schedule will be very flexible and may change on any day in response to the events of Gustav. One of the places you can keep up with the ever changing world is 104inc.com.

How in the world does oil spike up so quickly?

The beauty of the market, whether it’s commodities, mutual funds, or just plain ‘ol stocks, is that they never fail to surprise me. Only a month ago, I wrote an article about oil and why (based on analyst’s opinions) the price has increased so much, going up to $147 per barrel back in July. Well, just four short weeks later, oil has come down to under $108 per barrel. How in the world does oil spike up so quickly? More importantly, how does it plummet so drastically? Oil prices have decreased over 25% in the last four weeks, which makes me laugh when I think about all of those big shots from Goldman Sachs and such who predicted that oil will hit $200 by the end of summer.

Of course, there are a number of reasons (based on analyst’s opinions) as to why the price of oil has decreased so much. The economy of “powerful” countries, such as China, is weak and in jeopardy of a recession. Demand for products has decreased due to these countries having weak economies. Furthermore, specifically with China, the currency there has increased in value, which obviously makes exports less desirable, hence, causing a decrease in the output of goods. Yet, the average person would conclude that if a county’s currency appreciates in value, why would it be having economical problems? For that, stay tuned for another article…we’re talking about oil here.

The demand for gasoline is weak, which makes oil less appealing to investors. This further drives prices down, considering consumers of gasoline are finding other means of transportation, a phenomenon that is not all that phenomenal. It was only a matter of time for people to start getting sick of paying over $4.50 at the pump for a gallon of gas. Another reason why the price of oil has decreased is because of a stronger dollar in the last few weeks. Our currency is on the rise (yippie!), and this is causing investors to pull out of commodities (such as oil). Investors usually purchase commodities in order to hedge against inflation, and if the dollar is increasing in value, well, there isn’t as much hedging necessary.

There are many other factors involved, including hurricane Gustav not having the impact investors had anticipated for it to have. Also, refineries are starting to slowly come back online after being shut down for various reasons. So then, is it safe to say that the oil bubble has finally burst? Or is it just leaking for now but getting ready to grow larger again? Some analysts believe that prices can spike again due to unforeseen geopolitical events (could they be any more vague?) or OPEC deciding to cut back production (basically them saying,” We need to drive demand up, so we should decrease supply and drive prices up because this year I want to make $2 Billion instead of only $1 Billion”).

Whatever the reason is for oil prices decreasing, I really don’t care. As long as gas prices are decreasing, which they have gone down in the past month from a national average of $4.11 to $3.67 according to AAA, and then I’m a happy camper. Might I add that just because prices have gone down about $0.45 doesn’t mean I’m satisfied? It wasn’t too long ago that I could fill up the gas tank of a gas guzzling Camaro for no more than $35.00. I’d like to see those times again, very soon, so I can drive more like Jeff Gordon rather than Ms. Daisy.

It's Simple. It's 104Inc Approved

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Things That Piss Me Off About the Financial Meltdown

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Will you be my sugardaddy?

Monday, September 15, 2008

Free Online Advertising Tips - Two Free Advertising Tips

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Free Advertising For You And Your Business

You Must Vote Or Risk Death!

What To Do Now That Your Number One Fantasy Football Player Tom Brady is Hurt?

Monday, September 8, 2008

Why Does Oil Spike Up So Quickly?

Friday, September 5, 2008

Tip #2 - Preparing to Sell on eBay?

Sarah Palin Attack Dog or Barracuda?

How in the world does oil spike up so quickly?

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