Question: How to increase my credit score

Get a credit card is NOT the answer. The reason people have a bad (or no) credit score is often because they're new to the country, have just turned 18, have previously fallen into arrears or are just bad with money. Getting a credit card is risky because, if you don't stay on top of your payments, it'll just damage your score even more.  Now, it sounds like I hate credit cards - but I don't, and they do have their benefits. But avoid them if possible because they can be more hassle than they're worth (ie, paying the credit back on-time, cancelling accounts when the interest comes in, moving money in and out of accounts). It's risky borrowing money from anywhere whether it's a payday lender, a bank, a credit card, etc., so use them as a last resort. If you've got your own income then that's amazing!, try not to live outside of your means and your credit score will look after (and increase) itself. It takes time to build a good credit score, but always make sure you pay the people you owe on time and the full amount. I'd stick with paying your phone provider (and any other direct debits you have setup) and avoid getting a credit card. I'd recommend Noddle to keep track of your credit score and read their FAQ on how to help build it. Unlike Experian, it's free forever so not quite as detailed... but Noddle are owned by CallCredit - one of the biggest Credit Reference Agencies in the UK so they should have the latest information on yourself. In conclusion, if you already have financial commitments like a mobile phone bill, gym membership, store cards, anything that gets paid monthly by direct debit... your credit score will increase (provided you pay the full-amount on time).   I hope this helps. PS. I don't work for any of the companies here, but I've been working in the finance sector (more specifically, short-term loans) for 3+ years now.

Nobody tracks a single company's net assets on a daily basis, and stock prices are almost never derived directly from their assets (otherwise there would be no concept of 'growth stocks').  Stocks trade on the presumed current value of future positive cash flow, not on the value of their assets alone. Funds are totally different.  They own nothing but stocks and are valued on the basis on the value of those stocks.  (Commodity funds and closed funds muddy the picture somewhat, but basically a fund's only business is owning very liquid assets, not using their assets to produce wealth the way companies do.) A fund has no meaning other than the direct value of its assets.   Even companies which own and exploit large assets, like resource companies, are far more complicated than funds: e.g. gold mining or oil extracting companies derive most of their value from their physical holdings, but those holdings value depends on the moving price and assumed future price of the commodity and also on the operations (efficiency of extraction etc.) Still different from a fund which only owns very liquid assets.

"As I understand it, the cost of the cruise just about pays for your room, plus reasonable food. It doesn't always pay for the room service, even, which is why tipping is encouraged. The line makes money on the EXTRAS. The largest of these are the land tours that take place on an almost daily basis. Also, they manufacture and sell a ""cruise video,"" as well as souvenirs. They also have special events on board such as art auctions, where ""concessionaires pay the ship to let them try to make money on it."

"They are a screwed up company.  They constantly mess up our billing.  It takes me calling every other month to fix it.  Their auto billing is also messed up.    Their tech support is also screwed up.  The amount of times I have spent an hour on the phone with them to find out ""there is an outage in your area"" is pretty funny.  I even lead off with that question and it never is until the 1 hour mark."

I think the first step is to be thankful that your relationship with this person has not degenerated into lawsuits and bickering.  That would greatly affect your cash flow and valuations!  It also seems that this person is open to a variety of solutions.  This truly is a gift. I see two options without taking a mortgage or fronting cash: The key here is if the 65% property already has a mortgage.  Does it have enough equity to provide 15% cash out, and cover the existing mortgage?  What is the interest rate?  Can you get a lower rate that will reduce the impact of a higher mortgage payment will have on your income?  Can you have your partner finance the 15%?   In the end there really isn't a way to divest this company without impacting your income.

I like Trader Joe's, but I first noticed these aspects of the business model in about 1984. Some of what they sell is good, some is bad, and all of it is put in the most romantically humble packaging. Service is excellent.  If only Saab understood the affluent pseudo-hippie market as well as TJ's does.  Boy, some of the prepared meals they sell really suck. Those burritos: gack! And the produce has the power to turn you off food entirely, if you catch them on a bad streak - for a while, the nuts were virtually inedible.Still, the cheddar popcorn is more addictive than heroin.

Operationally they wouldn't be too bad off if not for their debt. With declining sales and powerful competitors, they lack the cash flow to both compete and pay off their debt as it matures and while they've been able to refinance so far the doom and gloom outlook that some investors have right now on retailers makes it harder. If they could restructure they would come out in pretty decent shape though.

"This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-banks-deposits-idUSKBN1AD1RS) reduced by 85%. (I'm a bot) ***** > BRUSSELS - European Union states are considering measures which would allow them to temporarily stop people withdrawing money from their accounts to prevent bank runs, an EU document reviewed by Reuters revealed.  > &quot;The desire is to prevent a bank run, so that when a bank is in a critical situation it is not pushed over the edge,&quot; a person familiar with German government&#039;s thinking said.  > Existing EU rules allow a two-day suspension of some payouts by failing banks, but the moratorium does not include deposits.   ***** [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/6qliud/surely_the_banks_need_even_more_programs_in_their/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ ""Version 1.65, ~179489 tl;drs so far."") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr ""PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome."") | *Top* *keywords*: **bank**^#1 **moratorium**^#2 **run**^#3 **lender**^#4 **fail**^#5"


Question: Reconciling transactions reimbursing myself for expenses as self-employed (UK)

"For anyone that's curious, I had a number of chats with Quickbooks who recommended I import only the relevant business transactions from my personal account & personal credit card in order to lower the tax liability. This way money ""paid"" from the business account to myself rightly shows up as a transfer and not as income. This means when generating a tax report, it calculates the correct rate of tax to be paid based on income minus allowable expenses, regardless which account they came from."

"I'm in a similar situation. First, a 529 plan can be use for ""qualifying"" international schools.  There are 336 for 2015, which includes many well known schools but also excludes many schools, especially lower level or vocational schools and schools in non-English speaking countries. I ran 3 scenarios to see what the impact would be if you invested $3000 a year for 14 years in something tracking the S&P 500 Index: For each of these scenarios, I considered 3 cases: a state with 0% income tax, a state with the median income tax rate of 6% for the 25% tax bracket, and California with an income tax rate of 9.3% for the 25% tax bracket. California has an addition 2.5% penalty on unqualified distributions.  Additionally, tax deductions taken on contributions that are part of unqualified distributions will be viewed as income and that portion of the distribution will be taxed as such at the state level. Vanguard's 500 Index Portfolio has a 10 year average return of 7.63%.  Vanguard's S&P 500 Index fund has a 10 year average return of 7.89% before tax and 7.53% after taxes on distributions. Use a 529 as intended: Use a 529 but do not use as intended: Invest in a S&P 500 Index fund in a taxable account: Given similar investment options, using a 529 fund for something other than education is much worse than having an investment in a mutual fund in a taxable account, but there's also a clear advantage to using a 529 if you know with certainty you can use it for qualified expenses.  Both the benefits for correct use of a 529 and the penalties for incorrect use increase with state tax rates. I live in a state with no income tax so the taxable mutual fund option is closer to the middle between correct and incorrect use of a 529.  I am leaning towards the investment in a taxable account."

"Didnt know their union guys needed phones. I work military and we are ""always on"". Only time we got ""recalled"" was for DUI, test, or other admin. I have never been called in on my ""off"" day for a good reason.."

It is likely a bit of both.  Cooking the books AND an economic miracle.       There will definitely be a downturn eventually, and it will be interesting what shakes out.  At this stage, the Chinese model appears to be stronger than any alternatives.

Sure you can say there are some successful ones from millions. But if you look at most of Reddit for example, they are weed smoking losers living at home and getting paid minimum wage, that is if they even have a job.    While you and your friends smoke once a month, many smoke daily and brag about it like it's a good thing. They all have the fake medical cannabis card and visit the shop weekly.   Daily weed smokers are not fit for the job and are at a higher risk because they are impaired. They also often or almost always lack motivation.

It seems very risky have all of your net worth in this one home. If I were to buy the house, I'm not sure I would put that much down, consider 20% and keep cash on hand, in retirement assets, etc. I would look at how much a mortgage, plus interest, taxes, insurance, etc. would cost with 50% down and with 20% down and see how that impacts your cash flow. Renting may make more sense, it's hard to tell without more specifics (NYTimes Rent/Buy calculator is a nice tool), but regardless, I would not want to have so much net worth tied into one asset and so would opt for less money down if I were to buy. Focus on rebuilding some retirement assets.

"There is no zero risk option! There is no safe parking zone for turbulent times! There is no such thing as a zero-risk investment.  You would do well to get this out of your head now.  Cash, though it will retain its principle over time, will always be subject to inflation risk (assuming a positive-inflation environment which, historically in the US anyway, has always been the case since the Great Depression). But I couldn't find a ""Pure Cash - No investment option"" - what I mean by this is an option where my money is kept idle without investing in any kind of financial instrument (stocks, bonds, other MFs, currencies, forex etc etc whatever).  Getting back to the real crux of your question, several other answers have already highlighted that you're looking for a money market fund.  These will likely be as close to cash as you will get in a retirement account for the reasons listed in @KentA's answer. Investing in short-term notes would also be another relatively low-risk alternative to a money market fund.  Again, this is low-risk, not no-risk. I wanted such kinda option because things may turn bad and I may want nothing invested in the stock markets/bond markets. I was thinking that if the market turns bear then I would move everything to cash Unless you have a the innate ability to perfectly time the market, you are better off keeping your investments where they are and riding out the bear market.  Cash does not generate dividends - most funds in a retirement account do.  Sure, you may have a paper loss of principle in a bear market, but this will go away once the market turns bull again.  Assuming you have a fairly long time before you retire, this should not concern you in the slightest. Again, I want to stress that market timing does not work.  Even the professionals, who get paid the big bucks to do this, on average, get it right as often as they get it wrong.  If you had this ability, you would not be asking financial questions on Stack Exchange, I can tell you that. I would recommend you read The Four Pillars of Investing, by William Bernstein.  He has a very no-nonsense approach to investing and retirement that would serve you (or anybody) well in turbulent financial markets.  His discussion on risk is especially applicable to your situation."

Basically a company who provides health insurance for their employees provides it as part of the employee's salary package. This is an expense by the company in its pursuit of making income. In general, tax deductions are available on any expense incurred in deriving income (the exception is when social policy allows deductions for other types of expenses). If you pay for your own health insurance individually, then this expense is not an expense for you to derive your income, and as such is not tax deductible.


Question: Expense ratio of an ETF included in the price or calculated separately

The expense ratio reduces the return of the ETF; your scenario of paying 100.0015 is that of a load.  Most (all?) ETFs can be bought without paying a load (sales charge as a percent of amount invested), and some ETFs can be bought without paying a brokerage fee (fixed or variable charge for a buy transaction just like buying any other stock  through the brokerage) because the brokerage has waived it.  Your broker  might charge fees for both buying and selling shares in an ETF, but in any case, this is quite separate from the expense ratio.

You're absolutely right - comforts in and of themselves are not everything, and certainly not an excuse to withhold freedoms or any of the other points noted in the list. That said, will all the others covered, comforts can be the icing on the cake.

Fire insurance, as you have discovered, is a complete ripoff. Most people pay fire insurance all their lives with no benefit whatsoever, and those such as yourself who are lucky enough to get a payout find that it is completely insufficient to replace their loss. I once computed the actual beneficial net present financial value of my fire insurance policy and it came out to $40 per month. The cost was $800 per month. That is typical. Homeowners pay $500 to $800 per year for something that is worth $30 to $50 per year. Ironically banks would actually make more money from mortgages if they did not require mortgagees to buy insurance, but nevertheless they insist on it. It is not about logic, but about fear and irrationality. When I paid off my mortgage and gained ownership of my home the first thing I did was cancel my fire insurance. I now invest the money I would have wasted on insurance, making money instead of losing it. Being compelled to throw money down the toilet on fire insurance is one of the hidden costs of a homeowners mortgage in the United States. In your situation, the main option is to borrow the money to rebuild the house using the land as collateral, if the land is valuable enough. Of course, you still owe the money for your original mortgage on your now (non-existent) home. So, to get a home, you will have to have the income to service two mortgages. A loan officer at a reputable bank can tell you whether you have the income necessary to support two mortgages. If you were maxed out on your original mortgage, then you may not have enough income and you are screwed. In that case you will have to go back to renting and gradually paying off your old mortgage. (If it were me, I would sue the insurance company pro se as a way to get the necessary money to rebuild the home, because insurance companies roll over like a $20 hooker when they get sued. Juries hate insurance companies. But I am unusual in that I love courtrooms and suing people. Most people are terrified of courtrooms though, so it may not be an option for you.)

One company owns majority of popular freelancing websites (elance included)  Aside from the race to the bottom pricing happening for projects; customer is always right. Lots of stories of even a pip from a client freezing accounts -- not even just a project, your whole account with any ongoing projects. Everything gone. Thousands lost. Not worth it. No recourse.

"Fulltext: https://pdf.yt/d/oUgs1U5suhiilEPi / https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/182368464/2014-sariaslan.pdf  See also:  - 6: Sariaslan A, Langstrom N, D’Onofrio B, Hallqvist J, Franck J, Lichtenstein. ""The impact of neighbourhood deprivation on adolescent violent criminality and substance misuse: a longitudinal, quasi-experimental study of the total Swedish population"" http://www.researchgate.net/publication/256985352_The_impact_of_neighbourhood_deprivation_on_adolescent_violent_criminality_and_substance_misuse_A_longitudinal_quasi-experimental_study_of_the_total_Swedish_population/file/72e7e51f69f99ad646.pdf . _Int J Epidemiol_ 2013; 42: 1057–66. - 7: Frisell T, Lichtenstein P, Langstrom N. ""Violent crime runs in families: a total population study of 12.5 million individuals"" http://www.sakkyndig.com/psykologi/artvit/frisell2010.pdf . _Psychol Med_ 2011; 41: 97–105. - 8: Kendler KS, Sundquist K, Ohlsson H, Palmér K, Maes H, Winkleby MA, et al. ""Genetic and familial environmental influences on the risk for drug abuse: a national Swedish adoption study"" http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3556483/ . _Arch Gen Psychiatry_ 2012; 69: 690–7. - 9: D’Onofrio BM, Lahey BB, Turkheimer E, Lichtenstein P. ""Critical need for family-based, quasi-experimental designs in integrating genetic and social science research"" http://people.virginia.edu/~ent3c/papers2/d%27onofrioAJPH.pdf . _Am J Public Health_ 2013; 103: S46–55."

"1040 or 1040NR depends on whether you are a resident alien or nonresident alien -- 1040/1040A/1040EZ for resident aliens, and 1040NR/1040NR-EZ for nonresident aliens. Determining whether you are a resident is somewhat complex, and there is not enough information in your question to determine it. Publication 519 is the guide for taxes for aliens. (It hasn't been updated for 2014 yet, so mentally shift all the years in the publication up by one year when you read it.) Since you don't have a green card, whether you are a resident is determined by the Substantial Presence Test. The test says that if (the number of days you were in the U.S. in 2014) + 1/3 of (the number of days you were in the U.S. in 2013) + 1/6 of (the number of days you were in the U.S. in 2012) >= 183 days (half a year), then you are a resident alien for 2014. However, there are exceptions to the test. Days that you are an ""exempt individual"" are not counted toward the Substantial Presence Test. And ""exempt individuals"" include international students, trainees, teachers, etc. However, there are exceptions to the exceptions. Students are not ""exempt individuals"" for a year if they have been exempt individuals for any part of 5 previous calendar years. (Different exceptions apply for teachers and trainees.) So whether you are an ""exempt individual"" for one year inductively depends on whether you have been an ""exempt individual"" in previous years. Long story short, if before you came to the U.S. as an F-1 student, you haven't been in the U.S. on F-1 or J-1 status, then you will be a nonresident alien for the first 5 calendar years (calendar year = year with a number, not 365 days) that you've been on F-1. We will assume this is the case below. So if you started your F-1 in 2009 (any time during that year) or before, then you would have already been an exempt individual for 5 calendar years (e.g. if you came in 2009, then 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 are your 5 years), so you would not be an exempt individual for any part of 2014. Since you were present in the U.S. for most of 2014, you meet the Substantial Presence Test for 2014, and you are a resident alien for all of 2014. If, on the other hand, you started your F-1 in 2010 (any time during that year) or after, then you would still be an exempt individual for the part of 2014 that you were on F-1 status (i.e. prior to October 2014. OPT is F-1.). Days in 2014 in H1b status (3 months) are not enough for you to satisfy the Substantial Presence Test for 2014, so you would be a nonresident alien for all of 2014. If you fall into the latter case (nonresident alien), there are some alternative choices you have. If you were in the U.S. for most of those last 3 months, then you are eligible to choose to use the ""First-Year Choice"". I will not go into the steps to use this choice, but the result is that it makes you dual-status for 2014 -- nonresident until October, and resident since October. If you are single, then making this choice pretty much gives you no benefit. However, if you are married, then making this choice allows you to subsequently make another choice to become a resident for all of 2014. Being resident gives you some benefits, like being able to file as Married Filing Jointly (nonresidents can only file separately), being able to use the Standard Deduction, being able to use many other deductions and credits, etc. Though, depending on what country you're from, it may affect your treaty benefits, so check that before you consider it."

> 2) ... Similarly, using his example of 3 cents adding 2 seconds to the transaction ends up at a rate of $54/hr.  And all of those two seconds can be eliminated by putting four pennies in your hand while standing in line then just pull out the number you need when the total is displayed.   Of course, eliminating pennies wouldn't help this anyway as people would still need time to figure out the number of nickels. dimes, and quarters to have ready in a penniless transaction.  > 3.) No machines take pennies. Fair enough.  Although it's not really true. As of three years ago (when I moved away) the Albuquerque busses took pennies, and I'm pretty sure the stamp machines at the post office take pennies, though I'm not sure about that.  And, of course, the self checkouts at stores everywhere take pennies happily.


Question: Are car buying services worth it?

I have used car buying services through Costco and USAA.  Twice with a Ford, and once with a Honda.  In all instances I was directed to sales people that were uncommonly friendly and pleasant to work with.  I was given a deep discount without any negotiation.  In two of the three cases I did not have a trade.  In one case I had a trade, and negotiated a deeper discount then was originally offered.   Did I get a good deal?  Eh, who knows?  Really it depends what your goal is.   If your goal is to avoid negotiation, avoid idiot salesmen, and receive a good discount then a quality car buying service may be for you.  My research, a few years old, indicated Costco's program was better then the USAA one. If your goal is get a deep as a discount as possible on a new car, well then you have some work cut out for you.  Keep some hand sanitizer handy when you meet one of the slime ball salesmen.  Keep in mind that not everyone understand the difference between the words value and cheap. If your goal is to pay as little as possible for quality transportation.  Avoid most dealers and new cars. But I don't think that is what you are looking for.

Depending on your income/savings level and who you work for (if you work for a big company check with an HSBC Premier advisor, they may waive the requirements), you may qualify for an HSBC Premier account, which can allow you to open accounts in different countries and transfer money between them without a fee. You can also get a Premier account without meeting the requirements if you are willing to pay a monthly fee, but I doubt that will be worth it in the long run for what you need (worth doing the math though if you travel frequently).  NOTE: There may be similar offerings from other banks, but this is just the only one I'm aware of.

No no it's real good man, I mean there's a chance you'll die from heat stroke or get beaten to death for trying to escape since your employer took your passport, but it's great for the consumer who doesn't give a shit and just wants to watch the world cup.  Hope you end up in a service job with a boss that shits down your throat every time you take a piss break you entitled punk.

I've read over these responses like a dozen times. It's really cool hearing from a business owner who has experienced things first-hand. Nobody in my family has ever been or known anything about business/stocks/Anything. I'm learning everything from the internet, friends, and now reddit. I'll certainly seek true legal advice but you have no idea how helpful you and every other person on this thread has been. Thank you! I'm all ears to anything else

What makes you think corporations don't have to pay sales taxes or property taxes (or excise taxes, or environmental impact fees or fuel taxes or any of a million other taxes that we all end up paying) even if they lose money that year?

I think you'll find some sound answers here: Money Creation in the Modern Economy by the Bank of England Where does money come from?  In the modern economy, most money takes   the form of bank deposits. But how those bank deposits are created is   often misunderstood. The principal way in which they are created is   through commercial banks making loans: whenever a bank makes a loan,   it creates a deposit in the borrower’s bank account, thereby creating   new money.  This description of how money is created differs from the   story found in some economics textbooks.

Two different questions: Is it better to be in debt or to pay off the debt? And: Is it better to have student debt than other debt?  Any debt needs to be paid off eventually, and any debt makes you less flexible. So if you have the choice between spending/wasting your money and paying off debt, I would recommend paying off the debt.  The other question is whether having student debt is better than having other debt. You need to look at the terms of your student debt. Pay off the debt with the worst conditions first. Loan sharks (in Britain: pay-day loans) must be paid first. Credit cards debt must go next. Then general loans. Depending on your situation, you may want some savings as well. In case you lose your job, for example. So if you have $8,000 saved and an $8,000 student loan, you might consider waiting a bit before you pay back the loan. No job + $8,000 student loan + $8,000 in the bank is better than no job + no debt + no money in the bank.

Unfortunately for the rest of us, avoiding the military industrial complex also avoids feeding the roads, schools, libraries and social programs industrial complex.  Not to mention the shortfall has to be made up, so it's more taxes and more debt for the rest of us that can't afford to dodge it...


Question: Is there a limit on the dollar amount of a personal check?

Because of the way checks are processed, you can't write a check for $100 million or more: http://www.bankingquestions.com/checksyoureceived/q_limitfunds.html The field used for 'amount' has 10 digits, so anything at/above 10^10 cents (which would require 11 digits) can't be processed, at least not by normal means.

"So you're making $150,000 per year and you have $245,000 in debts. You're in your late 30s and have $41,000, or less than 1/3 of a year's pay, put away for retirement. That's a bad situation, but not disastrous. Lots of people have recovered from far worse. But like the old joke goes, when you realize that you're deep in a hole, STOP DIGGING. The worst thing you could do right now is liquidate the few assets you have and go deeper into debt. I don't know where you live or what the housing market is there. But the easy answer is: find a cheaper house.  I'm not sure what you mean about ""affect the resale value"". Yes, if you buy a cheaper house it will have a lower resale value. So what? The days when a house was an investment that would skyrocket in value are over. (And even in those days, it didn't help most people. So when you move, you get a big profit on the sale of your house. But the house you're moving to probably went up by a similar percentage, so you really didn't gain anything.) Even if your house did increase in value, unless you sell it, that doesn't help you make the mortgage payments. It's a paper profit. Get yourself out of debt. Step 1 is to stop taking on new debts. And if at all possible, you should be putting bare minimum 6% into your retirement plan. I don't know where you work, but most employers match some percentage of the first 6% you put in. If you don't take advantage of that, you're giving up free money."

While it is true that this formula may have historically outperformed the market you have to keep one important thing in mind: once the formula is out in the open, the market inefficiency will disappear. Here is what I mean. Historically there have always been various inefficiencies in the market structure. Some people were able to find these and make good money off them. Invariably these people tend to write books about how they did it. What happens next is that lots of people get in on the game and now you have lots of buyers going after positions that used to be under-priced, raising demand and thus prices for these positions. This is how inter-exchange arbitrage disappeared. Its how high frequency trading is running itself into the ground. If enough demand is generated for an inefficiency, the said inefficiency disappears or the gains get so small that you can only make money off it with large amounts of capital. Keep in mind, as Graham said, there is no silver bullet in the stock market since you do not hold any data that is unavailable to everyone else.

"I'm impressed.  She must have a substantial income to agree to a $500/month car payment.  I imagine her income is about 20K per month for that to make sense.  What kind of work does she do?  To answer your question, typical lease do not work the way you describe.  Paying an extra $2000 will allow you to skip 4 payments (provided the payments were exactly $500) any time in the future.  It does not modify the terms of the lease which would include the payment amount.  Also one does not receive a fiance charge reduction benefit as with a loan.  Essentially you are providing a loan to the leasing company for free. To be explicit you cannot tell the mortgage company anything as she is applying for the loan, not you.  She can tell the mortgage company the new payment is $400, but she would be falsifying the application which is not advisable. Perhaps the mortgage company is doing her a favor.  They are indicating her life is out of control financially.  Either she is attempting to purchase way to much home or her consumer debt is out of control.  It could be a combination of both.   My first paragraph was written to be ""tongue in check"" in order to demonstrate absurdity.  Without a substantial income and an substantial net worth, a 500/month car payment is simply ridiculous.  While it is someone average, when you compare it to the average income (~54K/year) you understand why 78% of US households live paycheck-to-paycheck (are broke), and have no retirement savings. For your and her sake, please stop giving all your hard earned money to banks."

But it goes both ways. Why should the people care about your business and if it's sustainable? The market will deem it unprofitable if he can't support paying his workers living wages.   If there are no minimum wages that a person can scrape by on then you have preditory companies taking advantage of people or the business offsetting the cost to the public (like tips). The public would be subsidizing the business.   I think you need to dig deeper into that logic.

Clearly the US isn't interested in prosecuting executives for criminal activity, and hasn't been for years. Rick Scott perpetrated the largest Medicare fraud in history, but he was never charged with a crime because his company (HCA Columbia) agreed to pay nearly a billion in fines. His lack of a criminal record and substantial net worth left him free to pursue other opportunities, like becoming the governor of Florida.

"I'd check the terms of the student loan. It's been a long time since I had a student loan, but when I did it had restrictions that it could only be used for educational expenses, which they pretty clear spelled out meant tuition, books, lab fees, I think some provision for living expenses. If your student loan is subsidized by the government, they're not going to let you use it to start a business or go on vacation ... nor are they likely to let you invest it. Even if it is legal and within the terms of the contract, borrowing money to invest is very risky. What if you invest in the stock market, and then the stock market goes down? You may find you don't have the money to make the payments on the loan. People do this sort of thing all the time -- that's what ""buying on margin"" is all about. And some of them lose a bundle and get in real trouble."

"TL;DR: Because stocks represent added value from corporate profits, and not the price the goods themselves are sold at. This is actually a very complicated subject.  But here's the simplest answer I can come up with.  Stocks are a commodity, just like milk, eggs, and bread.  The government only tracks certain commodities (consumables) as part of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  These are generally commodities that the typical person will consume on a daily or weekly basis, or need to survive (food, rent, etc.).  These are present values. Stock prices, on the other hand, represent an educated guess (or bet) on a company's future performance.  If Apple has historically performed well, and analysts expect it to continue to perform, then investors will pay more for a stock that they feel will continue pay good dividends in the future.  Compound this with the fact that there is usually limited a supply of stock for a particular company (unless they issue more stock). If we go back to Apple as an example, they can raise their price they charge on an iPhone from $400 to $450 over the course of say a couple years.  Some of this may be due to higher wage costs, but efficiencies in the marketplace actually tend to drive down costs to produce goods, so they will probably actually turn a higher profit by raising their price, even if they have to pay higher wages (or possibly even if they don't raise their price!).  This, in economics, is termed value added. Finally, @Hart is absolutely correct in his comment about the stocks in the S&P 500 not being static.  Additionally, the S&P 500 is a hand picked set of ""winners"", if you will.  These are not run-of-the-mill penny stocks for companies that will be out of business in a week.  These are companies that Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC thinks will perform well."


Question: Will Indian young ones lose 18% of their EPF with new tax as per Budget 2016?

Are these calculations correct? These are approximate calculations and are with the assumption that entire corpus will be taxed. The assumption was valid as the wording in the budget speech was not very clear. Subsequently the finance ministry has clarified that only interest generated will be taxed and not the contribution. There are no new calculations done with this assumption. Edit: As per communication from finance ministry this proposal is on hold.

We are about to have a 1.4 million headcount shortfall in software development by 2020, many of those jobs earn over twice the average household income.  So while you may claim software wealth peaked in the 90s, that's false. The problem is it takes decades for companies to churn out tons of millionaires, there really are no overnight successes and most people in the industry are mediocre. So for an accurate comparison you need to look at facebook, twitter and other social sites from the 00's and uber, airbnb and slack 10 years from now. The gaps are the result of the crashes in 01 and 08.  Also most people struggle with basic computer operation without a GUI, programming is not for everyone.

There are just too many variables here... Will you legally be considered a permanent resident from the moment you move? Will you work from home as a contractor or as an employee? Those are not questions you can answer yourself, they really depend on your circumstances and how the tax authorities will look at them. I strongly encourage you to speak to an advisor. Very generally spoken, at your place of residence you pay taxes for your worldwide income, at the place of your work base (which is not clear if this really would be Turkey) you pay taxes on the income generated there. If it's one and the same country, it's simple. If not, then theoretically you pay twice. However, most countries have double taxation treaties to avoid just that. This usually works so that the taxes paid abroad (in Turkey) would be deducted from your tax debt at your place of residence.  But you might want to read the treaty to be sure how this would be in your specific case (all treaties are publicly available), and you should really consider speaking to a professional.

"Saying this to addicts makes you an asshole because this is patronizing as hell, which was already mentioned. If the solution were as simple as ""smoke weed instead of taking pills"", don't you think addicts would already be doing that?   The fact that you don't understand why this is patronizing and unhelpful is why you shouldn't be speaking on the subject."

Politics aside, you also have to factor in working conditions and the fact that those folks are actually NEEDED in a lot of cases. Automated toll booths aren't free, and they need to be maintained. If you aren't paying someone a living wage they're going to find something else. I don't see the problem with compensating someone based partially on years of service and hazard pay (ie freezing cold or intense heat)

Having just purchased an upcoming Samsung phone using their 0% interest I can tell you that the justification is to give you credit. I have the same with Best Buy which is 0% for a specific initial purchase. The bank (in the Samsung case is TD Bank) establishes a rotating credit line for you. The APR after is well established at the very high side of 29.99%. Nobody in their right mind should want to pay that much interest on any purchase. My last car purchase was below 3% APR. Additionally the introductory rate will still calculate their 29.99% interest as if it existed since the first day of credit and will be applied to your balance should you ever be late on any single payment. At that time the interest is factored in as if it were always there and payments are adjusted accordingly. You see, the bank wants you to pay their high interest rate. So they entice you with the 0% and hope you either finance more on that credit line (exempt from the promotional rate) or miss a payment and they can hit you with a whammy. Specifically the question asks how this offer benefits Samsung. To answer that portion; it ensures a sale at full retail price of the phone. Samsung is just an agent between you and the bank. The bank takes on the risk for a potential high reward.

If you are comfortable with the risk etc, then the main thing to worry about is diversity.  For some folks, picking stocks is beyond them, or they have no interest in it.  But if it's working for you, and you want to keep doing it, more power to you. If you are comfortable with the risk, you could just as well have ALL your equity position in individual stocks.  I would offer only two pieces of advice in that respect. 1) no more than 4% of your total in any one stock.  That's a good way to force diversity (provided the stocks are not clustered in a very few sectors like say 'financials'), and make yourself take some of the 'winnings off the table' if a stock has done well for you. 2) Pay Strong attention to Taxes! You can't predict most things, but you CAN predict what you'll have to pay in taxes, it's one of the few known quantities.  Be smart and trade so you pay as little in taxes as possible  2A)If you live someplace where taxes on Long term gains are lower than short term (like the USA) then try really really hard to hold 'winners' till they are long term.  Even if the price falls a little, you might be up in the net compared to paying out an extra 10% or more in taxes on your gains.  Obviously there's a balancing act there between when you feel something is 'done' and the time till it's long term.. but if you've held something for 11 months, or 11 months and 2 weeks, odds are you'd be better off to hold till the one year point and then sell it.   2B) Capture Losses when you have them by selling and buying a similar stock for a month or something.  (beware the wash sale rule) to use to offset gains.

In all transitions, real people actually did suffer.  In the large view, new markets were created and new jobs appeared.  But the people who got those new jobs were not the same people who originally lost them.  When the pace of such disruption is relatively slow, those pain points are manageable.  When the disruptions start coming one after another in rapid fire, the managing of problems of that many real, suffering, jobless or under-employed people becomes a disruptive problem in and of itself.


Question: What is the purpose of endorsing a check?

I actually had to go to the bank today and so I decided to ask. The answer I was given is that a check is a legal document (a promise to pay).  In order to get your money from the bank, you need to sign the check over to them.  By endorsing the check you are attesting to the fact that you have transferred said document to them and they can draw on that account.

"In the US, a private company with less than 500 owners can dictate who can or can't become a shareholder (this is true in general, but I'm sure there are loopholes).   Prior to Google's IPO I could not buy shares in Google at any price.   The reason Google was ""forced"" to go public is the 500 shareholder rule.   At a high level, with 500 shareholders the company is forced to do some extra financial accounting and they no longer can control who owns a share of the company, allowing me to purchase shares of google at that point.  At that point, it typically becomes in the companies best interest to go public. See this article about Google approaching the 500 shareholder limit in 2003. Further, Sorkin is not quite correct that ""securities laws mandate that the company go public"" if by ""go public"" we mean list on a stock exchange, available for general purchase.   Securities laws mandate what has to be reported in financial reporting and when you have to report it. Securities laws also can dictate restrictions on ownership of stock and if a company can impose their own restrictions. A group of investors cannot force a company onto a stock exchange.   If shares of Facebook are already for sale to anyone, then having >500 shareholders will force Facebook to file more paperwork with the SEC, it won't force Facebook onto the NYSE or NASDAQ.   When that point is reached, it may be in Facebook's best interest to have an IPO, but they will not be required by law to do so. Update:  CNN article discusses likely Facebook IPO in 2012. When companies have more than 500   shareholders, they're required to make   significant financial disclosures --   though they can choose to remain   private and keep their stock from   trading publicly. However, most   companies facing mandatory disclosures   opt to go public. The Securities and Exchange Commission   gives businesses lots of time to   prepare for that milestone. Companies   have until 120 days after the end of   the fiscal year in which they cross   the 500-shareholder line to begin   making their disclosures. If Facebook   tips the scale this year, that gives   it until April 2012 to start filing   financial reports."

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"I recommend avoiding trading directly in commodities futures and options.  If you're not prepared to learn a lot about how futures markets and trading works, it will be an experience fraught with pitfalls and lost money – and I am speaking from experience. Looking at stock-exchange listed products is a reasonable approach for an individual investor desiring added diversification for their portfolio.  Still, exercise caution and know what you're buying. It's easy to access many commodity-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on North American stock exchanges.  If you already have low-cost access to U.S. markets, consider this option – but be mindful of currency conversion costs, etc. Yet, there is also a European-based company, ETF Securities, headquartered in Jersey, Channel Islands, which offers many exchange-traded funds on European exchanges such as London and Frankfurt.  ETF Securities started in 2003 by first offering a gold commodity exchange-traded fund. I also found the following: London Stock Exchange: Frequently Asked Questions about ETCs.  The LSE ETC FAQ specifically mentions ""ETF Securities"" by name, and addresses questions such as how/where they are regulated, what happens to investments if ""ETF Securities"" were to go bankrupt, etc. I hope this helps, but please, do your own due diligence."

"In Europe in most of the countries there is also a thing called ACH. In UK there is a thing called BACS and in other countires there are other things. Essentially every country has what is called a ""Low value Net Settlement System"" that is used to transfer funds between accounts of different banks. In US there is rounting number, in UK there is a Sort Code, in Indonesia there is a sort code. Essentially a Bank Identifier that is issued by the Governing body within respective countires.   Certian identifiers like SWIFT BIC [Bank Identification Code] are Unique across world."

"> She isn't asking for society to bear her burdens. She's asking for society to pay her a reasonable wage for her labor.  Asking society to implement a policy that will ultimately serve to harm more people*  > So you read the article, but then chose to ignore all the arguments showing that this would not, in fact, ruin the economy?   Skimming through the article, I only saw one sentence that equated to ""no it wouldn't"". For the record, I would be  in favor of a scaled negative income tax.  > Tell me - when drug companies hike the prices of essential medicine, do you also argue that it would ""ruin our economy"" or ""cause a lot more suffering""? Or do you just shrug and go ""they're charging what the market will bear""?  It would depend on the situation and why they were doing it, but generally speaking, I fucking hate the way that our drug industry is set up, for a whole host of reasons. I think it definitely harms more people than it helps.  > Why is that for folks like you, it's always fine if companies raise prices; but if employees want a higher wage, it's an outrage?  Because you have created a group in your head that you are against, then you lump anyone that doesn't agree with you on other issues into that group without actually having a conversation to find out if they really do believe what you assume they believe. You know how conservatives will sometimes go, ""stupid liberals""? Don't assume you're above making that same kind of generalization about other people. I understand why both sides do it, because it's entertaining to watch stupid people from the other side get interviewed and fail on issues that you agree with."

"To answer your question, specific to ATM usage: It is your money.  You can do with it as you wish, as long what you are doing with it is legal.  There is nothing illegal about taking money out of an ATM every day of the week. That said, there are some issues.  One you already mention being the typical daily limit of $300.  Another, is that these days most ATMs charge you for the transaction and many banks will also charge you for the transaction.  (That assumes that you are not using an ATM owned by your bank.)  These fees add up quite quickly.  Using the very typical $1.50/transaction (or $3/transaction total), you could make 8 transactions before the typical $25 wiring fee is more appropriate.  You should also not ignore the ""cost"" of the inconvenience of having to make so many transactions.  There is also the potential, however remote, that your bank may see it as suspicious activity and lead to the headaches you are trying to avoid by not wiring the money. If you don't have a checking account with that bank into which you could just transfer the money, online, by phone or whatever, I would simply jump through the required hoops.  Keep in mind that these hurdles are intended to protect your money."

What beats me in all of this, is who's the stupid advertiser thinking annoying potential customer by interfering their content consumption will bring more business....The logic of the whole marketing decision making chain, ratified by higher echelons, totally escapes me.


Question: total of all dividend payments for a particular company

No - there are additional factors involved. Note that the shares on issue of a company can change for various reasons (such as conversion/redemption of convertible securities, vesting of restricted employee shares, conversion of employee options, employee stock purchase programs, share placements, buybacks, mergers, rights issues etc.) so it is always worthwhile checking SEC announcements for the company if you want an exact figure.  There may also be multiple classes of shares and preferred securities that have different levels of dividends present. For PFG, they filed a 10Q on 22 April 2015 and noted they had 294,385,885 shares outstanding of their common stock.  They also noted for the three months ended March 31 2014 that dividends were paid to both common stockholders and preferred stockholders and that there were Series A preferred stock (3 million) and Series B preferred stock (10 million), plus a statement: In February 2015, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program of up to $150.0 million of our outstanding common stock. Shares repurchased under these programs are accounted for as treasury stock, carried at cost and reflected as a reduction to stockholders’ equity. Therefore the exact amount of dividend paid out will not be known until the next quarterly report which will state the exact amount of dividend paid out to common and preferred shareholders for the quarter.

Embrace the web.  Let folks search for info while they're in your store.  make the Salesmen do it.  give your customer all the info they need to pull the trigger and buy the product.  Just say we'll match Amazon or Newegg on this and the sale's a lock.

Hedge fund idea: Cynic Capital   1. Create unclever, mostly-passive funds consisting of a sufficiently diverse array of holdings with historically* low volatility  2. Lever the shit out of it  3. Market it with excessive jargon to impress laymen   4. Attract investors with more money than sense  5. Make it up as you go along until you can hire actually smart, creative people down the road and pray that the market doesn't correct in the meantime  Yeah it's stupid but why wouldn't it work?    Furthermore, is this not basically what some hedge funds have done in the past?      ^(*past performance not guaranteeing future performance yada yada yada)

In my graduate thesis I explored the liquidity changes in the bond markets. Part of my research led me to also identifying an opportunity for blockchain to play a role in measuring it, something mathematically impossible but increasingly necessary in fixed Income.  Definitely interested

You missed the catch, there is always a catch, and in this case it is not well publicized.   First, some background. Congress (both parties) in 98 passed Graham-Leach-Bliley. It allowed commercial banks to invest, securitize, and insure securities. It also had privacy provisions, which prevented a securitizer of a mortgage from providing ANY personal information about the mortgage. That means that as Chase wrote these mortgage backed securities, they were forbidden, BY LAW, from telling the potential purchasers the addresses of the houses or SS#'s of the purchasers.   OF COURSE Chase did not choose to insure these MBS's themselves. Instead, they chose a third party like AIG because AIG could not know personal information about the mortgages, and was thus blinded to risk. AIG chose a middle of the road risk rating (something like 2% risk of default).   Chase FRAUDULENTLY represented the quality of the mortgages to the people writing the credit default swaps to insure them, and to the potential buyers. Chase KNEW the mortgages were crap.   Fraud is fraud and is illegal in security sales even after Graham-Leach-Bliley. However, to be clear, in this case there does not need to be any faking of paperwork. The loans can be passed along BLINDLY with insurance, as they were. If it could be documented that Chase misrepresented the quality of these AAA MBS's, they would be on the hook. But the catch is that Graham-Leach-Bliley offered them a cop-out.  AIG were the real dummies in all this. Who writes insurance without having a good idea of the risk....

"Assuming the numbers in your comments are accurate, you have $2400/month ""extra"" after paying your expenses.  I assume this includes loan payments. You said you have $3k in savings and a $2900 ""monthly nut"", so only one month of living expenses in savings. In my opinion, your first goal should be to put 100% of your extra money towards savings each month, until you have six months of living expenses saved.  That's $2,900 * 6 or $17,400.  Since you have $3K already that means you need $14,400 more, which is exactly six months @ $2,400/month. Next I would pay off your $4K for the bedroom furniture.  I don't know the terms you got, but usually if you are not completely paid off when it comes time to pay interest, the rate is very high and you have to pay interest not just going forward, but from the inception of the loan (YMMV--check your loan terms). You may want to look into consolidating your high interest loans into a single loan at a lower rate.  Barring that, I would put 100% of my extra monthly income toward your 10% loan until its paid off, and then your 9.25% loan until that's paid off.  I would not consider investing in any non-tax-advantaged vehicle until those two loans (at minimum) were paid off.  9.25% is a very good guaranteed return on your money. After that I would continue the strategy of aggressively paying the maximum per month toward your highest interest loans until they are all paid off (with the possible exception of the very low rate Sallie Mae loans).  However, I'm probably more conservative than your average investor, and I have a major aversion to paying interest.  :)"

"Long here does not mean you wish for the underlying stock to increase in value, in fact, as the chart shows, just the opposite is true.  ""Long means you bought the derivative, and you own the option. The guy that sold it to you is at your mercy, he is short the put, and it's your decision to put the stock to him should it fall in value.  The value of the put itself rises with the falling stock price, you are long the put and want the put, itself, to rise in value."

She walks backwards, making sure that the ground is clear. She tenses, bounces up and down to warm up and then, slowly at first, gathering steam, she begins to sprint. She's right on target, her leg goes back and now it's swinging forward, forward and *BOOM* it connects and the can goes flying down the road.  The world markets go wild for another 72 hours before pessimism returns!


Question: How to calculate how far a shorted stock's price can rise before broker issues a margin call?

Most brokers have a margin maintenance requirement of 30%.  In your example, it would depend on how much money you're borrowing from your broker on margin. Consider this: You have $250, and short AAPL at $500 on margin. This would be a common scenario (federal law requires investors to have at least 50% of their margin equity when opening a transaction). If your broker had a requirement of 30%, they would require that for your $500 position, you have at least $500 * .3 = $150 equity. Since you are currently above that number at $250, you will not be hit with a margin call. Say the price of AAPL doubles, and now your position is worth $1000. $1000 * .3 = $300, which is $50 above your initial equity. Your broker will now consider you eligible for a margin call. Most will not execute the call right away, you will often have some time to either sell/cover stock or add funds to your account. But not all brokers will warn you if you are breaking margin requirements, and sometimes margin calls can take you by surprise if you are not paying attention. Also, many will charge interest on extra margin borrowed.

I've spent enough time researching this question where I feel  comfortable enough providing an answer.  I'll start with the high level fundamentals and work my way down to the specific question that I had. So point #5 is really the starting point for my answer. We want to find companies that are investing their money.  A good company should be reinvesting most of its excess assets so that it can make more money off of them. If a company has too much working capital, then it is not being efficiently reinvested.  That explains why excess working capital can have a negative impact on Return on Capital. But what about the fact that current liabilities in excess of current assets has a positive impact on the Return on Capital calculation?  That is a problem, period.  If current liabilities exceed current assets then the company may have a hard time meeting their short term financial obligations. This could mean borrowing more money, or it could mean something worse - like bankruptcy.  If the company borrows money, then it will have to repay it in the future at higher costs.  This approach could be fine if the company can invest money at a rate of return exceeding the cost of their debt, but to favor debt in the Return on Capital calculation is wrong. That scenario would skew the metric. The company has to overcome this debt. Anyways, this is my understanding, as the amateur investor. My credibility is not even comparable to Greenblatt's credibility, so I have no business calling any part of his calculation wrong. But, in defense of my explanation, Greenblatt doesn't get into these gritty details so I don't know that he allowed current liabilities in excess of current assets to have a positive impact on his Return on Capital calculation.

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"The math on this only works if the workers who are ""choosing no income at all"" are being paid by something else.  In first world countries, humans cannot live (eat food or sleep in a bed, etc) without some sort of money.  The only question is - what else is paying them?  Government programs, friends, family support?"

So basically india, but an asian versian.  The point was these places have entire under classes of their population that are allowed to literally die in the street.   I would say if that's your vision of a well run society you should move there.

> As you know, in 8 years Obama never achieved GDP over 3%.  I'm curious if you actually believe that or are you intentionally spreading falsehoods.  You might want to look at 2009 Q4, 2010 Q2, 2011 Q3, 2013 Q4, 2014 Q2, 2014 Q3, or 2015 Q1.

Thanks for the feedback. What area of finance are you currently in?  I've heard that RMI jobs are in demand right now as well, and I feel like that coupled with a background in computer science could really help.

"We get HelloFresh and, for the most part, really like it. From opening the box to sitting down and eating, we spend about 35 minutes - typical dishes used are a couple pans and a cutting board.   To mix things up, we tried Blue Apron for a couple weeks.... hated it. Exactly as you say: ""15 minutes prep time"" was more like 40 minutes. The meals were just okay overall and the portions on average were smaller than HelloFresh.   HelloFresh has definitely had some misses.l, but we've enjoyed most of the meals.   Long term, we plan to still get a box 1-2x per month. We save all the recipe cards from meals we like and then buy twice the ingredients at the supermarket to remake them."


Question: How is options implied volatility for a stock determined?

"There are a few different ""kinds"" of implied volatility. They are all based on the IVs obtained from the option pricing model you use. (1) Basically, given a few different values (current stock price, time until expiration, right of option, exercise style, strike of the option, interest rates, dividends, etc), you can obtain the IV for a given option price. If you look at the bid of an option, you can calculate the IV for that bid. If you look at the ask, there's a different IV for the ask. You can then look at the mid price, then you have a different IV, and so on and so on. And that's for each strike, in each expiration cycle! So you have a ton of different IVs. (2) In many option trading platforms, you'll see another kind of IV: the IV for each specific expiration cycle. That's calculated based on some of the IVs I mentioned on topic (1). Some kind of aggregation (more on this later). (3) Finally, people often talk about ""the IV of stock XYZ"". That's, again, an aggregation calculated from many of the IVs mentioned on topic (1). Now, your question seems to be: which IVs, from which options, from which months, with which weight, are part of the expiration cycle IV or for the IV of the stock itself? It really depends on the trading platform you are talking about. But very frequently, people will use a calculation similar to how the CBOE calculates the VIX. Basically, the VIX is just like the IV described on topic (3) above, but specifically for SPX, the S&P 500 index. The very detailed procedure and formulas to calculate the VIX (ie, IV of SPX) is described here: http://cfe.cboe.com/education/vixprimer/about.aspx If you apply the same (or a similar) methodology to other stocks, you'll get what you could call ""the IV of stock XYZ""."

I'm the equivalent of the FED at ROBLOX. I run a virtual economy there worth millions of dollars. Even though we are in the business of printing our own money, we've seen much more stability in our currency than in the USD. It actually appreciates over time. I don't think it would make a good investment though, nor would any of the online virtual currencies that I am aware of.

I'm not incredibly savvy on the Indian market but I'm not sure if their electric grid is up to that from what I do know. Where as Diesel is insanely easy to transport...   Not sure if this is news or Politics speaking out of turn. Someone local would have to weigh in on that.

True, not everyone becomes a debt-slave, especially if you choose your major wisely. I like it when people like you tell those debt-slave holders to put it in their pipe and smoke it!  Actually, they probably would, with a brandy.

WilliamKF explained it pretty well, but I want to put it in a more simplistic form:

"@fredsbend, Hope this helps!  ""I understand that a reverse mortgage can be paid out in two ways: A lump sum and monthly payments. I figure that if you take the lump sum, eventually, the bank wants you to start paying it back."" Answer:   Actually, there are 3 payout options, or 4 if you consider a combination payout as another one. There's a lump sum, a line of credit, or the monthly payout, or a combination.  ""I figure that if you take the monthly payments, eventually, the bank stops paying out and wants you to pay it back. In both situations, interest accrues and this is how the bank makes money off of the deal"".  Answer: The only time the monthly payments would stop would be if the borrower defaults on the lenders' terms or they no longer live at home. You are right though, and interest does accrue on whichever payment is decided on. I'm not sure how the lender makes money, probably by the interest, but I know borrowers are protected against high rates and owing more than your house. Here's an article I found that goes over the protections more in detail: https://www.americanadvisorsgroup.com/news/6-consumer-protections-reverse-mortgage-loan-borrowers.  ""But what determines when you have to begin paying back the reverse mortgage? Some sources online seem to say that it's based only on if you die or would like to sell/move. That can't be right in all situations, because you could end up with a massive debt on a property more than its value.""  Answer: There are a lot of protections or regulations in place to protect anyone who takes out a reverse mortgage. One being, you can't owe MORE than your house is valued at during the time of repayment, a reverse mortgage is a non-recourse loan. In the instance that your house is less than you owe, you either sell the home and the proceeds are used to pay the loan and you keep the rest OR if you owe more than the house proceeds of the home go to the lender. Either way, you're not left paying for a ""mortgage"" without the house. In the case the parent, grandparent passes, then the heirs would have a choice of either paying back the reverse mortgage in payments, OR they can sell the house, heirs are protected during this as well to make sure they're not left with major debt in case of anything.  Is there a formula to figure out when the bank stops the monthly payments and then wants it back?  **Answer:**The amount becomes due if loan terms are not met, but the lender will discuss the options if it comes to that.  Is there a different formula for when the lump sum would have to be paid back?""  Answer: Each payout option has the same terms and the same pay back terms. As long as terms are met, the lender can't ask for early repayment."

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Because our entire economy is based on the stuff to keep going and every ounce has to be pulled out of the ground from somewhere.  Microsoft and Apple couldn't exist without oil to create the plastic and other components that go into computer hardware let alone getting employees to their campuses via car or bus.


Question: What is the meaning of Equal Housing Lender? Do non-banks need to display it?

At the top result of the Google search, on the Google results page it's sumarized as applicable to every lender participating in FDIC: The terms equal housing lender and equal opportunity lender are synonymous and refer to all banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in the United States. Such banks are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, or familial status.

"You get paid interest on deposits because banks only keep a fraction of the deposits on-hand. The rest is put to other uses, such as loaning money to others. If you deposit money and yield 1% interest, the bank is able to fund an auto loan, at 5%. By saving, you are actually making more capital available in the marketplace. ""Fixed"" or ""durable"" assets like gold, real property, or durable goods are different -- their value is based on attributes such as demand (gold, oil) or location (real property). If you bought an apartment in Manhattan in 1975, it appreciated greatly in value over the course of 30 years... but it did so because demand for apartments in New York City grew, while the supply of apartments grew more slowly. The government prints money for two core reasons: Think of it this way: Money is valuable because it is money."

"Barring unusual circumstances, a healthy adult is **absolutely** able to come off a domestic flight ""in a functional state"" and ""be operational at a high level.""   EDIT: someone else pointed out the issue of in-flight productivity. If you're working on the plane (and the work is worth doing on the plane given the price of the upgrade), then it's a different situation."

My experience (from European countries, but not Portugal specifically) is that it's better to change in the European country, as many banks will give you US $ as a matter of course, while in the US (insular place that it is), it can be rather difficult to find a place to exchange money outside an international airport.  In fact, I have a few hundred Euros left from my last trip, several years ago.  Expected to make another trip which didn't come off, and haven't found a place to exchange them. PS: Just for information's sake, at the time I was working in Europe, and found that by far the easiest way to transfer part of my salary back home was to get $100 bills from my European bank.  Another way was to withdraw money from an ATM, as the US & European banks were on the same network.  Unfortunately the IRS put a stop to that, though I don't know if it was all banks, or just the particular one I was using.  Might be worth checking, though.

This isn't really the right sub, but check your Student's Union to see if they can give you any legal help or go to the Citizen's Advice Bureau. You need to get this cleared otherwise you may have problems getting lines in the future.

"Platinum use is pretty heavily overweight in industrial areas; according to the linked Wikipedia article, 239 tonnes of platinum was sold in 2006, of which 130 tonnes went to vehicles emissions control devices and another 13.3 tonnes to electronics. Gold sees substantial use as an investment as well as to hedge against economical decline and inflation, with comparatively little industrial (""real world"", as some put it) use. That is their principal difference from an investment point of view. According to Wikipedia's article on platinum, ... during periods of economic uncertainty, the price of platinum tends to decrease due to reduced industrial demand, falling below the price of gold. Gold prices are more stable in slow economic times, as gold is considered a safe haven and gold demand is not driven by industrial uses. If your investment scenario is a tanking world economy, for reason of its large industrial usage, I for one would not count on platinum to not fall in price. Of course gold may fall in price as well, but since it is not primarily an industrial use commodity, I would personally expect gold to do better in such a scenario."

A company like M. Davis & Sons should be your best option. Even with other service provisions like rigging, steel fabrication in NJ and industrial maintenance, you can have a better package since they have skilled and seasoned inspectors and technicians.

Everyone has a price. If nobody is selling shares, then increase the price you will buy them for. And then wait. Somebody will have some hospital bills to pay for eventually. I buy illiquid investments all the time, and thats typically what happens. Great companies do not have liquidity problems.


Question: Germany Tax Question - Non-Resident and not employed in Germany

No you won't. Germany taxes income, not bank accounts. Note that this changes immediately when your bank account makes interest - you will owe taxes on this interest. However, chances are you won't get a bank account. Without residency or income, typically the banks wouldn't give you an account. Feel free to try, though.

Shop for the quality always! Choose your favorite one football here and get it at your doorstep. No need to go market or any store, no need to be worry to find the unique and Best cheap soccer balls. All famous brands are available here at discounted price. Just choose and order your favorite brand with color option.

Did a little bit of digging, and found this article, from Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut.  Hopefully this will be a growing trend.  They say: A personal financial management class will now be offered at the beginning of the upcoming school year (2011-2012). According to the course catalogue, the focus of this course will be using mathematics as a tool in developing financial literacy skills. Topics covered in the course will include: earnings, banking, credit cards, loans, taxes, insurance, investing, loans, budgeting, and buying personal property. “In a perfect world, everyone would be required to take a personal finance course,” Principal John Dodig said.

Basically you have 4 options: Use your cash to pay off the student loans. Put your cash in an interest-bearing savings account. Invest your cash, for example in the stock market. Spend your cash on fun stuff you want right now. The more you can avoid #4 the better it will be for you in the long term. But you're apparently wise enough that that wasn't included as an option in your question. To decide between 1, 2, and 3, the key questions are:  What interest are you paying on the loan versus what return could you get on savings or investment?  How much risk are you willing to take? How much cash do you need to keep on hand for unexpected expenses? What are the tax implications? Basically, if you are paying 2% interest on a loan, and you can get 3% interest on a savings account, then it makes sense to put the cash in a savings account rather than pay off the loan. You'll make more on the interest from the savings account than you'll pay on interest on the loan. If the best return you can get on a savings account is less than 2%, then you are better off to pay off the loan. However, you probably want to keep some cash reserve in case your car breaks down or you have a sudden large medical bill, etc. How much cash you keep depends on your lifestyle and how much risk you are comfortable with. I don't know what country you live in. At least here in the U.S., a savings account is extremely safe: even the bank goes bankrupt your money should be insured. You can probably get a much better return on your money by investing in the stock market, but then your returns are not guaranteed. You may even lose money. Personally I don't have a savings account. I put all my savings into fairly safe stocks, because savings accounts around here tend to pay about 1%, which is hardly worth even bothering. You also should consider tax implications. If you're a new grad maybe your income is low enough that your tax rates are low and this is a minor factor. But if you are in, say, a 25% marginal tax bracket, then the effective interest rate on the student loan would be more like 1.5%. That is, if you pay $20 in interest, the government will then take 25% of that off your taxes, so it's the equivalent of paying $15 in interest. Similarly a place to put your money that gives non-taxable interest -- like municipal bonds -- gives a better real rate of return than something with the same nominal rate but where the interest is taxable.

Perhaps it's best to balance out how it works out for all, especially the most vulnerable, before setting yourself for or against a policy such as this.   You are lucky that you don't have any pre-existing conditions, while others aren't. You earn enough that you are able to afford insurance, even if you're not happy with the fact that you have to pay for it.   But you are unlucky to be working for a company with short-sighted dickheads that look more at the immediate bottom line than they do at their employees. To be honest, if they are scrapping by so much that they need to move everyone to part time to avoid health insurance costs that they already had before, you'd better start looking for another job right away.

I can give you some insight. You probably read some where that ceo thinks jpmchase as a tech company. Trust me he doesn't he was against cloud computing and is now against blockcain.  They are in business to make money simple as that, company's background is important just read glass door interview questions for your LOB

You must understand that: So, if you -- the prospective buyer -- are in Waukegan, do you take the train all the way to New York City just to buy 100 shares of stock?  No.  That would be absurdly expensive.  So, you hire an agent in NYC who will broker a deal for you in the exchange. Fast forward 100 years, to the time when instant communications is available.  Why do we now still need brokerages, when the Exchanges could set up web sites and let you do the trading? The answer is that the Exchanges don't want to have to develop the accounting systems to manage the transactions of hundreds of thousands of small traders, when existing brokerage firms already have those computerized processes in place and are opening their own web sites. Thus, in 2017 we have brokerage firms because of history.

The JPM note is more market related content anyway. The WF product is really solid. I get a ton of paid for macro research that's on par with the WF stuff. I like it because the WF work covers pretty much everything.  The other thing I would suggest is getting on the distribution list for ISM. Its easy, just send them an email. The contact info is on the bottom of their releases. There's probably a few more distribution lists you can get on. It is good to build up a good macro stream to your personal email address.


Question: What is a good service that will allow me to practice options trading with a pretend-money account?

Try wallstreetsurvivor.com It gives you $100k of pretend money when you sign up, using which you can take various courses on the website. It will teach you how to buy/sell stocks and build your portfolio. I am not sure if they do have Options Trading specifically, but their course line up is great!

Be interesting to see how this falls in line with new rules on data protection in the EU (and probably more relevant, the UK as it's maintaining them after Brexit..).  Some of the data being held may well not be shareable without consent and if someone turns a spotlight on banks sharing data it could get quite ugly quite quickly.

Well, define shitty.   The assumption of perfect competition should imply that only the firms that can manage to breakeven while still owing outstanding bonds will continue to issue bonds in the first place, as the competing monetary systems themselves will become a competitive market of their own.  Information on the specific bond you're using as a medium of exchange/legal tender should be easily be easy to find or public information.  If it's kind of bondnote has existed for five years with no substantial changes, my safe bet is on that bond being worth something.

You do not need to have 'high net value', and yes, you can invest in it. Typically, fund companies require a minimum investment, that could be 100, it could be a 1000. 5000 should be enough for 99.9 % of all funds for an initial investment. What you need is an investment company that manages the account for you. I cannot name those for your country, but they should be easy to find (companies like IMG, and Fidelity might serve your country). You then open an account with the company of your choice, transfer the money, and tell them which fund it shall go in; all this is possible online. You can also go to see an agent in person, and he will fill the forms for you, and handle all the action, but he might take a fee for it.

"There are several types of financial advisors. Some are associated with brokerages and insurance companies and the like. Their services are often free. On the other hand, the advice they give you will generally be strongly biased toward their own company's products, and may be biased toward their own profits rather than your gains. (Remember, anything free is being paid for by someone, and if you don't know who it's generally going to be you.) There are some who are good, but I couldn't give you any advice on finding them. Others are not associated with any of the above, and serve entirely as experts who can suggest ways of distributing your money based on your own needs versus resources versus risk-tolerance, without any affiliation to any particular company.  Consulting these folks does cost you (or, if it's offered as a benefit, your employer) some money, but their fiduciary responsibility is clearly to you rather than to someone else. They aren't likely to suggest you try anything very sexy, but when it comes to your primary long-term savings ""exciting"" is usually not a good thing. The folks I spoke to were of the latter type. They looked at my savings and my plans, talked to me about my risk tolerance and my goals, picked a fairly ""standard"" strategy from their files, ran simulations against it to sanity-check it, and gave me a suggested mix of low-overhead index fund types that takes almost zero effort to maintain (rebalance occasionally between funds), has acceptable levels of risk, and (I admit I've been lucky) has been delivering more than acceptable returns. Nothing exciting, but even though I'm relatively risk-tolerant I'd say excitement is the last thing I need in my long-term savings. I should actually talk to them again some time soon to sanity-check a few things; they can also offer advice on other financial decisions (whether/when I might want to talk to charities about gift annuity plans, whether Roth versus traditional 401(k) makes any difference at all at this point in my career, and so on)."

My statement doesn't need a source.  CEOs are literally people that are in charge of entire companies.  Not everyone can do that.   You, on the other hand, provided a statement with out any information to back it up.  When you try to refute an argument with facts you need to give a source.  I'm not going to try to prove you're right.  If you're going to contradict someone, give them sources.

It appears all you have to do is submit a form. It might be better if she submitted it herself instead of you doing it on her behalf.  All natural persons (individuals) and non-natural persons (businesses)   are entitled to access and inspect the data held on record about them   in the Central Credit Information System (KHR).

If you have $10000 and wish to buy 1000 shares of a $10 stock, you risk borrowing on margin if you go over a bit. For some people, that's a non-issue. Some folk with an account worth say, $250K don't mind going over now and then or even let the margin account run $100K on a regular basis.  But your question is about market orders. A limit order above the market price will fast-fill at the market anyway. When I buy a stock, it's longer term usually. A dime on a $30 share price won't affect my buy decision, so market is ok for me.


Question: Are banks really making less profit when interest rates are low?

profit has nothing to do with the level of interest rates. Is this correct? In theory, yes. The difference that you're getting at is called net interest margin. As long as this stays constant, so does the bank's profit. According to this article: As long as the interest rate charged on loans doesn't decline faster than the interest rate received on deposit accounts, banks can continue to operate normally or even reduce their bad loan exposure by offering lower lending rates to already-proven borrowers. So banks may be able to acquire the same net interest margin with lower risk. However the article also mentions new research from a federal agency: Their findings show that net interest margins (NIMs) get worse during low-rate environments, defined as any time when a country's three-month sovereign bond yield is less than 1.25%. So in theory banks should remain profitable when interest rates are low, but this may not actually be the case.

The main reason for paying your mortgage off quickly is to reduce risk should a crisis happen.  If you don't have a house payment, you have much higher cash flow every month, and your day-to-day living expenses are much lower, so if an illness or job loss happens, you'll be in a much better position to handle it. You should have a good emergency fund in place before throwing extra money at the mortgage so that you can cover the bigger surprises that come along. There is the argument that paying off your mortgage ties up cash that could be used for other things, but you need to be honest with yourself: would you really invest that money at a high enough rate of return to make up your mortgage interest rate after taxes?  Or would you spend it on other things?  If you do invest it, how certain are you of that rate of return?  Paying off the mortgage saves you your mortgage interest rate guaranteed. Finally, there is the more intangible aspect of what it feels like to be completely debt free with no payments whatsoever.  That feeling can be a game-changer for people, and it can free you up to do things that you could never do when you're saddled with a mortgage payment every month.

If you've been paying on the car for three years, it's possible that your credit is in a place where you don't need a co-signer any more. See if your bank will re-fi with you as the sole debtor.  If they won't do it, find another institution who will.  The re-fi will take your grandpa off the loan, and whichever institution that does the re-fi will still have a lien on the title until you pay it off.  Then, if you can do this soon enough, figure out if grandpa can sign you off the title.

>This problem could be fixed by having fewer MBAs leading companies, and more engineers and scientists.  This is funny. There's only 1 MBA on that list, but he also attended the School of Engineering at Duke University

It is worth checking currency types you have authorised on your account, and that the payment that your client sent is in one of those currencies. Paypal will not always move or convert between currencies, and I have seen payments held for authorisation where simply enabling the paid currency at the receiving end would allow the transfer.

The gift card for specific stores has no fee. In our budget of nearly $500/mo for supermarket, it would be easy to just buy 10 x $500 cards, and then be careful with them.  A look at your past 12 mo of spending should provide a hint what GCs might work for you.  Else, for a $4.95 fee, I've bought $500 generic Visa cash cards. When my new credit card offered a 10% cash bonus for spending, I spent. Took us nearly 18 months to burn thru 500 cards. But a net $4500 gain was sweet.  Update - the cash card racks all appear to have a sign that these cards may no longer be bought with a credit card.

Joyce Meyer ministries in St. Louis hires lots of developers. You need to be an active member of a Christian denomination. And they check. And prayer meetings are required. At least that's what the recruiter told me. I turned down the opportunity to interview.

Nice work saving. If you do find yourself in a relationship or with children, you'll be glad you saved now; family members increase the expenses ;-) Some observations large and small, no conclusions, I bet it would be awesome to do the world travel and the startup, and get a ton out of those. The money you've saved gives you the freedom to do all that great stuff that matters.


Question: Is it better to buy U.S ADRs or stock in native stock exchange for a foreigner?

It depends. An ADR might be exposed to a larger market (let's say American) with more volume and thus lower spreads, and thus cheaper. But it can also be the other way around, that the ADR serves a smaller market than the home market. I would go for the largest market, with the most volume so it's quicker and cheaper to buy/sell. Often ADR has less shares, meaning that the availability is lower and the prices higher (more expensive). This is often the case with Asian stocks where governments try to limit their company's exposure to foreigners. As a general rule I would buy the 'home' stock instead of ADR. From a tax standpoint it's also easier to comply with local laws. Your local accountant will be more familiar dealing with local stocks.

AMD is doing more than just laying off staff. Their earnings report also includes sales of real estate and other turn around strategies that could be reflected in the stock coming up on hope from investors. At the same time, consider how much of an up is a definite sign of positive news and how much may just be random noise as even a broken clock will be right twice a day. Often there will be more than just an announcement of x% of staff being laid off. There will be plans to improve future profits and this is what shareholders would want to know. What is the management doing to move the company forward to better profits down the road.

My take is there's room for a lot of models on the Internet, just as there is room for nonprofits, for-profit businesses and other types of organizations in the brick and mortar world. The Internet is a flexible medium that can be used a number of ways. The best part of it to me is that people vote by their actions --- if I hate ad-supported sites, I can ignore them. If I'm willing to pay for, say, news, I can do that, too.

**Mercantilism**  Mercantilism was a type of national economic policy designed to maximize the trade of a nation and especially to maximize the accumulation of gold and silver. It was dominant in modernized parts of Europe from the 16th to the 18th centuries. It promoted governmental regulation of a nation's economy for the purpose of augmenting state power at the expense of rival national powers. With the establishment of overseas colonies by northern European powers early in the 17th century, mercantile theory gained a new and wider significance, in which its aim and ideal became both national and imperialistic.  ***  ^[ [^PM](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=kittens_from_space) ^| [^Exclude ^me](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiTextBot&message=Excludeme&subject=Excludeme) ^| [^Exclude ^from ^subreddit](https://np.reddit.com/r/economy/about/banned) ^| [^FAQ ^/ ^Information](https://np.reddit.com/r/WikiTextBot/wiki/index) ^| [^Source](https://github.com/kittenswolf/WikiTextBot)   ^] ^Downvote ^to ^remove ^| ^v0.24

Regardless of whether a stock is owned by a retail investor or an institutional investor, it is subject to the same rules.  For example, say that as part of the buyout, 1 share of Company B is equivalent to 0.75 shares of Company A and any fractional shares will be paid out in cash.  This rule will apply to both the retail investor who holds 500 shares of Company B, as well as the asset manager or hedge fund holding 5,000,000 shares of Company B.

I'm not begrudging anyone for abiding by the law and minimizing their tax burden.  To do otherwise would amount to writing a check to the government, which is an asinine thing to do if you're concerned with actually changing the system.  You can speculate on his motivations, but he's gone out of his way to make his thoughts on the subject known, I have no reason to doubt the earnestness of his arguments.  Regardless, it's an impossible task to locate such an argument in a specific physical brain, all we need to do is show that such a thought process is theoretically sound in order to throw that premise into serious question.  > Pray tell, what angel do you trust to make the decision of whether and to what extent systemic risk is introduced?  I'm skeptical that such an angel (or some distributed process accomplishing the same goal) exists.  But if the actuaries can't figure out a way to do it, then wouldn't that be cause to reevaluate the blind faith many people place in markets?

"> the economy has experienced a huge expansion    what is ""the economy""?  share values have been expanding for the last 8 years.  too bad wages haven't expanded at all. even after trump.  the rich get richer .. and everybody else can go fuck themselves."

In store pickup at Walmart is atrocious. I've tried it. And, you still have to go to Walmart. Amazon draws the yuppie types who not only like saving money, but also don't have the time to deal with going to stores and sure as hell don't want to go to Walmart of all places.


Question: How to calculate P/E ratio for S&P500 sectors

"To calculate a sector (or index) P/E ratio you need to sum the market caps of the constituent stocks and divide it by the sum of the total earnings of the constituent stocks (including stocks that have negative earnings).  There are no ""per share"" figures used in the calculation. Beware when you include an individual stock that there may be multiple issues associated with the company that are not in the index.... eg. Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B is in the S&P 500 but BRK.A is not.  In contrast, Google has both GOOGL and GOOG included in the S&P 500 index but not its unlisted Class B shares.  All such shares need to be included in the market cap and figuring out the different share class ratios can be tricky."

"significant moral hazard is something to consider. If you want to help someone, give them a gift, make sure everyone knows that it is a gift with no strings attached, and move on. That's charity and it's a great thing. If a medical emergency pops up and he's poor the government already provides the safety net we're all paying for. of course setting something like you suggest up creates expectations. That's why welfare programs are universally detrimental to the individual. ""Why work when someone else is going to give me money every month?"" That's basic human nature."

Don't worry about your Smith & Wesson shares.  Sooner or later, some nut will shoot up a gun-free zone, then everyone will run off to by guns & ammo before the government comes to take them all.  It's gotten sadly predictable.

So no single bank is willing to underwrite the whole issuance, and the amount each wants is only roughly a sixth of the total each? Or did Greece limit the amount of the issuance that could be underwritten by one bidder? Just trying to understand.

"But you're forgetting that the problem under discussion here is that the owners who set the wages tend to prefer higher profits over ""best employees, they are happier, lower turn over"". In a lot of industries that employ a lot of people, a marginal increase in productivity isn't going to overcome the increase in wages required to create it."

While the article correctly points out that 90% is done in store, I would be more interested to see how this breaks down by category. Things like groceries and clothing are notoriously difficult to showcase and browse online.   If I had a guess there are wild swings in % share for things like electronics.

I understand what you're saying, but to me the circumstances are different. No scientist was or is predicting overnight calamity due to climate change. Predictions are for long-term change.   Various economics 'experts' on reddit, however, have been predicting imminent collapse for a long time. Krugman is also not saying to run a deficit forever; he follow Keynes, who said spend when times are tough and save when times are good.

Ignoring brokerage fees and the wash-sale rule (both of which are hazardous to your health), and since the 15% LTCG tax is only on the gain, the stock would have to drop 15% of the gain in price since you originally purchased it.