Is Your Car Among the Massive Toyota Recall List?

New York Times Journalist, Thomas L. Friedman, Said China is not Going to Bail Us Out of This Economic Mess

Just like many of you, I have been reading Thomas L. Friedman's advice for a long time. In this OP-Ed, he wrote that Chinese are seen as savers and producers while we, westerners and specifically Americans, are seen as users, spenders and borrowers. In other words, we depend on cheap Chinese goods and credit to build our economy, homes and everything else. We used to depend on Japanese money and products to build a lot in this country. He has a surprise for us. He wants us to know that the Chinese may look inwards and forget about us in these hard times.

"China is not going to rescue us or the world economy. We’re going to have to get out of this crisis the old-fashioned way: by digging inside ourselves and getting back to basics — improving U.S. productivity, saving more, studying harder and inventing more stuff to export. The days of phony prosperity — I borrow cheap money from China to build a house and then borrow on that house to buy cheap paintings from China to decorate my walls and everybody is a winner — are over," T. L. Friedman wrote in the New York Times.

It is high time that we start saving our money instead of being only good consumers.

The Pursuit of Happiness and The Reach of Unhappiness Boom, Anxiety and Insecurity

"Happiness is not a given. It is a goal. And saving more may help you reach it."

With the downturn of the economy and the near-destruction of the financial market and Wall street, many Americans are wondering what is happening to our country. It goes without saying that economic insecurity has also increased. The boom of the late 1990s created unrealistic expectations. Various polls show that more than half of us are worried about losing our nest egg, our retirements, our jobs. After all, having a job in this country allows one to have not only income, but also insurance.

More money does not automatically improve our mood. After all, money-- no matter how much you have--- is only part of the puzzle. According to Oxford University, happiness is more complicated than wealth alone. Americans are less happy on average than people in less prosperous nations such as Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico. It is not the rich that most of us strive to keep up with; it is our families and friends. Bear in mind that trying to keep up with the Joneses is a trap. In our pursuit of happiness guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence, we tend to compete with neighbors, siblings, co-workers, and old classmates. People's ability to act on behalf of what matters to them is fundamental to happiness.

The key to financial happiness is to start saving. Do not be concerned about what and how much others are saving. By saving as much as you can in your particular circumstances, you will get ahead. You will live a happy life even in the midst of hard economic times.

Greater wealth does not generate more national happiness.

Surviving Wall Street's Financial Crisis: How to Survive in a Tough Economy

The financial crisis on Wall Street is quickly spiraling down to small businesses, making it extremely difficult for them to secure from large banks the credit they need to start and maintain their operations.

Some businesses that currently have good relationships with banks are getting more scrutiny and higher interest rates -- such as 15% or more. Riskier borrowers are being denied credit altogether.

Aside from falling back on friends or family -- or charging up yet another credit card -- here's a look at five alternatives for getting extra cash to run a business in this economy.
Peer-to-Peer Lending Sites

Several Web sites now facilitate loans between individuals who don't know each other. Typically, the prospective borrowers create profiles that include how much they need to borrow, what the money will be used for and some credit history. Other individuals can browse the loan requests and make offers that include payment terms and interest rates. Prospective lenders also get a risk assessment of the borrower generated by the Web site based on the borrower's credit history.

Some "peer-to-peer" lending sites include LendingClub.com, Prosper.com, RaiseCapital.com and Zopa.com.

On Prosper.com, for instance, 25% of borrowers are individuals running or looking to start businesses, says Chief Executive Chris Larsen. The site facilitates loans between individuals from $1,000 to $25,000, and interest rates on those loans right now range from 6% for those with the strongest credit ratings to about 30%.

Prosper, which has 800,000 registered users, is seeing more entrepreneurs with good credit scores signing up. "We're certainly seeing a steady increase of the quality of borrower coming to our site," Mr. Larsen says. About 55% of the loans being funded are for borrowers with credit scores above 720, he adds, while only about 5% are for those categorized as "subprime" borrowers.
Community Banks, Credit Unions

While big banks are being battered by all the financial turmoil on Wall Street, many local banks and credit unions are far more stable. In fact, community banks continue to expand, although some have suffered losses on securities issued by troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, says Camden Fine, chief executive of the Independent Community Bankers of America, an industry association in Washington.

Still, he says, even the community banks are more hesitant to lend to companies that lack rock-solid balance sheets.
Factoring, Asset-Based Loans

Though certainly not a cheap route to capital, some banks and non-bank financing companies offer financing that is backed by a business's assets or accounts receivable.

So-called factoring, where a lender might, say, outright give a borrower 80 cents on the dollar for the company's accounts receivable, can be a good option for businesses like manufacturers that are owed a lot of money by customers and that have no better lending option right now, says Raphael Amit, an entrepreneurship professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Interest rates on such financing can sometimes run 15% or higher, so it's best to only resort to this approach when there's no lower-cost option.

So-called asset-based loans -- loans in which assets such as inventory, equipment or real estate are used as collateral -- can be good options for companies with lots of assets. But again, rates tend to run much higher than on traditional bank loans. The loan amounts are often capped at a percentage of the assessed value of the assets, such as 65%.

Also, even loans backed by assets can be difficult to get for companies with less-than-stellar credit ratings. Mark Sunshine, president of First Capital, a West Palm Beach, Fla., finance company, says he's seeing more demand for loans based on accounts receivable or assets, but isn't necessarily doing much more business. "There's a reason local banks won't lend them money," he says of riskier small companies. He says he's sticking to companies with lots of assets to use as collateral.
Negotiating With Customers or Suppliers

Another smart strategy for helping cash flow -- perhaps even if you do have access to loans -- is striking better payment terms with customers and suppliers, Prof. Amit says. Especially when business relationships are strong and long-lasting, many companies are willing to help each other out in tough economies.
Business that usually gives customers 30 to 60 days to pay the bills, for instance, might require customers to pay upon receipt of goods. A supplier, on the other hand, might be willing to extend lengthier payment terms to a business customer if it feels the customer is trustworthy and vital to its own business. Some suppliers also will lend money to their longstanding, most valued customers.
Changing Behaviors

Hard times call for small businesses to be nimble and entrepreneurial. Many businesses are using the tough economy to scrutinize their business practices and find creative ways to create better cash flow.

Some turn to leasing instead of buying equipment they need. Others are identifying areas of the business that will tend to be more lucrative in today's economy and shifting their resources in those directions.

Financial Crisis Caused Murder-suicide in Paradise

Financial Difficulties Lead Father to Kill Wife, Mother-in-law and Three Children in California Gated Community


Former PricewaterhouseCoopers and Sony Pictures employee went a killing rampage after being unemployed for several months. The unemployed accounting industry worker became despondent and withdrawn. Living in an upscale, large home in a California gated community, the father could not take it any longer. Watching the credit crunch or contraction and the tight economic market and the changing of Wall Street business model, he realized that his chances of getting a job were almost nil. He could not count on his master's of business administration in finance to get him a job. Ill-advised, he decided to take matters in his own hand. He unleashed all his demons on his unsuspecting family.

Police investigating the case in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Porter Ranch found a handgun which was purchased on Sept. 16, 2008. They recovered where the father's body was located. The man used it to kill his 39-year old wife, 70-year-old mother-in-law, and his sons aged 19, 12, and 7. It is worth nothing that the family did not own the home.

The father created hell for his wife and his children as he went from room to room to commit these killings. In his suicide letters, he attests to some financial difficulties, takes responsibility for the taking of his family members and himself as a result of these financial hardships. The financial dealings and situation of his household overwhelmed him.


Tags:

Sorrento Pointe, gated community, Santa Susana Mountains, Porter Ranch, pricewaterhousecoopers, Sony Pictures, large home, financial problems, handgun, San Fernando Valley, suicide letters

Personal Investing: Wall Street's Business Model Incites Greed, Cowboy Investing, Lack of Risks, Push for more Profits and More Borrowing (Leverage)

Wall Street's Casino Attitude, Questions and Answers: Wall Street's Business Model Incites Greed, Cowboy Investing, Lack of Risks, Push for more Profits and More Borrowing (Leverage)

Wall Street is not what it used to be. Some of the buildings are still there. However, everybody from company directors to ground crew, traders, brokers and customers is running scared. Wall Street as we knew it is having huge problems. Consisting of giant investment houses, brokerage firms, hedge funds and "private equity" firms, Wall Street business model has come under huge assaults from greedy traders and management directors who thought that risks were to be handled differently in their quest for more and more profits.

Bear Stearns is no more. Venerable Merrill Lynch had to find a purchaser in Bank of America. The Feds could not rescue investment bank Lehman Brothers which had to file for bankruptcy. Insurance giant AIG received an $85 billion bailout from the Federal Reserve. That's after the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the largest mortgage lenders in an effort to shore up the economy and the housing market. Investors have just found out that their funds could be lost if it was not for this late-hour lifeline. Foreign investors also had to be reassured. Anything that happens to our economy ends up having great repercussion in other countries' stock markets.

In the past few years, Wall Street has gone away from its business model. They have long lost their role as advisers and intermediaries. In the past, these investment banks used to work for their clients. They traded stocks and bonds for major institutional investors such as insurance companies, pension funds, and mutual funds. They raised capital for companies by underwriting, selling new pension funds, mutual funds. They provided advice to corporate clients on mergers, acquisitions and spinoffs. That's how they made their money by charging fees.

Wall Street's financial institutions changed their focus. They were in business for themselves. They were investing for themselves by using partners' or shareholders' money to place bets on stocks, bonds and other securities which they called "principal transactions.

If anybody wants to do something about Wall Street's compensation system, he/she will have to lay the groundwork to avoid future chaos. It is not a secret that Wall Street's compensation system is heavily skewed toward annual bonuses which reflect the profits traders and management directors earned in the year. Even when these traders and directors were making base salaries of $200,000 to $300,000, bonuses were their gravy. They used to receive bonuses five to 10 times their base salaries.

Unlike commercial banks, investment banks rely too much on borrowed money which they call "leverage." There were too many windfalls caused by too much borrowing. For a long time, traders and money managers were focusing too much on their own short-term profits. That is why the crash was just around the corner. Wall Street was being severely damaged by these acts. Short-term goals were met, but investors, shareholders and the rest of the country were going to get hurt. Everyone involved had huge incentives to increase borrowing.

How to Send Money or Remittances to Family Members Abroad

Sending money abroad is easy, but is there enough money to send these days?

U.S. economic slowdown, lack of construction jobs and tight border control prevent many immigrants from sending money to their family members in Latin America. From Miami to California, immigrant workers have been unable to make enough money to afford to send some back home. Yet, those left behind depend on the monthly remittances which are their lifeline according to IDB, International Development Bank. The bank conducted a study that showed that the money sent by Mexicans, Haitians, Jamaicans and other immigrants contributes a lot to the home country's GDP.

Standing in front of A Western Union on Miami Beach, I can witness the few immigrants who are dropping by to send money to their family members. Obviously, this small number of people amounts to a large group as it happens all over the country. So far, Western Union, the largest and oldest money-transfer company, indicates that it conducted 168 million consumer-to-consumer money transfers and an additional 405 million consumers-to-business transactions. The average is over a million transfers a day according to a Western Union rep.

Western Union offers three ways to send money: Online, at a location such as this one, and by phone. On the website, one can find out which services are available where. By using a Visa or Mastercard or debit card, one can send money in minutes. Recipients are able to go to any of the 345,000 Western Union locations world wide to claim their money.

Immigrants also use MoneyGram International. MoneyGram offers two services to send money abroad: emoney transfer same day service and emoney economy service.

Some computer users can also use Paypal, an eBay company to send money to family members overseas.

There are other services that can be used too.

Hydroponics Resources and History Over the Ages: Start Growing Your Hydroponics Tomatoes and Vegetables

The term hydroponics was coined in the USA in the early 1930's to describe the growing of plants with their roots suspended in water containing mineral nutrients. Derived from the Greek words for 'water' - hydro and 'to work' - ponos, hydroponics literally means 'working with water'. The definition has gradually become broadened to describe all forms of gardening without soil.

Hydroponic gardens in history date back to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Aztec Indians had a system of growing crops on rafts in shallow lakes, you can still see some of these floating gardens near Mexico City. Developments did not start taking place in Europe until 1699 when Woodward found that he could grow plants in a solution of water to which soil had been added. Liebig, a German scientist, started using nutrient solutions to study the nutritional requirements of plants in the 1850's and was followed by Sachs in 1860 and Knop in 1861 who made studies of nutrient elements in water solutions. They were able to grow plants in nutrient solutions made up from mineral salts eliminating the need for soil.

Research on the nutritional requirements of plants continued through into the 1870's. By 1925 practical applications of hydroponics were being made in the greenhouse industry. The next decade was to see extensive development as researchers became aware of the potential of growing hydroponically. In 1930 Gericke produced the first commercial hydroponic unit in the USA. Later during World War II the American forces in the Pacific grew vegetable crops hydroponically. Developments continued and the commercial use of hydroponics spread throughout the world but it was the development of a system known as N.F.T. by Dr Alan Cooper in the 1970's, along with improved nutritional formulations that made the hydroponic growing of a wide range of plants commercially viable. Since then automatic control systems have become available as well as digital testing equipment which has opened up the field of hydroponics to the home gardener.

Hydroponics has come a long way since the Aztecs. It has become an essential method of growing crops in areas of the World where water is precious and land useless for field growing. Water care and land care is now legislative in many countries in the World, so with sensible, well managed hydroponic crops we can keep producing high quality produce which is environmentally friendly and sustainable for the future.

The History of Hydroponics Embraces Many Cultures, Groups of People, Individuals and Commercial Farmers

Hydroponics basically means working water ("hydro" means "water" and "ponos" means "labor"). Many different civilizations have utilized hydroponic growing techniques throughout history. As noted in Hydroponic Food Production (Fifth Edition, Woodbridge Press, 1997, page 23) by Howard M. Resh: "The hanging gardens of Babylon, the floating gardens of the Aztecs of Mexico and those of the Chinese are examples of 'Hydroponic' culture. Egyptian hieroglyphic records dating back several hundred years B.C. describe the growing of plants in water." Hydroponics is hardly a new method of growing plants. However, giant strides have been made over the years in this innovative area of agriculture.

Throughout the last century, scientists and horticulturists experimented with different methods of hydroponics. One of the potential applications of hydroponics that drove research was for growing fresh produce in nonarable areas of the world. It is a simple fact that some people cannot grow in the soil in their area (if there is even any soil at all). This application of hydroponics was tested during World War II. Troops stationed on nonarable islands in the Pacific were supplied with fresh produce grown in locally established hydroponic systems. Later in the century, hydroponics was integrated into the space program. As NASA considered the practicalities of locating a society on another plant or the Earth's moon, hydroponics easily fit into their sustainability plans. This research is ongoing.

But by the 1970s, it wasn't just scientists and analysts who were involved in hydroponics. Traditional farmers and eager hobbyists began to be attracted to the virtues of hydroponic growing. A few of the positive aspects of hydroponics include:

* The ability to produce higher yields than traditional, soil-based agriculture
* Allowing food to be grown and consumed in areas of the world that cannot support crops in the soil
* Eliminating the need for massive pesticide use (considering most pests live in the soil), effectively making our air, water, soil, and food cleaner

Commercial growers are flocking to hydroponics like never before. The ideals surrounding these growing techniques touch on subjects that most people care about, such as helping end world hunger and making the world cleaner. In addition to the extensive research that is going on, everyday people from all over the world have been building (or purchasing) their own systems to grow great-tasting, fresh food for their family and friends. Educators are realizing the amazing applications that hydroponics can have in the classroom. And ambitious individuals are striving to make their dreams come true by making their living in their backyard greenhouse, selling their produce to local markets and restaurants.

And now that so many people from so many different walks of life are involved in hydroponics and its associated disciplines (such as aeroponics and aquaponics), progress is coming faster than ever before.

HomeGrown Hydroponics: The Future is in Hydroponics

What about this company?

Homegrown Hydroponics Inc. was established in 1985 to meet the growing demand of the conscientious consumer and the large number of hydroponics enthusiasts.

Now, with numerous locations throughout North America, Homegrown has evolved into a dynamic company.

Homegrown is the foremost hydroponics group and the company's goal is not only to sell Hydroponics products but to stay on the leading edge of technology in the hydroponics industry. Education is a main issue for this company. Through education and awareness, by providing information about hydroponics, they hope to promote hydroponics plant and vegetable production worldwide... As you know, hydroponics is the only way to grow!

Apple Bells and Whistles; Apple AppCessories: Enjoying Apple Apps

Apple Iphone 3G App Store AppCessories: What to (not to ) Like About The Second Generation iPhone and all the Available Programs That Catch Users' Attention

What do you want on your original iPhone that you can not get out there now? For sure the iPhone 3G has increased speed, GPS location-finding feature and many other bells and whistles. Thus far, It is all about the Apple-approved third-party programs that can run on the iPhone and iPod Touch. There are hundreds of them, with more coming down the pipeline in the near future. All of these programs, applications or apps make developers as well as users happy customers. The good thing is that over 90% cost less than $10 or are free. So if you have an original iPhone, iPod touch and the new iPhone 3G, you will be soon faced with the selection of multiple programs to download to spiffy your must-have phone. And despite all the lack of supply and time-consuming contracts that users have to sign before they can walk out of the store, there can not be enough of them at the San Francisco store or any local Apple store which I visited since the release of the program. Yes, the lines continue to be long. The new iPhone 3G may present some hiccups to users, nonetheless they enjoy its features.

Downloading apps for your iPhone 3G is an easy and quick process. The programs are entertaining and useful at the same time. Developers made sure to integrate simple user interfaces and great graphics to go along with the reputation of slick Apple goods. There is no doubt that the iPhone economy will be built by these freelance developers. The iPhone has come to be a true computing platform like a pocket-sized Windows or Macintosh PC. It may be a novel way for Apple to try to revamp its Mac computer lines that have been languished over the years. The only thing is that everyone is praying that the health scare or rumors about Steve Jobs do not stop the growth of this great Silicon Valley company. By the way, the rumors were just rumors. Steve is fine, but needs to eat better foods after his surgery. Steve, do not forget about your nutrition!

Apple AppCessories: Is Everything going well with the iPhone 3G Thus Far?
(AppCessories: third-party developments, applications, apps, programs and software for Apple iPhone 3G)

Despite the few complaints of early adopters of the new iPhone in regards to the bug found in the its operating system, many new consumers just want to put their hands on one. The lines for those who had a valid complaint were smaller than the lines of those who want to buy. App Store employees are baffled by the presence of this nasty bug which causes apps to crash and can even force the iPhone or Touch to reboot. That usually happens when a large number of apps is used in quick succession.

According to various reviewers, there are thousands of third-party apps for Nokia phones, BlackBerrys, and phone running the Palm and Windows Mobile operating systems. "Thousands of third-party programs already exist for Nokia (NOK) phones, BlackBerrys, and phones running the Palm (PALM) and Windows Mobile operating systems. But, compared with the graphically rich, snappy iPhone apps — many of which fetch data from the Internet at high speed — the typical program on these older platforms looks positively primitive."