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Victims of credit card fraud can tell you just how traumatic it can be. It’s not just the potential money loss, it can also leave a bad mark on your credit report that can take years to sort out.

Most people think that credit card fraud is when your wallet or purse is stolen, and the thief uses your credit cards to buy all sorts of goods and services.

However, the number of purchases made online is growing at an incredible rate and so is the theft or misappropriation of people’s credit card details. All the thief needs to cause havoc to your account is your credit card details, number, expiry date, name and security code.

Here are a few ways that a thief can get your details with appropriate prevention tips:

* You get a phone call where the person on the line tells you about a special offer usually needing a fast response and your credit card details to make the purchase.

Tip #1 – Never give out your credit card details to people who call to sell to you. Only provide it when you call a company to place a phone order and when you are sure that you are dealing with well-established reputable business.

* You find out that someone has gone through the trash bags you left outside for the trash pick-up. Several days later you get your credit card statement and there are lots of purchases you knew nothing about.

Tip #2 – Invest in a shredder! Make sure you completely destroy your credit card receipts and bank statements before throwing them out. Thieves do go through trash bags looking for your statements and other details of your identity.

* You have a meal in a restaurant and use your credit card to pay for your bill. Your next credit card statement shows unauthorized charges dating from the time you had the meal. When you paid, the waiter made an extra imprint of your card when processing your bill, and then used the details to make internet purchases.

Tip #3 – Make sure that you watch the waiter when he processes your bill and make sure that he knows you are watching. If he takes your card, insist that you go with him to the pay station to complete the transaction.

So, what other measures can you take to stop you being a victim of credit card fraud? Here are some more tips:

Tip #4 – If possible, do not carry your credit cards in your purse or wallet. If the worst happens and your wallet is stolen, you will not lose both your credit cards and your cash.

Tip #5 – Only take the credit card that you are going to use that day – leave the others at home in a safe place.

Tip #6 – Make a list of all your credit card details and issuer contact details. The sooner you can report any loss the less damage can be done and your accounts can be frozen until new cards are issued.

Tip #7 – Never ever sign a blank receipt. Cross out any blank lines for tips on the receipt so that charges cannot be added. Always check your receipt befor you sign.

Tip #8 – If you are buying goods online make sure that you do so via a secure site.

Tip #9 – If you move house, let your credit card issuer know the new address as soon as possible. Thieves make it their business to know what is happening in the neighbourhood and will check mailboxes at empty houses hoping to pick up letters with bank, credit card and identity details.

Tip #10 – Spam email is an increasing problem. You may recieve messages that appear to be from your bank, Ebay or Paypal asking for you to update your bank and credit card details. These emails look real. Never provide details when asked to by email. Always log in to the link provided by your bank or payment processor to make any amendments to your details.

So there you have it…….Follow the tips above to reduce your chances of becoming a victim of credit card fraud!

Jeff Brown is the writer of many articles on personal finance and credit card use. To read more articles like this one and for information on a range of online credit card deals, please click the link below:
creditcardsdoctor.com/articles.php creditcardsdoctor.com/articles.php

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Wedding is the heavenly bliss that is showered on you. It is not just the bonding of a couple, but the bonding of two families, their traditions and the cultures also. It is one of the most special days in the life of a person. In fact, it is the day of commitment that calls for everlasting relationships. What happens if you do not have enough money to make the best arrangements? A beautifully planned wedding is the perfect gift for your better half. Wedding loans are the schemes meant for such couples, who do not have enough money to arrange a beautiful wedding.

Wedding loans are meant to help you in spending lavishly on your wedding day. Be it the wedding day or reception, decorations, music and food court has to be marvelous. After all, it is the one time affair and you would like to give it a graceful celebration. With the enough cash at your disposal, you can go for best hotel or banquet hall as a venue, best florist for decorations and best disc jockey for music. Wedding loans are the best option for couples that are running out of money for their big day. Wedding loans can also be taken for booking best honeymoon package. After all, you would like to take you beloved to the heavenly place.

Taking wedding loans actually depends on your needs and requirements. Usually it happens that people are not able to arrange a memorable wedding party because of shortage of money. Wedding loans acts as a helping hand in availing appropriate money for you to arrange the best wedding get-together for yourself and your partner. No matter what aspect of your wedding is concerned, wedding loans helps to a great extent.

Wedding loans can be taken in exchange of a security or without the security also. Loans taken in exchange of a security are called secured wedding loans. Such wedding loans are given in exchange of a security that has higher value than the loan. The interest rates on such types of loans are relatively lower than the other loans. You are given a certain time period to repay the loan. If the loan is not repaid in that time frame, then the security is sold to recover the loan. It is always better for you to take a limited amount of loan so that you can repay the amount at the appropriate time.

If you don’t have anything to put up as security in exchange for the wedding loans, then you need not to worry. Such couples can take unsecured wedding loans. Usually, the unsecured wedding loans come with higher interest rates then secured loans. Still, it is always better to have something rather than nothing. You can repay the wedding loans in monthly or quarterly installments. Moreover, it is always better to repay the loans in time to save yourself from further problems. Wedding loans are taken not just to celebrate the wedding party; it is also taken to celebrate the traditions.

Jasmine Vadera is a highly qualified wedding loan consultant. She can be your best mate in solving the money matters. She works for weddingLoans as a loan consultant and takes care of the different types of loans required for arranging a memorable wedding. You can check out the information of

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If you are one of those people who do their own taxes this may be the year to hire an accountant. By now you have probably gotten all of your 1099 forms in the mail from your brokerage accounts and now you need to make sense of it all. There are two major changes to the tax laws for 2003 that could have a large impact on your tax bill and how you manage your money going forward.

Capital Gains

The first change is to capital gains taxes, that is taxes you pay on your gains from selling a stock or mutual fund. Short term capital gains, that is any gain on an investment you sold that you held for less than a year is still taxed as ordinary income. Which means rates can be as high as 35%. Long term gains, gains on investments you held for more than a year are where it gets interesting. Any gain on an investment you held for more than a year and sold before May 5 of 2003 is taxed at 20%. However, if you sold the investment after May 5 it’s only taxed at 15%. Why they chose May 5th I have no idea, obviously somebody up there wants to complicate your life. This makes tax planning quite difficult because short term losses offset short term gains before they offset long term gains and long term losses offset long term gains before they offset short term gains. Confused yet? Because short term gains can be taxed as high as 35% and long term gains are only 15% you want to do a couple of things, first if you can avoid selling something for 12 months do it. Second, if you anticipate short term gains during the year and have long term losses avoid taking long term gains until the next year. Alright, if you weren’t confused before you are now. Because the tax rates are so wide now you need to consider taxes on any sell decision you are making. Bottom line, you can’t do your tax planning on April 14 when your accountant tells you how much you owe, you need to sit down with your accountant and investment advisor in October or November this year to plan this out for 2004.

Dividends

Dividends are also taxed differently now. In the past dividends were ordinary income which could be taxed as high as 35%. For most people the maximum tax rate on dividends that qualify is now 15% but just like capital gains it’s not so simple. First you need to hold onto the stock on which dividends where paid for more than 60 days. The holding period is actually much more complicated than this but I don’t want to confuse you too much more. If you are a buy and hold investor you probably don’t have to worry, if you are an active trader however you will have a tougher time with this. The other key point is that not all dividends qualify but it is up to you to determine if yours do or not. The key ones that don’t are dividends from mutual funds that are actually short term capital gains or bond interest. Another thing you need to know is that if your brokerage firm lends your shares out (which they can do if you have a margin account) your dividends won’t qualify either. You need to call your broker to find out about this. This also brings up an important planning point. If you are like most people you have some stocks and some bonds. Your stocks might pay dividends and you may sell them generating long term capital gains, all taxed at 15%. Your bonds pay interest that can be taxed as high as 35%. You need to figure this in when you decide how to hold these different investments. If you have 401k’s or IRAs these accounts grow tax deferred so they are the perfect place to put your bonds. If you have other accounts that are taxable, like joint accounts or individual accounts you can put your stocks in those. This allows you to take maximum advantage of the tax law changes.

All told these changes give investors some great way to save some money but you need to know how to take advantage of them for maximum effect.

Matthew Tuttle is the author of “Financial Secrets of my Wealthy Grandparents”. For more information, or to sign up for his free newsletter, please visit matthewtuttle.com matthewtuttle.com.

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The excitement Paladin Resources Limited (TSE: PDN) has been quietly generating through the uranium mining sector puts African uranium mining squarely into the spotlight. The country of Namibia, bordering South Africa, Botswana, Angola and the South Atlantic Ocean, is already one of the world’s key uranium producers – supplying global utilities with between six and eight percent of the uranium oxide of the world’s newly mined supply to fuel their nuclear reactors. In an historic development, two sales contracts were recently announced for the purchase of uranium from Paladin’s Langer Heinrich uranium project before the mine has been commissioned (scheduled for opening in September 2006). Both contracts announced eight days apart in late January of this year were each for the delivery of more than 2 million pounds of U3O8 between 2007 and 2012. The company’s news release of January 27th named an unspecified U.S. utility as one of Paladin’s new customers.

Namibia is a uranium-friendly mining country. In October, Mined and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina told the country’s National Assembly, “Namibia should consider exploiting its uranium ore reserves in the light of rising world uranium prices.” The country has already been doing so, through Rio Tinto Group’s Rossing uranium mine for the past 25 years, which provides jobs to more than 800 employees. With the addition of the Langer Heinrich, more uranium will be mined.

The Rossing is one of the largest open pit uranium mines in the world and with solid reserves. According to the company’s website, this mine “currently produces about 7.7 percent of the world’s uranium.” The Rossing uranium deposit is an intrusive deposit, with intrusive rocks in this category which include alaskite, granite, pegmatite and monzonites. Around the world similar type deposits include South Africa’s Palabora and Greenland’s Ilimausaq. In South Australia, a similar intrusive deposit – Radium Hill – was mined from 1954-1962.

Paladin’s success story has spurred another junior uranium company, Forsys Metals (TSX: FSY) to press forward with its advanced stage exploration uranium project in Namibia’s Erongo region. Last May, a bottom-fishing investor might have easily bought Paladin Resources shares for under C$1/share (the low was $C0.86). Recently, those shares traded as high as C$3.30/share – a 300 percent (or more) gain in less than twelve months. How does Forsys Metals stack up against the giant Rossing uranium mine and Paladin’s burgeoning Langer Heinrich? Forsys Metals shares today are in the same trading one might have found Paladin Resources less than a year ago. Forsys has initiated a pre-feasibility study on the company’s Valencia uranium deposit, which should boost investor interest if the company makes positive strides toward achieving that target.

Forsys Metal’s Valencia Uranium Deposit

Forsys Metal’s Valencia uranium deposit is located 35 kilometers along geological strike from the Rossing uranium mine and approximately 40 kilometers north of the Langer Heinrich deposit. “This is a granitic uranium deposit (uranium mineralization in granite), that is geologically similar to the Rossing,” said Duane Parnham, Chairman Chief Executive of Forsys Metals. “We’ve completed a National Instrument 43-101 compliant technical report verifying the historical work of Goldfields Namibia between 1973 and 1986. It outlines a historical resource of greater than 20 million pounds of U3O8.” Parnham explained the mineralization is exposed on the surface and the deposit remains open for further expansion. “The Valencia is also a deposit we feel can be moved rather quickly into a production scenario,” Parnham pointed out. “The deposit is amenable to conventional open pit mining methods.”

According to the National Instrument 43-101 technical report filed in October 2005 on the Valencia uranium property by Graham Michael Greenway, a registered geological scientist with South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions, “Uranium mineralization is present at the Valencia Project property as uraninite (UO2) mineralization… Uranium mineralization has been identified over an area of 1,100m north-south by 500m east-west…Uranium mineralization predominantly occurs in the finer-grained alaskite… The uranium mineralization is variably distributed through the alaskite intrusions and in many cases high-grade mineralization is in contact with barren or poorly mineralized alaskite.”

The Valencia project area is situated in the Central Zone of Africa’s Damara Orogenic Belt. This belt belongs to the late Precambrian, early Palezoic and Pan African Mobile Belt system that run across the African continent. Medium to high grades of metamorphism and voluminous granitic intrusions characterize the Central Zone. In a 1992 report entitled Uranium: The Mineral Resources of Namibia, published by the country’s Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Geological Survey, geologists Roesener and Schreuder wrote, “All of the uraniferous granitic occurrences discovered in Namibia are situated in the Central Zone.”

The geology is similar to the Rossing uranium mine, according to Duane Parnham. Greenway suggested geological similarities as well. In his resume, Mr. Greenway disclosed he had completed a Minerals Resource estimate for the Valencia project, while in the employ of Rossing Uranium Ltd. Having graduated from South Africa’s University of Natal, Greenway has worked for 15 years as a geologist, ten of those years spent evaluating and calculating mineral resources. In his conclusion filed in the National Instrument 43-101, Greenway wrote, “The Valencia Uranium Project contains an alaskite hosted uranium deposit similar to other uranium deposits found in the Central Zone of the Damara Orogen. The main zone of mineralization is 520 meters wide, 720 meters long, and 200 meters thick and occurs from surface down to a depth of 360 meters.” Greenway estimated that at a cut-off grade of 017 kg/t U3O8, the currently defined inferred mineral resource at Valencia is 32 million tonnes at a grade of 0.22 kg/t U3O8.

Evaluation

Where water costs are high, uranium mining can become costly and uneconomic. Forsys Metal’s Valencia property is admittedly in a desert region. Distant water would require a pipeline. For example, the current pipeline to the Rossing uranium mine requires 2 million cubic meters of water daily pumped to it. Mr. Parnham does foresee this as a potential hazard, but believes the pipeline to the Rossing mine could be extended to the Valencia deposit, should it become a producing uranium mine. The Langer Heinrich also has a pipeline to pump the precious in order to mine the uranium. However, with that concern, there is the flip side. The Rossing mine reportedly produces uranium at less than $20/pound. Some estimates reach as low as $12/pound, but at a rising spot uranium price seemingly destined to top $40/pound, any production cost under $20/pound, in sufficient quantity, could be bankable. One uranium insider suggested the Rossing may be in the process of expanding its uranium production, because of the soaring spot uranium price, to as much as triple its current capacity.

The problem with water might be solved in the context of Namibia’s energy import climate. Currently, the country reportedly imports about 80 percent of its power from South Africa. The controversial Swakopmund desalination plant, first announced in 1998, might be revived to meet the country’s growing water requirements. The country may need to drill more water wells. In any event, miners can become creatively inventive when faced with environmental concerns in order to produce their commodity. In this case, helping Namibia solve its water issues could very well help that country accelerate its industrial growth strategy.

Based upon the rising monthly value in his company’s potential asset, brought about by soaring spot uranium prices, Parnham doesn’t mince words in spelling out the direction Forsys Metals is heading, “We think we have a situation whereby we can fast-track a pre-feasibility stage by conducting some limited amount of verification drilling and geo-tech drilling, and then make a formal decision to move immediately into a bankable feasibility stage.” How fast can Forsys Metals move forward? In the case of Paladin Resources, they fast-tracked their project forward in less than two years. Will history repeat itself with Forsys Metals? Stay tuned.

COPYRIGHT © 2007 by StockInterview, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

James Finch contributes to StockInterview.com and other publications. StockInterview’s “Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market” has become the most popular book ever published for uranium mining stock investors. Visit stockinterview.com stockinterview.com

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The concept of refinancing a loan:

A loan refinance means applying for a second loan to replace the existing or first loan. In case of a refinance the loan amount remains the same but some of the other loan conditions change. Because of the changes in the other loan conditions the borrowers get some additional benefits. And these benefits prompt a borrower to go for a loan refinance.

Benefits of a refinance to a borrower:

The new loan may be having a lower rate of interest and because of this a lower interest cost to the borrower.

The repayment period could be longer resulting in lower monthly installments. Borrowers opt for this when they want to spend their money elsewhere and are ready to pay the installments for a longer period of time.

If the borrower is currently having a loan in an adjustable rate system he/she may want to switch over to a fixed rate system to reduce the risk of an upward increase in the interest rates.
liquidating home equity into cash (cash-out refinance),

Costs associated with refinance:

A homeowner loan refinance involves the following costs: homeowner application fees, homeowner loan origination fees, and appraisal fees. The borrowers should take into account these costs while deciding on a refinance. If the costs associated with these fees exceed the savings due to refinance it makes little sense for the borrower to go for the refinance.

The factor to be taken into account = (Savings on interest due to refinance) – (total refinance costs prepayment penalties). Only if this factor is positive the borrowers should go for refinancing the loan.

Care to be taken while using online calculators:

The online calculators available may not take into account all the costs associated with a particular way of refinancing. This in turn may lead to a wrong decision on the part of the borrower. So care should be taken while using the online calculators.

If you intend to go for a cash-out refinance:

Homeowners planning on a cash-out homeowner loan refinance to liquidate equity for large expenses should consult a financial advisor. The financial advisor may help them in planning and seeing the costs and benefits of doing so. The advisors can also guide them with the stipulations or requirements if there are any from the lender both before and after refinancing.

A last word…

The borrowers should be very cautious while planning on a refinance and should do the cost and benefit calculations thoroughly. Since for most of the borrowers their home would be their single biggest asset the time spent in analyzing the options is worth it.

Steve Clark can tell you how to look better, live better and breathe better by giving you tips to improve your finances.He writes on loans. His ideas can help you rejuvenate your money.To find Secured homeowner loans,bad credit homeowner loans,online homeowner loans visit easyhomeownerloans.co.uk easyhomeownerloans.co.uk

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Are you forced to postpone the long-due home renovation due to shortage of funds? Are you worried about how to pay off your multiple debts with the fixed income? Are you forced to just dream about getting a degree from a reputed university as you lack sufficient finances to give shape to the dream?

Usually, there is always a gap between the income and the expenditure, irrespective of what may be the income. As a result, most of us go through phases of financial shortfall. However, it is always not possible to compromise with the needs, especially if they are urgent.

So, what is the way to bridge the gap between your income and expenditure such that you are able to meet the urgent needs?

Personal loans are the ‘evergreen’ choice in the loan market. They are the popular choice of the UK borrowers for years owing to the freedom they offer to the borrowers regarding the use of the loan money. Personal loans can be used for any purpose by a borrower (usually, non-commercial purposes). There is no need to specify the reason for which you need the loan.

If the monetary requirement is considerably large and you are a UK homeowner, then you should opt for secured personal loans UK that enable you to borrow a large sum of money. Secured personal loans require submission of security, such as home, against the loan. This is beneficial for the borrower as well as the lender. The borrower avails a significantly lower interest rate on the loan and the lender bears minimum risk of losing the loan money (as compared to unsecured loans). Interest charged on a loan significantly decides the cost of a loan. So, secured personal loans are low cost personal loans that help you to save money over the loan term.

The author is a business writer specializing in finance and credit products and has written authoritative articles on the finance industry. He has done masters in Business Administration and is currently assisting e-secured-loans as a finance specialist. For more information about unsecured loan please visit at e-secured-loans.co.uk e-secured-loans.co.uk

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Inflation is defined as: “A persistent increase in the level of consumer prices or a persistent decline in the purchasing power of money, caused by an increase in available currency and credit beyond the proportion of available goods and services.”

To simplify matters a bit, it means the government has been deliberately debasing the value of our money for years, in order to meet its political policies

In 1912, you could purchase tickets for the finest first class three room suite on the Titanic for about $4350 US. Remember there was no income tax back then.

If the Titanic were still around, that suite would cost about 86,120 after-tax dollars – about $112,000 pre-tax, assuming a very modest 30% tax rate.

It is impossible to predict what inflation will do over the next 23 years, but over the last 23, inflation was devastating. What cost $1,000,000 in 1983 would now cost about $1,910,000 in 2005 – the last year for which numbers were available. Or put another way, what cost $523,500 in 1980, now costs a cool million.

The US dollar lost almost one half of its buying power. Imagine if you retired in 1983 on a $1000 a month fixed pension. At the end of 2005, it could only buy $523 worth of goods, if there were no such thing as taxes. Let’s be gentle and only reduce your pension by 15% for taxes – now you only have about $444 in buying power.

The early 80’s had high inflation and interest rates, which have fallen over the years. But the figures given above only reflect a 3.9% inflation rate.

I am using 1983 for a reason. The leading edge of the baby boom generation is turning 60 right now. The average male life expectancy for a 60 year old is 22.8 years. At 65, the life expectancy goes to 18.9 years. (The overall life expectancy for someone born in the US today is 77.6 years.) So the typical baby boomer will be around for about the next twenty three years.

As the United States grew, its leaders decided that they could not afford first gold coinage and later silver coins. Eventually, the US abandoned the gold standard and just began to print bits of paper backed by “the full faith and credit of the United States.”

The problem with that is that the government can and does print as many of these bits of paper – dollar bills – as they feel like. The only value they really have is that which people choose to give it.

Now we are even moving away from paper currency to a “cashless” society. You could spend a large portion of your life never handling currency of any kind if you choose to do so.

But that brings us back to inflation. As trade deficits soar and with the government trillions of dollars in debt, people start to assign less and less value to those bits of paper or those electronic entries on your bank statement.

The problem is that the paper money really has no intrinsic value.

So how do you protect yourself against inflation? The answer is simple, but hard to implement. You just have to make an after-tax return on your investments greater than the inflation rate.

This is hard to do with cash or money market investments. The interest rates rarely exceed the inflation rate, either pre or post tax, and the value of the cash is constantly deteriorating.

Let’s go back to the Double Eagle. In 1933, the last year it was minted, it had a value of $20 – it would buy you $20 worth of goods and services. You can still buy that double eagle today, but its numismatic value distorts the equation.

In April 2006, gold bullion is selling in the range of $595 per ounce. The Double Eagle’s reincarnation, the American Eagle, which contains an ounce of gold, sells for about $618.

It now takes $270 to buy what cost $20 in 1933. But gold is selling for over twice that amount. So the intrinsic value of gold has doubled, while the US dollar has fallen by half over a much shorter period of time.

Obviously gold has a much higher intrinsic value than paper currency and, for that reason, is attractive to investors.

Even after you have reached your “golden years”, you have to be aggressive with your investments. One share of General Electric stock – representing maybe one 50 millionth ownership of the company – has more intrinsic value that the dollar bill in your pocket.

So you have to stay invested in either the carefully picked stocks of financially solvent companies or in no-load, low cost, quality mutual funds.

Corporate and tax free bonds should play a role in diversifying your assets into something that holds up better than cash.

From there, there is an infinite supply of investment opportunities some of which are quite risky.

But holding real estate or Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT’s) or gold coins, bullion, gold stocks or mutual funds will help you safely diversify among assets that are likely to not only hold their value, but appreciate better than inflation.

You cannot rely on your pension payments retaining their buying power, nor can you expect the government to control itself.

So keep inflation in mind and go after higher yields than you will get on your savings account. Otherwise you might outlive your money.

By: Chris Cooper. For more articles on retirement planning and personal finance, visit credit-yourself.com/financial-planning.html” target=”new Credit Yourself.

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Many people that have credit card debt, auto loans, student loans, and other type of financial obligations would probably be interested in consolidating all of their financial obligations in to one monthly payment, as long as it was cost effective and easy to do. Debt Consolidation Loan is the way to save time and money.

So what exactly is a Debt Consolidation Loan? Any type of a loan that will consolidate all or most of your many financial obligations into one single payment can be considered to be a Debt Consolidation Loan. It can be a home equity line of credit, fixed end home equity loan, first mortgage refinance, personal loan, or a credit card with high credit limit . Technically, as long as it will give you enough money to pay off all of your other balances it can be considered to be a Debt Consolidation Loan.

To select the most desirable Debt Consolidation Loan, one needs to weigh a number of factors. Some of the most important factors to consider are interest rate; re-payment term; monthly payments; and an initial cost to set up an account. These features will vary depending on borrower’s credit rating, monthly income, and liquid asset position.

The least expensive way to consolidate debt would be taking out a 0% interest rate credit card with no annual fee, or a 0% personal loan and to create a schedule to pay it off within a reasonable period of time. Sometimes these options are not available. Credit card companies will not extend credit if balances on your existing accounts are close to their credit limit. And personal loans are not very easy to secure, unless you have a really good friend or a relative that has a lot of extra cash.

Deciding between home equity line of credit, home equity loan, and first mortgage refinance for your debt consolidation is a bit more complicated, because several factors have to be taken in to consideration. Mortgage market rate and trends are important, because if rates are low, one might want to secure a low fixed rate, and stay away from adjustable rate home equity line of credit. There a thousands of different mortgage and home equity loan programs that homeowners can use for debt consolidation, and the best way to look in to it is to speak to good mortgage brokers. They can do the math quickly and figure out the least expensive way for you to use your equity to consolidate debt.

Mr. Shkolnik is a Loan Consultant employed by Express Capital Funding Group, expfunds.com expfunds.com. He has over ten years of experience Financing Real Estate transactions.

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If gold medals were awarded for marketing consistency, the credit card industry would be the Sarah Hughes of the business world. Major players Visa and MasterCard, who have maintained their steady rates of spending and commitment to their positioning platforms for years, will stick to their established routines this year. Freshening their programs will be updated creative and the occasional push behind new products and promotions.

Discover and American Express will mix it up by introducing new taglines, but they will keep to their traditional big ad spends to bring their messages to consumers.

MasterCard, which last year spent $197 million, per CMR, will continue its successful “Priceless” campaign through 2002. In addition to general brand-building spots, MasterCard will use advertising to support several key promotions. One summer spot, for example, will tout its Major League Baseball sponsorship and a program called “Memorable Moments.” The promotion asks fans to vote for their top baseball moments, with the winners slated for recognition in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Another ad highlights the “Priceless Edge” internship program, a youth-focused initiative offering participants the chance to take entertainment business classes and work on MTV’s Music in High Places.

MasterCard also will feature its sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup, particularly in reaching out to Hispanic audiences.

Holiday will be an important period for the brand. Debra Coughlin, svp-global North American brandbuilding for MasterCard, said last year’s promotional-driven advertising, which focused on “priceless” gifts that could be won through using the card, worked particularly well.

Visa, not surprisingly, also plans to spend in the fourth quarter. “That’s when there is an inordinate amount of retail spending, so it’s an important time frame for a usage message,” said Liz Silver, Visa svp-advertising and brand management. Back-to-school is another key period.
Visa will keep the longtime “It’s everywhere you want to be” positioning this year. With lots of dollars allocated to its 2002 Olympics sponsorship, much of Visa’s other advertising will focus on its key partnerships with the National Football League, NASCAR, the Triple Crown and Broadway.

Besides general branding and usage ads, Visa will support the check card (a “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” spot currently is running) and its “Verified by Visa” product, an online authentication service for card users making Internet purchases. Visa’s ad spend last year was $251 million, per CMR.
American Express, which spent $154 million in 2001, recently launched an extensive brand campaign with the new tag, “Make life rewarding.” The initial phase includes nine TV spots, some of which highlight the overall brand while others feature specific AmEx services, such as financial planning or travel assistance. AmEx also bowed ads for its new small business network, OPEN, earlier this year.

Discover Card, meanwhile, is bringing back the “It pays to discover” tag, replacing “For the slightly smarter consumer.” This summer, Discover will communicate the convenience of its just-introduced 2G0 card, an oblong-shaped card housed in a plastic case that can be attached to a key chain. Discover also will continue its sponsorship of ESPN’s College GameDay program, with promotions and advertising related to college football. New this spring is the “Discover Card Shops with Lucky” platform, a 12-city tour done in conjunction with Lucky magazine. The program, which will receive local ad support, includes fashion shows, makeovers and hair consultations at retail locations including Guess?, Sephora and Nine West. Discover spent $82 million in 2001, per CMR.

Finally, the buzz around chip cards, a talked-about trend last year as Visa and American Express touted their entries in the category, has quieted. Chips cards carry technology that can store consumer data and allow particular market segments to be targeted, giving a means to retain and reward customers. But merchants must use still-rare readers in order for the cards’ benefits to activate, making their actual level of functionality in the real world low.

Marc Sylvester is expect based in Edison, NJ. He holds expertise in the banking and finance sector and is a conultant to leading business houses.

imdollar.com/credit-card imdollar.com/credit-card/
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Do you remember the Clint Eastwood movie where he said, “A man’s got to know his limitations”? Of course, this goes for a woman as well. You’ve simply got to be realistic about what you are capable of. I hate to say it, but some people are just not cut out for trading. However, self evaluation can sometimes be very difficult. It kind of falls into the category of “nobody thinks they are a bad driver”. Obviously, if you didn’t think you were able to be successful at daytrading, then you probably wouldn’t be reading this article. However, just because you think you will be successful at trading, doesn’t make it so.

So for those of you that are unsure if you are cut out for it or have difficulty with self evaluations, here’s my sure fire way to determine if you are a good daytrader.

Look at your bank account. If your account goes up, then you are doing well. If it goes down, you are not doing well. If in a couple of years you have more money than you started with (without adding more funds), then you are off to a good start. If you have less, then you are making mistakes. If in five or ten years you are consistently making money and/or have entered the big leagues of trading, then you probably are cut out for it. If in five or ten years you are broke or having to fund your trading from other profitable areas of your life, then you probably aren’t cut out for it. At the same time, you are only a failure if you quit. My philosophy has always been never give up. If the person that became successful on the 20th attempt had stopped at the 15th attempt, then they would have been a failure.

Daytrading can be a very hard road; you don’t learn this stuff over night, It takes months, even years to become even a half way decent and savvy trader. No one walks into this business and learns it over night. It’s like anything else in life – it takes time. It also takes practice and the ability to learn from your mistakes. If you find you tend to blame your mistakes on everyone else, forget it. Stop while you still have some money and get a day job. I’ve never met a good trader that pointed a finger at someone else. At the end of the day, nobody forces you to enter the trade. No matter what advice you follow or what service you use, the buck ultimately stops with you since it’s your decision to follow through with the trade in the end. One thing you will never hear a successful trader say is “I lost money, but it wasn’t my fault”. Every good trader I know takes full responsibility for every trade they make and every action they take.

If you cannot say to yourself, “I messed up that trade big time, and I’ll never make that mistake again!” then you have selected the wrong business to be in. You simply have to be able to stand back, look over what you are doing and honestly evaluate what is working and what is not working. If something you are doing is not working, then you must make changes. Trading is a highly fluid type of business; it’s always changing, and you must adapt and change with it. What you must do, ultimately, is learn what works for you – not what works for everyone else – what works for you. Part of that is knowing your limitations.

Taking up a position in a stock when you are less than 100% confident is just a disaster waiting to happen. Being confident doesn’t mean being right. You can’t always be right. However, based on the facts you have available to you regarding the stock and/or company, you can be 100% confident that you have done your homework based on what information you have available to you. Anything less than this will tend to induce uncertainty into your trading. This will often times undermine your confidence and ultimately your ability to stand firm when others are selling.

By the same token, you must also be confident enough to exit a position when you realize you have made a mistake in a trade. No one is suggesting you hold a stock that is in trouble. Rather, you base your trading on facts, not fluctuations in the markets. Once you have made your decision to buy or sell, if you are right, ultimately the markets will come to you with a profit. Others may sell because they see someone next to them sell, but that is not, and never has been, the road to success on Wall Street. Don’t follow the crowd – follow your brain, follow facts. Be confident in your trading and thinking and you will generally (if you are smart and use all the facts at hand) come out on top a large percentage of the time.

It is important to have a complete plan before entering any trade. This is so critical to successful trading, yet so rarely do I see people actually do it. Before you ever place a trade, you must – absolutely must – have a plan of action for how you are going to handle the trade. What price you are going to pay; what price you are going to sell at; how many shares you will buy; what price you will cut your losses at, etc. This is critical. You must have a strategy to handle not only the upside, but also the downside. Be prepared for the good and the bad of the trade. Where will you sell the stock should it move up, and what price will you exit the trade should it move south? How long will you hold the stock if it doesn’t move at all? These are all questions that should be asked and answered before you purchase any stock for a trade. This goes hand in hand with being 100% confident. You must have a plan of attack.

Think of each stock you buy like a battle to be fought on the battlefield. You are the 4 star General of the trade. Do you think a General would direct his troops onto the battlefield without a full plan of attack? Without thinking out every possible scenario or what could go right or wrong? This is exactly how you must approach each trade you make.

Just as important, once you develop a plan, adhere to it. If the stock hits your sell price, sell and move on; if the stock hits your stop, get out. Don’t change your strategies because of your emotions. Change only because of additional facts which you did not have when you formulated your plan, or if you clearly identify an error. Never change your plan to try to justify your actions or justify the movement of the stock.

Remember the old saying: the market is always right. To be successful, you need to understand the only mistakes that are made in trading are your own. As soon as you identify a mistake, take action to correct it, not justify it.

Good luck in the markets!

No permission is needed to reproduce an unedited copy of this article as long the About The Author tag is left in tact and hot links included. Questions and comments can be sent to Ray at marketing@TraderAide.com

Ray Johns is the founder and Senior Market Editor of Daytraders.com, Proudly serving day traders & short-term investors since 1996, at daytraders.com daytraders.com

daytraders.com Daytraders.com is the publishers of the award winning Morning Stock Market Report and the home of the Interne’ts finest real time trading desk. Ray has been on the forefront of trading and investing in the markets and has appeared as a guest on a number of radio and television shows including CNBC’s Market Talk. If you would like a free trail of the newsletter and the live trading desk log on to Daytraders.com. Comments and questions can be sent to mailto:articles@daytraders.com articles@daytraders.com