"Yes, if it's an American style option. American style options may be exercised at any time prior to expiration (even if they're not in-the-money). Generally, you are required to deliver or accept delivery of the underlying by the beginning of the next trading day. If you are short, you may be chosen by the clearinghouse to fulfill the exercise (a process called ""assignment""). Because the clearinghouse is the counter-party to every options trade, you can be assigned even if the specific person who purchased the option you wrote didn't exercise, but someone else who holds a long position did. Similarly, you might not be assigned if that person did exercise. The clearinghouse randomly chooses a brokerage to fulfill an assignment, and the brokerage will randomly choose an individual account. If you're going to be writing options, especially using spreads, you need to have a plan ahead of time on what to do if one of your legs gets assigned. This is more likely to happen just before a dividend payment, if the payment is more than the remaining time value."


If you take the profit or loss next year, it counts on next year's taxes.  There's no profit or loss until that happens.


How is the business organized? If as a General Partnership or LLC that reports as a partnership, you will be getting distributed to you each year your % ownership of the earnings or loss. But note, this is a paperwork transfer on the form K-1, which must then carryover to your tax return, it does not require the transfer of cash to you. If organized as an S-Corp, you should be holding shares of the company that you may sell back to the S-Corp, generally as outlined in the original articles of incorporation. The annual 'dividend' (earnings remaining after all expenses are paid) should be distributed to you in proportion to the shares you hold. If a C-Corp and there is only one class of stock that you also hold a percentage of, the only 'profits' that must be distributed proportionally to you are declared dividends by the board of directors. Most family run business are loosely formed with not much attention paid to the details of partnership agreements or articles of incorporation, and so don't handle family ownership disputes very well. From my experience, trying to find an amicable settlement is the best...and least expensive....approach to separation from the business. But if this can't be done or there is a sizable value to the business, you may have to get your own legal counsel.


I just opened and received my first credit card - Discover IT - I'm a student. How do I do my best with this card? I plan to only use it for gas and groceries and to pay it off every month by the due date. Is this all I need to know to be successful?  Also I got a report with it that said my current credit score is 665. I don't know how I have a credit score, all I've ever paid with is cash and my debit card. Can anyone enlighten me? Thanks!


>>The US remains wedded to its allegedly free market leanings despite revelations that JP Morgan, among others, receives $14 BILLION a year in government subsidies.  I don't think you'd get much more argument from American taxpayers (big or small) that subsidies if/when they are justified should come with requirements to make sure the public interest is truly being served.  What is less clear is that holding stock in businesses that the government has decided to subsidize means the government should control the pay of the parent company's execs.  Disclaimer: I identify conservative with libertarian leanings and do not (to the best of my knowledge) own stock in any bank or bank-like entity


To me, it depends. How much are their total assets?  Having 10% of your money in something like that isn't crazy.  having it all in?  That IS crazy. Can they reduce their exposure to this account without paying a penalty (say pull out 10%?) The Manager should be taking direction from them.  If they aren't able to get the manager to re-allocate to something more suitable, under your friends direction, they should then pursue whether or not the manager is operating lawfully.


> Show me clear evidence that a grocer is doing this, including references in their actual financial statements.  Are you really that  naive? If a company is doing this, it is not going to put that evidence on public display.    This might be more of a local specific. My country had some very lawless years with high corruption rate - if you were displaying big profits there would be many people that would try to either take away your business entirely, or to extort money out of you. Usual preferred methods included operating entirely on credit (thus profits go to the bank, and not the owner) and using many short lived intermediates.


Various types of corporate actions will precipitate a price adjustment.  In the case of dividends, the cash that will be paid out as a dividend to share holders forms part of a company's equity.  Once the company pays a dividend, that cash is no longer part of the company's equity and the share price is adjusted accordingly. For example, if Apple is trading at $101 per share at the close of business on the day prior to going ex-dividend, and a dividend of $1 per share has been declared, then the closing price will be adjusted by $1 to give a closing quote of $100. Although the dividend is not paid out until the dividend pay date, the share price is adjusted at the close of business on the day prior to the ex-dividend date since any new purchases on or after the ex-dividend date are not entitled to receive the dividend distribution, so in effect new purchases are buying on the basis of a reduced equity.   It will be the exchange providing the quote that performs the price adjustment, not Google or Yahoo.  The exchange will perform the adjustment at the close prior to each ex-dividend date, so when you are looking at historical data you are looking at price data that includes each adjustment.


The article says nothing.  It is a bunch of cube dwellers crunching numbers.  Does Wisconsin want to invest state dollars in private industry or not?  If not, keep spending your taxes on pensions and healthcare.  God forbid we invested OUR money in something that could, I dunno, produce wealth for someone other than the state?


"Diversification is spreading your investments around so that one point of risk doesn't sink your whole portfolio. The effect of having a diversified portfolio is that you've always got something that's going up (though, the corollary is that you've also always got something going down... winning overall comes by picking investments worth investing in (not to state the obvious or anything :-) )) It's worth looking at the different types of risk you can mitigate with diversification:  Company risk This is the risk that the company you bought actually sucks. For instance, you thought gold was going to go up, and so you bought a gold miner.  Say there are only two -- ABC and XYZ.  You buy XYZ. Then the CEO reveals their gold mine is played out, and the stock goes splat. You're wiped out. But gold does go up, and ABC does gangbusters, especially now they've got no competition.  If you'd bought both XYZ and ABC, you would have diversified your company risk, and you would have been much better off. Say you invested $10K, $5K in each. XYZ goes to zero, and you lose that $5K. ABC goes up 120%, and is now worth $11K. So despite XYZ bankrupting, you're up 10% on your overall position.  Sector risk You can categorize stocks by what ""sector"" they're in. We've already talked about one: gold miners. But there are many more, like utilities, bio-tech, transportation, banks, etc. Stocks in a sector will tend to move together, so you can be right about the company, but if the sector is out of favor, it's going to have a hard time going up.    Lets extend the above example. What if you were wrong about gold going up? Then XYZ would still be bankrupt, and ABC would be making less money so they went down as well; say, 20%. At that point, you've only got $4K left. But say that besides gold, you also thought that banks were cheap. So, you split your investment between the gold miners and a couple of banks -- lets call them LMN and OP -- for $2500 each in XYZ, ABC, LMN, and OP. Say you were wrong about gold, but right about banks; LMN goes up 15%, and OP goes up 40%.  At that point, your portfolio looks like this: XYZ start $2500 -100% end $0 ABC start $2500 +120% end $5500 LMN start $2500 +15% end $2875 OP start $2500 +40% end $3500 For a portfolio total of: $11,875, or a total gain of 18.75%.  See how that works?  Region/Country/Currency risk So, now what if everything's been going up in the USA, and everything seems so overpriced? Well, odds are, some area of the world is not over-bought. Like Brazil or England. So, you can buy some Brazilian or English companies, and diversify away from the USA. That way, if the market tanks here, those foreign companies aren't caught in it, and could still go up. This is the same idea as the sector risk, except it's location based, instead of business type based.  There is an additional twist to this -- currencies.  The Brits use the pound, and the Brazilians use the real. Most small investors don't think about this much, but the value of currencies, including our dollar, fluctuates. If the dollar has been strong, and the pound weak (as it has been, lately), then what happens if that changes? Say you own a British bank, and the dollar weakens and the pound strengthens. Even if that bank doesn't move at all, you would still make a gain.  Example: You buy British bank BBB for 40 pounds a share, when each pound costs $1.20. Say after a while, BBB is still 40 pounds/share, but the dollar weakened and the pound strengthened, such that each pound is now worth $1.50. You could sell BBB, and because of the currency exchange once you've got it converted back to dollars you'd have a 25% gain.   Market cap risk Sometimes big companies do well, sometimes it's small companies. The small caps are riskier but higher returning. When you think about it, small and mid cap stocks have much more ""room to run"" than large caps do. It's much easier to double a company worth $1 billion than it is to double a company worth $100 billion.  Investment types Stocks aren't the only thing you can invest in. There's also bonds, convertible bonds, CDs, preferred stocks, options and futures. It can get pretty complicated, especially the last two. But each of these investment behaves differently; and again the idea is to have something going up all the time.  The classical mix is stocks and bonds. The idea here is that when times are good, the stocks go up; when times are bad, the bonds go up (because they're safer, so more people want them), but mostly they're there to providing steady income and help keep your portfolio from cratering along with the stocks. Currently, this may not work out so well; stocks and bonds have been moving in sync for several years, and with interest rates so low they don't provide much income.  So what does this mean to you? I'm going make some assumptions here based on your post. You said single index, self-managed, and don't lower overall risk (and return). I'm going to assume you're a small investor, young, you invest in ETFs, and the single index is the S&P 500 index ETF -- SPY.  S&P 500 is, roughly, the 500 biggest companies in the USA. Further, it's weighted -- how much of each stock is in the index -- such that the bigger the company is, the bigger a percentage of the index it is.  If slickcharts is right, the top 5 companies combined are already 11% of the index! (Apple, Microsoft, Exxon, Amazon, and Johnson & Johnson). The smallest, News Corp, is a measly 0.008% of the index.  In other words, if all you're invested in is SPY, you're invested in a handfull of giant american companies, and a little bit of other stuff besides.  To diversify: Company risk and sector risk aren't really relevant to you, since you want broad market ETFs; they've already got that covered. The first thing I would do is add some smaller companies -- get some ETFs for mid cap, and small cap value (not small cap growth; it sucks for structural reasons). Examples are IWR for mid-cap and VBR for small-cap value.   After you've done that, and are comfortable with what you have, it may be time to branch out internationally. You can get ETFs for regions (such as the EU - check out IEV), or countries (like Japan - see EWJ). But you'd probably want to start with one that's ""all major countries that aren't the USA"" - check out EFA.  In any case, don't go too crazy with it. As index investing goes, the S&P 500 is not a bad way to go. Feed in anything else a little bit at a time, and take the time to really understand what it is you're investing in.  So for example, using the ETFs I mentioned, add in 10% each IWR and VBR. Then after you're comfortable, maybe add 10% EFA, and raise IWR to 20%. What the ultimate percentages are, of course, is something you have to decide for yourself.  Or, you could just chuck it all and buy a single Target Date Retirement fund from, say, Vanguard or T. Rowe Price and just not worry about it."


It's a balance between selling it all, which would be instantly incriminating, and selling a small amount while you still can that still amounts to more than most Americans make in a year. If they sold it all, we wouldn't be having this argument.


"1 - yes, it's fine to pay in full and it helps your score. 2 - see chart above, it's calculated based on what the bill shows each month.  3 - answered by chart. 1-19% utilization is ideal. 0% is actually worse than 41-60% Note: The above image was from Credit Karma. A slightly different image appears at the article The Relationship Between Your Credit Score and Credit Card Utilization Rate. I don't know how true this really is. Since writing this answer, I've seen offers of a true ""FICO score"" from multiple credit cards, and have tinkered with my utilization. I paid my active cards before the reporting date, and saw 845-850 once my utilization hit 0. Credit Karma still has me at 800."


This is something you should decide as part of entering a partnership with someone. Ideally before you make the initial purchase you have a detailed contract written up.  If you have already bought the house and someone is now ready to move out the easiest thing to do is sell the house. If that is not an option, you'll have to decide on a plan together and then get it in writing.


With an increasing age, old age people are become helpless and unable to walk, stand, eat and remember properly. They need help of others to do their daily work. Home health care aide stands by their side and assists them as they confront these issues.


Here are a couple of articles that can help highlight the differences between a broker and an online investment service, which seems to be part of the question that you're asking. Pay attention to the references at the end of this link. http://finance.zacks.com/online-investing-vs-personal-broker-6720.html Investopedia also highlights some of the costs and benefits of each side, broke and online investment services. http://www.investopedia.com/university/broker/ To directly answer your question, a broker may do anything from using a website to making a phone call to submitting some other form of documentation. It is unlikely that he is talking directly to someone on the trading floor, as the volume traded there is enormous.


I must say, I can't completely agree with the tone of most of these answers.  I think there may be a good reason to buy a new car, or a luxurious used car. For years I drove old, second hand cars that were really cheap. and unreliable.  I can't count the number of times I was left stranded because my car didn't start, or the alternator burned out.  I could have bought more recent models, but I was trying to save money. But in 2010 I found a very low mileage 2008 Smart Car for small money.  It was a good deal at the time.  It was almost new, having very low mileage, and about 60% of the price of a new, less well appointed Smart.  I found out that I really like driving cars that won't break down and leave me stranded in sleet or ice storms.  When my wife's Mazda hatchback finally rusted to the point that it wouldn't pass the safety inspection and couldn't be repaired, we bought a new 2013 Toyota Rav4.  We are really happy with it.  It's probably not a luxury car to you, but having reliable heat and air conditioning seems like luxury to us, and we are happy with our decision.  I get the Smart serviced at the Mercedes shop.  They have very nice coffee and pastries, and very fast free wifi.


AdrianaJewelry has a huge collection of gold, silver and diamond jewelry, that can match your every budget and opportunity. More than six hundred designs in gold and other expensive jewelry with and without diamonds are displayed on our website. If you want to Gold Studs, then you can order online through our website, we provide your order within committed time. For more information about any type of jewelry, you can contact us.


"As an aside, why does it seem to be difficult to get a conclusive answer to this question? I'm going to start by trying to answer this question and I think the answer here will help answer the other questions.  Here is a incomplete list of the challenges involved: So my question is, is there any evidence that value investing actually beats the market? Yes there is a lot of evidence that it works and there is a lot of evidence that it does not.  timday's has a great link on this.  Some rules/methods work over some periods some work during others.  The most famous evidence for value investing probably comes from Fama and French who were very careful and clever in solving many of the above problems and had a large persistent data set, but their idea is very different from Damodaran's, for instance, and hard to implement though getting easier. Is the whole field a waste of time? Because of the above problems this is a hard question.  Some people like Warren Buffet have clearly made a lot of money doing this.  Though it is worth remembering a good amount of the money these famous investors make is off of fees for investing other peoples' money.  If you understand fundamental analysis well you can get a job making a lot of money doing it for a company investing other peoples' money.  The markets are very random that it is very hard for people to tell if you are good at it and since markets generally go up it is easy to claim you are making money for people, but clearly banks and hedge funds see significant value in good analysts so it is likely not entirely random. Especially if you are a good writer you can make a more money here than most other jobs. Is it worth it for the average investor saving for retirement?  Very, very hard to say.  Your time might be better spent on your day job if you have one. Remember because of the fees and added risk involved over say index investing more ""Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth."""


Yes. You can pay towards your credit card before the actual bill becomes due every month. However, your credit usage ratio does not get sent to credit reporting agencies exactly on the day of your bill; this data can be sent to the agencies any day of the month. So, keep your balance low at all times throughout the month, not just right before your statement closing date.


"That was indeed a typo.  I would not go into details regarding Germany, Japan's economy is pretty much in stagnated state for the past two decades.  US has a high deficit and this issue is a major topic if you follow the current election season. And yes, that is not a good thing.  Britain (Still, is not that UK?) and Italy seem to come off as time wrap living in colonial era where they can just get free stuff off others. Note the high debt cost of Italy. It is not as if debtors are lining up to give money to these nations. More often than not, it is the leftover state of pre-world war mindset where some people/organizations try to hold on to the money and influence as long as possible.  I think this topic itself is extremely complicated and has various facets to it but to even moot such ideas - essentially saying ""lets exchange goods and here take our currency"" and then saying ""our currency has no value btw"" is criminal. It just voids the legal contract written on a dollar note."


">There is no fact that shows taxing the rich is good or bad.  Sure there is.  What is the outcome you are trying to achieve?  What are the consequences of your solution (i.e. how does your solution turn into a problem)?  If you are using evaluative concepts like ""fair"" as guiding design principles for a system, we are still able to articulate our intuitions of fairness when presented with specific facts.  Is there going to be clear consensus?  No.  I agree with you in that sense it is ""opinion.""  When you dig down and move beyond magic words like ""fair"" and get at the reasoning why a thing is fair or not, that is how you build common truth and consensus.  That's how you have a meaningful discussion beyond ""Yeah, huh"" and ""Nah, uh.""    Bringing facts allows you to ground out your argument and explore how principles are actually being applied, situate decisions historically, and connect choices with how they fit in our larger system.  Are there definitive answers?  You are, again, right there are not but ambiguity tolerance is a sign of intelligence, not a failing.  >And my point isn't that Republicans are bad, but that they are covering their harmful economic policies with helpful ones. The obvious implication isn't that they are bad people, but that we should be critical of their bad policies and applaud their good ones.  Let me just concede that you are policy focused.  It is fairy uncontroversial also to say that stimulus causes the general public not to feel the effects of tax cuts until years later and so, there is less resistance to them.  That can be true, however, while still seeing their choices made in relation to those made by democrats.    Further, when you explain the situation, you can just as easily switch which side labeled ""harmful"" and ""helpful.""   Are solutions to social problems which entail tax burdens placed consistently on one portion of the population again and again the ""harm""?  Is it the tax cut which now underfunds an existing outlay?  Or, is it an unhealthy relationship where one group expands and the other tries to reign in which leads to systemic instability?  Moving away from evaluative language like ""harmful/helpful"", ""good/bad"", ""fair/unfair"" challenges us to articulate the history, the desired outcome, and move away from *us* vs. *them* thinking.  You don't get an ideal correct solution with that approach but you do get closer to practical good enough ones that way."


Incorrect. As a given product or service becomes more complex to manufacture or support, the cost of entry into that marketplace increases.   Any aspect of technology automatically tends towards increased barrier to entry even without regulation.  Increased barrier to entry requires larger investment, means more risk, means increased difficulty finding investment.  Consider computer processors - in the 80s, creating a processor that can compete in the fledgling marketplace against similarly available chips would cost maybe a few million.  Today, creating a processor thousands of times more complex, requiring much more complex chip fabs (of which there are a mere handful), and bringing it to market to compete against CPUs that already have the infrastructure and programming history to support them would be nearly impossible and require billions.  Or, you know, you could look at the whole Microsoft and Intel locking out their competition from PC manufacturers by means of economic incentives or disincentives, leading to a de-facto monopoly that they can then abuse to force PC manufacturers to deal on their terms, all possible without regulation.


"I'd like to know if there is any reliable research on the subject. Intuitively, this must be true, no? Is it? First, is it even possible to discover the correlation, if one exists? Dave Ramsey is a proponent of ""Proven study that shows you will spend 10% more on a credit card than with cash."" Of course, he suggests that the study came from an otherwise reliable source, Dun & Bradstreet. A fellow blogger at Get Rich Slowly researched and found - Nobody I know has been able to track down this mythical Dun and   Bradstreet study. Even Dun and Bradstreet themselves have been unable   to locate it. GRS reader Nicole (with the assistance of her trusty   librarian Wendi) contacted the company and received this response:   “After doing some research with D&B, it turns out that someone made up   the statement, and also made up the part where D&B actually said   that.” In other words, the most cited study is a Myth.  In fact, there are studies which do conclude that card users spend more. I think that any study (on anything, not just this topic. Cigarette companies buy studies to show they don't cause cancer, Big Oil pays to disprove global warming, etc.) needs to be viewed with a critical eye. The studies I've seen nearly all contain one of 2 major flaws - My own observation - when I reviewed our budget over the course of a year, some of the largest charges include - I list the above, as these are items whose cost is pretty well fixed. We are not in the habit of ""going for a drive,"" gas is bought when we need it. All other items I consider fixed, in that the real choice is to pay with the card or check, unlike the items some claim can be inflated. These add to about 80% of the annual card use. I don't see it possible for card use to impact these items, and therefore the ""10% more"" warning is overreaching.  To conclude, I'll concede that even the pay-in-full group might not adhere to the food budget, and grab the $5 brownie near the checkout, or over tip on a restaurant meal. But those situations are not sufficient to assume that a responsible card user comes out behind over the year for having done so.  A selection of the Studies I am referencing -"


Bank assets are debt. Thus bank equity is a claim on debt.   Note also that QE etal dropped interest rates, compressing interest rate spreads and making it harder for banks to make money.  Banks do well when interest rates increase


I do not think the CFA is enough to land you a job. From what I have read, most well respected institutions demand someone to either be an experienced hire or currently doing their undergrad/MBA.   Searching WSO is the best way to get good answers for these kinds of questions as I am only an undergrad and my experience is mostly in economic research.


**Here's a sneak peek of /r/studentloandefaulters using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/studentloandefaulters/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!**  \#1: [The Generation Gap](http://i.imgur.com/uAmYADGh.jpg) | [7 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/studentloandefaulters/comments/57g0gm/the_generation_gap/)   \#2: [Student loan debt in the US is being used as a form of economic terrorism designed to redistribute wealth, and to undermine and degrade American democracy.](http://billmoyers.com/story/student-loan-industry-trump-neoliberals-creating-nation-serfs/) | [10 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/studentloandefaulters/comments/6kbh4l/student_loan_debt_in_the_us_is_being_used_as_a/)   \#3: [More Americans Want To Forgive Trillion-Dollar Student Loan Debt Than Want It Repaid](http://www.ajc.com/business/consumer-advice/more-americans-want-forgive-trillion-dollar-student-loan-debt-than-want-repaid/wI5xkXb3sgjANCuhEzg6hO/) | [6 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/studentloandefaulters/comments/6oxjdw/more_americans_want_to_forgive_trilliondollar/)  ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| [^^Contact ^^me](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| [^^Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| [^^Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/6l7i0m/blacklist/)


I've never worked with DeltaV myself, but all my cohorts in Oil and Gas seem to use it. I would love to live in the world of a DCS system.   They commissioned a system where I used to work that was such that one of our presses could send out POP3 messages and order it's own spare parts based on it's own internal system of checks and balances.


"Just brainstorming here, but my gut feeling is it should be possible to sell your home to yourself with the sole purpose of resetting your basis. Taken at face value it feels illegal, but since I think we all would agree that you could sell your house to a third party and purchase the identical house next door for the same price (thus resetting your basis), why can't you purchase the same home right back? If one is legal, it seems odd for the other not to be. That being said, I have no idea how to legally do it. Perhaps you truly need a third party to step in which you sell it to, and then buy it back from them sometime in the future. Or perhaps you could start an LLC and have it purchase your home from you. Either way, I highly suggest finding an expert real estate attorney/accountant before attempting this, and don't be surprised if you get multiple opposite opinions. I suspect this is a gray area which will highly depend on how tax ""aggressive"" you are willing to be."


"I would think it extremely unlikely that an issuer would cancel your card for having an ADB of approximately zero. The issuer charges the vendor that accepts a card a percentage of the transaction (usually up to ~3%, AMEX is generally higher) - so they are making money even if you carry no balance on your card (the specific language for various vendor-side (acceptor) credit card agreements boils down to ""we are essentially giving you, the vendor, a short-term loan and you will pay us for it). This why you see credit-card minimum purchase amounts at places like hot-dog stands - they're getting nailed on the percentage.  This is also why, when given the choice between ""Debit or Credit"" for a particular card, I choose where to put the hit on the company I like less - the retailer or the bank."


I understand it could be cash converts.  I was an accounting major.  I'm just pointing out some possible reasons for why they might borrow instead of using cash on hand.  They might not have enough cash on hand because  of the fact that they might be holding cash equivalents.


In general, saving money should be prioritized over extra debt payments. Every dollar that you spend paying down a debt will decrease the amount of principal owed; this will directly decrease the future interest payments you will make. However, as time goes on, you are dealing with a smaller and smaller set of principal; additionally, it is assumed that your income will grow (or at least keep pace with inflation), making the debt more bearable. On the other hand, every dollar you save (or invest) now will increase your future income - also making the future debt more bearable. Not only that, but the longer you save, the more value to you get from having saved, meaning you should save as early as possible. Finally, the benefits of paying down the mortgage early end when the mortgage is completely paid off, while the benefits of saving will continue (and even grow) after the house is owned free and clear.  That is, if you have an extra $100,000 to put into the mortgage during the life of the loan, you could sink that into the mortgage and see it disappear, or you could invest it, and reap the dividends for the rest of your life. Caveat emptor: behavior trumps numbers. This only works if you will actually be disciplined about saving the extra money rather than paying off debt. If you're the kind of person for whom money burns a hole in your pocket until you spend it, then use it on debt. But if you are able to save and invest that money, you will be better off in the long run.


What's being left unsaid here is that Target, and every other retailer, knows that only about 30% of gift cards are ever used.   So they're still raking in money, and do so knowing that they're tricking well-intentioned customers into exchanging actual money for play money that likely won't be used.


"It's a real pain in the rear to get cash only from a bank teller (the end result of cutting the card as suggested). There is a self control issue here that, like weight loss, should ultimately be addressed for a psychologically healthy lifestyle. You don't mention a budget here. A budget is one of the first tools necessary for setting spending limits. Categorizing your money into inviolable categories, such as:  will force you to look at any purchase in context of your other needs and goals. Note that savings is at the top of the list, supporting the aphorism to, ""Pay yourself first."" Make realistic allowances for each budget category, then force yourself to stick to this budget by whatever means necessary. Cash in several envelopes labeled with each category can physically reinforce your priorities (the debit card is usually left at home for now).  Roll remaining funds from each month over into the next month to cover irregular larger expenses, such as auto repairs.  What sort of investing are we talking about? If you are just talking about retirement savings, an automatic deduction of just $50 to a Roth IRA account at a discount brokerage every pay check is a good start. An emergency fund of 6 months expenses is also common financial advice, and can likewise be built from small automatic deductions. In defense of wise use of plastic, a debit card can be a great retroactive budgeting tool because it records all spending for you. It takes a lot more effort to save and enter receipts for cash, and a compulsive spender without a budget is just as likely to run out of money whether or not he uses plastic. You could keep receipts in the envelope you take the cash out of when you're getting started. If you are so addicted to spending that you must cut your debit card to enforce your budget, at least consider this a temporary measure to get yourself under control. When the bank issues you a new card, re-evaluate this decision and the self control measures you've implemented to see if you've grown enough to keep the card."


Give all your money as well as your budget requirements to someone you really trust. Tell them to give you ONLY what your budget allows. As long as both of you take this seriously, this method will be very effective.


"Don't put all your eggs in one basket and don't assume that you know more than the market does. The probability of gold prices rising again in the near future is already ""priced in"" as it were. Unless you are privy to some reliable information that no one else knows (given that you are asking here, I'm guessing not), stay away. Invest in a globally diversified low cost portfolio of primarily stocks and bonds and don't try to predict the future.  Also I would kill for a 4.5% interest rate on my savings. In the USA, 1% is on the high side of what you can get right now. What is inflation like over there?"


Consider the individual who pays $1,000,000 in taxes.  His/her income must be substantial.  That is what one should aim for.  Investments for the most part, do not lower ones taxes.   In one of John Grisham's novels, tax shelters are being discussed.  Sorry, I do not remember which book.  The discussion goes something like this: There are a few investments which can lower your taxes.  Purchase a house.  Mortgage interest on your principle residence is deductible (if you itemize deductions).  If you don't itemize, focus on increasing income to the point where itemizing benefits you. In general, businesses have more deductions than individuals.  Own a small business. You (or your accountant) will discover many deductions.  Hint: the company should lease a car/truck, many meals are now deductible.  This is not the reason to own a business.


You should be.  Plastics are harming our oceans and the entire environment.  No need to keep disposable water bottles at home.  Sure, there are cases where you don't have your water canteen(bottle) with you; and in those instances disposable water bottles make sense.   However, when you buy 48 pack disposable water bottles every two weeks for your house consumption.  There is some serious logic flaw there.


"If I held stock in these companies yesterday, would I have profited by these gains? No.  For DZSI, your 5 shares at $1.10 would now be 1 share at $5.50, so you would have the same total amount.  For SGY, they closed at $6.95, and opened at $32.80, so your five shares at $6.95 would now be one share at $32.80, so you would have actually lost money (not purely because of the split, but because the ""new"" shares are trading lower then the expected 1:5 split price).  A split in general does not affect market cap (how much your total shares are worth) but there may be residual effects that cause the market value to fluctuate after a split that affect the price."


What a stunning lack of substance. Nothing really news worthy, Google is entering an existing market and aiming to compete directly with the likes of Indeed. No indications that this will be particularly transformative for the economy.  TLDR; Fake News


> your monthly bill   Herein lies the confusion that I've witnessed among many commenters, yourself included.  This isn't about *your* data.  It isn't about *your* outlet.  It's about the competing use of fixed infrastructure to deliver data across the country.  I use highways as an example because everybody gets those.  This isn't about your driveway and its connection to the highway, or even about making sure that anybody can drive up your street and into your driveway.  This is about who has the priority to occupy the fixed amount of highway bandwidth that exists.  Right now, a company can flood that fixed infrastructure at relatively little marginal cost to themselves.  It's akin to a company that sends out so many trucks that at peak times, it occupies 37% of the highway flow (which, by the way, is Netflix's peak bandwidth occupancy).  Is that fair?  Is it right?  Netflix's service is obviously popular; it's normal business to assume that they can shoulder higher costs due to their higher demand.  That you may have to pay more for Netflix service is as much a function of *Netflix's business model* as it is of the ISP.  Netflix doesn't have to pass its costs on to you; if it chooses to it's on them - not Comcast.


If your argument is we should eliminate low wage jobs and replace it with some form of UBI, I'd be curious to see studies on that. Personally my interest is in making sure people have enough money to survive using the most efficient programs possible. EITC and  non-wage subsidies do a pretty good job, so I'm generally in favor of them.


The real food is already being shipped overnight by boutique companies and is often more fresh then what you can find at your local supermarket. How is Amazon going to do it effectively and make it affordable is the million dollar question.


Not only recycling, but in a lot of places burning trash is the main way of disposing of it. Or just throwing it on the ground and letting it pile up because disposal services are insufficient or nonexistent.   Then when it comes to oil there are those regions, but let's not forget the entire global shipping industry (and really all commercial marine industry) is dependent on diesel and oil and to a lesser extent very recently Liquid Natural Gas. And even a small ship uses the same amount of fuel as many, many cars.


Yeah thats why you dont go to work under the influence thats kind of common sense i fail to see your point here. A guy who drinks beer at dinner shouldn't be hired ??  >On the other hand, grades of individuals who moderated their use of alcohol and marijuana saw their GPA improve in subsequent semesters.  Yeah idk what your point is with this article either.


The cold caller is just a different way to contact you compared to the junk mail that they send. The business  gets information from the credit rating companies for households that meet a specific set of criteria. It could be town, age, home ownership, low credit utilization...Or the exact opposite depending on what they are selling. Some business do sell your data. Grocery store know who buys certain products: parents buying diapers may want to start saving for college; ones buying acne medicine may want to talk about lower rates for car insurance.  When they call via phone they have a different success rate compared to junk mail, but for that business that may be acceptable for their needs.


Can I bring a bankers cheque or DD from singapore bank . Yes you can.  Remember if they are payable in Singapore, i.e. SGD denominated, they will take time to clear; typically around a month. Alternatively you can approach an Indian Bank in Singapore they can arrange for a Rupee draft payable in city of your choice. The Banks also have a facility of opening an NRE account in the city/Branch of your choice by opening account with wire transfer.  I do not have time for NRE account Money can be transferred into your NRO account as well. You could also use remittance services that provide better exchange rates.


"You should never concern yourself with the opinions of the average American because they are the most loathsome, ignorant creatures. Something like only 20% of America was able to correctly answer the question ""If inflation is 3% and your bank account has a 1% interest rate, is your purchasing power increasing or decreasing?"""


"The primary advantage of HFTs is their speed to act upon opportunities that exist for only fractions of a second. The reason why they are able to do this is because they invest heavily in hardware, custom software, and custom algorithms.  Most of the fleeting advantage, as they all manage to top each other's hardware seemingly every other day, is from the hardware investment.  To see the extremes that HFTs will go to invest in hardware, one might view this. It is highly likely that the trader with the market making algorithm could have been ignorant of the ""hide not slide"" order and missed out on many more opportunities while still being successful.  Haim Bodek, who is very much against this order type, was not so lucky. If it was truly an investment bank then it was unlikely that they were actually front running, which is very illegal and easily possible with much more low tech means, since companies like Citadel handle most orders now, and they have not been successful in investment banking. The reality of HFT is slowly coming to light, that while HFT can provide extremely consistent returns with enormous sharpe ratios, the capital investment is equally enormous, and the amount of capital that can be employed is also as enormously limited.  After all, the richest people on the planet are not HFT owners. Also, when it comes to time periods longer than 500ms, their results become very human."


Either way you'll be converting to US Dollars somewhere along the line. You are seeking something that is very redundant


"I didn't know it was popular to hate on amazon for being ""corporate""   Every business is corporate. Are you saying people hate every business?  It is nice to get out and buy a book and leave your room and PC. In fact it is healthy. It is also healthy for an economy to offer market options and diversity in choices."


"This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/28/the-associated-press-us-economy-expanded-at-stronger-2-point-6-percent-rate-in-q2.html) reduced by 87%. (I'm a bot) ***** > The revision slightly boosted growth over the past three years, enough to lift the average growth in this recovery, now the third longest in U.S. history, to annual gains of 2.2 percent, up from the previous estimate of 2.1 percent.  > The 2.6 percent growth in the second quarter was the fastest pace since the economy expanded at a 2.8 percent rate in the third quarter of last year.  > Much of the strength in the April-June period came from consumer spending, which grew at a 2.8 percent rate, up from a 1.9 percent growth rate in the first quarter.   ***** [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/6qr78a/us_economy_expanded_at_26_percent_rate_in/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ ""Version 1.65, ~180154 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*: **growth**^#1 **percent**^#2 **quarter**^#3 **rate**^#4 **year**^#5"


A lot of business owners think they know about drugs because they posted a shit job on craigslist once and some guy showed up smelling like weed.    You really believe that the only people who use cannabis are minimum wage losers?  You must be a pretty gullible businessman.


Citibank just sent me a $100 check. Here's how I got it:


Our biggest one has always been concerning onboarding / offboarding - access grant / access lockouts, hardware allocation / software licensing...  Of course our HR department still works with stone tablets so that could explain the disconnect and inefficiencies...


the demat account that I have in India is not an NRI account. Since I was not sure how long I would be in the US, I never converted my account to NRI account. Is it required to convert my account to NRI account? Yes it is very much required by law. One should not buy or sell shares in the Resident account. One has to close and open a new account NRO Demat account and transfer the shares / units into it. Sell from this account. If you need to buy shares when one is NRI, an Demat PINS account is required to be opened.


It really depends on your demographics. Where are they located? What are their common interests? Could you use this to effectively target them with advertising? Do you get repeat business? Do you have past customers info? They're antiques: do people actually play these instruments or are they just ritzy fucks who want another dusty piece of wood in their house?   TL;DR Know your customer, find a way to reach them three different ways and let them know you still exist.


Hooray for progress! Drug tests are invasive and unfair, because they only really target Marijuana users, which are the least problematic of all drug users, and the safest drug that someone can use recreationally.  This is because Marijuana is the only drug which remains detectable using low-cost tests for more than a few hours or days.


One snag in your plan is that you alone can't undo your HSA contributions because you would also owe FICA taxes on that amount, and those need to be paid by both you and your employer. The only way for that to happen is for your employer to undo your HSA contributions from their point of view so those wages can be entirely taxed with both FICA and regular withholding. How that is accomplished will probably be up to them. It could mean you pulling the money out of the HSA account, and then either giving it back to your employer so they can re-allocate it with a new check, or, if you have enough pay due between now and the end of the year you could keep the money and they can reduce your next paycheck(s) by the total additional taxes due. Note that you should prefer the latter if possible, since this way you would get to keep the $1000 you shouldn't have gotten in the first place. Also, note that when you withdraw the money from your HSA account you need to inform your bank that you are undoing the contributions rather than taking distributions (and likely fill out a form). If you don't inform them they will improperly report to the IRS that you had contributions and an equal amount of distributions, which could muddy the waters with also having an FSA.


Then I'll cite it as the last paragraph of step 3 in getting started. He says everything is insider trading and that's bullshit; if he had any interest in giving real advice he would define insider trading as trading with material, non-public information as it says in all the statutes.  It's the same meaningless nonsense as the paragraph before that, where he says good investors don't time the market but know when to get in and get out. Those are the same things at the level he has described them; it would take a book with actual investing advice like Ben Graham's The Intelligent Investor or A Random Walk Down Wall Street for an actual view into investment.


Sharp Pharma Machinery Offers Pesticides Filling Machines to worldwide clients. We are leading manufacturer, supplier, exporter of Pesticides Filling Machines, Automatic Pesticides Bottle Filling Machine, Automatic Pesticides Liquid Filling Machine.  For more information regarding Liquid filling machine, contact us at http://www.liquidfillingline.com/  Plot No. 76, G.I.D.C., Kalol - 382721, North Gujarat, India Phone: +91 - 7600167600 For, inquiries - info@sharppharma.com


Having separate savings account for your kids college fund, retirement fund, holiday fund etc is one way to compartmentalise savings. Downside to this is the management of these funds especially if you have them with different banks. Like others here have pointed out, keeping track via spreadsheet is relatively easy and especially most banks now like OCBC, HSBC , DBS, POSB etc offer online banking, however from a financial standpoint, spreading your funds doesn't allow you to get as much interest as you would from one account that has the highest interest rate.


My state (Oregon) doesn't give me credit for all the federal taxes I pay so I get taxed by the state for money I never received. Now both will, fun. With this policy it would be worth it to move my family to a red state and start turning it blue.


It may not be an ideal option, but you could use an HSA as a tax-sheltered investment vehicle.   The contribution limit is only $3,350 for an individual and $6,650 for a family in 2015 (plus $1K if you're 55+), so you're only making up a small portion of the 401(k) limit.  Also, you (and a family member to get the higher contribution limit) have to be covered by a qualifying high-deductible health insurance plan (HDHP) to be eligible to make HSA contributions.  As such, it may not be the best option if you regularly incur significant medical expenses.  And in many cases, the investment fees in an HSA are higher than you would find in a 401(k) or IRA. The investment choices can be limited, so it is important to research the options before selecting a provider. All that being said, the contributions and growth are both tax-deferred (tax-free if you use it for healthcare). Then at age 65 or Medicare eligibility you can withdraw the funds without penalty and pay only income tax, even if they are not used toward healthcare expenses.


You're missing the point entirely. Minimum wage was created to force employers to pay a wage that is not commensurate with services rendered (otherwise legislation is not needed).  The people hurt by this are the people who are otherwise unqualified for the wage commensurate with skill and education (direct result of government run schools). Skilled workers aren't affected in terms of employment opportunity only, but they are punished by the inflation caused by the arbitrary rate of a minimum wage.  That FDR quote is a great example of fascism. Great touch.


"My spouse will only be entering medical school within 2 years at the earliest, and will likely be there for about 4-5 years. If she get's into the school she wants we would not have to move This is probably the biggest return on investment that you can get.  Sure, you could invest what you have in the market and take out tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on ""cheap"" medical school loans, but consider this: Figure out how much you need for all 4-5 years, and develop a plan to make sure you can cash-flow the entire education.   Bootstrapping a software company has potential for high rewards, but a much greater risk.  you could get 10X back or you could lose it all.  With your income, you've got plenty of time to save for college, so I don't see that as a huge win now.  I would also dump the lease - you can probably get a much better car for $16k that the five-year old one you have when the lease is up. (or get a similar car for less money).  With no debt and a good income you do not need a credit score. The lease probably didn't help it that much anyways - you're paying more for the lease than any benefit you would get by a higher score."


This thing actually does exist (in a slightly different form): https://turo.com/  I used to rent out my car that way, but people seem to expect that you're a rental car company, when you aren't. It's annoying to have your car left particularly dirty or broken.


"If it is true that for the same price, you could get a better place (or that for a lower price you could get an equivalent place), you should do some soul-searching to decide what monetary value you would place on the hassle of moving to such an alternative.  You should then negotiate aggressively for a rent that is no more than the rent of the alternative place plus your hassle costs, and if the landlord does not meet your price, you should refuse to renew your lease, and instead move out to an alternative.  (Of course, you might also want to double-check your research to ensure you really can get such a good alternative, and that your new landlords won't try a similar bait-and-switch and force you to move again in a year.) Barring local ordinances such as rent control laws, I don't think it's worth it to worry about whether the increase is ""normal"".  If you can get a better deal somewhere else, then what your landlords are asking is too much.  If you have a good relationship with them on a personal level you may be able to tell them this in a nice way and thus get them to make a more reasonable offer.  Otherwise, the landlords will learn that their expectations are unreasonable when all their tenants move out to cheaper places."


They are competitors, but they have the same investors for both companies. It's what happened with Circuit City and Best Buy. Owned by the same parent firm, they strategically placed stores near each other and created fake competition by labeling the same item in each store as a different price, sometimes CC would have cheaper software but Best Buy always had the cheaper high end tech/appliances. So ultimately it was a giant smoke and mirrors cash grab on the part of the CEOs and major investors to create fake competition so they could have more profit.  The same shit is happening with LG and Samsung.


As in make a value contribution, this particular law has never once been applied to information (which has no tangible value). Its only bearing in case law is on monetary contribution. I might also add, there is no evidence that any contribution, either money, information, or otherwise was passed between the provincial Russian DA and the Trump campaign.  Bearing that in mind, how exactly do you feel the Russian government influenced the election, and what exactly do you feel was the Trump campaigns role?


Sorry to hear about your difficult circumstances. Secured Credit Card You may want to suggest a secured credit card. These are credit cards that are backed by a deposit that she would place with the credit issuer. The card issuer provides a line of credit backed by the deposit, with a credit limit not greater than the deposit. In this way, the card issuer is not putting any of their own money at risk. These cards are often used by students or high-risk borrowers to establish credit, and function like a normal credit card. This may be a good option for her to establish a history of handling credit responsibly. Given all of the activity you described, it's very likely the process of rehabilitating her credit will take a number of years. I would strongly recommend that you not assist her in placing the deposit for a secured credit card. If she can't put aside enough money for a deposit (often $500 or less), it's unlikely she'll be able to set aside the money to pay her card statements each month. Best of luck - I hope things work out well.


"I am a huge Net Neutrality advocate and I too didn't have any issue with the ""Free Basics"" program itself. As a business Facebook should be free to market any product they choose that they feel will advance the business. However I disagree vehemently with their ability to market it as ""internet"" access. This was an attempt to build another AOL not offer free/low cost internet access to burgeoning markets."


At twenty-two, you can have anywhere between 100%-70% of your securities portfolio in equities. It is reasonable to start at 100% and reduce over time.  The one thing that I would mention with that is that your target at retirement should be 70% stocks/30% bonds.  You should NEVER have more than 30% bonds.  Why?  Because a 70/30 mix is both safer than 100% bonds and will give a higher return.  Absent some market timing strategy (which as an amateur investor, you should absolutely avoid) or some complicated balancing scheme, there is never a reason to be at more than 30% bonds.   A 50/50 mix of stocks and bonds or a 100% bonds ratio not only returns less than the 70/30 mix, it is actually riskier.  Why?  Because sometimes bonds fall.  And when they do, stocks generally gain.  And vice versa.  Because of this behavior, the 70/30 mix is less likely to fall than 50% or 100% bonds.   Does that mean that your stock percentage should never drop below 70%?  No.  If your portfolio contains things other than stocks and bonds, it is reasonable for stocks to fall below 70%.  The problem is that when you drop stocks below 70%, you should drop bonds below 30% as well.  So you keep the stock to bond ratio at 7:3.   If you want to get a lower risk than a 70/30 mix, then you should move into cash equivalents.  Cash equivalents are actually safer than stocks and bonds either individually or in combination.  But at twenty-two, you don't really need more safety.   At twenty-two, the first thing to do is to build your emergency fund.  This should be able to handle six months of expenses without income.  I recommend making it equal to six months of your income.  The reason being that it is easy to calculate your income and difficult to be sure of expenses.  Also, you can save six months of income at twenty-two.   Are you going to stay where you are for the next five years?  At twenty-two, the answer is almost certainly no.  But the standard is the five year time frame.  If you want a bigger place or one that is closer to work, then no.  If you stay somewhere at least five years, then it is likely that the advantages to owning rather than renting will outweigh the costs of switching houses.  Less than five years, the reverse is true.  So you should probably rent now.   You can max out your 401k and IRA now.  Doing so even with a conservative strategy will produce big returns by sixty-seven.  And perhaps more importantly, it helps keep your spending down.  The less you do spend, the less you will feel that you need to spend.   Once you fill your emergency fund, start building savings for a house.  I would consider putting them in a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).  A REIT will tend to track real estate.  Since you want to buy real estate with the results, this is its own kind of safety.  It fell in value?  Houses are probably cheap.  Houses increasing in price rapidly?  A REIT is probably growing by leaps and bounds.  You do this outside your retirement accounts, as you want to be able to access it without penalty.


It will also make a huge dent on services like Instacart who pick up and deliver from local groceries. If people continue to order from these services, Amazon still profits, or if they use Amazon's service, then they double down. R


The mechanisms are also heavily influenced by sociopaths who are enamored with the power that comes with wealth. Sadly those who have gained tremendous wealth and prosperity and want to give back by providing opportunity for others less fortunate are very much in the minority. Others are just selfish douchebags that believe in the commoditization of things like health care, for example, when they, themselves, benefit from having the best health care afforded to them under different terms.   On another note, it's difficult to regulate free enterprise. Despite my observations in the preceding paragraph, I actually appreciate both sides of this issue. If you've earned your money through your own blood, sweat, and tears, who am I to tell you what to do with your money?   With that said, there are no simple answers. I go back to those whose greed and selfish personas that are the real issue. Capitalism isn't without its flaws. But when you combine it with d-bag motivation, you create a monopoly on wealth supported by d-bag policies and practices: golden parachutes, imbalanced compensation models, corporate money in politics, and many other things that are explicitly designed to preserve the wealth for the wealthy.   In conclusion, this really isn't about an economic model as it is about the motivations of sociopathic d-bags who can't be bothered to think of anyone but themselves. These people give a bad name to others who are wealthy and get unfairly lopped into the stereotypes that are most commonly associated with those of great wealth and prosperity.


You question is very hard to answer as it is tough to put a value on how much bad your added investment in evil companies would cause and also how much value the charities add.  However, there has been a bunch of really good work on socially responsible investing in general.  This paper might be too technical for some but the conclusion section is very readable and clear. The big worry about socially responsible investing from a financial standpoint is that it will lower returns in the long run.  The paper above and others show fairly clearly that as long as you only exclude a few classes of stocks and still have a fairly broad base that the expected returns are similar.  The main issue though is some socially responsible funds have much higher fees. So the usual advice applies, do your research to make sure your investments are well diversified and have low fees.   As long as the index is fairly broad you can consider the difference between the fees on the socially responsible index and investing in a more common index as the long run cost.  Then you can balance that cost and having more money for charity against the benefits of not investing in evil companies.


>Big deal in all they made around 85 billion dollars off subprime loans.  Source? I would estimate they've lost more than $50B on subprime loans and much more indirectly from subprime (they're stock dropped 90% due to the crisis) and they've paid out more than $50B in subprime related penalties to the government. I don't think I could find a single intelligent well-researched person who would say subprime has been profitable for the banks, it's clearly counter to all evidence.  Why are there so many communists in this sub?


Online buying is a most top-rated preference in these days. Most of the humans are shopping for more than one products thru on-line option.  It lets you live in contemporary life-style and get unique deals for purchasing items. If you are searching for fine on-line purchasing, then test their rankings.  Huge numbers of humans are inquisitive about latest mobile phones, so a number of portals also expanded now.  Sellers are listing gadgets within the not unusual net portal.  You need to view in the event that they supply right product on the specified time to the purchaser. Find the reviews of supplier which provide a few concept to choose ideal supplier for on-line buying.


"In the US, dividends are presently taxed at the same rates as capital gains, however selling stock could lead to less tax owed for the same amount of cash raised, because you are getting a return of basis or can elect to engage in a ""loss harvesting"" strategy.  So to reply to the title question specifically, there are more tax ""benefits"" to selling stock to raise income versus receiving dividends.  You have precise control of the realization of gains.    However, the reason dividends (or dividend funds) are used for retirement income is for matching cash flow to expenses and preventing a liquidity crunch.  One feature of retirement is that you're not working to earn a salary, yet you still have daily living expenses.   Dividends are stable and more predictable than capital gains, and generate cash generally quarterly.  While companies can reduce or suspend their dividend, you can generally budget for your portfolio to put a reliable amount of cash in your pocket on schedule.  If you rely on selling shares quarterly for retirement living expenses, what would you have done (or how much of the total position would you have needed to sell) in order to eat during a decline in the market such as in 2007-2008?"


Walmart has really retarded rules already. If your truck is late 5 mins, you need to wait 24 hours to get de-loaded. And on top of that,  they take in the worst produce available. What every other grocery store rejects, they take.


Came to post this article hoping to elicit this response. They really put out some turds sometimes. I appreciate the offbeat Econ news... But this is buzzfeed quality. I mean so bad that I would take the time to try and post it, then come here and write this whole comment.   Arrrm mah gawd incredibly low skill manufacturing jobs left the country because of an attempt to not be protectionist. So baaaaddddd. It's not about economic and technological progress. It's not about the modernization of mexico's rural farming ranching economy. Could say so much more but it reached that point where it's not worth it


"You're refuting his point about a known disadvantaged minority with county level data... Compare the people. The whole 4th paragraph of my previous reply.  You convince someone that ""a known disadvantaged minority"" is a misnomer by citing individual level data. Instead you cite county level data.  Have a beer and relax a little; you're arguing with stranger on the internet not setting actual policy. Cheers!"


I'd really like to have a discussion around this, if people have another opinion, like that the derivatives market is actually correct and that we don't need to change it, I'd really like to hear your arguments.   I'm really curious about this, I'd really like to know what motivates someone (other than pure greed) to say that the actual state of the markets are OK.


"Building on the excellent explanation by ""Miichael Kjörling"": Why would you rather ""term deposit"" your money in a bank and only earn interest of certain percentage but not not invest in stocks / real state and other opportunities where you will not only earn much higher dividends / profit but will have an opportunity for capital gains, multiple times like Apple's last 4 years(AAPL) ?? This is all down to risk / reward and risk taking.  More risk             = More profit opportunities / More Losses ( More Headache) Less risk(Govt BONDS) = Less profit / Less Losses (peace of mind)"


I have a discounted cash flow that's monthly.  My annualized discount rate is 8%.    1)What is the formula to turn the annualized rate into a monthly rate?  2)What is the formula to find out the NPV of monthly cash flows?   For example, if I get $1000, $2000, and $3000 in months 1, 2, and 3, how do I calculate how much each of those are equal to as a present value if the annual discount rate is 8%?


first off..... That sounds so cool man!. I dont know much about your niche... but I do know that without proper knowledge in selling in persuasion, you'll never experience the success you deserve... I recommend  watching videos, reading books on influencing and persuasion.. Trust me.... You will see how easy it can be when creating a following. I can share a link to a site where they give free tips. just let me know if you'd be interested... (don't like just throwing links... seems weird lol)


It looks awesome and I wish that I had one.  There's the risk that they're losing money on the product, hoping to make it up when they sell enough units due to economies of scale. CNC units without touch screens and fancy alignment cameras cost 2k. If they don't sell enough units in time, maybe they'll have to close shop?  I worry that businesses that go to Kickstarter to get money might be doing it because everyone else that looked at their business plan turned them down. That's not always the case, of course.


You have a standard deduction of $12,600 (Married filing joint, MFJ) plus $8000 in exemptions. A total of $20,600 off the top. In other words, just under $10,000 taxable unless you have other income you haven't disclosed. For MFJ, you are at the 10% bracket up to $18,450 in taxable income.  I would withdraw just enough to 'top off' the 10% bracket each year, whether or not you send it to pay down the card. You don't disclose the rate, but if you are able take a low interest loan to get to a sub 5% interest rate, I'd do that.


"I think this needs a name. Butthurt by proxy, maybe?  Perhaps it was pedantic, but the misquote doesn't help an otherwise good comment. Of course, the OP could have been aiming to create a new euphemism for ironic self-destruction, in which case ""hung from their own gallows"" might have been better."


"My employer decided to pay my salary in India after I submit a form W-8BEN. This means that the wages / salary is deemed accrued for work from India. Hence your employer need not withhold and pay taxes on this wage in US. Is this payment taxable in the States since I am staying outside of States? Should I declare this income to IRS in case if I go back to the States later this year? No tax is due as the work is done outside on US. If you go back this would be similar to as you had gone first. Depending on your ""tax residency status"" you would have to declare all assets. If my US employer wires my US salary to my NRE account is that taxable in India? This is still taxable in India. It is advised that you have the funds transferred into a regular savings account. Please note you have to pay taxes in advance as per prescribed due dates in Sept, Dec, March. how does the Indian tax man identify if it is a taxable income and not just the regular remittance. This question is off topic here. Whether income taxes finds out about this is irrelevant. By law one is required to pay taxes on income earned in India."


You should simply withdraw the excess contributions by April 15. You have until October 15 if you go through the extra step of filing an amended tax return.  https://investor.vanguard.com/ira/excess-contribution It unnecessary for you to pay the 6% penalty. You should wait until you can estimate your 2016 accurately before making your 2016 contribution. If your income is too high for the Roth IRA, you might instead pursue the backdoor Roth IRA strategy:  https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Backdoor_Roth_IRA


Personally, I'd use my emergency fund first. It is unlikely (though possible, of course) that I will entirely lose my income at the same time I need to replace my roof or my furnace. I'd rather pay my emergency fund back with installment payments than pay off a HELOC to my bank. The lost interest on my emergency fund, which, after all, should be in cash, is much less than the cost of the loan. I could even set up an amortization schedule in a spreadsheet and charge myself interest when paying back into the emergency fund. That said, if I didn't have the cash in my emergency fund, I'd rather borrow against the house than finance with a contractor. If they'd even do that, which is unlikely--I've never dealt with a roofer or heating contractor that required anything but full payment at time of service. Home equity borrowing is generally the cheapest kind. I'm firmly in the camp of those who look at home ownership as a consumption decision rather than an investment. If the value goes up, great, but I just build in about 1% of the cost of building a new house (excluding the land price) into the housing budget each year, right along with mortgage interest, property taxes and basic utilities. Usually, that's enough to cover the major wear-and-tear related repairs (averaged over 3-5 year periods, anyway).


"I have a different perspective. I believe the move to Roth may be beneficial to a select few, but not most, people. I coined the phrase RothMania as I believe that's what's happening. A relatively uninformed move based on fear and not enough analysis.  Let's look at a retiree today. A Couple has a $11,400 standard deduction, and 2 exemptions worth $3650 each. This is $18,700 they can withdraw tax free. It would take pretax savings of $467K to support this withdrawal at 4%/yr.  The 10% bracket is the next $16,700 of taxable income or another $417K in assets to produce this annual withdrawal. Last, for today, the 15% bracket is the next $51,250 which would require $1.28M to produce.  The punchline? Today's retiree (couple) can have over $2.1M in pretax money (this includes pension value if any, of course), and still be in the 15% bracket.  If you can't deposit to a Roth, you are in the 28% bracket now or higher. Are you on track to have over $2M in today's dollars at retirement?  One point that few mention is there are not just the two endpoints. Today's tax rate vs retirement tax rate. Every year offers a situation where your income may drop. A job loss. A spouse staying home with a new child. A disability. A year back at school.  These are the years that you might convert to Roth, just enough to fill your bracket back to your average prior rate. e.g. convert to a taxable income of exactly $137,300, and pay a marginal rate of 25%.  I'll be the first to congratulate those who tell me they have a defined benefit pension that will replace their income to such a level, that with their investments, they are retiring at a higher income level than while working. Roth is the answer for them.  Roth is great for the 80 yr old woman I help. 10 years ago, I observed her marginal rate to be 15%, and we convert just enough to put her at the top of that bracket, this year $34,000 in taxable income. This helps slow down the effect of her RMDs (required minimum distributions) continuing to rise and potentially put her in the 25% bracket.  So, to be clear, I'm not anti-Roth, I'm just in favor of a thorough analysis and avoiding the ""Roth for everyone"" mentality.  Edit - I was asked by a financial writer Kay Bell to write on this very topic, and appear on her site in a guest post Roth IRAs and your retirement income. It goes into greater detail than I could offer here. Tell Kay Joe sent you."


"In China, people are using Litecoin and Bitcoin to circumvent capital controls. OKCoin, Huobi are the biggest exchanges of smart money. Disclaimer: This is not advice, this is the answer. On a question and answer site. The exchange rate of smart money is very volatile. You will experience very brief exposure to those networks. Although Litecoin is popular for speculation in China, Bitcoin gives you and your trading partners the most flexibility, as the United States does not have robust and liquid exchanges for Litecoin, only Bitcoin. You buy smart money on one of the exchanges in China, you send all of it to an exchange in the United States, you sell all of it on that exchange for USD. If it isn't clear, smart money's flexibility comes the fact that it doesn't use banks to work/exist and can be transferred to valid ""addresses"" over the internet.  Current regulated, liquid and FDIC insured US exchanges are Coinbase and Circle. Other exchanges use private insurance, such as Bitstamp and Coinsetter.  So in the course of 30 minutes you should have converted all of your funds from Yuan back to stable US dollars in a regulated and insured US banking account. To make it usuable for goods and services you need to transfer it out of the exchange to a US bank account. This has very little exposure to the bitcoin or litecoin network. You don't need any friends or mules for this. The Chinese government has issued many many circulars on smart money such as Litecoin and Bitcoin, so it is hard to keep up, because they have made half hearted efforts to prevent banks from directly servicing those networks, while retaining the legality of their operations within China (Party members have been waiting for ways to get their wealth out of the country too without risk of blowback!). So you will need to see what hoops you need to jump through to move your funds to one of those exchanges to begin with. This is faster and only uses one transaction instead of broken up ones and there are no tax consequences for sending money to yourself."


In some states there are significantly higher automobile insurance costs and higher coverage requirements for vehicles that have a lien on them.  I suspect this is not your scenario, or you probably would not be considering holding the loan open.  But it is something to consider. If you live in a state where insurance coverage and costs depend on a clear title, I would certainly recommend closing the loan as soon as possible.


Yes, and ..  how that _prevents_, abolishes, negates or in any way opposes what I've claimed? Markets are dynamic systems (they are after all multi-player non-cooperative non-zero-sum games), and as such they can have attractors (stable closed loops toward which the trajectory of (the state of the) system progresses, and if enters into, formally can't escape, since they are closed loops). Thus intervention is usually needed to *maintain* competition, which is called regulation.  Regulatory capture, abuse of regulations, abuse of regulatory power, and so on are problems in the greater model (in politics), where constant input sort of guarantees that it has no (stable) attractors, because as long people exist, at least some of them will have a habit of revolting.  The question is, is there a more efficient way to ensure existence of markets and ensure competition on them? And maybe some sort of anarchism is the answer, but sadly we're not doing enough experiments and research into that.


Liquidity Say you have $50k in student loan debt.  You come into a large amount of money and throw $10k at it.  Yes, it's now down to $40k, saving you a lot of money in interest over the long run, but it's money you can no longer 'use'. Now if you invest that same $10k instead, you still potentially have access to it if needed. Paying $10k towards a debt at a 5% interest rate has essentially the same rate of return as investing the $10k at a 5% return.  You're 'making' the same amount of money either way.  But if you say, get laid off or need money for medical expenses or a down payment on a house, you can tap into that $10k investment if needed.  It is a liquid asset.


"No. That's pretty unlikely. Card issuers typically base your rate on your credit score. Paying down debt reduces your percent of available credit used, and improves your score until you are in the 1-20% range. That's optimum. To this issuer, you are one of a million customers, there's no emotion in this, just numbers to them. For what it's worth, if a card issuer raises your rate, you are permitted to ""not accept"" the rate, stop using the card for new charges, and pay at the current rate. Of course this doesn't apply to zero interest deals, only to increases to your regular rate."


Power Options is one such example of what you seek, not cheap, but one good trade will recover a year's fee.  There's a lot you can do with the stock price alone as most options pricing will follow Black Scholes.  Keep in mind, this is a niche, these questions, while interesting to me, generate little response here.


Rate of return is (Current value - initial value) divided by initial value. Buy $10,000 worth of put options and sell them for $15,000, and your rate of return is 0.5, or 50%.


I feel like it's a valid question, people might think you're showing off or something. I'm a bit jelly myself. IMO, having a positive track record isn't convincing enough. It all comes down to if you have the confidence to maintain it. I think try doing it part time is a good idea.


Eh, marginal taxation makes that latter effect fairly weak. And unemployment is hardly a competitive option in the long term. As for welfare cliffs - sure, they crop up but can hardly be expected to account for a major lack of labor supply, at least not to the extent that we shouldn't suspect that wages are below the market clearing rate.


Adding international bonds to an individual investor's portfolio is a controversial subject.  On top of the standard risks of bonds you are adding country specific risk, currency risk and diversifying your individual company risk.  In theory many of these risks should be rewarded but the data are noisy at best and adding risk like developed currency risk may not be rewarded at all. Also, most of the risk and diversification mentioned above are already added by international stocks.  Depending on your home country adding international or emerging market stock etfs only add a few extra bps of fees while international bond etfs can add 30-100bps of fees over their domestic versions.  This is a fairly high bar for adding this type of diversification.  US bonds for foreign investors are a possible exception to the high fees though the government's bonds yield little. If your home currency (or currency union) does not have a deep bond market and/or bonds make up most of your portfolio it is probably worth diversifying a chunk of your bond exposure internationally.  Otherwise, you can get most of the diversification much more cheaply by just using international stocks.


"I believe no-one who's in a legal line of business would tell you to default voluntarily on your obligations. Once you get an offer that's too good to be true, and for which you have to do something that is either illegal or very damaging to you - it is probably a scam. Also, if someone requires you to send any money without a prior written agreement - its probably a scam as well, especially in such a delicate matter as finances. Your friend now should also be worried about identity theft as he voluntary gave tons of personal information to these people. Bottom line - if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and looks like a duck, it is probably a duck. Your friend had all the warning signs other than a huge neon light saying ""Scam"" pointing at these people, and he still went through it. For real debt consolidation companies, research well: online reviews, BBB ratings and reviews, time in business, etc. If you can't find any - don't deal with them. Also, if you get promises for debtors to out of the blue give up on some of their money - its a sign of a scam. Why would debtors reduce the debt by 60%? He's paying, he can pay, he is not on the way to bankruptcy (or is he?)? Why did he do it to begin with?"


Hours appear to be relatively consistent, at least in my experience.  Analysts (all levels) have much more flexible schedules and travel much more but are responsible for more information/responsibility.  The difference is that associates do the grunt work with models/writing and analysts provide more direction/fine tuning and interact with clients more(they're on the phone half the time from 7-4 every day). Its generally not night work but if a company announces earnings after market close and then has an evening conference call, we need to have the report out by the next morning well before the market opens, so yeah sometimes it can get pretty late.


The problem is the rich and powerful will harness whatever mechanisms you put in place.  If we're just supposed to handle all our problems through the court system instead of government you still win up with the rich wielding most of the power by way of their money.      The rich and powerful stay powerful now because they've already amassed most of the planets wealth in a relative handful of people. You can remove all the regulations you want and that won't significantly change the general distribution of wealth. You're simply further entrenching their wealth by removing what scant leverage the common man still has against the 1%.


This will be unpopular but no. Limiting liability is very important in many industries. Think of it this way - if doctors screw up, they face malpractice. However, if we decide that instead, doctors should face jail time, who would want to become a doctor? But we need doctors, so we limit their liability. Likewise, if investors or c level executives are held accountable with jail time instead of fines, who would want to invest in businesses?


"The tax comes when you close the position. If the option expires worthless it's as if you bought it back for $0. There's a short-term capital gain for the difference between your short-sale price and your buyback price on the option. I believe the capital gain is always short-term because short sales are treated as short-term even if you hold them open more than one year. If the option is exercised (calling away your stock) then you add the premium to your sale price on the stock and then compute the capital gain. So in this case you can end up treating the premium as a long-term capital gain. See IRS pub 550 http://www.irs.gov/publications/p550/ch04.html#en_US_2010_publink100010619 Search for ""Writers of puts and calls"""


My bank did fine the first couple years of handling my escrow, then out of the blue, totally messed it up and cost me a lot of time straightening it all out with them as well as straightening out with my taxing authority.  I told them to send me the balance of the escrow and cancel it, that I would handle it from then on and they did.  There was a qualification that I met, I just can't remember what that was. I too have a lot of equity and was never late on a payment.  I also manage it via direct deposit from my paychecks into interest bearing accounts.


"Who knows, maybe the small-scale store will manage to come back as a kind of ""pick-up"" hub for merchandise bought online. Want to sell on-line? Sign up for our new ""preview shipping"" service where we weigh, photograph, authenticate, and track your purchase so that if your customer bitches about it being non-functioning or a knock-off, you're covered!"""


Why does it seem so many companies lose so much money before going out of business?  If the reason for a company being there is gone, why not just wind it down?  If I were a shareholder, I'd want management to make as much money as they can out of their declining business and return that money to shareholders so they can invest in new companies that are digital-native.


Did you read the article?  Microsoft is recommending that the US government put that 10k per visa straight back into STEM education funding to produce more qualified graduates. Microsoft needs more qualified workers **now**, not in 3-5 years. The solution they're proposing is to increase the H-1B cap for now, charge $10k per visa, then invest that money into STEM education today so that there will be enough US graduates in 5 years.


"You can find out the most money they will loan you for a car loan when you approach your current bank/credit union. They should be willing to layout options based on your income, and credit history. You then have to decide if those terms work for you. There are several dangers with getting loan estimates, they may be willing to lend you more than you can actually handle. They think you can afford it, but maybe you can't. They may also have a loan with a longer term, which does bring the monthly cost down, but exposes you to being upside down on the loan. You then use this a a data point when looking at other lenders. The last place you look is the auto dealer. They will be trying to pressure you on both the loan and the price, that is not the time to do doing complex mental calculations. The Suntrust web page was interesting, it included the quote: The lowest rate in each range is for LightStream's unsecured auto loan   product and requires that you have an excellent credit profile. It also induced the example the rate of 2.19% - 4.24%   for a 24 to 36 month loan of $10,000 to $24,999 for a used car purchased from a dealer. Also note that my local credit union has a new/used loan at 1.49%, but you have to be a member. Sunstrust seems to be in the minority. In general a loan for X$ and y months will have a lower rate if it is secured with collateral.  But Suntrust is offering unsecured loans (i.e. no collateral) at a low rate. The big benefit for their product is that you get the cash today. You can get the cash before you know what you want to buy. You get the cash before you have negotiated with the dealer. That makes that step easier. Now will they in the near future ask for proof you bought a car with the money? no idea. If you went to the same web page and wanted a debt consolidation loan the rate for the same $ range and the same months is: 5.49% - 11.24% the quote now changes to: The lowest rate in each range requires that you have an excellent   credit profile. I have no idea what rate they will actually approve you for. It is possible that if you don't have excellent credit the rate rises quickly, but 4.24% for the worst auto loan is better than 5.49% for the best debt consolidation. Excellent Credit Given the unique nature of each individual’s credit situation,   LightStream believes there is no single definition for ""excellent   credit"". However, we find individuals with excellent credit usually   share the following characteristics: Finally, it should be noted again that each individual situation is   different and that we make our credit judgment based on the specific   facts of that situation. Ultimately our determination of excellent   credit is based on whether we conclude that there is a very high   likelihood that our loan will be repaid in a full and timely manner. All the rates mentioned in this answer are from 15 July 2017."


As I tell all my clients... remember WHY you are investing in the first. Make a plan and stick to it. Find a strategy and perfect it.  A profit is not a profit until you take it. the same goes with a loss. You never loose till you sell for less than what you paid.  Stop jumping for one market to the next, find one strategy that works for you. Making money in the stock market is easy when you perfect your trading strategy. As for your questions: Precious metal... Buying or selling look for the trends and time frame for your desired holdings. Foreign investments... They have problem in their economy just as we do, if you know someone that specializes in that... good for you. Bonds and CD are not investments in my opinion... I look at them as parking lots for your cash. At this moment in time with the devaluation of the US dollar and inflation both killing any returns even the best bonds are giving out I see no point in them at this time. There are so many ways to easily and safely make money here in our stock market why look elsewhere.  Find a strategy and perfect it, make a plan and stick to it. As for me I love Dividend Capturing and Dividend Stocks, some of these companies have been paying out dividends for decades. Some have been increasing their payouts to their investors since Kennedy was in office.


"I think you need to define what you mean by ""buy currency online using some online forex trading platform"" ... In large Fx trades, real money [you mean actual electronic money, as there is not paper that travels these days]...   The Fx market is quite wide with all kinds of trades. There are quite a few Fx transactions that are meant for delivery. You have to pay in the currency for full amount and you get the funds electronicall credited to you in other currency [ofcouse you have an account in the other currency or you have an obligation to pay]. This type of transaction is valid in Ismalic Banking. The practise of derivaties based on this or forward contracts on this is not allowed."


I see. It apparently does work with Time Warner but only if you already have ESPN. Every provider probably has a different deal struck with them which is why you have to log in to prove your subscription in order to get it working.


There are some brokers in the US who would be happy to open an account for non-US residents, allowing you to trade stocks at NYSE and other US Exchanges. Some of them, along with some facts: DriveWealth Has support in Portuguese Website TD Ameritrade Has support in Portuguese Website Interactive Brokers Account opening is not that straightforward Website


Rent the property?? Is that a possible solution? Since selling the house is not an option and living in it isn't either, then perhaps renting it is the way to go? Since no explanation for the sister's motives is given, i'd speculate it is a mixture of emotional and financial concerns. Maybe mostly emotional. I imagine letting go of the one physical thing that has memories of you and your parents attached to it is very difficult. I don't think getting a lawyer or doing what's convenient for only your boyfriend is the way to go...But that's my own personal opinion. Clearly, he only has one close family member left alive. Creating permanent wounds in that relationship will cost more along the way. And quite frankly, if the house is owned 50-50, don't you need both owners to sign the deed to sell the house anyways? If renting is not an option, then maybe refinancing the mortgage to lower payments? Or Airbnb it only half the time? Or rent it out for events to help with payments? Or ask the sister for a little money...Not for half the mortgage, but at least a few hundred dollars to maintain the house and heat. If she is indeed concerned with the property, then maintaining it to prevent serious damagae is in her interests, no matter her income.


The artichoke is eaten crude and additionally cooked, however cooking artichokes in a pot with olive oil. Like different plants in the thorn family, to which it have a place, the artichoke contains some remedially profitable oils which have a solid balancing out impact on the human digestion.


Yes, that's what it means. Also, it tells you that the share price went up by $0.39 yesterday, which was an increase of 1.43% from the previous day's price, and that the total value of all of Microsoft's shares is $232.18 billion (from which we can deduce that there are a bit less than 10 billion Microsoft shares in total).


"Yes, many banks offer such a service. Often such payments can be made through their ""bill pay"" interface. You log in to your account on the bank's website, enter the recipient's routing and account numbers, and off you go. You could ask your bank whether they offer this. If not, you could change banks to one that does."


I gift my daughter stock worth $1000. No tax issue. She sells it for $2000, and has a taxable gain of $1000 that shows up on her return.  Yes, you need to find out the date of the gift, as that is the date you value the fund for cost basis. The $3500 isn't a concern, as the gift seems to have been given well before that. It's a long term capital gain when you sell it.  And, in a delightfully annoying aspect of our code, the dividends get added to basis each year, as you were paying tax on the dividend whether or not you actually received it. Depending on the level of dividends, your basis may very well be as high as the $6500 current value.  (pls ask if anything here needs clarification)