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Tag: tips
2009-01-07 23:41:46| SBI! Forum Posts By Ken
When Erin posted asking what you will do to promote the Holiday Special, it seemed like the right time for Santa to hold a quickie contest. ;-) So we turned this into a quick little contest with the promise of a $500 Holiday check for the best execu (continued)...
2009-01-06 22:40:40| Young Entrepreneur Forums
Forum: General Business Posted By: OutdoorFreaks Post Time: 01-06-2009 at 04:02 PM
2009-01-05 01:02:23| Guardian Unlimited Business - more business news
Nick FletcherReal estate shares are likely to be under further pressure in 2009 as property prices continue to slump. But things could be looking up by the end of the year, and shrewd investors such as Anthony Bolton are already suggesting it is time to buy back into the sector. Regeneration specialist St Modwen Properties, 117.5p, said in November it would remain within its banking covenants throughout 2009 and had "no material refinancing requirements until 2011". The group is strongly focused on cash management: rental income was up 8% in the first half of the last year, costs savings of £3m have been achieved through headcount reduction and speculative development has been scaled back. Full-year results to be announced in February are likely to be dismal and the final dividend is likely to be passed to conserve cash. But St Modwen is a long-term story and the shares are trading at an unprecedented 60% discount to its forecast net asset value.Chris TryhornITV may look like a turn-off, its ratings drifting ever downwards and advertising revenues hit by the mother of all downturns. The shares, 39.75p, have fallen so far that ITV lost its place in the FTSE 100 in September. But there is no reason to think ITV's long-term business model is bust: alone among commercial broadcasters, it can still draw truly big audiences and in its production business holds a major asset in an increasingly content-driven world. With most of Britain now switched to digital TV, the decline in audience share could almost be over, and reform of the contracts rights renewal system that limits advertising revenues is in the offing. Simon BowersThe pub sector, having taken on huge debts in the past 10 years, is looking particularly unloved. Among those trading at depressed levels, down more than 60% in 2008, is Mitchells & Butlers, 160p, which recently elected to cancel its dividend and cut capital expenditure to focus on upcoming bank debt maturities. Next year will be tough as consumer confidence looks likely to deteriorate further in the face of rising unemployment, but three things mark out M&B as offering good value. Firstly, the strength of its combined food and drink offer sets its brands apart from other pub chains. Secondly, M&B has the best-located pubs in the country - as others fail, M&B sites and brands are best placed to take market share. Thirdly, the group's historic preference for freehold ownership leaves it largely free of rent demands while providing the comfort of a property book value of £4.7bn. M&B's share register includes Bahamas-based currency trader Joe Lewis with 22% and Elpida, the investment vehicle of Irish race horse tycoons John Magnier and JP McManus, with 16%. Both have bought shares in the past three months. There can be little doubt their interest lies in pushing the case for a windfall property deal when the credit and asset markets recover. There could be an attempt to take the business private before then.Jill TreanorCompanies that are not reliant on consumer spending or financing from banks seem most likely to outperform the market. Somewhat reluctantly, I have concluded that GlaxoSmithKline, 1284.5p, seems a stock to stick with for 2009. Although its performance in 2008 was hardly stellar, it did at least outperform the FTSE 100. It must stand a chance of repeating the performance if only because it does not rely on consumers but governments for its products to be purchased and, although it recently cited increased competition from competitors for its decision to cut jobs, it already has a cost-reduction plan in place that is being embraced by its new chief executive, Andrew Witty.Deborah HargreavesI'm playing safe this year. Centrica has got to be a good bet at 266p. Gas bills are high, the government has backed off a windfall tax on utility profits and everyone needs to heat their homes, even in a downturn. Utilities usually perform well during recessions. But next year will be grim all round. There can be little expectation of stockmarket stars - just companies that perform less badly. I thought Lloyds was a good option for last year though. How wrong can you get? I seem to remember predicting a takeover, but with no hint of the disastrous circumstances and government intervention that it involved. Now let's watch Centrica crumble to government pressure to cut prices and see its shares plummet.Julia FinchTipping a retailer at a time when the high street is at its gloomiest for a generation is either brave or foolhardy. But Asos, 247.25p, stands out from the crowd. It is a relative minnow but could teach the more established players a thing or two about how to run a fashion website. Asos has a track record of huge sales growth. It is showcasing new designers and has big plans to go international. Its customers, by and large, are young shoppers, who won't stop spending while they have a job. The shares have come back a long way since their near-400p peak in the summer.Phillip InmanThere are analysts who believe Autonomy Corporation is riding for a fall. The stock added 7% to 951p over the past year while the FTSE 100 slid 31%. But the software group's customers, especially in the US, have been purchasing its search-and-discovery software like it's going out of fashion. They need to handle new regulations that demand the swift reporting of information in lawsuits. Recent third-quarter profits more than doubled to $53.7m. Autonomy can count Merrill Lynch, KPMG and Vodafone among its new customers and repeat customers include governments and defence and intelligence agencies. Fifty per cent growth next year will see the company safely ahead of the pack.Terry MacalisterMany things during 2008 defied traditional wisdom but none more than BP reporting record earnings and yet seeing its stock price fall 15% to 526p - all at a time when the oil price averaged $100. Crude values are now $40 but you could well see a 2009 level of $50 with a little help from Opec production cuts. Meanwhile BP offers a strong dividend yield of 7.5% that is likely to be protected through a cut in capital expenditure. It also has an ultra-strong balance sheet and decent management.Richard WrayUsing a mobile phone to manage your finances is not a new concept - several high street banks offered basic WAP services during the dotcom boom. But Monitise, a UK technology firm, has taken it to another level by plugging mobile phone operators into the Link ATM network, making a phone as secure as a cashpoint. As a result it has been able to expand the services that banks can offer beyond merely balance updates to account transfers and bill payment. More recently it has taken its technology to North America and into the burgeoning money-transfer market. Monitise was "incubated" by IT firm Morse and spun out in June 2007 after a placing at 22p, but progress has been slow. That will change in 2009, though, as signed-up banks introduce the service. Revenues should start to rise as Monitise moves towards break-even in 2010 and, having raised £11.8m at 15p in June, the company has enough cash to get there. It may not, however, get the chance. The mobile phone companies have become increasingly interested in mobile banking and with the market downturn having pushed the shares to a pitiful 3p, buying the company could be an easy way to get ahead of the game.Mark MilnerWith 2009 likely to be another difficult year for equities, safety first has strong appeal. National Grid, 684p, has a mix of businesses in the UK and US ensuring gas and electricity gets delivered to millions of customers. Despite the global downturn National Grid will face continuing demands for investment in both countries but in times of low interest rates and economic uncertainty its pledge of a secure, progressive dividend policy has much to recommend it.SharesFTSECredit crunchguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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2009-01-03 01:34:37| MoneyTec Traders Community
Forum: Beginners Forum Posted By: lemonnap Post Time: 02-01-2009 at 18:45
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2009-01-03 01:04:31| Guardian Unlimited Business - more business news
Whew, what a year! For many people, 2008 was probably their most financially challenging year ever, and amid apocalyptic predictions this week of a "winter surge" of redundancies and further sharp falls in house prices, all the signs are that we could be set for an even bumpier ride this year.It is easy to feel there is little you can do to insulate yourself from the recessionary winds, but by giving your finances a makeover and making your money work harder, you can cushion yourself from some of the shocks that may be around the corner.The new year is an ideal time to resolve to get a better grip on your finances. In fact, it tops the nation's list of 2009 new year's resolutions, according to price comparison website Gocompare.com. Research by the site found that paying off debts and saving money are more popular resolutions than seeing more of our family and friends, losing weight and stopping smoking.To help you on your way, Guardian Money has compiled its top new year's resolutions to make 2009 a better year financially. If you have been flexing the plastic in a big way over the past few weeks, you may want to start with tackling your festive financial hangover.Pay off your debtsIt might sound like a daunting task, but make time to sit down and write a list of all the money you owe on credit cards, store cards, loans, overdrafts and so on."This is the hardest bit," says Andrew Hagger of personal finance website Moneynet.co.uk. "Many people know they have money problems but won't own up to them. If you're not prepared to face this first step, it's unlikely that you'll manage to get your finances on track."Switching to a cheap credit card deal could be one of the best ways of getting your finances back into shape. Hagger adds: "If you have built up some debt on credit cards and store cards and you are paying interest rates of 25%-plus, you could be paying a great deal less. Zero per cent balance-transfer deals can work well for those with expensive debt to switch over. The best thing to do, once you've transferred your balances, is to close the old card/loan accounts and also cut up your new card to stop you being tempted to use it for purchases."Among the companies offering cards boasting 0% interest on balance transfers for more than 12 months are Virgin Money (0% for 16 months - also offers 0% on purchases for six months) and HSBC (0% for 15 months - also offers 0% on purchases for three months).Set a budgetMake 2009 the year you get your finances under control by setting a budget and sticking to it. Look at what you have got coming in each month and your monthly expenditure on essentials such as mortgage or rent, food and petrol. Then take away the amount you are setting aside for debt repayments.What you have left is what you've got to live on. Take a fixed amount of cash out of the ATM at the beginning of each week and try to make it last until the following week. If you are not sure where your cash is going, keep a list of everything you spend money on - you will be surprised how the cost of daily lattes or pub lunches can add up.Check your mortgageDavid Hollingworth at mortgage broker London & Country says it makes sense to look for a new mortgage deal up to six months before your existing one comes to an end - so put a note in your diary."Lenders continue to tier their product offerings based on loan-to-value (LTV), with the best rates available to those with 40% equity," Hollingworth says. "With house prices continuing to fall, shopping around earlier could mean you qualify for a cheaper, low LTV banding. A mortgage offer will typically be valid for three to six months."There are still savings to be had for many homeowners, and remortgaging should be a priority for those not tied into their current deal. What looks like a small difference in rate can amount to a big difference in monthly outgoings. Someone with a £150,000 25-year repayment mortgage could slash their monthly payments from £932 to £843 by switching from a rate of 5.5% to 4.5%. That's an annual saving of £1,068.If you have been lucky enough to benefit from recent interest rate reductions, it makes sense to resolve to overpay on your mortgage. If you have a tracker that allows overpayments, you can do this simply by asking your lender to keep your payments at the same level, regardless of base rate reductions. "As well as cutting the cost of interest, this could help to maintain a level of equity for when a new deal is required," Hollingworth says. "It will also make life easier when interest rates head back up."Shop aroundThis is the year you should make sure you get the best deal on everything from current accounts and credit cards to utility bills and mobile phone contracts. The golden rule is to always shop around.Comparison websites such as uSwitch.com, Moneysupermarket.com and Confused.com make this easy - so spend a couple of hours on the internet making sure you are on the cheapest deals possible. "Savings of up to £325 a year are still up for grabs for those who have never swapped energy supplier," says Scott Byrom, utilities manager at Moneysupermarket.com. "It will be interesting to see if the government goes as far as forcing providers to reduce rates in an era of falling wholesale prices."And if you have been on the same mobile tariff for some time, chances are there is a better one out there for you. Other ways to cut your mobile bill include opting for a "sim-only" tariff where, as the name suggests, you get a new sim card but have to provide the phone yourself (ie, you use your existing handset). Some experts reckon sim-only deals are set to really take off this year. Last year, supermarket group Asda slashed pay-as-you-go UK calls to a flat rate 8p a minute, and texts to 4p. An Asda Mobile sim card, which you can pop in the back of your existing phone, costs just 49p. Asda sim packs are available from the retailer's website and in stores. You can keep your current number. Ikea also offers a low-cost sim-only deal for pay-as-you-goers.Start savingResearch by price comparison website MoneyExpert.com shows that most people would only be able to support themselves for two months if they lost their job, and with unemployment figures going up by the day, that is clearly a worrying figure.Sean Gardner at the site says: "Obviously the more you save, the better the position you'll be in should the worst happen, and - despite massive cuts in the base rate recently - there are still worthwhile savings options available."If you have not yet developed the habit of saving, a regular savings account, where you commit to paying in a set amount each month, can be a good place to start. HSBC's Regular Saver is a good option for customers of the bank, offering 8% on accounts up to a maximum of £3,000, Gardner says. Other institutions offering regular savings accounts at decent rates include Abbey (6%) and Barclays (5.84%).Cut your tax billMake it a resolution not to pay more tax than you have to. You should make use of your annual Isa allowance, as well as claiming any tax credits you might be eligible for.If you have to complete a self-assessment tax return, make sure you do so by 31 January. More than 850,000 forms were submitted late last year, according to Unbiased.co.uk, the search engine that helps people find an independent financial adviser.Borrowing & debtCredit crunchBank chargesFamily financesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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