Jun 21, How Do Credit Cards Work Actually?

October 30th, 2011

As you present your plastic card as payment, do you wonder “how do credit cards work”? We know the card represents money but there is much more to the process than you might realize.

Your credit card is a product that is a cash alternative. It’s designed to be easy for consumers to use as ease of use is why credit cards have become so popular.

If you make a purchase with cash you are paying your own money to the item. When you buy with a credit card you are using the money of the financial institution that provides the card to you.

Every purchase you make with a credit card is basically a small loan from the credit card lender. The lender has given you a spending limit that regulates how many purchases you can make with your credit card and has told you how much those little loans will cost you (APR).

Each month your credit card lender sends an itemized statement to you. This provides a full record of charges you’ve made to the account, any cash advances you’ve taken and also lists the charges for use of the convenient credit card.

The monthly statement shows the total debt due and also provides a minimum payment for those who want to spread out payment over time.

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Tags: Cards Work, Credit Cards, Credit Cards Work, Work

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Should Hedge Funds Receive Special Treatment?

October 30th, 2011

The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has advised the managers of super-secret hedge funds, investments of the most wealthy, that they will soon need to disclose more information to the regulators. Highly leveraged hedge funds contributed to the economic collapse, but the pressure to increase oversight has been mostly ignored by the industry. In response to heavy lobbying by the industry, the SEC has scaled back the requirements the commission intended to issue, leaving softer regulation likely to be ineffective.

Hedge fund managers like to keep their operations secret. If managers were required to report underlying investments, trades, and strategies, they might be at a disadvantage. Like a patented formula for creating pharmaceutical drugs, hedge fund managers rely on their proprietary operations to ensure no imitators and no rogue competitors using their strategies to cause them to fail. Most fund managers need to report their funds’ financial details publicly, with statements that outline the funds’ holdings, risk profile, expenses, and strategy. Hedge funds do not have this requirement.

The new SEC regulations allow hedge funds to file a minimum amount of data pertaining to the investments, and the filing will not be available to the public. Onl

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Tags: Funds, Hedge Funds

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How to avoid identity fraud

October 29th, 2011

Research published to coincide with the launch of National Identity Fraud Prevention Week (NIFPW) found that while 95% of the public are aware of the threat posed by ID theft, cases continue to rise because people are still being careless with their personal information.

Around 7% of the UK population – over four million people – have fallen victim to identity fraud to date, losing between £1,190 and £9,000 each. Over 80,000 cases of ID theft were reported in the UK in the first nine months of this year alone, according to a study commissioned for the launch of the 2011 NIFPW campaign.

If your identity is stolen by a fraudster, it can take months to get your credit report back in order and deal with the repercussions of the crime. Altho

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Tags: Fraud, Identity Fraud

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How to Enroll for BDO Online Banking

October 26th, 2011

Banco de Oro has many products and services catered for its clients. Included in it businesses is BDO Internet banking or they commonly called BDO Retail Internet Banking (RIT).

Internet banking has several benefits for its clients like connection to your account anytime and anywhere provided you have Internet access; pay bills online; transmit or transfer money to your kin and organization you support; financing your investments in mutual funds, UITF, and stocks; and viewing your statement of account online.

Perks of BDO Online Banking

With Internet banking, you can course your accounts and do banking transactions anytime and anywhere provided you have Internet connections. Some of the perks you can get from online banking are the following:

1. You can pay bills online. Pay your credit card charges, water and electricity bill or other agents. You may also make schedule payments for post-dated and recurring bills.

2. Move funds online to other BDO bank accounts or cash card accounts

3. View the money remaining on your CA/SA, term deposit, cash card, credit cards, customer loan account, and trust account for free

4.

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Tags: Banking

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Understanding Your Credit Score

October 22nd, 2011

If you have recently tried to rent an apartment, buy a car, applied for some type of credit account, or applied for a new job, chance are that someone has looked at your credit score.  Your credit score is a three-digit number that reflects your credit-worthiness to potential creditors.  This number determines the amount you can borrow and the interest you will owe on it.

Your FICO credit score, the score most often accessed by creditors, is a number based on a formula developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation that takes into account all your credit accounts and payment history.  FICO scores range from 300 to 850 and are determined by a number of factors, including your on-time payment percentage (35% of score), the amount owed to creditors (30% of score), the length of your credit history (15% of score), the types of credit used (10% of score), and number of recent inquiries on your credit report (10% of score).

There are a number of ways that your actions can cause a decrease in your credit score.  Neglecting to pay your bills or fines on time can result in the creditor reporting the delinquency to the credit reporting agencies.  Maxing out your credit cards is another way to lower your credit score.  Your score can also drop if it looks as if you are trying to obtain several new sources of credit because it may be a sign that you are in financial trouble.

The best interest rates on loans and credit cards are given to individuals with a credit score above 700.  To keep your credit score high, make sure to pay all your bills on time.  A low balance of less than 1/3 of your total credit limit should be kept on the card, if you cannot pay off your balance entirely each month. Opening

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Tags: Credit Score, Score

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Tax advice of the week: Draw a salary from your start up

October 21st, 2011

If you’re setting up a company and need your capital to live off as well as to fund the new business, the idea of taking a salary seems “out of the question”, says Tax Tips & Advice. But you should do exactly that.

“For every pound your company pays you it will get a reduction from its corporation tax (CT) bill of at least 20p.” Where the company makes a loss, the salary will increase it, and the loss can then be “carried forward and set against later profits to reduce CT bills in these years”.

Ideally, set your salary between the lower earnings limit (£5,304) and the primary earnings threshold (£7,228) so neither you nor the firm has to pay national insurance (NI). For tax and NI, directors are “treated as receiving salary as soon as the board approves it”, “it doesn’t actually have to be paid”. So record it in the minutes and “add it to the money the firm owes you”.

That way, “you’ve gained your firm a CT deduction and increased the amount you can take later tax and NI-free”. Plus you’ll get a credit to your state pension record. And do send in a P14/P60 when you submit your firm’s PAYE return.

Tags: Salary, Salary Start

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