Financial Tunes

what is the loan range in asset based finance uk? i want to know what the minimum and maximum loan amounts in asset based lending in uk?also how is the amount decided?what is it based on ?

What is asset based lending and factoring? I’m unable to qualify for a bank loan for my small business. I’ve heard of asset based lending and factoring, but am not sure how it would work for me and how I go about finding someone who does this and help me make sure that asset based lending is the right thing to do. My banker didn’t know who to recommend me to.

where can I get asset-based financing in Jamaica? How can I use My Property Title to access a loan from any of these institutions?

Where can I get Commercial Real estate financing? I need a hard money loan or a asset based loan. Lenders from the nyc area please. I don't want any other type of loan(conventional loan).

What loan can I get to buy a house, based on my other home's value? I already have a house that is completely paid for. I also have another property that is also completely paid for. Now I haven't sold my house yet, but I want to buy a new one right now. So what kind of loan can I get based on the amount of assets I have. I have 320,000 dollars in assets. And the house I want only costs 170,000. But what kind of loan?

How do factory-to-dealer incentives on a car affect the amount of a car loan? Does it lower the asset value? Does the value of the car for the purposes of the car loan get set based on the sale value of the car, which is lower due to the factor-to-dealer incentive? Or does the new car retain its true value regardless of the incentive? Thank you.

What is the recommended Expenditure to Earning Ratio? What is the recommended ratio that a person can spend on himself per annum(for living, food, etc) to his earnings per annum? The rest should go for savings for his future... (Consider that he does not have any outstanding loans nor he plans to take one) Also the ratio of how much he can spend to his asset base A conventional risk averse figure is needed. Any financial advice related to this is highly appreciated Please.. I do not want to take any loans...

Can you purchase a commercial rental property without cash? Say the property was $200,000. And through an LLC can I finance the $200,000 as a new LLC without any company credit or assets. Say that they want %10 down also. Could I personally garauntee the $20,000 myself and lend that to the LLC. So then the LLC can make the down payment. So if i did it that way could I then finance the other 90% with the LLC. Cause I was always under the immpression that commercial rental properties are not valued like a home. That the loan is based on the actual property itself(the value of the building). So the loan amount wasn't based on assets that the LLC already had, but that it could be based on what the building was worth. Please help. thankyou closing fees and transaction fees realy has nothing to do with it. You can get the seller to pay or you can finance them in with the building. thanks though

I need advice on debt. Student Loans and Credit Cards.? OK here is the background and the current situation. My girlfriend of 2 years has recently allowed me to review her credit report and overall financial situation. Situation: Extremely Bad. She was raised within a family (like many) that did not teach financial literacy whatsoever. Her predicament resides mostly within student loans, however there is some other debt as well. She’s a smart girl (less basic financial sense) and I’ve gone over some basic “best practices” when it comes to debt and credit to try to at least stop the bleeding. Below is information that will better describe the situation: Female in her mid-twenties with no assets. 1: Federal Student Loan $40K. This student loan has been paid on time and is in good standing. 2: A Federal Student loan $35K which was defaulted upon in 2006 and is currently being serviced by a collection agency. I am currently getting more information as to what entity currently owns this debt. She has been paying monthly payments to this agency since 2006. 3. Outstanding Credit Card debt: $7K. This is with a collection agency, she has been making regular monthly payment since she defaulted on the Card 2006. 5. Three credit card accounts which are currently open and in good standing. The balance of these 3 cards total about $2K, and the APR on all 3 cards are between 25% and 27%. Her gross annual income is $45K. All together, she pays approximately $800 per month to satisfy minimum payments of the debt listed above. We’ll need to sit with someone who can assess the best course of action better than I, and I’d like to know of a good place to start looking. If the $35K debt is no longer a federal student loan, then bankruptcy seems like it may be worth looking in to. I believe she’d still be stuck with the $40K loan, but her quality of life would be much higher and either way her credit is screwed for several more years. Its not like she’d be able to secure any kind of loan with $85K of debt and a $45K salary. I have also been reading about new federal policies for Federal Student Loans and Income-based payment plans, but legislation seems to be slow (no surprise there). What are things we should be looking in to? Who should we be talking to for advice on all of this? Any advice would be welcome.

Interesting questions on our debt based economy...? I would like to know a few things: 1) Is most paper money in our economy based on debt (from the fractional reserve system) 2) When debt is paid off, does the money suppy contract, and how and why does this happen 3) Why is fractional reserve lending inflationary, since the same physical quantity of money is continually being redistributed, isnt it just the same as the inital saver spending the money but each time the spend becomes smaller due to reserve requirements. The broader money supply surely is just the value of the assets, or future assets backed against the loan. So why is it inflationary? And also if it is, dosent the additional money reduce purchasing power and thus the loan fails to match new prices requiring more loans. 4) Is the broader money supply created by fractional reserve banking simply the value of current or future assets 5) Is it true that if a borrower borrows on the fractional reserve system and creates the asset that is equivalent to the loan, then this represents economic growth as this new asset has added new value to society- in that society is willing to trade something for this new asset. 6 If the loan is paid off in full is the initial inflationary effect mitigated. 7) If the interest earned on bank loans is not redistributed in the economy does the banks earn a greater proportion of a nations wealth 8) Is our need for exponential economic growth (2% per year) needed to mitigate the exponential growth in the money supply 9) What happens when debts cannot be repaid, is the money supply permanently inflated?

What is the difference between Bankruptcy and...? With a (very) low credit score, no financial institution is willing to help me with a consolidation loan based on signature (I have no assets to use as collateral). After having lost my job and having my vehicle stolen I am no longer able to satisfy my credit card payments which have gotten out of control and it is unlikely I will ever catch up to them. They're way too high and piling up. My credit score is way too low and 4 banks have already turned me down for a loan. Each time I apply it affects the Beacon score even more. I've contemplated filing Bankruptcy. My question is: If I don't file Bankruptcy and just ignore my bills, what is the difference? My credit couldn't go down any more than it is. It's in the 400's range already.

Money creation and loans? I have a question about money creation and loans. I already understand that banks create money by making loans. The amount that can be loaned is limited by the reserve ratio. Lets take a look at the first balance sheet: assets | liabilities reserve: 1000 | 10 000 excess: 9000 | 9000 loans: 9000 based on this balance sheet, the bank has loaned 9000 based on its excess reserve. Now, as I understand, the entry of "loans: 9000" and the "9000" under liabilities could be created because of the borrowers promise to repay. If the borrower writes a check on this amount, which entries would disappear from the banks balance sheet and why? And why not the other? What entries disappear when the loan is repaid? The values that disappear that I was talking about were: "loans: 9000" and "excess: 9000". which one would disappear if the the "liabilities 'loan': 9000" were cashed? Perhaps a few more details to clarify: If the loan were repaid: the entries of "9000" would disappear from liabilities and loan if I'm not mistaken. However lets suppose that the person who borrowed the money wanted to buy a used car. He would write a check on his deposit of 9000. As soon as this check clears, the entry of 9000 would disappear from liabilities, but which one of "excess: 9000 and loan: 9000" would go? Both entries represent something worth 9000 that could be used to clear the check: the excess: 9000 would be cash in the banks vault and the loan: 9000 would be a piece of paper promising to eventually pay 9000 plus interest.

I am looking for a financial modeling tool to plan an equipment leasing business excel based.anybody know one? The leasing revenue & COGS model is very different than a product or services business. To a leasing company, revenue is the periodic interest income generated each month over the term of the lease, let's say at a rate of 15%. The leasing company borrows money at say 8% to buy the equipment and match-fund the equipment lease, let's say through a term loan (recorded on the balance sheet & amortized to the P&L to match the revenue stream). This is not like revenue & COGS on a product company P&L. Further, the lessee may be required to make a down payment and say first & last month rents, reducing the funding requirement and accelerating the cash flow back to the leasing company & effectively increasing the profitability to the leasing company. Last payment must also be deferred on the balance sheet. From a tax perspective the leasing company also depreciates the equipment asset.

how to distribute these asstes based on chapter 7 bankruptcy? MY assets are a home with a fair market value $100,000 Cash savings $5,000 my liabilities: bank loan secured by my home $150,000 an unsecured bank personal line of $50,000 federal tax $5,000 loan owed to my mother 10,000 visa 5,000 (charges were made in the past 60 days) 2 months alimony owed to my husband 2,000 2 months child support owed to my husband 2,000

If you default on your credit card debt, an unsecured debt, why can the bank garnish your salary? I thought a credit card was an "unsecured" debt, meaning they are loaning you money not based on your assets, but on their assumption (based on their research into your history) that you will pay it back. If you don't pay it back, shouldn't it just be tough tuna for the bank? They took a chance and they lost. The debt was unsecured. Why can they then attach your wages?

According to the Bible, is it good practice for Christians to borrow money? There are numerous scriptures that advise believers not to borrow money. But suppose you have an asset like a house or a car, is it okay to borrow money against that asset, because it then becomes a pledge? Based on my reading of the Bible, I have come to the conclusion that if you feel it is necessary to raise funds against the value of a house or car based on equity, it is much safer, or more prudent to actually sell the asset than leverage it against an institutional loan. What do you think?

what does underwriting mean? two different definitions? im confused because i see two different definitions. One says underwriting is the process of deciding whether or not to make a loan based on credit history, employment, assets etc. and the other definition is an underwriter is someone who buys securities from a company or govt and then resells it to the public thus eliminating the risk of reselling from the company. which one is right? thanks!

Debt consolidation - Please help!? Does anybody know if there is any company that would take on debt consolidation of a business, where the loan was granted based on assets in the business. The loan was given by a asset finance company but as the loan was based on assets, which depreciate in value very fast it was only spread over 2 years (as opposed to a bank loan that would be over 20 years). As you can appreciate, keeping up with payments in this climate over such a short amount of time has become rather difficult. Can anyone provide me with any numbers for any company's that could help. (there are many company's that do debt consolidation but none cover asset finance agreements) Please help. Many thanks.

Obtaining Capital Based on Assets? If I run an investment business and I own lets say ($10,000) in Bonds, can I obtain a loan from a Bank for $10,000 with the bonds as collateral? Thus allowing me to continue to hold $10,000 in Bonds while at the same time getting $10,000 in cash to purchase another rack of Bonds?

Where can I get a $10-$20k loan? More asset based lending or hard/private money with no upfront fees. Looking to get a small business with a down payment of that amount. I'm in NY.

How much will the markets drop when the Fed discloses the securities its accepting for 1.5 trillion in loans? Bloomberg News asked a U.S. court today to force the Federal Reserve to disclose securities the central bank is accepting on behalf of American taxpayers as collateral for $1.5 trillion of loans to banks. The lawsuit is based on the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, which requires federal agencies to make government documents available to the press and the public, according to the complaint. The suit, filed in New York, doesn't seek money damages. "The American taxpayer is entitled to know the risks, costs and methodology associated with the unprecedented government bailout of the U.S. financial industry," said Matthew Winkler, the editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, a unit of New York-based Bloomberg LP, in an e-mail. The Federal Reserve must for the first time identify the companies in its emergency lending programs after losing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Manhattan Chief U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ruled against the central bank yesterday, rejecting the argument that loan records aren’t covered by the law because their disclosure would harm borrowers’ competitive positions. The Fed has refused to name the financial firms it lent to or disclose the amounts or the assets put up as collateral under 11 programs, most put in place during the deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression, saying that doing so might set off a run by depositors and unsettle shareholders. Bloomberg LP, the New York-based company majority-owned by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, sued on Nov. 7 on behalf of its Bloomberg News unit.

Being sued by Asset Acceptance, LLC. Not on credit reports? Yesterday I was served papers from Asset Acceptance, LLC via a law firm in the state of Iowa. Immediately after the papers were served I ordered all 3 of my credit reports online. After gathering my reports, I was shocked to see another name on the Transunion report. There is a person with the same first name, but different last name listed. According to my credit reports I do not currently have accounts with Asset Acceptance, but they did show up 2 times as credit inquiries. When I called the law firm today they told me it was because of a credit card that was opened in my former state in 2/2000 and went delinquent 11/2001. I do not remember having this credit card and they would give me no more information. They also said it was showing up on their copy of my report. I have a decent credit score, between 699 and 726, but will admit that I have made mistakes. A few years ago I had a Gateway account go to collections because I was young and stupid. It was with another collection agency and I took care of my debts in 6/2004. It is still on the credit report as a collection account, but that it has been paid satisfactorily. Other than that, I have a car loan and student loans which are current. The other name on my report is showing 6 revolving credit cards, which are all in good standing. I have 20 days to either accept or deny the charges with my local small claims court. Obviously, I want to deny this given all the information listed above, but one thing is holding me back. I was in college at the time of card issuance and delinquency and would not put it past my ex to have gotten the card in my name. The same ex is also the reason for the Gateway collections. Like I said, I was young and stupid! In summation: * I do not remember having this credit card. * I have received no phone calls from debt collectors since Gateway. * This is not on my credit report. * The clerk at the law office said the copy they have of my report shows this as a collection account. I'm sorry to be so long winded, I just wanted to cover my bases. I've ready all over the internet that this company is pretty much run by bullies! Now I am worried that they will be able to get this to reflect on my report and sue me for the amount plus court costs. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, I would love to hear them. Many, many thanks in advance!

Has anyone you know used a reverse mortgage from FinancialFreedom.com? So, I have a theory as to how this company makes money. What they do is go through your personal belongings and make an estimate as to how much it is worth. They then give you a loan based on that amount and tell you that you have to keep those belongings for a certain period of time (the commercial says something to this effect in its fine print but I can't read small print that fast). Now, here is how they make money. They only give these loans to people over 62 betting that the person will pass away before the loan is repaid. They then liquidate the persons assets to repay the loan (which probably has an incredibly high, almost insurmountable interest rate). Now that is of course assuming that they don't give the person's family a chance to buy back all of their family heirlooms to repay it. So, is my theory right? Does anyone know if this is actually how they operate?

Why don't people understand how this credit crunch happened? This is very simple. 1) Fed created too much liquidity in the late 90s, fueling the NASDAQ bubble. 2) Fed popped that with rate hikes - but didn't soak up all of the excess liquidity. When the NASDAQ bubble popped, Fed cut rates again, and after 9/11 Fed cut rates again, and too far and for too long. 3) This fueled the housing and commodities bubbles - to an even greater degree because those are more credit-driven and because loans are given in part based on loan-to-value and the value of the assets was driven up based on the artificial demand. Federal policies aimed at increasing home ownership exacerbated this problem but were not the root cause. 4) Fed hiked rates again, pricking this latest bubble. Since it was bigger, the effects are more pronounced. 5) Fed's just going to print money and not let the credit bubble correct itself, and that new money is just going to fuel inflation.

Given the following simplified bank balance sheet with a required reserve ratio of 20%:? Given the following simplified bank balance sheet with a required reserve ratio of 20%: Assets- Reserves $100 Securities $50 Loans $250 Liabilities and Net worth Checkable deposits $400 1. Assuming this balance sheet is for a single commercial bank (In millions of $), calculate a. required reserves and b. excess reserves 1. If this single bank makes the largest possible additional loan allowed based on their excess reserves a. How much will it lend (beyond the $250 million already loaned) Show b. What will be the size of the immediate impact of this additional loan (by this bank only) on the nations M1 money supply? Explain 2. Show the resulting balance sheet for this single bank after this maximum new loan has been made and all checks from that transaction have cleared 3. If the original balance sheet above is now a consolidated balance sheet from all banks in the US in (billions of dollars), calculate (show all calculations) assuming a required reserve ratio of 20% a. Required reserves for this banking system b. Excess reserves for the banking system 4. If all banks in this banking system (from part 4) now make the max. possible loans based on these excess reserves, calculate and show a. How much will the entire banking system lend (beyond the $250billion already loaned) b. What will be the size of the impact of these new loans on the nations M1 money supply? Need serious help, please!

Any needed partners out there to cash in? One with good printer to start bond insurance company we will call B Few to come up with advertisings money. My private company that just got small business loan, which with creative accounting is worth max that qualifies under small business will give B 75% to use a asset base to sell bonds. Will use bonds as assets to get bigger loan from investment bank. This money will be used to buy treasury bills. Next parter U will come up with cash and we will advertise investment products that pay 19.9 %. All money we get will pay partner very high salaries we will use T money to pay investor premium as money starts to run out we start rumors we are too big to fail bonds will get covered by government, and all not used for salaries will be used to sucker more investors when we get enough getting 19.9 return they all write their congress persons and over tears will let FDIC pay back investors investments. Anyone care to add or join? Be creative as you can. Our service economy needs you.

When will America pay there debt to China? The Chinese sell a lot of merchandise in the United States and, in the process, accumulate a lot of dollars. They then loan many of those dollars back to the United States in exchange for all manner of American i.o.u.'s, including Treasury bonds, federal agency bonds, and private-sector debt.America's indebtedness to China, as a result, is staggeringly high, although the Bush administration - which needs foreign loans to help finance the budget deficit - seems unfazed. But there is reason for pause. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that China's holdings of foreign currency and securities would soon top $1 trillion, a fivefold increase since 2000. Roughly 70 percent of that is believed to be in dollars or dollar-based assets.For several years, China's loans have helped to keep prices and interest rates low in the United States, and to finance big tax cuts. so why dont they pay there debt so the world's largest army can finally modernize

Who really caused the sub-prime crises Democrats? The Subprime Debacle by Dr. Kuni Michael Beasley 30 Years in Gestation The Democrats are doing a lot to try to pin the subprime debacle on the Republicans and the Bush administration. However, there is a long tail to this problem that just happened to pop at this time. Now, for the rest of the story. Definitions first. Fannie Mae is the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), founded in 1938 as a publically traded government sponsored enterprise (GSE) that is stockholder owned that makes loans and issue loan guarantees. Its cousin is Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), founded in 1970 as another GSE created to expand the secondary market for mortgages. Freddie Mac buys individual mortgages on the secondary market, pooled them into packages, and sold them to investors on the open market. The secondary market packaged mortgages as collateral and issues securities called collateralized mortgage obligations (CMO) and collateralized debt obligations (CDO), to reduce the risk of individual loans. CMOs are a separate entity that is the actual legal owner of the mortgages it has in a "pool." CMOs sell bonds to investors based on the value of the mortgages. Investors receive payments based on the increased value of the loans in the pool. The collateral for the bonds are the actual mortgages. CDOs are a separate entity like CMOs, but are more focused on fixed income assets such as, but not limited to mortgages (and can include commercial mortgages and corporate loans). The focus is cash flow and slices (tranches) of these cash flows are sold to investors. The subprime mortgage crisis surfaced first in 2007, but it had been incubating for years, indeed, decades. Though roots can be traced back to the New Deal legislation in the 1930's, the current crisis actually draws its source from the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) [1977] during the Carter administration that forced banks to lend money to less credit worthy clients. Lending institutions were evaluated to determine if it met the "credit needs of the community" and this was factored into regulatory decisions of the federal government such as applications for facilities, mergers, and acquisitions. Interest in the CRA resurfaced in the Clinton administration when regulations in the CRA (which could be manipulated without any participation of congress) essentially forced institutions to offer loans to higher risk individuals and businesses. The term "Ninja" loans emerged describing high risk loans made to people with No Income, No Job, and no Assets, but completed a particular bank's portfolio sufficient to keep federal regulators off their backs. As access to easy money for high risk borrowers increased, certain institutions began to take advantage of these new opportunities to score fed points and make easy money. Name dropping here: Countrywide began to process, package, and offer investment instruments (CMOs) based on these loans. Revisions to the CRA by the Clinton administration allowed mortgage companies to offer loans without the relative reserve of deposits normally required of banks and other financial institutions. In addition, this allowed for securitization of sub prime mortgages based on the pooling and packaging of cash-flow producing assets into securities that could be sold to investors - with the asset value not tagged to actual value of the property, but to the value of the cash flow produced by the asset held (sounds weird). The first public securitization of CRA loans was started in 1997 by (familiar name) Bear Stearns! Now, let's understand sub-prime loans for a moment. A sub-prime loan is a mortgage offered at a deep discount on interest the first year or two so the borrower could qualify for a larger loan and more expensive house, betting that their economic profile would get better and they could afford large payments later. Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) are a form of this where the entry rate is low and rises based on certain criteria such as the rates for government securities. Simply put, lenders (not necessarily banks, but more often mortgage companies) offered low cost, low entry rate mortgages to people who would not normally qualify for that amount of debt. These loans were "warehoused" by financial institutions, where a financial institution like Merrill Lynch would set up a separate, but wholly owned mortgage company (First Franklin) to attract loans. Merrill Lynch would retain control of the loans as a "trustee" or "servicer," and derive benefits from fees for "managing" the loans and increase assets by keeping escrow deposits. In turn, these loans would be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (who were assumed to guarantee the loans), who, in turn, repackaged them for the secondary market. In 2003 the Bush administration tried to head-off what they saw as a potential crisis by moving the supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under a new agency

Anyone with any stockbroker experience? After 5 yrs of real estate & mortgages, I must choose something else.? I believe the real estate market will drop another 25-35% until 2010, stabilizing at 2000 prices; so cannot sell homes "in good conscience" knowing this. Not to mention there are 24K listings here, with only about 4K/yr sales. Of homes with loans, FL has 16% of them in foreclosure, & another 6% are 90 days late. We have 55% of the remaining ARMS set to reset within 12 months, so more "fallout" is expected, to drive down prices even more, AND YOU WILL NOT SEE THIS IN THE MEDIA. (which is supported by lots of realtor ads, etc.) (www.federalreserve.gov) I have always wanted to be a stockbroker. But with the falling dollar, I don't know if any paper assets based upon the US dollar will hold their value in light of all recent events. Does anyone know of any brokerage firms who are actually making money for their clients in this BEAR market? They'd have to have access to foreign exchanges, & metals. I WOULD EVEN STRUCTURE MY A/Cs TO ONLY MAKE $ IF MY CLIENTs MAKE $.(anyone doing it?)

Can unsecured creditor's take home or place lien? Let's say I pay off my deceased mother's home, thus taking over ownership and getting deed in my name. Could a creditor come after me for her debt since it was her home? This home is in Georgia. Also, there is equity in the home based on fair market value but it would only sell to cover the loan. There are no liquid assets left to pay the mortgage. Yes, I will be talking to a lawyer about this so no need to tell me that. Thank You.

Unsecured salary loan? I got an unsecured salary based loan from the bank,now am not working at the moment and i dont have any other source of income. I had some bad luck and lost everything including my car and i have no assets. I told them that i can only start paying when i get another job but they keep on calling asking me to pay something and threatening court.whats the worst that can happen.

Where can I find a personal loan that is interest only for 1 or 2 years with a repayment schedule after that? Most personal loans begin with repayment of principal on the very first payment date, 30 days after closing. But as a corporate lender having structured many different kinds of loans for big companies, I know they can be tailor-made, based on the situation and the need. Ideally, I'm looking for a "reducing revolving credit" that starts with an open revolving loan for some period of time allowing the borrower to draw down, repay, and reborrow, but then either begins to reduce in total credit availability after some period, or converts to a term loan with principal installments thereafter, due all at once (a bullet payment) or over time according to a pre-established schedule. This may be too sophisticated for the average consumer or retail bank, but I believe there are lenders out there who may provide a more creative structure. And I am not talking about a "sub prime loan" that would lend too much money based on ability to repay, or with escalation clauses that kick in and lead to outrageous and ruinous rates. This is a PERSONAL loan with the need upfront to put the capital into an earning asset and to use that asset to repay the loan, once it is fully operational and throwing off cash as planned. Do you know of a source where such financing might be found at the consumer or retail level? And this would not qualify as a Small Business Administration loan so please don't suggest that angle.

hard money loan question? I was visiting this hard money loan site and there was a sentence when the lender said this "We provide hard money loans strictly based on LTV (Loan-to-Value Ratio.)". Does this mean the lender doesnt require me the borrower to have good credit and many assets?

If the majority of the world sees this as the problem then why are Conservatives not listening? If the majority of people here and the majority in foreign countries say that the mistakes that were made were due to the Conservative policies of the United States during the past 8 years what do we tell them? Do we tell them that we made a giant error in de-regulating the banks too much, letting greed and excess infiltrate a system naturally inherent to these type of problems of greed in the first place. It was our policies that allowed for little if any oversight of these banks lending out loans based on little information and poorly gathered information that was not properly checked on. The regulations that we eliminated and opened loopholes in is what created the failure we now see. Our mistake was letting Wall Street watch itself and by de-regulating the things we needed to allow us to properly follow the money.and toxic bundled assets. Should we just acknowledge we were wrong instead of pushing these same policies on Americans? Is our problem our ideology in which we think a capitalist system should have no Govt involvement and that we believe the free market should be allowed to run free with no checks on it? How can we keep running on these ideas if America has seen them fail so badly? Should Conservatives present new ideas with more Govt. involvement in the financial sector or should it remain the same?

Disclosing all financials to bank for refinance? hello - our bank has agreed to reduce the terms of our mortgage based on financial and family hardship as our son has medical issues and we are unable to sustain our day to day living although we have our jobs and somehow struggle and make our payments. we have some savings around 100,000 in another bank which is the only savings we have/no other assets and we have kept it aside for our son's most important treatment. in order to reduce our monthly payments, our bank has asked us to submit all our bank financial statements. will showing them this savings impact our chances of loan modification or is it okay if we dont disclose to them the savings we have? please advice.

Do people who consider the credit crunch a "market failure" just not know what they're talking about? The problem resulted not from the free market but from the one area of the market that is completely centrally controlled - the supply of money and credit. The Fed after popping the NASDAQ bubble that it had created, didn't keep rates high long enough to suck up that surplus liquidity. Then after 9/11 it cut rates too far too fast and for too long. This is why gold doubled, oil tripled, metals quadrupled, and housing prices skyrocketed - - the more credit-based the commodity, the more inflated were the asset prices. Yes there were subprime loans and CRA loans but when people blame lenders and housing policies they cite lending practices and laws that allow credit to flow where it shoudn't - but it's also true that not much credit would have flowed there if the aggregate amount of credit hadn't been dramatically increased. And the Fed's sole job is to maintain the stability of the credit supply. It was because the credit supply was artificially expanded that those riskier loans were priced low enough that they could be made. How do I know this? Those loans didn't come at the expense of good loans. It was not the case that fewer good loans were made. It's just that bad loans were made too. At prices reflecting low credit spreads. If there had been a stable amount of credit, that many loans couldn't have been made - that much money couldn't have been loaned out. The lenders would have had to choose between good and bad loans and thus the pricing on the bad loans would have been much higher, and most of them would have been priced to the point where they couldn't have been made. With more credit funneled toward real estate, demand was artificially increased and real estate prices started skyrocketing. Suppliers responded to what looked like increased demand by increasing supply, which they could do quickly because their floating borrowing rates were artificially low - they simply read what the price mechanism was telling them, but the price mechanism was distorted by the Fed. When the Fed reversed course as it had to, the bubble burst. How is a massive failure of central banking something you can credibly blame on the free market, "savage" or otherwise? It's easier than you think because this is the umpteenth such bubble. What needs to happen? Easy - Bernanke needs to morph into Volcker - raise rates to where they should have been all along, suck up all that surplus liquidity, let the correction happen instead of just prolonging it, and then we can start rebuilding.

what is the best route, financially, for a divorce settlement? writing my own divorce papers, to save $ in lawyer fees. so i can't consult one on this subject, yet (had 1 mtg, more req. retainer) . i'd like answers based on knowledge/exp. no judgemental notes, plz. thanx. in dividing assets: he gets the house, a rental we own (split proceeds for both 50/50 if sold) , his car, asking for no retirement benefits from him (i don't work, stay at home mom to 3 & student). i'm moving to an apt., asking for state reg. child support, $500 alimony, (expires in 3 yrs to help me finish school, get the kids in school, get a job). taking an auto loan off his hands. my thng: i get 2 annuity lumpsum pymnts in 5 & 7 yrs of a decent $ amt (from a childhood accident). @ consult mtg atty told me he is entitled to part. if i'm not asking for retirement (military...eligible?), houses & by that time not getting ali., do i have to legally share that $ w/ him? what if i am remarried or he is? i got the 1st setlement when i was 13, these are the last 2 pymnts.

Is this the kind of Change Obama will bring? With the FDIC seizing banks left and right from lenders who took on too many risky loans, should Obama have fired Penny Pritzker from his finance committee? From American Spectator: BREAKING THE BANK The woman whom Barack Obama is crediting for organizing the Barbra Streisand fundraiser it held last night in Hollywood is also partially responsible for one of the greater banking collapses in American history. Penny Pritzker, Obama's national finance chair was, with her family, the half owner of Superior Bank, which was shut down in 2001 by the FDIC after it had lost nearly all of its more than $2 billion of assets on bad loans to high-risk borrowers, federal regulators said. Pritzker has avoided media attention over the past week as reporters covering the Obama campaign sought comment on the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debacle. Pritzker also served as finance chair for Obama's Senate run, and supported him during his time in the Illinois state legislature. One reason Pritzker may have been enamored with Obama was his willingness to press legislation that loosened state regulatory policies for land developers and multi-family property owners. Pritzker is also known to be close to Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, a former political operative for Mayor Richard M. Daley, and the CEO of a housing and development company based in Chicago with ties to Obama going back to his Illinois legislature days. Jarrett, by the way, is now considered to be the top candidate to fill Obama's Senate seat should he be elected President.

Why is Obama in bed with so many failed business types and crooks? Penny Pritzker, Obama's national finance chair was, with her family, the half owner of Superior Bank, which was shut down in 2001 by the FDIC after it had lost nearly all of its more than $2 billion of assets on bad loans to high-risk borrowers, federal regulators said. Pritzker has avoided media attention over the past week as reporters covering the Obama campaign sought comment on the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debacle. Pritzker also served as finance chair for Obama's Senate run, and supported him during his time in the Illinois state legislature. One reason Pritzker may have been enamored with Obama was his willingness to press legislation that loosened state regulatory policies for land developers and multi-family property owners. Pritzker is also known to be close to Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, a former political operative for Mayor Richard M. Daley, and the CEO of a housing and development company based in Chicago with ties to Obama going back to his Illinois legislature days. Way too much hanky-panky for me to ever vote for this crime family.

IS Time to Sell BOA ? WASHINGTON (AFP) - - The US government extended a new lifeline Friday to Bank of America, injecting another 20 billion dollars in capital and guaranteeing shaky assets to help it weather the grinding financial crisis. ADVERTISEMENT The bailout for the largest US bank by assets is aimed at helping Bank of America absorb broker Merrill Lynch, which faced a meltdown last year as the credit crunch intensified. A joint statement by the US Treasury, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said the government would invest 20 billion dollars in the bank, on top of a 25-billion-dollar injection last year under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Additionally, the government "will provide protection against the possibility of unusually large losses" on 118 billion dollars of assets backed by residential and commercial real estate loans, the market for which has been frozen due to the housing meltdown and credit crisis. The banking giant will pay the government a dividend of eight percent on the investment and agree to limits on executive compensation. The bank also agreed to implement a "mortgage loan modification program" to limit foreclosures that threaten to undermine a recovery in the housing sector. The announcement came hours before BofA released its fourth-quarter earnings. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank posted a loss of 1.7 billion dollars, after managing a profit of 268 million dollars a year earlier. The results stem from soaring credit costs and massive write-downs. Merrill Lynch, which was not included in the results, lost over 15 billion dollars in the quarter. The bailout comes with US authorities scrambling to avert a further collapse in the banking sector that could deal another blow to an ailing economy. A similar deal was announced last year with Citigroup. "The objective of this program is to foster financial market stability and thereby to strengthen the economy and protect American jobs, savings, and retirement security," the Treasury said. But some analysts were skeptical and Bank of America shares fell 13.7 percent to 7.18 dollars after a dive of 18 percent on Thursday. "These measures have seemingly removed a worst-case scenario for equity holders, but they show just what a mess Bank of America has managed itself into," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com. Even as other banks reeled, Bank of America appeared healthy enough to buy up troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial last year as well as Merrill Lynch. But Robert Brusca at FAO Economics said the bank "simply bit off more than it could chew." Peter Cohan of Peter Cohan & Associates consulting firm said Bank of America rushed to buy Merrill without a full understanding of its troubles. "The numbers clearly show that without Merrill, Bank of America would be in relatively good shape, but with it, Bank of America is a financial basket case," Cohan said. Standard & Poor's said it could downgrade the bank's credit rating and warned that BofA faces the possibility of "further write-downs" from Countrywide and Merrill Lynch. BofA has already received 25 billion dollars in capital injections from the TARP, a US financial bailout fund set up to help rescue mainly banks reeling from financial turmoil triggered by a home mortgage meltdown. That included 10 billion dollars for Merrill Lynch. Under the latest agreement, BofA will absorb the first 10 billion dollars of losses and the US taxpayers will cover the next 10 billion. Any additional losses will be shared 90 percent by the US government and 10 percent by BofA. The government aid comes as the banking sector remained in deep trouble from the real estate meltdown and subsequent credit crunch that has led to around one trillion dollars in worldwide losses. Citigroup announced Friday a quarterly loss of 8.29 billion dollars and said it was splitting into two businesses in an effort to restore profitability. Bank of America on September 15 announced it was buying Merrill Lynch for 50 billion dollars in stock, scooping up the Wall Street icon battered by the housing and credit crisis. While giving a lifeline to a troubled Wall Street giant, the deal created the world's largest financial services company. The announcement came at the close of a tumultuous weekend that saw Wall Street rival Lehman Brothers seek bankruptcy protection, leading to an intensification of the crisis in the global financial system. They cant even survive after M&A with bad debts out b4 they M&A so a waste of taxes-payer $ . so i have a chance to sell it . I not invest in all companies that have been bailed out is as good as they dead.

do you really think 700 billion can stop this ? if you dont like reading dont answer? Martin D. Weiss writes: The proposal before Congress for a $700 billion mega-bailout is far too little to repair the damaged debt and derivatives markets ... and, at the same time, far too much for investors and taxpayers who must put up the money. How big is the problem, really? In the past, Congress has repeatedly asked us for data and analysis on these issues, and we have provided it in Congressional testimony and white papers. In that same tradition, below is a partial first draft of a white paper we will be submitting on this matter: Why the Magnitude of the Mortgage, Debt and Derivatives Crisis Overwhelms The $700 Billion Bailout Plan Now Under Discussion in Congress (Partial First Draft of Weiss Research's Submission to Congress and Federal Banking Regulators) Last week, the President, the Treasury Secretary and the Federal Reserve Chairman announced their view that Congress must get to the root of the debt crisis in America by providing a broad solution that truly puts the crisis to an end. However, the magnitude of the crisis afflicting mortgages, other debts and derivatives clearly overwhelms the $700 billion bailout proposal currently under discussion. To better understand the magnitude of the problem ... First and foremost, we urge members of Congress to disregard data based on the list of troubled banks maintained by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The FDIC's list has only 117 institutions with $78 billion in assets. But given the current proposal for a $700 billion bailout, it is clear that Administration officials tacitly recognize that the FDIC list understates the problem. There are many more financial institutions at risk or in need of assistance with their toxic paper. How many more? We believe a more accurate count comes from our analysis of: (a) the derivative risks assumed by major banks, (b) the mortgage holdings of the largest regional banks and (c) all banks and thrifts with TheStreet.com's financial strength rating of D+ (weak) or lower. Based on this analysis, we believe: 1,479 FDIC member banks are at risk of failure with total assets of $2.4 trillion. In addition, 158 savings and loans are at risk with $756 billion in assets. In sum, banks and S&Ls at risk have assets of $3.2 trillion, or over 36 times the assets of banks on the FDIC's watch list. These numbers alone indicate that the $700 billion contemplated for the bailout plan could be severely inadequate. Second, Congress should seriously consider the facts in the Federal Reserve's Second Quarter Flow of Funds Report . In this report, released on September 18, just one day before the President announced the Administration's $700 billion bailout proposal, the Fed estimates that the nation's mountain of interest-bearing debts has now grown to $51 trillion. Plus, it provides critical additional insights regarding the breadth of the debt problems facing the nation, as follows: 1. The ownership of residential mortgages is dispersed among many different sectors. There are $12.1 trillion in mortgages on single- and multi-family homes in the United States. But these are not held only by banks and S&Ls. They are spread among a wide variety of institutions and individuals, all of which could have similar claims to federal assistance. Specifically ... 2. Fannie, Freddie and GSAs are still at risk. As a first priority, the plan would have to expand the recently announced bailouts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in order to properly secure the residential mortgages held by government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and agencies (GSAs). These now total $5.4 trillion, according to the Fed. Plus ... 3. Private sectors and local governments also own residential mortgages in substantial quantities. The bailout plan would also have to cover: Investment banks and others that issue asset-backed securities, now holding $2.1 trillion in mortgages, Nonbank finance companies ($426 billion), Credit unions ($332.4 billion), State and local governments ($159 billion), Life insurance companies ($61.6 billion), plus ... Private pension funds, government retirement funds and households themselves. 4. Commercial mortgages are now going bad as well. The current debate seems to focus exclusively on residential mortgages. But at many regional and super-regional banks, much of the risk is currently in the commercial mortgage sector, where recent data denotes many of the same difficulties as the residential sector. To truly get to the root of the problem, Congress cannot exclude these either. There are $2.6 trillion in commercial mortgages outstanding in the United States. As with residential mortgages, these are also dispersed widely beyond the banking sector — $644 billion held by issuers of asset-backed securities, $263 billion held by life insurers, $65 billion at nonbank finance companies and $37 billion at Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). 5. Mortgages are less than hal 5. Mortgages are less than half the problem. Although it is true that the current debt crisis in America originated in the mortgage market, it is not accurate to say that the root of the crisis is strictly in this one sector. Rather, the debt crisis has multiple and varied roots, with excessive risk-taking in credit cards, auto loans and virtually every other form of private-sector debt. There are currently $14.8 trillion in mortgages in America. But beyond mortgages, there is another $20.4 trillion in consumer and corporate debt. This means that mortgages represent only 42% of the private-sector debt problem in America. 6. Local governments are a higher priority. Overlooking the debt problems of state and local governments would also be a big mistake. Indeed, given the essential nature of their services, including the pivotal role they play in homeland security, it could be argued that their credit challenges take priority over those faced by banks, S&Ls and Wall Street firms. Currently, the Fed estimates $2.7 trillion in municipal securities outstanding, most of which have been reliant on a bond insurance system that remains on the brink of collapse. In short, to truly get to the root of the problem as the President is requesting, Congress' new bailout plan would have to cover a lot of ground beyond just the banking industry. Third, we urge Congress to get a better handle on the enormous build-up of derivatives in America, beginning with a thorough review of the OCC's Quarterly Report on Bank Trading and Derivatives Activities, First Quarter 2008. Although derivatives were originally designed to help reduce risk, it is widely acknowledged that their volume and usage have reached such an extreme level that they have become, instead, speculative bets which greatly increase the systemic risk to financial global markets. And although regulators have few details about these derivatives, most officials now realize they may be at the root of the panic th officials now realize they may be at the root of the panic that began to spread throughout the global banking system in the wake of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy on September 15. Therefore, it should be well understood by all members of Congress that, to ward off possible renewed waves of global panic, the bailout plan would also have to address the following facts: The notional (face value) amount of derivatives held by U.S. commercial banks is $180.3 trillion. The credit exposure to derivatives (risk of default by trading partners) is $465 billion, up 159% from one year earlier. U.S. banks with the greatest credit exposure to derivatives are HSBC (with $7.21 in risk per dollar of capital), JPMorgan Chase (with $4.11 in risk on the dollar), Citibank ($2.79), Bank of America ($2.15) and Wachovia ($.77). Further, after Bank of America's merger with Merrill Lynch, which reports $4 trillion in derivatives, and after a possible Wachovia merger with Morgan Stanley, which holds $7 Martin which holds $7.1 trillion, these exposures will likely be intensified. Congress must go into its deliberations with its eyes open, recognizing that any bailout plan that does not include these banks and other players in the vast market for derivatives could leave a gaping hole through which financial panic can spread again. Fourth, for all of these debts and derivatives, a bailout plan would, in normal circumstances, require (a) realistic estimates of the amount that is already delinquent or in default, and (b) a reasonable forecast of how many more are likely to go bad in a continuing recession. However, the only estimates currently available are those reflecting actual write-downs recognized by large, global financial institutions — over $500 billion. That figure does not include the thousands of other institutions which are among the sectors we cite above. Nor does it include losses incurred but not yet properly booked — let alone losses not yet incurred. To date, no To date, no government agency is providing such estimates. But without them, any budgetary planning for this bailout is next to impossible. No one will know, except in retrospect, if the bailout truly removes the cancerous debts from the economic body or leaves most of them to fester and spread. In sum, there should be no illusion that the $700 billion estimate proposed by the Administration can actually provide anything approaching a total solution to America's current debt crisis. It could very well be just a drop in the bucket. Too Much, Too Soon for the U.S. Government Securities Market There should also be no illusion that the market for U.S. government securities can absorb the additional burden of a $700 billion bailout without traumatic consequences. In its Fiscal Year 2009 Mid-Session Review, Budget of the U.S. Government , the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) projects the 2009 federal deficit will rise to $482 billion. However, this projection was made before the bailouts of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG and before the White House's $700 billion bailout proposal. Even assuming no budget overruns beyond the $700 billion, these bailouts threaten to double or even triple the federal deficit. The OMB seeks to minimize its $482 billion deficit projection by stating it will be only 3.3% of estimated GDP, which it deems manageable. However, after adding the cost of announced and proposed bailouts — approximately $1 trillion — the federal deficit could be between 8% and 10% of GDP. No reasonable person could deny that such a dramatic increase in the deficit will have an equally dramatic impact on interest-rate levels. To attract investors, the U.S. Treasury will have to pay much higher rates ... and these higher rates, in turn, will drive up rates on mortgages, credit cards and nearly all borrowing. In light of these facts, we have four recommendations: Recommendation #1. Before passing any bailout package to patch up certain sectors of the debt markets, consider the impact of massive government borrowing on all sectors of the debt markets, and on the value of the U.S. dollar. History proves that far less dramatic increases in government borrowing have crowded out millions of private borrowers, driven up interest rates and greatly damaged the economy as a whole. So it's reasonable to assume that the massive increases in government borrowing required for a bailout of this magnitude would put unprecedented upward pressure on interest rates, greatly aggravate the debt crisis, sink the U.S. dollar, and cause even more damage to the economy than in the past. To avoid these consequences, we recommend that Congress reject the Administration's $700 billion bailout proposal and shelve any related legislation, moving forward instead with our recommendation #4 below. Recommendation #2. If, despite the risk of causing much higher interest rates and a sharp decline in the dollar, Congress is determined to pass legislation creating a new government agency to buy up bad debts as proposed, we recommend that the new agency pay strictly fair market value for those debts, including a substantial discount that reflects their poor liquidity. Further, it should be clearly understood that: Due to the recent sharp declines in market values and market liquidity, many of the bad debts on the books of U.S. financial institutions are currently worth only a fraction of their face value. When the government buys these debts at fair market value, it will still leave most of these institutions with severe losses. Many of these institutions do not have the capital to cover their losses and will fail despite the bailout. Recommendation #3. Congress must clearly disclose to the public that: There are several significant risks to the financial system that the There are several significant risks to the financial system that the government is unable to address with any new legislation, including defaults on other large debts and derivatives, which could trigger a chain reaction of corporate failures. Whether the bailout legislation is adequate or not to stem the debt crisis and prevent financial panic, the government will need to prioritize the protection of its own credit and seek to ensure the stability of the U.S. dollar. The private sector, in turn, will need to handle any further spread of the debt crisis largely without government financial assistance. Recommendation #4. Rather than focusing primarily on a safety net for imprudent institutions and speculators, Congress should devote more effort to bolstering the safety nets for prudent individuals and savers. These include: The FDIC, which insures bank depositors, but has inadequate funding and staffing to handle a large wave of bank failures. SIPC, which supposedly covers SIPC, which supposedly covers brokerage firm accounts, but, in practice, does not compensate investors for losses in most circumstances. State guarantee associations, which promise to cover insurance policyholders, but which have repeatedly failed to live up to their promise when large insurers fail. Unless Congress approaches its monumental task with enormous caution, it could produce the worst of both worlds: A failure to resolve the current debt crisis plus the creation of a new set of crises that merely spread the panic and prolong the pain.

credit crisis and power? Since the beginning of this credit crunch I always surmised that there's something odd about it all. The governments and banks clearly knew about this crisis for at least a year ahead - balance sheets and asset valuations, especially on such a scale, cannot be anything less than obvious... Even those based on hedging and heavy gearing. I don't want to slip into conspiracy theory - but the past few weeks has made it exceedingly hard to do so... The buyups and mergers of huge banks, the issuing of vast amounts of bonds, and government-bank binding loans, and government buyups on unprecedented scales... Then the sudden fall of Washington Mutual after Lehman's... It genuinely feels very unreal - more unreal than 9/11. That alongside increased policing, less regulated policing, increased and barely regulated surveillance, issuing of ID cards in the shadow of new 'data protection' laws that will centralise our identities... And all happening more swiftly than I ever surmised it might several years ago. Would it be 'schizo' of me to wonder if there's more behind this global crisis than meets the eye? There seems to be a lot of rearrangements going on, reconfiguring of vast economic and political systems - and only to the benefit of the already powerful. Is it just childish conspiracy theory in the grip of paranoia? Doesn't this credit crisis seem a bit too unreal, and too theatrical, to you???

would a business and all its contents including garage/deli stand for the down payment of a loan? we are purchasing this business which is a great investment. The asking price is quite large and we really dont want to put our home up for collateral. The business is a gro/deli/postoffice/garage/gas station together plus a small trailor park. 6-8 trailers on 2 acres of property. what I would like a little more insight on is if the asking price is 550,000 will all of these assets stand as the collateral or will be have to still come up with some cash down. Someone said that if it appraised for the value we would not have to have a down payment also that it would be based on the average income that the business brings in. Can anyone help answer my questions.. We are in the waitng process and its nail bitting!

In the balance sheet , I have these items:? Fixed assets (land & buildings , Deprecn proven , plants and machinery, Deprecn proven ) , Current assets( stock & WIP , trade deptors , other deptors , bank & cash ) , Total assets , Current liabilities (trade creditors , dividends payable , taxation , bank overdraft) , total assets less current liabilities, loans due after 1 year , Net Assets , Capital & Reserves ( Ord. Share Capital £ 1, retained profits , revaluation reserve) , share holders funds. And the Income statement includes :Turnover , operating costs (Depreciation -inc,revaluations,lease of plant and machinery, other depreciation , COGS.(extract) , operating profit , interest payable, profit before tax, taxation , profit after tax, dividends, retained profit for year. based on these information , i need to calculate DIVIDEND YIELD which is Dividend per share/Market price per share Question is how can i calculate dividend per share and market price per share? I also need to know how can i calculate pref dividend ? earning per share?interest charges?net cash flow from operations?total depts?no of shares in issue? and no of Ord.y shares in issue during the year? THANK YOU

grade my essay please? The Struggles Of Education Getting a college education is not so hard these days with all the grants and loans available to students; however, some parents seem to resent their children for receiving a higher education than they did and friends feel as if they can no longer relate to each other. Also to add to the stress of leaving your family and friends behind, the children of the working class has to deal with the difference in which the teachers treat them and the middle class chidren. In parts of today’s society having a good education is not always looked upon as a good asset. The article “The Shock Of Education: How College Corrupts” by Alfred Lubrano talks of the distance that happens among children and their parents when the child is rising above the parents on a academic level. Lubrano also talks about how striving for a higher education puts a strain on one’s friendships and relationships when they are getting ahead of their friends and family. Lubrano is communicating to the readers the harshness one has to endure for education when coming from a working class family. He speaks of the teachers treating the children different based on their social and economic standings. The sad truth is that this prejudice against the children of the working class families is present in our society today. When a child is rising above the other members of the family on an intellectual scale, it is often difficult for the parents, because they feel as though they are less in value than their children, which causes hostility between the parent and child. As in the case with my mother, who got pregnant and dropped out of school in the seventh grade, and as a matter of fact no one from my mother’s side of the family completed high school. Therefore, my mother not sending me to school was not such a big deal. Needless to say, when I began pursuing my education she told me” So now you think you are better than all of us.” Though it was not the case at all, she felt as if I believed her life was a disgrace and she was jealous of her own daughter. This also happens in all sorts of relationships. For example, If you grow up in a low income neighborhood it is most likely that most of the people are not going to make it out to a better life. Therefore, all the friends you make, and the guy or girl you are dating, the chances are if one person from the group is making it out, the rest are not going to. When Lubrano describes his friend’s situation and says in” Rita’s decision to go to Syracuse didn’t sit well with the boyfriend who was probably always going to remain working class (Signs of life in the U.S.A 550).”As in this quote when one person wants something that the other does not want it is hard to maintain a relationship. In a similar situation, even before I received my GED I knew I wanted to go to college and make something of myself; however, the guy I was dating did not want anything more from life, which caused a huge problem and resulted in us going our separate ways. Wanting more out of life sometimes separates one from the one’s they love. On top of dealing with the gap between oneself and their family, and the lose of their friends, many students from a working class family, or a not so dazzling educational background, do not receive the correct treatment from teachers. Many teachers tend side with children from better backgrounds such as this quote refers to, “Teachers treat the working class and the well-to-do differently this work demonstrates, with the blue-collar kids getting less attention and respect( Signs of life in the U.S.A 549).” Teachers often just assume that since a student is of a working class family or has a bad school record that they are bad students. I have dealt with this problem myself; I remember my first semester of college I had to take developmental classes, due to the fact I never went to school, I think I will always remember the way the writing teacher treated everyone in my developmental class. All of her regular class students, whenever they would see her in the hall they would gather around and talk to her, she in return would be pleasant and attentive to them. Therefore, they all adored her. Whereas for us, the developmental class, since the very first day she talked down to us, whenever we asked her for help, she would not help us. She just figured we were some stupid kids that did not pay attention in school. She did not even try to find out why we were there. In my case, she did not even care to know I had never been to school before and that was why I was in a developmental class. Many teachers like to cater to those they see as “smart” and forget the rest. With so much going against the child from the working class family, it is a wonder people expect more from them. If teachers and “middle class” people want to look down on the child from the working class, they should put themselves in their position. Then maybe they would have more respect for those chi

debt problem/ Banckruptcy? I have about 45k in credit card debt and 30k in student loans.I have aquired most of my credti card debt based on limited time low interest rates, the problem is that next month most of them will go on much higher rates and I will not be able to make my payments on them due to my unemployment situation. I do not have any asset or property exept my car, a friend of mine suggested that I might want to consider chapter 7 but I need to know if there are any other options that I can excerside befor I want to consider banckruptcy? Thank you ,

can you guys really make a million by saving money by every age? Strategies for saving at every age. The road to $1 million starts early, but there's hope, and help, for late bloomers. Choose your age category below to see how much you need to save each month to accumulate $1 million by age 65. You'll also find strategies to fit retirement saving into the rest of your life. At age 25, you're starting from scratch. At ages 35, 45 and 55, we assume you already have money in savings on which you're earning 8% annually. Even if you can't save quite this much now, our step-by-step guide will help you set priorities for every stage of life. HOW TO SAVE A MILLION AT AGE 25 You've Saved: $0 To reach one million by age 65 you need to save $286 per month. Successful Savings Strategies You're just starting your career, so this is your chance to build a solid financial foundation. Time is on your side. Contribute enough to your company 401(k) plan to capture your employer match. If you don't have a retirement plan at work, fund an IRA. You'll be investing for 30 years or more, so you can afford to keep 100% of you account in stocks. Pay down credit cards and other high-interest debt. That will free up money to save for a house. Set up an emergency fund equal to three to six months of take-home pay. Stash it in a readily accessible account in an online bank that pays interest of 4% or more. HOW TO SAVE A MILLION AT AGE 35 You've Saved: 0$ To reach one million by age 65 you need to save $671 per month. If You've Saved: $50,000 To reach one million by age 65 you need to save $304 per month. Successful Savings Strategies You may be starting a family or preparing to buy a home. Balance you short-term needs with long-term savings goals. Although you have added responsibilities, don't neglect retirement. Aim to save 15% of your gross income (including an employer match in your 401(k). If one parent leaves work to care for the kids, consider opening a spousal IRA. Shift your assets to 90% stocks and 10% bonds. Invest in a 529 college-savings plan. Many states offer a tax deduction for your contribution, and qualified distributions are exempt from federal taxes. HOW TO SAVE A MILLION AT AGE 45 You've Saved: 0$ To reach one million by age 65 you need to save $1,698 per month. If You've Saved: $50,000 To reach one million by age 65 you need to save $1298 per month. If You've Saved: $100,000 To reach one million by age 65 you need to save $861 per month. Successful Savings Strategies You may be juggling the needs of a growing family and aging parents, but don't take a break from retirement savings. You can contribute up to $15,500 to a 401(k) or similar workplace-based retirement plan this year or $5,000 to an IRA. Roll over retirement savings from previous jobs into an IRA. Adjust your asset allocation to 80% stocks and 20% bonds. Your kids can get grants or loans for college, but there's no financial aid for your retirement. Don't put your kids' college costs ahead of retirement. HOW TO SAVE A MILLION AT AGE 55 You've Saved: 0$ To reach one million by age 65 you need to save $5,466 per month. If You've Saved: $50,000 To reach one million by age 65 you need to save $4,859 per month. If You've Saved: $100,000 To reach one million by age 65 you need to save $4,253 per month. If You've Saved: $200,000 To reach one million by age 65 you need to save $3,040 per month. Successful Savings Strategies Take advantage of your peak earning years to top off your savings. Add an extra $5,000 in catch-up contributions to your 401(k) savings and an extra $1,000 to your IRA. As you near retirement, reallocate your portfolio to 70% stocks and 30% bonds. Estimate your retirement expenses and your projected income. If you're coming up short, consider working a few more years. has anybody tried dong this? and got a million by age 65 and then when i turn 65 i am gonna look like a teenager again and i mean with plastic surgery

Do you feel like McBama sold America down the river last night? Yes, BOTH senators voted YES to pass the bills that is lacking (abbreviated): 1. THE PLAN MISSES THE KEY ISSUE – WE SIMPLY GIVE MONEY BACK TO WALL STREET AND CROSS OUR FINGERS THAT SUCH FIRMS WILL RETURN LIQUIDITY TO MARKETS. Financial institutions who receive government support are under no obligation whatsoever to use such funds to provide liquidity to the financial markets. Thus this aid package fundamentally misses the real problem and may not provide liquidity of trading we need. Instead, such financial institutions could simply distribute the cash to shareholders and partners, and provide no further help to the economy. 2. TAX LOSS CARRYFORWARDS WILL MEAN THEY DO NOT ACTUALLY PAY TAXES. Importantly, any tax levy in 5 years on troubled financial institutions will be avoided by such bailed out firms. Financial institutions holding troubled assets will incur TAX LOSSES today from the sale of such assets to government and thus will be exempt from paying taxes for very long periods of time as a result of tax loss carryforward rules (the amount of such tax losses will depend upon how they originally accounted for the assets in their financial statements - some firms may record massive tax write downs). In fact in 5 years they may still have sufficient tax shelter from the sale of these troubled assets that they will not be subject to the special tax on financial institutions. Ironically, the financial institutions that avoided these troubled assets and thus did not incur tax losses will be the ones who carry the burden of the new tax since they will not have tax shield available. 3. The total exposure of government is possibly $3.131-TRILLION - well in excess of $700 bn since this is simply an upper ceiling on the maximum outstanding at any one time (per notes on page 40 of the Act). The plan is designed to absorb substantially more troubled assets - as government sells such assets the proceeds from sale can then be used by the Secretary to buy more troubled assets. This establishes a "revolving" loan facility which can be used over and over again to buy troubled assets and then sell such assets. The true exposure of government debt is illustrated by the requested increase in the statutory limits of total debt allowed. This new bill requests to increase the allowed debt by $3.131-trillion (from $8.184-trillion to $11.315-trillion, per pp. 68, line 8). See http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/... for current wording and limit on government debt. 4. Credit card loans and car loans that are secured by a home loan (very common in USA) are included in the bail out package. See pp. 14, line 18. Any type of purchase on a credit line secured by a home can be acquired or guaranteed by the government. Since such loans are very common this means virtually any type of debt can be taken over by the Secretary. This package goes well beyond subprime mortgage loans. 5. There is practically no cap on what a financial institution can sell to the government. The cap has been set at $100,000,000 (pp 38, line 24). Thus a small number of big-time offenders can dump their bad debts onto government. If it is only a small number of firms that hold large amounts of such paper then the government should consider allowing them to fail. Government intervention is appropriate to stop systematic broadly-based risk. Not a handful of firms. The private sector could easily buy up a handful of firms with such troubled assets (e.g. JP Morgan easily absorbed WaMu and other institutions like Barclays are seeking opportunistic acquisitions) 6. There is no clarity on the type of deals the Secretary can structure. He has a free hand to deem what is appropriate - even if such deals are not at fair market value. pp 35 line 10 outlines the mechanism for how government takes an equity or debt position in the selling financial institution. Importantly, there is no mention or requirement for the Secretary to use fair market value in determining the value of debt bought by the government. As mentioned earlier the selling financial institutions can flip debt acquired from other struggling financial institutions to the government. There is no consent requirement for the Secretary from any oversight committee. Suggested improvements: (a) Have Secretary establish fair market value for consideration paid when buying, insuring or guaranteeing troubled assets. (b) Have Selling/insured financial institution indemnify government against any and all losses resulting from the troubled assets bought, insured or guaranteed. Thus the downside risk of loss will be mitigated. (c) Have government receive equity participation IN ADDITION to the indemnification. (d) Place limitations on distributions/dividends to shareholders until the loans are repaid. There is no limitation on dividends and other distributions to partners/shareholders from the financial institutions. Repayment of government obl Sugar: how so?

let's hope the new bailout bill addresses these issues? remeber folks: both Obama AND McCain backed this bill that falls far short on these issues: 1. THE PLAN MISSES THE KEY ISSUE – WE SIMPLY GIVE MONEY BACK TO WALL STREET AND CROSS OUR FINGERS THAT SUCH FIRMS WILL RETURN LIQUIDITY TO MARKETS. Financial institutions who receive government support are under no obligation whatsoever to use such funds to provide liquidity to the financial markets. Thus this aid package fundamentally misses the real problem and may not provide liquidity of trading we need. Instead, such financial institutions could simply distribute the cash to shareholders and partners, and provide no further help to the economy. 2. TAX LOSS CARRYFORWARDS WILL MEAN THEY DO NOT ACTUALLY PAY TAXES. Importantly, any tax levy in 5 years on troubled financial institutions will be avoided by such bailed out firms. Financial institutions holding troubled assets will incur TAX LOSSES today from the sale of such assets to government and thus will be exempt from paying taxes for very long periods of time as a result of tax loss carryforward rules (the amount of such tax losses will depend upon how they originally accounted for the assets in their financial statements - some firms may record massive tax write downs). In fact in 5 years they may still have sufficient tax shelter from the sale of these troubled assets that they will not be subject to the special tax on financial institutions. Ironically, the financial institutions that avoided these troubled assets and thus did not incur tax losses will be the ones who carry the burden of the new tax since they will not have tax shield available. 3. The total exposure of government is possibly $3.131-TRILLION - well in excess of $700 bn since this is simply an upper ceiling on the maximum outstanding at any one time (per notes on page 40 of the Act). The plan is designed to absorb substantially more troubled assets - as government sells such assets the proceeds from sale can then be used by the Secretary to buy more troubled assets. This establishes a "revolving" loan facility which can be used over and over again to buy troubled assets and then sell such assets. The true exposure of government debt is illustrated by the requested increase in the statutory limits of total debt allowed. This new bill requests to increase the allowed debt by $3.131-trillion (from $8.184-trillion to $11.315-trillion, per pp. 68, line 8). See http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode31/usc_sec_31_00003101----000-.html for current wording and limit on government debt. 4. Credit card loans and car loans that are secured by a home loan (very common in USA) are included in the bail out package. See pp. 14, line 18. Any type of purchase on a credit line secured by a home can be acquired or guaranteed by the government. Since such loans are very common this means virtually any type of debt can be taken over by the Secretary. This package goes well beyond subprime mortgage loans. 5. There is practically no cap on what a financial institution can sell to the government. The cap has been set at $100,000,000 (pp 38, line 24). Thus a small number of big-time offenders can dump their bad debts onto government. If it is only a small number of firms that hold large amounts of such paper then the government should consider allowing them to fail. Government intervention is appropriate to stop systematic broadly-based risk. Not a handful of firms. The private sector could easily buy up a handful of firms with such troubled assets (e.g. JP Morgan easily absorbed WaMu and other institutions like Barclays are seeking opportunistic acquisitions) 6. There is no clarity on the type of deals the Secretary can structure. He has a free hand to deem what is appropriate - even if such deals are not at fair market value. pp 35 line 10 outlines the mechanism for how government takes an equity or debt position in the selling financial institution. Importantly, there is no mention or requirement for the Secretary to use fair market value in determining the value of debt bought by the government. As mentioned earlier the selling financial institutions can flip debt acquired from other struggling financial institutions to the government. There is no consent requirement for the Secretary from any oversight committee. Suggested improvements: (a) Have Secretary establish fair market value for consideration paid when buying, insuring or guaranteeing troubled assets. (b) Have Selling/insured financial institution indemnify government against any and all losses resulting from the troubled assets bought, insured or guaranteed. Thus the downside risk of loss will be mitigated. (c) Have government receive equity participation IN ADDITION to the indemnification. (d) Place limitations on distributions/dividends to shareholders until the loans are repaid. There is no limitation on dividends and other distributions to partners/shareholders from the financial institutions. Repayment of government obl

please pleaseee help with Consumer Math B Final!! I need this grade!! please!!! part 2? 26. When your credit score is poor, your mortgage interest rate will be: (1 point) Higher Lower 27. A revolving credit account where the cardholder must pay the full account balance each month is called what? (1 point) a charge card a debit card a credit card a gift card 28. In a list of numbers placed in numerical order, the middle number is called what? (1 point) the average the median the difference the total 29. A FREE warranty from an automobile manufacturer that covers any and all mechanical problems for a specified period from the purchase date is generally called what? (1 point) Supplemental insurance Bumper-to-Bumper warranty Manufacturers extended warranty Sellers guarantee 30. A short-term financial goal is achieved within what time period? (1 point) 10-25 years 1-12 months 1-5 years 30 years 31. Either party involved in a contract can change typed passages by writing the changes on the document and then having both parties initial next to the change. (1 point) True False 32. If your credit score is low, or you don’t have established credit, a person that does have good or established credit will have to what? (1 point) co-sign on the debt assign the debt guarantee the debt A and C 33. What is the most important part of a contract to read? (1 point) The bold passages The fine print The period of performance The payment schedule 34. All charge card and credit card companies must send you a copy of the terms of your cardholder agreement if you request it in writing. (1 point) True False 35. When paying for medical care, the portion of the total cost you pay out-of-pocket for prescriptions and/or doctor visits (after insurance) are called medical: (1 point) Supplements Co-pays Premiums Deductibles 36. Supplemental insurance policies can pay you regular income for: (1 point) Long-term disabilities Injury disabilities Cancer treatment All of the above 37. The reduction of value of an asset (something of value) over time due to normal usage is called what? (1 point) Depreciation Appreciation Decay Inflation 38. What are considerations to think about when planning for retirement? (1 point) Time to retirement Planned quality of life Current savings All of the above 39. Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax are all involved in collecting information that results in a report of your: (1 point) Income Debt to Income Ratio Credit Score Interest Rate 40. The retail price of a brand-new automobile is also known as? (1 point) The wholesale value The sticker price The Kelly Blue Book price The dealer price 41. When you're retired or disabled, what government institution pays your regular monthly income based upon contributions you made while working? (1 point) The Social Security Administration Medicare Medicaid Elderly Assistance Institute 42. When you have a fixed amount of income each month, with no expectation of an increase or decrease in the amount you receive you're living on a what? (1 point) Variable income Fixed income Poverty line Low-income subsidy 43. The amount of goods and services you can buy with your money is referred to as what? (1 point) Inflationary spending Bartering Purchasing power The exchange rate 44. The simplest form of a loan contract between two individuals is called what? (1 point) Exchange agreement I.O.U. Borrowing agreement Lending agreement 45. If your down-payment on a home is GREATER than 20% of the total value, you'll generally have to purchase Personal Mortage Insurance. (1 point) True False 46. The metaphor for your main income sources during retirement is what? (1 point) The four-legged dog The three-legged stool The three-pronged attack The four-legged stool 47. Mortage loans have lower interest rates (and lower risk to lenders) than automobile loans, why? (1 point) The bank will always know where to find a house Automobile loans have smaller loan amounts Automobiles can be hidden from repossession A and C 48. The payment schedule on a mortage is created using what? (1 point) An amortization table A balance-due spreadsheet An equity schedule A principal repayment plan 49. If you're living "beyond your means" it's likely you'll eventually go bankrupt. (1 point) True False 50. The type of card that is linked to your checking account and doesn't accrue interest is called what? (1 point) a charge card a credit card a debit card a revolving card

Where can I get Commercial Real estate financing? I need a hard money loan or a asset based loan. Lenders from the nyc area please. I don't want any other type of loan(conventional loan).

ARE U A BULL OR A BEAR? WHAT TIME FRAME OF THE YEAR DO YOU THINK WE WILL BE IN A BULL MARKET? I THINK THE DOW WON'T BE ABOVE 9,500 TILL MID 2010, TILL THEN IT WILL STAY VOLATILE FOR MANY REASONS THAT ARE LISTED BELOW................. October: This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February. ~Mark Twain While there is much to celebrate this year, we find little cause for joy when looking at the financial markets. While many pundits have predicted that the final closing low in the bear market was reached on November 20th, we at Hurricane Capital Global Alpha Fund still believe there will be more red than green in the stock market in 2009. However, during every major bear market since World War II, the time to buy stocks was after a 30-50% decline in the S&P 500. So one may ask why we would recommend something different this time around. In the spirit of Christmas, we present twelve reasons why there is more downside to the stock market in 2009. 1. Valuation: Historically the price to earnings ratio (P/E) and price to book ratio (P/B) of a stock or index is considered cheap when trading at less than ten to one and one to one respectively. Stocks in the US bottomed with at a P/E of 7 in July 1982. During the Great Depression, Benjamin Graham wrote about how many of the greatest US companies would be worth more if liquidated for the cash on their balance sheets than kept. These stocks were trading below their net current assets. According to Bloomberg, the Russell 3000, which incorporates 98% of the market cap of us stocks, has a trailing P/E of 24.64 and a P/B of 1.68. Despite the massive drop that occurred in 2008, it would be tough to characterize the market as cheap from a historical perspective. 2. Housing Prices Crashing: The latest monthly reading of the Case-Shiller home price index from October 2008 showed a drop of 18.04% year over year, the largest drop on record. Amazingly, the drop in home prices is still accelerating two years into the decline. We are not going to find a bottom in the market until the pace of decline slows significantly. The massive tailwind the US consumer had been receiving from equity extractions has officially ended. 3. Debt Destruction: American consumers doubled household debt this decade while incomes stagnated. Consumers adding a trillion dollars in debt ever year on average for the first 7 years of the decade. Two trillion in consumer credit lines may be pulled in 2009, and home equity extractions are done for the foreseeable future. Another way to look at this is consumers would have a trillion dollar pullback in spending from 2007 levels if debt stops expanding. Debt destruction, which we believe is going to occur, means purchases would have to decline by over a trillion dollars. This would mark the first significant destruction of debt in the US since the 1930s. Growth of household debt to GDP did not start increasing again, until after World War II, over a decade later. 4. More Writedowns: We have another trillion or so of losses to take in the commercial real estate, jumbo mortgage, prime mortgage, leveraged loans, asset backed, corporate bond and credit default swap markets. This is assuming subprime and Alt-A are now priced correctly. On second thought, considering the debt destruction process, it could be more like 1.5 trillion. 5. US Corporate Earnings Collapse: Corporate earnings estimates are way too high. The consumer is dead due to the debt destruction, and there is another trillion (give or take) in losses yet to be realized across the financial sector. Almost all earnings growth in the first half of 2008 came from oil, basic materials and technology. Pricing has collapsed in all three areas. We have not yet seen the price collapse reflected in the EPS of companies in these industries. We will see it in 2009. Be wary of people touting cheap stocks based on future earnings. Trailing twelve month earnings on the S&P are $44.91 a share. The average analyst estimate on Bloomberg for the S&P 500 is currently $71.69 per share for 2009. There is absolutely no way companies will earn more in 2009 than in 2008. None. 6. Corporate Credit: Credit spreads are at levels where companies cannot fund themselves and survive. This is if companies can roll their debt at all. Much of the lending during the last 5 years was never meant to be paid back. Spreads on CCC bonds hit 40% in December. There are loan sharks who charge better rates than this. The debt markets are still closed for virtually everything high yield. 7. 12.5% Underemployment: And rising fast. 8. No Savings: The savings rate was under 2% from 2005-2007. Interest rates were low, and lots of spare money was funneled into the stock market. It always goes up if you buy and hold. Right? This was conventional thinking anyway. Many people now need this money to live on. This means

30 days Plan to resemble a command economy in 30 days: free market and progress for all? Rockwell's Thirty-Day Plan By Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. When Eastern Europe broke free in 1989, we all realized just how little thought had been given to the transition from socialism to capitalism. Mises had told us the collapse was coming, and we should have been prepared. As America comes to resemble a command economy, we need a transition plan here too. Yuri Maltsev proposed a "One-Day Plan" for the U. S. S. R. We're not in that bad a shape (yet), so we could do it in 30 days. DAY ONE: The federal income tax is abolished and April 15th is declared a national holiday. The 40% reduction in federal revenues is matched by a 40% cut in spending. The budget is still almost twice as big as Jimmy Carter's. DAY TWO: All other federal taxes are abolished, including the corporate income tax, the capital gains tax, the gasoline tax, "sin" taxes, excise taxes, etc. Businesses boom, and the few legitimate federal functions are funded with an inexpensive head tax. People who choose not to vote need not pay it. (Note: this was a mainstream view in the 19th century.) DAY THREE: The federal government sells all its land, freeing up tens of millions of acres for development, mining, farming, forestry, oil drilling, private parks, etc. The government uses the revenue to pay off the national debt and other liabilities. DAY FOUR: The minimum wage is reduced to zero, creating jobs for ex-federal bureaucrats at their market wage. All pro-union laws and regulations are scrapped. The jobless rate falls dramatically. DAY FIVE: The Bureau of Labor Statistics, like the rest of the Labor Department, is sent to that big hiring hall in the sky. Without detailed economic statistics, future economic planners will be blind and deaf. DAY SIX: The Department of Commerce is abolished. Big business has to make its own way in the world, without subsidies and privileges at the expense of its competitors and customers. DAY SEVEN: The plug is pulled on the Department of Energy. Oil and gas prices plummet. DAY EIGHT: All regulatory agencies, from the Interstate Commerce Commission to the Federal Trade Commission, are deep-sixed. Competition is legalized. DAY NINE: HUD is squashed like a bug. There's a buiding boom in cheap, private, apartments. DAY TEN: The interstate highways reopen as private businesses. Road entrepreneurs price travel according to consumer demand. Using modern technology, drivers get bills once a month. Credit risks-and drunks and dangerous drivers- aren't allowed on the road. Non-drivers no longer subsidize car owners. DAY ELEVEN: Government welfare is wiped out. Bums work or starve. The deserving poor find a cornucopia of private services designed to make them independent. Private charity explodes, as the American people, already the most generous in the world, find their incomes almost doubled, thanks to the tax cuts. DAY TWELVE: The Federal Reserve closes its open-market operations and stops protecting the banking industry from competition. But banks can now engage in all the non-bank financial activities previously forbidden to them. The business cycle, which is caused by monetary expansion through the credit markets, is liquidated. DAY THIRTEEN: Federal deposit insurance is scrapped. All insured deposits are redeemed from federal assets, which include the personal assets of high-level government employees. The threat of bank runs forces banks to keep 100% reserves for their demand deposits, and prudent reserves on all other accounts. There are no more inherently bankrupt banks propped up by the government, at taxpayer expense, and no more bail outs. DAY FOURTEEN: The shaky fiat dollar is defined in terms of gold, with the ratio determined by dividing the government's gold stock by all existing dollars on that day. DAY FIFTEEN: The federal government sells National and Dulles airports to the highest bidder, and stops all subsidies to other socialist airports around the country. All constraints on airline prices and service cease. It costs more to fly during peak hours than off-peak, but overall, air travel drops in price. DAY SIXTEEN: All government regulations that create and sustain cartels are abolished, including those for the post office, telephones, television, radio, and cable TV Prices plummet, and a host of new and unforeseen services becomes available. DAY SEVENTEEN: Centrally planned agriculture, as imposed by Hoover and Roosevelt, is repealed: there are no more subsidies, payments-in-kind, marketing orders, low-interest loans, etc. Farm prices drop. Entrepreneurial farmers get rich. Welfare farmers go into another line of work. The poor eat like kings. DAY EIGHTEEN: The Justice Department shutters its anti-trust division. Companies, big and small, are free to merge – up, down, or sideways. Stockholders can buy any other company, or sell their stock to anyone else. Marginal producers can no longer battle their competitors with bureaucratic weapons. DAY NINETEEN: The Department of Education flunks the constitutionality test, and is kicked out. Private charities set up remedial reading and writing programs for the former bureaucrats. Federally subsidized sex education and other anti-family programs go out of business. Local school districts become responsive to parents or close, pressured by a fast-growing private school sector (which many more parents can now afford). DAY TWENTY: All federal monuments are sold, in some cases to non-profit groups based on the Mt. Vernon Ladies Association, which owns and runs George Washington's home. The VFW buys the Vietnam memorial. There is much bidding for the Jefferson and Washington monuments. Nobody wants FDR's, so it's torn down and the land sold to a farmer. (With the federal government cut back to its constitutional size, much of Washington reverts to productive uses like agriculture, as in late 18th century.) DAY TWENTY-ONE: The computerized financial and political dossier maintained by the government on every American is erased. The public wanders through the federal offices to make sure, in a reprise of the East Berliners' visits to Stasi headquarters. DAY TWENTY-TWO: Equal rights are granted to all Americans, even members of non-victim groups. There is no affirmative action, no quotas, no set-asides, no public accommodations laws. Private property and freedom of association are fully restored. DAY TWENTY-THREE: The EPA is cleaned out, with all "clean air" and similar big-government laws repealed. Ten thousand lawyers leap from their balconies. Private property is established in air and water. Americans harmed by pollution are free to sue the polluters, who are no longer protected by the federal government. DAY TWENTY-FOUR: Americans are given complete freedom of contract, restoring rationality to malpractice and product liability law. DAY TWENTY-FIVE: Government scrambles for more assets to sell (i.e., the National Zoo, also known as Washington, D.C.) to pay off the liabilities of the privatized Social Security system. DAY TWENTY-SIX: Porno artists have to earn their own livings, as the National Endowment for the Arts tries to raise its budget through sidewalk painting sales. DAY TWENTY-SEVEN: Foreign aid is outlawed as unconstitutional, unjust, and un-economic. Foreign politicians have to steal their own money. The World Bank, IMF, and United Nations close their super- luxurious doors. DAY TWENTY-EIGHT: The American people are given the unrestricted right to keep and bear arms. DAY TWENTY-NINE: The Defense Department is reoriented towards defense. American troops come home from all around the world. We adopt a policy of armed neutrality, remembering the Founding Fathers' teaching that we could not have an empire abroad and a constitutional republic at home. DAY THIRTY: All tariffs, quotas, and trade agreements are put through the shredder. Americans can trade with anyone in the world, without barriers or subsidies. Japanese car prices drop an immediate 25%. In just 30 exhilarating days, we have established the outlines of free market. Radical? Maybe so. Me, I can't wait until Month Two. __________ Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., is president of the Mises Institute and editor of LewRockwell.com. rockwell@mises.org. This article appeared in The Free Market, March 1991. Please Read This : http://www.mises.org/story/2685

Should we give money to poor ppl? ZAKAAT (Alms) Ramadan is the month of giving and benevolence, the Messenger was more benevolent than a falling rain. Muslims are encouraged to emulate the Messenger of Allah (saas), to assess and pay their Zakaat during the month of Ramadan, thus combining the two pillars of Islam at the same time. Zakaat (alms) is the name of what a believer returns out of his or her wealth to the neediest of Muslims for the sake of the Almighty Allah. It is called Zakaat because the word Zakaat is from Zakaa which means, to increase, purify and bless. Who Should Give Zakaat The obligation of Zakaat is mandatory on every Muslim who possesses the minimum Nisaab, whether the person is man, woman, young, old sane or insane. Because the proof of Zakaat in Al-Qur`an and Sunnah is general and does not exclude young or insane. Allah (SWT) stated that: "Of their goods take alms so that thou mightiest purify and sanctify them..." (Al-Qur`an, 9: 103) Imam Ibn Hazim said that every Muslim young or old sane or insane needs to cleanse his or her wealth with Zakaat because of generality of the evidence. Anas bin Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: "Trade with the money of the orphan, lest it is eaten up by Zakaat." (At-Tabraani) In another Hadith `Amru bin Shuaib related from his grandfather that the Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever is entrusted with money of an orphan should trade with it and should not leave it sitting to be used up by charity." (Tirmidhi) The point of reference in these reports is that the Messenger (saas) urged the trustee on the estate of people who due to age or other reasons cannot manage their own financial affairs, to invest it in a business that will yield a return and make it grow until they are in a position to do so themselves. For, if proper investment is not made with an ophan's inheritance, it will be depleted by charity, thus leaving the orphan with little or nothing. The Nisaab The Lawgiver, Allah has prescribed the minimum amount that is obligatory for Zakaat in different ranges of properties, and that minimum amount is known as nisaab. The reason for nisaab is to ensure that no one is forced to give Zakaat out of what he or she does not have, and that no wealth goes without Zakaat. Nisaab is also an insurance against the tyranny of the state to tax the poor and or the neediest as is the case in many countries. Nisaab is a reference point for the average Muslim who is not sure whether he possesses the minimum wealth on which Zakaat is obligatory. The wealthy need not worry about the Nisaab. Zakaat is obligatory on their entire wealth and must be paid out at the end of financial year that they set for their Zakaat. The Nisaab will not be valid unless it fulfills two conditions: 1) The amount that has reached Nisaab must be the excess or surplus known as "faadil" from one's essential needs such as food, clothing, housing, vehicles, tools and machinery that is used in business. The essentials for living are exempted from Zakaat. Although what constitutes nisaab may change from one country to another, the amount that is needed for the basic needs of living in different countries is very similar, because the market place determines the prices, whether it is an official market or a non-official market. In the poorest countries people do without or live below the poverty standard, and that is why many go hungry or without basic essentials. However, we must realize that Zakaat is an act of worship (ebadah) like Salaat. The element of intention (niyyah) is necessary, and we should not overly rely on state agencies to determine for us the requirements of our religious duty. The so called the "consumption basket" (that is poverty level as determined the social security administration which are updated every fiscal year) may not be the same as what Islam considers minimum Nisaab. In the industrialized countries, the consumption basket may include items that are not necessarily essential, such as entertainment, extra clothing, variety of food, eating in restaurant or eating at home, owning more than one car as opposed to having three cars in the driveway, drinking water as opposed to juices, eating regular food or special "health" food. This is why I believe it is essential that we do not lose site of the fact that Zakaat is ebadah of wealth, like salaat and fasting. Non Muslims may consider all the things mentioned above as essentials while Muslims will not. Indeed, no Muslims in good standing will attempt to hide behind the label of consumption basket so as to evade Zakaat. Nisaab eliminates the possibility of injustice or unfair treatment of the Zakaat payer. To suggest that if we do not follow the rules of International Monetary Fund or the arbitrary figures of social security administration or department of agriculture we will be doing injustice to the Zakaat payer is ludicrous. 2) Nisaab must mature, that is the money is not liable for Zakaat unless it has remained a full year in the possession of a person. This is the understanding of the majority of the scholars. Imam Abu Hanifah (raa) said: "What should be considered is the existence of nisaab at the beginning and the end of the Zakaat year set by the payer". It does not matter if the nisaab money increases or decreases during the calendar year, as we will explain later. This condition does not include farm produce, for it is due on the day it is harvested. Allah (SWT) stated: "... But render the dues that are proper on the day that the harvest is gathered..." (Al-Qur`an, 6: 141) According to Imam Al-`Abadi, (raa) Zakaat money is of two kinds: one that by its nature can not be invested and Zakaat of this category is due on the day of harvest. This includes all the farm produce that is liable for Zakaat. The other is wealth that can be invested in the hope of a good return, like cash, gold or silver, because the opportunity is there that cash in one's hand can be invested for a good return. This includes currency investment, merchandise and livestock. Their Zakaat is not due until they have matured in one full year. The proof of this condition is the Hadith related by Ibn `Umar that the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: "He who acquires property is not liable for Zakaat on it till a year passes." According to Ibn Rushd (raa) this is the understanding of the majority of scholars, including the four rightly guided Khalifahs. Zakaat Of Salaries The condition of yearly term maturity applies to the commodities on which the Lawgiver said Zakaat is due, and this includes silver, gold, modern paper currency and livestock. Paper currency is analogous to silver, therefore, it takes the case of silver. There is no Zakaat on salary, earned income from wage earners or professionals or independent contractors until such money matures in a full year. There is no such thing as paying your Zakaat on the day you receive your paycheck. What the wage earner must know is that he or she can purify that money with charity (sadaqah) anytime they cash the paycheck. Allah (SWT) states: "And in their wealth and possessions (was remembered) the right of the needy, he who asks and he who (for some reason) was prevented (from asking)." (Al-Qur`an, 51: 19). We can deduce from the concept of "yearly maturity" of wealth on which Zakaat is due as encouraging, among other things, saving on the part of the Zakaat payer, and enhances the chances for eradicating poverty, because if the poor receives his rightful share of Zakaat there will be the possibility that he can take Zakaat money and invest it and become a Zakaat payer instead of recipient. This possibility will be lost if he receives few Zakaat dollars every month. To say that the wage earner just brings his check home and spends everything on necessities and lives from check to check with nothing left over means the person is eligible for Zakaat. Using farm produce as analogous to salary for Zakaat is wrong analogy. As Imam Al-`Abadi said, these are two different categories of money. $2, 500.00 cash can be invested by the person and expect a good return whereas it will be difficult to invest a bushel of corn. It can be traded as a commodity, which is what it is. This why we must know that analogy has rules that must be followed before it is applied. Certainly the jurists are unanimous that earned income, known as almal al-mustafadah, should either be added to existing money and wait until that amount reaches maturity and then give their Zakaat; or if there is no money on hand the time one possesses this money, he or she should wait one full year before assessing it for Zakaat. Zakaat is one of the five pillars of Islam and a vital element in the religion of Islam. It is the twin sister of Salaat. In Al-Qur`an, Allah (SWT) stated: "So establish regular Prayer and give regular Alms; and obey the Messenger; that you may receive mercy." (Al-Qur`an, 24: 56) Also, "...Establish regular Prayer and give regular Alms, and loan to Allah a beautiful loan...." (Al-Qur`an, 73: 20) "And they have been commanded no more than this: to worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith); to establish regular Prayer and to practice regular charity; and that is the religion right and straight." (Al-Qur`an, 98: 5) In a famous Hadith reported by `Umar Bin Khattab (raa), the Messenger of Allah (saas) responded to Jibreel (as) and said: "... Islam is to testify that there is no deity but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to perform the prayer, to pay Zakaat, to observe fasting in Ramadan, and to make pilgrimage to the house of Allah if you are able to do os...." (Bukhari, Muslim) There is consensus among Muslim scholars that it is mandatory on every believer who is financially able. Whoever knowingly denies this obligation, while he possesses the minimum amount, would be considered a disbeliever and a renegade from Islam. Whoever is stingy, or tries to cheat, is considered among the wrongdoers. Zakaat is mandatory on four categories of items. 1. Farm produce of seeds and fruits, such as wheat, barley, rice, dates, raisins, cocoa, pistachios, coffee, cashews. Allah (SWT) stated: "O you who believe, give of the good things which you have (honorably) earned, and of the fruits of the earth which We have produced for you..." (Al-Qur`an, 2: 267) Also: "... But render the dues that are proper on the day that the harvest is gathered..." (Al-Qur`an, 6: 141) Thus, these two verses and many others indicate that Zakaat is due on farm products that reached the minimum amount (nisaab). No farm product is liable for Zakaat unless it is a product that is considered as food and can be stocked or saved naturally without refrigeration. If the produce is perishable fruit, such as grapes, there is no Zakaat. But if one sells them they will pay their Zakaat on the profit earned when it matures. The nisaab is 612 kilos, which equals 1,346.40 lb. There is no Zakaat on produce that is less than this amount. If the farm produce or crops grow dependant on rainwater, or without any man's labor or irrigation, Zakaat due is one-tenth of the total. If it is grown by irrigation, then the Zakaat due is half of one-tenth of the total produce. There is no Zakaat on fruits like apples or oranges or vegetables which are perishable and need refrigeration for long storage, but they should be considered as any income if the profit earned from their sale reaches the amount of Zakaat, then Zakaat should be given. 2. Cattle, including camels, cows, sheep and goats, that are freely graze and are raised for trade and production. For Zakaat to be obligatory, the number must reach the nisaab. The nisaab of camels is five, of cows 30, of sheep and goats, 40. By freely grazing is meant the animal goes out to feed without the owner buying or bringing it feed or hay. If it is not a grazing animal, there is no Zakaat in the stock by itself. The stock will, however, be considered as articles of trade, then will be assessed for Zakaat as articles of trade when the profit earned from their sale reaches the amount by itself or in combination with other articles of the trade. 3. Merchandise and goods of trade and commerce. This includes anything that is obtained for the business of buying and selling: land, animals, food provisions, fabric, cars, spare parts, etc. This inventory is evaluated annually and assessed for Zakaat, whether the value is the same as the amount spent on it, more, or less. The owners of grocery stores, like any other business, must evaluate every item and give their Zakaat. Simple bookkeeping of inventory, orders, cash on hand, and credits, that is non-delinquent loans, will give one a good picture of the zakaatable assets. But if one is unable to account for everything in the store or shop, he should assess it according to his ability until he is sure that his conscience is clear. There is no Zakaat on what is within one's dwelling or property which includes food, drinks, furniture, houses, animals, cars, clothes and shoes. The only exception is gold and silver. There is no Zakaat on assets from rentals or lease, whether they are apartment units, taxi cabs, etc. That is, there is no Zakaat on the apartment units, buses or cars for rental like yellow cabs company or trucks for rental or equipments. But there is Zakaat on the proceeds or incomes from these rental assets if these assets reach the executable amount, either by themselves or in combination with other assets. Business Activities Many scholars are of the opinion that any business activity that brings any return to the entrepreneur or investor should be assessed for Zakaat. If the activity has a prescribed nisaab, such as gold, silver or paper currency, that nisaab is applied for Zakaat. But if the business has no declared nisaab, its nisaab is the nisaab of commerce, one reason being that most business activities are considered as commerce and because, in actual fact, it is not factitious business name, such as GM, Apple or GE that is taxed for Zakaat, it is the individual investor. We do not tax cooperations such IBM, Apple, GM or Rajihy Bank but the individual investors, share holders and owners of these corporations. Indeed, there are enough rules in Zakaat books to cover all types of business activity, be it cash or risk investment. If the business activity is analogous to commerce, it should be assessed the same rate as commerce. To subject the business to a different Zakaat rate of 10%, which is the rate of farm products instead of its correct rate of 2.5%, the rate of commerce, is unfair and unjustified. Besides, there is no proof, even a weak one, to justify this unfair arbitrary taxation. The difference between 2.5% and 10% is high. The Zakaat system is not like a state revenue collection, but Allah's `ebadah. However, if a business person decides to give more than 2.5% after deducting all the expenses including depreciation, Allah (SWT) will accept it from him. 4. Gold and silver, whether used for commerce or jewelry. Allah (SWT) states: "...And there are those who bury gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah: announce unto them a most grievous penalty. On the day when heat will be produced out of that (wealth) in the fire of hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads, their flanks and their backs. This is the (treasure) which you buried for yourselves: taste you, then, the (treasures) you buried." (Al-Qur`an, 9: 34-35). By hoarding is meant refusal to give it in the path of Allah, which includes Zakaat. In a hadith reported by Abu Hurairah (raa), the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: "For the owner or possessor of gold and silver who does not fulfill its obligation, on the Day of Resurrection it will be cast into sheets of fire and be branded on his forehead, side and back. Whenever it cools it is to be repeated for him in a day whose length is the length of fifty thousand years, until the judgement is rendered among the people." (Muslim). By its obligation is meant assessing it for Zakaat. In another version: "No possessor of a treasure who does not give its Zakaat." Zakaat is mandatory in gold and silver, irrespective of its form: in coins, raw or nugget, or jewelry for wearing, or for rent, because of the generality of evidence of Zakaat without any detail. In a report by Abdullah bin `Amr bin `Aas (raa), he related that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah with her daughter. On the daughter's wrist were two heavy gold bracelets. The Messenger asked her, "Do you pay Zakaat on this?" She replied, "No." The Messenger said: "Would it please you that Allah will encircle you with two bracelets of fire?" The reporter commented that she took them off and threw them down in front of the Messenger, and said: "They are for Allah and his Messenger." (Ahmed, Tirmidhi). The Messenger's wife reported that: "The Messenger entered into my house and saw in my hand a huge ring made of silver, so he asked, `What is this?' I replied, `I made them to beautify myself for you, O Messenger of Allah.' He inquired, `Do you give their Zakaat?' I said, `No,' or `Allah willing.' He said: `It will suffice you in the hellfire.'" (Abu Dawuud). Zakaat is due on gold when it reaches the amount of (nisaab), which is 20 Dinaar. According to a hadith, the Messenger said: "No Zakaat on you is due until it reaches 20 dinaar." (Abu Dawud) The Islamic dinaar (currency) is one mithqal, a unit of weight which weighs four and one quarter of a gram. Thus, the nisaab is 85 grams. This is equal to $30.00 US dollars. Similarly, there is no Zakaat on silver until it reaches five oqiyah, because the Messenger said: "There is no Zakaat on less then five oqiyah." (Muslim/Bukhari) Oqiyah is equal to forty Islamic dirhams. The nisaab is 200 dirhams. One dirham is equivalent to 595 grams. The zakaatable amount in both the gold and silver is a quarter of a tenth only. Paper Currency There is Zakaat on modern paper currency because it is equivalent to silver. During the early days of Islam, silver and gold were the currency of exchange minted into dirham for silver and dinaar for gold. Silver, not gold, had a larger circulation. Thus many scholars are of opinion that silver should be the standard for the paper currencies of today because that is more advantageous to the Zakaat payer, as it raises the minimum nisaab whereas gold lowers it. Although both metals are no longer circulated, they are still considered as a security against ever fluctuating paper money. Silver should be used as a standard to assess Zakaat annually, not paper currency, even if the currency is hard currency like the US dollar, Yen and Deutch Mark or Pound Sterling. Because these currencies are backed by political decisions that may not have anything to do with the economy, the value and strength of this paper money depends largely on all haram usury system of interest rates. Thus, the Zakaat payer should look up in the local newspaper's financial or business section for the price of silver which is currently about $3.82. per ounce. The nisaab, then, is 596 x .04=28.80 ounce multiplied by$3.82= 90.91. therefore. The nisaab is about $100.00, as of December 17, 1991. The nisaab should be based on the market value of the currency. If the money is hard currency, there will be no problem, but if the money is a non-marketable currency, like most currencies in the third world countries, the nisaab should be based on the black market, which realistically reflects the value of the currency on the money market. In any case, the silver rate should be used to assess the Zakaat. If the nisaab is determined, the zakaatable amount is 2.5%, or .025 multiplied by the amount. For instance, if the zakaatable amount is $56,000.00 it will be 56,000. x .025 = $1,400.00. Zakaat is due on gold, silver, and or paper currency, whether it is cash in hand or credit in the hands of borrowers. Zakaat is due on debts or cost of merchandize or rental money. If the borrower is a wealthy person that you know will pay back the debt, the lender (that is Halaal lending free of usury) should include that money in the assessment and give its Zakaat. However, one can delay Zakaat on a loan until he receives payment, then return its Zakaat for the past years that he was unable to assess for Zakaat. If the borrower is poor or is refusing to pay the debt, there will be no Zakaat on the money until the lender receives the money. Then he will assess it for Zakaat of one past due year, but there will be no Zakaat in the years before that. There is no Zakaat on precious stones such as diamonds, or metals such uranium, regardless of their value. Gold and silver, of course are assessed for Zakaat. However, if a person possesses any of these stones or metals, he should give their Zakaat like any other articles of trade. If a person possesses diamonds or any other precious stones as an edge against inflation or for ornaments, there will no Zakaat on these. How To Give Zakaat Zakaat may be assessed and returned in two ways: a) Make a record of all money earned, either daily or monthly, which has reached the nisaab and remains in the treasury. The Zakaat of that money would be due one year later on the same day the money was earned and reached nisaab. This means every month's income must be set aside and assessed for Zakaat and so will be the case for the rest of the months. For instance, the income of January, 1991 will be assessed for Zakaat in January, 1992, and the income of February, 1991 will be assessed for Zakaat in February 1992, etc. This method of assessing Zakaat is very difficult because it entails complete bookkeeping of daily or monthly earnings. b) The best way is to set a day or a month, preferably Ramadan, for your annual Zakaat return calendar, say Ramadan 1st, 1412. One year later on the same day Ramadan, 1413, your Zakaat is due and payable. Whatever is in the savings is due for Zakaat, regardless of whether all the amount in the savings reaches a year or not. For instance: if you have $20,000.00 in the savings account on the 1st of Ramadan, 1412 and one year later by the 1st of Ramadan, 1413 there is $50, 000.00, your Zakaat will be assessed for $50,000.00, that is: $50.000.00 x .025= $1,250.00. If, on the other hand, by the 1st of Ramadan, 1413 the amount in the savings is $15,000.00, your Zakaat will be for the amount in the savings, that is $15,000.00 x .025= $375.00. This method is the best because it is easy to assess, meets one's obligation and relieve one's conscience. The Recipient Of Zakaat Knowing who qualifies as recipient of Zakaat is an important aspect of Zakaat collection in Islam. Fortunately, Allah (SWT) has been merciful to us in that He Himself spelled out the people eligible to receive Zakaat. In Surah Tawbah He stated: "Alms are for the poor and the needy; and those employed to administer (the funds); for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to truth); for those in bondage and in debt; in the cause of Allah; and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) ordained by Allah, and Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom." (Al-Qur`an, 9: 60) In this verse Allah enumerated the people who deserve this divine welfare, and they are as follows: The poor and the needy. These are individuals, and those under their care, to live on. By the poor and needy is meant the people whose income or salaries, or whatever material goods they have, fall short of the cost of living in a given environment and economy. The poor and the needy should be given what will suffice them and their families for one full year. The needy who want to get married and have no means should be given enough for this purpose, and so, too, the student who needs money for tuition, rent, food, and books. The working poor should be given supplementary Zakaat. But the wealthy, or any person with enough income to live on should not be given Zakaat, even if they asked for it. Instead, they should be warned and admonished for asking for what does not belong to them. In a hadith reported by Abdullah bin `Umar, the Messenger of Allah (saas) stated: "A man keeps on asking others for something till he comes on the day of Resurrection without any piece of flesh on his face." (Bukhari/Muslim). This hadith indicates a humiliating appearance before Allah (SWT) that awaits a person who asks illegally. Some said: this hadith implies Allah will punish a person with the very limb, the face, that he used to impress on others to give him their money unlawfully. In another hadith reported by Abu Hurairah, the Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever asks people for their money so as to get rich, he is asking for flames of fire. It is up to him to ask for more or less (he should beware)." (Muslim) This hadith indicates the severity of the punishment, the more one asks the more punishment, the less one asks the less the punishment. In another hadith, reported by Hakeem bin Hizaam said: I begged the Messenger of Allah and he gave me. I begged again, and he gave me. I begged again and he gave me. He then said: "This money is green and sweet; he who receives it from people with a cheerful heart, Allah will bless him in it; he who receives it, with an avaricious mind would not be blessed in it. He will be like the person who eats without being satisfied; and the upper hand is better than the lower hand" (Muslim) This hadith gave an analogy between money and green, ripened fruit that people love to eat. Thus, it indicates that both are greatly loved but easily finished. For money that is easy come easy go, one must be careful about the punishment that awaits the illegal eater. If a person asks for Zakaat and there are no signs of wealth, and he does not know that he should not ask, or a person who is well and able, who can work, but does not; if these people do not know that it is not permissible for them to ask, it may be given anyway. In a hadith reported by Ahmed, Abu Dawud, and Nasa'e, two men came to the Messenger of Allah (saas) and asked for Zakaat. He looked at them closely and found them strong and able, he said, "If you want I will give you. But you should know that the wealthy or an able person who can work has no share in Zakaat" (Ahmad) Those who administer the Zakaat department, assigning people for collecting, bookkeeping, making lists of people eligible for Zakaat, and a financial calendar. These people will receive Zakaat as compensation for their work, even if they are wealthy. This does not include a person who works as an agent for one or two wealthy people to take Zakaat for himself. They should donate their time for Zakaat disbursement and do it with honesty and truthfulness. If they can not, they should be paid or rewarded for their time. In a hadith related by Abu Musa Al-Ashi`ari (raa), the Messenger of Allah said: "A trustworthy Muslim executor is the one who executes completely what has been entrusted to him of Zakaat money in good faith." (Bukhari) That is, he will give the Zakaat money to any of the eligible recipients of Zakaat. He should carry on the duty voluntarily, but if he can not distribute the money without being paid, the Zakaat payer should pay him for his work. The payment for the service of distributing Zakaat should not come out of Zakaat money. The new converts to Islam whose hearts we want to harmonize into the fold of Islam, either because their faith is weak or we are afraid of their being harmed, should be given Zakaat to strengthen their Iman or until we no longer fear their harm. The bonds person who has contracted with his master to buy himself out of bondage deserve Zakaat and should be given enough to pay off their debt to the master and be freed themselves; similarly, Muslim prisoners of war if their freedom is tied to monetary payment, deserve Zakaat sufficient enough to secure their release. On the other hand, if a pearson accidently killed someone and have no means to pay off the blood money, he should be helped from Zakaat funds. The people in debt are of two kinds: (A) The guarantor, who takes the responsibility of someone else's debt so as to reconcile the two warring parties, to extinguish the fire of fitnah between them. If the person requests Zakaat money to pay off this debt he should be given it, which will encourage him to continue in this noble cause. In a hadith reported by Qubaysah Al-Hilaaly (raa), he said I was under debt (hamaalah) and I came to the Messenger (saas) and begged him to help me pay it off. The Messenger told him: "Wait until we receive charity, so we will command that it be given to you." However, the Messenger stated: "O Qubaysah, begging is not permitted except for one of three categories of people: A man who has incurred debt (as guarantor to reconcile blood wit) for him begging is permissible till he pays that off, after which he must stop it; a man whose property has been destroyed by calamity which has smitten him; for him begging is permissible till he gets what will support life or will provide him reasonable subsistence; and a man who has been smitten by poverty, the genuineness of which should be confirmed by three knowledgeable members of his people; for him begging is permissible till he gets what will support him, or will provide him subsistence. Besides these three, Qubaysah, begging is forbidden for every other persons, and one who engages in such consumes that which is forbidden." (Muslim) (B) Whoever incurs debt and has no money to pay it back will be given from Zakaat to help pay his debt, whether the amount is large or small; or his creditor should be paid directly on his behalf, so long as it is paid off. Zakaat can be given in the path of Allah. By this is meant to finance a Jihad effort in the path of Allah, not for Jihad for other reasons. The fighter (mujahid) will be given as salary what will be enough for him. If he needs to buy arms or some other supplies related to the war effort, Zakaat money should be used provided the effort is to raise the banner of Islam. The wayfarer. This is the traveller who in a strange land runs out of money. He or she deserves Zakaat, enough money to take him back to his country, even if he is wealthy and can find someone to loan him the money. On his part, he should take with him on his trip sufficient money, if he is wealthy, so that he will not need Zakaat. Zakaat money can not be used to pay off other obligations, such as giving Zakaat money to people you are obligated to take care of by law; or Zakaat money can not be used to pay for hotel and food expenses. It is, however, permissible to give Zakaat to a wife or family member, provided it is not part of their daily living expense money, but is needed to pay off a debt for one's wife if she can not pay it. So is the case for one's parents if they can not pay their debt. Zakaat money may be given to members of the family for their expenses if one is not obligated to take care of them financially. The wife can pay off a debt of her husband with Zakaat money, because he may be among the eight eligible recipients and she is not obligated to spend on him as he is on her. The eight eligible recipients of Zakaat can be denied their right to Zakaat without proof from Al-Qur`an or Sunnah. In a hadith reported by Ibn Mas`ud, his wife Zaynab heard the Messenger of Allah order women to give Zakaat, so she asked the Messenger (saas): " O Messenger of Allah, you commanded us to give Zakaat, and I have jewelry that I wanted to assess for Zakaat, but my husband Abdullah bin Mas`ud claimed that his son deserves it more than anyone." The Messenger replied: Your husband Ibn Mas`ud is right. Your son deserves your charity more than anyone." In another hadith reported by Salman bin `Aamir, he said the Messenger of Allah said: " Charity to the poor is only charity, but charity to the rest of kind is charity and maintenance of relations (sillah)." (Nisaee) No loan should be written off as Zakaat because Zakaat is taken and given. Allah (SWT) said: "Of their goods take alms...." (Al-Qur`an, 9: 103) And in a Hadith the Messenger has been reported as saying: "Allah has mandated on you Zakaat to be taken from the wealthy and to be given to the poor." Thus, writing off debt is not taken. For instance, If you loan a person money, you can not write off that loan as a Zakaat. However, it could be written off as sadaqah charity. Furthermore, loan, delinquent or not, is considered an absent money, therefore, it should not be transacted in Zakaat. for Zakaat is assessed only in cash in hand. Besides, debt money is valued less than cash in the hand, and using that money for alms is like exchanging good money for bad. The assessor of alms should try to give his Zakaat to an eligible person, but if he makes a mistake and gives it to an ineligible person it is accepted. In a hadith related by Abu Hurairah, he said the Messenger said: "A man expressed his intention to give charity, so he came with his charity and placed it in the hand of an adulteress. In the morning the people were talking and saying charity was given to an adulteress last night. The donor said: O Allah, to thee be the Praise - charity to an adulteress! He then again expressed his intention to give charity, so he went out with it and placed it in the hand of a rich person. In the morning the people were talking and saying charity was given to a rich person. The donor said, O Allah to You be the praise - charity to a rich man! He then expressed his intention to give charity, so he went out with his charity and placed it in the hand of a thief. In the morning the people were talking and saying charity to the thief. So the man said, O Allah to You be the praise (what a misfortune that charity has been given) to the adulteress, the rich and the thief! Then someone came to him and told him your charity has been accepted. As for the adulteress the charity might become the means whereby she might restrain from fornication. The rich man might perhaps learn a lesson and spend from what Allah has given him, and the thief might thereby restrain from committing theft. (Muslim/ Bukhari) http://www.islamfortoday.com/beliefs.htm

the actual decision of the case and the legal issues? NEW SOUTH WALES SUPREME COURT CITATION: Ehsman v Nutectime International [2006] NSWSC 887 CURRENT JURISDICTION: Equity FILE NUMBER(S): 5189/05 HEARING DATE{S): 31 March 2006 DECISION DATE: 01/09/2006 PARTIES: Patricia Mary Ehsman (P/A) Nutectime International Pty Ltd (D1/R1) David Neilan Brady (D2/R2) Francis Joseph Frasca (D3/R3) David Bruce Paix (D4/R4) Timentel Pty Ltd (D5) JUDGMENT OF: Austin J LOWER COURT JURISDICTION: Not Applicable COUNSEL: R Harper SC (P/A) M J Cohen (D1-4/R1-4) SOLICITORS: McDonald Johnson (P/A) Sparke Helmore (D1-4, R1-4) CATCHWORDS: CORPORATIONS - statutory derivative action - application by 35% shareholder/director to bring derivative proceedings after company's assets were transferred to a company from which the applicant is excluded - inadequacies of proposed points of claim - whether those inadequacies prevent the court from determining the application under s 237 - distinction between personal and derivative claims - whether court is satisfied concerning good faith, best interests of company and serious question to be tried - ancillary order for applicant to indemnify company with respect to costs of derivative proceedings - considerations relating to the bringing of derivative and personal claims in single proceedings ACTS CITED: Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ss 180-184, 232, 236-242 DECISION: See under heading "Conclusions" JUDGMENT: IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES EQUITY DIVISION CORPORATIONS LIST AUSTIN J FRIDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2006 5189/05PATRICIA MARY EHSMAN V NUTECTIME INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD & 4 ORS JUDGMENT 1HIS HONOUR: Before me is an application by the plaintiff, Mrs Ehsman, for leave under s 237 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) to bring proceedings on behalf of the fifth defendant company, Timentel, by filing and serving a further amended originating process and amended points of claim. 2 , 3, 4, 5 and 6 Deleted The plaintiff's case 7The parties agree that Mr Brady and Mr and Mrs Ehsman came together in a business venture before Timentel was formed. Mrs Ehsman owned some patents for a split face wristwatch display, and she wished to exploit them commercially. Mr Brady had some marketing experience. There are disagreements about the commercial utility of Mrs Ehsman's patents, and as to the precise terms of their arrangements, which need not be resolved for present purposes. It is common ground that they respectively brought to the business of Timentel, when it was formed in 1998, the patents (such as they were) and a measure of marketing/commercial input. 8When Timentel was formed, Mrs Ehsman granted it a licence over her patents, for no consideration (although she received shares in the licensee entity). There is disputed evidence as to whether, as Mrs Ehsman asserts, she entered into the licence agreement in reliance on the assumption, encouraged by Mr Brady, that the licence would always be held by a company in which she would be a director and shareholder. The licensee's interest in the licence agreement was assignable. Mrs Ehsman claims, and the defendants deny, that it was a term and condition of the licence agreement that the licence would not be assigned by Timentel to a company in which Mrs Ehsman was not a shareholder and director. 9Initially the only shareholders were the Ehsmans and Mr Brady, and Mr Brady and Mrs Ehsman were the directors. Mr Brady's evidence is that he devoted very considerable time and effort, and expense, to travelling to Europe to negotiate for the commercial exploitation of the split face wristwatch display. According to him, the people he consulted in Europe told him that Mrs Ehsman's patents were just concepts and it would be necessary to work out the most efficacious interior wristwatch mechanisms to support the split face. That is disputed by Mrs Ehsman. But it is clear enough that Mr Brady did do some amount of developmental/marketing work in Europe, the cost of which was shared or partly shared with the Ehsmans. 10Mr Brady's evidence is that he came up with the idea of having movements in each half of the split face watch case for the forward and return hand movements, all controlled by an electronic integrated circuit, and that Mr Claude Ray, an experienced watchmaker, carried out the necessary design work. The eventual product, which he called a "hinged electronic watch", was based on ideas that were fundamentally different, he said, from Mrs Ehsman's patents. These matters are contested. 11Mr Brady said he negotiated a development agreement with Mr Ray's company, using a company with which he was associated, Renaissance Management, for that purpose. In turn he caused Renaissance Management to enter into an agreement with another company with which he was associated, DNB Global Corporation (registered in the Philippines), which made advance payments to Mr Ray's company. At a final hearing of this case it will be necessary to explore these corporate relationships and their purpose, and to understand better the nature of Mr Brady's interests. DNB Global appears to bear his initials, but there is some evidence that he is just one of five directors and is indirectly a shareholder. DNB Global is important in this case because, according to Mr Brady, it incurred substantial expenses through payments for development work, for which Timentel reimbursed it out of monies borrowed by Timentel from Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix. But Mrs Ehsman questions whether loans were ever in fact made by those three directors. 12Mr Brady said the development of the hinged electronic watch was very expensive and under the arrangements between them, Ms Ehsman was to contribute to that development. He alleges that she defaulted in that obligation. He claims that by March 2005 she owed and had not paid about $86,000. That is contested. According to Mr Brady, the development was eventually successful and the hinged electronic watch is protected by patents in various countries, procured at a cost to DNB Global, recoverable from Timentel. 13In about June 2002 Ms Ehsman and Mr Brady decided to bring in two other parties, namely Mr Frasca and Mr Paix. There is quite a bit of evidence, not all consistent, about the circumstances in which Mr Frasca and Mr Paix were invited into the company. What is clear is that Mr Frasca and Mr Paix joined the board of directors and acquired shares, they provided some capital, and in due course they sided with Mr Brady and against Mrs Ehsman. After they joined the board, the company's issued 100 ordinary shares were divided as follows: Mr Brady 35 shares, Mr and Mrs Ehsman 35 shares, Mr Frasca 15 shares, and Mr and Mrs Paix 15 shares. 14During 2002, it seems, Mrs Ehsman visited Europe and met with one of Mr Brady's contacts, Manuel Spode of Les Artisans Horlogers. There is conflicting evidence as to what happened at the meeting. Mr Frasca gives evidence in his affidavit that the meeting led to Mrs Ehsman being criticised by the other directors for intervening secretly without the board's authority, and for her suspicious approach. Mr Frasca also says that at a meeting he had with Mr and Mrs Ehsman in 2003, they told him that they were determined to bring Mr Brady down. These matters are also disputed. Nevertheless it appears that, some time after Mr Frasca and Mr Paix arrived on the board, if not earlier, the relationship between Messrs Brady, Frasca and Paix, on the one hand, and the Ehsmans, on the other hand, deteriorated. By now the relationship has completely broken down. 15There is a considerable amount of correspondence in evidence, and minutes of board meetings. I shall not describe this material in detail here. The correspondence shows that at least since early 2005, Mrs Ehsman has been concerned about verifying payments allegedly due by Timentel to DNB Global, and also about the financial management of Timentel more generally. The evidence is that the only bank account of Timentel has been relatively dormant at times when, the defendants allege, Timentel made payments to DNB Global. Mrs Ehsman's solicitors have written to Timentel's solicitors about these matters. 16Mr Brady claims that by about May 2005 there was a pressing need for capital for Timentel, to pay invoices to DNB Global of about $216,000 and certain other smaller debts. It appears that at this time Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix developed a proposal to lend Timentel up to $246,000 for a term of 60 days with interest of 17% compounding monthly, secured by a registered charge. Mrs Ehsman asked the copies of the draft loan facility and charge documents but received them only after they had been executed. A board meeting attended by Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix, but not Mrs Ehsman, on 9 May 2005 approved the loan proposal and authorised execution of the documents. Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix, acting as directors of the company, purported to authorise the company to enter into the loan facility and charge agreements in which they were the counterparties, without the consent of the other director/shareholder, Ms Ehsman. 17The defendants claim that the loan facility was drawn down and the money was used directly for payment of outstanding debts of Timentel, rather than for deposit into Timentel's bank account. Mrs Ehsman, by her solicitor, sought to verify the making of the loan but she says she has not received proper documentation. The evidence includes minutes of the board meeting of DNB Global on 18 August 2005, at which the directors of that company confirmed that the company had been paid for certain invoices, but the evidence is incomplete because, for example, the identity of the paying entity is not given. 18On 11 July 2005 Messrs Brady, Frasca and Paix as lenders made a formal notice of demand for payment to Timentel of an amount of about $247,000. But they gave the company a limited extension of time to repay. Mrs Ehsman's solicitors alleged in correspondence that any attempt to enforce the charge would render it void under s 267 of the Corporations Act, because the chargees were "relevant persons" for the purposes of that section. 19The security was not enforced but instead, at some stage it was proposed that the company would enter into an asset sale agreement and a deed of assignment of the licence, in favour of the other three directors or their vehicle, for a price supported by a valuation by Les Artisans Horlogers. In correspondence, Mrs Ehsman's solicitors endeavoured unsuccessfully to obtain information about the valuation - indeed, they approached the valuer directly without success. They alleged that the valuation did not cover all of the assets sold. They strenuously opposed the proposed transaction, on several grounds including that the transaction would be in breach of the contractual arrangements and understandings between Mrs Ehsman and the other three directors. 20Nutectime was formed in August 2005. The directors are Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix. The company has issued 100 ordinary shares. Mr Brady owns 60 shares, Mr Frasca owns 20 shares in Mr and Mrs Paix own 20 shares. Mr and Mrs Ehsman do not hold any shares. 21The asset sale agreement and the deed of assignment of licence were entered into by Timentel and Nutectime on 2 September 2005. The transaction was considered at a board meeting not attended by Mrs Ehsman. Messrs Brady, Frasca and Paix went through a procedure of formally disclosing their interest in the purchaser but then they proceeded, purporting to act as directors of the company, to approve the transaction. It appears that the contract was made and completion took place on the same day. The total sale price $277,000. According to Timentel's solicitors, the sale proceeds were used to pay out and discharge the charge over the company's assets. That appears to have meant that the bulk of the sale proceeds were directed to Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix. It is not clear from the evidence whether there was any actual movement of money. 22Up until May 2005 Mrs Ehsman had been a director and (with her husband) substantial shareholder of Timentel, which was the licensee for no consideration of her patents. On one view, the company owed a substantial amount of money to DNB Global, but it had procured substantial development work for its split face watch design. Any profits from the realisation of that development work would have come to Timentel, and Mr and Mrs Ehsman would have had a 35% interest in those profits. After 2 September 2005, Mrs Ehsman was still a director of Timentel and Mr and Mrs Ehsman remained 35% shareholders. But the company's substantial assets, and any prospect it may have had of earning profits from the development of the split face watch, had gone. Mrs Ehsman was still the licensor of her patents, but she was entitled to receive no consideration for the licence. The new licensee, Nutectime, was a company in which she had no interest, and that company had acquired Timentel's assets and any profit-making opportunity relating to the split face watch. The controllers and shareholders of Nutectime were her fellow directors and shareholders of Timentel. The draft APC and draft FAOP 23From this brief account it appears that if Mrs Ehsman could substantiate her allegations, this would be a case of self-dealing by her co-directors to her considerable disadvantage, and unauthorised diversion of a corporate opportunity. Experience shows that in such cases it is important for the plaintiff to identify with particularity the precise duties said to have been breached and the circumstances of the breach. That is important in the interests of clarity of presentation of the plaintiff's case, and to ensure that the defendant is not surprised by having to meet a case at trial different from what she had been led to expect. These considerations strongly suggest that in such a case, the plaintiff should proceed by statement of claim. Where the plaintiff is proceeding in her own right, invoking the oppression remedy, and also seeking to assert the company's rights in a derivative action, the need for clarity of pleading is especially strong. 24 Deleted 25I have endeavoured to identify those allegations that relate to some right of Timentel, and distinguish them from allegations relating to some right of Mrs Ehsman personally. In summary, for reasons given below, paras 7, 18-21, 22, 23-26, and 27-29 (and the claims to relief in paras 1-5, perhaps 7, and 8) of the draft APC are claims made on behalf of Timentel, and paras 8-16, 17, 30 and 31 (and claims to relief in para 6 and perhaps 7) are claims made by Mrs Ehsman personally. 26It is important to maintain the distinction between derivative and personal claims in the interests of clarity. But nothing in Part 2F.1A requires that a derivative action be in a separate proceeding in which no personal claims are made by the person who has carriage of the proceeding. For example, in Fiduciary Ltd v Morningstar Research Pty Ltd (2005) 53 ACSR 732 the plaintiffs were an individual and corporate plaintiffs, and leave was granted under s 237 so as to permit the individual plaintiff (who was a shareholder and officer of the corporate plaintiffs) to assert the rights of the companies in a proceeding in which he also asserted rights of his own. The combination of corporate and personal claims was not unlike the combination of claims in the present case, though the pleading was by an elaborate statement of claim. In that case, and here, the asserted derivative and personal rights arise to a large degree out of the same alleged facts. 27Here the sole plaintiff is Mrs Ehsman, and Timentel is a defendant. It is not proposed that Timentel should become a plaintiff if s 237 leave is granted, because Timentel is properly a defendant to some of Mrs Ehsman's claims. Nor is it proposed that the derivative action be constituted as a separate proceeding, because there are substantially overlapping facts concerning the derivative and personal claims, which should therefore be heard together. Section 236(2) says that proceedings brought on behalf of a company must be brought in the company's name. But there is now a substantial line of decisions holding that, despite the literal wording of s 236(2), leave under s 237 can be given where the company is a party to the proceeding as a necessary defendant in respect of other claims, without requiring the company become a plaintiff or insisting that the derivative action be brought in a separate proceeding: see especially Keyrate Pty Ltd v Hamarc Pty Ltd (2001) 38 ACSR 396, per Santow J at [18]-[19]; Metyor Inc v Queensland Electronic Switching Pty Ltd (2002) 42 ACSR 398, per McPherson JA at [14]-[15]; Charlton v Baber (2003) 47 ACSR 31, per Barrett J at [5]. 28I turn now to consider the draft APC, paragraph by paragraph. 29After preliminary allegations, para 7 of the draft APC asserts that by reason of their appointment as directors of Timentel, Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix owed Timentel various duties. There is a list of the standard duties of directors. The list reflects ss 180, 181, 182 and 183 of the Corporations Act, and also a duty to act honestly in the exercise of their powers and the discharge of their duties as directors (a formulation no longer found in the statute). [deleted latter part of paragraph] 30Having made allegations about the defendants' duties as directors of Timentel, the draft APC (paras 8-16) makes allegations about the licence agreement, leading to the assertion that the purported sale by Timentel to Nutectime of its rights under the licence agreement was in breach of the licence agreement. That is a personal claim by Mrs Ehsman against Timentel (and no other defendant) for breach of contract. It is not a claim for breach of any duty owed to Timentel. 31Para 17 pleads that, by reason of matters pleaded in paras 8-11, the first to fourth defendants are estopped from asserting that Timentel was entitled to sell or assign to the first defendant the rights of Timentel under the licence agreement. This was said to arise because Mrs Ehsman entered into the licence agreement in reliance on the assumption, encouraged by Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix, that the licence would always be held by a company of which she was a director and shareholder. Clearly the allegation of estoppel is made for the benefit of Mrs Ehsman personally rather than to vindicate some right or interest of Timentel. The document does not reveal how the allegation can be made against any defendant other than Mr Brady, given that the assumption is said to have been created and acted upon at the time of the licence agreement, which was made well before Mr Frasca and Mr Paix became involved. 32Paras 18-21 make allegations about breaches of duties owed by the other three directors to Timentel. They allege that Timentel did not receive any of the proceeds of sale of assets, or received only part of the proceeds, and Messrs Brady, Frasca and Paix received those proceeds or part of them. It is claimed that their conduct in receiving those proceeds constituted a breach of all of the duties pleaded in paragraph 7. I find it impossible to justify that claim, with respect to some of the duties identified in para 7, even taking into account the "particulars" to para 21. Moreover, the mere assertion that Timentel did not receive proceeds of sale and the other three directors did (even when the "particulars" to para 21 are added) cannot, per se, establish a breach of any of the duties identified in para 7. These allegations fall well short of a proper pleading. 33Para 22 alleges that by reason of the matters alleged in certain other paragraphs, Messrs Brady, Frasca and Paix have been unjustly enriched as a result of breach of the duties referred to in para 7. Presumably this is intended to establish a ground of recovery for Timentel. Again, the precise matters that might constitute unjust enrichment have not been adequately pleaded and, moreover, it is not easy to see why para 22 combines breach of directors' duties with unjust enrichment. 34Paras 23-26 make allegations against Nutectime, intended to support orders declaring void and setting aside the purported sale of assets or requiring Nutectime to hold the assets in trust for Timentel. These paragraphs seem to assert some entitlement to relief on the part of Timentel rather than Mrs Ehsman, although the remedies would obviously operate for her benefit as well. The precise foundation of the remedies is not clear. The drafter has not invoked the equitable principles concerning accessory liability for breach of trust with any specificity or clarity. To the extent that entitlement to the relief is said to arise out of Nutectime being "knowingly concerned in the breach" there is a suggestion of statutory accessory liability, but the statutory directors' duties do not create any accessory civil reliability for being knowingly concerned in the primary breach. There is "accessory" liability under the statute for de facto and shadow directors, but the allegations in the draft APC do not in terms invoke that liability. 35Paras 27-29 allege that the deed of charge dated 9 May 2005 is void and should be set aside because Timentel did not receive the benefit, or received only part of the benefit, of the money purported to be advanced. This seems to be the assertion of rights of Timentel rather than Mrs Ehsman personally. A deed of charge merely provides security for advances made under some other arrangement such as a loan facility agreement. It is not easy to see why the fact (if it be so) that the chargor did not receive the benefit of loan monies purported to be advanced under a loan facility agreement should, per se, lead to the consequence that the security for the loan is void. If the charge is security for money advanced under a loan facility agreement, and no money is advanced to the chargor, then nothing is secured by the charge but the charging instrument is nevertheless valid. 36Para 30 contends that the other three directors repeatedly failed or refused to furnish information to Mrs Ehsman relating to the affairs of Timentel. Particulars are given. As expressed, this is an allegation of breach of duty to Mrs Ehsman rather than Timentel. There is no allegation of any particular duty but it seems that the drafter had in mind either or both of the statutory rights of a director to gain access to certain information under ss 198F and 290, or the director's general law right of access to the information needed to discharge her fiduciary duty (eg Edman v Ross (1922) 22 SR(NSW) 351). A director seeking to assert those rights is not required to show that inspection is sought in good faith and for a proper purpose, whereas a shareholder seeking inspection under s 247A must do so. Para 30 is not clear enough. 37Para 31 asserts that, by reason of the matters asserted, the other three directors have conducted the affairs of Timentel in a manner oppressive to, unfairly prejudicial to or unfairly discriminatory against Mrs Ehsman, or contrary to the interests of the members as a whole, contrary to s 232. Mrs Ehsman has personal standing to complain under that provision. The difficulty with para 31 is that it relies globally on all of the other allegations, some of which do not seem to be pertinent (for example, the pleadings against Timentel itself based on breach of contract and against Mr Brady based on estoppel). It should be re-formulated with more precision. 38 Deleted 39The draft FAOP contains the same claims for relief as the draft APC, and therefore suffers from the defects just noted. It also contains a prayer for an order under s 237. This is inappropriate, given that the interlocutory application presently under consideration seeks a s 237 order and also leave to file the FAOP, so that the question of s 237 leave will have been addressed before the FAOP is filed. Further, in the draft FAOP the application is said to be made pursuant to ss 232, 236 and 237. Sections 236 and 237 do not need to be mentioned, for the reason just given, and s 232 appears from the draft APC to be only one of the statutory provisions under which relief is sought, the others being the various directors' duties provisions. 40My conclusion is that the draft APC and the draft FAOP are seriously defective, and therefore I shall not accede to Mrs Ehsman's application for leave to file and serve them in their present form. What is needed is a carefully considered pleading by statement of claim. However, my view is that the draft APC identifies in broad terms, though imprecisely and at times in a confused way, some derivative and personal causes of action that emerge on Mrs Ehsman's account of the evidence. The causes of action are: (A)a personal claim by Mrs Ehsman against Timentel for breach of contract arising out of Timentel's purported sale and assignment to Nutectime, sounding in damages (paras 8-16); (B)a personal claim by Mrs Ehsman against Mr Brady based the allegation that at the time of the making of the licence agreement he encouraged her to assume that the licence would always be held by a company of which she was a director and shareholder - though the appropriate remedy, if this ground is established, is debatable (para 17); (C)claims by Timentel against Messrs Brady, Frasca and Paix for breach of ss 182 and 183 and their general law duty to avoid conflicts of interest, by virtue of their self-dealing in the loan and security transactions and then the sale and assignment transactions, leading an order for an account of profit or an order setting aside the transactions, or a compensation order under s 1317H (paras 18-21 and 22); (D)a claim by Timentel against Nutectime for accessory liability under equitable principles which apply to a person who assists in a breach of fiduciary duty or receives property transferred in breach of duty, leading to an order requiring Nutectime to hold acquired property on trust or to account as a constructive trustee (paras 23-26); (E)a personal claim by Mrs Ehsman against the other three directors asserting infringement of her right of access as a director to information of Timentel, under the general law and perhaps under ss 198F and 290, leading to an order for access or to restrain obstruction (para 30); (F)a personal claim by Mrs Ehsman for relief under the "oppression" remedy in s 232, arising out of specifically pleaded facts and circumstances, leading to a range of possible remedies to address the oppressive or unfair conduct (para 30). 41I am not persuaded that there is any viable course of action underlying paras 27-29. 42I think the appropriate course is to dismiss the application for leave to file and serve the amended points of claim, and to direct Mrs Ehsman to file and serve a statement of claim to give effect to her personal and derivative claims having regard to these reasons for judgment. 43Section 237 authorises the court to grant leave to permit a person to bring proceedings on behalf of a company. Part 2F.1A does not explain the word "proceedings" or give any direct indication of the level of specificity of pleaded allegations and prayers for relief that the applicant for leave must achieve. Typically the applicant will provide the court with a draft statement of claim or (as here) points of claim, or some other document giving particulars of the derivative claims. But in my view it cannot be the case that a full statement of the derivative claims must be presented before the court can consider and determine a leave application. Were that to be required, any subsequent amendments to the pleaded case would need to be treated as a leave application under s 237 to which the criteria in s 237(2) would have to be applied. That, in my view, would be an unnecessary burden for case management. 44In my opinion the applicant for leave must identify and describe the proposed proceedings with sufficient precision that the court can properly assess the application having regard to the criteria that it is required to consider under s 237(2), and the opponents can respond to the application in terms of those criteria. That may be achieved by presenting the court with a draft pleading, but it may be achieved in other ways such as by outlining the claims in affidavit evidence. It is not hard to envisage an application that falls so far short of identifying the derivative causes of action to be asserted that the court is left unable to assess, for example, whether it is in the best interests of the company that the applicant be granted leave, and whether there is a serious question to be tried. Here, however, Mrs Ehsman has done enough in her draft points of claim (defective though they are) and in the voluminous evidence that has been adduced, to permit me to identify the causes of action broadly described in paragraphs (A)-(F) above, of which paras (C) and (D) are derivative claims. I am able to consider the application for leave under s 237 as an application for leave to bring proceedings on behalf of Timentel by a statement of claim that would assert the causes of action identified in paras (C) and (D) and seek appropriate equitable and statutory relief. The requirements for leave to bring a derivative action 45Section 236(1)(a) allows a member or officer, inter alios, to bring proceedings on behalf of the company with the court's leave. Ms Ehsman has standing both as a member and an officer of Timentel. 46Under s 237(2) the court is required to grant the application for leave if it is satisfied of five matters set out in subparagraphs (a) to (e). Subsection 237(3) and (4) establish a rebuttable presumption that the granting of leave is not in the best interests of the company in certain circumstances, but it is agreed that those circumstances have no application to the present case. There is no suggestion of the members of the company purporting to ratify or approve the conduct of the other three directors, so as to invoke s 239. 47Of the five matters that the court must address under s 237(2), the parties agree that the notice requirement in subparagraph (e) has been satisfied here. The defendants did not concede, in terms of subparagraph (a), that it is probable that the company will not itself bring the proceedings, or properly take responsibility for them, or for the steps in them. However, the evidence before me plainly establishes that this criterion is satisfied, in respect of proceedings to pursue any derivative claims of the kind identified at paras (C) and (D) above. Timentel is under the control of the other three directors, who are acting together in respect of the company's dealings with Mrs Ehsman. The other directors (and spouse, in the case of Mr Paix) are the majority shareholders. They have caused the assets of Timentel to be passed to Nutectime, a company in which they but not Ms Ehsman are the directors and shareholders. They have asserted, in answer to the present application, both on their own behalf and on behalf of Timentel, that there is no foundation for derivative claims to be brought. It is clear from their attitude, revealed in the evidence and upon the application, that they would not authorise the company to bring such proceedings. 48That leaves for consideration subparagraphs (b), (c) and (d) of s 237(2). In their submissions, the parties referred me to a substantial number of decided cases. It seems to me, however, that the courts' approach to these subparagraphs has become relatively clear in the course of decisions, and it is unnecessary for me to refer to authorities extensively. Additionally, I have reached the conclusion that this is a plain case in which all three criteria have been established, and that extensive exposition is unnecessary. Good faith 49In the Swansson case, Palmer J expressed the opinion at least two questions are generally relevant to this issue: namely, whether the applicant honestly believes that a good cause of action exists and has reasonable prospects of success; and whether the applicant is seeking to act in a derivative capacity for such a collateral purpose as will amount to an abuse of process. This approach has been followed frequently in subsequent cases. I was referred, inter alia, to the discussion by Brereton J. in Maher v Honeysett & Maher Electrical Contractors Pty Ltd [2005] NSWSC 859, at [30]. 50The evidence shows that Mrs Ehsman believes that a derivative action exists which has reasonable prospects of success. She has given sworn evidence in para [24] of her affidavit of 9 December 2006 to the effect that the company has a good cause of action with reasonable prospects of success for the claims that she outlines. I can see no proper basis in the evidence for doubting that this belief is honest. The highest the evidence goes is in the affidavit of Mr Frasca, where he deposes to a discussion with Mr and Mrs Ehsman in 2003 in which, on his version of it, they conveyed an implacable desire to destroy Mr Brady. But that evidence is contested and in any event, if accepted, it would not point to any lack of honesty in Mrs Ehsman's belief at the present time of her prospects of success in a derivative action. 51Mr Frasca's evidence might be taken to point to a collateral purpose on the part of Mrs Ehsman. But the evidence, if accepted, relates to a conversation some years ago, and the assertion of a collateral purpose is inconsistent with Mrs Ehsman's affidavit evidence. It seems to me that if Mrs Ehsman succeeds in making out her factual contentions, there is a plausible derivative action along the lines of paras (C) and (D) above. If such a derivative action is pursued successfully it will have a beneficial effect on the position of Mrs Ehsman in Timentel. Those conclusions, arising out of the evidence as a whole, makes it difficult to maintain that Mrs Ehsman's purpose in pursuing the derivative cause of action is a collateral one. As Brereton J remarked in Maher v Honeysett (at [33]), the objective facts and circumstances speak louder than an applicant's words about her honesty and purpose, and here the objective facts and circumstances, supported by much evidence, are reasonably eloquent. 52My conclusion is that Ms Ehsman has succeeded in satisfying me that she is acting in good faith for the purposes of s 237(2)(b). Best interests of the company 53In Maher v Honeysett, at [44], Brereton J observed that the phrase "best interests" directs attention to the company's separate and independent welfare, a notion that imports the familiar concept of the interests of the company as a whole. Here it is unnecessary to investigate the qualifications to that proposition arising where the company is insolvent or near to insolvency. In the present case Mrs Ehsman's pursuit of derivative claims will, if she is successful, enure to her benefit, as I have explained. 54As Brereton J pointed out (at [45]), "the existence in an applicant of a personal interest in the outcome of a proposed derivative action, or even of a personal animus against the company or other members of it, cannot be significant, let alone decisive, because they are usual concomitants of the types of disputes which lead to derivative actions, and few if any such actions would be brought but for personal interest on the part of the relevant applicant and in the absence of animus against the company or other shareholders". I respectfully agree. The fact that Mrs Ehsman has a personal interest in the outcome of Timentel's derivative claims, and even the existence of personal animus against Mr Brady (if Mr Frasca's disputed evidence is excepted), are not matters standing in the way of the conclusion that the pursuit of the derivative claims is in the best interests of Timentel. 55Relief having the effect of returning Timentel's assets or their beneficial ownership to the company cannot be obtained by Mrs Ehsman 's pursuit of personal claims (except perhaps through some creative orders on the "oppression" ground). The most direct and obvious way of recovery of the property is for Timentel to assert claims for recovery orders derivatively through Mrs Ehsman. If those claims are successful the result will be orders for the restoration of Timentel's property, an outcome which will be in the best interests of the company, although obviously not in the best interests of the majority shareholders. 56In my view it is appropriate for the derivative claims to be pursued in proceedings in which Mrs Ehsman also asserts personal claims, provided that great care is taken to distinguish the two categories of claims and the ingredients of the case to prove each category. I hope that a first step along that path will be taken by the preparation of a statement of claim. Although there is a risk of confusion in allowing a single proceeding that asserts personal and derivative claims, there is considerable advantage in doing so where, as here, there is a substantial common substratum of fact underlying the two categories of claims (see Maher v Honeysett at [53]). 57In all the circumstances I am satisfied that it is in the best interests of Timentel, for the purposes of s 237(2)(c), that Mrs Ehsman be granted leave under s 237. Serious question to be tried 58In my view this case should be treated as a case where the applicant is applying for leave to bring derivative proceedings, rather than to intervene in existing proceedings. The effect of my granting leave to her to file a new initiating pleading will be, if the job is done properly, to overhaul and substantially reconstitute the proceedings, as proceedings in which she pursues clearly articulated derivative and personal claims. Where the applicant is applying for leave to bring proceedings, s 237(2)(d) requires the court to be satisfied that there is a serious question to be tried. 59As Barrett J explained in Charlton v Baber at [55], the applicant bears the onus of proving sufficient material to enable the court to make this determination. But as I explained above, referring to Palmer J's judgment in Swansson (and see Maher v Honeysett at [19]), the court does not normally enter into the merits of the proposed derivative action to any great degree. The evidence must reach the same standard as applies for an interlocutory injunction, set out in such cases as Castlemaine Tooheys Ltd v State of South Australia (1986) 161 CLR 148 and Australian Broadcasting Corporation v Lenah Game Meats Pty Ltd (2001) 208 CLR 199. The standard has been described as "relatively low" (Maher v Honeysett at [19]). 60In this case Mrs Ehsman has filed quite extensive evidence, which she relies on for the purposes of the application, and I also have before me substantial evidence on behalf of the defendants. I infer that the evidence before me is substantially the evidentiary cases of the parties for final relief. This is certainly not a case of affidavits hurriedly cobbled together to meet the exigencies of an interlocutory occasion. Having considered the evidence my view is that, although there are many disputed questions of fact, which I am not in a position to resolve, Mrs Ehsman's allegations are sufficiently substantial to cross the "serious question to be tried" hurdle. I am therefore satisfied that s 237(2)(d) has been met. The court's powers 61The court is empowered by s 241 to make any orders, and give any directions, that it considers appropriate in relation to proceedings brought with leave, or an application for leave. That section affirms the court's power under the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) to make an order requiring that the proceedings be brought by statement of claim, a step that I shall take for the reasons I have explained. It also expressly permits the court to make orders requiring mediation, a step that the court is also empowered to take by s 26 of the Civil Procedure Act. During the course of the hearing, I floated with the parties the question whether it would be appropriate to make an order for compulsory mediation. The suggestion was not opposed and I formed the view that if the parties did not voluntarily agree to mediate I should make an order. Unless the parties have, in the meantime, organised for mediation to take place, I shall include a mediation order in the orders that I make pursuant to these reasons for judgment. 62Section 242 permits the court to make any orders it considers appropriate about the costs of various persons, including the company, in relation to proceedings brought with leave under s 237 (see Fiduciary Ltd v Morningstar Research Pty Ltd (2005) 53 ACSR 732, at [56]). In such a case as the present, where the company is essentially a vehicle to pursue the commercial interests of four parties, one of whom is at odds with the other three, who oppose the bringing of derivative claims, and the plaintiff wishes to combine derivative claims with personal claims largely arising out of the same facts, it seems to me appropriate to require the plaintiff to indemnify the company in respect of costs it may incur, either directly or by virtue of a court order against it, with respect to the pursuit of the derivative claims. If the indemnity were not given, the other three directors would as a practical matter be required to bear the burden of 65% of the company's costs of pursuing derivative claims which they do not want it to pursue. Obviously, to the extent that the plaintiff makes a personal claim against the company, she should not be required to give such an indemnity. Further, the indemnity needs to be qualified so that it does not apply to any cost order made by the court with the intention of overriding the effect of the undertaking. The main purpose of that qualification is to enable the trial judge to make such order as to costs as he or she thinks appropriate after the final hearing, untrammelled by an undertaking that may cause an order for costs against the company to rebound against the plaintiff; but the qualification may also be useful to allow the court to override the undertaking in circumstances not presently foreseeable. 63Mrs Ehsman has succeeded in establishing that leave should be granted to her to bring derivative proceedings on behalf of Timentel, and to file and appropriate pleading to initiate those proceedings (and also to clarify her personal claims). That suggests that she should have her costs of the interlocutory application of 12 December 2005, against the defendants other than Timentel. In my view the fact that she will be required to give an undertaking as to the company's future costs is immaterial to the question of the costs of the application. Although I have found that the draft amended points of claim are seriously defective, they nevertheless convey plainly enough the nature of the derivative claims that Mrs Ehsman wishes to pursue. The defects in the pleaded case did not, in my view, provided a justification for the attitude of complete opposition to the application that the defendants presented to the court. Conclusions 64For the reasons I have given, I propose to make orders along the following lines: (1)Subject to the condition identified in order (2), grant leave to the plaintiff, under s 237 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), to bring proceedings on behalf of the fifth defendant against the first, second, third and fourth defendants, asserting the causes of action generally identified in these reasons for judgment and seeking all or any appropriate remedies; (2)Order (1) is subject to the condition that, before any such proceedings are brought, the plaintiff must indemnify the fifth defendant for and in respect of all costs that the fifth defendant may incur (either on its own account or under an order of the court) by reason of the bringing, maintenance and conduct of the derivative proceedings, provided however that the indemnity is not required to extend to costs that the fifth defendant may incur in the proceedings as a defendant in respect of any personal claim made by the plaintiff, and shall not apply with respect to any final order for costs in the proceedings; (3)Direct the plaintiff to file and serve a statement of claim to give effect to her personal and derivative claims, having regard to these reasons for judgment, by no later than a date to be specified; (4)Order the first, second, third and fourth defendants to pay the plaintiff's costs of her interlocutory process filed on 12 December 2005, as agreed or assessed; (5)Subject to orders (1), (2) (3) and (4), the plaintiff's interlocutory process filed on 12 December 2005 is dismissed; (6)Order that the proceedings be referred for mediation by a mediator agreed to by the parties, such mediation to take place by no later than a date to be specified; (7)Liberty to apply to Austin J on 2 days notice. 65However, I shall give the parties the opportunity to draw my attention to any particular matters that might affect the question of costs, by (for example) causing me to award costs on a different measure or to limit the order for costs in some way. I shall also give them the chance to consider my proposed orders. I shall stand the matter over for the purpose of hearing any such submissions and making orders.

Who is more powerful the United States or United Nations? Groveling at the United Nations How not to get Iran to do anything other than what Iran wants. By Anne Bayefsky The real surprise about Iran’s latest affront to civilized behavior — the hostage-taking of British sailors and marines — is that there should be any surprise at all. For years Iran has received a consistent message from the global gurus at the United Nations: Nobody is prepared to stop you. Groveling is the skill democratic states have honed at the U.N. when confronted with naked aggression and the violation of every right and freedom they supposedly hold dear. Here is a timeline of the U.N. moves which have progressively emboldened Iran and like-minded terrorist entities the world over. June 2003: Only after Iran had spent years developing its nefarious nuclear program could the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency finally bring itself to state that Iran had violated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. July 12, 2006: Three years of huffing and puffing later — and three days before the start of a G-8 Summit that was to consider pushing Iran harder at the Security Council — Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists infiltrated Israeli territory and kidnapped two Israeli soldiers on routine patrol along the Israel-Lebanon border. July 31, 2006: The Security Council adopted a resolution granting Iran another time extension for ending its nuclear activities and called for another report a month later. August 11, 2006: The Security Council adopted a resolution dashing Israel’s hope of retrieving its soldiers and removing the Hezbollah-Iranian threat to its civilian population. The resolution equated a call to release the Israeli soldiers with the release of criminals in Israeli jails and introduced a bargaining chip in the form of a Lebanese land grab (based on a claim which the U.N. itself had decided was bogus years earlier) — thereby guaranteeing the soldiers’ continued captivity. The resolution to end an Iranian-instigated and Iranian-fueled war made no mention Iran. September 3, 2006: When it appeared the Security Council August deadline on the nuclear front might be taken seriously, Secretary-General Kofi Annan rushed to Tehran and Iranian Prime Minister Ahmadinejad’s side, shook his hand, and announced to the world: “The international community should not isolate Iran.” October 20, 2006: Worried the U.N. protection racket needed a little more muscle in the face of growing calls for sanctions, Mohammed ElBaradei, the Egyptian chief of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency, told Newsweek: [W]e don’t see a clear and present danger that we have to address tomorrow, and we have ample time to negotiate.” When pressed that “Iran’s behavior doesn’t inspire confidence,” ElBaradei responded that “the jury is still out.” December 19, 2006: After determining Iran was engaged in stoning, flogging, amputation, torture, public executions, and systematic discrimination against women, only 71 of the 192 members of the General Assembly voted to condemn Iranian human rights abuses. A total of 105 countries either abstained or voted against; the rest were “absent.” December 23, 2006: After much hand-wringing at the prospect of getting tough on Iran, the Security Council adopted a resolution that gave Iran this ultimatum for continued noncompliance of U.N. standards: “further decisions will be required.” February 19, 2007: As the deadline for further decisions and another U.N. report approached, Mohammed ElBaradei handed Iran the pretext for another outrage. In a formal interview, ElBaradei told the Financial Times: “…sanctions alone do not work and in most cases radicalise the regime…If you create an environment in which Iran feels isolated, in which Iran is subject to further sanctions, then some of these worst case scenarios could take place…” ElBaradei didn’t stop there. Pointing directly to the United Kingdom while justifying Iran’s pathological desire for nuclear weapons, ElBaradei opined: Iran sees enrichment... as a strategic goal because they feel that this will bring them power, prestige and influence…[A] lot of that is true. A nuclear capability is a nuclear deterrent in many ways. When you see here in the UK the programme for modernising the Trident…it is difficult then for us to turn around and tell everybody else that nuclear deterrents are really no good for you…because all the weapon states, without exception, are either modernising, or thinking about developing new weapons not only for deterrence purposes, but actually usable [ones]. Statements have been made…about possible actual use, such as mini-nukes, bunker buster. March 23, 2007: Just one day before the Security Council was set to adopt a sanctions resolution directed at Iran, the Iranians kidnapped the British naval personnel. March 24, 2007: The Security Council adopted an Iran sanctions regime that was virtually sanction-free. The resolution uses Israel as a diversion tactic in the form of a reference to “a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.” It fails to adopt a mandatory travel ban and instead merely “calls upon all states to exercise vigilance and restraint regarding the entry into or transit” of a limited list of individuals. It refuses to ban items and technology and instead just “calls upon all states to exercise vigilance and restraint in the supply” of these items. It does not impose a mandatory asset freeze but instead “calls upon all states and international financial institutions not to enter new commitments for grants, financial assistance, and concessional loans, to…Iran, except for humanitarian and developmental purposes.” In its one “shall not” provision, the resolution bans only the country’s arms exports — refusing to impose an arms embargo prohibiting the sale of weapons to Iran. March 26, 2007: The U.N. Human Rights Council decided to discontinue its consideration of the human rights situation in Iran. Iran had been subject to behind-closed-doors monitoring under a confidential procedure, but the Council president announced that a decision had been taken behind-closed-doors to drop the monitoring of Iran altogether. March 29, 2007: The Security Council refused a British request for the Council to “deplore” the continued Iranian detention of U.K. personnel and call for their “immediate release.” Instead, it issued a press statement expressing “grave concern at the capture,” making an “appeal” to Iran to allow consular access, and calling “for an early resolution of this problem, including the release…” The pattern is painfully obvious. Kidnap and demand the civilized world jump. And the U.N. says “how high?” Threaten to wipe a Jewish state off the map. Begin your genocidal campaign by arming a terrorist organization to rain 3,900 missiles down on a civilian population in a single month. And the U.N. blames the Jews, while keeping you off the radar screen completely. Start a program to acquire nuclear weapons. And work with a comrade from another Muslim dictatorship at the U.N. to run interference while your plans move full speed ahead. Amputate, flog, stone, and execute in front of the masses, lest they get any ideas about rights and freedoms. And the U.N. removes you from its human-rights agenda altogether. Kidnap again and demand the civilized world jump. And again the U.N. says “how high?” Leaving the rest of us to pose a different question: Will we get off this U.N. wheel before it’s too late?

Why did John McCain get admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee for not using good judgment? Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Monday will launch a multimedia campaign to draw attention to the involvement of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the “Keating Five” savings-and-loan scandal of 1989-91, which blemished McCain’s public image and set him on his course as a self-styled reformer. “Charles Keating, it turned out, had built his financial empire on the life savings of elderly retirees, men and women who watched helplessly as their dreams were snuffed out along with the assets of Keating’s Lincoln Savings and Loan Association . “John McCain got admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee for that, for not using good judgment." In 1991, the Senate Ethics Committee cleared McCain of corruption charges but cited him for “poor judgment” in meeting with federal regulators on behalf of Charles H. Keating Jr., a political patron who went to prison for fraud in connection with the collapse of the California-based Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which at the time was one of the biggest financial failures in the nation’s history. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14302.html

Which two types of taxes provide the largest? 33. To what category do a person's earnings, the dollar value of a good or service, the value of a property, and the value of a company's profits belong? proportional tax bases taxable income tax bases tax brackets 34. Which two types of taxes provide the largest amount of revenue to states? sales tax and individual income taxes property taxes and individual income taxes sales tax and corporate income taxes individual income taxes and corporate income taxes 35. How did the Federal Reserve System hold up during the Great Depression? The banks in the Federal Reserve System coordinated their actions, so the country was able to avoid total economic chaos. The members of the Federal Reserve System created a central bank to fund and manage government spending, which further hurt the economy. The Federal Reserve System did not work well because the twelve regional banks each acted independently. The Federal Reserve System revised its monetary policy so that only the President could set the national discount rate, providing relief to banks. 36. What role does the Federal Reserve play in regulating the banking system? A member from the Federal Reserve works at the headquarters of each national bank. The Federal Reserve coordinates all the regulatory activities and examines banks periodically. The Federal Reserve must approve every major transaction of a bank. The Federal Reserve becomes involved only when there is a major problem in a bank. 37. How do changes in interest rates affect the money supply? As interest rates fall, people generally hold more cash, restricting the money supply. As interest rates rise, people generally keep their wealth in assets that pay returns, expanding the money supply. As interest rates level off, people charge more and hold more cash expanding the money supply. As interest rates rise, people generally keep their wealth in assets that pay returns, restricting the money supply. 38. How would the increase in the required reserve ratio affect the borrowers? It would force banks to lower their interest rates, which would benefit many borrowers. It would force banks to raise their monthly charges, which would hurt many borrowers. It would force banks to recall a significant number of loans, which would hurt many borrowers. It would prompt banks to lend more money, which would benefit many borrowers. 39. What is the primary difference between inside and outside policy lags? Inside lags are delays in the implementation of policy, and outside lags indicate the time it takes a new policy to become effective. Inside lags are changes within the structure of a company, and outside lags refer to external policy changes. Inside lags indicate the time it takes to implement a new policy, and outside lags are delays in the implementation of a new policy. Inside lags occur within the Federal Reserve System, and outside lags occur in the independent regional banks. 40. Which statement BEST describes the current status of the United States as an exporter and importer? The United States is the leading importer of goods but lags in exports. The United States is the world's leading importer and exporter. The United States is the second-largest importer and the world's leading exporter. The Unites States is the leading importer, and China is the leading exporter.

What is the Federal Reserve collecting as collateral if their $2 trillion secret loan isn't paid back? Not only does the Federal Reserve REFUSE to disclose who they loaned $2 trillion to, they also will not disclose what collateral they were offered. Bloomberg filed a Freedom of Information lawsuit....AND WON. The Federal Reserve has until Sept. 30 to appeal. What do you think?? http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=ahys015DzWXc The U.S. has lent, spent or guaranteed $11.6 trillion to bolster banks and fight the longest recession in 70 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s a 9.4 percent decline since March 31, when Bloomberg last calculated the total at $12.8 trillion. The tally “ignores the fact that virtually all commitments are backed by assets,” Andrew S. Williams, a Treasury Department spokesman who had the same role at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York until earlier this year, said in an e- mail. “The Federal Reserve’s current ‘outlays’ are largely in the form of secured loans. The aggregate value of the collateral backing those loans exceeds the loan value. These are not ‘outlays.’” Refused to Identify Spokesmen Calvin A. Mitchell of the New York Fed and David Skidmore of the Fed in Washington declined to comment. The Fed has refused to identify the collateral backing its loans. Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, the New York-based company majority-owned by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, sued the central bank in November to force it to provide the information. U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska gave the Fed until Sept. 30 to appeal her decision requiring more disclosure about the financial institutions that have benefited. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aatlky_cH.tY Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve is refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans from American taxpayers or the troubled assets the central bank is accepting as collateral. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in September they would comply with congressional demands for transparency in a $700 billion bailout of the banking system. Two months later, as the Fed lends far more than that in separate rescue programs that didn't require approval by Congress, Americans have no idea where their money is going or what securities the banks are pledging in return....................Federal Reserve spokeswoman Michelle Smith declined to comment on the loans or the Bloomberg lawsuit. Treasury spokeswoman Michele Davis didn't respond to a phone call and an e-mail seeking comment. President-elect Barack Obama's economic adviser, Jason Furman, also didn't respond to an e-mail and a phone call seeking comment from Obama. In a Sept. 22 campaign speech, Obama promised to ``make our government open and transparent so that anyone can ensure that our business is the people's business.'' http://econsultancy.com/blog/4506-bloomberg-s-federal-reserve-lawsuit-highlights-the-importance-of-news-organizations Last November, Bloomberg filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit that sought to force the Federal Reserve to disclose the companies that took advantage of its emergency lending programs. The Federal Reserve had refused to disclose the names of these companies, claiming that such a disclosure could scare shareholders and potentially spark a run on deposits held at these institutions. Bloomberg countered that the American people had a right to know the names of these companies. After all, the public had become an "involuntary investor" in these companies because by way of the Fed's actions. Matthew Winkler, Bloomberg News' editor-in-chief, put it this way: When an unprecedented amount of taxpayer dollars were lent to financial institutions in unprecedented ways and the Federal Reserve refused to make public any of the details of its extraordinary lending, Bloomberg News asked the court why U.S. citizens don’t have the right to know. uma.....thanx for the link

Please i need help i need to pass? Economics help please? 1. What are the differences between the entitlement programs Medicaid and Medicare? (1 point) Medicaid benefits only the elderly in institutional care facilities, and Medicare provides health care for children. Medicare is based on need as a result of low income, and Medicaid provides health care for people with disabilities. Medicaid provides health care for people over 65, and Medicare offers benefits for low-income families and individuals. Medicare provides health care for people over 65, and Medicaid offers benefits for low-income families and individuals. 2. Entitlement programs such as Social Security fall into what type of federal spending category? (1 point) discretionary spending programs variable spending programs mandatory spending programs progressive spending programs 3. Which two types of taxes provide the largest amount of revenue to states? (1 point) sales tax and individual income taxes property taxes and individual income taxes sales taxes and corporate income taxes individual income taxes and corporate income taxes 4. What role does the Federal Reserve play in regulating the banking system?A (1 point) A member from the Federal Reserve works at the headquarters of each national bank. The Federal Reserve coordinates all regulatory activities and examines banks periodically. The Federal Reserve must approve every major transaction of a bank. The Federal Reserve becomes involved only when there is a major problem in a bank. 5. How do changes in interest rates affect the money supply? (1 point) As interest rates fall, people generally hold more cash, restricting the money supply. As interest rates rise, people generally keep their wealth in assets that pay returns, expanding the money supply. As interest rates level off, people charge more and hold more cash, expanding the money supply. As interest rates rise, people generally keep their wealth in assets that pay returns, restricting the money supply. 6. The money multiplier formula shows the effects of (1 point) a cash deposit into the banking system on the money supply. low interest rates on creditors over a long period. Federal Reserve discount rate reductions on the bond markets. a required reserve ratio on excess reserves. 7. How would an increase in the required reserve ratio affect borrowers? (1 point) It would force banks to lower their interest rates, which would benefit many borrowers. It would force banks to raise their monthly charges, which would hurt many borrowers. It would force banks to recall a significant number of loans, which would hurt many borrowers. It would prompt banks to lend more money, which would benefit many borrowers. 8. What do Social Security taxes pay for? (1 point) benefits to federal workers and military personnel benefits to those who are unemployed transportation and training expenses for low-income people benefits to older citizens, surviving family members of wage earners, and people with certain disabilities 9. Which of the following is one reason the federal government collects income taxes as a person earns? (1 point) so that people do not realize exactly how much they are paying so that the money can be put aside until it is needed so that the government can pay bills as they come due so that taxpayers can qualify for refunds and excess tax 10. What is a major difference between an operating budget and a capital budget? (1 point) In an operating budget, legislation is needed; in a capital budget, no legislation is needed. An operating budget is raised by bonds; a capital budget is raised by taxes. An operating budget consists of small amounts of money; a capital budget consists of large amounts of money. An operating budget is for day-to-day expenses; a capital budget is for investment spending. 11. What is an entitlement? (1 point) a social welfare program providing benefits to people who meet certain eligibility requirements a social welfare program paying bills for government spending such as supplies and utilities a social welfare program spending funds over which legislators have direct control a social welfare program providing payments that the government receives for certain services 12. Your department store receipt says that you pay a 5% sales tax on sports equipment. This sales tax is an example of a (1 point) proportional tax. progressive tax. regressive tax. income tax. 13. The salves tax on a $20.00 hammer is 7%, or $1.40. Why is this tax a bigger burden for Josh, who has a $15,000 income, than for Aaron, who has a $150,000 income? (1 point) The tax represents a larger proportion of Josh's income. The burden is the same for both Josh and Aaron. The tax rate is higher for Josh than for Aaron. Josh will have to pay a greater property tax on the hammer than will Aaron.

hey i need help my business plan :: give your opinion or try to help me? Executive Summary: 1. Applicant/Company Information -Name: Design coffer shop -Address:132 Cedar Grove Rd, Ruckersville, CA 90324 -Phone: (909) 834-3434 Fax: 904.326.1039 -Contact Person: Evelyn Reyes -Business Structure: Sole Proprietorship - Banking Information: Bank: Wells Fargo Bank Address: 3035 Van Buren Blvd Riverside, CA 92503 Phone: (951) 351-3402 Contact: Erica Smith, Financial Services Manager -Anticipated Start Date: Design coffee shop it well began operations in November 2009, and we going to prepare the plans to undertake a small expansion. As soon as possible after the scoping plan approval. Brief outline of your business concept: Design coffee shop is company involved more greatest the originally coffee shop. It providing graphic design and marketing communication services. it not provide big business . It just likes a small business Every day, millions of Americans wanted to sit down and enjoy the smell cup of coffee and lay back & see the background artwork from graphic design artist. "A person had dreamed to spend more than 50 cents for a cup of coffee. A few years, now they glad to pay $1 to $4 for their cappuccino, mocha latte or vanilla ice blended drink." The specialty-coffee business is growing at a healthy pace. The completive the Starbucks, The Coffee Bean, Pet’s, Dietrich’s and other major chains serve average quality drinks in establishments that have the same generic design appearance. Indeed, Starbucks and The Coffee Bean are often referred to as "fast food" coffeehouses due to their "cookie cutter" design. Now that Americans' coffee preferences have broadened and matured, many are asking for more from their design coffee shop. We offer high-quality products in an upscale environment. Furthermore, our high-profile location in San Bernardino provides a mixed customer base that will maintain high levels of business in every season, at all times of the day, every day of the week. Vision and Mission Statement The design coffee shop will become the more like small museum. We will serve a perfect product at a very reasonable price. We will also be a meeting place for graphic design artists and a place for them to show off their work. We will create an atmosphere conducive to creative expression and promote the creative process. Our primary goals over the next year are: 1. Secure financing for start-up of at least $10,000 for space and equipment. 2. Renovate our space in Old Town. 3. Acquire equipment necessary for business, i.e. coffee pot, cappuccino machines, blenders, etc. 4. Make agreement with coffee distributors, and bakery vendors. 5. Create a cozy, artist friendly environment (i.e. choice of colors, choice of music, decor) 6. Open for business and become the foremost coffeehouse in the area. MARKET OPPORTUNITY Marketing will play a vital role in the success of small company is java net because they will put some our advertising, I not want exert gate too much our company. it something sample for customer to understand. It only one or two location be. The design coffee shop is our target market is mostly student. Because it when come student they wanted to sit back and relax. Design coffee shop going to be locate one of San Bernardino. Ownership The Design coffee shop is a general partnership between Lisa and Sandy Mason. Each partner is equally involved in operation and management of the shop, each to her own abilities. Location and Facilities The Design coffee shop is located in the Old Town section of San Bernardino, California. We currently own the building we will occupy, though painting and renovation are sorely needed. Products and Services Description of Products and Services The Design coffee shop will offer high quality coffee, tea, hot coca, and cappuccino, at a very reasonable price. We will also sell homemade cookies, brownies, and doughnuts, also reasonably priced. Key Features of the Products and Services All drinks will be made with filtered water and the highest quality ingredients we can get. Frozen drinks will have caramel or chocolate syrup drizzled in the glass and over the drink. Cappuccino and hot coca will have whipped cream toppings as well as the option for candy sprinkles. Cookies will have the option of a chocolate or caramel dip and sprinkles. We will offer designer flavored cream and five kinds of sweetener, i.e. sugar, honey, Equal, Splenda, and Sweet-n-Low. Cream and sweetener is at no extra charge. Production of Products and Services We will use only filtered water and will brew our coffee in commercial coffeepots that will be thoroughly cleaned between uses. We will bake cookies and brownies in our own on-site oven from proven recipes, daily. Future Products and Services Within the next three to five years we expect to branch out into catering and offer homemade pies, whole or by the slice. Comparative Advantages in Production Our low overhead and cheaper pricing will be the key to our success. Industry Overview Market Research There are other businesses that serve only coffee in our Old Town. Size of the Industry Nationally, the coffee shop industry is quite large, but in somewhere, there are more. Key Industry Trends This industry is booming at the present time, there is a trend toward small cozy places and away from the large generic chain. Industry Outlook The coffee business does not show signs of slowing down. With new innovations such as flavorings and additives, it should continue for some time. Marketing Strategy Target Markets Our target market is a artist and writers who need a nice quite cozy place to think and do their work. Description of Key Competitors Of the three coffee shops in the area, one is a large chain with a very expensive product, one is really a home-style restaurant, the last one, and our biggest competitor is an antique store with a "tea room". Analysis of Competitive Position Our pricing strategy and comfortable atmosphere will be the key to our success. None of the other shops in the area can offer this. Pricing Strategy We will offer three sizes of drinks, small $1.00, medium $1.50 and large $2.00. Our cookies and brownies will sell for $1.00 each. Promotion Strategy We intend to advertise in the local newspapers and offer a "frequent drinkers club" discount to our best customers. We will also send out ads via direct mail, which will include cents off coupons. Management and Staffing Organizational Structure Our organizational structure will be a simple pyramid style with the owners putting in as much work as the employees. Management Team April and Arlene will share management and supervisory responsibilities equally. Arlene for the morning shift. April for the afternoon shift. Staffing We will hire two busboys and two waitresses; these will be recruited from the local high school. Labor Market Issues In this area there are many high school students looking for work, part time or full time, we want to fill that need. Market Risks The main risk is monetary. The area may not be ready for a place like ours and we may not do a great business. Implementation Plan Implementation Activities and Dates 1. Begin building renovation 12/08 2. Complete renovation 2/15/09 3. Begin preliminary advertising 2/15/09 4. Purchase and setup equipment 2/15/09 5. Open for business 5/1/09 Financial Plan Balance Sheet Current Assets: Building $150,000 9 computer $10,800 Furnishings $5,000 Equipment $5,000 Cash Arlene $5,000 April $4,500 Accounts Receivable None Inventory Coffee $1,000 Tea $500 Other Assets Cups $3,000 Total Current Assets $182,800 Liabilities: Accounts Payable (monthly) Water $200 Phone $150 Electric $500 Donut Vendor $1,000 Warehouse Club $1,000 Coffee Distributor $1,000 Wages $5,000 Advertising $1,000 Taxes Payable Property Taxes $500 Employee Taxes $2,000 Operating Loans Payable Startup Loan $500 HP Design jet Z2100 Photo Printer series- models $ 97 Total Liabilities $12,947 on going per month Projected Income March 05 Coffee $6,000 Tea $2,000 Cookies $1,500 Donuts $2,500 Misc. $4,000 Total Income for March $16,000 Total Projected Net Profit (Cost/Benefit) $3,150 for March This would assume 20 pots of coffee sold a day, plus an assortment of other items. This also assumes the market will not increase or decrease due to weather or economics. This would be an average month. my major is graphic design i don't know how making business plan] i have the layout just email me evelynreyes12@yahoo.com you want see it this for my class project

More Stupid Econ Homework I dont have time for ..? K guys,can you help me out,anyway possible is appreciated(: 1. Give TWO examples of financial capital. 2. Define inflation in your own words. 3. What is one problem with inflation? 4. What does inflation do to the value of financial assets? 5. What does the national debt represent? 6. For most developed countries, what does the national debt consist of? 7. Give an example of an IOU instrument the US government uses. 8. What is the Federal Reserve System? 9. What are its duties? 10. Explain in your own words how the Fed represents a mixture of government power and private ownership. 11. What kinds of safeguards have been established to ensure the Fed.'s neutrality and impartiality in economic affairs? Private property (Your right to own something is protected by law.) Free competition (Unfair trade practices, such as monopolies, are illegal.) Savers and investors (Laws regulate the banking industry.) Consumers (Consumer safety laws exist to make sure things we buy are safe.) Workers (The government sets a minimum wage.) 14. Select TWO of the above categories and give a specific example of how government intervenes in each of those areas. Give the example for the first category that you selected. 15. Give the example for the second category that you selected. The government also provides public goods and services. If you read the section on Public Expenditure, you will see a list of government departments and their respective responsibilities. Just from looking at this list, you can get an idea of the many services the government provides. 16. List AT LEAST FIVE public goods or services that the government provides that YOU benefit from. These can be related to the lists on this web site, or things you've thought up on your own. Finally, the government also helps in dealing with the nation's economic problems, by taxing, spending, and regulating the money supply. 17. List AT LEAST TWO kinds of taxes that you or that your family pays. 18. Based on what you've learned in this lesson, why is the US economy called a mixed economy? Because the government takes in less in taxes than it spends, it must borrow money each year. This borrowing is similar to individual overspending through the use of credit cards. The government borrows money to cover deficit spending by selling securities to individuals and businesses. The money the government owes on these securities is the National Debt. The federal securities include Treasury bonds, notes, and bills. United States Savings Bonds are actually loans that individuals make to the federal government. While the government acquires new debt each year by issuing new securities, it retires old debt by paying off bonds, notes, and bills as they come due. Do you think this is a problem? If so, you may use it as the basis for one of the next questions. 19. Name TWO major economic problems that exist in this country today. (If you haven't come up with any ideas from this lesson's reading and can't think of any off the top of your head, have a look in your local newspaper.) For each, include a) why it is a problem and b) what you think could be done to solve it. Please name the first economic problem. 20. Please name the second economic problem. 21. Write AT LEAST a paragraph describing Keynes' main contributions to economic thought and influence on modern economies. 22. To what two areas of control has the US government’s monetary policy historically been assigned? 23. What do all of these things have in common? Stock prices up Increase in household wealth Change in value of the dollar on currency markets I ncreased demand for big-ticket items Housing boom

Why are the most irresponsible Banks and Borrowers being rewarded in the US Home rescue plan?Why save Them? Case: Borrow more than your House is worth: don't make a payment for 90 days ,and a Loan servicing Agency paid by the Feds will lower your payments so you can stay in the House.If you bought a Mercedes on a Home equity loan ,and that is what caused you to go under(upside down)on the loan .You can keep the car,and any assets you have .The loan will be re-worked with new lower payments adjusted as low as 33% of your Gross income. So if you have two jobs you can quit one ,or your wife can quit hers ,and The Feds will base the New payment qualifying you on the one household income ..Keep your expensive car and (Toys) assets.After wards the borrower can get a higher income, and still have the New Low payment. How Sweet! Only in America. That's the New Federal Program that is rewarding all the borrowers that have no equity in their homes due to irresponsible behavior. Well as for the poor working Slob that has 10% or more equity in their Home.If they lose their job due to this Quote financial Crisis,fall behind,well out in the street They Go!ONLY IN AMERICA! Don't get me wrong I don't think anyone should get Special Treatment. Why does the Government make out Like they are helping a Responsible Home Owner,When this is all to keep the House Listed as an asset for the Banks that are Guilty of Irresponsible Lending Practices? WHAT ARE THE ODDS EITHER ONE WILL CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR?

Can i file a lawsuit against a bank if they lied on the phone and keep false charges, lowering my creditscore.? I signed up. Cut the card as soon as it came. They sent me a bill a day before the payment was due for a 30 dollar undiscussed annual fee. I called, and was told specifically I would NOT have to pay this fee if i cancelled the account at that time. Which of course i did. Now months later im still getting credit reports telling me im being charged by this bank which is piling up pretty large by now and of course any attempt at calling these people is met by denial. This is killing my credit score and I can't get a loan even though i have plenty of assets to borrow against. This bank records there calls at the call center so there is record somewhere of an employee lying to me, but i feel like it would be gone by now and it would be hard to find or get ahold of legally even if i knew where abouts it would be. Can i file a suit? I'm considering this to be published slander as it directly negatively changes facts about me and I am sure there are a few other laws being broken here. This bank has paid millions before for screwing around with the dates on bills getting themselves more late fees and such. Is it reasonable to say that I can possibly file for an equal ammount to the loans I have been denied for based on this banks actions. I just don't want to get squashed by this mammoth corporation simply because i can't afford legal fee's for the next 10 years. added detail, its piled up to alot more than 30 dollars. i refuse to pay as it is compounding each month with interest and late fees, the problem is even if i get this fixed my credit rating will not be, which is why i believe there is more involved here. its not just the money, its the fact that they've now significantly impacted the quality of my life and no the card was never activated or used. I'm sure if i tried anything they'd just delete the recorded phone call and i'd be screwed. so far from what im hearing I need to let the credit agencies deal with this and not try and file any suit.

what are the legal issues? NEW SOUTH WALES SUPREME COURT CITATION: Ehsman v Nutectime International [2006] NSWSC 887 CURRENT JURISDICTION: Equity FILE NUMBER(S): 5189/05 HEARING DATE{S): 31 March 2006 DECISION DATE: 01/09/2006 PARTIES: Patricia Mary Ehsman (P/A) Nutectime International Pty Ltd (D1/R1) David Neilan Brady (D2/R2) Francis Joseph Frasca (D3/R3) David Bruce Paix (D4/R4) Timentel Pty Ltd (D5) JUDGMENT OF: Austin J LOWER COURT JURISDICTION: Not Applicable COUNSEL: R Harper SC (P/A) M J Cohen (D1-4/R1-4) SOLICITORS: McDonald Johnson (P/A) Sparke Helmore (D1-4, R1-4) CATCHWORDS: CORPORATIONS - statutory derivative action - application by 35% shareholder/director to bring derivative proceedings after company's assets were transferred to a company from which the applicant is excluded - inadequacies of proposed points of claim - whether those inadequacies prevent the court from determining the application under s 237 - distinction between personal and derivative claims - whether court is satisfied concerning good faith, best interests of company and serious question to be tried - ancillary order for applicant to indemnify company with respect to costs of derivative proceedings - considerations relating to the bringing of derivative and personal claims in single proceedings ACTS CITED: Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ss 180-184, 232, 236-242 DECISION: See under heading "Conclusions" JUDGMENT: IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES EQUITY DIVISION CORPORATIONS LIST AUSTIN J FRIDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2006 5189/05PATRICIA MARY EHSMAN V NUTECTIME INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD & 4 ORS JUDGMENT 1HIS HONOUR: Before me is an application by the plaintiff, Mrs Ehsman, for leave under s 237 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) to bring proceedings on behalf of the fifth defendant company, Timentel, by filing and serving a further amended originating process and amended points of claim. 2 , 3, 4, 5 and 6 Deleted The plaintiff's case 7The parties agree that Mr Brady and Mr and Mrs Ehsman came together in a business venture before Timentel was formed. Mrs Ehsman owned some patents for a split face wristwatch display, and she wished to exploit them commercially. Mr Brady had some marketing experience. There are disagreements about the commercial utility of Mrs Ehsman's patents, and as to the precise terms of their arrangements, which need not be resolved for present purposes. It is common ground that they respectively brought to the business of Timentel, when it was formed in 1998, the patents (such as they were) and a measure of marketing/commercial input. 8When Timentel was formed, Mrs Ehsman granted it a licence over her patents, for no consideration (although she received shares in the licensee entity). There is disputed evidence as to whether, as Mrs Ehsman asserts, she entered into the licence agreement in reliance on the assumption, encouraged by Mr Brady, that the licence would always be held by a company in which she would be a director and shareholder. The licensee's interest in the licence agreement was assignable. Mrs Ehsman claims, and the defendants deny, that it was a term and condition of the licence agreement that the licence would not be assigned by Timentel to a company in which Mrs Ehsman was not a shareholder and director. 9Initially the only shareholders were the Ehsmans and Mr Brady, and Mr Brady and Mrs Ehsman were the directors. Mr Brady's evidence is that he devoted very considerable time and effort, and expense, to travelling to Europe to negotiate for the commercial exploitation of the split face wristwatch display. According to him, the people he consulted in Europe told him that Mrs Ehsman's patents were just concepts and it would be necessary to work out the most efficacious interior wristwatch mechanisms to support the split face. That is disputed by Mrs Ehsman. But it is clear enough that Mr Brady did do some amount of developmental/marketing work in Europe, the cost of which was shared or partly shared with the Ehsmans. 10Mr Brady's evidence is that he came up with the idea of having movements in each half of the split face watch case for the forward and return hand movements, all controlled by an electronic integrated circuit, and that Mr Claude Ray, an experienced watchmaker, carried out the necessary design work. The eventual product, which he called a "hinged electronic watch", was based on ideas that were fundamentally different, he said, from Mrs Ehsman's patents. These matters are contested. 11Mr Brady said he negotiated a development agreement with Mr Ray's company, using a company with which he was associated, Renaissance Management, for that purpose. In turn he caused Renaissance Management to enter into an agreement with another company with which he was associated, DNB Global Corporation (registered in the Philippines), which made advance payments to Mr Ray's company. At a final hearing of this case it will be necessary to explore these corporate relationships and their purpose, and to understand better the nature of Mr Brady's interests. DNB Global appears to bear his initials, but there is some evidence that he is just one of five directors and is indirectly a shareholder. DNB Global is important in this case because, according to Mr Brady, it incurred substantial expenses through payments for development work, for which Timentel reimbursed it out of monies borrowed by Timentel from Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix. But Mrs Ehsman questions whether loans were ever in fact made by those three directors. 12Mr Brady said the development of the hinged electronic watch was very expensive and under the arrangements between them, Ms Ehsman was to contribute to that development. He alleges that she defaulted in that obligation. He claims that by March 2005 she owed and had not paid about $86,000. That is contested. According to Mr Brady, the development was eventually successful and the hinged electronic watch is protected by patents in various countries, procured at a cost to DNB Global, recoverable from Timentel. 13In about June 2002 Ms Ehsman and Mr Brady decided to bring in two other parties, namely Mr Frasca and Mr Paix. There is quite a bit of evidence, not all consistent, about the circumstances in which Mr Frasca and Mr Paix were invited into the company. What is clear is that Mr Frasca and Mr Paix joined the board of directors and acquired shares, they provided some capital, and in due course they sided with Mr Brady and against Mrs Ehsman. After they joined the board, the company's issued 100 ordinary shares were divided as follows: Mr Brady 35 shares, Mr and Mrs Ehsman 35 shares, Mr Frasca 15 shares, and Mr and Mrs Paix 15 shares. 14During 2002, it seems, Mrs Ehsman visited Europe and met with one of Mr Brady's contacts, Manuel Spode of Les Artisans Horlogers. There is conflicting evidence as to what happened at the meeting. Mr Frasca gives evidence in his affidavit that the meeting led to Mrs Ehsman being criticised by the other directors for intervening secretly without the board's authority, and for her suspicious approach. Mr Frasca also says that at a meeting he had with Mr and Mrs Ehsman in 2003, they told him that they were determined to bring Mr Brady down. These matters are also disputed. Nevertheless it appears that, some time after Mr Frasca and Mr Paix arrived on the board, if not earlier, the relationship between Messrs Brady, Frasca and Paix, on the one hand, and the Ehsmans, on the other hand, deteriorated. By now the relationship has completely broken down. 15There is a considerable amount of correspondence in evidence, and minutes of board meetings. I shall not describe this material in detail here. The correspondence shows that at least since early 2005, Mrs Ehsman has been concerned about verifying payments allegedly due by Timentel to DNB Global, and also about the financial management of Timentel more generally. The evidence is that the only bank account of Timentel has been relatively dormant at times when, the defendants allege, Timentel made payments to DNB Global. Mrs Ehsman's solicitors have written to Timentel's solicitors about these matters. 16Mr Brady claims that by about May 2005 there was a pressing need for capital for Timentel, to pay invoices to DNB Global of about $216,000 and certain other smaller debts. It appears that at this time Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix developed a proposal to lend Timentel up to $246,000 for a term of 60 days with interest of 17% compounding monthly, secured by a registered charge. Mrs Ehsman asked the copies of the draft loan facility and charge documents but received them only after they had been executed. A board meeting attended by Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix, but not Mrs Ehsman, on 9 May 2005 approved the loan proposal and authorised execution of the documents. Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix, acting as directors of the company, purported to authorise the company to enter into the loan facility and charge agreements in which they were the counterparties, without the consent of the other director/shareholder, Ms Ehsman. 17The defendants claim that the loan facility was drawn down and the money was used directly for payment of outstanding debts of Timentel, rather than for deposit into Timentel's bank account. Mrs Ehsman, by her solicitor, sought to verify the making of the loan but she says she has not received proper documentation. The evidence includes minutes of the board meeting of DNB Global on 18 August 2005, at which the directors of that company confirmed that the company had been paid for certain invoices, but the evidence is incomplete because, for example, the identity of the paying entity is not given. 18On 11 July 2005 Messrs Brady, Frasca and Paix as lenders made a formal notice of demand for payment to Timentel of an amount of about $247,000. But they gave the company a limited extension of time to repay. Mrs Ehsman's solicitors alleged in correspondence that any attempt to enforce the charge would render it void under s 267 of the Corporations Act, because the chargees were "relevant persons" for the purposes of that section. 19The security was not enforced but instead, at some stage it was proposed that the company would enter into an asset sale agreement and a deed of assignment of the licence, in favour of the other three directors or their vehicle, for a price supported by a valuation by Les Artisans Horlogers. In correspondence, Mrs Ehsman's solicitors endeavoured unsuccessfully to obtain information about the valuation - indeed, they approached the valuer directly without success. They alleged that the valuation did not cover all of the assets sold. They strenuously opposed the proposed transaction, on several grounds including that the transaction would be in breach of the contractual arrangements and understandings between Mrs Ehsman and the other three directors. 20Nutectime was formed in August 2005. The directors are Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix. The company has issued 100 ordinary shares. Mr Brady owns 60 shares, Mr Frasca owns 20 shares in Mr and Mrs Paix own 20 shares. Mr and Mrs Ehsman do not hold any shares. 21The asset sale agreement and the deed of assignment of licence were entered into by Timentel and Nutectime on 2 September 2005. The transaction was considered at a board meeting not attended by Mrs Ehsman. Messrs Brady, Frasca and Paix went through a procedure of formally disclosing their interest in the purchaser but then they proceeded, purporting to act as directors of the company, to approve the transaction. It appears that the contract was made and completion took place on the same day. The total sale price $277,000. According to Timentel's solicitors, the sale proceeds were used to pay out and discharge the charge over the company's assets. That appears to have meant that the bulk of the sale proceeds were directed to Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix. It is not clear from the evidence whether there was any actual movement of money. 22Up until May 2005 Mrs Ehsman had been a director and (with her husband) substantial shareholder of Timentel, which was the licensee for no consideration of her patents. On one view, the company owed a substantial amount of money to DNB Global, but it had procured substantial development work for its split face watch design. Any profits from the realisation of that development work would have come to Timentel, and Mr and Mrs Ehsman would have had a 35% interest in those profits. After 2 September 2005, Mrs Ehsman was still a director of Timentel and Mr and Mrs Ehsman remained 35% shareholders. But the company's substantial assets, and any prospect it may have had of earning profits from the development of the split face watch, had gone. Mrs Ehsman was still the licensor of her patents, but she was entitled to receive no consideration for the licence. The new licensee, Nutectime, was a company in which she had no interest, and that company had acquired Timentel's assets and any profit-making opportunity relating to the split face watch. The controllers and shareholders of Nutectime were her fellow directors and shareholders of Timentel. The draft APC and draft FAOP 23From this brief account it appears that if Mrs Ehsman could substantiate her allegations, this would be a case of self-dealing by her co-directors to her considerable disadvantage, and unauthorised diversion of a corporate opportunity. Experience shows that in such cases it is important for the plaintiff to identify with particularity the precise duties said to have been breached and the circumstances of the breach. That is important in the interests of clarity of presentation of the plaintiff's case, and to ensure that the defendant is not surprised by having to meet a case at trial different from what she had been led to expect. These considerations strongly suggest that in such a case, the plaintiff should proceed by statement of claim. Where the plaintiff is proceeding in her own right, invoking the oppression remedy, and also seeking to assert the company's rights in a derivative action, the need for clarity of pleading is especially strong. 24 Deleted 25I have endeavoured to identify those allegations that relate to some right of Timentel, and distinguish them from allegations relating to some right of Mrs Ehsman personally. In summary, for reasons given below, paras 7, 18-21, 22, 23-26, and 27-29 (and the claims to relief in paras 1-5, perhaps 7, and 8) of the draft APC are claims made on behalf of Timentel, and paras 8-16, 17, 30 and 31 (and claims to relief in para 6 and perhaps 7) are claims made by Mrs Ehsman personally. 26It is important to maintain the distinction between derivative and personal claims in the interests of clarity. But nothing in Part 2F.1A requires that a derivative action be in a separate proceeding in which no personal claims are made by the person who has carriage of the proceeding. For example, in Fiduciary Ltd v Morningstar Research Pty Ltd (2005) 53 ACSR 732 the plaintiffs were an individual and corporate plaintiffs, and leave was granted under s 237 so as to permit the individual plaintiff (who was a shareholder and officer of the corporate plaintiffs) to assert the rights of the companies in a proceeding in which he also asserted rights of his own. The combination of corporate and personal claims was not unlike the combination of claims in the present case, though the pleading was by an elaborate statement of claim. In that case, and here, the asserted derivative and personal rights arise to a large degree out of the same alleged facts. 27Here the sole plaintiff is Mrs Ehsman, and Timentel is a defendant. It is not proposed that Timentel should become a plaintiff if s 237 leave is granted, because Timentel is properly a defendant to some of Mrs Ehsman's claims. Nor is it proposed that the derivative action be constituted as a separate proceeding, because there are substantially overlapping facts concerning the derivative and personal claims, which should therefore be heard together. Section 236(2) says that proceedings brought on behalf of a company must be brought in the company's name. But there is now a substantial line of decisions holding that, despite the literal wording of s 236(2), leave under s 237 can be given where the company is a party to the proceeding as a necessary defendant in respect of other claims, without requiring the company become a plaintiff or insisting that the derivative action be brought in a separate proceeding: see especially Keyrate Pty Ltd v Hamarc Pty Ltd (2001) 38 ACSR 396, per Santow J at [18]-[19]; Metyor Inc v Queensland Electronic Switching Pty Ltd (2002) 42 ACSR 398, per McPherson JA at [14]-[15]; Charlton v Baber (2003) 47 ACSR 31, per Barrett J at [5]. 28I turn now to consider the draft APC, paragraph by paragraph. 29After preliminary allegations, para 7 of the draft APC asserts that by reason of their appointment as directors of Timentel, Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix owed Timentel various duties. There is a list of the standard duties of directors. The list reflects ss 180, 181, 182 and 183 of the Corporations Act, and also a duty to act honestly in the exercise of their powers and the discharge of their duties as directors (a formulation no longer found in the statute). [deleted latter part of paragraph] 30Having made allegations about the defendants' duties as directors of Timentel, the draft APC (paras 8-16) makes allegations about the licence agreement, leading to the assertion that the purported sale by Timentel to Nutectime of its rights under the licence agreement was in breach of the licence agreement. That is a personal claim by Mrs Ehsman against Timentel (and no other defendant) for breach of contract. It is not a claim for breach of any duty owed to Timentel. 31Para 17 pleads that, by reason of matters pleaded in paras 8-11, the first to fourth defendants are estopped from asserting that Timentel was entitled to sell or assign to the first defendant the rights of Timentel under the licence agreement. This was said to arise because Mrs Ehsman entered into the licence agreement in reliance on the assumption, encouraged by Mr Brady, Mr Frasca and Mr Paix, that the licence would always be held by a company of which she was a director and shareholder. Clearly the allegation of estoppel is made for the benefit of Mrs Ehsman personally rather than to vindicate some right or interest of Timentel. The document does not reveal how the allegation can be made against any defendant other than Mr Brady, given that the assumption is said to have been created and acted upon at the time of the licence agreement, which was made well before Mr Frasca and Mr Paix became involved. 32Paras 18-21 make allegations about breaches of duties owed by the other three directors to Timentel. They allege that Timentel did not receive any of the proceeds of sale of assets, or received only part of the proceeds, and Messrs Brady, Frasca and Paix received those proceeds or part of them. It is claimed that their conduct in receiving those proceeds constituted a breach of all of the duties pleaded in paragraph 7. I find it impossible to justify that claim, with respect to some of the duties identified in para 7, even taking into account the "particulars" to para 21. Moreover, the mere assertion that Timentel did not receive proceeds of sale and the other three directors did (even when the "particulars" to para 21 are added) cannot, per se, establish a breach of any of the duties identified in para 7. These allegations fall well short of a proper pleading. 33Para 22 alleges that by reason of the matters alleged in certain other paragraphs, Messrs Brady, Frasca and Paix have been unjustly enriched as a result of breach of the duties referred to in para 7. Presumably this is intended to establish a ground of recovery for Timentel. Again, the precise matters that might constitute unjust enrichment have not been adequately pleaded and, moreover, it is not easy to see why para 22 combines breach of directors' duties with unjust enrichment. 34Paras 23-26 make allegations against Nutectime, intended to support orders declaring void and setting aside the purported sale of assets or requiring Nutectime to hold the assets in trust for Timentel. These paragraphs seem to assert some entitlement to relief on the part of Timentel rather than Mrs Ehsman, although the remedies would obviously operate for her benefit as well. The precise foundation of the remedies is not clear. The drafter has not invoked the equitable principles concerning accessory liability for breach of trust with any specificity or clarity. To the extent that entitlement to the relief is said to arise out of Nutectime being "knowingly concerned in the breach" there is a suggestion of statutory accessory liability, but the statutory directors' duties do not create any accessory civil reliability for being knowingly concerned in the primary breach. There is "accessory" liability under the statute for de facto and shadow directors, but the allegations in the draft APC do not in terms invoke that liability. 35Paras 27-29 allege that the deed of charge dated 9 May 2005 is void and should be set aside because Timentel did not receive the benefit, or received only part of the benefit, of the money purported to be advanced. This seems to be the assertion of rights of Timentel rather than Mrs Ehsman personally. A deed of charge merely provides security for advances made under some other arrangement such as a loan facility agreement. It is not easy to see why the fact (if it be so) that the chargor did not receive the benefit of loan monies purported to be advanced under a loan facility agreement should, per se, lead to the consequence that the security for the loan is void. If the charge is security for money advanced under a loan facility agreement, and no money is advanced to the chargor, then nothing is secured by the charge but the charging instrument is nevertheless valid. 36Para 30 contends that the other three directors repeatedly failed or refused to furnish information to Mrs Ehsman relating to the affairs of Timentel. Particulars are given. As expressed, this is an allegation of breach of duty to Mrs Ehsman rather than Timentel. There is no allegation of any particular duty but it seems that the drafter had in mind either or both of the statutory rights of a director to gain access to certain information under ss 198F and 290, or the director's general law right of access to the information needed to discharge her fiduciary duty (eg Edman v Ross (1922) 22 SR(NSW) 351). A director seeking to assert those rights is not required to show that inspection is sought in good faith and for a proper purpose, whereas a shareholder seeking inspection under s 247A must do so. Para 30 is not clear enough. 37Para 31 asserts that, by reason of the matters asserted, the other three directors have conducted the affairs of Timentel in a manner oppressive to, unfairly prejudicial to or unfairly discriminatory against Mrs Ehsman, or contrary to the interests of the members as a whole, contrary to s 232. Mrs Ehsman has personal standing to complain under that provision. The difficulty with para 31 is that it relies globally on all of the other allegations, some of which do not seem to be pertinent (for example, the pleadings against Timentel itself based on breach of contract and against Mr Brady based on estoppel). It should be re-formulated with more precision. 38 Deleted 39The draft FAOP contains the same claims for relief as the draft APC, and therefore suffers from the defects just noted. It also contains a prayer for an order under s 237. This is inappropriate, given that the interlocutory application presently under consideration seeks a s 237 order and also leave to file the FAOP, so that the question of s 237 leave will have been addressed before the FAOP is filed. Further, in the draft FAOP the application is said to be made pursuant to ss 232, 236 and 237. Sections 236 and 237 do not need to be mentioned, for the reason just given, and s 232 appears from the draft APC to be only one of the statutory provisions under which relief is sought, the others being the various directors' duties provisions. 40My conclusion is that the draft APC and the draft FAOP are seriously defective, and therefore I shall not accede to Mrs Ehsman's application for leave to file and serve them in their present form. What is needed is a carefully considered pleading by statement of claim. However, my view is that the draft APC identifies in broad terms, though imprecisely and at times in a confused way, some derivative and personal causes of action that emerge on Mrs Ehsman's account of the evidence. The causes of action are: (A)a personal claim by Mrs Ehsman against Timentel for breach of contract arising out of Timentel's purported sale and assignment to Nutectime, sounding in damages (paras 8-16); (B)a personal claim by Mrs Ehsman against Mr Brady based the allegation that at the time of the making of the licence agreement he encouraged her to assume that the licence would always be held by a company of which she was a director and shareholder - though the appropriate remedy, if this ground is established, is debatable (para 17); (C)claims by Timentel against Messrs Brady, Frasca and Paix for breach of ss 182 and 183 and their general law duty to avoid conflicts of interest, by virtue of their self-dealing in the loan and security transactions and then the sale and assignment transactions, leading an order for an account of profit or an order setting aside the transactions, or a compensation order under s 1317H (paras 18-21 and 22); (D)a claim by Timentel against Nutectime for accessory liability under equitable principles which apply to a person who assists in a breach of fiduciary duty or receives property transferred in breach of duty, leading to an order requiring Nutectime to hold acquired property on trust or to account as a constructive trustee (paras 23-26); (E)a personal claim by Mrs Ehsman against the other three directors asserting infringement of her right of access as a director to information of Timentel, under the general law and perhaps under ss 198F and 290, leading to an order for access or to restrain obstruction (para 30); (F)a personal claim by Mrs Ehsman for relief under the "oppression" remedy in s 232, arising out of specifically pleaded facts and circumstances, leading to a range of possible remedies to address the oppressive or unfair conduct (para 30). 41I am not persuaded that there is any viable course of action underlying paras 27-29. 42I think the appropriate course is to dismiss the application for leave to file and serve the amended points of claim, and to direct Mrs Ehsman to file and serve a statement of claim to give effect to her personal and derivative claims having regard to these reasons for judgment. 43Section 237 authorises the court to grant leave to permit a person to bring proceedings on behalf of a company. Part 2F.1A does not explain the word "proceedings" or give any direct indication of the level of specificity of pleaded allegations and prayers for relief that the applicant for leave must achieve. Typically the applicant will provide the court with a draft statement of claim or (as here) points of claim, or some other document giving particulars of the derivative claims. But in my view it cannot be the case that a full statement of the derivative claims must be presented before the court can consider and determine a leave application. Were that to be required, any subsequent amendments to the pleaded case would need to be treated as a leave application under s 237 to which the criteria in s 237(2) would have to be applied. That, in my view, would be an unnecessary burden for case management. 44In my opinion the applicant for leave must identify and describe the proposed proceedings with sufficient precision that the court can properly assess the application having regard to the criteria that it is required to consider under s 237(2), and the opponents can respond to the application in terms of those criteria. That may be achieved by presenting the court with a draft pleading, but it may be achieved in other ways such as by outlining the claims in affidavit evidence. It is not hard to envisage an application that falls so far short of identifying the derivative causes of action to be asserted that the court is left unable to assess, for example, whether it is in the best interests of the company that the applicant be granted leave, and whether there is a serious question to be tried. Here, however, Mrs Ehsman has done enough in her draft points of claim (defective though they are) and in the voluminous evidence that has been adduced, to permit me to identify the causes of action broadly described in paragraphs (A)-(F) above, of which paras (C) and (D) are derivative claims. I am able to consider the application for leave under s 237 as an application for leave to bring proceedings on behalf of Timentel by a statement of claim that would assert the causes of action identified in paras (C) and (D) and seek appropriate equitable and statutory relief. The requirements for leave to bring a derivative action 45Section 236(1)(a) allows a member or officer, inter alios, to bring proceedings on behalf of the company with the court's leave. Ms Ehsman has standing both as a member and an officer of Timentel. 46Under s 237(2) the court is required to grant the application for leave if it is satisfied of five matters set out in subparagraphs (a) to (e). Subsection 237(3) and (4) establish a rebuttable presumption that the granting of leave is not in the best interests of the company in certain circumstances, but it is agreed that those circumstances have no application to the present case. There is no suggestion of the members of the company purporting to ratify or approve the conduct of the other three directors, so as to invoke s 239. 47Of the five matters that the court must address under s 237(2), the parties agree that the notice requirement in subparagraph (e) has been satisfied here. The defendants did not concede, in terms of subparagraph (a), that it is probable that the company will not itself bring the proceedings, or properly take responsibility for them, or for the steps in them. However, the evidence before me plainly establishes that this criterion is satisfied, in respect of proceedings to pursue any derivative claims of the kind identified at paras (C) and (D) above. Timentel is under the control of the other three directors, who are acting together in respect of the company's dealings with Mrs Ehsman. The other directors (and spouse, in the case of Mr Paix) are the majority shareholders. They have caused the assets of Timentel to be passed to Nutectime, a company in which they but not Ms Ehsman are the directors and shareholders. They have asserted, in answer to the present application, both on their own behalf and on behalf of Timentel, that there is no foundation for derivative claims to be brought. It is clear from their attitude, revealed in the evidence and upon the application, that they would not authorise the company to bring such proceedings. 48That leaves for consideration subparagraphs (b), (c) and (d) of s 237(2). In their submissions, the parties referred me to a substantial number of decided cases. It seems to me, however, that the courts' approach to these subparagraphs has become relatively clear in the course of decisions, and it is unnecessary for me to refer to authorities extensively. Additionally, I have reached the conclusion that this is a plain case in which all three criteria have been established, and that extensive exposition is unnecessary. Good faith 49In the Swansson case, Palmer J expressed the opinion at least two questions are generally relevant to this issue: namely, whether the applicant honestly believes that a good cause of action exists and has reasonable prospects of success; and whether the applicant is seeking to act in a derivative capacity for such a collateral purpose as will amount to an abuse of process. This approach has been followed frequently in subsequent cases. I was referred, inter alia, to the discussion by Brereton J. in Maher v Honeysett & Maher Electrical Contractors Pty Ltd [2005] NSWSC 859, at [30]. 50The evidence shows that Mrs Ehsman believes that a derivative action exists which has reasonable prospects of success. She has given sworn evidence in para [24] of her affidavit of 9 December 2006 to the effect that the company has a good cause of action with reasonable prospects of success for the claims that she outlines. I can see no proper basis in the evidence for doubting that this belief is honest. The highest the evidence goes is in the affidavit of Mr Frasca, where he deposes to a discussion with Mr and Mrs Ehsman in 2003 in which, on his version of it, they conveyed an implacable desire to destroy Mr Brady. But that evidence is contested and in any event, if accepted, it would not point to any lack of honesty in Mrs Ehsman's belief at the present time of her prospects of success in a derivative action. 51Mr Frasca's evidence might be taken to point to a collateral purpose on the part of Mrs Ehsman. But the evidence, if accepted, relates to a conversation some years ago, and the assertion of a collateral purpose is inconsistent with Mrs Ehsman's affidavit evidence. It seems to me that if Mrs Ehsman succeeds in making out her factual contentions, there is a plausible derivative action along the lines of paras (C) and (D) above. If such a derivative action is pursued successfully it will have a beneficial effect on the position of Mrs Ehsman in Timentel. Those conclusions, arising out of the evidence as a whole, makes it difficult to maintain that Mrs Ehsman's purpose in pursuing the derivative cause of action is a collateral one. As Brereton J remarked in Maher v Honeysett (at [33]), the objective facts and circumstances speak louder than an applicant's words about her honesty and purpose, and here the objective facts and circumstances, supported by much evidence, are reasonably eloquent. 52My conclusion is that Ms Ehsman has succeeded in satisfying me that she is acting in good faith for the purposes of s 237(2)(b). Best interests of the company 53In Maher v Honeysett, at [44], Brereton J observed that the phrase "best interests" directs attention to the company's separate and independent welfare, a notion that imports the familiar concept of the interests of the company as a whole. Here it is unnecessary to investigate the qualifications to that proposition arising where the company is insolvent or near to insolvency. In the present case Mrs Ehsman's pursuit of derivative claims will, if she is successful, enure to her benefit, as I have explained. 54As Brereton J pointed out (at [45]), "the existence in an applicant of a personal interest in the outcome of a proposed derivative action, or even of a personal animus against the company or other members of it, cannot be significant, let alone decisive, because they are usual concomitants of the types of disputes which lead to derivative actions, and few if any such actions would be brought but for personal interest on the part of the relevant applicant and in the absence of animus against the company or other shareholders". I respectfully agree. The fact that Mrs Ehsman has a personal interest in the outcome of Timentel's derivative claims, and even the existence of personal animus against Mr Brady (if Mr Frasca's disputed evidence is excepted), are not matters standing in the way of the conclusion that the pursuit of the derivative claims is in the best interests of Timentel. 55Relief having the effect of returning Timentel's assets or their beneficial ownership to the company cannot be obtained by Mrs Ehsman 's pursuit of personal claims (except perhaps through some creative orders on the "oppression" ground). The most direct and obvious way of recovery of the property is for Timentel to assert claims for recovery orders derivatively through Mrs Ehsman. If those claims are successful the result will be orders for the restoration of Timentel's property, an outcome which will be in the best interests of the company, although obviously not in the best interests of the majority shareholders. 56In my view it is appropriate for the derivative claims to be pursued in proceedings in which Mrs Ehsman also asserts personal claims, provided that great care is taken to distinguish the two categories of claims and the ingredients of the case to prove each category. I hope that a first step along that path will be taken by the preparation of a statement of claim. Although there is a risk of confusion in allowing a single proceeding that asserts personal and derivative claims, there is considerable advantage in doing so where, as here, there is a substantial common substratum of fact underlying the two categories of claims (see Maher v Honeysett at [53]). 57In all the circumstances I am satisfied that it is in the best interests of Timentel, for the purposes of s 237(2)(c), that Mrs Ehsman be granted leave under s 237. Serious question to be tried 58In my view this case should be treated as a case where the applicant is applying for leave to bring derivative proceedings, rather than to intervene in existing proceedings. The effect of my granting leave to her to file a new initiating pleading will be, if the job is done properly, to overhaul and substantially reconstitute the proceedings, as proceedings in which she pursues clearly articulated derivative and personal claims. Where the applicant is applying for leave to bring proceedings, s 237(2)(d) requires the court to be satisfied that there is a serious question to be tried. 59As Barrett J explained in Charlton v Baber at [55], the applicant bears the onus of proving sufficient material to enable the court to make this determination. But as I explained above, referring to Palmer J's judgment in Swansson (and see Maher v Honeysett at [19]), the court does not normally enter into the merits of the proposed derivative action to any great degree. The evidence must reach the same standard as applies for an interlocutory injunction, set out in such cases as Castlemaine Tooheys Ltd v State of South Australia (1986) 161 CLR 148 and Australian Broadcasting Corporation v Lenah Game Meats Pty Ltd (2001) 208 CLR 199. The standard has been described as "relatively low" (Maher v Honeysett at [19]). 60In this case Mrs Ehsman has filed quite extensive evidence, which she relies on for the purposes of the application, and I also have before me substantial evidence on behalf of the defendants. I infer that the evidence before me is substantially the evidentiary cases of the parties for final relief. This is certainly not a case of affidavits hurriedly cobbled together to meet the exigencies of an interlocutory occasion. Having considered the evidence my view is that, although there are many disputed questions of fact, which I am not in a position to resolve, Mrs Ehsman's allegations are sufficiently substantial to cross the "serious question to be tried" hurdle. I am therefore satisfied that s 237(2)(d) has been met. The court's powers 61The court is empowered by s 241 to make any orders, and give any directions, that it considers appropriate in relation to proceedings brought with leave, or an application for leave. That section affirms the court's power under the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) to make an order requiring that the proceedings be brought by statement of claim, a step that I shall take for the reasons I have explained. It also expressly permits the court to make orders requiring mediation, a step that the court is also empowered to take by s 26 of the Civil Procedure Act. During the course of the hearing, I floated with the parties the question whether it would be appropriate to make an order for compulsory mediation. The suggestion was not opposed and I formed the view that if the parties did not voluntarily agree to mediate I should make an order. Unless the parties have, in the meantime, organised for mediation to take place, I shall include a mediation order in the orders that I make pursuant to these reasons for judgment. 62Section 242 permits the court to make any orders it considers appropriate about the costs of various persons, including the company, in relation to proceedings brought with leave under s 237 (see Fiduciary Ltd v Morningstar Research Pty Ltd (2005) 53 ACSR 732, at [56]). In such a case as the present, where the company is essentially a vehicle to pursue the commercial interests of four parties, one of whom is at odds with the other three, who oppose the bringing of derivative claims, and the plaintiff wishes to combine derivative claims with personal claims largely arising out of the same facts, it seems to me appropriate to require the plaintiff to indemnify the company in respect of costs it may incur, either directly or by virtue of a court order against it, with respect to the pursuit of the derivative claims. If the indemnity were not given, the other three directors would as a practical matter be required to bear the burden of 65% of the company's costs of pursuing derivative claims which they do not want it to pursue. Obviously, to the extent that the plaintiff makes a personal claim against the company, she should not be required to give such an indemnity. Further, the indemnity needs to be qualified so that it does not apply to any cost order made by the court with the intention of overriding the effect of the undertaking. The main purpose of that qualification is to enable the trial judge to make such order as to costs as he or she thinks appropriate after the final hearing, untrammelled by an undertaking that may cause an order for costs against the company to rebound against the plaintiff; but the qualification may also be useful to allow the court to override the undertaking in circumstances not presently foreseeable. 63Mrs Ehsman has succeeded in establishing that leave should be granted to her to bring derivative proceedings on behalf of Timentel, and to file and appropriate pleading to initiate those proceedings (and also to clarify her personal claims). That suggests that she should have her costs of the interlocutory application of 12 December 2005, against the defendants other than Timentel. In my view the fact that she will be required to give an undertaking as to the company's future costs is immaterial to the question of the costs of the application. Although I have found that the draft amended points of claim are seriously defective, they nevertheless convey plainly enough the nature of the derivative claims that Mrs Ehsman wishes to pursue. The defects in the pleaded case did not, in my view, provided a justification for the attitude of complete opposition to the application that the defendants presented to the court. Conclusions 64For the reasons I have given, I propose to make orders along the following lines: (1)Subject to the condition identified in order (2), grant leave to the plaintiff, under s 237 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), to bring proceedings on behalf of the fifth defendant against the first, second, third and fourth defendants, asserting the causes of action generally identified in these reasons for judgment and seeking all or any appropriate remedies; (2)Order (1) is subject to the condition that, before any such proceedings are brought, the plaintiff must indemnify the fifth defendant for and in respect of all costs that the fifth defendant may incur (either on its own account or under an order of the court) by reason of the bringing, maintenance and conduct of the derivative proceedings, provided however that the indemnity is not required to extend to costs that the fifth defendant may incur in the proceedings as a defendant in respect of any personal claim made by the plaintiff, and shall not apply with respect to any final order for costs in the proceedings; (3)Direct the plaintiff to file and serve a statement of claim to give effect to her personal and derivative claims, having regard to these reasons for judgment, by no later than a date to be specified; (4)Order the first, second, third and fourth defendants to pay the plaintiff's costs of her interlocutory process filed on 12 December 2005, as agreed or assessed; (5)Subject to orders (1), (2) (3) and (4), the plaintiff's interlocutory process filed on 12 December 2005 is dismissed; (6)Order that the proceedings be referred for mediation by a mediator agreed to by the parties, such mediation to take place by no later than a date to be specified; (7)Liberty to apply to Austin J on 2 days notice. 65However, I shall give the parties the opportunity to draw my attention to any particular matters that might affect the question of costs, by (for example) causing me to award costs on a different measure or to limit the order for costs in some way. I shall also give them the chance to consider my proposed orders. I shall stand the matter over for the purpose of hearing any such submissions and making orders.

Serious Legal Question on WAMU Credit Card? JPMorgan Chase said it was not acquiring any senior unsecured debt, subordinated debt, and preferred stock of WaMu's banks, or any assets or liabilities of the holding company, Washington Mutual Inc. JPMorgan also said it will not take on the lawsuits facing the holding company. Now, if there is no signed credit card agreement between me and I also loss stock in WM, can I dispute my credit card debt? The problem is WAMU screwed up my account and gave me a card over the phone based on an equity loan that had been closed for over a year. When they found out the mistake, they demanded payment in full. I disputed and asked them to simply transfer to a new account and send me a credit card agreement at the same interest rate. They refused and rather then work to resolve the issue, they threatened me with fraud. I had to retain a criminal attorney which cost almost 10K to prove the error on their part, which they eventually admitted to. However, the stress was so much that I had a heart attack and was hospitalized. So we where in the process of filing a lawsuite against WAMU for what happened and what I have suffered as they refuse to remove the dispute from my credit report. Since then I had to retain a credit attorney (who is off today - but I did leave his office a voice mail ) and I want to know if whoever holds the new debt, if they can't prove the debt was agreed upon or there was no valid contract, can they uphold the debt and if so, can I then take the legal action against them for what I suffered?

Is Great INFLATION coming ?? 2008/2009? The so-called "credit crisis" is gaining momentum. Investors increasingly question the solidity of the banking system, as evidenced by banks' tumbling stock prices and rising funding costs. With bank credit supply expected to tighten, the profit outlook for the corporate sector, which has benefited greatly from "easy credit" conditions, deteriorates, pushing firms' market valuations lower. In fact, peoples' optimism has given way to fears of job losses and recession on a global scale. Free market advocates, however, should not get carried away by the price action in the market place. In a free market, there is nothing wrong with individuals reassessing hitherto held expectations, entailing changes in relative prices. A free market is a discovery process, based on trial and error. Usually the effects of errors made by some are compensated for by the gains of successful decisions taken by others, and the economy expands. Sometimes, however, the effects of errors dominate, and the economy experiences what people call a crisis: income growth is (feared to be) lower than what people think it should, and could, be. In that sense a crisis is a correction of bad decisions. It is an indispensable part of the free market. It pushes those producers out of business who do not satisfy the needs of their clients, and it rewards those who serve their customers well. A crisis must be feared, however, if it has been caused by government action, and if the obvious signs of the crisis provoke ever greater doses of government intervention. In this case, the market would be prevented from doing its job properly. Bad decisions would be perpetuated, and the ultimate crisis may become nasty. Diagnosing the Causes of the Crisis It is against this background that one may wish to review the US central bank's series of rate cuts, the latest being a big 75-basis-points rate slash on January 22, 2008, which brought the official Fed Funds Target Rate to 3.5%.[1] While the Fed's moves were mostly hailed in public as appropriate measures to help the economy avoid recession, Austrian economists hold a completely different view. According to the Austrian Monetary Theory of the Trade Cycle it is the government-run money-supply monopoly that has not only caused the crisis; the theory also diagnoses that rate cuts will not solve the crisis, but will make it even worse. Central banks, the government agents holding the power over the printing press, pursue a monetary policy of "interest rate steering" or, in other words, pushing the interest rate down as much as possible by relentlessly increasing credit and money supply. It is this inflationary monetary policy that causes trouble. Ludwig von Mises pointed out that today credit expansion is exclusively a government practice. As far as private banks and bankers are instrumental in issuing fiduciary media, their role is merely ancillary and concerns only technicalities. The governments alone direct the course of affairs. They have attained full supremacy in all matters concerning the size of circulation credit. While the size of the credit expansion that private banks and bankers are able to engineer on an unhampered market is strictly limited, the governments aim at the greatest possible amount of credit expansion.[2] Initially, the artificial lowering of the interest rate creates an illusion of richness and affluence. The increase in the money stock via bank credit expansion erroneously suggests that the supply of savings increases. Investment picks up, and the economy expands. The illusion of plentiful resources leads to malinvestment, and sooner or later the boom turns into a bust. While the money-fueled expansion is a manifestation of the crisis, it is actually the slump — the correction of malinvestment — that people complain about. The alleged fight against the crisis Once a crisis unfolds, central banks are called upon to lower interest rates — in ignorance of the fact that a monetary policy of pushing down the interest rate has caused the misery in the first place. Cheaper borrowing costs, it is believed, would revive the economy by stimulating investment and consumption, thereby adding to output and employment. Lower interest rates would raise the prices of stocks, bonds, and housing, translating into "wealth effects" which in turn strengthen demand. The obsession with a policy of lowering the interest rate is rooted in a deep-seated ideological aversion against the interest rate. It is a destructive ideology, in particular if the government is in charge of the money supply. Because then the government central bank will lower the interest rate to whatever is deemed appropriate from the viewpoint of the government, pressure groups, and vested interest. However, the interest rate is a reflection of peoples' "time preference": because of scarcity, people value goods and services available today ("present goods") more highly than goods and services available at a later point in time ("future goods").[3] This is why present goods trade at a premium over future goods. That premium is the interest rate, or the "time preference rate." The interest rate is a free-market phenomenon. A policy of suppressing the market interest rate through a government-sponsored credit expansion, Mises noted, is a policy against the free market: Credit expansion is the governments' foremost tool in their struggle against the market economy. In their hands it is the magic wand designed to conjure away the scarcity of capital goods, to lower the rate of interest or to abolish it altogether, to finance lavish government spending, to expropriate the capitalists, to contrive everlasting booms, and to make everybody prosperous.[4] Causing Inflation A monetary policy of lowering the interest rate via expanding credit and money corresponds to the widely held view that "some inflation" is a requisite for economic expansion. In fact, the "inflation bias" has become so widespread that nowadays inflation (the rise in the money supply) is much less feared than deflation (the decline in the money supply). Mises was aware of what happens once the inevitable crisis caused by a manipulation of the interest rate unfolds: "In the opinion of the public, more inflation and more credit expansion are the only remedy against the evils inflation and credit expansion have brought about."[5] The current credit crisis is a sad case in point: with monetary policy having caused inflation and malinvestment, it is now called upon to pursue a policy that leads to even more inflation and malinvestment. Could monetary policy become "ineffective," that is, could it fail to create inflation? For instance, the Bank of Japan's rate cuts around the beginning of the 1990s — as a reaction to falling asset prices and a growing volume of bad loans in banks' portfolio — did not succeed in bringing credit and money growth rates back to precrisis levels. Even with official rates at virtually zero, the economy remained in stagnation and the Japanese stock market continued to decline. Against the backdrop of the Japanese experience it should be noted that there is no limit to central-bank money printing. Central banks can, at any one time, buy any assets from banks and nonbanks such as bonds, real estate, foreign currencies, etc. If a central bank buys, say, debt from the corporate sector, it increases the money stock in the hands of nonbanks directly; the commercial banking sector is not needed for increasing the money supply. Central banks' unlimited power over the money supply has been made pretty clear by the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Ben S. Bernanke, in November 2002: [T]he U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost. By increasing the number of U.S. dollars in circulation, or even by credibly threatening to do so, the U.S. government can also reduce the value of a dollar in terms of goods and services, which is equivalent to raising the prices in dollars of those goods and services. We conclude that, under a paper-money system, a determined government can always generate higher spending and hence positive inflation.[6] So if the government is determined to create inflation, there should be hardly any doubt that there will be inflation. The Fed's series of rate cuts suggests that the bank tries to create additional credit and money via lowering the interest rate on base money. But if such action fails to yield inflation, it does not take much to expect that the central bank may take recourse to less "regular" operations, if and when such an inflation policy is deemed necessary to solve the credit crisis. So far, at least, US bank credit and money supply growth has remained at a very high level. In December 2007, banks' commercial and industrial loans grew at 10.9% y/y, and total bank loans and leases were up 10.8% y/y. Real estate loans — most likely as a consequence of the defaults in the subprime markets — slowed down somewhat, but were still running at 6.3% y/y. Against this background the Fed rate cuts should actually accelerate the erosion of the exchange value of money further. Threatening Freedom Inflation is a societal evil. It redistributes real wealth from creditors to debtors. It impairs the role of money as a means of exchange. The efficiency of the market's price mechanism is greatly reduced, encouraging bad decisions, which in turn harm peoples' economic well-being. At the end of the day, inflation is a serious threat to freedom. The majority of the people, suffering badly from inflation, would most likely blame the free market for their plight, rather than blame the central bank for the debasing of the currency. Print $17 Audio $25 Mises noted: Nothing harmed the cause of liberalism more than the almost regular return of feverish booms and of the dramatic breakdown of bull markets followed by lingering slumps. Public opinion has become convinced that such happenings are inevitable in the unhampered market economy. People did not conceive that what they lamented was the necessary outcome of policies directed toward a lowering of the rate of interest by means of credit expansion. They stubbornly kept to these policies and tried in vain to fight their undesired consequences by more and more government interference.[7] From the Austrian viewpoint, the current credit crisis appears to be a precursor of great inflation. If a deliberate policy of great inflation is chosen in the United States, a monetary policy of debasing the currency would most likely also take hold in other currency areas of the world. The credit crisis has become a threat to the free societal order: as people become dispirited with the free market order, the door would be pushed open for anti–free market policies. --------------------------------------... Thorsten Polleit is Honorary Professor at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. Send him mail. See his archive. Comment on the blog. Notes [1] The FOMC rate cut was made "in view of a weakening of the economic outlook and increasing downside risks to growth. While strains in short-term funding markets have eased somewhat, broader financial market conditions have continued to deteriorate and credit has tightened further for some businesses and households." US Federal Reserve, Press Release, 22 January 2008. [2] Mises, L. v. (1996), Human Action, p. 794. [3] For the explanation of the Austrian theory of the interest rate, see Rothbard, M.N. (1993), Man, Economy, and State: A Treatise on Economic Principles, pp. 31 1 day ago - 2 days left to answer.

How much would Citigroup's and Prince Alwaleed's instant profits been had the bailout succeeded? It purchased Wachovia's banking operations for $2.1 billion. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jBpTstzcj2LSvdE72t247CeMqW6QD93GK7K00 At that price, the toxic assets held by Wachovia were obviously purchased at fire sale prices. Under a loophole in the bailout bill (see section 101(e)), Citigroup was entitled to sell those toxic assets to the taxpayer at MARKET VALUE, far more than they paid for them. Was the amount of instant profit to be gained by using that loophole more than the $2.1 billion Citigroup paid for Wachovia? To calculate that, I need the total market value of the Wachovia's toxic assets. If you have that amount, please provide it so I can make the calculation. I would be very interested to know whether the instant profit from the loophole would have funded Citigroup's purchase of Wachovia? Is that $42 billion referred to in the above-linked article (the $42 billion of in losses from Wachovia's loan portfolio) represent the toxic assets elible for the loophole?. If so, that is insane - that would mean that the bailout would have resulted in an instant profit of $39.9 billion for Citibank. Please tell me that number is wrong!!!! Worse, is the number closer the the $122 billion referred to later in the article as "Wachovia inherited a deteriorating $122 billion portfolio of Pick-A-Payment loans." Further, if you know the exact shareholdings of Saudi Prince Alwaleed in Citigroup, see http://www.forbes.com/2002/03/11/0311alwaleed.html could you provide that so I can calculate his instant profit resulting from the bailout, based on his percentage ownership in Citigroup? It would be nice to know how much taxpayer dollar was about to directly into the coffers of a member of the Saudi Royal Family. I believe even $1.00 would be inappropriate under the circumstances. What say you? Brown948. Here is the link to the bill. See page 9 for the unjust enrichment clause. http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/financialsvcs_dem/amend_001_xml.pdf If I could get the exact amount of the Wachovia assets, I would bet my first born child that the instant profit would far exceed the amount CG paid for Wachovia.

what should i do? Gordon Brown on Wednesday denied the government was nationalising “rubbish” mortgages at Northern Rock after it became clear that over a third of the bank’s assets will remain outside state control in Granite, its Jersey-based trust. Conservatives claimed Granite’s assets of £45bn included some of the best quality Northern Rock mortgages, leaving the taxpayer exposed to more risky loans on the remainder of the bank’s £110bn balance sheet.so is it worth me buying a new house?

Negative Gearing explained? I understand that negative gearing is where an investor buys an asset using borrowed funds, and the cost of owning the asset are more then the income from the asset. I'm just having problems understanding how this is an advantage, even if the investor has a decresed tax rate, will this make up the difference in the loss generated by the loan. Surely it won't be enough to actually make a profit. Or is it all just based on the assumption that the asset will increase in value overtime?

Anyplace I can get a loan with a 700 credit score but no real credit history? Alright here's my situation, I owe my school $5783 in order to be able to register for winter semester. Back in May I took out a loan through Chase with no cosigner for $8000 and payments are not due til after I graduate. My credit score is 700 BUT I don't have the credit history or employment history to get another loan by myself. I have someone who would cosign for me but they filed bankruptcy back in 2001 so all the major lenders turned me down. I've been reading the last couple of days about getting personal loans through places like American General, Citi financial, Wells fargo financial, or a credit union. It seems their based off of how can I pay the money back(employment or assets). I was wondering is there a chance of them approving me with my cosigner who makes close to $50,000 a year and me with a 700 score?

Will ending borrowing our own money from the Federal Reserve Bank at interest restore our economy? THE RON PAUL SOLUTION: "Here's what we HAVE to do to solve the problem," says Paul: "1) Let banks and companies fail if they cannot survive on their own 2) Stop inflating asset prices with government purchases and bailouts 3) End the Trillion dollar annual spending to maintain the US Global Empire 4) Bring all our troops and assets home from around the world 5) End the fractional Federal Reserve banking system that caused the hyper asset inflation through pyramid debt 6) Have the US Treasury take charge of our monetary system and create a non debt based system. Former Asst. Sec. of the Treasury Paul Craig Roberts (one of the few who has bucked the system) agrees with this in general when he writes, "The trillions of dollars in credit default swaps (CDS) should be declared null and void. These 'swaps' are simply bets that financial instruments and companies will fail, and the bulk of the bets are made by people and institutions that do not hold the financial instruments or shares in the companies... There is no reason under the sun for taxpayers to bail out gamblers... "To preserve the dollar's status as reserve currency, a credible policy of reducing both budget and trade deficits must be announced. In the near term the budget deficit can be reduced by $500 billion by withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan and by cutting a bloated defense budget that represents the now unattainable goal of US world hegemony. The trade deficit can be significantly reduced by bringing off shored jobs back to America [can't be done without a wholesale changing of the labor, environment and tax regulations that drive companies overseas (as much as lower labor costs]. "This approach to the economic crisis stands in marked contrast with the approach of the gangsters running US economic policy. The gangsters are using the crisis as an opportunity to steal from taxpayers and to finance their misdeeds and exorbitant salaries with Federal Reserve loans. Their shills among economists and the financial press tell the people that the solution is to fatten up the banks with funds so they will resume lending to an over-indebted public that will then return to the shopping malls. This unrealistic approach to a serious crisis indicates a leadership crisis on top of an economic crisis." It's not a leadership crisis in terms of lack of understanding or lack of competence. This is a conspiracy of greed and power. A little review of the nature of this conspiracy is in order.

In a voucher system, vouchers are prepared in the accounts receivable department? Receivables are valued and reported in the balance sheet at their gross amount less any sales returns and allowances and less any cash discounts? Depletion expense is reported in the income statement as an operating expense? A debt that is expected to be paid within one year through the creation of long-term debt is a current liability? Salary allowances to partners are a major expense on most partnership income statements? An exception to disbursements being made by check is acceptable when cash is paid a. to an owner. b. to employees as wages. c. from petty cash. d. to employees as loans For accounting purposes, postdated checks (checks payable in the future) are considered to be a. money orders. b. cash. c. petty cash. d. accounts receivable. When an account is written off using the allowance method, the a. cash realizable value of total accounts receivable will increase. b. total accounts receivable will decrease. c. allowance account will increase. d. total accounts receivable will stay the same If a retailer regularly sells its receivables to a factor, the service charge of the factor should be classified as a(n) a. selling expense. b. interest expense. c. other expense. d. contra asset When a note receivable is dishonored, a. interest revenue is never recorded. b. bad debts expense is recorded. c. the maturity value of the note is written off. d. Accounts Receivable is debited if eventual collection is expected. If a fully depreciated plant asset is still used by a company, the a. estimated remaining useful life must be revised to calculate the correct revised depreciation. b. asset is removed from the books. c. accumulated depreciation account is removed from the books but the asset account remains. d. asset and the accumulated depreciation continue to be reported on the balance sheet without adjustment until the asset is retired. Which of the following methods of computing depreciation is production based? a. Straight-line b. Declining-balance c. Units-of-activity d. None of these Most companies pay current liabilities a. out of current assets. b. by issuing interest-bearing notes payable. c. by issuing stock. d. by creating long-term liabilities Sales taxes collected by the retailer are recorded as a a. revenue. b. liability. c. expense. d. asset. The partners' drawing accounts are a. reported on the income statement. b. reported on the balance sheet. c. closed to Income Summary. d. closed to the partners' capital accounts. Which of the following would not be considered an expense of a partnership in determining income for the period? a. Expired insurance b. Income tax expense c. Rent expense d. Utilities expense If the partnership agreement specifies salaries to partners, interest on partners' capital, and the remainder on a fixed ratio, and partnership net income is not sufficient to cover both salaries and interest, a. only salaries are allocated to the partners. b. only interest is allocated to the partners. c. the entire net income is shared on a fixed ratio. d. both salaries and interest are allocated to the partners The entries in a sales journal will show a. all sales of merchandise. b. the cash sales of the company. c. the credit sales of merchandise. d. all sales of the company I did do them all but I was just seeing if I did them correct or not because I was not sure. This is only a very small portion of the questions, I have 125 total!

Is it worth becoming legally independent on taxes to claim residency in a state for college? I'm 20 years old, I haven't lived home for more than three consecutive months in about a year. Since July I've lived in Delaware in my own apartment that I have paid for. I own I car, that I pay for. However, I'm still claimed as a dependent on my parents tax returns (in New Jersey), I'm still on their health and auto insurance, my car is still registered in NJ and I still have an NJ drivers license. I'm wondering if it would make financial sense (in order to get in state tuition at the university of delaware) to file my own taxes and get health and auto insurance in my own name in order to claim residency in delaware. By the time next year starts (when I plan to enroll at university of del) I will have lived 12 consecutive months at a permanent location (my current apartment). However, my parent's still have cosigned on my student loans, my car loan, and my apartment application, so I'm wondering if that will prevent me from claiming residency in order to gain in state tuiton. *(mainly because it says ' (4) does not receive financial educational assistance in any form based solely or in part on the income, assets and liability of parents,' so i'm wondering if them cosigning on my loans is considered a 'liability' Here's some more info from the college website. C. Independent shall mean a person who meets all of the following conditions: (1) has attained the age of 18 years or is married, (2) has established and maintained a domicile separate from that of his or her parents for at least twelve consecutive full months as of the first day of classes in the semester or session for which classification as a Delaware student is sought, (3) is not claimed as a dependant for federal income tax purposes by any other person in any jurisdiction, (4) does not receive financial educational assistance in any form based solely or in part on the income, assets and liability of parents, and (5) demonstrates the ability to provide tuition and a minimum of his or her living expenses without financial support from his or her parent or relative. " Section 3. Qualification as a Delaware Student To qualify as a Delaware student the person on whom the classification depends must have been domiciled in Delaware for at least twelve consecutive full months as of the first day of classes in the semester or session for which the classification is sought. Such classification shall apply for the entire semester or session and thereafter until changed. It shall be the student's responsibility to notify the University of any change in circumstances that might result in termination of Delaware student status and such classification shall terminate one year after the person on whom the classification depends ceases to be a domiciliary of Delaware. Section 4. Types of Evidence Considered in Determining Delaware Domiciliary Status A. Although each case shall be decided on the basis of all information submitted by the student, the following facts regarding the person on whom the classification depends, although not conclusive, have probative value in support of a claim of domicile: place of residence; the person's purpose in establishing residence in Delaware; full-time employment in Delaware or contiguous area which results in residence in Delaware; filing of Delaware resident income tax returns; B. The following are not necessarily sufficient evidence of domicile: payment of property or income tax in Delaware; ownership of real property in Delaware; registration to vote in Delaware; possession of a Delaware driver's license; motor vehicle registration in Delaware; continued presence in Delaware during periods when the University is not in session."

How to Borrow 3 Million Dollars? I am looking at purchasing a business for 3 million. I want to get a loan from a bank based on the assets and cash flow. The company grosses 9 million a year and profits about 3 million so there shouldn't be a problem there. Can a bank lend that much? If so which bank could do that? Any other recommendations would be great! Thanks! Bank of America isn't lending for businesses in my state.

How to get a student loan in Canada without demonstrating financial need? I want to go off to university away from home, but my (rich) parents won't pay a dime if I go off. I have 6K in the bank and plan to get 3-4K more over the summer, but need around 20K a year to pay for expenses (including tuition and rent). I won't be able to get any need based aid, as family assets are almost 8 figures. How can one get private loans in canada? just been looking on the internet, but haven't found any solutions yet.

Can someone please help me cross check my answers?

Recession : With War or Without it ? Isrel vrs Iran// War - and US?? Recession: With War or Without It? by Gary North by Gary North DIGG THIS The world's economy has been in growth mode at least since 1991. China has been in growth mode since 1979. The American economy had a sharp recession in 1991. Asia had a financial crisis in 1998. America had a very brief, very shallow recession in 2001. The Federal Reserve System pumped in money at an accelerating rate after mid-2000 through 2004, and did not go to tight money until the month Bernanke took over: February 2006. Inflation overcame the recession of 2001, and it overcame the crisis of 9/11, but it created the housing bubble and the commodity bubble. The housing bubble has popped. This is going to take the price of housing in the United States lower than it is today. I think 20% lower is a conservative figure. We are nowhere near the end of this popped bubble. The commodity bubble is still in full force. It is a worldwide bubble. The price of energy and the price of rice and other food commodities have received most of the attention. Federal Reserve policy since early 2006 has been one of relatively stable money. There is a lot of chatter to the contrary, but if we look at the two most significant monetary indicators, the adjusted monetary base and M1, we see that there has been very little growth in either. This is why the United States is now either in a recession or is facing one in the next few months. When a period of monetary inflation ends, economies go into recession. The American economy is slowing down, and it will continue to slow down. Both China and India have expanded their money supplies dramatically for a decade. Both countries are now facing a crisis of rising prices. Price inflation is a major threat to the continued prosperity of both countries. China's government has begun to impose selective price controls. This is creating shortages and production bottlenecks. India's government is considering doing the same thing. What both governments need to do is to tell their central banks to cease buying all government debt and all assets of any kind. The central banks need to stop inflating the money supply. But if the banks do this, both countries will experience major recessions. The governments do not want to have major recessions, but they also do not want to experience the effects of monetary inflation: price inflation. So, both of them are tempted to go back to the traditional policy of imposing price controls. This always creates shortages, and it always reduces the rate of growth of the economy. China and India are trapped. AN INTERNATIONAL TRAP The United States is in the same trap. The headlines scream of the skyrocketing costs of energy and food, but the broader consumer price indexes indicate slow increases: maybe 3% a year. This is because families are readjusting their budgets. As the prices of gasoline and food rise, families are forced to cut back expenditures in other areas. So, the general price indexes are not rising dramatically, but families are struggling with their budgets. This struggle will get much worse this winter, when the price of heating oil rises. This will exacerbate the existing economic slowdown. Furthermore, the rising price of oil means a rising balance of payments deficit for the United States. Oil-exporting countries are the main beneficiaries of the rising price of oil. This means that foreign sellers of oil will get the lion's share of the increase of the price of oil. American producers will pay for the prosperity of the oil exporting countries. They will pay in the form of reduced demand for their products. The world is facing simultaneous recession. Meanwhile, the American financial system has absorbed hundreds of billions of dollars of IOUs from home buyers who cannot possibly pay off their debts. They are in the process of defaulting to the lenders. This has created a crisis for America's largest banks, and for several major European banks. We all know the story by now, but psychologically, most Americans have not adjusted to the new economic reality. Most investors have not adjusted. Yes, the American stock market is down by 20% since last October. But still they think a recovery is just around the corner. The media keep saying this. American investors still have faith that the economy is essentially healthy, that there will not be a continuing fall in the stock market, and that the economy will not go into recession and stay in the recession for two or more years. So far, I am giving you the good news. The good news is there is going to be an international recession, rising corporate bankruptcies, bank failures, and retrenchment by consumers because they can no longer pay the rising cost of energy. Why is this good news? Because this recession is going to put a cap on the rising cost of energy. Commodity prices will fall during the recession; this includes the price of oil. NO MORE FISCAL WIGGLE ROOM Americans have steadily stopped saving over the last 28 years. In 1981, they saved over 11% of their discretionary income. Today, they save nothing. They are now in full spending mode. They have borrowed money against their future income, against their home equity, and on simple promises to pay (signature loans: credit cards). They have stretched themselves thin with respect to debt. If oil goes to $400 a barrel, or $500 a barrel, and stays there for a year, American consumers will be in panic mode. They will have to cut their budgets, and they have forgotten how to cut their budgets. They have forgotten how to save. The strategy of the optimists is to tell us that the worst is over economically. This is the government's official position. Chairman Ben Bernanke does not say this. He keeps hinting of more trouble to come. He keeps telling us that the Federal Reserve System is monitoring events. He keeps implying that there is some sort of rabbit still remaining in the Federal Reserve System's hat which they can pull out if the banking system moves into paralysis mode. But he doesn't tell us what these rabbits are, or under what conditions the FED will pull them out of its hat. The good news regarding the economy in general is not backed up by anything specific. The government tells us that the worst is over, but there are almost no indications that the worst is over. The housing market is still in decline. Foreclosures are still rising rapidly. The lenders are not selling foreclosed properties at market prices. Instead, they keep buying back the properties. There is a growing inventory of unsold properties on the books of the lenders. Meanwhile the two major sources of liquidity for the housing market, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are verging on bankruptcy. On Wednesday, July 9, the stock price of Freddie Mac dropped by 23%. Yet its stock price was down over 50% since January. These two stocks have continued to fall. Everywhere we look on the horizon of the domestic economy, there is bad news. There is no sector of the economy that is improving, unless it is heavily funded by the Federal government. Health care has not slumped, because health care as funded by Medicare and other state and local government programs. This means that the Federal deficit is going to get worse in any recession. Medicare and Social Security are non-discretionary spending items. The revenues will fall. So, the supposed strength sectors of the economy are in fact guarantees of a government fiscal crisis. If the general economy slumps, the Federal deficit is likely to go over $500 billion a year. When the recession hits, commodity prices will fall. If the recession does not hit, commodity prices will continue to rise. But rising commodity prices will force bankruptcies in those firms that are not in a position to pass on increased costs to their consumers. This means industries associated with discretionary spending. If your company is dependent upon discretionary spending by the public, your job is at risk. If the recession hits, your company will suffer. If the recession doesn't hit, rising commodity prices will squeeze your company. Consumers will spend their money for gasoline and heating oil, not on the products or services your company produces. The boom economy has not been based primarily on non-discretionary income. The boom has come at the margin: those areas of the economy in which consumers do have the option of spending their money rather than saving it. So far, I have been giving you the good news. The good news is there is going to be an international recession, rising corporate bankruptcies, bank failures, and retrenchment by consumers because they can no longer pay the rising cost of energy. THE BAD NEWS The bad news is that the State of Israel is increasingly likely to launch an air strike on suspected Iranian nuclear weapons production facilities. I have discussed this before. If this happens, the price of oil will skyrocket. This will force massive readjustments of family budgets in every country on a permanent basis. This is going to force producers to fire people out of fear of bankruptcy. Consumers are going to stop buying much in the area of discretionary income. That is, those items that can be cut back will be cut back. This could mean you. If the State of Israel launches an attack on Iran, the economic news will get really bad really fast all over the world. So, the most important question today is whether or not the Israeli Air Force will attack Iran. From an economic standpoint, this is the crucial question. Here, too, the mainstream media have generally promoted optimism. They suggest that the Israelis will not attack Iran. The problem is, they can't point to anything specific that officials in the State of Israel have said that indicates that there will not be an attack. On the contrary, officials there keep saying "no comment." Something else is really ominous. The political leaders in the countries over which Israeli bombers will have to fly are deadly silent. They are not telling Israel in full public view that if Israel sends planes over their airspace, they will go to war with Israel. They are not saying that they are preparing right now to shoot down every Israeli plane that flies over their airspace. They are saying nothing. Why? I think the main reason is that they will not back up their words with deeds. They will not shoot down Israeli planes. They say nothing in public because they will do nothing if the overflights take place. If they go public with bellicose threats today, their own people will turn on them if they fail to back up their words with deeds if the flights take place. "You said you would do something. You did nothing. Get out!" This could start internal revolutions in the overflown countries. Silence is golden. It's yellow, but it's golden. This tells me that the overflight countries' leaders think the attack may take place. They would prefer to be accused of having been caught flat-footed by the Israeli Air Force than unwilling to back up a threat. American officials are offering the bipartisan line: "We must settle this through diplomacy." (To which Israeli government officials can respond, Tonto-like: "Who you mean we, paleface?") They are not saying anything about what sanctions against the State of Israel that America will impose as soon as Israeli jets bomb Iran. That is because there will be no such sanctions. Admiral Mullen supposedly sent Israel a statement in early July saying that the United States has not issued a green light for an Israeli attack on Iran. This supposedly means something important in itself. It means nothing in itself. What it means is the United States has not issued a red light against an Israeli attack on Iran. This means that there is no stop sign. There is no red light, so the absence of a green light means nothing. Of course no one has said that the United States will help Israel in such an attack. So what? Israeli officials are not asking for a public offer of American help. If the United States and those governments over which the Israeli Air Force must fly are not issuing public statements at this time warning that there will be significant negative sanctions imposed on the State of Israel as soon as the attack is launched, then this is an implied green light. Do we imagine that senior decision-makers in the Israeli government care a whit about the lack of an official American green light to their attack on Iran? They are as unconcerned about the lack of a green light as Iran is unconcerned about President Bush's threat of sanctions if Iran does not comply with all requirements announced by the Bush administration. Iran knows what Israel knows: the Bush administration is terminal. It will end on January 20, 2009. It has no teeth. Lame ducks don't bite. They merely squawk. Why should we think that either Iran or Israel gives a fig about the red light/green light debate? American pundits may think this debate is important, but why should anyone with common sense think it's important? TIMETABLES Iraq has announced that the United States must pull out its troops. It is demanding dates for this withdrawal. The Bush administration is pooh-poohing all this, and will not under any circumstances announce such a timetable, but so what? There is a timetable for the Bush administration's withdrawal: January 20, 2009. This means that the United States is going to be pressured by Iraq's government to leave Iraq from now on. Most of the troops will be forced to leave Iraq unless things change dramatically. Then what will be done with the 14 major military bases that have been built? As the pressure increases to force us to leave Iraq, and as the pressure from the Taliban increases in Afghanistan, and as the pressure from voters increases to get our troops out of both countries, and as the likelihood of the election of Obama increases, decision-makers in the State of Israel are caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. If the United States pulls out of the region, the State of Israel will be left high and dry. But there is another possible scenario. If Iran's surrogate Shia forces in the region take on the United States troops in reaction to an Israeli attack on Iran, American public opinion will swing in favor of keeping the troops there, no matter what. "Who do those Iranians think they are? We issued no green light to the Israelis. It's not our fault." If Iran begins to supply weapons to Shia forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the American death rate goes up, then American voters will switch back to a pro-war position. At least, this is a possibility. Americans do not like to be pushed around. Any escalation of war in the region will create havoc for the supply of oil. The world economy is moving into recession already; it may go into a true depression if oil goes to $500 and stays there. So, the stakes are enormous. The outcome is no longer in the hands of the United States, Europe, Asia, or any of the other outsiders to the Middle East. The outcome, or at least the trigger, is completely in the hands of the decision-makers in the State of Israel. They hold the gun. Unless the United States and Western Europe tell the decision-makers in the State of Israel that Europe and the United States will impose significant negative sanctions after an attack on Iran, then decision-makers there are going to make a decision based on the self-interest of the ruling party, not the self-interest of American or European voters. They are going to take care of their perceived problem, exactly as we would expect any other national political leaders would take care of their problem. That's why all talk about war being a threat to the self-interest of the whole makes sense only if the Israelis conclude that the economic crisis will be so severe that it will take them down in the whirlpool of economic collapse. They are not afraid of military retaliation from Iran. They are also not afraid of the United States, Europe, Asia, or any other coalition that does not have the backbone to say in advance that there will be major sanctions placed on the State of Israel if there is an attack on Iran. This is why I am concerned about the threat of an Israeli attack on Iran. I am in no way calmed by statements attributed to Admiral Mullen. When Admiral Mullen holds a press conference and says publicly that there is no green light for an attack by the Israeli Air Force on Iran, and that any flyover of Iraq by Israeli planes will lead to shoot downs of Israeli planes by American planes, then I will stop worrying about the threat of an attack on Iran by the Israeli Air Force. How likely do you think such a press conference is? We must face reality: the decision to go to war with Iran is 100% in the hands of Israeli decision-makers. It is not in the hands of the United States, Europe, or Asia. In other words, the economic fate of the West over the next decade is now in the hands of decision-makers who are concerned about the long-term survival of their own country. They are concerned because they do not want to have Iran in the possession of nuclear weapons. Both candidates for President have said the same thing. We have seen saber-rattling by the Iranians with the film-doctored test of the missiles this week. These missiles are militarily useless as weapons against the Israelis. They are as irrelevant militarily as Germany's V-2 missiles were in 1945. They cannot inflict enough damage to make a difference, unless they are used against Saudi Arabian oil fields. But, if they had a nuclear warhead, that would make all the difference. The Israelis know this. So, they are going to make their decision in terms of this long-term threat. The main inhibition against an attack is the possible collapse of the Western economy, which buys Israeli-produced goods. This threat may be sufficient to keep them from attacking. I dearly hope that it is. But it is naïve to believe that they are going to make their decision because of worries about whether Admiral Mullen has issued a green light or not. CONCLUSION When you invest your money, do not ignore the worst-case scenario. Set aside some of your money on the assumption that the worst-case will come true. This is what any military strategist does. He makes his decisions in terms of what the enemy can do, not what it would be convenient for the enemy to do. I suggest that you be aware of this threat. I suggest that you sit down with the family budget and outline what your response would be if the price of gasoline were $10 a gallon or $15 a gallon or $20 a gallon. What would you do? I know what you would do. You would drive less. Ignore the happy-face assessments of the geopolitical strategists. Ignore the happy-face assessment of the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry "Goldman Sachs" Paulson. These assessments are being issued to keep panic from spreading. I am doing my best to encourage people to take rational steps with some of their liquid assets: to hedge themselves against the possibility that there will be an attack on Iran before January 20, 2009. This doesn't mean that I think such an attack is a sure thing. Decision-makers in the State of Israel are going to have to live with $400 oil, just like all the rest of us. They may decide that this risk is too great. They may decide to put up with the threat of a future nuclear-armed Iran. I won't bet all of my money on this. I don't think you should either. July 12, 2008 Gary North [send him mail] is the author of Mises on Money. Visit http://www.garynorth.com.

The FED bought What ?? The Fed Bought What? By John Paul Koning Posted on 8/13/2007 | Subscribe or Tell Others | The US Federal Reserve injected $38 billion dollars into the economy via temporary open market operations this Friday. This is the largest number of temporary repurchase agreements (specifically, one business day repos) entered into by the Fed since September 11, 2001. Back in 2001, Fed purchases of treasuries exceeded $30 billion for the four consecutive days after the collapse of the World Trade Towers, total temporary injections into the banking system amounting to a whopping $295 billion. What is significant about Friday's repurchase agreements is not so much their size, but the securities that the Fed exchanged for money: mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Indeed, the entire $38 billion dollar injection went to MBS purchases, the largest open market purchase of this asset type ever conducted by the Fed, smashing the previous record of $8.6 billion set back in September of 2005. See chart, above.[1] The type of mortgage-backed securities the Fed bought are created when bundles of individual mortgages originated by commercial banks are guaranteed by quasi-governmental agencies such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), then split apart and sold to investors. Homeowners pay interest on these mortgages, interest payments flowing through to the final holders of MBS. For those who have gone through the Economics 101 treatment of the Fed, the sudden appearance of MBS in Fed open market operations might seem odd. Professors have always taught that when the Fed expanded the money supply it did so by buying government bonds and bills. Indeed back in September 2001, the Fed provided liquidity by buying what it has always traditionally bought; treasury securities. So why is the Fed buying MBS now, and when did it acquire the authority to do so? First a note on how open market purchases work. The Fed uses what are called open market operations to control the Federal Funds rate, the rate at which large commercial banks lend cash to each other overnight to fulfill their reserve requirements to the Fed. The Fed sets a target for the federal funds rate and defends it by either withdrawing or injecting money according to the requirements of commercial banks. It injects by buying securities from the banks with freshly created checking deposits, or money. This injection increases the reserves commercial banks hold, allowing these banks to expand credit to businesses and consumers. The Fed withdraws money by selling securities to commercial banks and receiving money as payment, thereby reducing reserves and removing credit from the system. The Fed conducts both temporary open market operations and permanent ones. Permanent, or outright operations, inject cash and remove securities from the banking system forever. The Fed keeps the securities it has acquired outright in the System Open Market Account, aptly initialed SOMA (in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, the drug soma is produced to keep citizens in a steady state of happiness, much like the Fed's SOMA). Temporary operations, the ones entered into this Friday, involve 1–14 day repurchase or reverse repurchase agreements whereby the Fed purchases (or sells) securities in return for cash with an agreement that the commercial bank on the other side of the deal will buy back (or sell back) the securities after a period of days. Temporary reverse repurchase operations, the short-term withdrawal of money from the banking system, are rare. The Fed has only engaged in 16 reverse repos since late 2000, versus 1247 repurchases. This imbalance means that the Fed is almost always augmenting commercial bank reserves by buying securities, allowing the banks to use their larger reserves to expand credit and borrowing. Thus the rate defended by the Fed is lower than the rate at which the commercial banks would be willing to lend each other if the Fed did not exist. Back to Friday's MBS purchases. Historically, the Fed's open market operations have been confined to US Treasuries. Clauses 3 to 6 of the Guidelines for the Conduct of System Operations in Federal Agency Issues ensured that Federal Reserve operations could not engage in temporary purchases of securities issued by federal agencies like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.[2] In an August 1999 Fed meeting officials temporarily suspended clauses 3 to 6, giving themselves the authority to freely purchase Ginnie Mae–, Freddie Mac–, and Fannie Mae–issued MBS on a provisional basis without hindrance on size and timing. The reason given: it needed full reign to inject money into the banking system in preparation for the year 2000 crisis.[3] The period for which the temporary suspension was to extend was from October 1, 1999 through April 7, 2000. The year 2000 crisis proved a dud. But rather than removing the temporary suspension on buying MBS, the Fed renewed the suspension in 2000 and 2001 before permanently striking off clauses 3 to 6 in 2002. In recent Fed documents, only clauses 1 and 2 are listed. This storyline may sound familiar to Fed watchers. The Fed was founded in response to the crisis of 1907, and had its ability to increase the money supply dramatically increased during another crisis, the Great Depression, where gold convertibility was suspended. $26 Since the Orwellian rewriting of the Guidelines the Fed has been gradually expanding its MBS purchases, which reached a crescendo this Friday. This (relatively) new power of the Fed is startling given the current liquidity crisis prevailing in the mortgage markets of late. By openly stating its willingness to buy thousands of mortgages and temporarily to expose itself to the financial health (or lack thereof) of the homeowning public, and doing so when the rest of the world is shunning them, the Fed is propping up mortgage markets, and thereby the housing market. This despite the fact that open market operations are not supposed to support individual sectors of the market or channel funds into issues of particular agencies[4] While the purchases are only temporary — the cash must be returned by Monday — one wonders how long before the Fed grants itself the power to buy MBS permanently. Either way, the Fed's response shows that it is worried about the growing mortgage crises and willing to do anything to buy its way out of it. Unfortunately, by buying up MBS and propping up the market the Fed will only cause more harm than it already has. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Paul Koning writes for Pollitt & Co, a brokerage based in Toronto, Canada.

A Billionaire Indian Evangelist admits beggary at Jesus initiation of him into it for promoting His mission.? I respect Evangelists who serve God through His creations. This Chennai based televangelist claimed in a TV appearance that in 1981 Jesus appeared before him - Jesus meets con evangelists only when they are alone – and asked him to spread His message all over the world and after that for over 26 years he took to beggary and claims that he is still a beggar in the Service of Jesus Christ. Now he says that his present debts amount to over 2 million in Indian currency. I take beggary as respectable if it is for a cause laid down by the society. He has over billions in assets including blade educational institutions and earns millions every month through healing frauds. If his criteria are taken on bank loans then all the billionaires all over the world are beggars, as they owe billions to the Banks while their solid assets are many times more like this Indian Evangelist. Cheats have many ways to dupe the innocents and the unwary and devotion to God is one avenue some prostitute with.

Economic questions.. need some help? The money supply decreases when a. banks decide to have a policy of lending the amount equal to the reserve requirement times the liabilities of the bank. b. the reserve requirement decreases. c. excess reserves are loaned out. d. people decide to hide their money "at home" instead of bringing it into the bank. e. less currency is held by the public. The demand for money is based on a. a demand for cash, a demand for securities, and a demand for real estate. b. a demand for liquidity and a demand for wealth. c. a speculative demand, a transactions demand, and a precautionary demand. d. a necessity demand and a luxury demand. e. a consumption demand, an investment demand, and a government demand. If people want to hold money that is convenient for day-to-day buying and selling of products, then there is a a. rise in the money supply. b. transactions demand for money. c. asset demand for money. d. precautionary demand for money e. speculative demand for

Accounting case? You have recently been by David & Company, a small public accounting firm. One of the firm’s partners, Alice Davis, has asked you to deal with a disgruntled client, Mr. Sean Pitt, owner of the city’s largest hardware store. Mr.Pitt is applying to a local bank for a substantial loan to remodel his store. The bank requires accrual based financial statements but Mr. Pitt has always kept the company’s records on a cash basis. He dose not see the purpose of accrual based statements. His most recent outburst went something like this: “After all, I collect cash from customers, pay my bills in cash, and I am going to pay the bank loan with cash. And I already show my building and equipment as assets and depreciate them. I don’t understand the problem.”

best route, financially, in divorce? writing my own divorce papers, to save $ in lawyer fees. so i can't consult one on this subject, yet (had 1 mtg, more req. retainer) . i'd like answers based on knowledge/exp. no judgemental notes, plz. thanx. in dividing assets: he gets the house, a rental we own (split proceeds for both 50/50 if sold) , his car, asking for no retirement benefits from him (i don't work, stay at home mom to 3 & student). i'm moving to an apt., asking for state reg. child support, $500 alimony, (expires in 3 yrs to help me finish school, get the kids in school, get a job). taking an auto loan off his hands. my thng: i get 2 annuity lumpsum pymnts in 5 & 7 yrs of a decent $ amt (from a childhood accident). @ consult mtg atty told me he is entitled to part. if i'm not asking for retirement (military...eligible?), houses & by that time not getting ali., do i have to legally share that $ w/ him? what if i am remarried or he is? i got the 1st setlement when i was 13, these are the last 2 pymnts.

Homework help!! economics? 1Assume that Smith deposits $600 in currency into her checking account in the XYZ Bank. Later that same day Jones negotiates a loan for $1,200 at the same bank. In what direction and by what amount has the supply of money changed? a. decreased by $600 b. increased by $1,800 c. increased by $600 d. increased by $1,200 2 The goldsmith's ability to create money was based on the fact that: a. withdrawals of gold tended to exceed deposits of gold in any given time period. b. consumers and merchants preferred to use gold for transactions, rather than paper money. c. the goldsmith was required to keep 100 percent gold reserves. d. paper money in the form of gold receipts was rarely redeemed for gold 3 A bank that has liabilities of $150 billion and a net worth of $20 billion must have: a. excess reserves of $130 billion. b. assets of $150 billion. c. excess reserves of $150 billion. d. assets of $170 billion.

Need some accounting help? George Harris, a friend of yours, owns his own business. He offers to sell you half the assets of the business for $40 000. George suggests that this is an excellent price since the assets of the business total $235 000. The balance sheet of the company shown on the next page a) Based on the facts presented above and on the balance sheet, what do you think of the deal offered to you? Give and explanation for your response. Assets Cash 1 500 Accounts Receivable 2 000 Supplies 500 Equipment 9 000 Land and Building 222 000 Total: 235 000 Liabilities Accounts Payable 10 000 Bank Loan 30 000 Mortgage Payable 190 000 Total: 230 000 Equity Total: 5 000 Any help would be appreciated. Sorry it's not in the proper balance sheet order.

Point Center Financial: Investors tell your experiences? I am looking for other investors who have also invested in Point Center Financial (PCF), San Juan Capistrano, CA. to tell their experiences. I have invested with PCF for some time. I based my investements on PCF's prospectuses. All was going well until the 2007 subprime home loan crash. Now, more than half of the individual mortagages I invested in are either in defalut or have been foreclosed. PCF says it is working to cure the defaults and sell the foreclosed properties. But with property values now going down, and with few interested buyers, there is no telling if or when I will get my money back. There's more: In addition to individual mortgages, PFC has a mortgage pool, National Financial Lending. In September, 2007, it reported that about 37% of its mortgage assets are either non-performing or have been taken back through foreclosure. If you also have invested in PFC, please share your experiences.

Is this ethical or unethical? Legal or illegal. How does one pursue this case? I signed a Purchase Agreement in February 2007 to purchase a Hubbell Home in Waukee. According to the purchase agreement, I had to obtain a "loan commitment or loan denial" by April 21st. Basically a loan commitment would mean I must purchase the home when it is ready or I could be liable for all costs and a loan denial would have meant I can't buy the home, therefore I am not liable to Hubbell for any costs. In April, I recieved a "loan commitment" from Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, based on my credit rating of 751, my assets of $20,000 and less than 1 year of proven income totalling approximately $28,000. From what I've heard recently from many people is that I SHOULD NOT have been approved for a $159,000 mortgage based on that income and less than 1 year income. But I was. And Wells Fargo says I was approved because my credit and assets. Since then, I have lost my job. – The home still isn't complete yet (new construction) and I CAN'T back out of this purchase because my "commitment" was already approved back in April. Hubbell plans on taking action to recover costs against me if I don't buy this house.

please help!!personal finance!!I cannot afford to get any wrong!!!! giving away as many points as possible!!!! 1. Which of the following might not be an option for increasing your present income? (1 point) Quitting your job to find another Requesting a merit increase in pay Requesting a promotion Looking for a better job without quitting your old job 2. Which of the following is true about a merit increase in pay? (1 point) It is based only on how long you have been with the company. You have prove that you deserve it more than your coworkers. You might have to wait for a certain anniversary date to get it. You automatically receive merit raises every year. 3. Corporate structure may be defined as _____. (1 point) the way a corporate building is structured whether a company pays corporate taxes the method a company uses to pay its employees the way a business is organized 4. Your resume should include all of the following information EXCEPT (1 point) contact information. personal history. education background. qualifications. 5. The single best way to increase your income is to get an education. Why? (1 point) You automatically make more money if you are educated. You can obtain jobs that have higher starting salaries. You automatically get promotions if you are educated. You will automatically receive better benefits. 6. Which of the following will probably earn a higher level of income? (1 point) A female file clerk with a high school diploma and a year of college. a male file clerk with a high school diploma and a year of college. A male accountant with a Bachelor's degree. A female accountant with a Master's degree in business administration. 7. The term "educational attainment"means _________________. (1 point) you have earned a degree whatever education you have earned you are attending school to earn a degree you have earned the highest degree possible in your field 8. Which of the following is not a core module of accounting? (1 point) accounts receivable accounts payable debt collection purchase orders 9. What is a general ledger also known as? (1 point) a normal ledger an enumerated ledger a nominal ledger none of the above 10. Which of the following is not one of the three types of business arrangements in the United States? (1 point) sole proprietorship partnership corporation sole partnership 11. With a sole proprietorship, who pays the taxes? (1 point) the shareholders the company the owner both the shareholders and the owner 12. Which one of the following would not be considered an advantage of a sole proprietorship? (1 point) Decisions can be made quickly without having to consult others. A proprietor is also responsible for his or her own health insurance. There are no legal formalities if the business dissolves. All of the profits from the business go right to the owner. 13. What can a proprietor do to minimize personal risk and liability? (1 point) change his/her name form a limited liability proprietorship form a limited liability partnership form a limited liability company 14. Why are partnerships often favored over corporations? (1 point) They have more power. A partnership structure eliminates the dividend tax levied upon profits realized by the owners. They are more successful. none of the above 15. Why are partnerships often favored over corporations? (1 point) A partnership structure eliminates the dividend tax levied upon profits. They are more successful. They have more power. none of the above 16. What are the two types of partnerships? (1 point) limited and general limited and sole general and private private and limited 17. Which of the following would not be considered an advantage of a partnership? (1 point) A partnership usually involves low start-up costs. Each general partner is deemed the agent of the partnership. It's easy to form a partnership. You can share the responsibilities with your partners. 18. As a generic legal term, __________ means any group of persons with a legal entity. (1 point) partnership business corporation proprietorship 19. Who regulates a corporation? (1 point) the bondholders the government of the state, province, or national government with which it is registered the corporation's founders the corporation's union 20. Which of the following is not a legal characteristic of a corporation? (1 point) transferable shares perpetual life legal protection from lawsuits limited liability 21. When claiming dependents, they must meet the following criteria EXCEPT: (1 point) the dependent must be a relative. the dependent must reside with you. the dependent must be under nineteen years of age unless he or she is a full-time student. the dependent was unable to provide over half of his or her support for the year. 22. If you opt to put money in a medical flexible spending account rather than trying to amass enough medical expenses to itemize on your tax return, you are taking advantage of ___________________. (1 point) an exclusion a credit a deduction withholding 23. A form of taxation in which everyone pays an equal rate of taxes is called a _____________. (1 point) progressive tax regressive tax net tax flat tax 24. A form of taxation in which the highest income earner pays the largest percentage of taxes is called a (1 point) progressive tax regressive tax flat tax net tax 25. A form of taxation in which the lowest income earners pay the largest percentage of taxes is called a ___________________. (1 point) progressive tax regressive tax flat tax net tax 26. Which of the following best defines health insurance? (1 point) An annual contract between an insurance company and an individual a type of insurance that protects your personal property if you are unable to pay your bills. a type of insurance whereby the insurer pays the medical costs of the insured a type of insurance that assists your loved ones in the event of your death 27. Which of the following illustrates the main difference between Medicare and Medicaid? (1 point) Medicare helps to insure the elderly, while Medicaid focuses on low-income individuals and families. Medicaid helps to insure the elderly, while Medicaid insures low-income earners. Medicaid helps to replace lost income for the poor. Medicare is available only to those over the age of 65. 28. What is life insurance? (1 point) Health insurance that covers you for the rest of your life Insurance that supplements your income if your life is threatened Insurance that assists your loved ones with income in the event of your death Insurance that protects you in the event of an unexpected illness or accident that prevents you from working 29. Which of the following statements is not true about HMO insurance? (1 point) It is a managed health care system. In an HMO you can choose your own primary care physician (PCP), but specialists must be referred by the PCP. In an HMO , you are assigned a primary care physician. The letters stand for Health Maintenance Organization. 30. Which of the following might be considered positive aspects of HMOs. (1 point) Free choice of primary care physician Care from non-HMO provider not covered Out-of-pocket expenses are usually low Easy to receive specialized care 31. Which of the following might be considered a negative aspect of HMOs? (1 point) Out-of-pocket expenses are usually high. Not easy to receive specialized care HMOs focus on preventative care Free choice of primary care physician 32. On average, compared to a person with good credit a person with poor credit will pay __________ for insurance. (1 point) 5% to 10% more 10% to 15% more 20% to 50% more 55% to 70% more 33. How long does it take to rebuild your credit history? (1 point) 7 years 8 years 9 years 30 years 34. Secured debt means a lender gives you money in exchange for what? (1 point) collateral credit report principal interest 35. When an asset, such as a car, decreases in value over time what is it called? (1 point) depreciation financing equity leasing 36. If you miss one payment on a credit card, what's generally the penalty? (1 point) a late payment fee a higher interest rate a lower available credit line a negative notation on your credit report 37. If you miss two payments on a credit card, what's generally the penalty? (1 point) a late payment fee and a lower available credit line a higher interest rate and a late payment fee a late payment fee a negative notation on your credit report 38. What are expenses that do not change called? (1 point) stable costs fixed costs variable costs known costs 39. What is the margin of safety? (1 point) How much sales can fall before a business starts making less than 5% profit How much sales can fall before a business makes less than 15% profit How much sales can fall before a business starts taking a loss none of the above 40. The two components of ______________ are variable and fixed costs. (1 point) entire cost required cost complete cost total cost 41. What are expenses that change as conditions change? (1 point) changing costs fixed costs moderate costs variable costs 42. What can be the best type of safety net in hard times? (1 point) Gambling Mortgage Rental property None of the above 43. Real estate is considered a(n) _____ investment. (1 point) illiquid liquid sure partially–liquid 44. Individual mortgage interest rates are generally determined by what? (1 point) The economy The individual's credit score The property value The state the property is located in 45. What is PMI? (1 point) Personal mortgage issuance Personal mortgage investment Personal mortgage insurance Personal mortgage interest 46. Why is investing in gold beneficial? (1 point) It is easy to mine. It is considered a stable investment. Gold is more expensive than stocks. The value of hold is subject to inflation. 47. What is an entrepreneur? (1 point) a sole proprietorship a corporation one who opens a new business a bank that loans money 48. Which of the following is the best definition of probable operating costs? (1 point) Amount of money required to start a business Amount of money required to market a business Amount of money required to purchase business equipment Amount of money required to keep a business running 49. Which of the following is a start–up cost associated with opening a business? (1 point) Equipment Legal fees/licensing Insurance All of the above 50. Which of the following is an example of an unsecured bank loan? (1 point) Credit card debt Bank overdrafts Corporate bonds All of the above

Looking for assistance planning for financial goals? I'm interested in getting assistance with long-term planning in order to balance my current goals, which include paying down student loan debt, saving for my retirement and saving for a downpayment on a mortgage. I'm hoping to find someone who will hope me figure out how much I should allocate to what based on my current living situation. Would this be a financial planner or someone else? Where do I find a person/organization who works with people in a similar situation? I would be interested in meeting with a financial planner, but from the little I know it sounds like they expect you to have a lot of assets you need assistance investing. I'm not in that situation quite yet.

Can anyone help me out in solving this ELECTRICITY COMPANY ACCOUNT sum please…? The following information is extracted from the accounting records of ECT Electricity Supply Ltd, for the financial year ended 31st Mar 03:- Share capital60 cr Fixed Assets (tangible) at cost116 cr Accumulated Depreciation40 cr Intangible Assets6 cr Investments: Depreciation Reserve Fund40 cr Contingencies Reserves4 cr Loan from State Electricity Board10 cr 12% Debentures20 cr Tariff and Dividend Control Reserve6 cr Net profit after tax12.2 cr Customers’ security deposits6 cr Monthly average of current assets7 cr The monthly average of current assets includes Rs.1,00,00,000 due from customers. Investments yield 10% return p.a. the applicable bank rate is 9% pa. You are required to determine: i) The Capital base; ii) The reasonable return; iii) The disposal profit.

My theory as to why the US is intentionally bankrupting itself? When the US finally decomes a bad debtor, that is, Americas credit rating becomes so negetive that foreign financiers refuse to fund Americas deficit spending, what will happen? My view is that the US basically is security for those loans, and in one way or another that property will have to be forfeited, I think the first thing to go will be the 700+ overseas military bases that the US has, those assets will be forfeited to the financiers who will themselves form a private council to decide what to do with them, I think they're too valuable to be liquidated, and they will probably run them at a profit by hiring them out to the UN or whatever international governing agency that comes about as a result of the absense of the US as a world power. Basically a means of giving any world government a military to create a functional new world order, and I'm almost 100% certain that the globalists who run the US government want these things to happen. What do you guys think?

Where I can I get an asset based loan to buy commercial property? I am a beginning investor without cash or credit or collateral. A lender in the nyc area please.

Where can I get a $10-$20k loan? More asset based lending or hard/private money with no upfront fees. Looking to get a small business with a down payment of that amount. I'm in NY. i want the money to use as a down payment.

Recession : With War or Without it ? Isrel vrs Iran// War - and US?? Recession: With War or Without It? by Gary North by Gary North DIGG THIS The world's economy has been in growth mode at least since 1991. China has been in growth mode since 1979. The American economy had a sharp recession in 1991. Asia had a financial crisis in 1998. America had a very brief, very shallow recession in 2001. The Federal Reserve System pumped in money at an accelerating rate after mid-2000 through 2004, and did not go to tight money until the month Bernanke took over: February 2006. Inflation overcame the recession of 2001, and it overcame the crisis of 9/11, but it created the housing bubble and the commodity bubble. The housing bubble has popped. This is going to take the price of housing in the United States lower than it is today. I think 20% lower is a conservative figure. We are nowhere near the end of this popped bubble. The commodity bubble is still in full force. It is a worldwide bubble. The price of energy and the price of rice and other food commodities have received most of the attention. Federal Reserve policy since early 2006 has been one of relatively stable money. There is a lot of chatter to the contrary, but if we look at the two most significant monetary indicators, the adjusted monetary base and M1, we see that there has been very little growth in either. This is why the United States is now either in a recession or is facing one in the next few months. When a period of monetary inflation ends, economies go into recession. The American economy is slowing down, and it will continue to slow down. Both China and India have expanded their money supplies dramatically for a decade. Both countries are now facing a crisis of rising prices. Price inflation is a major threat to the continued prosperity of both countries. China's government has begun to impose selective price controls. This is creating shortages and production bottlenecks. India's government is considering doing the same thing. What both governments need to do is to tell their central banks to cease buying all government debt and all assets of any kind. The central banks need to stop inflating the money supply. But if the banks do this, both countries will experience major recessions. The governments do not want to have major recessions, but they also do not want to experience the effects of monetary inflation: price inflation. So, both of them are tempted to go back to the traditional policy of imposing price controls. This always creates shortages, and it always reduces the rate of growth of the economy. China and India are trapped. AN INTERNATIONAL TRAP The United States is in the same trap. The headlines scream of the skyrocketing costs of energy and food, but the broader consumer price indexes indicate slow increases: maybe 3% a year. This is because families are readjusting their budgets. As the prices of gasoline and food rise, families are forced to cut back expenditures in other areas. So, the general price indexes are not rising dramatically, but families are struggling with their budgets. This struggle will get much worse this winter, when the price of heating oil rises. This will exacerbate the existing economic slowdown. Furthermore, the rising price of oil means a rising balance of payments deficit for the United States. Oil-exporting countries are the main beneficiaries of the rising price of oil. This means that foreign sellers of oil will get the lion's share of the increase of the price of oil. American producers will pay for the prosperity of the oil exporting countries. They will pay in the form of reduced demand for their products. The world is facing simultaneous recession. Meanwhile, the American financial system has absorbed hundreds of billions of dollars of IOUs from home buyers who cannot possibly pay off their debts. They are in the process of defaulting to the lenders. This has created a crisis for America's largest banks, and for several major European banks. We all know the story by now, but psychologically, most Americans have not adjusted to the new economic reality. Most investors have not adjusted. Yes, the American stock market is down by 20% since last October. But still they think a recovery is just around the corner. The media keep saying this. American investors still have faith that the economy is essentially healthy, that there will not be a continuing fall in the stock market, and that the economy will not go into recession and stay in the recession for two or more years. So far, I am giving you the good news. The good news is there is going to be an international recession, rising corporate bankruptcies, bank failures, and retrenchment by consumers because they can no longer pay the rising cost of energy. Why is this good news? Because this recession is going to put a cap on the rising cost of energy. Commodity prices will fall during the recession; this includes the price of oil. NO MORE FISCAL WIGGLE ROOM Americans have steadily stopped saving over the last 28 years. In 1981, they saved over 11% of their discretionary income. Today, they save nothing. They are now in full spending mode. They have borrowed money against their future income, against their home equity, and on simple promises to pay (signature loans: credit cards). They have stretched themselves thin with respect to debt. If oil goes to $400 a barrel, or $500 a barrel, and stays there for a year, American consumers will be in panic mode. They will have to cut their budgets, and they have forgotten how to cut their budgets. They have forgotten how to save. The strategy of the optimists is to tell us that the worst is over economically. This is the government's official position. Chairman Ben Bernanke does not say this. He keeps hinting of more trouble to come. He keeps telling us that the Federal Reserve System is monitoring events. He keeps implying that there is some sort of rabbit still remaining in the Federal Reserve System's hat which they can pull out if the banking system moves into paralysis mode. But he doesn't tell us what these rabbits are, or under what conditions the FED will pull them out of its hat. The good news regarding the economy in general is not backed up by anything specific. The government tells us that the worst is over, but there are almost no indications that the worst is over. The housing market is still in decline. Foreclosures are still rising rapidly. The lenders are not selling foreclosed properties at market prices. Instead, they keep buying back the properties. There is a growing inventory of unsold properties on the books of the lenders. Meanwhile the two major sources of liquidity for the housing market, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are verging on bankruptcy. On Wednesday, July 9, the stock price of Freddie Mac dropped by 23%. Yet its stock price was down over 50% since January. These two stocks have continued to fall. Everywhere we look on the horizon of the domestic economy, there is bad news. There is no sector of the economy that is improving, unless it is heavily funded by the Federal government. Health care has not slumped, because health care as funded by Medicare and other state and local government programs. This means that the Federal deficit is going to get worse in any recession. Medicare and Social Security are non-discretionary spending items. The revenues will fall. So, the supposed strength sectors of the economy are in fact guarantees of a government fiscal crisis. If the general economy slumps, the Federal deficit is likely to go over $500 billion a year. When the recession hits, commodity prices will fall. If the recession does not hit, commodity prices will continue to rise. But rising commodity prices will force bankruptcies in those firms that are not in a position to pass on increased costs to their consumers. This means industries associated with discretionary spending. If your company is dependent upon discretionary spending by the public, your job is at risk. If the recession hits, your company will suffer. If the recession doesn't hit, rising commodity prices will squeeze your company. Consumers will spend their money for gasoline and heating oil, not on the products or services your company produces. The boom economy has not been based primarily on non-discretionary income. The boom has come at the margin: those areas of the economy in which consumers do have the option of spending their money rather than saving it. So far, I have been giving you the good news. The good news is there is going to be an international recession, rising corporate bankruptcies, bank failures, and retrenchment by consumers because they can no longer pay the rising cost of energy. THE BAD NEWS The bad news is that the State of Israel is increasingly likely to launch an air strike on suspected Iranian nuclear weapons production facilities. I have discussed this before. If this happens, the price of oil will skyrocket. This will force massive readjustments of family budgets in every country on a permanent basis. This is going to force producers to fire people out of fear of bankruptcy. Consumers are going to stop buying much in the area of discretionary income. That is, those items that can be cut back will be cut back. This could mean you. If the State of Israel launches an attack on Iran, the economic news will get really bad really fast all over the world. So, the most important question today is whether or not the Israeli Air Force will attack Iran. From an economic standpoint, this is the crucial question. Here, too, the mainstream media have generally promoted optimism. They suggest that the Israelis will not attack Iran. The problem is, they can't point to anything specific that officials in the State of Israel have said that indicates that there will not be an attack. On the contrary, officials there keep saying "no comment." Something else is really ominous. The political leaders in the countries over which Israeli bombers will have to fly are deadly silent. They are not telling Israel in full public view that if Israel sends planes over their airspace, they will go to war with Israel. They are not saying that they are preparing right now to shoot down every Israeli plane that flies over their airspace. They are saying nothing. Why? I think the main reason is that they will not back up their words with deeds. They will not shoot down Israeli planes. They say nothing in public because they will do nothing if the overflights take place. If they go public with bellicose threats today, their own people will turn on them if they fail to back up their words with deeds if the flights take place. "You said you would do something. You did nothing. Get out!" This could start internal revolutions in the overflown countries. Silence is golden. It's yellow, but it's golden. This tells me that the overflight countries' leaders think the attack may take place. They would prefer to be accused of having been caught flat-footed by the Israeli Air Force than unwilling to back up a threat. American officials are offering the bipartisan line: "We must settle this through diplomacy." (To which Israeli government officials can respond, Tonto-like: "Who you mean we, paleface?") They are not saying anything about what sanctions against the State of Israel that America will impose as soon as Israeli jets bomb Iran. That is because there will be no such sanctions. Admiral Mullen supposedly sent Israel a statement in early July saying that the United States has not issued a green light for an Israeli attack on Iran. This supposedly means something important in itself. It means nothing in itself. What it means is the United States has not issued a red light against an Israeli attack on Iran. This means that there is no stop sign. There is no red light, so the absence of a green light means nothing. Of course no one has said that the United States will help Israel in such an attack. So what? Israeli officials are not asking for a public offer of American help. If the United States and those governments over which the Israeli Air Force must fly are not issuing public statements at this time warning that there will be significant negative sanctions imposed on the State of Israel as soon as the attack is launched, then this is an implied green light. Do we imagine that senior decision-makers in the Israeli government care a whit about the lack of an official American green light to their attack on Iran? They are as unconcerned about the lack of a green light as Iran is unconcerned about President Bush's threat of sanctions if Iran does not comply with all requirements announced by the Bush administration. Iran knows what Israel knows: the Bush administration is terminal. It will end on January 20, 2009. It has no teeth. Lame ducks don't bite. They merely squawk. Why should we think that either Iran or Israel gives a fig about the red light/green light debate? American pundits may think this debate is important, but why should anyone with common sense think it's important? TIMETABLES Iraq has announced that the United States must pull out its troops. It is demanding dates for this withdrawal. The Bush administration is pooh-poohing all this, and will not under any circumstances announce such a timetable, but so what? There is a timetable for the Bush administration's withdrawal: January 20, 2009. This means that the United States is going to be pressured by Iraq's government to leave Iraq from now on. Most of the troops will be forced to leave Iraq unless things change dramatically. Then what will be done with the 14 major military bases that have been built? As the pressure increases to force us to leave Iraq, and as the pressure from the Taliban increases in Afghanistan, and as the pressure from voters increases to get our troops out of both countries, and as the likelihood of the election of Obama increases, decision-makers in the State of Israel are caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. If the United States pulls out of the region, the State of Israel will be left high and dry. But there is another possible scenario. If Iran's surrogate Shia forces in the region take on the United States troops in reaction to an Israeli attack on Iran, American public opinion will swing in favor of keeping the troops there, no matter what. "Who do those Iranians think they are? We issued no green light to the Israelis. It's not our fault." If Iran begins to supply weapons to Shia forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the American death rate goes up, then American voters will switch back to a pro-war position. At least, this is a possibility. Americans do not like to be pushed around. Any escalation of war in the region will create havoc for the supply of oil. The world economy is moving into recession already; it may go into a true depression if oil goes to $500 and stays there. So, the stakes are enormous. The outcome is no longer in the hands of the United States, Europe, Asia, or any of the other outsiders to the Middle East. The outcome, or at least the trigger, is completely in the hands of the decision-makers in the State of Israel. They hold the gun. Unless the United States and Western Europe tell the decision-makers in the State of Israel that Europe and the United States will impose significant negative sanctions after an attack on Iran, then decision-makers there are going to make a decision based on the self-interest of the ruling party, not the self-interest of American or European voters. They are going to take care of their perceived problem, exactly as we would expect any other national political leaders would take care of their problem. That's why all talk about war being a threat to the self-interest of the whole makes sense only if the Israelis conclude that the economic crisis will be so severe that it will take them down in the whirlpool of economic collapse. They are not afraid of military retaliation from Iran. They are also not afraid of the United States, Europe, Asia, or any other coalition that does not have the backbone to say in advance that there will be major sanctions placed on the State of Israel if there is an attack on Iran. This is why I am concerned about the threat of an Israeli attack on Iran. I am in no way calmed by statements attributed to Admiral Mullen. When Admiral Mullen holds a press conference and says publicly that there is no green light for an attack by the Israeli Air Force on Iran, and that any flyover of Iraq by Israeli planes will lead to shoot downs of Israeli planes by American planes, then I will stop worrying about the threat of an attack on Iran by the Israeli Air Force. How likely do you think such a press conference is? We must face reality: the decision to go to war with Iran is 100% in the hands of Israeli decision-makers. It is not in the hands of the United States, Europe, or Asia. In other words, the economic fate of the West over the next decade is now in the hands of decision-makers who are concerned about the long-term survival of their own country. They are concerned because they do not want to have Iran in the possession of nuclear weapons. Both candidates for President have said the same thing. We have seen saber-rattling by the Iranians with the film-doctored test of the missiles this week. These missiles are militarily useless as weapons against the Israelis. They are as irrelevant militarily as Germany's V-2 missiles were in 1945. They cannot inflict enough damage to make a difference, unless they are used against Saudi Arabian oil fields. But, if they had a nuclear warhead, that would make all the difference. The Israelis know this. So, they are going to make their decision in terms of this long-term threat. The main inhibition against an attack is the possible collapse of the Western economy, which buys Israeli-produced goods. This threat may be sufficient to keep them from attacking. I dearly hope that it is. But it is naïve to believe that they are going to make their decision because of worries about whether Admiral Mullen has issued a green light or not. CONCLUSION When you invest your money, do not ignore the worst-case scenario. Set aside some of your money on the assumption that the worst-case will come true. This is what any military strategist does. He makes his decisions in terms of what the enemy can do, not what it would be convenient for the enemy to do. I suggest that you be aware of this threat. I suggest that you sit down with the family budget and outline what your response would be if the price of gasoline were $10 a gallon or $15 a gallon or $20 a gallon. What would you do? I know what you would do. You would drive less. Ignore the happy-face assessments of the geopolitical strategists. Ignore the happy-face assessment of the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry "Goldman Sachs" Paulson. These assessments are being issued to keep panic from spreading. I am doing my best to encourage people to take rational steps with some of their liquid assets: to hedge themselves against the possibility that there will be an attack on Iran before January 20, 2009. This doesn't mean that I think such an attack is a sure thing. Decision-makers in the State of Israel are going to have to live with $400 oil, just like all the rest of us. They may decide that this risk is too great. They may decide to put up with the threat of a future nuclear-armed Iran. I won't bet all of my money on this. I don't think you should either. July 12, 2008 Gary North [send him mail] is the author of Mises on Money. Visit http://www.garynorth.com.