International Business Success

There is a lot of talk today about being “global”. What does global mean? A person of the world? Every country is as different. So is every locality and city or town. The skills a business person needs to be successful in international business go beyond being global. While not comprehensive, this list based on over a dozen years of international business experience should help.TravelFor the international business person, travel is a way of life. Long distance air travel can be especially brutal. The best advice is to arrive one day before any important meetings or conferences to adjust to any time difference. In the air, eat, sleep, work and read but do all in moderation. Air travel gluttony is common among international travelers. The on thing you cannot do is exercise on an airplane.LodgingStay where your host, whether a local office or a client recommends. While cost is a consideration, so is safety, convenience to meeting locations and services provided. This is the home away from home so chose it with care.MealsEat in moderation. Business travel is not the time to make up for every diet that one has ever been one. There is the temptation to eat more than usual. On the other had, when with people who live locally, whether colleagues or clients, ask what they recommend when dining together. Apart from allergies, one should be open to eating local cuisine.DrinkingSome cultures drink more than Americans. Some drink less. And some not at all. The best advice is to drink in moderation or not at all. Similar to eating, international business travel is not the time to beat ones college drinking record. It is not healthy and it is insulting to clients and colleagues.DressMost American business people, even after the business casual trend, still dress much more casually than business people internationally. Find out from local colleagues or even clients what attire is appropriate. If you do not know, dress in traditional business attire (suits for men and for women). This can always be dressed down if appropriate. Dress like you mean business but more importantly, dress appropriately. The same applies to evening dinners and functions outside of business hours.MeetingsBe at meeting early. Do not leave until the meeting is over. Even if others leave to take calls, do not do so except at scheduled breaks. Eat in moderation if lunch is brought in. Do not drink too much coffee but bottled water is good. Clean up after yourself after the meeting. And do not sit in the meeting with your laptop and read your email. That is rude. Do make sure you bring plenty of business cards. Introduce yourself to everybody. Do not interrupt, raise your voice or swear. If you have other calls, schedule them for the evening when not meeting with the clients or your colleagues.RecreationIn the evenings it is common to have dinner with clients or colleagues. After dinner is often a time to relax, exercise and catch up on some work before the next day. If staying over a weekend or taking a day off, visit local historical sites, museums, cultural events and also shops and restaurants. Staying in the hotel doing work is not healthy and it does not make one more internationally-minded or cultured.CommunicationFind out how your clients and colleagues prefer to communicate when not face-to-face. E-mail is common today. Conference calls are important too. Video conference calls can be very effective. Snail mail and faxes are less and less common today but are still necessary from time-to-time. Keep all communications clear, crisp and to the point. On international conference calls, listen more than talk. And do not interrupt. Ever. Take notes or minutes and make sure they are distributed within one business day of the call. Never e-mail jokes, gags, anything obscene or off-color. Do not swear or raise your voice on calls or video calls. Listening and patience are valued in most non-US cultures.LanguageWhile most non-US business people speak 2-4 languages most from the US speak 1 or perhaps 2 and not well. To this end, speak clearly in English. Be patient if asked to repeat or explain. This is especially true on conference calls. It is acceptable to pick up local words or phrases. Make sure they are appropriate and that they are pronounced flawlessly. Do not make a joke out of local words or phrases. This is insulting to clients and local colleagues.While business has a lot to do with finance, technology, human resources, research and development and law, it has more to do with people than anything else. To that end, doing business internationally is about people. By traveling and working with dignity and respect for customers and local colleagues, one is taking the first step toward the extensive skills needed to be successful in international business.

Social Bookmarking and Facebook

Facebook has for a long time been recognized as the leading authority in social networking. This website was launched in 2004 and since then has enjoyed huge popularity among people of all age groups. Facebook soon became the social site of choice among online marketers. Webmasters and online marketers almost immediately noticed the power of Facebook and soon found new ways of using social networking to communicate directly with their target audience.I can be extremely difficult to improve that ranking of your web pages within Google and other search engines. Many webmasters and SEO specialist spend a great deal of time and money to improve these rankings. The popularity of Facebook can be well assessed from the Google page rank. Currently the Google PR Rank for Facebook is 10 out of 10 and it ranks among the top 5 most visited sites in almost every country in the world. (An estimated 40% of all global internet users visit Facebook on a regular basis). A back link from a PR 10 website can do well for your website. Facebook users are allowed a single do-follow link from their profile to a blog or website. By effectively using Facebook Social Bookmarking you can create significant buzz around your business / website / brand.Social Bookmarking can be defined as a way to save, organize and share valuable resource / info / websites that are available online. It is important to note that you cannot simply bookmark your own web pages repeatedly as this will look unnatural and often be flagged by the search engines. To gain real benefit from social bookmarking you’ll need various internet users to bookmark your pages. For your bookmarks to be authentic it should unique third-party visitors to your pages who decide to bookmark these pages. In your own social bookmarking it is important to not only bookmark your own pages, but also complimentary pages with similar information relating to your topic. Facebook bookmarking should be given the highest priority as there are many visitors who might like your webpage and can easily bookmark your page. I have noticed that some online advertisers try to create many different profiles for Facebook bookmarking purposes; this unfortunately does not have the same effect and attract negative attention from the search engines.A lot of marketers just use Facebook bookmarking to create links to their web pages, but there really is little benefit in just using it as a link building strategy. This could have a rather negative effect on your brand. A mistake that is often made is to only share your own websites. Remember that Facebook bookmarking always must look natural and really should include other related information and sites in your bookmarking lists, Always take special care to ensure these other website you are bookmarking at least relate to your website’s topic. If you do this, your bookmarks will be noticed by others. Always look at that the bigger picture, don’t just rush your social bookmarking as simply something that needs to get done. Another mistake made is automating the social bookmarking. As much as we all sometime try to find a shortcut, social bookmarking really does need to be done manually to ensure maximum impact and benefit, Note that it is not recommended to only bookmark your website’s homepage. If you’re linking only goes to your homepages you may find that not all you website’s pages are indexed by the search engines. It is recommended that you build links to the inside pages of your websites. Social Bookmarking with Facebook makes building these deep links very easy to do.Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites on the web today. Social Bookmarking is a simple way of getting your site seen by this very targeted audience. By defining specific goals and having a bookmarking strategy you can get maximum benefit from your Facebook campaigns. If you are just getting started in online business you may want to refer to strategies followed by more experienced marketers. You’ll benefit greatly from getting regular exposure on Facebook and getting actively involved in the discussions of related forums.Facebook bookmarking is a very old concept and millions of online marketers have been putting it to use for a long time, so you need to be up to date with latest strategies and ready to face the competition.

21 Benefits of Blogging and 22 Blogging Tips

Combine “web” with “log” and you get “blog.” It’s a funny word, but serious business.This post is about blogging for business – with a purpose. We have a lot to cover, so we’ll knock it out as efficiently as possible with a series of lists.We’ll get right to it.Who should read this post? Non – blogger – You’ve never had a blog and you need to fix that now.
Unfulfilled blogger – You blogged for a bit. Magic never struck.
Beginning blogger – You blog, but don’t really know what you’re doing.
Regular blogger – You’ll pick up tips from a fellow blogger.
Expert blogger – You could steal the good stuff for your blog.
None of the above – You have nothing better to do, but to read about blogging.21 benefits of blogging with purpose. Connect with customers – A blog is a practical and powerful way to share useful, relevant information with customers.
Connect with partners – Blogging allows you to connect and team up with influencers and leaders who can be instrumental in building your business.
Generate traffic – A strategically planned blog, with carefully chosen keywords in play, will show up in search and drive traffic to your landing pages.
Establish authority – Your business blog is the hub of your content marketing efforts where you share your expertise.
Win business – 60% of businesses who blog acquire more customers, says HubSpot.
Inspire your social media – If you’re using social media effectively, you’re sharing your blog posts regularly and taking advantage of the magical amplification of social networks.
Increase reach – Your blog will be shared and find new eyeballs daily.
Grow your email database – Your blog should inspire people to opt into your email newsletter list. Also, your email feeds traffic to your blog.
Give your company a voice – A blog is your pulpit, your publication, your journal – the place where you talk about whatever you choose, however you choose.
Humanize your company – That voice needs personality. Great bloggers are genuine. Your personality comes into play, that is, if you aim to make real connections.
Exchange ideas – Blogs obliterate the wall that once stood between a company and its customers. You encourage interaction, comments and feedback. You create a conversation.
Get (and stay) customer focused – By blogging, you’ll learn how to speak in your customers’ terms, perpetually improve this vital skill and grow more in touch with your audience’s wants and needs.
Inspires content and productivity – Blogging is hard work. You need processes. Commitment. Consistency. You’ll need to step up – and you’ll be rewarded for doing so.
Increase focus – A subtle addendum to the point above, blogging consistently forces you to define who you are trying to reach and why.
Generate publicity – As I mentioned, business bloggers establish authority. Stick with it and demonstrate you know your niche and you’ll get asked for interviews frequently.
Invite outsiders in – While business blogger should refrain from being relentlessly promotional, the blog is an appropriate forum for delivering insight into your company, its values, and people.
Get strategic – You’ll get in the habit of closely examining the site’s analytics and gather all kinds of insights about what does and doesn’t appeal to your audience. Your marketing will get more strategic by day.
Learn – We’ll get a bit warm and fuzzy now, but there’s no denying you are going to learn a lot about yourself and the world around you. It comes with being a writer.
Get inspired – The research, the conversation, the experience… it’s inspiring. Trust me on this: a switch gets turned on and it’s impossible to turn off.
Have fun – Perhaps not everyone will agree blogging is fun, but I believe every great blogger gets into it and enjoys the ride.
Make millions – Maybe, maybe not. However, business blogging with purpose works. Every post is a long – term asset. Learn how to blog and you’ll lower your marketing costs and increase sales.Let’s look at how to do it.22 tips for blogging with purpose.I have to give a shout out here to my man, mentor, friend, Marcus Sheridan, a.k.a. The Sales Lion. No one understands and teaches the practice of blogging quite like Marcus. I won’t be replicating his great post, “50 Qualities of the Best Business Blogs in the World” here, but I did draw these ideas from it (and encourage you to check it out). Answer questions – Listen closely to questions prospects and customers ask and answer every one of them in your posts.
Teach, don’t preach – Avoid making your blog a heavy handed attempt to advertise your products. Adopt an educator’s mentality and you’ll win your reader’s trust.
Converse – Ask questions of your readers, encourage feedback, counterpoints and criticism. Respond to comments as promptly as possible in an effort to exchange ideas.
Create a blogging culture – Invite everyone in your company and its constituents to contribute ideas and participate in the blog.
Use images – Take advantage of the appeal of photos, illustrations, charts and infographics to increase your stopping power and make the posts more attractive.
Make it easy on the eyes – Use short paragraphs, line breaks, white space, subheads and lists to make your posts look inviting.
Be transparent – Write with uncompromising integrity and don’t be afraid to address real issues, problems, challenges, and yes, prices. Don’t avoid the tough questions. Tackle them.
Remove internal barriers – There’s no place in blogging for corporate red tape. Get permission in advance to write openly and honestly.
Don’t back down – Some readers (or co – workers) don’t love what you have to say? Say it anyway. It’s not a popularity contest.
Be consistent – The number one reasons blogs fail is they are neglected. Set a schedule and stick to it. Make the time to post often. No excuses.
Nix the fluff – Your posts can be short or long. Just don’t babble your way through them. Serve meat and go easy on the gravy.
Recognize others – Congratulate, write about and recognize customers, employees, partners, industry influencers and even competitors. Being generous will only help. You’ll enjoy reciprocity.
Optimize – Research and use the keyword phrases that will increase your search engine rankings. Install plugins to assist you with SEO.
Write passionately – Make your passion pulse through your prose. Tap into your reader’s emotions.
Tell stories – Learn how to become a master storyteller. Observe how the best bloggers unravel plots and develop characters.
Include customers – Drop the secrecy and anonymity. Cite real customers, real challenges and real solutions.
Invest seriously – Blogging only burns time and money when it’s a low priority. Invest in the tools you need and put the best writers and designers on your blog.
Market and sell – Don’t write ads and press releases disguised as blog posts, but do include a call to action and guide your readers along the path to discovering your solutions.
Stay tuned – Follow your industry daily and stay on top of what your peers are saying.
Encourage sharing – Don’t forget to offer social media buttons to make it easy for readers to share and email your content.
Promote your blog – Promoting a post can (and probably should) take more time than writing it. Write teasers for your content and promote it across social networks and all potential touch points.
Have fun – Never be stiff, formal, or jam useless jargon into your posts. You have the stage. Relax. Be entertaining. Allow yourself to have fun with the writingBusiness blogs are a major challenge.Blogs are the hardest channel for business to keep updated – and to really nail.Passle, makers of a blogging shortcut service of sorts, recently studied 525 businesses and reviewed their performance across blogs, company news pages, Twitter and Facebook. Their study, “The State of Business Blogging 2013,” reported: 75% of companies don’t update their websites in any way.
Only 20% have a blog and over one – third of them are inactive.
1 in 8 companies have an active blog.Ouch. Please understand…Business blogs should/can/will grow your business. 57% of companies with a blog have acquired a customer from their blog.
61% of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from a blog.
Blogs attract repeat visitors who continue to come back to the website for fresh content.
­Blogging allows you to team up with people who already have an audience, which is an instantaneous way to attract readers.The figures above are conservative. Blogging gets more important everyday. Start now.Visit http://feldmancreative.com/

New Eco Fashion

Eco-fashion is about more than your look; it’s about how your look came to be. Designers who choose to integrate planetary consciousness into their clothing collections ask important questions: What kind of fiber was used to make that T-shirt? What type of dye was used to color that skirt? How did those pants get to this store? But though more and more designers- both established and new-are designing clothing with an environmental eye, greening your closet on a budget is not as simple as taking a trip to the mall. Try tossing around green lingo like “ingeo,” “soy,” “bamboo,” “cocona,” or “organic cotton” in your local clothing store and check out the looks you get.But it is possible to fill your closet with affordable, stylish clothing that was made responsibly. You simply have to know where to look. As with conventional fashion, environmentally minded clothing created by the world’s top designers carries some of the world’s top prices. So to keep his or her wardrobe up to date, the fashion forward, budget-conscious Lazy Environmentalist must rely upon a knack for uncovering deals and a willingness to embrace new designers, business practices, and retailers. Here’s some advice for choosing the right looks for you and the planet.KNOW THE MATERIALS Green fashion begins with eco-conscious fabrics, so it’s important to know your materials. Currently there is a (growing) list of materials that are considered healthful and more sustainable for humans and the planet. Organic cotton is the most prevalent- and accessible-of the bunch, accounting for about 70 percent of all eco-fashion sales. Unlike its conventional counterpart, organic cotton is grown without the use of toxic pesticides and insecticides -many of which are considered carcinogenic. Globally, 25 percent of all insecticides and 10 percent of all pesticides are sprayed on conventional cotton, so going organic not only removes the toxins from your T-shirts, underwear, and socks (and anything else made of cotton) but also eliminates a lot of poison from the environment.Fabrics made from other naturally grown crops like soy, corn (called “ingeo”), and bamboo are also considered earthfriendly because they grow and replenish rapidly. And many athletic garments include fabrics derived from coconut shells, which help moisture evaporate, absorb odor, enhance cooling, and provide UV protection. This wonder coconut fiber is called cocona, and it’s currently being used by brands like Cannondale, Marmot, New Balance, and Champion.On the other hand, synthetic fibers like nylon, spandex, and polyester are usually derived from oil, a finite resource that is presently at risk of being depleted and is also one of the main culprits of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. But materials don’t have to be grown to be earth friendly. Used plastic soda bottles made of PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) can be recycled and transformed into polyester products such as strappy dresses, comfy T-shirts, or cozy fleece pullovers. Recycling materials for clothing (or anything else for that matter) is an environmental win because it reduces our dependence on virgin natural resources, reduces the amount of energy necessary to convert those natural resources into new products, and helps keep waste out of landfills. Less waste in landfills equals less methane released into the atmosphere (methane is a greenhouse gas that’s 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide and is produced as garbage decomposes). Designers and fashion labels that utilize greener fibers are quite literally a breath of fresh air.EMBRACE NEW FASHION LABELS Those of us determined to green our jeans will find that most ecoaware denim is priced at or above $150 a pair. But there are exceptions. Good Society delivers high-style, fair-trade certified organic cotton jeans for about $100. Not only is the styling clean and sharp, but every pair purchased also helps provide fair wages for the workers who produce them in India. When we think about “going green,” we typically focus on reducing our environmental impact. But fair-trade certification also ensures that the people making the products we use are not exploited in the process. This helps to create a web of positive change-a good society, if you will. And for Aiden Dingh, Good Society’s co-founder, it’s not enough to sell clothing that respects both the people who make it and the environment we live in, it’s also essential to make those items affordable. While Sling and Stones, Dingh’s original organic cotton denim line, carries designer prices, Good Society makes eco-chic clothing accessible to a broader audience. You can find the collection at big national retailers like Urban Outfitters and at smaller boutiques across the country. Good Society keeps the good going by giving 10 percent of its profits to environmental causes.As eco-aware designers are busy experimenting with new materials and inventive manufacturing techniques, some are also altering the traditional business model. Nvohk, a surf-inspired, eco-clothing company believes that business as usual is business as boring. Based on a model called “crowd- unding,” nvohk customers- or “members,” as the company calls them-contribute $50 and are able to vote on every major business decision like company logo design, clothing design, and even advertising. Once 60 percent of the members agree on a course of action, the management team implements the decision.Members receive a 25 percent discount on all products and collectively share in 35 percent of all net profits via reward points that can be redeemed for nvohk clothing (the company’s corporate structure prohibits the distribution of cash to its members). The model is designed to accommodate 40,000 members, but the business plan went into effect in June 2008 when 3,000 members had registered via the company’s website, Projectnvohk.com. Nvohk is market-based supply-and-demand economics set at mach speed: cutting out the middlemen and channeling customer preferences (demand) directly into manufacturing decisions (supply). Like any new concept, nvohk will undoubtedly attract a fair share of detractors, but several thousand people are already jumping at the chance to be part of a company that feeds the green economy by utilizing sustainable materials like organic cotton while donating 10 percent of net profits to environmental organizations.

The Ultimate Anti Aging Skin Care Guide For Anyone Looking to Regain Their Youthful Appearance

Are you worried about looking older? Is your age showing on your skin? Wondering what you are going to do about the signs of aging which are hampering your confidence? The answer to such issues is choosing a high quality skin cream, but how to you know which one is best for you? Read our anti aging skin care guide to get the right information on skin care products.Such information available through the internet and health magazines, will give you guidance about which products to use and how. You can find guidelines on which are the best products to choose and this will help you to make an informed decision.Here is a look at some basic guidelines for anti aging skin care treatment:Anti aging skin care guide for selecting the right productMost of us just tend to pick up any anti aging skin care product. This just gets the whole process of using anti aging skin care on the wrong footing. What is required is being aware of why you need an anti aging skin care products. This will make you to seek products with features that help to combat your specific aging problems.Anti aging skin care treatment involves the following:* It should diminish the visibility of wrinkles and lines on the skin
* It should reduce age spots and make skin clear
* It should heal sun damaged skin
* It should make skin firm, especially skin under the eyesThe anti aging skin care product, you select, must mention that it can show these results after regular usage. Read the product labels to find out.Note the skin condition you want to treat. Check if the product you select treats that condition, before buying. For example, if you want a product that helps to repair sagging skin under the eye, choose an eye skin care product.Anti aging skin care guide to buy product with the right ingredientsAny skin care product you select must have natural ingredients. Anti aging skin care treatment shows best results only when you use such products. If you see the product label and find that it has chemical ingredients like mineral oil, wax, parabens or alcohol, don’t pick the product. Such chemical ingredients harm your skin in the long run and make it look bad after a certain period of usage.Instead, choose a skin care product that has ingredients such as jojoba oil, grape seed, antioxidant, natural vitamin sources, and olive oil. These ingredients are the best as they have properties that enhance production of collagen and skin elastin, which are the two essentials for young looking skin texture.Other crucial ingredients that you need to check out in the label are CynergyTK, Nanobelle CoenzymeQ10, and Phytessence Wakame. These ingredients have dramatic anti aging skin care treatment properties. Products which include them show the best results.Some anti aging skin care guide tipsChoose a product according to your skin type. Often the problem lies in overlooking this point.A product which offers anti aging skin care treatment for a specific type of skin, will not work well on another skin type.When you get started with using such products, establish a routine. You can choose night creams or day creams depending on your convenience. However, do not beak a routine as you won’t see proper results.Effectively massage the cream onto your skin, using simple massaging techniques. This way your skin’s blood circulation enhances and you see good results.

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Your Business Travel And Your Diet

Business travel could be a profitable, enjoyable and even exciting experience. The moment you spend conducting business in other destinations increases your business reach and opportunity and increases you as a person too. Getting skilled at business trips is a strong business objective because there is knowledge related to business travel and being productive on the road that is not possible to learn if you don’t get out there and travel.Many of the knowledge associated with business travel are locked up in how you can live productively on your way. This is especially important when you’re on a long business travel. The life of moving in and out of hotels, traveling by car or airplane and also the challenges of the job could wear down even the most sturdy and knowledgeable business traveler.Keeping healthful eating while traveling for business is a critical challenge and one that really can only be attained with a few serious planning. You will finally find yourself consuming in a lot of dining establishments on your way and that kind of meals does not provide itself to a diet that is intended for fat loss or for a diet you must sustain for wellness reasons.The first but greatest step forward to accomplishing diet plan targets while traveling is to converse your wants to your traveling companions. In a business environment, there is normally a lot of encouragement to eat and drink well. Everybody is on the cost account so it’s an easy task to go crazy. Yet if you permit your coworkers and customers understand you’ve convincing reasons to sustain a disciplined diet, most of the time they will regard that and find methods to allow you to become successful.Another magic of business travel isn’t to rely on restaurants for your foods totally. If you may get out to a market early in the travel and buy some fresh fruit and vegetables, you can prepare some healthy food in your room to satiate and keep you on track. Then in the event that you have to eat in a restaurant to talk about business with colleagues or build relationships with the client, your appetite will be low so you can get by on a smaller amount.You can also be a voice for small amounts in the choice of eating establishments for your foods. Obviously, fast food is not going to be considered a good choice for you. So when there is discussion about where you can stop, you can vote for a spot that will serve a good variety of meal choices including some healthy choice menu options. In that way if you must eat in a restaurant, you’ll find items to order that can be prepared in accord with your diet requirements.You’ll be amazed how many allies you will find both in your travel associates and with those you are doing business with at your place who’ve diet plan targets but haven’t been successful because of the temptations of the life on the road. Your open statement of intent to stay to your diet regardless of the rigors of business trip could be a huge motivation to them. Furthermore, because they build partnerships in your purpose to reside wholesome, it’s entirely possible to consider your business to a healthy restaurant or deli and permit the rest of the party to go to a place of their liking. As long as this is performed without bitterness, everybody wins.Avoiding alcohol and snack foods could be a large concern on the road too. Very often in a seminar setting or within a lengthy day of conversations, the sponsor organization or office will give you biscuits or other treats to assist the conference go well by keeping everybody’s blood sugar up. These snacks are going to be difficult to resist. One way to help yourself in that situation is to be prepared with your own snacks in your brief case to bring out to replacement for the fattening food being supplied.By thinking ahead about your diet plan needs and how you will offer yourself while traveling, it’s possible to sustain a healthy lifestyle even during business trips. By supplementing theses steps with exercise and rest, you may find that your weather the travel much better than those who abuse their bodies and find yourself more productive as a business person as well because you made the effort to eat well on the road.

Payday Loans – Are They a Ripoff?

If you have no access to credit and need a quick loan, you may consider a payday loan. The idea sounds attractive: the lender deposits up to $2,000 into your bank account and the loan is automatically repaid from your next paycheck. You don’t need collateral and there’s no credit check.But before you walk into the payday loan office, do your homework. Here are some crucial facts you need to know.1. What is a payday loan? According to the U.S. government, a payday loan is defined as “a closed-end credit transaction, unsecured by any interest in the consumer’s personal property and excluding any credit card transaction under an open end consumer credit plan, with a term of 91 or fewer days in which the amount financed does not exceed $2,000 with a finance charge exceeding an annual percentage rate of 36%.” In other words: short-term, high-interest.To ensure repayment, the lender will require that you present a personal check for the total amount borrowed plus fees, or that you sign over legal access to your bank account for the total amount due. Your check is post-dated to your next payday. On that day the lender will cash the check or debit your bank account. This gives the lender an automatic repayment mechanism and the legal right to collect.2. Are payday loans legal everywhere? No! They are regulated by individual states. In some states they are illegal.They are also illegal for members of the U.S. military. One of the provisions of the FY 2007 Military Authorization Act makes it against the law for lenders to make payday loans and/or car title loans to military personnel. Lenders are also prohibited from charging more than 36% interest to military borrowers. When calculating the interest rate, additional renewal charges, fees, service charges, or credit insurance premiums must be included.3. What are the interest rates for these types of loans? Very high! Why? Because the lender typically requires only that you have a job and a bank account for the past sixty days. Payday loans are most often made to people who have poor credit and no collateral. These high-risk borrowers pay interest rates that can be as high as 600% APR.What does that mean? Here’s a typical payday loan breakdown:Loan amount: $1,500
Your next payday: 14 days from today
Fee per $100 borrowed: $20
Your effective APR: 521.43%
Total fees you pay: $300
Total debited from your account 14 days from now: $1,800Fourteen days after advancing you the loan for $1,500, the lender will debit $1,800 from your bank account. If for some reason the full amount isn’t there, you must still pay the $300 fee for that 14-day period. You will pay $300 every two weeks until you repay the original $1,500. When you receive your next paycheck 14 days later, you will owe $1,800. That means that if you miss the first repayment deadline, you will end up paying a total of $2,100.4. Are payday loans controversial? Yes! In many states they are considered usurious and are illegal. But attempts to regulate payday loans are receiving mixed responses. Congress is now considering the Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009 (HR 1214 IH). This bill would ostensibly regulate payday loans, but consumer protection groups are opposed. In a recent letter to U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez, the bill’s sponsor, several groups including the National Consumer Law Center assert that H.R. 1214 gives Congressional authorization for single-payment loans of 780 percent APR for one week or 390 percent APR for two weeks. The mandated loan fee limit of fifteen cents per dollar loaned sounds reasonable, but it permits lenders to charge $75 for a typical $500 loan, which is due on the following payday. For the average customer who takes out nine loans per year, H.R. 1214 permits lenders to collect $675 in finance charges for a $500 loan taken out over an eighteen weeks.Imagine paying more in finance charges than the loan amount! Before you consider a payday loan, do the research and ask yourself if it’s really the best choice for you.

Tips For A No Weeds and No Bugs Urban Permaculture Garden

Soil PreparationTo produce delicious fruits and vegetables in an urban permaculture garden, all starts with the soil preparation. This easy method helps minimize weeding and requires minimal watering.1. Lightly sprinkle the complete grass or soil area that you want to make into an urban garden with fresh compost. This attracts the worms to come to the surface and find all the delicious layers you put on.2. The most important first step in creating your urban permaculture garden, is to cover the grass or soil thoroughly with wet newspaper, at least 5 pages thick, making sure there are no colored ink pages included.3. Then cover the newspaper with plain flat cardboard and water it well. Flattened cardboard boxes are good to use for this.Raised Garden Beds1. Use untreated 8″ x 1″ or 12″ x 1″ timber to make square or rectangular garden beds, no wider than an arm span from each side to the middle. This allows you to work your permaculture garden from all sides without stepping on the growing area. This way, the worms and insects do all the hard work for you, and their habitat is not overly disturbed or compressed when you plant or weed your crops.2. Lay out your raised garden boxes on the prepared area of cardboard, leaving wheelbarrow width walkways all around them. Peg the boxes to the ground.Filling Your Raised Garden Beds1. Cover the wet cardboard inside the raised boxes with a thin layer of coffee grounds. This benefits fruits and vegetables in a similar way to what nitrogen does. Coffee grounds obtained at no cost, from coffee shops can also be used later as a top sprinkling to enhance growth.2. Next add any layer of manure at this stage but not too thick. Horse manure from quality stables is good, as these horses have a very good balanced diet. Alternatively, use sheep pellets or chicken manure. The soil that chickens have turned over in their yards can also be added here.3. Next you can add a thick layer of compost dirt. See the compost section to learn how best to make this, otherwise, buy some from the garden center.4. On top of that, you can add a layer of potting mix if you are planting seeds or want a finer soil to plant your seedlings directly into.5. A layer of organic wood chips, leaf mulch, or year old calf shed cleanings tucked in between plants after you have planted, keeps the top soil darkened to allow the worms to come up around all your plants and stops weed seeds germinating. The worms leave their fresh worm juice right there beside your plants.6. Prior to planting anything in your new garden boxes, give these layers of soil a gentle soak with the best water you can find, and leave them to settle for a week or so, watering daily. This encourages the worms, insects and bug life to take up residence and work their magic in your soil.Beneficial Additions To Your Soil Layers1. If you have access to them, a thin layer of wilted comfrey leaves laid on top of the coffee grounds provides valuable nutrients. We grow two large controlled clumps of this, so a source of compost material lays under our fruit trees. This is a prolific, powerful medicinal plant but needs cutting to wilt in the sun first to stop it taking root and spreading throughout your garden.2. Then to tune into the magnetic field of the earth, you can sprinkle a thin layer of paramagnetic rock dust on the compost. Paramagnetic rock dust can also be added to compost mixes in about 1:10. You may need to search for a supplier near you.3. Liquid chicken, sheep or cow manures, worm juice or diluted seaweed liquid are all very beneficial manures to add to your garden. The dilution needs to be weak to avoid burning the plants. These dilutions and rates of applications are easily found on the web.4. We watered our cabbages twice a week with liquid cow manure (one cow pat to a large bucket of water), when we were dairying in the perfect growing climate of Wairoa and grew giant species of cabbages. The outer leaves reached waist height and the hearts were huge! We felt like we had unlocked a secret from Eden!Pest Control And Ways to Provide For Beneficial Insects And Animals1.When you plant your cabbage, cauliflowers or broccoli, make a bamboo A frame shape and drape fine white mesh over the plants, to save having to spray for white butterfly.2. Keeping ducks on your walkways ensures the snails and annoying bugs are eliminated, but you will need to cut some plastic mesh to make a small fence inside the garden boxes, that the ducks can’t get over, to protect the vegetables in your garden boxes. You may need to clip one wing on your ducks if they fly. Feed the ducks kibbled maize, after they have eaten from the walkways.We have a drake and three ducks and rear the ducklings for meat and have eggs for baking. Peeking and Muscovey are good eating ducks and make a beautiful feature in the garden when they float in the pond. The water they bathe in is excellent to water the gardens with. We give them clean water every day.3. Make a space full of rocks to encourage frogs and geckos to come to live in, as they can deal with bugs and pests also. Frogs love a small pond.Insect Life1. If you really want to be kind to your insect friends, you can make a watered down molasses solution to sprinkle on top of your newly created garden. Do this after your garden’s first watering. This will feed all the worms, bugs and the bee colonies that are going to do the gardening for you, as they love that little bit of sugar content..2. Bees have a memory of where they get good water and the sweetest nectar, so if you cater for their needs it ensures you get good visitation when you need them for pollinating. They have a good memory and will bring their friends back with them. The wonderful tasting fruits you grow will also attract the bees, thus ensuring pollination when you grow fruits all year round.3. Plant many blue and purple plants like lavender and make sure you grow colorful flowers to attract the bees throughout the season. Provide a water bath for both birds and bees for resting and drinking. Planting lavender under the windows of your house helps keep those pesky mosquitoes at bay and brings the bees across. This ensures they find all the plants that need polination as they fly back out of your garden.Water Retention Walkways1. Box up the far sides of all the walkways around your garden beds enabling them to hold 8 to 12 inches deep of either untreated sawdust, calf shed wood chips, or tree and leaf mulch from your local tree removal firm. Avoid pine mulch.2. Another way to get a good walkway filler is to ask to clean out horse boxes at stables. You will receive unlimited access to good untreated woodchips, complete with horse urine.These walkways become large worm breeding areas and the next year are ready to become the compost material for your garden beds. You then just refill your walkways annually.3. The rain water is held in the fibrous wood materials in the walkways and seeps into your garden beds as they need it. When it rains you collect all the run-off across your section in these walkways and this way you are collecting water for your garden for a future drought.When we made our walkways, we spirit leveled them to hold water evenly along their full length. The paper and cardboard being thicker in the walkways and up the sides keeps the water in for as long as possible.4. The outside edges of your planned garden area planted with fruit trees close to the walkways enables them to enjoy the wonderful moisture from your walkways too.5. Lay any tree branches, mulch or grass clippings under your trees and watch the wonderful forest floor develop there. Better still, feed the grass clippings to the chickens first and watch them make beautiful compost soil out of it.6. This forest floor soil is excellent to grow seedlings in, mixed with potting mix. Mushrooms can also grow in this rich moist atmosphere under the trees.Composting1. Soils love compost that have a 1 part nitrogen to a 25 part carbon ratio. Making compost in this ratio, ensures your stack will not sink down to half the size, but stay the size you made it. Just add layers and layers in this ratio, and cover the stack until it is ready. Properly made it will be ready in a couple of months but it is more common to leave it six months to a year.2. Nitrogen equates to the hot things such as manures or road kill and the carbon equates to the dry wood based matter such as dry grass clippings, dry wood chips, paper, cardboard, or dry tree mulch.3. A compost made in this ratio is a source of hot water for a shower. Wrap black polythene pipe around and through your compost, connect it to a hose and shower head and there you can have a shower in the garden before heading home.Leaf Curl and Fungi1. Copper tacks in the trunks of your fruit trees stops leaf curl and flea collars around the base of your apple trees can stop the apple moth that climbs up the tree before it mates with the ones that flies into the tree.2. Fungi send out a filament underground, like an internet connection to every tree and plant in your garden so anything you do anywhere in your garden affects the entire area. Your garden is a living, communicating entity.Harvesting and Replanting1. Only cut the tops of vegetables like cauliflowers and broccoli when you harvest. Leave the roots in the ground for the soil life to break down, as the rotting roots make good water walkways deeper into the ground.2. When replanting, just make a small hole, add a bit of compost dirt, then plant your new plant or seeds without disturbing the soil life too much. The soil stays soft and workable if you keep adding mulch to the top and keep the moisture levels right.3. Your garden will be very lush using no dig, no spray, no weeds, no bugs, urban permaculture garden technology and needing only minimal watering to produce delicious fruits and vegetables. The mulch on the top of the soil slows down the evaporation rate of the available water.Now what if the water you do need to water your garden with is the very best filtration method that man has discovered? This structured water we use, gives us amazing growth, double fruiting and fruit that tastes full of energy.We are sure you will be as amazed as we are with the results.Visit our website below, to be amazed and enlightened.I hope you liked my article with tips for a No Weeds and No Bugs Urban Permaculture Garden.

S&P 500 Rallies As U.S. Dollar Pulls Back Towards Weekly Lows

Key Insights
The strong pullback in the U.S. dollar provided significant support to stocks.
Treasury yields have pulled back after touching new highs, which served as an additional positive catalyst for S&P 500.
A move above 3730 will push S&P 500 towards the resistance level at 3760.
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Pfizer Rallies After Announcing A Huge Price Hike For Its COVID-19 Vaccines
S&P 500 is currently trying to settle above 3730 as traders’ appetite for risk is growing. The U.S. dollar has recently gained strong downside momentum as the BoJ intervened to stop the rally in USD/JPY. Weaker U.S. dollar is bullish for stocks as it increases profits of multinational companies and makes U.S. equities cheaper for foreign investors.

The leading oil services company Schlumberger is up by 9% after beating analyst estimates on both earnings and revenue. Schlumberger’s peers Baker Hughes and Halliburton have also enjoyed strong support today.

Vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna gained strong upside momentum after Pfizer announced that it will raise the price of its coronavirus vaccine to $110 – $130 per shot.

Biggest losers today include Verizon and Twitter. Verizon is down by 5% despite beating analyst estimates on both earnings and revenue. Subscriber numbers missed estimates, and traders pushed the stock to multi-year lows.

Twitter stock moved towards the $50 level as the U.S. may conduct a security review of Musk’s purchase of the company.

From a big picture point of view, today’s rebound is broad, and most market segments are moving higher. Treasury yields have started to move lower after testing new highs, providing additional support to S&P 500. It looks that some traders are ready to bet that Fed will be less hawkish than previously expected.

S&P 500 Tests Resistance At 3730

S&P 500 has recently managed to get above the 20 EMA and is trying to settle above the resistance at 3730. RSI is in the moderate territory, and there is plenty of room to gain additional upside momentum in case the right catalysts emerge.

If S&P 500 manages to settle above 3730, it will head towards the next resistance level at 3760. A successful test of this level will push S&P 500 towards the next resistance at October highs at 3805. The 50 EMA is located in the nearby, so S&P 500 will likely face strong resistance above the 3800 level.

On the support side, the previous resistance at 3700 will likely serve as the first support level for S&P 500. In case S&P 500 declines below this level, it will move towards the next support level at 3675. A move below 3675 will push S&P 500 towards the support at 3640.