<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Small Business Online, Small Business</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info</link>
	<description>Business, Finance</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 02 May 2012 04:17:44 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.1</generator>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
			<item>
		<title>Use Your Head &#8211; Use Your Phone To Get a Loan</title>
		<link>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2012/05/use-your-head-use-your-phone-to-get-a-loan/</link>
		<comments>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2012/05/use-your-head-use-your-phone-to-get-a-loan/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 02 May 2012 04:17:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Loans]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2012/05/use-your-head-use-your-phone-to-get-a-loan/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you would like to apply for a loan, all you really have to do is use your head and apply using your phone. When you go online to look for these loans, and you enter information about yourself, they will send you text messages often in which you can keep up with. You may [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you would like to apply for a loan, all you really have to do is use your head and apply using your phone. When you go online to look for these loans, and you enter information about yourself, they will send you text messages often in which you can keep up with. You may apply for a text loan through a simple message in which they send you. This is a lot quicker than applying online, because when you apply for a text, they already have your information, so you do not have to re enter it. You can only do this by going online first and finding a loan company. Not all online payday loans offer this service, but you can definitely take advantage of it.</p>
<p>When the company sends you a text message you can respond and let them know how much you would like to borrow. They may ask you to verify a little bit of information, but you will not have to gain any access to the internet to apply for a loan. As long as you have a cell phone in which you can send and receive text messages, you will be able to benefit from a <a href="https://txtloan.co.uk">text loan</a>. You can always go online to find out more information about these loans if you want to know anything else.</p>
<p>Text loans are very convenient especially if you do not have access to a computer right away. You can apply for a loan with your phone anywhere, even at the spur of the moment. It is quick, easy, and efficient. It is a better way of applying for a loan. One thing you can keep in mind is that these text loans are reputable so you won&#8217;t have to worry about scams or anything. You should still remain very aware of these scams through <a href="https://txtloan.co.uk">text loans</a>, and do not give your information out to any third parties. That is why it is safer if you go online first and find out the text information for future reference. You can use it anytime, and they will even send you a reminder through text when your loan date is coming up.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2012/05/use-your-head-use-your-phone-to-get-a-loan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Payday Loans &#8211; a Beautiful Way to Tackle Financial Crisis</title>
		<link>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2012/01/payday-loans-a-beautiful-way-to-tackle-financial-crisis/</link>
		<comments>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2012/01/payday-loans-a-beautiful-way-to-tackle-financial-crisis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:17:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Finance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/?p=239</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[These loans are among the best loans, which one can take and pay it in his next salary. These loans are fast to get and they are easy to avail; you are required to fill an online form along with the details of your bank account. Some of these lenders may ask you to give [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>These loans are among the best loans, which one can take and pay it in his next salary. These loans are fast to get and they are easy to avail; you are required to fill an online form along with the details of your bank account. Some of these lenders may ask you to give verification of your employment in order to check your details and evaluate, if you would be able to pay back their loan amount as well as the interest. <a href="http://uk-loans-today.co.uk/">Payday loans</a> have lots of benefits, which make it the most popular loan service.</p>
<p>These <a href="http://no-faxing-payday-loans.co.uk/">payday loans no credit check</a> are very easy to get and it dos not require any sort of fuss or hassle. These are loans, which can be applied through online web portals of lenders. You are required to fill a small form. You will get the confirmation in minutes, whether your application was accepted or not. If your application gets accepted, your bank account will get credited by the loan amount in approximately 24 hours. You are required to pay the lender back the interest along with the loan amount in 15 days. So, whenever in trouble take these loans and save yourself.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2012/01/payday-loans-a-beautiful-way-to-tackle-financial-crisis/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Running short on cash? Borrow!</title>
		<link>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2012/01/running-short-on-cash-borrow/</link>
		<comments>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2012/01/running-short-on-cash-borrow/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:15:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Finance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/?p=237</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you are nearing the end of the month, and you are on short on cash, and if you have an ugrnet expense, you can borrow through payday loans. Payday loans are short-term, unsecured and small amount loans. They are also known as paycheck advances or cash advances.
Due to high risk of the payday loan [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you are nearing the end of the month, and you are on short on cash, and if you have an ugrnet expense, you can borrow through payday loans. Payday loans are short-term, unsecured and small amount loans. They are also known as paycheck advances or cash advances.</p>
<p>Due to high risk of the <a href="http://payday-loans-lender.co.uk/">payday loan lender</a>, a high amount of interest is charged from the borrower. The interest is calculated in terms of compound rates. Although the amount of interest a creditor can charge is regulated by a central bank of a particular country to prevent usury. The tenure of these loans is usually for a forth night or a month.</p>
<p>Traditionally a borrower may approach a local pay loan retailer for a small amount of loan for instance $500 for 30 days. The borrower will have to give a postdated check to the credit retailer. Usually the borrower may be expected to be back on the 30th day to pay his debt along with the interest charged. If the borrower doesn’t show up then the creditor is entitled to encash the check from the bank.</p>
<p>The risk of default payday loans is higher than conventional loans. The creditor usually asks some verification. However, there is no security in forms of assets provided by the borrower. Most of the time a loan is given on basis of trust and good faith. <a href="http://payday-loans-lender.co.uk/">Payday loan companies</a> aggressively advertise, as it is a very convenient financial product in times of emergency and need for general masses. The credit card industry that is very similar to payday loan is worth hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide today.</p>
<p>Payday businesses work as franchises given by payday companies. Such franchises are found in small retail shops at gas stations and residential localities. Due to enhancement of internet, the use of online payday loans is rising substantially.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2012/01/running-short-on-cash-borrow/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bow Tie Loan</title>
		<link>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2012/01/bow-tie-loan/</link>
		<comments>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2012/01/bow-tie-loan/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 04:56:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Finance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/?p=235</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Although this isn’t a very common term to most people, there is a loan called ‘bow tie loan’ that is used more often than you might think. The simple explanation is that it is a type of short term loan with variable rate interest which is paid only up to a certain pre-determined percentage (according [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Although this isn’t a very common term to most people, there is a loan called ‘bow tie loan’ that is used more often than you might think. The simple explanation is that it is a type of short term loan with variable rate interest which is paid only up to a certain pre-determined percentage (according to <a href="http://www.compareloans.org">compareloans.org</a> and then the remainder is not due until the loan matures (becomes payable). It is important to note that variable rate interest loans are subject to market fluctuations so the rates will be in constant flux.</p>
<p>An example of this would be a bow tie loan that has a pre-determined interest rate limit of 18%. Over time, the loan which has variable rate interest goes up to 20%. The borrower would continue paying the interest at 18% and the 2% over that amount would be tacked on to the principal to be paid when the loan matures and becomes payable in full. To visualize this, the loan is for £10,000 with a limit of 18%. The borrower pays £180 in interest but the other £20 would get added to the amount that would be payable at the end. This prevents monthly payments from going above what is comfortable for the borrower to pay.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2012/01/bow-tie-loan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Handy Payday Loans? Now Excluding Fax</title>
		<link>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/12/handy-payday-loans-now-excluding-fax/</link>
		<comments>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/12/handy-payday-loans-now-excluding-fax/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:34:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Finance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/?p=232</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Can anyone find a fax machine if they require one? Practically, who has free time to go and try to find a fax, to say nothing about the supporting papers you would need to search for in order to send them through fax. Get ready to do your bargains without faxing! Nowadays you have the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Can anyone find a fax machine if they require one? Practically, who has free time to go and try to find a fax, to say nothing about the supporting papers you would need to search for in order to send them through fax. Get ready to do your bargains without faxing! Nowadays you have the opportunity to receive payday loan effortless and you do not have to waste much time waiting for corroborating of your papers that you have sent through fax.</p>
<p>For those people who aren&#8217;t able to wait before they receive their payday exist such no fax payday loans. No fax <a href="http://secureloansonline.com/">payday loans online</a> have been specially created so that they are as trouble-free as possible, and the online form might be filled out in a matter of few minutes. They give you the possibility to preserve your time while looking forward for agreement and for funds to hit your bank account. In case you are such user that claims some money always very speedily, then payday loan without faxing is created specifically for you. You need to understand that payday loans without faxing are as a rule designed for almost a month, they are short-ranged. Don&#8217;t be uneasy, you won&#8217;t need to complete a whole lot of documentations and then send it by fax to the payday loan establishment. Everything is very trouble-free: you don&#8217;t need to have any additional papers except you need to recollect bank account terms in order to possess your no fax payday loan easily.</p>
<p>Completing piles of documents might be tiresome and unpleasant when you just require a minor quantity of money for your essential requirements. So you can check the handiness of having these no fax <a href="http://365paydayloans.co.uk/">payday loans UK</a>. The fastest method to obtain payday loans without faxing in any time of the day is to fill out the form on-line. It is clear that in case we have certain additional expenses to pay we want doing this without much of efforts.</p>
<p>No fax payday loans have been designed for present busy and speedily paced life, not to mention the monetary suffering that consumers are meeting due to the increases in public services, foodstuffs and garments. Don&#8217;t forget that you are going to possess the ability to exploit cash just during one month as it is a short-dated payday loan. In case you apply for no fax payday loans, you will feel less drawbacks and a lot of benefits.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/12/handy-payday-loans-now-excluding-fax/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Few Points in Understanding Payday Loans</title>
		<link>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/12/a-few-points-in-understanding-payday-loans/</link>
		<comments>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/12/a-few-points-in-understanding-payday-loans/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:38:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Finance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/12/a-few-points-in-understanding-payday-loans/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Another request, which is probably the most important side of free of charge cash advance online money, is that you need to have a job. Your work data is very significant for creditor, especially the duration of your work and your employment status. You will never fit the payday loan process if you don&#8217;t have [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Another request, which is probably the most important side of free of charge <a href="https://www.greenstarcash.com/">cash advance</a> online money, is that you need to have a job. Your work data is very significant for creditor, especially the duration of your work and your employment status. You will never fit the payday loan process if you don&#8217;t have a paycheck.</p>
<p>You will have your individual profit with payday loans solving your problems at any time. If you have a job and a bank account, you may get a loan of approximately one thousand dollars instantly. Over the period of time, if you have shown that you are able to repay on time when you are asked to, you can obtain a bigger total for easy <a href="http://1paydayloans.co.uk/">payday loans UK</a> online.</p>
<p>Running into problems is our common thing to cope with, what we are not able to do without some extra monetary assistance. For unforeseen conditions such as these, it should be noticed that you can find a solution in the form of free of charge payday loans on-line, where you can get money advance at any time from a seller who may propose you beneficial business. Approximately every American inhabitant has such demanding conditions.</p>
<p>Some pros of payday loans online</p>
<p>Payday loan is the quickest method you may take to obtain the essential sum of finance. If you agree to repay in 15-20 day the money you&#8217;ve taken, you may spend it during this short period. That&#8217;s because you can have you next earnings approximately in this period of time. The payday loan procedure includes expenses and helping each person coping with high interest rate.</p>
<p>Currently the internet provides the chance to stay in your own house and arrange your payday loan transaction with conditions you like. Just going to the World-Wide Web from your own computer, you may immediately be drawn into a payday loan and get the approval within several hours. At last you have to know that it&#8217;s feasible to receive cash right away.</p>
<p>There is nothing very different about managing payday loans online or in the institution. That&#8217;s apprehensible that agreements out of your home involve additional filling in operations.</p>
<p>Convenience in dealing with payday loans online gives you more time to spend on yourself. The thing you have to do is fill in the on-line request and upload some of the documents that will be required from you.</p>
<p>When you think over some requests, you might be frightened that you may not just make the cut. You will not find any problems and non comprehensible subjects.</p>
<p>At the very beginning you need to present the information about your conservation account in a banking firm. That is the way you will have your payday loan through transferring it on your account instantly. You also may send over your last check to prove the creditor that you have your finances stabilized. If you are doing your transaction on-line and you have a savings account, you will probably be asked to give the lender your allowance to pull out the wherewithal when the time of payment comes.</p>
<p>Lenders will not do a credit test on you or any type of background review. Do not hesitate not to have your payday loan if you had some financial problems earlier.</p>
<p>The other thing to be alluded is that the interest rate of payday loan is larger than any other. The reason of having payday loans so easy and swift is that creditors get profit from you. Money leaders will take advantage of any methods to involve you with payday loans. They will never be worried about you losing benefits.</p>
<p>Do not miss the opportunity of getting your payday loan</p>
<p>After you&#8217;ve taken and spent your cash, do not forget to repay in certain time. The average amount you have to repay is about 20 %. At the end you will repay much more than you&#8217;ve received. Of course there is certain mulct for your not repaying on time.</p>
<p>Surely you have an alternative to choose, but consider payday loan as the last point that can save you. In case you have additional sources to receive cash from, just exploit it. There are lots of other things you might do with your saved money if you do not pay it for the interest rate.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/12/a-few-points-in-understanding-payday-loans/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Banks scrambling to serve tablet users</title>
		<link>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/11/banks-scrambling-to-serve-tablet-users/</link>
		<comments>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/11/banks-scrambling-to-serve-tablet-users/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 27 Nov 2011 09:55:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Banks scrambling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online banking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/?p=228</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Devin  Davis wanted to use his tablet for his online banking. But after one  too many botched transfers from account to account &#8212; because of the  imprecision of using the touchscreen without an application designed for  the tablet &#8212; he went back to his laptop.
&#8220;I found myself going to my  [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-229" title="AMAZON/" src="http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/s1.reutersmedia.net1-300x197.jpg" alt="AMAZON/" width="300" height="197" /></p>
<p><span id="articleText"><span><span>Devin  Davis wanted to use his tablet for his online banking. But after one  too many botched transfers from account to account &#8212; because of the  imprecision of using the touchscreen without an application designed for  the tablet &#8212; he went back to his laptop.</span></p>
<p></span>&#8220;I found myself going to my  computer because it was faster, easier and more exact,&#8221; the Oakland,  California resident says. Then a new app came out. Now, he says, the  experience is far better.</p>
<p>With the success of Amazon&#8217;s new Kindle Fire tablet on the heels of Apple&#8217;s pioneering iPad,  the growing number of tablet users like Davis who want to do their  banking on the device are likely to notice something lacking in the  experience.</p>
<p>Of the nation&#8217;s biggest  banks, only 30 percent offer a tablet-specific app, says Mary Monahan,  the head of mobile devices research at Javelin Research &amp;  Strategies. And that&#8217;s just for iPad users. So far, none of the banks  have a specific application for iPad&#8217;s Android-based competitors that  are gobbling up market share, including Kindle Fire.</p>
<p>For  tablet junkies, that means an often frustrating experience. They can  either do their online banking through the less-visual mobile portal or  through the less-functional website.</p>
<p>Monahan  says banks need to serve this space because of demand from tech-savvy  consumers. &#8220;It&#8217;s going to revolutionize banking in the same way the  smartphone did. The banks have to be ready for this,&#8221; she says. And  there are signs that many will be be moving there within the next year.  Software developers hired by financial institutions say they are under  pressure to quickly put their clients into the tablet marketplace.</p>
<p>Big  banks currently offering iPad apps include Bank of America, JP Morgan  Chase, Citibank and USAA. Bank of America officials say they&#8217;ve tried to  stay at the front of the pack when it comes to mobile applications. &#8220;It  is about providing our customers with a safe and secure way to bank  while at the same time providing them with convenience, choice and  flexibility,&#8221; says Marc Warshawsky, a mobile channel executive for Bank  of America.</p>
<p>Being something of a  cross between computers and smartphones, tablets benefit greatly from  applications being written specifically for them so users can easily  move through touchscreen menus.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s  an entirely new kind of device, and needs a new type of user experience  to go with it,&#8221; says Carl Tsukahara, vice president of Clairmail, which  designs mobile programs for banks. &#8220;It can&#8217;t be smartphone banking, but  bigger, and it can&#8217;t be a shrunken version of online banking.&#8221;</p>
<p>Already,  Monahan says, 8 percent of consumers have tablets and this holiday  shopping season is sure to grow that figure significantly. &#8220;There are  going to be a lot of Kindle Fires under Christmas trees this year,&#8221; she  says.</p>
<p>One of the main differences  with tablets vs. smartphones when it comes to banking is the time users  have. Tablet users are more likely to be at home. They tend to be less  rushed and expect a richer visual experience.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re  seeing the opportunity coming alive right before our eyes,&#8221; says John  Flora, director of product management for mobile for Intuit Financial  Services. &#8220;The demand for it is very high. We have a backlog of  customers were are working on.&#8221;</p>
<p>There  are no real limitations for tablet usage, Flora says. It&#8217;s just a  matter of designing the applications to take advantage of all that the  tablet can deliver. &#8220;They&#8217;re going to become part of everyone&#8217;s everyday  life,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p></span></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/11/banks-scrambling-to-serve-tablet-users/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Life credits put a price tag on experience, help older workers</title>
		<link>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/11/life-credits-put-a-price-tag-on-experience-help-older-workers/</link>
		<comments>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/11/life-credits-put-a-price-tag-on-experience-help-older-workers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 27 Nov 2011 09:52:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life credits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United Parcel Service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[university degree]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/?p=225</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Jeff  Gentz, a pilot for United Parcel Service, wanted to get his college  diploma if he was going to keep lecturing his teenage daughter about the  importance of a university degree.
So Gentz, a 42-year-old father  of four in Neenah, Wisconsin, joined a growing number of mid-career  students who are seizing [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-226" title="USA/" src="http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/s1.reutersmedia.net-300x200.jpg" alt="USA/" width="300" height="200" /></p>
<p><span id="articleText"><span><span>Jeff  Gentz, a pilot for United Parcel Service, wanted to get his college  diploma if he was going to keep lecturing his teenage daughter about the  importance of a university degree.</span></p>
<p></span>So Gentz, a 42-year-old father  of four in Neenah, Wisconsin, joined a growing number of mid-career  students who are seizing new opportunities from universities and  employers to receive college credit for their experience outside the  classroom.</p>
<p>The Obama administration  is pressuring universities to offer more help to these adult students  in order to boost graduation rates and to improve the quality of the  nation&#8217;s workforce amid persistently high unemployment. More schools are  embracing these &#8220;life credits&#8221; for competitive reasons, too, since  adult students are projected to make up a growing share of undergraduate  enrollment in the coming years.</p>
<p>The  number of colleges that award credit for life experience has increased  35 percent since 2004 to more than 2,000 schools last year, according to  the National Center for Education Statistics.</p>
<p>And  a growing number of employers, such as Verizon and Starbucks, are  offering to pay for workers&#8217; prior learning assessments in order to make  their tuition reimbursement dollars go further.</p>
<p>&#8220;This  saves students time and money, and it allows employers to save money by  not having to pay for courses their workers don&#8217;t need,&#8221; says Mark  Campbell, vice president of learningcounts.org, a credit-advisory site launched by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) in March.</p>
<p>The  idea of getting college credit from prior learning has been around  since the 1970s, and it&#8217;s a staple at many community colleges, state  universities and for-profit schools. Still, only half of colleges offer  some form of prior-learning assessment, according to CAEL, and many of  those are limited to certain programs or difficult to access.</p>
<p>These  life credits cover a wide range of work experience, corporate training,  military service, volunteer activities and even travel. Many programs  require students to compile lengthy portfolios, including essays on what  they learned, letters from bosses and co-workers and other supporting  documentation that professors then evaluate. Students should do their  homework on prior learning because rules and procedures vary widely as  do the costs involved. And keep in mind there&#8217;s no guarantee a school  will grant these credits even if students assemble the evidence.</p>
<p>The  first step is to contact a specific college to see what type of  assessment they provide. For instance, LaGuardia Community College, part  of the City University of New York, offers a one-credit, 13-week course  on how to build a portfolio that costs $150. It&#8217;s no additional cost to  submit a portfolio for evaluation for students already enrolled. At the  University of Wisconsin in Superior, students are charged $350 for a  similar, one-credit class and they pay $75 for every three credits that  are requested. source: www.reuters.com/finance/personal-finance</p>
<p></span></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/11/life-credits-put-a-price-tag-on-experience-help-older-workers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Vulture funds scour Greek opportunities</title>
		<link>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/11/vulture-funds-scour-greek-opportunities/</link>
		<comments>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/11/vulture-funds-scour-greek-opportunities/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 27 Nov 2011 09:48:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[debt funds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Greek]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vulture funds]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/?p=223</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Distressed debt  funds are building up blocks of Greek government bonds with an eye to  holding out against, and ultimately profiting from, a restructuring of  Greece&#8217;s debt.
So-called &#8220;vulture funds&#8221; have had success in holding out against past sovereign restructurings, including those carried out by Argentina and Peru. Now, as negotiations have intensified [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span id="articleText"><span>Distressed debt  funds are building up blocks of Greek government bonds with an eye to  holding out against, and ultimately profiting from, a restructuring of  Greece&#8217;s debt.</p>
<p></span>So-called &#8220;vulture funds&#8221; have had success in holding out against past sovereign restructurings, including those carried out by Argentina and Peru. Now, as negotiations have intensified in recent weeks over  the private sector&#8217;s offer to restructure Greek debt voluntarily, some  funds are once again preparing to cash in on a major sovereign debt  exchange.</p>
<p>&#8220;There have definitely  been some distressed funds expressing interest in buying significant  portfolios of Greek bonds at a high discount. It seems for now there is  not much trading, though, because the bid price is low compared with the  price where sellers would be willing to get rid of their position,&#8221;  said a head of rates trading at a European bank.</p>
<p>Funds  thought to be active in scooping up GGBs include Elliot Associates &#8211;  which successfully held out on Argentina&#8217;s and Peru&#8217;s sovereign  restructurings &#8211; and Fir Tree Partners, which has become embroiled in a  dispute over restructuring of Irish bank debt. Neither firm responded to  requests for comment.</p>
<p>Market-makers  said GGB trades that had gone through had often been executed in  periods when the market became particularly distressed and prices  dipped.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve seen a lot of buying  in Greek bonds in the past few weeks. When stuff starts trading at 30  cents on the euro, people are looking to get involved. The market is  very illiquid though, so it takes time to build up a large stake,&#8221; said a  head of European rates at a major bank.</p>
<p>BLOCKING STAKE</p>
<p>Traders  declined to reveal exactly which series of GGBs were being targeted by  potential hold-outs, but certain issues look likely to have been  targeted. If a Greek restructuring followed the pattern of the recent  restructuring of Irish bank debt and a coercive tender was put forward,  75 percent of holders of any particular series of bonds would need to  accept the haircut in order to bind all holders to the agreement.</p>
<p>If  an investor wanted to block a tender, it would therefore look to  accumulate more than 25 percent of a given series of bonds, according to  Steven Friel, a litigator with law firm Brown Rudnick, which  specializes in representing funds in these types of cases and has been  speaking to a number of parties interested in Greece.</p>
<p>It  would also make sense for funds to target bonds governed by English law  &#8211; a trend that some traders have observed. These tend to be the  foreign-denominated bonds, which make up around 10 percent of Greece&#8217;s  outstanding debt.</p>
<p>&#8220;If bonds are  governed by Greek law, it&#8217;s going to be easier for Greek legislature to  pass a law that simply amends the bonds, which would be much more  difficult to do for English law-governed bonds,&#8221; said Friel.</p>
<p>English  law-governed GGBs have been trading at a premium in the market for a  while now as a result of this apparent advantage; for instance, a June  2013 US dollar-denominated GGB trades 15 cents on the euro higher than  comparable tenors of domestic GGBs. Foreign-denominated bonds also tend  to be smaller issues, potentially making it easier for funds to build a  blocking stake in them.</p>
<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s  been a view for a while now that English law bonds trade differently to  Greek law bonds as they&#8217;d be judged upon in UK courts,&#8221; said another  senior rates trader at a European bank.</p>
<p>WIDE POOL OF SELLERS</p>
<p>There  is potentially a wide pool of sellers of GGBs, and not only long-only  investors such as asset managers. Following the original so-called PSI  agreement in July, there was thought to be some pressure on European  banks &#8211; which had to disclose their holdings to regulators &#8211; not to sell  their Greek bonds. source:www.reuters.com/finance/personal-finance</p>
<p></span></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/11/vulture-funds-scour-greek-opportunities/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>U.S. credit raters set back on First Amendment</title>
		<link>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/11/u-s-credit-raters-set-back-on-first-amendment/</link>
		<comments>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/11/u-s-credit-raters-set-back-on-first-amendment/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 27 Nov 2011 09:46:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit raters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credit rates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mortgage]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/?p=221</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A  federal judge has said credit ratings are not always protected opinion  under the First Amendment, a defeat for credit rating agencies in a  lawsuit brought by investors who lost money on mortgage-backed  securities.
The November 12 decision was a  little-noticed setback for McGraw-Hill Cos&#8217; Standard &#38; Poor&#8217;s,  Moody&#8217;s Corp&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span id="articleText"><span><span>A  federal judge has said credit ratings are not always protected opinion  under the First Amendment, a defeat for credit rating agencies in a  lawsuit brought by investors who lost money on mortgage-backed  securities.</span></p>
<p></span>The November 12 decision was a  little-noticed setback for McGraw-Hill Cos&#8217; Standard &amp; Poor&#8217;s,  Moody&#8217;s Corp&#8217;s Moody&#8217;s Investors Service and Fimalac SA&#8217;s Fitch Ratings,  which have long invoked First Amendment free speech protection to  defend against lawsuits over their ratings.</p>
<p>These  agencies had argued that the Constitution protected them from claims  they issued inflated ratings on more than $5 billion of securities  issued in 2006 and 2007, and backed by loans from former Thornburg  Mortgage Inc and other lenders.</p>
<p>But the judge said the ratings were shared with too small a group of investors to deserve the broad protection sought.</p>
<p>&#8220;The  court rejects the rating agency defendants&#8217; arguments that the First  Amendment provides any protection to them under the facts of this case,&#8221;  U.S. District Judge James Browning in Albuquerque, New Mexico, wrote in a 273-page opinion.</p>
<p>Browning  nonetheless dismissed claims accusing Moody&#8217;s and Fitch, but not  S&amp;P, of misrepresentations, saying the investors did not adequately  allege that the two agencies did not believe their ratings, or knowingly  concealed their inaccuracy.</p>
<p>He also said federal law preempts some arguments that the investors used to recover under New Mexico securities law.</p>
<p>The  judge said the investors may file an amended complaint, which had  sought class-action status. If the state law claims went forward, it  could provide an avenue for investors to go after the agencies in other  states.</p>
<p>Browning had denied the agencies&#8217; motion to dismiss the complaint on September 30, without giving reasons.</p>
<p>S&amp;P,  in a statement, called the First Amendment ruling &#8220;inconsistent&#8221; with  other court rulings. Fitch spokesman Daniel Noonan said that agency is  pleased that claims against it were dismissed. Moody&#8217;s and lawyers for  the investors declined to comment or had no immediate comment.</p>
<p>Credit Suisse Group AG and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc are among the other defendants in the case.</p>
<p>Rating  agencies have been widely faulted by investors, regulators and Congress  for contributing to the global credit and financial crises that began  in 2007 by issuing high ratings on debt that did not deserve it.</p>
<p>Thornburg  made &#8220;jumbo&#8221; home loans, larger than $417,000, to borrowers considered  good credit risks, but collapsed after margin calls and a plunge in the  value of mortgages it held.</p>
<p>The Santa Fe, New Mexico-based lender filed for bankruptcy on May 1, 2009, and is now called TMST Inc.</p>
<p>LIMITED DISTRIBUTION</p>
<p>Investors  led by two pension funds, the Maryland-National Capital Park &amp;  Planning Commission Employees&#8217; Retirement System, and the Midwest  Operating Engineers Pension Trust Fund in Illinois, claimed the agencies  issued false and misleading investment-grade ratings for Thornburg  securities, and were paid &#8220;substantial&#8221; sums that compromised their  independence.</p>
<p>But Browning said the ratings were distributed only to a &#8220;limited group&#8221; of investors, not the public at large.</p>
<p>He  also said that unlike publicly traded companies, the trusts from which  the securities were issued were not &#8220;public figures&#8221; entitled to more  protections. Source: www.reuters.com/finance/personal-finance</p>
<p></span></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.smallbusinessitonline.info/2011/11/u-s-credit-raters-set-back-on-first-amendment/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>


