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	<title>Apply Best Credit Card</title>
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	<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 06:11:59 +0000</pubDate>
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		<title>Short-term market winds are pointing north</title>
		<link>http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/short-term-market-winds-are-pointing-north/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/short-term-market-winds-are-pointing-north/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 06:11:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Apply Best Credit Card</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

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<h5>Latest Market Update</h5>
<p><![endif]
<p>Place the following trades at 9:45 a.m. ET today:</p>
</p>
</p>
<p>click here</p>
<p>Instead of writing a whole new article to introduce my most recent trades, I&#8217;ll instead repeat some of my thoughts on the market from my recent MoneyShow.com interview.</p>
<p><strong>Q. Your portfolio for the MSN Strategy Lab includes several telecom companies from around the world. Why did you pick them?</strong></p>
<p>A. Mobile telecoms all around the world have been pummeled without really giving any consideration to the fact that cell phones in the emerging countries are no longer a discretionary item &#8212; they are somewhat of a consumer staple and thus are not prone to significant declines. </p>
<p>Enterprise values of two to three times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for <strong>Mobile Telesystems</strong> (MBT, news, msgs), <strong>Turkcell Ilet New</strong> (TKC, news, msgs), <strong>NII Holdings</strong> (NIHD, news, msgs) and <strong>Millicom International Cellular</strong> (MICC, news, msgs) are simply ridiculous. Even Israeli cell phone players like <strong>Partner Communications</strong> (PTNR, news, msgs) and <strong>Cellcom Israel</strong> (CEL, news, msgs) &#8212; some of the most stable and well-managed companies in the telecom space &#8212; are selling at four to five times EBITDA.</p>
<p>I also believe that some large global players like <strong>Vodafone</strong> (VOD, news, msgs) and <strong>China Mobile</strong> (CHL, news, msgs) are going to become very active on the acquisition front in the very near future, which should lead to significant multiple expansions. The only potential issue with some of the players is that a large portion of their debt is denominated in U.S. dollars with revenues in local currencies, which could lead to potential short-term currency hits. But none should have any real problems refinancing/paying down the debt given the strength of cash flows.</p>
<p><strong>Q. You have recently held some global bank stocks. Do you still like some financials?</strong></p>
<p>A. Recently I turned bullish on the more stable money center bank names like <strong><a href="http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/all-hsbc-card-list/" class="kblinker" target="_blank" title="More about HSBC &raquo;">HSBC</a></strong> (HBC, news, msgs), <strong>Wells Fargo</strong> (WFC, news, msgs), <strong><a href="http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/bank-of-america®-credit-cards-list/" class="kblinker" target="_blank" title="More about Bank of America &raquo;">Bank of America</a></strong> (BAC, news, msgs) and <strong>JPMorgan <a href="http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/chase-credit-cards-list/" class="kblinker" target="_blank" title="More about Chase &raquo;">Chase</a></strong> (JPM, news, msgs) with one caveat: I am not yet ready to buy their common stock but rather for now focus on their preferred stock, with most of my purchases yielding double-digit returns.</p>
<p>Many investors tend to forget that the government&#8217;s Troubled Assets Relief Program has a very interesting component. It was made in the form of preferred stock pari passu with the existing preferreds, which means that banks have to stop paying the government before they stop paying me. I am betting that simply won&#8217;t happen any time soon.</p>
<p><strong>Q. As a native of Belarus, formerly part of the Soviet Union, would you comment on the 70% correction in the Russian stock market and the flight by foreign investors?</strong></p>
<p>A. Last October, I actually predicted the upcoming collapse &#8212; a good call at the time &#8212; but with Russian stocks now universally hated and everyone predicting the doom-and-gloom outcome for the Red Empire, I have started nibbling at selected opportunities like two of my telecom plays: <strong>Vimpel Communications</strong> (VIP, news, msgs) and Mobile Telesystems.</p>
<p>With oil prices at $40 or so a barrel, the Russian economy is certainly in for a rough ride. A ruble devaluation at this point is virtually inevitable. However, this devaluation will actually make Russian companies outside the natural resources sector more competitive in the long run.</p>
<p>(For more insight on the Russian market, see this blog post I wrote last year.)</p>
<p><strong>Q. What sectors and/or individual investments do you think have the most potential over the next 12 months?</strong></p>
<p>A. Surprisingly enough, I am a lot more bullish on the corporate bonds/preferred stocks side than on common stocks. Yields on the selected investment-grade bonds and financial preferred stocks are at healthy double digits. Fixed-income yields are sending very conflicting signals &#8212; either most common stocks are too expensive or corporate bonds are too cheap. For now, I am sticking with the latter theory, holding a very limited number of individual stocks concentrated in the emerging telecom names, and with almost half of my portfolio in cash since August. While I foresee my common-stock-bearish mood changing sometime during the next six to nine months, I also believe that things could very well get worse before they get better.</p>
<p>my blogskepticalcapitalist@gmail.com</p>
</p>
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		<title>Can you cure your kids&#8217; &#8216;gimmes&#8217;?</title>
		<link>http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/can-you-cure-your-kids-gimmes/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/can-you-cure-your-kids-gimmes/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 06:02:02 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[[Related content: family, raising children, children, giving, shopping]MSN Money
How many times have you sworn off shopping with your kids because of the constant pleading, whining and negotiating for toys, snacks and other stuff?
If you&#8217;re like me, probably more times than you can count. But experts say there are ways to rein in junior&#8217;s materialism and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[Related content: family, raising children, children, giving, shopping]MSN Money
<p>How many times have you sworn off shopping with your kids because of the constant pleading, whining and negotiating for toys, snacks and other stuff?</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re like me, probably more times than you can count. But experts say there are ways to rein in junior&#8217;s materialism and derail the high-pitched wailing without making you look like the Grinch. The key is communication, experts say, both before and during your shopping trip.</p>
<p>&#8220;(Kids) can learn to delay gratification and have self-control,&#8221; says Karen Deerwester, a parenting coach in South Florida. They just need to know, she says, &#8220;that my needs will still be met, even if I don&#8217;t get everything I want today.&#8221;</p>
<p>But, Deerwester says, you have to move beyond the old &#8220;No, because I said so.&#8221; </p>
<p>
<h2>Listen to your little consumer </h2>
<p>Why can&#8217;t you just say &#8220;forget it&#8221; and leave it at that? </p>
</p>
<p>
<h2>More from MSN Money</h2>
<p></img></p>
<p>Great &#8212; more guilt!</p>
<p>So, must parents justify their reasons every time they deny that sugary snack or toy with a million tiny, floor-cluttering parts? Not every time, parenting experts say. But it does help to talk to your little shoppers about their desires.</p>
<p>&#8220;Your child is learning something&#8221; in these discussions, says Diane Levin, a professor of education at Wheelock College in Boston and a founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.<br />
<h2>6 strategies in the store </h2>
<p><strong>Ask questions.</strong></p>
<p>To defuse a tense in-store situation, Levin says, ask your kiddo a few questions, such as:</p>
</p>
</p>
<p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s better to raise them as smart consumers,&#8221; Deerwester says. &#8220;You tell them, &#8216;Everyone wants you to buy their stuff. You have to make a choice and decide who has the best stuff.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>Delay the gratification.</strong></p>
<p>If your child still has his or her heart set on something, <strong></strong>Levin says, ask if it should be added to the list of things Santa might bring or to a birthday wish list, or purchased during some other designated treat time, such as when grandparents visit. Tell your child only one thing per trip may be added to that list.</p>
<p>This tactic helps kids learn to delay gratification, Levin says, and figure out what they really want when they get home.</p>
<p>I tried this technique in the toy aisle of my local Target. I have to say it didn&#8217;t go as seamlessly as I imagined. </p>
</p>
<p><strong>Improvise.</strong></p>
<p>Even though I told my 4-year-old son we were there only to pick out a present for his little brother &#8212; and we wouldn&#8217;t be buying toys for him &#8212; he kept grabbing things off the shelf and putting them in the cart, where he was catching a ride.</p>
<p>I let him look at some things for a minute, pointing out what looked fun or not so fun, or similar to something he already had. Then I put back his cart stockpile of toys.</p>
<p>When he balked and started whining, I asked him which of the things we&#8217;d seen today was his favorite &#8212; which one he&#8217;d like to go on the list for Santa. </p>
<p>&#8220;Nothing,&#8221; he said, looking glum. Clearly there would be no payoff for him today.</p>
<p>But to his credit, there was no meltdown, and so I followed up with a quick trip to the library to get him a new (free) book to read.<br />
<h2>Video on MSN Money</h2>
<p><B>  Money-related gifts for kids</B><br />Give your children lessons in frugality with these educational presents.</p>
<p><strong>Make &#8216;em pay.</strong></p>
<p>If the children are older, Levin recommends asking them whether they want to spend their birthday, allowance or chore money on that video game or toy they are clamoring for. </p>
<p>By spending their own money, experts say, they learn the value of a buck and the things you sacrifice by spending.</p>
<p>&#8220;I thought that pizza in the school cafeteria was really cool, when I thought I could get my mom to pay for it,&#8221; recalls Christy Bailey, a St. Louis mother responding to a post on MSN Money&#8217;s message boards. &#8220;But when I had to earn the money to pay for it, I decided I&#8217;d rather make a sandwich at home for free.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
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		<title>5 tips for successful gift returns</title>
		<link>http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/5-tips-for-successful-gift-returns/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/5-tips-for-successful-gift-returns/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:52:17 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[Buyer&#8217;s remorse may be a rare occurrence this holiday shopping season. It&#8217;s not just because shoppers will land some great deals; those who buy or receive an unwanted gift will also have a much easier time unloading it than in years past.
Slightly more than half of retailers surveyed by the National Retail Federation say they [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Buyer&#8217;s remorse may be a rare occurrence this holiday shopping season. It&#8217;s not just because shoppers will land some great deals; those who buy or receive an unwanted gift will also have a much easier time unloading it than in years past.</p>
<p>Slightly more than half of retailers surveyed by the National Retail Federation say they plan to loosen their return policies on holiday purchases by doing such things as extending deadlines and waiving receipt requirements. (Last year, 35% of retailers softened policies.) </p>
<p>Though the move may seem counterintuitive &#8212; holiday returns are expected to cost stores $47.1 billion this year &#8212; alienating customers by refusing returns can be even costlier. A third of shoppers who encounter problems while returning an item won&#8217;t come back, reports Gartner, an independent technology market research firm.</p>
<p>The more-relaxed policies are good news for cost-conscious consumers looking to stay within a budget this holiday season, says Jennifer Leach, a spokeswoman with the Federal Trade Commission. Before the holidays, they offer shoppers time to rethink impulse buys or return an item that can be found elsewhere at a lower price. Post-holiday, they&#8217;re the best bet for exchanging any dud or duplicate gifts.</p>
<p>Just don&#8217;t get too complacent. Lenient or not, return policies still include plenty of fine print. Here&#8217;s what you need to know while you shop:<br />
<h2>Check for exclusions </h2>
<p>Some products may be subject to tighter return policy requirements than other items on the shelves, warns Edgar Dworsky, the founder of consumer advocate site ConsumerWorld.org. </p>
<p>Best Buy, for example, has stuck with its standard return policies on computers while relaxing its policy on everything else. Meanwhile, Amazon&#8217;s policy doesn&#8217;t cover anything sold by third-party merchants. (See the list at the end of this article.)<br />
<h2>More from MSN Money and SmartMoney</h2>
<p></img><br />
<h2>Use the right <a href="http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/" class="kblinker" target="_blank" title="More about credit card &raquo;">credit card</a> </h2>
<p>Some credit cards, including many Visa Platinum and <strong></strong><a href="http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/american-express®-credit-cards-list/" class="kblinker" target="_blank" title="More about American Express &raquo;">American Express</a> cards, automatically extend the  on items you buy to 90 days. </p>
<p>If the store won&#8217;t accept a return, you can file a claim under your card issuer&#8217;s return protection program. Most likely, the credit card issuer will agree to take the item and offer you a refund of up to $250.<br />
<h2>Mind the deadlines </h2>
<p>Plenty of retailers &#8212; including Staples, Steve Madden and shopping channel QVC &#8212; are extending the return periods for items purchased during the holiday shopping season. But since many are offering an either/or time frame (i.e., return by Jan. 31 or two weeks from purchase) the deadlines aren&#8217;t always so clear. </p>
<p>Online orders may kick off from the time you placed the order or the date the item was delivered &#8212; a difference that could add or subtract a week to your return deadline. Check for the details before you buy, then note the deadline on your calendar.<br />
<h2>Watch out for restocking fees </h2>
<p>Just because the store will take back a purchase doesn&#8217;t mean you&#8217;re entitled to a full refund. Many stores assess a restocking fee, typically 10% to 15% of the total purchase price, or require you to pay for return shipping.</p>
<p>Sears, for example, charges 15% on opened home electronics and special orders, among other items. Laws governing restocking fees vary by state, so check with your attorney general&#8217;s office or the department of consumer affairs about what&#8217;s acceptable.<br />
<h2>Video on MSN Money</h2>
<p><B>  How to save on holiday shopping</B><br />Do like Santa does: Make a list and check it twice.<br />
<h2>Hang on to receipts </h2>
<p>It goes without saying that if you don&#8217;t have a receipt you&#8217;ll have a harder time returning an item. Without one, the best you can hope for is store credit, the FTC&#8217;s Leach says. (Given the growing number of retailers that are  receiving a store credit may not be the safest option.)</p>
<p>Other retailers may refuse you entirely. Ask for a gift receipt with every purchase, so your recipient isn&#8217;t stuck either. Hang on to your credit card and store loyalty club statements, too &#8212; some retailers may accept them as proof of purchase in lieu of a receipt.</p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
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		<title>How we paid off $30,000 of debt</title>
		<link>http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/how-we-paid-off-30000-of-debt/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/how-we-paid-off-30000-of-debt/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:41:59 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[Women in Red.
One morning just before Thanksgiving, with our 2-year-old playing with trucks on the living room floor, my husband got out the laptop, put on a rockin&#8217; Talking Heads song, and . . . 
We logged on to our bank account and sent the final payment for our !@#$% credit card!
Then we gave each [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Women in Red.</p>
<p>One morning just before Thanksgiving, with our 2-year-old playing with trucks on the living room floor, my husband got out the laptop, put on a rockin&#8217; Talking Heads song, and . . . </p>
<p>We logged on to our bank account and sent the final payment for our !@#$% <a href="http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/" class="kblinker" target="_blank" title="More about credit card &raquo;">credit card</a>!</p>
<p>Then we gave each other a big high-five.</p>
<p>After five and a half years of marriage &#8212; plus a child, a relocation, the purchase of a new home and a career change &#8212; we finally had paid off nearly $30,000 worth of debt.</p>
<p>How&#8217;d we do it? I&#8217;d like to tell you there was one &#8220;holy cow&#8221; magic bullet that finally bailed us out.</p>
<p>You know, you become the Olympic budgeting champion overnight, or your husband sells that screenplay. Or the quilt from Aunt Ada turns out to be worth $100,000 because of its rare use of vintage materials from Kmart.</p>
<p>But none of that happened.<br />
<h2>No fairy tales </h2>
<p>If I had to pinpoint a key transition that paved the way to our debt freedom, it was when we both &#8212; silently &#8212; admitted there was no fairy tale ending to this stupid situation. </p>
<p>We would have to tighten our belts, gird our loins, roll up our sleeves &#8212; pick your metaphor &#8212; and do it all. And we:</p>
</p>
</p>
</p>
</p>
</p>
</p>
<p>
<h2>More from MSN Money</h2>
<p></img><br />
<h2>Fight the war on all fronts </h2>
<p>The recipe for getting out of debt almost reads like a list of financial clichés to me now. (If you&#8217;re a faithful Women in Red reader, maybe it does to you, too.)</p>
<p>But as I look back on the past nearly six years, I can see that each step played a role. And the whole get-out-of-debt process requires fighting a war on many fronts. </p>
<p>When you win one battle, it leads to victory in another:</p>
</p>
</p>
<p>
<h2>It takes more than money </h2>
<p> Spending money is what gets you into debt; saving money is what will get you out of it.</p>
<p>I agree with that. But based on all the research I&#8217;ve read about how and why people spend, it&#8217;s also essential to change your habits &#8212; how you think, how you live, how you spend and how you eat. (See &#8220;Is debt your destiny?&#8221;)<br />
<h2>Multimedia on MSN Money</h2>
<p><B>  How to pay off $4 million of debt</B><br />Conquering debt can seem nearly impossible. But a determined group of women, using two powerful tools, is finding a way to defeat it.</p>
<p>You have to begin to live the debt-free life long before you&#8217;re debt-free. That&#8217;s what we finally mastered. </p>
<p>I had to give up not just the habit of careless shopping but the habit of letting myself want things. We learned to live below our means. </p>
</p>
<p>We slowly developed the ability to discuss money with each other &#8212; and with other people. A big milestone for me was telling friends what I could or couldn&#8217;t afford. It&#8217;s painful to tell a friend you don&#8217;t have the money to attend her birthday weekend at a fancy resort, but I did it.</p>
<p>We monitored our spending and worked on our budget all the time, and we still do. We cut extraneous expenses: cable TV, the gym, eating out. (See &#8220;How to quit the gym (or anything).&#8221;) Until our son was born, we made do with one cell phone.</p>
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		<title>9 experts&#8217; stock picks for 2009</title>
		<link>http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/9-experts-stock-picks-for-2009/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/9-experts-stock-picks-for-2009/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:32:06 +0000</pubDate>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><!--[if IE]><br />
<h5>Latest Market Update</h5>
<p><![endif]
<p>Hedge fund managers allegedly running Ponzi schemes, investment banks going belly-up, Treasury officials flip-flopping about how to fix the economy. Who&#8217;s left worth listening to when it comes to your money?</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s one suggestion: Trust the folks with track records. One place to find records of success is among investment newsletter writers. Not just any newsletter &#8212; there are hundreds, and some are pretty close to scams &#8212; but those whose performances rank among the best, as measured by the Hulbert Financial Digest.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s what I do once a year at this time, with Hulbert&#8217;s help: Find out where the best newsletter stock pickers are saying to put your money. And this year there&#8217;s a related question: Is this the best time in decades to buy stocks or the start of the next Great Depression? </p>
<p>Here are the top nine and their answers:<br />
<h2>The Prudent Speculator </h2>
<p><strong>Rank:</strong> No. 1 for 20-year performance.</p>
<p><strong>Annualized returns:</strong> 13.7%.</p>
<p>(My rankings are calculated by excluding newsletters that recommend mutual funds only. Annualized returns are for the time frame during which they earned their rank.)</p>
<p><strong>The big picture:</strong> Prudent Speculator editor John Buckingham believes the current sell-off has created &#8220;one of the best buying opportunities you can get.&#8221; He thinks the broad stock indexes could finish next year 20% to 25% higher. </p>
<p><strong>Favorite picks:</strong> As a value investor, Buckingham looks for cheap companies with enough financial strength to power through the hard times. <strong>VF</strong> (VFC, news, msgs), for example, makes brand apparel, and consumers are on a buying strike. So it has been hammered. </p>
<p>But VF still has enough <u QID="1227" class="cx_glossary">cash flow</u> to cover debt payments and survive until consumers recover. Meanwhile, it pays a 5% <u QID="1178" class="cx_glossary">dividend</u> yield. <strong>Manitowoc</strong> (MTW, news, msgs) has a crane business that should do well if Barack Obama follows through on plans to boost infrastructure spending. </p>
<p>Buckingham also likes <strong>GameStop</strong> (GME, news, msgs) one of the top sellers of video games, now the largest entertainment market in the world.<br />
<h2>More from MSN Money</h2>
<p></img><br />
<h2>The Oberweis Report </h2>
<p><strong>Rank:</strong> No. 3 for 20-year performance.</p>
<p><strong>Annualized returns:</strong> 11.3%.</p>
<p><strong>The big picture:</strong> Oberweis Report editor Jim Oberweis expects the economy to bottom in the third or fourth quarter and the market to finish the year higher. </p>
<p><strong>Favorite picks:</strong> Oberweis thinks small-capitalization growth stocks may be the best way to play a rebound because they have been beaten up so much &#8212; trading at valuations not seen since the early 1970s. Three he likes the most are <strong>Green Mountain Coffee Roasters</strong> (GMCR, news, msgs), which sells single-serving coffee makers and coffee; <strong>VisionChina</strong> (VISN, news, msgs), which distributes advertising in China; and <strong>Illumina</strong> (ILMN, news, msgs), which makes tools used in DNA analysis.<br />
<h2>Turnaround Letter </h2>
<p><strong>Rank:</strong> No. 4 for 20-year performance.</p>
<p><strong>Annualized returns:</strong> 9.8%.</p>
<p><strong>The big picture:</strong> George Putnam, the value investor who pens the Turnaround Letter, expects a sharp snap-back rally later this month or in early January as hedge funds back off on selling because year-end redemptions ease up. </p>
<p><strong>Favorite picks:</strong> Two top picks that should benefit &#8212; and do well next year and beyond &#8212; are semiconductor equipment maker <strong>Teradyne</strong> (TER, news, msgs) and <strong>Qwest Communications International</strong> (Q, news, msgs), a phone company. </p>
<p>Teradyne controls more than a third of the market for chip test equipment, and it&#8217;s financially sound with $1.80 a share in cash and no debt. Many of its competitors aren&#8217;t so well off. As the weak economy grinds them down, Teradyne will either buy them or pick up more market share because they go bust, believes Putnam. </p>
<p>Qwest has stable cash flow that&#8217;s backing a 10% dividend yield, and it should see growth in the medium term from the sale of new services, such as video over its phone lines.<br />
<h2>The Chartist </h2>
<p><strong>Rank:</strong> No. 5 for 20-year performance.</p>
<p><strong>Annualized returns:</strong> 9.8%.</p>
<p><strong>The big picture:</strong> The Chartist&#8217;s Dan Sullivan has been in cash since the middle of January, and that&#8217;s where he plans to stay. The reason: We&#8217;re still in a <u QID="312" class="cx_glossary">bear market</u>, and there&#8217;s no sign that it&#8217;s over &#8212; in part because no new leadership has emerged among stocks to show the way. </p>
<p>Sullivan isn&#8217;t tempted by arguments that stocks look cheap. He cautions that analysts said the same thing during much of the 1970s bear market, but stocks got cheaper. &#8220;It&#8217;s just a real risky environment,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p><strong>Favorite picks:</strong> none.<br />
<h2>Video on MSN Money</h2>
<p><B> Why the federal funds rate is still important</B><br />It&#8217;s down, down, down for the US dollar. More interest rate cuts from the Fed aren&#8217;t going to jump-start the economy, Jim Jubak says, but they will send the dollar tumbling.<br />
<h2>The Value Line Investment Survey </h2>
<p><strong>Rank:</strong> No. 6 for 20-year performance.</p>
<p><strong>Annualized returns:</strong> 9.6%.</p>
<p><strong>The big picture:</strong> Value Line sees lots of great opportunities now to buy cheap stocks ahead of an expected economic turnaround in the second half of 2009. </p>
<p><strong>Favorite picks: </strong><strong>Johnson &amp; Johnson</strong> (JNJ, news, msgs) stands out for its solid financial strength, secure dividend yield of 3.2% and predictable earnings, says Gregg Brewer, who heads up Value Line&#8217;s stock research. </p>
<p>Next, <strong>McDonald&#8217;s</strong> (MCD, news, msgs) looks like a buy because strapped consumers will continue to go for cheap eats. New products and expansion into additional foreign markets will support growth in the medium term. Value Line also likes <strong>W.W. Grainger</strong> (GWW, news, msgs), which makes maintenance and safety products used in industry, because it will continue to take market share.</p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
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		<title>Is Wal-Mart cool enough for the iPhone?</title>
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		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:22:05 +0000</pubDate>
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<h5>Latest Market Update</h5>
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<p>Remember all those people who camped out and waited in line at Apple stores to be among the first to snag an iPhone?</p>
<p>Well, that novelty and feeling of smug superiority might soon wear off if the rumors are true that <strong>Apple</strong> (AAPL, news, msgs)  may sell its sleek smart phone at <strong>Wal-Mart Stores</strong> (WMT, news, msgs).</p>
<p>I was surprised when I heard the buzz. Isn&#8217;t Wal-Mart, the discount behemoth with more than 2,500 homogeneous big-box stores in the United States, the antithesis of everything the unique, design-focused Apple brand stands for?</p>
<p>Officials at Apple in Cupertino, Calif., were of no help in confirming the story, but that&#8217;s to be expected. Apple spokesman Steve Dowling declined to comment. </p>
<p>Even so, it does appear that the company, and its service and distribution partner <strong>AT&amp;T</strong> (T, news, msgs) will be selling the iPhone at Wal-Mart, possibly by the end of this month, analysts say.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our research indicates that recent market reports of Wal-Mart selling Apple&#8217;s iPhone 3G appear to be true, though details (timing, price, etc.) remain uncertain,&#8221; wrote Toni Sacconaghi, a well-regarded analyst at <strong>Sanford Bernstein</strong>, in a report last week.</p>
<p>As Sacconaghi points out, key details remain uncertain, including the price. A blog called The Boy Genius Report first reported that the iPhone at Wal-Mart would be priced at $99 for a lower-end model with a smaller, 4-gigabyte storage capacity. But several analysts have since dismissed the $99 price point.</p>
<p>Still, even at its current price of $199 for the 8-gigabyte iPhone, I wondered if selling the hot smart phone at Wal-Mart would detract from its cachet as the most stylish and sought-after gadget of the year. Would it become another <strong>Motorola</strong> (MOT, news, msgs) Razr, which was initially a trendy luxury item but lost its status?<br />
<h2>More from MSN Money and MarketWatch</h2>
<p></img>&#8220;It&#8217;s probably premature to say whether this will lead to the kind of value erosion that we saw with the Razr,&#8221; said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis with the <strong>NPD Group</strong>, in an interview. &#8220;A lot of that came from independent dealers and the Internet. Apple hasn&#8217;t opened up the floodgates (with its distribution). But the Razr had quite a few years of being positioned as a high-end device before it became a free offering.&#8221;</p>
<p>Apple is clearly looking to make the iPhone as mainstream as possible, much as it has done with the iPod, the dominant digital music player in the United States.</p>
<p>The iPod, which has an entry retail price of $49 for an iPod Shuffle, had a 71% share of the $2.4 billion MP3 market as of the end of September, according to NPD Group&#8217;s retail tracking service. The iPod can be found at Wal-Mart.</p>
<p>&#8220;Apple&#8217;s potential partnership with Wal-Mart likely indicates that Apple ultimately wants to drive mass-market adoption of the iPhone (like it has done with the iPod), rather than maintain a high-end positioning (as in the case of the Mac),&#8221; Sacconaghi wrote.<br />
<h2>Video on MSN Money</h2>
<p><B>  The <a href="http://www.google.com/" class="kblinker" target="_blank" title="More about google &raquo;">Google</a> phone: An iPhone killer?</B><br />There isn&#8217;t anything called &#8221;the Google phone,&#8221; says personal technology writer David Pogue, but Google&#8217;s Android software has finally found its way into a cell phone &#8212; the T-Mobile G1. While it may not land a knockout blow, it does have advantages over Apple&#8217;s iPhone.With the low-priced, high-volume iPod music player, Apple&#8217;s distinguishing feature is its iTunes music download service, which hooks consumers with its simplicity when the two are used together. As more cell phone makers are now emulating the iPhone&#8217;s ease in surfing the Internet, as well as other features like the touch screen, in their own smart phones, Apple is banking on applications created just for the iPhone to set the device apart.</p>
<p>Analysts are not yet clear on how much volume Apple would drive initially by selling the iPhone at Wal-Mart. NPD&#8217;s Rubin points out, however, that buying an iPhone is a much more complex purchase than buying a new iPod because it entails signing a subscription agreement with a cell phone service provider. Some budget-conscious Wal-Mart customers might balk at the monthly cost of the service plan for an iPhone, which starts at about $70.</p>
<p>&#8220;There are far more considerations that go into the purchase of a cell phone than into the purchase of an MP3 player,&#8221; Rubin said. Many customers are wedded to their current cell phone providers, either through a family plan or through regional coverage issues.</p>
<p>&#8220;For Wal-Mart&#8217;s customer base, it is a stretch for many of those customers to be considering any smart phone,&#8221; says Rubin, though the iPhone&#8217;s arrival could bring new shoppers to Wal-Mart.</p>
<p>Sacconaghi expects a &#8220;less-than-proportionate impact&#8221; on iPhone sales, and he&#8217;s not yet adjusting his iPhone estimates; he expects 21.3 million units will be sold in fiscal 2009.</p>
<p>&#8220;We believe iPhone sales will benefit from the added distribution, though not proportionately,&#8221; he said. </p>
<p>Wal-Mart is the second-largest consumer electronics retailer in the United States, after <strong>Best Buy Stores</strong> (BBY, news, msgs).</p>
<p> &#8220;Wal-Mart will have a greater impact on the iPhone&#8217;s demographic reach in terms of raising awareness and availability among lower-end consumers who are less likely to shop at the Apple Stores or Best Buy,&#8221;  Sacconaghi  said.</p>
<p>So for those waiting for an even lower-priced iPhone, it may not happen this year, even if the iPhone is sold at Wal-Mart. But Shaw Wu of <strong>Kaufman Bros. Equity Research</strong> believes the $99 price point is inevitable as Apple &#8220;rounds out its cell phone product line.&#8221;</p>
<p>So, yes, some of the exclusiveness of the first iPhones will inevitably be lost in the process as the price declines, but isn&#8217;t that true with all hot new electronics products, thanks to the constant evolution of ever-shrinking semiconductors and storage at the heart of most consumer electronics devices?</p>
<p>.</p>
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		<title>Dow off 100 in late selling; oil falls to $40</title>
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		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:12:11 +0000</pubDate>
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<h5>Latest Market Update</h5>
<p><![endif]<!--top gainers/losers moduleView all lists and trends<!--end top gainers/losers module<!--currency moduleMore<!--end currency module
<p>Stocks faded in late-day trading even as crude oil dropped below $40 for the first time in more than four years. </p>
<p>The <strong>Dow Jones industrials</strong>, which had been down as much as 146 points, were down 100 points, or 1.1% to 8,824. The <strong>Standard &amp; Poor&#8217;s 500 Index</strong> was off 9 points, or 1%, to 904, and the <strong>Nasdaq Composite Index</strong> slipped 11 points, 0.7%, to 1,579. </p>
<p>Futures trading late today was suggesting the market will open slightly lower on Thursday.</p>
<p>Crude closed at $40.06, down 8.1% on the day as oil traders concluded a production cut from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would do little to boost prices. Crude has fallen nearly 73% since last summer.</p>
<p>In fact, there was talk crude could fall to $30 a barrel, which would mean lower gasoline prices for consumers. Gasoline averaged $1.667 a gallon today, up slightly from Tuesday, but down 59.5% from its July 17 peak of $4.114 a gallon, according to AAA&#8217;s Daily Fuel Gauge Report.</p>
</p>
<p>The OPEC cut was &#8220;less than meets the eye,&#8221; Lawrence Eagles, global head of commodities research at JPMorgan <a href="http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/chase-credit-cards-list/" class="kblinker" target="_blank" title="More about Chase &raquo;">Chase</a>, told Bloomberg News.</p>
<p>The Dow was weighed down by weakness in <strong>Citigroup</strong> (C, news, msgs), down 4.9% to $7.83 after The Wall Street Journal reported that federal banking regulators have toughened their scrutiny of the banking giant. Regulators are involved in internal discussions about the company&#8217;s strategic direction and discouraging executives from pursuing a number of acquisitions, The Journal said.</p>
<p>But investors shrugged off a larger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss from <strong>Morgan Stanley</strong> (MS, news, msgs). The stock closed up 2.3% to $16.50. The <strong>Select Sector SPDR-Financial</strong> (XLF, news, msgs) exchange-traded fund was down 0.9% to $12.81. The ETF tracks the financial sector of the S&amp;P 500. </p>
<p>The Nasdaq, meanwhile, was weighed down in part by a 6.6% decline in shares of <strong>Apple</strong> (AAPL, news, msgs) to $89.16. The drop was in response to news that CEO Steve Jobs won&#8217;t speak at next month&#8217;s Macworld trade show. That, in turn, generated new concern about Jobs&#8217; health. He has had cancer before. Analyst Charles Wolf of Needham &amp; Co. said, however, that he understood Jobs was &#8220;cancer-free.&#8221;</p>
<p>The market was still trying to understand the implications of the Federal Reserve&#8217;s move Tuesday to cut interest rates and look to buy up mortgage and other securities in a bid to give the recession-bound economy a boost. </p>
<p>The Fed&#8217;s decision set off a big stock market rally, with the Dow up 360 points. </p>
<p>Interest rates were lower TODAY. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down to 2.17% this afternoon from 2.36% on Tuesday. </p>
</p>
<p>But the dollar was dropping rapidly against major currencies. It was off 1.9% against the euro, the biggest daily drop against the euro since it became the chief currency of continental Europe. It also fell 1.2% against the Japanese yen. The greenback has fallen nearly 7% against the yen this week alone.</p>
<p>Only six of the 30 Dow stocks were ahead on the day, led by <strong>General Motors&#8217;</strong> (GM, news, msgs), up 2.8% to $4.37. Meanwhile, 227 S&amp;P 500 stocks showed gaines, along with 51 stocks in the Nasdaq-100 Index, which was off 18 points, or 1.4%, to 1,226. Apple was responsible for about half of the loss.</p>
</p>
<p>
<h2>Chrysler, GM woes take a toll </h2>
<p>Chrysler&#8217;s financing arm has warned dealers it may have to temporarily stop loans that dealers use to pay for stocking vehicles on their lots as a result of a recent wave of withdrawals from a fund used to pay off those loans, The Wall Street Journal reported today.</p>
<p>At the same time, CNBC reported that Chrysler, which had planned to shut its plants for two weeks starting Friday, will shut them for an additional two weeks in January.</p>
<p>The reports offer more evidence of how difficult business is becoming for U.S. automakers. They have been lobbying Congress and the Bush administration for help to survive the current slump.</p>
<p>In a Dec.12 letter, Tom Gilman, Chrysler Financial&#8217;s ceo, said dealers had been withdrawing up to $60 million a day from the fund, The Journal said. More than $1.5 billion has been withdrawn from the fund since July, the letter said.</p>
<p>Dealers told The Journal that they started pulling money from the &#8220;cash management account&#8221; because of fears that Chrysler&#8217;s auto operations could be forced to file for bankruptcy.</p>
<p>Chrysler Financial lets dealers put money into the account and pays them 2% interest. The money is then used to make payments on the loans dealers take out to buy new cars. </p>
<p>Separately, General Motors&#8217; uncertain cash outlook has put Flint&#8217;s $370 million new engine plant for the highly touted Chevrolet Volt and Chevrolet Cruze on hold.</p>
<p>The Volt is an extended-range electric car intended to compete against <strong>Toyota Motor&#8217;s</strong> (TM, news, msgs) Prius and other hybrid vehicles.</p>
<p>The news had no effect on GM shares, which was the  top-performing Dow stock, with a 2.8% gain to $4.37 as talks continue to get federal help to GM and Chrysler.</p>
<p>&#8220;Given the situation that GM is in right now, all expenditures, anything that involves capital, is under review,&#8221; GM spokeswoman Sharon Basel told the Flint Journal in Michigan. &#8220;And such as the case with the Flint engine plant.&#8221;</p>
<p>It was only three months ago that GM CEO Rick Wagoner came to Flint to announce that the auto giant planned to build a 552,000-square-foot plant to make the engine.<br />
<h2>Weak US sales hurt Nike shares</h2>
<p>Athletic shoe-and-apparel maker <strong>Nike</strong> (NKE, news, msgs) quarterly net profit rose 9% on higher-priced products and international growth, but revenue fell in the United States, its largest segment, and at the non-Nike brands group.<br />Shares slipped 2.8% after hours to $49.21. They&#8217;d risen 2% to $50.64 in regular trading.</p>
<p>Nike said second-quarter net income rose to $391.0 million, or 80 cents per share, from $359.4 million, or 71 cents per share, a year earlier.<br />Sales rose 6%, with gains in all regions except the United States, where revenue fell 1%. Revenue rose 6% in Europe and 22% in the Asia Pacific region.<br />Revenue in the company&#8217;s non-Nike brands group, which includes Cole Haan, Hurley and Converse, fell 4%.<br />
<h2>Morgan Stanley loses $2.3 billion</h2>
<p>Morgan Stanley&#8217;s $2.3 billion loss came to $2.24 per share &#8212; worse than the consensus estimate of a loss of 34 cents per share. The financial services company cited &#8220;unprecedented market turmoil&#8221; for the loss. </p>
<p>Morgan Stanley lost $3.61 billion, or $3.61 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.</p>
<p>Despite the loss the stock moved higher in part because analysts are starting to think the worst of its losses are known. Ladenburg Thalmann&#8217;s Dick Bove boosted his earnings estimates for the company and raised target price from $15 to $18. </p>
<p>&#8220;The company’s earnings will improve due primarily to the elimination of losses,&#8221; he wrote clients today. &#8220;It will take much longer to get the core businesses to provide additional earnings.&#8221;</p>
<p>On Tuesday, <strong>Goldman Sachs</strong> (GS, news, msgs) posted its first quarterly loss since going public in 1999. Goldman was up 3.7% to $78.78 today.</p>
<p>Banks and brokerages around the world have disclosed more than $740 billion of write-downs and credit losses since the subprime mortgage market collapsed last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.<br />
<h2>OPEC to cut output by record </h2>
<p>OPEC&#8217;s cut initially confused investors because the headline number was a record 4.2 million barrels a day. </p>
<p>That turned out to 4.2 million barrels per day from September levels &#8212; or 2.2 million barrels per day from current levels. OPEC had initially suggested a cut of 2 million barrels per day from current levels.</p>
<p>The cut didn&#8217;t impress many. &#8220;This may stem the bloating in stocks but isn’t enough to get rid of the surplus,&#8221; JPMorgan&#8217; Eagles said.</p>
</p>
<p>Crude, which was jumping on the headline number, promptly reversed course. A contributing factor: Crude supplies rose by 500,000 barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration&#8217;s weekly supply report. Gasoline supplies rose by 1.3 million barrels, and distillate stocks were up 2.9 million barrels last week. </p>
<p>Inventories have gained because the oil market is in contango, where crude for future delivery is more expensive than near-month prices, encouraging stockpile increases. </p>
<p>Supplies at Cushing, Okla., where oil that’s traded in New York is stored, climbed 21% to 27.5 million barrels, the highest since May 2007. </p>
<p>Oil has plunged 70% since closing at a record high of $145.08 a barrel in July. </p>
<p>OPEC, which supplies more than 40% of the world&#8217;s oil, announced smaller production cuts in September and October, but those moves failed to put the brakes on oil&#8217;s slide. OPEC currently produces 27.3 million barrels of oil per day.<br />
<h2>Schapiro seen chairing SEC in wake of Madoff mess </h2>
<p>President-elect Barack Obama is expected to nominate Mary Schapiro as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. </p>
<p>Schapiro, now chief of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Wall Street&#8217;s self-regulator, was an SEC commissioner from 1988 to 1993 and chaired the Commodities Futures Trading Commission in 1994. </p>
<p>Schapiro has her work cut out for her. She would succeed Christopher Cox, who has admitted that the agency made mistakes in failing to <a href="http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/discover®-credit-cards-list/" class="kblinker" target="_blank" title="More about Discover &raquo;">discover</a> the Ponzi scheme allegedly run by New York money manager Bernie Madoff.</p>
<p>Federal prosecutors have charged Madoff with securities fraud. The charges state that Madoff&#8217;s firm was a Ponzi scheme, claiming fictitious gains on investments and paying off established investors with funds taken from new investors. </p>
</p>
<p>Cox said he has ordered an internal investigation to determine why the SEC failed to fully investigate previous allegations about Madoff. </p>
<p>One issue that the SEC will likely look into is the relationship between Madoff&#8217;s niece Shana and her husband, former SEC official Eric Swanson. Swanson worked at the SEC for 10 years. Shana Madoff was a compliance lawyer at Madoff&#8217;s securities firm, The Wall Street Journal reported.<br />
<h2>More from MSN Money</h2>
<p></img></p>
<p>
<h2>Motorola to cut benefits </h2>
<p><strong>Motorola</strong> (MOT, news, msgs) this morning said it will permanently freeze its pension plan and will temporarily suspend its matching contributions to employees&#8217; 401(k) plans.<br />
<h4>Stock Charts (Year)</h4>
<h5>Morgan Stanley</h5>
<h5>Motorola</h5>
<p>Co-Chief Executives Greg Brown and Sanjay Jha also said they will voluntarily take a 25% cut to their 2009 base salaries. Most Motorola employees will not be seeing any salary increases in 2009.</p>
<p>&#8220;The sustained downturn in the global economy requires that we take these difficult but necessary steps,&#8221; Motorola executives said in a joint statement. The company expects the measures to help cut costs. </p>
<p>Motorola announced plans to cut $800 million in costs two months ago.</p>
<p>Motorola shares finished unchanged at $4.41. Motorola has been hammered by the increased competition in the handset market, with its stock value falling more than 70% over the past year.<br />
<h2>GE sticks to 2008 forecast </h2>
<p><strong>General Electric</strong> (GE, news, msgs) late Tuesday said it still expects to earn between $1.78 and $1.84 per share for 2008, but did not give any guidance for 2009.</p>
<p>In fact, GE said it will no longer give quarterly earnings forecasts and will instead provide full-year operating &#8220;frameworks.&#8221; </p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve come through this having learned a lot, having come through challenging times,&#8221; GE Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt said at the company&#8217;s annual analyst meeting Tuesday afternoon. </p>
<p>GE said it will keep its dividend at $1.24 per share and that it will no longer look to sell or spin off the division that makes light bulbs.</p>
<p>Shares of GE, a Dow component, fell 3% to $17.39. </p>
<p>. </p>
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		<title>Little time left to cut &#8216;08 taxes</title>
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		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:02:22 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[The holidays are here, and they definitely will divert your attention. 
This is my last &#8212; AND LOUD &#8212; reminder to take a few minutes from your holiday merrymaking to get those last-minute tax moves done.
You have until Dec. 31. After that, there&#8217;s little you can do to cut your tax bill. Here are moves [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The holidays are here, and they definitely will divert your attention. </p>
<p>This is my last &#8212; AND LOUD &#8212; reminder to take a few minutes from your holiday merrymaking to get those last-minute tax moves done.</p>
<p>You have until Dec. 31. After that, there&#8217;s little you can do to cut your tax bill. Here are moves to make now:<br />
<h2>Capital gains and losses </h2>
<p>Normally, I&#8217;d start with the simplest things, but I&#8217;ll start with probably the most painful subject to deal with: your investments.</p>
<p>For many investors, 2008 has been, well, dreadful. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard &amp; Poor&#8217;s 500 Index are down as much 40% on the year. And that&#8217;s actually an improvement over November&#8217;s lows. </p>
<p>But let&#8217;s turn those losses to good use. </p>
<p>You can write off those losses against, first, any capital gains. So, if you have a stock or a mutual fund that you&#8217;ve owned for a year and is showing a decent gain in that time (such as Wal-Mart Stores or McDonald&#8217;s, the only Dow stocks with gains this year), look for another stock or a mutual fund that&#8217;s a loser. </p>
<p>If you sell the winner, you can offset your gain, dollar for dollar, by selling the loser.</p>
<p>And make sure you&#8217;ve put the sell orders in by Dec. 31. (Make your broker give you written confirmation.) </p>
<p>If you don&#8217;t have any winners, not to worry. You can sell your loser and offset as much as $3,000 in ordinary income for 2008. Anything exceeding $3,000 can be applied to ordinary income in 2009.</p>
<p>But remember: To get the tax treatment, sell by Dec. 31.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, all net long-term gains are subject to a maximum 15% rate. But if you&#8217;re in the 10% or 15% tax bracket for 2008 through 2010, you get a break. Your gain will be subject to zero tax. (Zero is one of my favorite words.)<br />
<h2>More from MSN Money</h2>
<p></img></p>
<p>If you&#8217;re single with taxable income of $32,500 or less, you get the zero rate. With a standard deduction of $5,450 and a $3,500 personal exemption, you can have as much as $41,500 in gross income and still qualify. (Likewise, joint filers can qualify with as much as $83,000 in adjusted gross income.)</p>
<p>If you have shares of stock pregnant with miraculous gains and you don&#8217;t expect them to appreciate further, sell those shares and shelter the gains with the losses on your losers. Worst case: Pay the maximum 15% tax. You can&#8217;t go broke taking profits.</p>
<p>One bit of bad news: If your losses are inside a retirement account, you can&#8217;t deduct them. On this, I am sorry.<br />
<h2>Charitable donations </h2>
<p>If you contribute to your church, your college, the local dog pound, United Way or organizations contributing to disaster relief, make these donations by Dec. 31. </p>
<p>And, before filing your tax return, make sure you have receipts from the organizations that benefited from your generosity. </p>
<p>If you don&#8217;t have the cash, find out whether the organization can process a donation via <a href="http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/" class="kblinker" target="_blank" title="More about credit card &raquo;">credit card</a>. As long as the donation is made by Dec. 31, it&#8217;s valid as a 2008 deduction. </p>
</p>
<p>Separately, any contributions of clothes or household goods must be in good condition or better to qualify for a deduction. If a single item has a value of $500 or more, you will need an appraisal. The Internal Revenue Service can deny deductions for items of minimal value.</p>
<p>Complicating any deductions are the requirements that the IRS instituted in 2007 on record keeping. This is important.</p>
<p>To deduct a cash donation, regardless of the amount, you must have a bank record or a written communication from the charity showing its name and the date and amount of the contribution. Acceptable bank records would include canceled checks or bank or credit union statements containing the name of the charity, the date and the amount of the contribution.<br />
<h2>Your flexible spending account </h2>
<p>This isn&#8217;t exactly a tax savings, but if you don&#8217;t use the dollars you contribute to a flex plan, you lose them. </p>
<p>The IRS allows purchases made through March 15, 2009, to count. Your employer can give you a debit card for your flexible spending account. You can even pay for nonprescription drugs through an FSA. That eliminates a whole lot of paperwork.</p>
<p>Be careful, however. The IRS may allow the extended March 15 date, but, unless your employer&#8217;s plan is amended to allow it, you won&#8217;t qualify.</p>
<p>
<h2>Mortgage interest </h2>
<p>Make your January mortgage payment by Dec. 31. Send in a check or pay it online. </p>
<p>Remember to add the interest you paid to what your bank reports on its Form 1098. Your bank will get your payment in 2009 and won&#8217;t report it for 2008. </p>
<p>But because you paid it this year, it adds to your 2008 deduction. (The downside, of course, is that you won&#8217;t be able to deduct the payment from your 2009 return.)</p>
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		<title>It&#8217;s tough to hit a volatile target</title>
		<link>http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/its-tough-to-hit-a-volatile-target/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/its-tough-to-hit-a-volatile-target/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 04:53:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Apply Best Credit Card</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[click here
If you have been following our progress, you will know that, over the past few weeks, there have been many positions that we added and subsequently exited as our plan for buying and selling amid the volatility has worked out well. Of the dozen or so positions that initially had been discussed, all but [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>click here</p>
<p>If you have been following our progress, you will know that, over the past few weeks, there have been many positions that we added and subsequently exited as our plan for buying and selling amid the volatility has worked out well. Of the dozen or so positions that initially had been discussed, all but four have been executed. </p>
<p>If you recall, I had made the suggestion that it appeared that a capitulation point had been hit on the afternoon of Nov. 20. Since, the <strong>Dow Jones Industrial Average</strong> ($INDU) has added almost 1,400 points (18%) and the <strong>S&amp;P 500 Index</strong> ($INX) 160 (20%). The next day, I added several infrastructure stocks to the portfolio that could benefit from an economic stimulus plan to rebuild America.</p>
<p>While the timing was almost perfect, the protective measures used did not allow for us to capture all of the upside. Since the volatility has not ended, we added sell-stops to help guard against losses. The portfolio gained about 6% since and now stands at an all-time high since Aug. 1. Now what?</p>
<p>For our clients, the move toward positions in companies like <strong>AK Steel</strong> (AKS, news, msgs), <strong>Caterpillar</strong> (CAT, news, msgs), <strong>Consol Energy</strong> (CNX, news, msgs), <strong>Aecom Technology</strong> (ACM, news, msgs) and <strong>China Mobile</strong> (CHL, news, msgs) has been very profitable. It appears that even during down days, many of the infrastructure plays have been holding up very well. But it appears that continual monitoring is required to ensure that hedging and other loss mitigation strategies continue to be a good idea and we keep our sell-stops tight. (See how we manage &#8220;real&#8221; money here.)<br />
<h2>Faster than a speeding bullet </h2>
<p>It is a very difficult environment for anyone. I mean ANYONE. Information is coming so fast that even the most seasoned investor is having a hard time keeping up. It’s like trying to sip water from an open fire hydrant while having to make split-second decisions.</p>
<p>This year has once again reinforced an important lesson that I have always believed to be true. It is a core belief that we build our money management business on: Simply, it is that things change. That is really the only constant that we can count on. We have to be adept at finding the turning point to see when there is evidence to support that.<br />
<h2>It&#8217;s about turning a profit </h2>
<p>Perhaps Yogi Berra may have said it another way: Trends and strategies are only profitable for as long as they make money. If you think about it, it is a good way to think in a market as odd and difficult to maneuver in as this one has become.</p>
<p>And how much weirder can it get anyway? These are just some of the stories that have made headlines in the past few months:</p>
</p>
<p>I could go on and on . . . but it is really rather disconcerting. . . .<br />
<h2>All in! </h2>
<p>The fact is that while the kitchen sink has been thrown at the situation by the Federal Reserve in what is being called an ALL-IN move, we are not out of the woods just yet. That is why, in consideration of the above points, we have designed a way to attempt to combat and profit in this nasty environment. </p>
<p>First, on Friday I will post an article here that will be titled: &#8220;Archie Bunker-Proof Your Portfolio &#8212; Simple Steps for Portfolio Protection.&#8221; Then next week we will have a tool to help you implement the &#8220;Edge&#8221; strategy we have successfully designed for the Strategy Lab. Stay tuned. . . . (Speaking of tuned, have a listen to The Disciplined Investor Podcast with my guest Jon Markman. You will be glad you did.)</p>
<p>Keep safe. . . </p>
<p>If you would like to keep up with our updates and commentary, please visit The Disciplined Investor.</p>
</p>
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		<title>5 promising stocks for the rebound</title>
		<link>http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/5-promising-stocks-for-the-rebound/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apply-best-credit-card.com/5-promising-stocks-for-the-rebound/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 04:43:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Apply Best Credit Card</dc:creator>
		
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><!--[if IE]><br />
<h5>Latest Market Update</h5>
<p><![endif]
<p>MSN Money Investment Toolbox</p>
<p>Yes, the bad news keeps coming. But instead of cowering, you should be planning your strategy for the stock market recovery. Why? </p>
<p>Eventually, the economy will recover, and the market will probably rebound months before the economy does. Because so many good stocks have been trashed, the rebound, when it finally shows up, could be a doozy. </p>
<p>The trick, of course, is figuring out when to jump back in. You could get your head handed to you on a plate if you jump in too soon. Conversely, you could miss most of the action if you wait until it&#8217;s obvious that things are on the mend.<br />
<h2>Early recovery clues </h2>
<p>Nothing good can happen until creditworthy corporations and commercial-property owners are able to tap the credit markets at something resembling reasonable rates. But don&#8217;t wait until that hits the headlines. Be alert for early clues, such as stories about individual companies securing needed financing. </p>
<p>Also, look for signs that business for particular industries, although bad, is beating expectations. Maybe home sales or home prices level out. Maybe automobile sales are only 20% below year-ago numbers instead of the 30% drop everybody had expected. Watch for clues that people are getting more optimistic.<br />
<h2>Finding rebound candidates </h2>
<p>Here&#8217;s a strategy for picking <u QID="1248" class="cx_glossary">growth stocks</u> likely to outperform in a rebound. By growth stocks, I mean stocks that are expected to grow sales and earnings significantly faster than inflation or the overall economy. Typically, growth investors look for at least 15% annual sales and earnings growth. Personally, in normal markets, I like to see sales growth in the 20%-to-40% range. Usually, smaller companies have the best growth potential. </p>
<p>Moreover, in normal markets, the best growth stock candidates have strong price charts, meaning that they are outperforming the overall market and have strong earnings growth expectations and a recent history of beating analysts&#8217; forecasts.<br />
<h2>More from MSN Money</h2>
<p></img></p>
<p>Because we are not in a normal market, I&#8217;ve adapted my growth strategy to current conditions. A screen that I&#8217;ve devised looks for midsize to large profitable companies with no debt. I limit the field to stocks that the smart money is buying and that have at least some support from analysts. I don&#8217;t try to pick the most beaten-down stocks. In my experience, stocks that have dropped the most usually underperform the market.<br />
<h2>Think big </h2>
<p>Even if we get a strong rebound, it still pays to minimize risk, and company size is an important risk factor. </p>
<p>Market capitalization, which is how much you&#8217;d have to pay to buy all of a company&#8217;s shares, is the way most investors measure company size. Stocks with market caps below $1 billion are termed small caps, the riskiest category. Those with market caps above $10 billion are large caps, the least risky. Stocks with market caps of $1 billion to $10 billion are midcaps. </p>
<p>I set my minimum acceptable market cap at $5 billion. Try raising your minimum to $10 billion if you want to reduce your risk. Try reducing it to $1 billion, or even $500 million, if you&#8217;re willing to accept higher risk. </p>
<p><strong>Screening parameter:</strong> Market Capitalization &gt;= 5,000,000,000<br />
<h2>A bad time to be in debt </h2>
<p>Even in an improving economy, the credit markets will probably remain iffy for some time. The last thing you need is for one of your stocks to run into problems raising cash to refinance expiring debt or to fund product development. </p>
<p>To avoid such unhappy events, I use three financial strength measures &#8212; <u QID="1228" class="cx_glossary">current ratio</u>, quick ratio and <u QID="1229" class="cx_glossary">debt-to-equity ratio</u> &#8212; to ensure that passing stocks have plenty of cash and virtually no debt.</p>
<p>The current ratio compares current assets with current liabilities. Current assets include cash on hand, accounts receivables and inventories. Current liabilities are moneys due within a year, such as payroll, rent and advertising expenses. The current ratio would be 1 if current assets equaled current liabilities and 2 if current assets were double current liabilities (current assets minus current liabilities is also known as working capital).<br />
<h2>Video on MSN Money: Multimedia on MSN Money</h2>
<p><B>  How to invest $1,000</B><br />You want to dive into the market, but how do you get started with only a grand? Let this screen lead you to some promising mutual funds with good managers.</p>
<p>I require a minimum 2.5 current ratio to limit the field to companies with plenty of working capital. </p>
<p style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; MARGIN-TOP: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt"><strong>Screening parameter:</strong> Current Ratio &gt;= 2.5</p>
<p>One problem with current ratio is that the ratio could be ballooned by counting obsolete inventory that will never be converted to cash. The quick ratio, also called the &#8220;acid-test ratio,&#8221; solves that issue by leaving inventories out of the mix. Thus, the quick ratio adds cash and receivables, and divides that total by current liabilities. </p>
<p>Because the quick ratio doesn&#8217;t count inventories, it will usually be lower than the current ratio. I require a minimum 1.5 quick ratio, which requires that cash plus accounts receivables must be at least 50% higher than current liabilities. </p>
<p><strong>Screening parameter:</strong> Quick Ratio &gt;= 1.5 </p>
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