Market Unfazed by Greece Credit Downgrade

Standard & Poor’s downgraded Greece’s credit rating to selective default, but currency markets were seemingly unmoved by the development. The U.S. dollar remained weak on the news, and notably weaker than the yen, which has the Japanese finance minister prepared to act in the event of speculative yen movement. The real news is in Europe, however, as stronger Eurozone countries attempt to shore up Greece and other weaker member states. One promising currency highlight was found in the Swedish krona, remaining one of the strongest performers in the G10. For more on this continue reading the following article from TheStreet.

The U.S. dollar is broadly weaker ahead of Wednesday’s three-year European Central Bank tender (Long Term Refinancing Operation).

The euro has largely shrugged off news that S&P cut Greece’s rating to selective default. Mar

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Tags: Downgrade

Sunday, February 26th, 2012 Financial News No Comments

Cosigning For Your Child’s Credit Card Can Cost You

You’ve just discovered a big downside to cosigning for a card: Activity associated with a cosigned account appears on your credit record, but you may receive no notice of late payments or other problems with the card.

It can be difficult to untangle your fortunes, too. In most cases, the only way to get the cosigner off the account is by paying the balance and closing the card; generally either you or your son can do it. (Your son will then have to apply on his own for a new card.) “These are the very reasons I always advise against cosigning,” says John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for SmartCredit.com. The CARD Act (the credit card law that took effect in 2010) does little to address this problem, although it does provide one extra protection for cosigners: Lenders may no longer raise the credit limit for children younger than 21 without the cosigner’s written permission.

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Tags: Card, Card Cost

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 Uncategorized No Comments

Tax Breaks: A Primer

Courtesy of Leonard Burman and Marvin Phaup. Sources: For tax expenditures as percent of gross domestic product, Government Accountability Office analysis of Office of Management and Budget, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Years 1985-2011; for count of provisions, Joint Committee on Taxation (annual tax expenditure compilations back to 1985), and authors calculations.

On Wednesday the Obama administration released its proposal to revamp corporate taxes, partly by cutting loopholes and subsidies that enable so many savvy companies to pay so little. The proposal also happens to add its own new loopholes and subsidies, most prominently for manufacturing companies.

Such loopholes and subsidies are formally called tax expenditures.

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Tags: Tax, Tax Breaks

Monday, February 20th, 2012 Financial Consultant No Comments

Compare Car Mortgage Loans Online – How to Get the Most Competitive Rate

If you are planning to replace your old car for a gas efficient one, then you are making the right decision. The truth is old car models don’t have the ability to minimize their fuel consumption without compromising the service quality of the vehicle. So people are replacing their old ones with gas efficient vehicles because it can save them a lot of money in the long run. If you are thinking about doing this too and you are looking to take out a car mortgage loan, you will find it easier to locate mortgage lenders online. Because of the low overhead cost of operating online businesses and the advantages of using the internet to find potential clients, you will see hundreds of them online.

Now, when taking out car mortgage loan there are two most important things that you have to pay attention to. First of all, the loan qualification and borrower’s eligibility, and the interest rates of the loan. Nev Read more…

Tags: compare loans

Sunday, February 19th, 2012 Financial News No Comments

Congress Considers Impact of Accounting on Tax Reform

The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the interaction of tax and financial accounting rules on tax reform.

“When companies report profits in their financial statements, the primary purpose is to convey information about a company’s financial condition to investors and creditors,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., in his opening statement Wednesday. “Conversely, the primary purpose of tax accounting is to measure income for levying the federal income tax. These two functions are not necessarily consistent, and in some cases, may even be at odds. For pub

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Tags: Reform, Tax Reform

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 Financial Consultant No Comments