Business Valuation Expert Invents Faster,Better Way to Research Stocks

Business Valuation Expert Invents Faster,Better Way to Research Stocks
Ian Campbell, a recognized Canadian business valuation
expert, manages his own stock portfolio. This would scare
the heck out of me if I tried to do the same thing; but now
he really enjoys it.

Campbell told me that it wasn't that easy in the past. He
got tired of wading through financial web sites,
newsletters, and other data for what seemed like endless
hours each week. He has been in the financial industry for
more than three decades, so he knew from experience the
best way was to solve this problem was to tackle it himself.

Speaking of unending hours, how many did you spend last
month? Were you like me, wading through the data quagmire
-- that unending labyrinth of data related to the stocks
you're following? Personally, it irritates me to no end.

Perhaps you're one of those who like to manage your own
portfolio. Maybe you're interested in the Canadian Small
Cap Mining and Oil & Gas Industries; or you're a financial
adviser with clients interested in these sectors. If so,
you've likely experienced 'the problem' - the huge waste of
your valuable time -- pouring over charts, tables,
financial documents and websites, when accessing economic,
industry and company data on the web.

Campbell commissioned proprietary survey research in both
the U.S. and Canada. Among other things, it asked how much
time respondents spent researching stocks on the Internet.
His research pointed out that 80% of those retail investors
surveyed in the U.S.A. and Canada spent up to 10 hours per
month, researching stocks, bonds and other financial
affairs on the Internet. I think you'll agree it's
reasonable to assume that 80% of all retail investors don't
manage their own portfolios. They assist or collaborate
perhaps; but mostly they rely on the expertise of an
investment adviser for assistance. So why are these people
online researching and investigating equities? The answer
perhaps lies in the fact that the research also asked these
same respondents a few questions about how they felt
regarding their own investment advisers.

The answers were illuminating to be sure! Let's just say
these 80% are not taking any chances. They want to know
exactly what is happening with their portfolio and how to
ensure that their own Investment Advisor focuses on their
financial affairs. Campbell was sure he was on to
something. He was confident that thousands of other
investors must feel like him: frustrated with the way
online investment research was done; and what he had to
work with. He decided to conduct even more research to see
if the market needed and would be willing to pay for a
unique membership web site that would take the data - the
material that drives most of us bananas - and properly
organize it in a way that he and those other investors had
never seen before.

Campbell continued and made other relevant data more easily
available. Now those who wanted to manage their own
portfolio, or just keep an eye on it; or who have an IA
working with them, could be more organized; work faster.
The IA's would also put this new 'tool' to good use. The
results were more reliable too.

Having been an influential corporate valuation expert for
more than 35 years, he knew that if he could solve these
problems, putting all this in one website, he just might
have the silver bullet. The result was a very special web
site, which launched recently.

This is how most great ideas come about. In this case, one
individual investor, constantly frustrated by the onerous
task of wading through the deluge of stock market and
individual stock data, decided to do something about it.
Now everyone can access this faster, better way of
researching stocks.

©Copyright, Roy MacNaughton, 2007

----------------------------------------------------
To learn more, go to: http://www.stockresearchdd.com
Roy MacNaughton is a business writer and coach. He's a
seasoned marketer, with more than 25 years of international
experience, including eight years online. His specialty is
finding investment "niches" that can be exploited and/or
added to his own portfolio.
Check his blog at:

http://www.UmarketingU.com

Architects Now Designing Homes For Mortals

Architects Now Designing Homes For Mortals
The concept of owning a home designed by a well known
architect is something most of would only dream of. Times
are changing and so are the marketing plans of many
property developers who are increasingly using well known
architects to sell their homes

It is true that international property investors have a
huge choice of luxury resorts from around the world to
choose from. With so much competition attracting the most
desirable customers is becoming increasingly difficult. One
way in which some resort developers have decided to attract
potential buyers is by using high-profile architects on
their projects.

Shigery Ban, who designed the Pompidou Centre in Metz, Zaha
Hadid, Piero Lissoni, Chad Oppenheim and Japan's Kengo Kuma
are all well-known architects and designers and they are
all being employed to design luxury hotels and resorts.
What's even more astounding is that this group of celebrity
architects is currently working on one resort - Dellis Cay.
This private island is part of the Turks and Caicos Islands
in the Caribbean.

Dellis Cay is being developed by Turkish tourism magnate
Dr. Cem Kinay. Piero Lissini is designing the main hotel
and a set of villas in his typically modern, bold and
simple style. In a recent interview in The Independent, Dr.
Kinay notes that "The architects are our biggest selling
point." One bedroom apartments on Dellis Cay start at
£835,000.

Another new development that is making use of well-known
architects is Portugal's Bom Sucesso, north of Lisbon on
the Silver Coast. There are more than 20 popular European
architects that are working on different designs and
buildings for Bom Sucesso, including Alcino Soutinho,
Goncalo Byrne, Alvaro Siza Vieira and even England's
award-winning David Chipperfield. The architects adhered to
a set of rules that provide the formal unity of the
project, but which simultaneously enabled them to follow
their own original and specific objectives. Most important
among these rules and vital for the originality of the
resort, was that all rooftops should be covered in greenery
and any walls should either be covered in greenery or else
simply not exist at all.

Other resorts around the world are using architects to get
a leg up on the competition. Melvin Villarroel is working
on a community in Marbella, Spain called Lomas Club. Homes
at this development are also being designed by Angel
Taborda and Victoria Guana, and Villarroel is also working
on several other new resorts in Spain.

Matteo Thun is designing a new set of fascinating
apartments in the Austrian resort of Katschberg called
Edel:Weiss. Sir Norman Foster is working on several
projects; one is in Egypt called Serrenia and there is also
Corniche Bay resort in Mauritius. These villas will only
cost £1.7 million.

----------------------------------------------------
Author: Nicholas Marr is CEO of overseas property
investment web site
http://www.homesgofast.com/David_Chipperfield.php

Simple Stock Market Investing Tips for Beginners

Simple Stock Market Investing Tips for Beginners
For young or inexperienced investors choosing a stock or
mutual fund can be confusing. What's more unless you have
professional training, investing in either stocks or mutual
funds could be too risky. Fortunately, there is a simple
investment you can make without having any experience in
the stock market.

Importance of Investing Young. It is essential that you
start investing young; if you don't your actually loosing
money and missing out on the most important thing young
investors have in their favor 'compounding interest'.

Each year that you have money and are not investing you're
loosing about 3% of its value due to inflation. So after
10 year of sitting on $100 cash it could be worth less than
$75. What's more, by investing young you benefit because
the money you made from your investments - make you more
money. Making money from money you've already earned from
your investments is known as 'compounding interest'. This
powerful force can make you a millionaire well before
retirement age with saving as little as $70 per month.

Now that you know you need to invest; how do you start? The
stock market offers a great place for young investors to
get their money working for them; the best part is you do
not need a lot of money to get involved. Plus, with the
investment vehicle discussed in this article, you don't
need to be a stock market expert to begin.

What's the solution? An ideal investment for young and
inexperienced investors is to get on the road to financial
independence are low-cost broad market index investments.
Warren Buffet states, "A very low-cost index is going to
beat a majority of the amateur-managed money or
professionally-managed money." This is one of the easiest
investments you can make. An added bonus is that it takes
only minimal knowledge and about 60 minutes to start
getting your money working for you.

What's a broad market index? A broad market index is a
group of stocks that you can purchase as one. It allows
young investors to buy a collection of top performing
stocks that mimic the performance of the entire stock
market. Since these index funds allow you to earn returns
similar to the overall performance of the market it greatly
reduces the risk. This is an advantage to the beginning
investor since it is safer than investing in a single
stock or some mutual funds; plus there is a history of
double digit returns.

Although the term 'broad based index investing' may sound
unfamiliar you already know many of these investments.
-The Dow Jones Industrial Average index contains 30 top
industrial stocks. -The Standard & Poor's 500 contains 500
of a variety of different stocks. -The NASDAQ 100 contains
100 stocks that are mostly in the financial and technology
sector.

When you invest in a broad based market index you actually
own a small piece of each individual stock. For instance,
when you invest in the S&P 500 broad market index, you're
buying a piece of all 500 stocks in that index. So for each
S&P index share that you own your actually own 1/500th of
companies like: American Express, Google, Ford, Nordstrom,
Home Depot, Staples and Yahoo to name a few.

Broad market indexes are ideal for young investors that
don't want to watch the stock market everyday. Since this
investment matches the overall return of the market if you
believe over the long-term the stock market will continue
to rise in value this could be a good investment. If
history were an indicator of future performance, it would
be clear that over time, you would generate solid returns.
The key benefits associated with broad market index
investing are:

1) Higher Returns - According to Standard & Poor's, less
than 30% of managed funds in 2006 beat broad market index
investing. What's more over the last ten years the average
person that invested in broad based index funds has beaten
the returns most mutual fund investors.

2) Added Diversification - Diversification lowers risk.
If you invest in one individual stock and bad news comes
out on the company you could loose a lot of money fast.
Now, for instance, if you're invested in an S&P 500 index
fund and one stock has bad news you really don't care.
That will only affect your investment one five hundredth.

3) Lower fees - Index funds fees are typically lower and
are often around .5%. While the average mutual funds fees
are around 2%. Over time this will make a big difference
in your overall return.

4) Passive investment - When investing in individual stocks
or mutual funds it is important to keep your eye on the
market and up-to-date with current trends. On the
contrary, index fund investing requires minimal time to
track investments and less knowledge.

The earlier you start investing the sooner you can reach
financial freedom. invest with broad-based index funds
that have similar returns to the overall market, because
then we are receiving similar returns while hedging our
portfolio - again, investing for young and beginning
investors is all about diversifying to improve your chances
for financial success.

How do I invest? There are two ways for young investors to
begin investing in broad market indexes. Both are similar
in their returns; but they are different in how the index
is bought and have different fee structures.

* An Index Fund is a mutual fund that purchases the stocks
that make up an index in order to match the returns of the
overall market. For example, if investing in an S&P index
fund, that mutual fund would own all the 500 stocks that
make up that particular index. Index mutual funds may
require a minimum investment, but some can be waived with a
direct deposit investment plan that automatically invests
money every month from your account. Typically, fees on
index funds are higher and there are minor restrictions on
when you can sell.

* An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is similar to an index
fund, with the benefit that ETF's can be bought and sold
similar to an individual stock. An illustration of an ETF
is the "Spiders" (American Stock Exchange: SPY symbol).
Each share of a spider contains one-tenth of the S&P 500
index, and so trades at roughly one-tenth of the S&P price.
The management fees on ETFs are low. In addition, there are
fewer restrictions on the purchase and sale of ETF in
comparison to index mutual funds.

Young investors will achieve similar returns whether
investing in index funds or exchange traded funds, but
typically ETFs have lower fees and fewer restrictions.

The earlier you start investing the bigger advantage you
will have. Because there is only a minimal amount of money
necessary to start and a low level of knowledge needed to
invest - broad based market indexes will allow you to start
investing young. So quit working for every dollar and get
your money working for you.

----------------------------------------------------
Vince Shorb, young America's success coach and leading
financial literacy advocate shows young adults how to
invest young so they can retire young. For more information
on his latest course 'Financially Free by 30' and a free 5
step video course visit http://www.FreeBy30.com now.

Taking the Mystery out of Software Financing and Software Leasing

Taking the Mystery out of Software Financing and Software Leasing
The very terms "software leasing" and "software financing"
are confusing to many businesspeople. This is due to the
fact that software is typically not seen as something that
is purchased over time.

This view is shared by both end-users, and the developers
of software. Companies who think nothing of financing a
vehicle or a new computer system will stress over how they
will pay for expensive new business software. And the
producers of software see no need for offering a software
leasing or a software financing option.

But times are changing.

Third party equipment finance companies - companies who
offer small and medium size businesses equipment financing
and working capital - have responded to a need for software
financing and software leasing. Thus, they are starting to
include software amongst the equipment they finance or
lease. There is one big overriding reason for this shift:

The High Cost of Buying Software

The simple fact is this: Software can be very, very
expensive. Oftentimes more expensive than the hardware that
runs it.

Now, keep in mind that when we are talking about software
in this way, we are generally talking about "vertical
software". Vertical software is software that is written
for a specific, narrow industry (this can include
industry-specific point-of-sale software, ERP systems,
specialized databases, etc). It is not software that's
available on the shelf at your local office supply store
(the software you see there, even the business programs and
operating systems, are "horizontal software" - they can be
used across a variety of industries, and are relatively
affordable.)

A good, clear example of vertical software is an auto parts
store - they use software that's specifically written for
the auto parts industry. Another example is your local
jewelry retailer - they likely use a point-of-sale system
specifically made for the jewelry industry.

To understand how software financing and software leasing
can positively affect a business, it is important to
understand the advantages of vertical software first.

For most businesses, Vertical Software usually means far
more efficient business processes. In the case of an auto
parts store, for example, the software will already
anticipate the thousands of automobile makes and models.
And will almost certainly be updated every year. The
jewelry store's software will differentiate the subtle
differences between two diamonds by any number of
categories. And so on.

In fact, these "vertical" software programs are so
effective, and become so crucial to day-to-day operations,
that businesses often need this type of software to remain
competitive. In many cases, it's not an option to do
without.

However, since the software is so narrowly focused, it
usually comes with a hefty price tag. The developer will
sell relatively few copies as opposed to a word processing
program (which will sell in the millions), so they must get
a premium for their work. Vertical software can sometimes
reach five figures for a single license.

This brings an obvious problem: "Businesses need the
software, but it's very costly to buy outright."

And that's where software leasing and software financing
come in - business don't have to "buy" it upfront.

The Advantage of Software Leasing and Software Financing

The advantage of financing or leasing software is clear:

Software leasing and software financing take the huge
up-front cost of new software out of the equation. Like
most other business equipment, software is now beginning to
be seen as a tangible asset (this was not always the case.)
This means software can largely be treated as any other
equipment purchase in the case of financing or leasing. A
business can finance that new ERP system instead of having
to budget a huge cash outlay.

This can be very beneficial to the bottom line, as software
generally pays for itself over time. In fact, since
"vertical" software almost always reduces the cost of doing
day-to-day business, leasing or financing said software can
actually create a positive cash flow right away.

But Who Offers Software Financing or Software Leasing, and
how does it Work?

It's true that software developers have been very slow to
embrace the business model of software financing or
software leasing. They would prefer to be paid up front for
their software.

Likewise, banks, being part of an "older" industry, are
also largely reluctant to finance software.

However, third party equipment finance companies who
specialize in small and medium sized business equipment
financing often offer attractive software lease and
software financing packages. What happens is the equipment
finance company pays the developer in full, and then
provides the software to the end user under a finance or
lease agreement, often at very attractive rates. In all
actuality, it's fundamentally the same as financing or
leasing most other equipment.

Of course, like any other financing, the agreements can
(and will) vary from traditional fixed rate financing to a
"software lease" with a buyout at the end, etc. And the
rates and terms also vary - your individual equipment
finance company will have more details.

All in all, software financing and software leasing have
definitely entered the business consciousness, and because
it is so friendly to the bottom line, it is a business
model that is here to stay.

----------------------------------------------------
Software Leasing and Software Financing are only a few of
the services provided by
http://www.crestcapital.com/software_financing

Regardless
of the size of your company, Crest can provide you with the
equipment financing and working capital you need to
successfully grow your business. Learn about financing
options that can increase your bottom line and reduce your
2007 tax bill with a
http://www.crestcapital.com/equipment_lease_calculator .

Preparing a House for a Quick Sale

Preparing a House for a Quick Sale
Purchasing real estate can be a great investment since it
is solid. Many people are choosing to invest some of their
money through this avenue due to the uncertainty of other
investments. While some are getting into real estate
investing to be landlords, others are choosing to pursue
flipping real estate. If you are purchasing a home to
flip, there are some things you need to do to ensure you
can sell your house.

Fixing any major problems with a house is the first thing
that should be done when you are preparing to sell your
house quickly. Buyers aren't interested in homes that have
holes, mold, rotten floors or ceilings, electrical wiring
not up to code and other major problems. No one will care
about the luxuries and features when you sell your house if
the basic elements aren't in good standing.

After fixing major problems with a house, you can make
cosmetic changes that enhance the appearance of a house.
Many individuals flipping real estate choose to install
granite countertops, hardwood floors and recessed lighting
as these items make a house appear very modern. However,
it is important that you don't go overboard making cosmetic
changes as your house should still fit in with other homes
in the neighborhood.

While making cosmetic changes to a house inside, you also
need to make cosmetic changes outside. Curb appeal is very
important as it often dictates whether or not people will
even stop to look at your home. While you may completely
change and improve the inside of your house, no one will
see this if you don't also make the outside attractive.
New landscaping should be considered and the house should
be painted if it is needed. Even if the outside looks
attractive to you, most experts recommend making a few
changes. Changes outside can serve to signal buyers to
stop in and have a look at changes on the inside.

One thing many individuals in real estate investing forget
to do when flipping real estate is to clean the home
thoroughly before the open house. While cleanup is done in
the areas where repairs and changes were made, some
individuals neglect to clean areas that didn't receive a
makeover. Before your open house you should take the time
to vacuum, sweep and mop any floors, clean the windows and
wipe everything down including cabinets, closet shelves,
fireplace mantels, etc. Doing so will ensure your home is
sparkling and attractive to potential buyers.

Finally, when preparing to sell your house, you should
stage it by bringing in decorations and other items to make
the spaces in the house attractive to buyers. Individuals
often need help understanding how certain spaces can be
used and what their home can look like. By staging, you
can create this for your buyers and often increase the
number and amount of offers you receive on the house.

Real estate investing can be a great way to make money if
you know how to flip a house and quickly sell it. However,
you must follow the tips listed here to ensure their home
is prepared for a quick sale to qualified buyers. That can
be worth thousands of dollars to you from real estate
investing within a matter of weeks.

----------------------------------------------------
Jason Loucks is the Nation's Leading Expert at Selling
Houses and Investment Properties Fast and For Top Dollar.
To Discover more about his "7 Day Sale" Method for selling
properties at retail price in 7 Days, visit
http://www.7DaySaleGuy.Com

Legal Credit Repair Methods

Legal Credit Repair Methods
If you are anything like me, legal issues when it comes to
credit repair are way over my head. After being in debt
for years, I decided to do a great deal of research on what
is legal and what is not and here are some answers I found.
The advise I am sharing with you below could be of great
help to you to get you on the right track when it comes to
repairing your credit.

To better understand what legal credit repair is, it would
be helpful to understand a few types of illegal credit
repair:

Illegal:

Changing your social security number to obtain a clean bill
of credit. If any company should suggest this type of
credit repair, report them to the authorities.

Illegal:

Disputing every item on your credit report, regardless of
nature. The Fair Credit Reporting Act specifically states
that only items that are unverifiable, inaccurate or
misleading should be disputed. Items that are clearly
yours, and reflect your credit history should not be
disputed.

Illegal:

Charging for services that have not yet been completed.
This is to protect the consumer from fraudulent companies
that charge for services that never get completed (charging
to "repair your credit", then hitting the road...)

So, what exactly is Legal Credit Repair? Legal Credit
Repair consists of removing the negative items on a credit
report. There are a few different methods of going about
this, the most common and effective are:

"Goodwill" Negotiation

Negotiating directly with creditors and asking them to
"please" remove negative items from your credit reports is
a viable method of credit repair for mild late-pay
accounts. There are no laws that require that negative
items stay on your reports for any amount of time, and
creditors have the ability to simply remove these items if
they see that it could somehow work to their benefit, even
if that simply means a pleased customer.

Credit Disputation

The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to
contact credit bureaus directly and dispute items on your
credit reports. Just as in a court of law, you have the
right to plead "not guilty" to negative information on your
credit reports, and leave the burden of proof to the credit
bureaus. You can dispute any and all items on your credit
reports that you feel classify as inaccurate, unverifiable,
or misleading. If the bureaus can not verify that the
information on your reports is indeed correct, then those
items must be deleted.

----------------------------------------------------
Mike Powers is a self employed internet marketer who has
developed a website to help people address the issue of
repairing their credit. You can visit Mike's website at:

http://www.mwpowersnet.com