Business & Finance World News

SBA, SCORE, and SBDCs Explained – 3 Essential Local Resources for Small Business Owners

July 30th, 2010

“When you’re the business owner, there’s no one behind you. You’re the back-stop.” (Warren Brown, Washington, D.C. Small Business Person of the Year 2006).

How many days and nights has this reality kept you on your toes? From making sure your business stays on track to cheerleading your employees, day-to-day business ownership is about what you make it.

But what happens when you need help? Back-stop or not, you can’t go it alone forever. Help is at hand, if you know where to find it.

The government, in particular, offers a great deal of resources that support small business owners, both online and locally. Take a

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Finding Ways to Save for Veterinary Care

July 28th, 2010

Your pet is very important to you, but the bills are killing your budget. These days, the expenses for both young and elderly pets are rising, but once you bonded to that animal it is hard to say no. Though with a little work you can save money on those necessary expenses and still provide your pet with excellent care.

Get a Pet from the Shelter

Getting a pet from the shelter means you will get a pet with their vaccines current, spaying complete and a recent medical exam. If you choose a middle-aged pet, you generally won’t have to worry about much in the way of medical expenses other than regular vaccines.

Be Selective on Vaccines

Not all dogs or cats need the same vaccines. A

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Five Tips for Finding Small Business Friendly Banks

July 21st, 2010

If you are in the market for business financing you may have noticed that the SBA is tentatively reporting a healthy increase in small business lending.

However, finding the right bank for your small business financing needs can still be a time-consuming challenge.

So just who is lending? And what is your best strategy for finding and approaching a bank?

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MARKET CLOSE: NZ stocks rise; RAK, AMP, AIR gain

July 21st, 2010

July 23 () – New Zealand stocks rose for the third time in four sessions, as a slew of positive corporate results on Wall Street helped bolster sentiment for equities worldwide. Rakon Ltd., AMP Ltd., and Air New Zealand paced gainers on the day.

The NZX 50 rose 13.54, or 0.5%, to 2994.9. Within the index, 26 stocks rose, 11 fell and 13 were unchanged. Turnover on the day was $70.1 million.
U.S. stocks rallied after companies including UPS, Caterpillar and 3M posted sturdy earnings and raised their guidance. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 2.3 percent.

“Markets around the world rallied on the positive results from the financial reporting season in the States, and we’re hoping the New Zealand reporting season is up there as well,” said Grant Williamson, a director at Hamilton Hindin Greene. “Local co

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Article On Three Ways To Stop Collectors From Calling You

July 21st, 2010

We are often asked by Alabama consumers “How do I get collectors to stop calling me?” and “Should I send a cease and desist letter?”

We wrote a short article on this subject that covers three options you have:

1. Pay the debt;
2. Send a cease and desist letter; or
3. Sue the collector.

In the article we talk about when each step is normally appropriate. We hope this is helpful and if you like this article you might like our book on Stopping Abusive Debt Collectors.

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Mortgage Rates 7-23: Home Mortgage Rates Today Decline: 30 Year Mortgage Rates at 4.69%, 15 Year Mortgage Rates at 4.13%

July 20th, 2010

Mortgage rates declined again reversing the trend of higher mortgage rates the past two days. Current 30 year mortgage rates are averaging 4.69 percent, down from Wednesday’s average 30 year mortgage rate of 4.78 percent.

Today’s 30 year jumbo mortgage rates have also gone down since Wednesday. 30 year jumbo mortgage rates are averaging 5.20 percent, a decline from an average 30 year mortgage rate of 5.39.

Comparing mortgage refinance rates and mortgage rates today? Search our mort

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