Finance And Mortgage Blogs | Jadeastrust.org

Posts Tagged ‘investing’

Everyone says that a man with money is a strong man, and we all know that’s true. You cannot have a successful business man without a suitable cash flow. If this secret is so well known, why are so many struggling businesses? When running the daily aspects of a business this kind of things, money aspects, are not so clear. We will present you 7 tips to help you improve your income.

1. Cash and Carry. Try to build a business based on cash and carry system and stay far away from worries about receivables. This is the best business plan, where customers “pay when they buy” leaving you only with the money. Collecting money takes a lot of your time, that’s why you are almost obligated to come with new options of paying. Set your rules from the start of your business, so your partners and clients will know what you want from them.

2. Collect receivables in a very strict way. Don’t let the customers pay you when they remember, go and collect your money in time. To be a good administrator of your business means to have a successful business, so create and apply a set of collecting rules. Longer wait for receivables, harder becomes collecting them. You don’t need a rude attitude to collect your cash; all it takes is a strong voice behind a stronger man. A very useful thing to do is to establish a collecting date after witch you should send out a follow-up statement within 10 to 30 days from the established date. Each business has its own opinions about the perfect time. You should not send follow-up statements sooner then 10 days from the established date. Payment may be delayed by the mail, but no longer then 30 days. If you don’t receive the payment within a 45 – 60 days term, you should notice your customer trough a phone-call. Accounts that go past a 90 day term should be taken to the next step, of collections with a method you established for this situation. Because time is money, every day that passes you’re collecting term ads more costs for your business.

3. Receivables Funding. Apply a program that involves accounts receivable funding. Factoring of accounts receivable it’s a very good way to keep the cash flowing. Factoring programs are very used by businesses that work with government agencies. If your clients are small businesses or individuals you may find it more difficult to apply an accounts receivable funding program because there are more risks to assume.

4. Suppliers. Negotiate terms with your supplier to help delay the outflow of cash payments. Usually you can delay the payment until the end of the month or even up to 60 days. This allows you a little advantage of working with their money on your projects. Also this delay will end (hopefully) just when your clients pay, so you can pay forward to your vendors. Some companies prefer the route of forwarding, giving you the opportunity increase your offers without having to invest large amounts of money in more products.

5. Deposits of customers. Have your customers pay a deposit before starting your work. This will help you cover the first costs of the project. More and more companies use this method of funding. It reduces the risks of nonpayment because you already got some upfront money.
Read the rest of this entry »

On Friday, flash media maker Lexar Media (LEXR) received a higher revised takeover bid from Micron Technology (MU). The revised bid places the all-stock exchange offer at around $10 a share, up marginally from the initial bid.

But major shareholders including billionaire investor Carl Icahn along with hedge funds and portfolio managers have deemed the initial bid to be inappropriate. Elliott Associates believes the initial bid “significantly undervalues Lexar,” and feels Lexar is worth between $1.5 billion and $2.4 billion. The estimate is well above the revised takeover bid of about $827 million.

I must concur and say the revised takeover bid is way too low and needs to be rejected by shareholders. Micron wants to pay around 1.10x sales for Lexar while the market leader SanDisk (SNDK) is trading at 4.35x sales. Lexar also has a $400 million patent infringement lawsuit against Toshiba that it had previously won but is now subject to an appeal by Toshiba.
Read the rest of this entry »

You know you need to be saving money but you never seem to have enough at the end of the month or worse, you are further in debt.

Living below your means is more a matter of self-discipline. A few adjustments here and there could be all it takes to have the necessary funds available for saving and investing.

Some mutual funds can be opened up for as little as $200 with minimum contributions around $50.

Here’s a list of ways to save money by spending less.

*Open up bank accounts that have little or no service fees. Keep a cushion to avoid accidental bounced checks. These can eat you alive. Be sure to maintain your minimum balance to avoid service charges.

*Try to avoid banks that charge you a transaction fee for using their debit cards. If you have no choice, plan how much money you will need in a given period and then withdraw it all at once to avoid too many transaction fees.

*Compare credit cards. Look for the ones that have little or no annual fees. It’s not too hard to find those with no annual fee.

*Avoid specialty store charge cards as they often have interest rates six or seven points higher than major credit cards.

*Never choose a card based solely on incentives or reward programs. These include auto reward points and air travel miles. These cards may lead you to spend more money over time than you can afford.

*Most importantly, avoid unnecessary interest charges by paying off the complete monthly balance. You can avoid hundreds of dollars in interest expenses on an annual basis.

*When you buy a car, consider buying one that is one to three years old. A one-year old car will be about 20% to 30% less than a new car. A three-year old car is a good buy because it could be around half the price of a new car. A car depreciates the most in its first three years. After that the depreciation levels off and it will lose less of its value.

*Another good saving when buying a used car is you will pay less for the insurance.

*When going on vacation, consider staying in your home state instead of long distance trips or even international travel. It’s often cheaper to travel within your own borders, that way, you avoid visa and passport costs, border hassles, currency exchanges, tropical shots, medication, and additional health insurance. Frequently, people travel thousands of miles to see sights not nearly as spectacular as what’s next door.

*You should consider off-season vacations. Travel at a time when everyone else is at work or school, and the staff will actually be glad to see you. You may also save 50% or more on the usual travel expenses.

*Avoid large cities and tourist traps; you’ll save a ton by avoiding these places, where you pay more to eat, drink, sleep, and travel. If you do decide to visit a big city, consider accommodations in a smaller town close by. Read the rest of this entry »

Over the years, Dines successfully forecast the Internet mania, forecasting the giants of the tech boom, and forecasting the tech bust. A gold bug again, Dines also added uranium as the metal to watch over the coming years, saying, “This is my way of playing the whole coming energy boom.”

Interviewer: You have been calling a bull market in uranium and, once again, you were the first voice in the now-growing crowd of uranium bulls.

James Dines: What a surprise.

Interviewer: Why are you bullish on uranium?

James Dines: It’s very important to get into a bull market early. The earlier, the better. That’s when the biggest percentage gains are made. That’s why we got into the Internets very early. We got stopped out in 2000. We were in cash for a year and then went to metals, as the way to play the China boom in 2001. We’re still in those. In 2002, we turned bullish on uranium as a unique way to play the coming boom in the whole energy complex.

Interviewer: But why uranium, as opposed to another type of metal?

James Dines: Basically, the western world demand is outpacing supply by about 300 million pounds a year. Global uranium use, excluding the growing usage by China and the former Soviet Union, is running at around 155 million pounds a year, as compared with global production of only around 94 million pounds. There are only about 500 customers for this stuff, not counting terrorists (joke). Because of that, it’s not a regular commodity. The public can’t go and buy uranium. In August 2003, there was a shocking blackout in Canada. The utilities were shaken. They realized when they don’t pay attention, the lights go out. That was a kick in the shin for utilities to begin immediate investment in the infrastructure of the electricity grid. But what is completely under the world’s radar is that nuclear plants are also concerned about a shortage of uranium. If they run out of uranium, the lights go out. You can’t switch to another fuel. You can’t toss another log on the fire, so to speak. Because of that, there is a growing panic among the buyers. That’s why I became what I’m calling myself: The Original Uranium Bug. And calling, or predicting, the coming Uranium Melt Up and buying panic.

Interviewer: A panic over uranium. Why do you say that?

James Dines: There’s going to be a buying panic. The bottom line is that in 2002, there were 441 nuclear reactors worldwide and another 34 under construction. Six new reactors began commercial production in 2002, three in China, two in South Korea and one in Japan. There was construction begun on six reactors in India and four in South Korea. There are more units coming in Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Brazil. China announced recently they were going to build five more nuclear facilities. All of the governments of the world have been frightened by the talk of the difficulty in getting oil. I wouldn’t be surprised if more of them began building up their strategic oil reserves as the US has done. That would turbo the whole carbon-based fuel crisis higher. That makes nuclear more than a competitor. The price of uranium hit $7.10 on Christmas Day 2000, and then began a low, quiet and slow climb. The bottom line, which I outlined in my book on Mass Psychology, is that a new bull market must be invisible to the crowd. The corollary to that is when you see bandwagon on Wall Street, you are too late.

Interviewer: Some are making predictions of $50 uranium or even higher. What do you think?

James Dines: $50, $60, anything is possible. If you are running a utility and your choice was getting uranium at any price or having the lights go out, which would you do? This is my way of playing the whole coming energy boom. I think it’s the smartest way. This is unique. This metal is just not there. We’re just not going to have it.

Interviewer: How much of a role does Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) play in this market?

James Dines: They control the world’s largest high-grade reserves and low-cost operations, commanding position. They supply around 20 percent of the western world’s uranium. It’s America’s only uranium producer, in Wyoming and Nebraska. Around 20 percent of America’s energy is produced by nuclear. That accounts for around 35 percent of the western world’s consumption.
Read the rest of this entry »