Clive Finance Blog

For your debt settlement you can take help from the insurance policy.

2010-01-21T01:54:00.000-08:00

Nobody wants to be in debt since living with debts can cause a lot of problems. Too much debt is harmful for your financial stability. When your debts start getting out of your control, you should look at different techniques to eliminate debts. Many debtors resort to a debt settlement program, which is nowadays a popular debt relief solution. However, you should also keep in mind that you need to fund the credit card debt settlement program. When you’re short in cash, how would you fund your debt settlement program? This is where a life insurance policy comes into play. You can take a loan from your life insurance policy to fund your settlement program and get your finances back on track.
Under a debt settlement program, you no longer make payments to your creditors until you accumulate 50% of your total outstanding balance. Rather than making payments to your creditors, you put your money into a trust account. The settlement company would bargain on your behalf with your creditors just to ensure that a significant part of your debt is lowered or eliminated. The success of debt settlement is dependent on how the company negotiates with the creditors and the total balance can be lowered by up to 40%-60%.
You would have to pay an upfront charge against the services provided by a settlement company. Therefore, you need to make two payments once you sign up for a settlement program. The first is the upfront fee and the second is the money that you deposit into the trust account. So, how can you take advantage of a life insurance policy to settle your debts?
Life insurance policies can be broadly categorized into two types: whole life and term life. A term life policy doesn’t accumulate cash value but offers death benefit. On the other hand, whole life insurance provides both cash value and death benefits. Due to this reason, whole life policies are costlier. If you’re thinking about borrowing money to finance a debt settlement program, you can do it through a whole life insurance policy. Whole life insurance policy value increases over time.
When you make premium payments for a whole life policy, the payment is split into two parts. One part is directed towards the death benefit and the latter part to form equity. Equity always works as an asset for you. When you borrow against the equity accumulated in your policy, the loan proceeds can be used to fund the payments for your settlement program. Here your whole life policy works as collateral for borrowing. More often than not, you can borrow an amount of up to 90% of the cash value of the whole life policy.
When you’ve got sufficient funds to settle your debts, you would ultimately be successful to eliminate your debt problems. Leading a life without debt carries a number of benefits. You can enjoy financial independence and get reasonable terms on different loan and credit products. Your whole life policy can truly work as a wonderful solution to clear up your debts.

Pizza Still Rules At Papa John’s

2009-06-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

Pizza Still Rules At Papa John’s

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/14/AR2009061401911.html?nav=hcmoduletmv

The pizza category which accounted for almost 9% of all customer visits to restaurants has come down by 2% this year. Hamburger and sandwich shops have clocked an increase of 1% and 5% respectively. Realizing the shift in consumer preference, the top two pizza brands have changed their menu to include burgers and sandwiches. Papa John’s, the third largest pizza maker is still betting on a pizza only menu lest it dilutes the overall brand equity of the chain.
The pros and cons of diversification are many but Papa John is right in believing that products that are unrelated to what their brand stands for might be a risky gamble. On the other hand, protecting the brand value may be of little use if there is no money to pay salaries.

Treasury Limits Bonus Payouts By TARP Recipients

2009-06-14T23:45:00.000-07:00

Treasury Limits Bonus Payouts By TARP Recipients

http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2009/06/08/daily53.html

The US Treasury Department has announced that bonuses for senior executives at companies that receive funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) should be restricted to one third of their total compensation. As per the new rules announced by the government these companies have been advised to award their executives with stock that needs to be held for a long time and cannot be converted into cash until the government funds are repaid. This will bring the executive benefits in-line with that of the shareholders and the taxpayers. TARP recipients also need to allow their shareholders to vote on the compensation packages for their executives besides justifying extremely high payments to employees. Executive compensation practices played a key role in the onset of the current financial crisis, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said.

OPEC To Maintain Oil Output

2009-06-01T06:38:00.001-07:00

OPEC To Maintain Oil Output

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aMATGY.o_uC8&refer=europe

Expectations of a recovery in the demand for oil has led the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) to keep its output level unchanged. The organization which accounts for 40% of the world’s crude oil supply has decided at its meeting in Vienna to maintain the output at current levels. The group will now meet on September 9. Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said that the overall market situation is good and the oil prices have recovered in recent months. Moreover an expected recovery in the global economy is likely to have a positive impact on the oil demand. The group is yet to complete the output reductions planned to be implemented at the beginning of the current year. Oil prices have bounced back from a low of $32 per barrel in December last year to nearly $64 per barrel this week.

Consumer Spending Picks Up

2009-05-17T23:16:00.000-07:00

Consumer Spending Picks Up

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/business/economy/08shop.html?ref=economy

The economic indicators as well as the consumer mood are showing signs of stabilizing. While the initial months of the recession were marked clearly by panic and depression, people are now coming to terms with what happened. They believe that the worst is clearly over and with the indomitable spirit so unique to us, fighting back. There is also more job security with most firms having either completed or announced their future plans along with their quarterly results.
This consumer spending will hopefully start a chain reaction among industries as their sales pick up. Retail sales have also picked up in part due to the Easter holiday. Retailers are also doing their bit too by continuing to offer discounts. With the good news all around, I think it’s just a matter of time before the economy gets healed.

Intel Says PC Markets May Have Bottomed

2009-04-28T00:22:00.000-07:00

Intel Says PC Markets May Have Bottomed

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-intel-earns15-2009apr15,0,915237.story

Better than expected results from chip making giant Intel could be an indicator of the bottoming out of the PC market. The chipmaker reported a 55% fall in its first quarter earnings with revenues declining by 26% but mentioned that the free fall in the personal computer segment appeared to be stabilizing. Although the company said the “worst appears to be behind us,” it did not guide to a quick turnaround in the Industry. Although the excess inventory that piled up during the fourth quarter due to slack demand has been sold off in the first quarter, Intel’s profit margins are unlikely to improve significantly in the near future. Moreover, recovery in this segment, whenever it occurs, is likely to be quite slow.

Homebuilders Getting Together!

2009-04-13T01:19:00.000-07:00

Homebuilders Getting Together!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30104780/

The big news in the housing construction market is the announcement that Pulte Homes Inc. is buying Centrex Corp. for $1.3 billion in stock. This will create the country’s largest homebuilder, which will have a finger in every housing pie.
What does this mean for us? Wall Street has given a ‘thumbs up’ to the deal and the merger announcement held the market up to some degree on a day when it closed lower. For the battered home buyer, one can hope that efficiencies will improve, which will translate into more competitive housing prices. On the new merged entity’s part, this merger should give it significant synergies and will help it take advantage of the hopefully impending recovery in the housing market.

Google To Lay Off More People

2009-03-30T03:14:00.000-07:00

Google To Lay Off More People

http://www.cnbc.com/id/29899715

In the wake of reduced advertising revenue, Google is the latest to try and improve operational efficiency by reducing its workforce. The search giant plans to lay off nearly 200 people in the sales and marketing function after reducing headcount by about 100 in January. The company admitted to having over invested in certain areas because it expected to see higher growth.

It is scary to see that despite Google’s No. 1 position in the U.S. and 63% market share, it is unable to offer job security to its employees in a market where they desperately need it. After the spate of downsizing efforts and strategy `rethinks’, I wonder if these `leaders of yesterday’ will enjoy the same employer brand value after the dust has settled. I should think not!

Us Productivity Drops To A Record Low

2009-03-16T00:02:00.000-07:00

Us Productivity Drops To A Record Low

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/productivity-drops-04-fourth-quarter/story.aspx?guid=%7B0DB5F6E7%2D60FC%2D43C0%2D979A%2DA8D2035DD2F7%7D&dist=morenews

The productivity in the non-farming business sector declined at an annual rate of 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2008, the nation’s output declined by 8.7% on an annualized basis while the number of hours worked declined by an annualized 8.3%. This decline in the US output was the largest since 1975.
A slowdown generally leads to low productivity levels. In the manufacturing sector, productivity declined to a record 4% during the final three months of 2008. Hours worked plunged to 14.25%, also a record, while output dropped to a record 17.7%. Low productivity levels lead to reduced wages, lower profits, a sluggish economy and increased inflationary pressures. Since it is difficult to measure the productivity levels in the financial services segment, the Federal Reserve and other policy makers have focused on non-financial productivity.

Overhauling Health Care

2009-03-02T22:32:00.001-08:00

Overhauling Health Care

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2009-02-22-obama-health-care_N.htm

Obama is working on plans on how to increase healthcare coverage, control costs and enhance quality. He is on his way to create a budget that includes a pledge to expand coverage for those who are uninsured. The Obama administration sees health reform as an important component for balancing the federal budget and economic recovery.

U.S. is known to spend $2.4 trillion on health care every year. That is almost double of what people spend in other advanced countries. With the ongoing recession, more and more people are foregoing insurance. Obama wants coverage for all. But he knows that it cannot be achieved overnight. They will need to take small steps to reach the ultimate goal. The cost to the government will be around $90 billion a year.

A Japanese Lesson

2009-03-02T22:27:00.000-08:00

A Japanese Lesson

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/world/asia/06japan.html?_r=1&hp

In the 1980s, Japan had spent so much on public works that it has accumulated a large public debt of more than 180% of its $5.5 trillion economy.

Why are we recalling a past experience of another country? Because America is heading for the same mistake! While proposing a stimulus plan worth hundreds of billions, economists are suggesting that we should learn a lesson from Japan’s errors. Maybe Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner will be a better person to comment on this. After all, he was a young financial attaché in Japan during those days of collapse! The point is that we need to look into every area that we plan to spend the federal money on.