Archive for the ‘Finance’ category

Swing Trading Strategy

September 30th, 2011



Swing trading is a popular method of capitalizing on the short-term price variations of the stock market. It has earned a reputation of being a powerful method of maximizing profits at lower risks. The best swing trading strategy involves choosing the right stock and the right market. Swing traders usually choose the stocks that fluctuate at extreme ends. Swing trading strategy is employed in a stable market, because here the prices tend to have minor variations on which the swing trader can capitalize. In a rapidly rising or crashing market, swing trading strategy cannot be employed.

Newcomers to the stock market often choose swing trading owing to the low risk and shorter period involved. To achieve higher profits in this short period, the right swing trading strategy is to trade in stocks of big companies. These stocks, usually called large cap stocks, are widely traded on most stock exchanges. Their prices show higher variations compared to other stocks. This translates into more profits for the swing traders. A swing trader may follow a stock during its upward journey for a few days. In case the stock reverses its trend, the trader simply switches over to another rising stock. The choice of the right stock thus forms an inseparable part of a successful swing trading strategy.

Apart from the choice of stock, the choice of market plays a key role while deciding on a proper swing trading strategy. In a market that is on a rising or falling trend, the stock prices generally move in a single direction. There is not much of a variation by which the swing trader can profit. The best strategy here is to trade on the long term basis. A swing trader best operates on a stable market, where the index rises for some days and falls over the next few days. Although the value of major stocks remains roughly the same, the short-term variations provide the much required opportunity for the swing trader. The best swing trading strategy is thus the proper choice of the right stock and right market.

India Debt Collection Business

September 22nd, 2011



Until the emergence of debt collection business, debt collection in India, was never treated as a specialized job and was always treated as one of the jobs that legal departments of the banks and financial institutions were required to undertake. A typical legal department of an organization would approach the collection job strictly as a legal issue rather than as a revenue collection measure. Litigation would be the only tool used for recoveries and no other tool was either known or used by the industry. Litigation as a recovery measure always had its own limitations due to long and winding court procedures the Indian legal system is always criticized for. On the other hand, foreign banking firms introduced the concept of specialized debt collection services. Debt collection services became one of the many services that began to be outsourced to specialized agencies. The collection business had a very humble beginning and it barely qualified as a specialized service.

However over a period of time with the emergence of India as a global outsourcing destination the domestic businesses also adopted the outsourcing as an efficient business tool. With the result today, the third-party debt collection industry plays an important role in the Indian economy. The industry employs hundreds of thousands of Indians as collection professionals, who are servicing several industries ranging from banks, to telecom service providers to insurance companies. Typically, only small recoveries arising from periodic billing defaults by the customers are outsourced to the collection agencies. Not only the collection business has become a direct source of employment to thousands but its contribution to the economy is more pronounced because it helps infuse money back in the economy that otherwise would have remained uncollected. The economic benefits of third-party debt collection are significant. Citibank is the pioneer in introducing third party collection techniques in India.

The debt collection industry in India also has grown sharply this year as higher borrowing costs; rising inflation and the general slowdown in the economy force more companies and individuals into difficulties. Underlying debt has gone through the roof and lenders and organizations increasingly want to move any bad debt off their books. Whether it is a high street bank, a credit card lender or a mobile phone company, growing numbers are turning to professional debt collectors in a more difficult environment.

The debt collection industry in India is growing at a faster pace and is surely poised for growth. The credit card outstanding have shot up by a whopping 87% at USD 6114 Million during this year, from USD 2844 Million in the period year ago. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which regulates the banking industry in the country encourages banks to shift bad loans off their books more quickly because they will be required to hold more capital against risky assets that may default.

COLLECTION INDUSTRY – UNREGULATED SCENARIO

The collection business has its own inherent shortcomings due to unregulated and primitive nature of this business in this country. The persons employed in the industry are untrained both in soft skills and legal skills. Being unregulated, the procedures are not standardized and there are no industry specific checks and balances. Still litigation is used as the last resort tool for recoveries. However the industry has been accused of manipulating the legal system to their advantage by using courts as their agents of recovery. It is seen that big corporations with large volumes of recoveries have unwritten understanding with the local courts at the lowest level. With the patronage of minuscule minority of pliable judges simple civil defaults are registered as criminal cases thus pressurizing the debtors into paying the dues. Slow and long civil recovery court process has no takers in this age of instant results where revenue targets are the most sacrosanct. Under such strict and cut throat environment, there is pressure on the banks to keep their account books healthy therefore such aggressive and extra-legal methods are employed for quick recoveries.

GOVERNMENT / RBI INTERVENTION

Debt collectors in the past had a lot of leeway and it wasn’t uncommon for collectors to embarrass, harass or humiliate debtors by adopting extra-legal measures. In the absence of any regulatory regime the courts had to step in by laying down guidelines for the industry to follow. After the intervention of judiciary, the RBI woke up to the need of regulating the unruly collection agencies and laid down its own guidelines for the banking industry to follow.

The guidelines prescribed by RBI are enforced against the banks that have contractually employed collection agencies. The banks in turn via their contracts with the collection agencies ensure that the RBI guidelines are followed. Now, under the RBI guidelines it is illegal to threaten violence or cause harm to debtor, use obscene language, or repeatedly use the phone to harass debtors. In addition, collection agents cannot seize or garnish a consumer’s property or wages without recourse to court procedure.

The following are few of the core underpinnings of the collection process. These are the norms formalized by the top bank in India – RBI.

1. DSAs/DMAs/Recovery agents to get minimum 100 hours of training.

2. Recovery agents should call borrowers only from telephone numbers notified to the borrower.

3. Each bank should have a mechanism whereby borrowers’ grievances with regard to the recovery process can be addressed.

4. Banks are advised to ensure that contracts with recovery agents do not
induce adoption of uncivilized, unlawful and questionable behavior or recovery process.

5. Banks are required to strictly abide by the codes pertaining to collection of dues.

RBI in the draft guidelines issued for banks engaging recovery agents, has asked banks to inform borrowers the details of recovery agents engaged for the purpose while forwarding default cases to the recovery agents.

The Reserve Bank of India has also considered imposing a temporary ban (or even a permanent ban in case of persistent abusive practices) for engaging recovery agents on those banks where penalties have been imposed by a High Court/Supreme Court or against its directors/officers with regard to the abusive practices followed by their recovery agents. An operational circular in this regard has been issued in November 15, 2007.

Other Laws

Still the non banking debts collection business is outside the purview of any regulator. There are no licenses or registrations to be obtained from any regulator to pursue collection business in India. The extant guidelines applicable to banking industry are found inadequate as they address only the problem of debtors’ harassment and the guidelines do not regulate the industry as such. The Government is well aware of the need of having a specialized legal mechanism for recovery of institutional debts which has become a huge problem for the entire banking industry.

Every bank is grappling with the non-paying accounts, known as Non Performing Accounts (NPA) in the Indian banking parlance. The problem has taken enormous proportion and threatened the economy. Creation of Debt Recovery Tribunals in the year 1993 was a step in the direction of facilitating fast recoveries by the banks . The intention behind creation of such Tribunal was to ensure that banking industry was provided with its own recovery mechanism that was part of the legal system but at the same time exclusive to the banking industry. Bank debts above USD 22,727 could be recovered through the Tribunals.

However, over a period of time it was realized that this new mechanism did not yield the desired result since the recoveries were still slow and due to shear volume of work, the Tribunal became like any other court. The whole objective of having a fast track and efficient recovery mechanism was therefore defeated. Bank debts still remained a major problem to be solved since it affected the entire economy of the country. The Government felt the need of having a mechanism that was minimally dependent on the courts for effecting recoveries since the legal system could not be reformed overnight. Therefore instead of reforming the court procedure the government did some clever thinking and came up with a legislation that minimized the intervention of court and empowered the banks with special powers using which the recoveries could be affected.

The government thus came up with a new law Scrutinization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act) where under the banks are allowed to liquidate security given by the borrower for recovery of their dues. This law also paved the way for creation of asset reconstruction companies that take over the security interest of the debtors. These agencies are thus another form of debt collection agencies that have been institutionalized.

The need to share credit information among the banking industry was also felt in order for the industry to benefit from each other. Thus Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act was enacted in the year 2005.

INDIAN LEGAL SYSTEM AND COLLECTION PROCESSES

The Indian legal system is absolutely fair and assures justice to the party involved. There are remedies available under the law to collect the debt, if the debtor does not agree to pay under normal circumstances. The creditor may file a suit for his recovery. Debts based on written contracts could be recovered by following fast track procedure. If the debtor is a company, creditor / his lawyers may apply in the ‘Company Court’ for winding up of the company due to non-payment of substantial amount of debt. Summary trial is another way. The process may take time-1 to 2 years. Evidences are recorded appropriately and produced in the court of law, whenever required. There is also the arrangement of appeal to be filed at later stage.
US OUTSOURCING SCENARIO

India has attracted many technology jobs in recent years from Western nations, particularly the United States. Now, it is on its way to becoming a hub in another offshore outsourcing area – debt collection. According to the industry report, units of General Electric, Citigroup, HSBC Holdings and American Express have used their India-based staff to pursue credit card debt and mortgage payment by calling defaulters.

US debt collection agencies are the newest to start outsourcing their work to India and are satisfied with the results produced by the polite but persistent Indian experts. After insurance claims and credit card sales, debt collection is a growing business for outsourcing companies at a time of downturn in the US economy when consumers struggle to pay for their purchases.

Debt collection is a vital and growing component of US economy. There is more than $2.5 trillion in outstanding consumer debt. As a result, the third-party collection industry makes more than one billion contacts with consumers each year. Recently this year, more than $39.3 billion in debt was returned to creditors.

Indians have the advantage of lower salaries and other expenses, which cut drastically costs of collecting debts. Debt collectors in India cost as little as one-quarter the price of their US and European counterparts and are often better at the job. Many such Indian firms run 24-hour services. Indian debt-collection companies comply with strict regulations on operations in the American and / or European markets.
SUMMARY

India has a long way to go in establishing a mature collection services industry. The collection business needs to be regulated and empowered with legal powers to become an effective tool. Already, there is a realization in the country that court dependant recovery is an inefficient way of way of debt collection. Creation of Assets Reconstruction and Securitization Companies under the SARFARESI Act is a step in the right direction of recognizing debt collection as an independent and specialized business function. While some progress is made for the bank debts but still for a large volume of unrealized non bank debt there are no professionally managed and regulated third party collection service providers. Non bank debts are largely unsecured that makes it even more difficult to realize. No big corporations and business houses are interested in acting as collection agents without there being an attraction of valuable security asset. Lawyers can fill this gap by providing collection services for non bank debts. Indian law does not permit contingency fee that makes the business less lucrative. India is therefore ready to benefit from foreign experience, expertise and ideas to create an efficient debt collection industry of its own at par with global status. This need is more felt now by India due to its global ambitions wherein India must adopt globally recognized practices and models. Transnational businesses need a uniform operating system for seamless transactions. Efficient debt collection industry will only instill confidence in companies doing business with Indian companies. Collection professionals have this challenge facing them of creating an efficient system that reduces people’s dependence on court supported recoveries.

Unemployed Loans Company!

September 20th, 2011



Being unemployed can stand against you in your pursuit to avail loans. Lenders resist form approving loans to such borrowers as they are unsure of getting their money back on time. However, there are many lenders who approve loans despite the unemployment status of the borrower. Unemployed loans company can lend a helping hand to such borrowers.

Being unemployed doesn’t mean that you should not be eligible for loans. You may be in need of money for various purposes. You may need money to consolidate debts, plan a vacation, buy a car, home renovation, or for educational purpose. These loans can help such borrowers fulfill their needs at ease. One can approach any of the lenders online who offer such loans at favourable terms and conditions. These loans offer an excellent opportunity to those struggling with defaults and arrears. Applying online helps one save time as well as money.

A poor credit score cannot affect your chances of securing a loan. Herein, the lenders do not take into consideration the credit score of the borrower. These loans are available at a considerably lower rate of interest with flexible repayment option. Moreover, they also offer borrowers an excellent opportunity to better the credit score and improve the financial situation. There is no restriction on the usage of the loans. The borrower is free to use them for either home improvement, meet educational needs, wedding expenses, plan a holiday, debt consolidation and so on.

One can fulfill all the urgent needs by approaching short term loan companies. These companies function specifically with the purpose of providing instant cash to those in need. One can avail these loans online. They are readily approved by lenders. The amount of money is immediately deposited into the account of the borrower. Do away with the lengthy procedure and unnecessary hassles right away. They are best suited for short term requirements.

Get instant cash by opting for instant no fax payday loans. These loans are unsecured in nature. You need not provide any documents to avail these loans. One must be a salaried person to be eligible for these loans. A good credit score can facilitate faster approval of these loans. The online mode ensures faster approval.

It is advisable to do a careful research of the lenders you are opting for. This will help you avoid making any mistakes. The online option allows borrowers to choose from a wide variety of loans.

Credit Cards for Bad Credit

September 11th, 2011



If you have bad credit, then you are probably wondering what kind of credit card you can and should get. Although they may not always be easy to find, credit cards for bad credit are available. And contrary to popular belief, even those with poor credit and no credit have options when it comes to credit cards. This article will explore those options so that you can get on to rebuilding your credit right away.

The first type of credit cards for bad credit are secured credit cards. These cards are available to almost anyone, even individuals with a record of bankruptcy or very bad credit. This is because these cards are of the prepay variety. When you are issued a secured credit card, you make your own deposit that becomes your credit line. And if you use your card wisely, you might be eligible for credit beyond your deposit.

The second type of credit cards for bad credit are high interest credit cards. These cards may not seem like a good idea, but for some people they can be. A high interest rate makes up for the fact that you are not trustworthy in the bank’s eyes. And if you carry a low balance on your card, you can start rebuilding or establishing credit without spending too much in interest.

Another option you have when it comes to credit cards for bad credit are low balance cards. These cards come with a low spending limit and are available from all the major card companies including visa and mastercard. Best of all, if you make your payments on time and don’t go over the spending limit, you may become eligible for a higher spending limit over time!

What is Credit Life and Credit Disability Insurance For Auto Loans?

May 1st, 2011



When you go to close on your auto loan one of the optional products your loan officer may offer to you is credit insurance. There are basically two credit insurance products that are offered today. Below is a rough description of what they are and what they cover.

1) Credit Life- This product is basically life insurance that covers whatever the outstanding loan balance is in the event of your untimely death. Premiums for this type of insurance vary depending on the size of the loan. The borrower is allowed to name a beneficiary at the time of signing the paperwork. If for some reason during the loan duration you were to pass away that loan would be paid off in full and the beneficiary would receive a free and clear title to the vehicle. Because there are very few restrictions to qualify for this insurance the premiums can be very expensive and are usually added on to your loan amount. If you elect to purchase this coverage your payment will increase and be more than if you elected not to purchase it.

2) Credit Disability Insurance- This product is basically disability insurance that covers the amount of your auto loan payment if you were to become sick or injured and unable to work. Again premiums on this type of insurance vary depending on the size of the loan and the elimination period before it starts. Most of these policies have a 7 day or 14 day elimination period. In the event that you become sick or injured and can’t work the payments will be made to the lender on your behalf until you go back to work or the loan is paid off whichever comes first. You do not have to be hospitalized but under a doctors care and there may be paperwork that your doctor will have to fill out to become eligible. These premiums can be expensive and are usually added to your loan amount which will increase you monthly payments.

It is important to note that these insurance products are completely optional and not a requirement to get approved for a loan. Borrowers should evaluate their own financial situation to determine if either of these insurance products are a benefit to them before they purchase.

Become Debt-Free – Where to Start

April 30th, 2011



When I meet with people, the biggest question I get asked is “Where do I start if I want to become debt-free?” The answer isn’t surprising, and there is no magical solution. In fact, there is only one possible place to start… wherever you are now is where you begin.

Since everyone is at a different place in their lives, you can only begin where you are, and not where your friend is. You have no other choice but to begin to tackle your specific situation. Only when you face it head-on and develop a game plan, will you start to win in life.

“A good plan implemented today, is better than a perfect plan implemented tomorrow.” – Gen. George Patton

The very first step we have each of our clients do is to develop a budget, or written plan of where their money will be spent in the coming month. After that, we coach you to set aside between $500 – $1500 as a beginner emergency fund. You must become current with each of your lenders before you start aggressively paying off your debt.

While having only $1,000 set aside for emergencies is not a lot, it is a beginning while you get out of debt. Use the anger of not having more saved to aggressively become debt-free, then save between 3 and 6 months of expenses for a fully-funded emergency fund.

You are already on step 3 of 7. To view the rest of the steps, click the link below and download the Financial Freedom Steps from the worksheets page. You can also download many other helpful tools that I have made available to you for free!

The Big Con About Your Credit Card’s Free ‘Travel Insurance’

April 28th, 2011



Before you start packing your bags for that much longed-for summer holiday, it would be wise to do a double-check on the terms and conditions of your credit card’s supposed ‘free travel insurance’.

Be warned – full travel insurance and the more common travel accident insurance offered by most credit cards are completely different forms of cover.

Most credit cards offer free Travel Accident Insurance but it is only for very limited cover, so it is just as well to check out exactly what you are covered for well before you leave for the airport.

Dig out your credit card paperwork and check the small print carefully – as I always say, ‘the devil is in the detail’.

Very limited and restricted cover

Travel Accident Insurance is a largely meaningless form of insurance and provides very limited and restrictive cover, in spite of the liberal use of the term ‘travel insurance’. It is like chalk and cheese compared to genuine travel insurance.

If ever there was a real contradiction in terms, this is it.

For instance, it offers little or no cover prior to your journey for such events as lost property, missed departures or travel delays and cancellations through no fault of your own.

Surprisingly, you will not be covered at the other end either.

Planes, trains and automobiles

The much-vaunted and free Travel Accident Insurance punted by credit cards is purely designed to insure you while you are actually en route to your destination, whether by bus, taxi, train or plane.

You will certainly want wider cover than that.

Even worse, the cover is really limited and you may find your credit card company will only pay out for a major accident such as death, permanent disability or the loss of an eye or limb.

Should you find on closer investigation that your cover is likely to be inadequate for your planned holiday; your first priority should be to look around for a comprehensive travel insurance plan from a dedicated travel insurance provider.

This should at the very least insure you for repatriation, personal liability, lost possessions, legal charges and medical expenses.

Be proactive and forearmed so you are not taken by surprise if the worst should happen.

Full holiday travel insurance

You may be wondering if there is a credit card that offers free comprehensive travel insurance.

The short answer is ‘Yes’!

Barclaycard is one credit card company who offer comprehensive travel insurance for holidaymakers booking through one of their tour operators, on condition that you pay for the holiday using a Barclaycard credit card.

Before going ahead and booking, it is important to weigh up the insurance benefits the credit cards claim to offer and take a good look too at the small print to check that the benefits are really as good as advertised.

To summarise, a credit card which gives you comprehensive and unrestricted insurance coverage is almost always better than a card which offers Travel Accident insurance only.

How to Be Debt Free in 6 Months Or Less

April 26th, 2011



This Article is about how to become debt free. A dream that all of us have? No bills, no payments?

Surely each one of us at some point of time wished there would be no bills in the mail box that day. But it seems like bills and payment arrive in our mail box lightning fast. Can we have our life style set up a way that we can have the cake and eat it too?

I think we can. When things are getting rough We Must get tough.

These are what I did and reduce my monthly bills by %75:

1. I start looking at my complete list of bills and start categorizing them:
- A list; Must have items ” Necessary ”
- B list; Items that it’s good to have but it is not going to kill me if I didn’t have them. “Necessity”
-C List; items that they do nothing for me. “Luxury”.

Then I start one by one and ***** down each one of my bills and cut them down to pieces.

2. I lived in 3-bedroom house, so I moved to one bedroom.

3. I was driving a BMW I exchange it with a USED Toyota corolla. You get the picture. I keep things that I have to have in my life to make money and continue average life style. For my bills like credit cards and payments (like furniture loans, etc.)

I contact a consultant who are expert in dealing with these companies and settle your debt penny on dollar. Now that’s like money in the bank. Any way, it’s easy to sit and do nothing and hoping fury tale will knock on our doors. But a little action, sacrifices will do the trick.

Visit My Site For More Details At How to be Debt free in 6 mo or less and Learn A lot More About What See My Page: [http://www.squidoo.com/Debt_Relief_Consultant].

Insurance Rates Affected by Credit Scores

April 25th, 2011



Your credit score can influence in a major way the amount you will need to pay on your home insurance, health and life insurance and also your auto insurance. The majority of insurance companies think having a bad credit score and rating means you are a great risk. They are skeptic about people having debts accumulated and bills unpaid. As long as unpaid bills are getting more and more, they will not award you with their trust and low insurance rates.

When deciding whether to issue a policy on your home, auto or life, the main part of insurance agencies is using credit information. Be prepared that they will check on your credit report when giving premiums and when having a poor credit report you will likely get higher premiums and insurance rates. People having bad credit report might pay 25 or even 50 percent more in auto or home insurance policies than someone having good credit scores. In case of auto loans the majority of insurance companies think if you have bad credit you are a bad driver and more; having money management difficulties mean for insurance agencies you are having further problems in proper life management.

Insurances are always based on risk; statistics and researches show that people who are having bad credit by not playing bills on time tend to file more claims, which naturally, are more expensive. Of course, not only credit report influence insurance companies’ decisions. Other factors, like age, location, types of home, and the car you are driving are also decisive factors.

The best thing you can do when having bad credit is to shop around, and although the majority of insurance companies will give you high premiums, find the one less worse and stick to that policy until your credit score is improving. Your insurance policy and premiums might get better as soon as your credit report is cleared, but that depends on the insurer. Those who are having excellent credit scores are lucky, but they are also offered different policies and premiums, so they should also ask and shop around until they find the best offer.

Credit Card Insurance In A Nutshell

April 24th, 2011



What is credit card insurance? In a nutshell, this is an insurance policy that gives the card holder protection if you ever lose your creditcard or worse, have it stolen. It is best for people that are worried about being held liable for costs especially if the wrong hands take full advantage of it. In the UK, the number of identity fraud cases via stolen credit cards has been scarily increasing.

Why should you avail of creditcard insurance? First of all, it is not only a hassle to report your credit card stolen; it can be a real nightmare if someone steals it. Reporting it to the credit card company can also be very time consuming especially if it was your wallet that contained not just one CC in it that was stolen. It can take you all day on the phone.

Who wants that stress? With a CC protection insurance policy, you only need to call one number to report your missing card and they normally work 24 hours a day, seven days a week! All you have to do is register your credit card details to the insurer and also provide them some other documents such as your passport or your driver’s license. It’s that simple to avail of credit card protection.

Another benefit of CC insurance is they save you the time and stress of calling each and every card company just to get your card cancelled. They do it for you! Because with the information you provided them, they can take charge of letting the creditcard providers know the status of your credit card, have it cancelled and provide you with replacement cards as soon as possible.

Not convince yet? Here’s another reason why should get credit card insurance: you won’t have to worry about paying for things you never purchased! Because with CC protection, you can be assured that when you fail to remember the specific time that you lost your card, you will only get charge by the CC company the first £50 of fraudulent use. Some won’t even charge you for anything!

And because most people nowadays rely on the purchasing power of plastic, when their credit card gets stolen, they are left without a penny. But when you have a creditcard protection insurance policy, you will also be provided with emergency spending money. This is not given out for free though. This is considered as either a form of cash loan or cash advance.

For a small annual premium, you can insure all your credit, debit and store cards. But before you avail of one, check to make sure that your home or travel insurance policies do not offer creditcard protection. Also check with your CC provider as most banks nowadays come with a card protection policy. You don’t want to pay for a credit insurance policy you already have! Overall it is a good idea to protect yourself from fraud by insuring your creditcards.

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