05 Jul
Posted by Allison Thomas as Corporate Finance
Benchmark oil for August delivery was down 34 cents to US$94.60 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude last settled down 48 cents at US$94.94 on Friday. Financial markets in the U.S. were closed Monday for the Independence Day holiday.
In London, Brent crude for August delivery was down 41 cents to US$111 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
In other Nymex trading in August contracts, heating oil fell 2.6 cents to US$2.90 a gallon while gasoline fell 2.2 cents at US$2.95 a gallon. Natural gas futures rose 0.8 cent at US$4.32 per 1,000 cubic feet.
MAYNARD, Mass. — Monster Worldwide on Monday launched BeKnown, a professional networking app designed to allow Facebook users to establish a professional network. Users can seamlessly identify and connect with friends and professional contacts from multiple sources and grow their professional networks, enhance their online professional identities and discover enriching career opportunities.
BeKnown is now available for download at apps.facebook/beknown in 19 different languages, and is accessible by any Facebook user.
“BeKnown answers the need and challenge in the marketplace for people to build their professional networks on Facebook while keeping personal and work-related contacts and contentpletely separate,” said Darko Dejanovic, global CIO and head of product at Monster Worldwide. “An estimated 700 million people globally live their lives through Facebook and 97 percent of the Fortune 500panies turn to Monster to find talent.
04 Jul
Posted by Allison Thomas as Corporate Finance
The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) is pushing ahead with plans to launch a national marketing campaign aimed at increasing the number of Australians who seek financial advice.
CEO Richard Klipin says the Make a Plan campaign hopes to lift the use of financial planners from the current 20% of Australians to 30% by 2014.
The AFA expects to launch the campaign in the coming months, with AFA President Brad Fox saying the association has raised half of the $2.5 million needed to launch the campaign –including $500,000 from its members.
Mr Fox says the campaign, which will involve radio, TV, magazine and electronic media advertising, will aim to convey the message that people who use planners are financially and emotionally better off.
“We’ve got to get to the deep-seated emotions and beliefs,” he said. “What’s
04 Jul
Posted by Brian Anderson as Finance Help
Heath Kennedy says the location and sweeping river view played a big role in his decision to buy a condo in Downtown’s South End.
If one word sums up the home buying process for Memphian Heath Kennedy, it’s stress. But that isn’t because Kennedy, a first-time buyer, couldn’t find a house. It’s because he did.
“I put all my eggs in one basket,” he said. “I went through a lot of adversity.”
Kennedy, a merchandise manager at Orgill Inc., knew exactly what he wanted in a home because he’d already tried out several options. For two years, he shared a Cordova house with a friend, paying rent while his friend paid the mortgage. When that friend got engaged, Kennedy started looking for a house of his own. But he wasn’t sure suburban life was for him.
“In the area of Cordova I was in, there weren’t a lot of things around,” he said.
I’m often asked during a speech if scammers ever get caught. Unfortunately, many of the scams we hear about on a daily basis originate in a foreign country, which makes it difficult to track down and prosecute the crooks.
I’m pleased to report, however, that sometimes crime doesn’t pay. In early June, a Missouri grand jury indicted two brothers who owned US Fidelis, apany that sold over 400,000 vehicle service contracts to consumers all over the country. The Better Business Bureau in St. Louis received more than 1,200plaints about thepany’s products and marketing practices, including 37 from Memphis area consumers.
Somepanies that market these contracts, sometimes called “extended warranties,” use language designed to make you believe the offer ising from the manufacturer of your vehicle and that your current warranty is about to expire — for example, “Vehicle Warranty Notice Enclosed” or “Final Warranty Notice.”
Consumers used toplain to us that they received numerous phone calls in the same day pushing these contracts.