This post brought to you by Personal Capital. All opinions are 100% mine.

Users sometimes wonder that - How to empower and manage their investments to best of potentials ? Well this is the most important part of our financial life to know what you have and where it is. 

Life has gone mobile with ease, and your finances should be no different. Keeping tabs with all aspects of your finances is extremely important and with Personal Capital’s mobile apps, personal finances are literally at your fingertips.

To simplfy your investment and to track your income and spending Personal Capital Application is very usefull . This Application is available 100% free - on iPhone , iPad and Android.

Personal Capital Application allows you to access all your financial accounts in one aggregated view. Your asset growth is presented in a beautiful, concise, and clear format. Accounts from disparate investment formats (such as mutual funds, stocks, money market accounts, checking/savings) are integrated with ease.

This free application will help you keep track of all your investments and make well-informed financial decisions with a holistic view of your money and it allows for you to see where you could save money by identifying mutual fund fees.

Track your income and spending, see your largest expenses, and easily view your transactions with Personal Capital Cash Manager.

This post brought to you by © Blue Shield of California. All opinions are 100% mine.

We all have priorities in our lives - from our careers to our children, different elements may take precedence at different times.

However, one thing on everyone’s list (or should be) is health !  Whether you are a health nut or not, you’ve definitely had concerns at one time or another. While working in different professions we all consider and care much about our Health as this is what matters more and it's right said "Health is Wealth"

And sometimes we all feel that there should be someone who can understand and guide us effectively in our helath  problems. But, where have you gone for answers to those questions? The Internet? or Straight to your Doctor?

Well Dr. Jim and Bob's Fun & Helpful Health Advice is answer for your Health Problems

They are offering an informative, yet entertaining approach to tackle your health care questions - because afterall, isn’t laughter one of the best remedies? They have a variety of videos that address issues that... maybe you don’t love talking about.

In General you can get answers for Health Problems on there facebook page " Dr. Jim and Bob's Fun & Helpful Health Advice " and you can also check following video for "Hiccups" Health Problem :-

 

About Blue Shield of California, is an independent member of the Blue Shield Association and is a not-for-profit health plan dedicated to providing Californians with access to high-quality health care at an affordable price.

How to Make Cool and Awesome Websites for free?

This is the question which most of web-developers and newbies wonder.

Now, it's time to to give hands on to this thrilling web-builder application - by Mozilla Webmaker.

Try these three awesome Webmaker Tools which you can hangout with - Thimble, X-Ray Goggles and Popcorn

All these application are interactive and are really cool, you can build, re-engage, code smartly, have a preview, and test.

All this at one place- and if you are newbie then this application would help you alot to learn more about HTML. It has video tutorials, sample websites and much more !


Source:- Create Wonderful Websites by eStudents Guide

Nokia, which had its credit rating cut to “junk” status by Standard & Poor’s last week, first signalled its intention to sell Vertu in December, and recently said it plans to dispose of “non-core assets”


Cellphone maker Nokia is in talks to sell its UK luxury subsidiary Vertu, which hand makes some of the world’s most expensive mobile phones, a source familiar with the company’s strategy said on Monday.

Earlier the Financial Times reported that talks with private equity group Permira were at an advanced stage on a possible sale which would raise about €200 million ($265 million).

Vertu’s cellphones can feature crystal displays and sapphire keys, costing more than 200,000 pounds ($320,000) due to the precious metal components.

Nokia, which had its credit rating cut to “junk” status by Standard & Poor’s last week, first signalled its intention to sell Vertu in December, and recently said it plans to dispose of “non-core assets”.

Nokia, once the world’s dominant mobile phone provider, declined to comment, while Vertu and Permira were not available for comment.

The FT report, published on its website on Sunday, cited people familiar with the talks as saying Goldman Sachs was advising on the possible sale, but said the outcome was not yet certain.

EQT, the Northern European private equity group, has also been in talks about buying the company, although those close to the process, cited by the FT, say that these are not progressing at this stage.

Brushing aside the concerns over impact of the proposed changes tax laws, commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma on Sunday said Indian economy is strong and exuded confidence that foreign investments will continue to flow into the country.

"Investment and taxation are two separate issues", he said, when asked whether the introduction of General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) will hurt foreign investments. "For FDI, we have a policy which is stable and progressive and there have been changes made in the recent past which have gone down well with investors", the minister said.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget for 2012-13 has proposed to introduce GAAR to check tax evasion by overseas investors. The proposal evoked criticism from institutional investors which felt the move would hurt investment.

Sharma, while recalling the initiatives taken by the government to attract FDI, said, “Some of the initiatives which are under implementation are projects like Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and National Manufacturing Investment Zones (NMIZs).

“These are seriously engaging the interest of our foreign partners and we are hopeful that major developed countries, which are our economic partners, will be investing both in technology and in establishment in partnership with Indian industry”, he said.

On impact of global crisis on the domestic economy, the minister admitted that they would have some impact but the Indian economy was strong enough to withstand the problems.

“If we see our economy objectively, we are being affected by international crisis specially euro crisis and high oil prices. It affects specially exports and imports, thus, impacting the overall current account and trade account. But in actual sense, our economy is strong”, the minister said.

With crude oil and gold alone accounting for over 44% of total import bill of $489 billion and exports losing steam mid-way, India ended the fiscal 2011-12 with the highest ever trade deficit of $185 billion causing a “serious” challenge for the economy.

MSCI Asia ex-Japan steady, Nikkei opens down 0.1%; dollar off highs but steady
Asian shares steadied on Friday and the dollar took a breather after its recent broad rally spurred some profit taking, but a fresh batch of data suggesting the US economy may be picking up momentum underpinned investor sentiment.

The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index was barely changed and Japan’s Nikkei opened down 0.1% after rising to an 8-month high on Thursday.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index on Thursday closed above 1,400 for the first time since June 2008, having risen about 11.5% this year without a major pullback. Some analysts have called for a consolidation while others see ongoing momentum.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares finished 0.35% higher, and up 10% this year to nearly recover from last year’s 10.7% drop.

“The market is still going through a relief rally more than chasing a new trend on global growth,” Barclays Capital analysts said. “We are getting into profit-taking territory,” they added.

The number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits fell back to a four-year low last week, while the New York Federal Reserve said on Thursday its Empire State general business conditions index rose to its highest since June 2010 last month. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank’s business activity index also showed manufacturing kept growing in the region this month.

“The New York Fed, Philadelphia Fed and the jobless claims data overnight were again favourable, so we can expect to see strong support for markets,” said Yumi Nishimura, senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities.

The dollar stood at ¥83.40, retreating from a 11-month high of 84.17 touched on Thursday, and also off a two-month high against a basket of major currencies of 80.738 hit the previous day. The US currency steadied against the euro at $1.3080, easing from Thursday’s one-month high of $1.3004.

The US economy shows encouraging signs of early expansion but still faces tough challenges that call for measures to create jobs to help restore fiscal sustainability, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday.

Oil rebounded after a sharp decline on Thursday when Reuters, citing two British sources, reported that Britain decided to cooperate with the United States in an agreement to release oil from government-controlled strategic reserves.

US crude was up 0.4% to $105.50 a barrel on Friday, after settling down 0.3% at $105.11 a barrel. US crude futures fell to a session low of $103.78 on Thursday. Brent crude fell 1.14% to settle at $123.55 a barrel on Thursday.

Asian credit markets were slightly firmer early on Friday, with the spread on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index narrowing by 2 basis points.

Global telecom industry revenue to grow at 5.3% annually

The global telecommunications industry continues to expand as spending by consumers and businesses for wireless services fuels industry revenue growth, a market analysis report from the Insight Research Corp. says.

According to the report, "The 2012 Telecommunications Industry Review: An Anthology of Market Facts and Forecasts," telecommunications services revenue on a worldwide basis will grow from $2.1 trillion in 2012 to $2.7 trillion in 2017 at a combined average growth rate of 5.3%.

"Despite global economic uncertainty, the telecommunications industry is showing strong revenue growth, which is being driven by consumer Internet usage and business mobility solutions. These are enabling new applications," said Fran Caulfield, research director for Insight Research.

Wireless subscriber growth, particularly in Asia and other emerging markets, will raise wireless revenues 64% from current levels, while wireline revenues will show only modest growth, according to the report.

North America is expected to have the slowest CAGR, at less than 4% over the forecast period. From 2012 to 2017, the region’s carrier revenue will grow from $459 billion to $554 billion at a CAGR of 3.8%.

Europe, Middle East, and Africa will have stronger growth, primarily from developing countries. From 2012 to 2017, carrier revenue in the region will grow from $683 billion to $893 billion, a CAGR of 5.5%.

"Asia and the Pacific Rim (AP) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LA) are the fastest-growing regions, driven by the economies of China, Korea, Mexico and Brazil. Many of the countries in these regions have a combination of a rapidly expanding middle class and increased privatization of key industries. The resulting demand for telecommunications services, much of which is satisfied by wireless services, is reflected in their higher CAGR relative to the worldwide composite," the report said.

Carrier revenue in Latin America and the Caribbean will grow from $157 billion to $207 billion at a CAGR of 5.7% from 2012 to 2017, while carrier revenue in Asia and the Pacific Rim will growth from $775 billion to $1 trillion at a CAGR of 5.9%.

The report also states that most of the growth is expected to occur in broadband services, with wireless 3G and 4G broadband services projected to grow at a CAGR of 24% over the forecast period and wireline broadband services projected to grow at a CAGR of 13%.


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Investment banking drags down Barclays Q4 profit

Barclays reported a pretax profit of £5.9 billion for 2011, down 3% on the year and below analysts’ forecast of 6.1 billion.

Barclays said its key investment bank arm ended last year with its worst quarter for three years as the euro zone debt crisis hit bond trading activity, dragging the British bank’s annual profit down on the year before. 

Barclays, Britain’s fourth-biggest bank by market value, on Friday reported a pretax profit of £5.9 billion ($9.4 billion) for 2011, down 3% on the year and below analysts’ forecast of 6.1 billion, according to a company poll.
Income at investment bank arm Barclays Capital fell to £1.8 billion in the fourth quarter, down 19% on the previous three months.

So.Cl is a new social networking site from Microsoft and the thing is that you can only access the site if you have invitation. e-Students Guide is giving away 7 So.Cl Exclusive invitations to the 7 lucky winners. So still struggling to make account on So.Cl than grab this invites and explore yourself to this newsocial networking site.


So What is So.cl ?

So.Cl (pronounced "social") is an experimental research project, developed by Microsoft’s FUSE Labs, focused on exploring the possibilities of social search for the purpose of learning.

So.cl combines social networking and search, to help people find and share interesting web pages in the way students do when they work together.

So.cl helps you create rich posts, by assembling montages of visual web content.To encourage interaction and collaboration, So.cl provides rich media sharing, and real time sharing of videos via "video parties."

We expect students to continue using products such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other existing social networks, as well as Bing, Google and other search tools.

So.Cl is all about to encourage students to reimagine how our everyday communication and learning tools can be improved, by researching, learning and sharing in their everyday lives.

So.cl can be used by the general public, but it is our goal to focus on learning communities.

Exclusive Invitation for ESG-Readers only To Know More About This Contest Visit Here :  http://jobs.estudentsguide.com/2012/01/7-socl-exclusive-giveaway-invitations.html 

Suzlon Group Company wins 150MW order in US:

RE Power Systems SE, the German unit of Indian wind turbine supplier Suzlon Group, said on Thursday that it has won an order to supply 73 turbines with an overall power output of 150MW.

The order, from an unnamed US wind power developer based on the east coast of the country, are destined for a project in Oklahoma. This is the group’s second largest project in the US market.

“This order once again underscores our strong competitive positioning as a group in the US market. With our competitive product portfolio, extensive service capabilities and a robust track record, we are well positioned to grab opportunities in the high growth expected in the US market in 2012,” Suzlon group chairman Tulsi Tanti said in an exchange filing.

The delivery and initial operation of the turbines is planned for the second half of 2012.

The world’s fifth-largest wind turbine maker and its subsidiaries had a collective order backlog of 4,734MW, worth around $6.5 billion as on 21 October. It has since announced additional orders worth 997.5MW, including the current order.

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Gujarat International Finance Tech-City or GIFT is an under-construction city in the Indian state of Gujarat. Work on the proposed Rs 78,000-crore nano city has now started, and the first occupant may move in by March.

By the time the first phase is completed in three-and-a-half years, this special economic zone (SEZ) would have tried out, on a small scale, some contemporary urban design ideas.

GIFT would have a command and control centre to monitor the IT infrastructure and respond quickly during emergencies (a fire anywhere, for example, will trigger an automatic response). The city will use the energy-efficient district cooling system instead of air-conditioning.

It will also use an automated waste collection system that sucks away garbage from buildings at high speed. Says GIFT Director Ramakant Jha: "We will now try on a pilot scale many technologies that will be used when the city is developed fully."

District cooling, which uses chilled water to cool buildings, is being tried in a few places such as Toronto, Cornell University and Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. Its proponents say the technology consumes 90% less energy compared with traditional air-conditioning.

In automated vacuum waste collection systems, garbage is sorted out and then sucked away at high speed through underground tubes to a central location, which can be as far as 20 km away. It is being used in cities such as London, Montreal, Stockholm and Barcelona. No Indian city has these technologies yet.

GIFT was conceived in 2007 and the idea was developed initially by a set of consultants such as McKinsey and urban development specialist Fairwood Consultants. It is being planned as a top-notch global financial centre to rival London, New York and Hong Kong.


The stock exchanges of London, Tokyo and Singapore have evinced interest in setting up offices in GIFT, as have many Indian banks. Singapore Co-operation Enterprises, a government agency, has just signed an agreement with GIFT to develop a banking enclave.

"Liberty to transact in foreign currency at the IFSC in GIFT will significantly raise foreign firms' investment and participation in India," says SS Thakur, former chairman of HDFC and former controller of foreign exchange in the Reserve Bank of India. Similar financial centres in Hong Kong, Dubai, China, Malaysia, the UK (London) and the US (New York) contribute 5-60% of GDP of their respective countries. GIFT is expected to create 10 lakh jobs in 10 years.

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LAP commonly known as property loan is a loan provided by the bank/financial institution against the mortgage of your property (residential or commercial) provided the same has not been put up as security for any other purpose. LAP differs from a mortgage/home loan which is a taken to buy a property. LAP is a loan taken by putting up the existing property as a security against the loan.

When you find yourself in a spot of bother as far as finances are concerned, due to medical emergencies or losses in business or requirements to fund your child’s education or any other need, let not liquidation/sale of assets be your only option to solve the current cash flow problems. Financial markets now provide several loan products that will help you to keep intact your assets but at the same time provide you with the finances you need to tide over the situation. Some of the products available include personal loans and Loan against property (LAP)

Personal loans:

These are loans given to individuals without any security, collateral or guarantor on the same. Hence they are unsecured loans. The quantum of loan to be given will be based on the credit rating and the monthly income of the individual. The processing of this loan is very quick because of minimal paper work. The rate of interest on this type of loan is very high and is second only to the interest rates charged by credit card companies.

When is a personal best taken?

If there is an urgent need for cash, personal loans may be an option because of the quick processing.
Paying off your credit card dues because the interest charged on credit cards is very high. Therefore taking a personal loan may reduce the amount of interest that you will pay. Personal loans are very expensive and should be resorted to only if you have no other choice and you are in need of short-term cash.

Loan against property (LAP)  :

LAP commonly known as property loan is a loan provided by the bank/financial institution against the mortgage of your property (residential or commercial) provided the same has not been put up as security for any other purpose. LAP differs from a mortgage/home loan which is a taken to buy a property. LAP is a loan taken by putting up the existing property as a security against the loan. The maximum loan amount would be anywhere in the range of 40% and 60% depending on the market conditions and other factors. The borrower can either opt for an overdraft option where he is required to pay interest only on the amount withdrawn or a lump sum loan amount. The disadvantage of an overdraft facility is that the interest rate charged may be higher, in some cases up to 0.5% and also annual processing fees will be charged. Besides, if you want the overdraft facility, you have to take the loan only from the bank as other financial institutions do not offer saving/current account. In case of a lump sum loan, processing fees are charged only once when the loan is taken and also the individual can approach either a bank or financial institution for the loan.

When is an LAP best taken?

• Long tenure loans: For individuals requiring funding for a long periods of time, LAP can come very handy because the tenure of these loans can be a maximum period of 15 years
• Large Loan amount: Individuals requiring substantial funds also should consider this loan option as a large loan is possible. Of course it depends on the property value. There is no restriction as in case of personal loans where the maximum loan permissible is Rs. 10 lakhs.
• Lower rate of interest: On account of the security provided in terms of the house, the rate of interest charged by banks tends to be much lower than personal loans

Macquarie Research has cut its 2012-13 GDP forecast to 6.9% from 7.9% citing lack of policy reforms and lagged impact of monetary policy tightening
The knives are out and they are chopping economic growth forecasts. Each day brings more news which confirms the trend of a slowing economy. The fact that economic growth will slow down in the current financial year and the government will miss its fiscal deficit target is a no-brainer.

Now, the pundits are gazing still further into the future. The picture they see is gloomier. Macquarie Research has cut its 2012-13 GDP forecast to 6.9% from 7.9% citing lack of policy reforms and lagged impact of monetary policy tightening.

Tanvee Gupta Jain of Macquarie said in a note: Incorporating the lack of policy reforms and the lagged impact of monetary tightening in the context of a continued weak global economic environment, we are now downgrading our FY13 GDP growth forecast to 6.9% from 7.9% ‘with downside risks’ estimated earlier. While the global environment is likely to remain uncertain, we believe domestic factors will dominate the growth outlook.

Macquarie is not the only one. Ambit Capital on 17 October has cut its next year GDP growth forecast to 6.2% from an earlier estimate of 7.2%.

Ritika Mankar of Ambit Capital said in a note: We are cutting our GDP growth forecast … as the persistence of macroeconomic uncertainty translates into weak investment demand growth which in turn affects industrial sector growth and services sector growth.

Note that economists are shying away from cutting current year forecasts. Motilal Oswal in its report dated 11 November has downgraded the current year GDP growth estimate to 7.2% from 7.6% earlier. BNP Paribas has sounded even more pessimistic. It expects the economy to witness ‘hardish landing.’

Richard Iley of BNP Paribas said in a note: While any marked improvement in WPI inflation is still a few months away, the latest activity data confirms that our long-held expectation for a hardish landing for the economy is now materialising. Given our forecast for a US recession and stagnation in the euro zone, GDP growth looks on course to drop below 7% in the coming quarters.

Richard Iley adds further: The risk is that the RBI’s revised growth projection is still too optimistic. Our GDP forecasts have been well below consensus since at least early summer. Current targets are for growth of just 7.2% for 2011-12 and 7.1% for 2012-13.

EU parliament gives final approval to short-selling law. European Commission to debate sovereign ratings “blackouts”
The European Union pushed ahead with its regulatory crackdown on Tuesday by giving the green light to curbs on trading sovereign-debt related derivatives at the heart of the euro zone crisis.

The bloc’s financial services chief Michel Barnier will also unveil a measure at 1400 GMT to inject competition into the credit ratings sector dominated by the Big Three: Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings.

Many EU policymakers are keen to push ahead with the new rules, saying a ratings downgrade of Greek sovereign debt in 2010 made it more expensive and harder to mount the country’s first bailout package.

The mistaken downgrade by S&P of France’s banking industry system will reinforce the EU’s determination to regulate agencies more closely, Barnier said last week.

The draft law, part of a broad regulatory push prompted by the financial crisis, will propose a temporary “blackout” on sovereign debt ratings in exceptional circumstances.

The “blackouts” element has proved divisive, and Barnier was due to meet with fellow European commissioners at 1200 GMT to thrash out its scope in the draft law as member states like Britain mount a last - minute effort to scrap the provision.

EU states and the European Parliament, which is meeting in Strasbourg this week, will have the final say on the measure, with some changes likely.

Short-selling:

Parliament on Tuesday voted by 507 to 25 in favour of an EU law that restrict “naked” or uncovered selling of shares and sovereign debt. This refers to when a seller has made no prior arrangements to borrow the security.

EU states have already given the nod to the law, which was jointly agreed with parliament and is due to take effect within a year.

It also bans naked sovereign credit default swaps (CDS), where there is no ownership of the underlying government debt the CDS contract “insures” against default.

Policymakers want to crack down on what they see as speculation by hedge funds and others betting on falls in euro zone bond prices.

“The parliament has successfully fought for very strict conditions for short-selling to contain destructive speculation. The new transparency rules will help stabilise financial markets,” Markus Ferber, a German member of parliament’s centre-right party, said.

The draft law on ratings agencies, the EU’s third measure to regulate the industry since the financial crisis began in 2007, will avoid trying to create an EU answer to the US dominance of the sector.

Instead, it will seek to inject more competition by requiring users of ratings, such as companies and banks, to “rotate” or switch agencies on a regular basis so that some of the 10 or so smaller agencies registered in Europe, such as Euler Hermes​, can pick up more business.