Research potential employers online

Whenever you start a new job you want to know what type of company you are going to work for, especially in the current market. With layoffs becoming common place, you should have all the facts before you accept a job offer.There are so many ways that you can investigate a company including looking into their accounts and searching for customer reviews. In the end you need to know whether that particular company is going to be the right place to work for you. This includes paying you on time and doing well financially. These tips will allow you to brush up on a company but beware take reviews and comments with a pinch of salt.

Have a look into the company’s finances

In reality a company that is going through a rough patch is not going to be a great place to work. In most cases you will be expected to deal with situations arising from their poor financial state. You may also be faced with a negative atmosphere in the office. You should make sure that the company you are applying for has a solid financial status by completing a company search so you can gauge the success of a company. You can also see whether they have been involved in any litigation proceedings.

Have a look for employees on social networks

You can generally measure the atmosphere in an office by looking at past and present employees’ presence on social websites. LinkedIn is especially good for this. It can help you can see how long people worked at the company. If the company has a high turnover rate then you may find that the company has difficulty holding on to staff. Be advised that certain sectors will have a naturally high turnover especially the sales industry. You can also see what present employees think of a company. They may post status updates about working at their current companies. You can also see what customers think of the company by looking at mentions on Twitter and online reviews.

Have a look at competitors

Who are its competitors and how do they compare to the company? You can compare wages, job descriptions and financial situations with companies in the same industry. This will give you some idea of how the company is doing and whether they are offering a fair wage for the job you will be doing for them.

It is important to fully investigate a company before you start working there. In this current economic climate it is important to secure a job with a reputable firm. You do not want to waste your time with a company that will be going out of business quickly. Many of these hints and tips will give you an insight into a company but don’t forget to trust your instincts.

©2012 BUY LIKE BUFFETT. All Rights Reserved.

BUY LIKE BUFFETT - Make Money Investing The Warren Buffett Way

Yahoo has made a number of leadership changes in recent years. Yahoo’s Board of Directors removed Carol Bartz as CEO after a relatively bland tenure at the company. Now the company has shed itself of Jerry Yang. Yang has been haunted by his terrible decision to reject Microsoft’s offer to buy the company. Microsoft was willing to pay $44.6 billion dollars for a company whose market cap is now at $19 billion dollars. Investors are still suffering from the spurned offer.

Take a look at this past quarter’s results to see how the company is suffering. Yahoo is seeing its revenues and profitability decline. That marks two straight quarters of lower top line and bottom line growth. The company’s net income for the previous quarter dropped 5 percent to $296 million dollars. Revenue was down 3 percent to $1.17 billion. The lone positive is that operating income rose 10 percent.

Yahoo continues to struggle to find its niche in the online arena. Yahoo has a number of attractive properties that the company has failed to leverage into revenue growth. Yahoo Finance, Yahoo News, and Yahoo Search are heavily trafficked. The company boasts over 700 million users. Yahoo has been trying to lower costs while selling off its stake in properties like Alibaba. The company is hoping to increase its online content and create a better user experience on the company’s web sites.

The stock has been trading in the teens for years and has no major catalyst to spark a move. A investment in the stock has either been dead money or resulted in a loss for a number of long term investors. The key to Yahoo’s long term hopes is to reinvigorate its display advertising business. This means competing against the giants in this space known as Facebook and Google. Display ad revenue has replaced search ad revenue as the main source of sales revenue for the company.

Yahoo is not cheap at $15 a share since investors are not completely sure of the business model of the company. Once investors see a few quarters of positive earnings growth and a clear cut strategy from the new CEO, investors can venture back into the stock.

©2012 BUY LIKE BUFFETT. All Rights Reserved.

BUY LIKE BUFFETT - Make Money Investing The Warren Buffett Way

The United States saw a decline in loan delinquencies in the third quarter of 2010. Overall delinquencies in eight loan categories decreased to 2.59 percent of all accounts in the three months ended. That is a drop from the 2.88 percent level previously. The reason for the drop is an improving labor market. This is taking some of the pressure off of consumers and allowing the rate of foreclosures to slow down.

The banking sector is one that is muddled with mystery. Analysts are projecting an earnings revival for banks for 2012. That will depend on quite a few factors. Has the economy hit a trough and is now ready to accelerate? Will foreclosures and the consumer credit picture continue to improve? Will consumer confidence continue to remain high? Can banks replace the lost income from interchange fees? All of these questions will help to share the direction that bank stocks go over the next year.

Bank of America was an undervalued stock pick of a few analysts and myself. I have been shareholder since the crash and remain optimistic about the company’s prospects over the next decade. This is not a short term hold as  Bank of America’s future is heavily tied to the health of the homeowner. The bank has a large number of residential loans because of the Countrywide acquisition during the housing boom. Bank of America is not alone however. Citigroup (C) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) were laggards in the market as well over the past year. Citgroup’s stock price would be even lower than Bank of America if not for a reverse split.

It will be interesting to see how things play out for these companies over the next 12 months. First quarter earnings are a good place to start.

So will 2012 be the year of the bounce back for financial stocks or will it be another bad year for the big banks in the country?

©2012 BUY LIKE BUFFETT. All Rights Reserved.

BUY LIKE BUFFETT - Make Money Investing The Warren Buffett Way

The bank has recently unveiled a free check scanning service. The service is called eCheck deposit. The bank rolled this service out in the spring and has been working out all of the kinks. The eCheck deposit service is finally at a level where I feel it could benefit banking customers.

Ally Bank eCheck Deposit Process

Ally Bank lets you deposit checks into your Ally Bank account anywhere you have access to a scanner. All you need to use the service is an endorsed check, personal computer and a scanner.

Here’s how it works:

1. You will use the automated scanning wizard or upload the front and back of your check manually using your own scanner’s software.
2. You will receive an email within one business day confirming the amount of your deposit.
3. You will start earning interest on your funds faster.

This is a really convenient feature and it should help the bank attract new customers. Digital check scanning will likely be the norm at most financial institutions in the future. The eCheck deposit service is new and will take getting used to. I do like the fact that the check scanning feature works for Mac users like me. The monthly limit for deposits using eCheck deposit is $10,000. So, those of you with larger checks will need to schedule online transfers. Also, be sure to hold onto your check for at least 60 days before destroying it.

You can deposit money into any financial product at Ally Bank including savings accounts, money markets, and certificates of deposit.

Read my review of Ally Bank

©2012 BUY LIKE BUFFETT. All Rights Reserved.

BUY LIKE BUFFETT - Make Money Investing The Warren Buffett Way

There is likely to be little movement in the market over the next week as investors typically avoid trading the last week of the year. The last few weeks of December are always a bad time to enter the market since many fund companies pay out large dividends leaving investors liable for taxes from investments they held only a few short weeks.

A lot of investors predicted a robust market for 2011 and have been disappointed by the lack of gains for the current year. There is however hope for a better 2011. Some analysts are forecasting double digit gains for 2011. Here are three reasons to be bullish on the market for next year.

• The stock market just might be cheap due to the low P/E ratios. Some analysts believe that the market is still cheap since the S&P 500 is trading at 12 times its expected earnings per share for 2012. A properly valued market normally trades at 15 times earnings while an overvalued one trades even higher.
• The economic news has been getting better. We may not be experiencing a full blown recovery yet but the economic news in the country has been getting better. The jobless claims number is dropping and the unemployment rate has declined as well. The unemployment rate is down to 8.6% which is as low as it has been in years, If the economy continues to improve and the jobless rate drops, we could see some real growth in GDP.
• There is still hope that the market can take off because of the financial sector. The financial sector has been a drag on the market for years and has kept the breadth of any recovery relatively shallow. If the banks can get their earnings up, the stock market could be in for a real boom period. This will require a deceleration of foreclosures and an increase in return on assets.

Those are just a few of the areas that could be catalysts for the market next year. If the market is to take a turn higher and approach pre-crash levels then the domestic economic news will have to improve.

©2012 BUY LIKE BUFFETT. All Rights Reserved.

BUY LIKE BUFFETT - Make Money Investing The Warren Buffett Way

Read your policy, including the fine print, to determine exactly what your policy covers. Then read the rejection letter from the insurance company to understand why your claim was denied. It is possible to appeal the insurance company’s decision.

Some reasons that your claim could be rejected:

• Your coverage does not cover the claim submitted. For instance, if your older car is only covered by liability and your claim is for collision coverage.
• The coverage has lapsed due to nonpayment of premiums. If you need to find new insurance there are many sites to find cheap auto insurance quotes.
• The amount of damage exceeds your policy limits.
• The driver is not insured under the policy as it is written. For example, your teenager is not covered to drive your car.
• Documentation regarding the claim is incomplete or inadequate to prove your claim.
• Your new car was not added to your policy in the specified time frame; therefore, it was not covered.
• If you were at fault in any way; for example, if your car was stolen because you left the keys inside.
• You provided information that was untruthful. Always provide details as accurately as possible without lying.

What to do if your claim was rejected:

• Provide accurate documentation regarding the reason for the insurance claim, especially if new information has become available or if you did not supply the correct documentation at the time the claim was made.
• Keep records of all evidence and any witness statements or police reports.
• Document all phone calls and letters to your insurance company detailing what information was supplied to you or requested of you.
• Inform your insurance company that you intend to dispute the rejection of your claim.
• If you are unable to get a satisfactory decision from your insurance company, you can appeal to your State Insurance Commissioner.

Sometimes it is not possible to reverse a decision and this will necessitate your looking for a new insurance company. Cheap insurance quotes online are available to help you find the right coverage for your needs. Dealing with insurance companies can be confusing and your experience from having a claim denied will help you learn to read your new policy thoroughly. Cheap auto insurance quotes will give you many options in making the best decision for all your insurance needs.

Photo by: scaredy_kat

©2012 BUY LIKE BUFFETT. All Rights Reserved.

BUY LIKE BUFFETT - Make Money Investing The Warren Buffett Way

Regrets over things we probably shouldn’t have bought are widespread these days and it’s tempting to shrug off your overspending habit and forget about it. Some people find that using  a prepaid credit cards helps guard against their impulsive shopping tendencies as this limits the amount they can spend. Others won’t leave home unless they’re in the company of a friend, whose good sense and wise advice, they hope, will save them from themselves.

Many find that the sales are the biggest danger zone of all. They leave for the shops, full of good intentions. Their mission might be to pick up a new coat and, they reason with themselves, they’re also bound to get a bargain with all the offers that are in the stores at the moment. Three hours later, they’re home. You could search through the carrier bags all you like, but you won’t find anything resembling a coat. Unless, that is, you have a very good imagination. Well, they could always keep warm this winter by wrapping up in that shocking pink king size duvet cover, on offer at 50% off and practically perfect, except it doesn’t have any pillow cases to go with it…

Or, at a pinch, they could always curl up in the strikingly patterned, luxury fleece lined dog basket that was so cheap it was practically being given away?

These examples of impulse purchases are somewhat extreme, but most of us buy things that we don’t need, won’t use and are likely to end up in the charity bag after spending a few years at the back of a cupboard.

A lot of research has been carried out into what makes people buy on impulse and it seems that what it boils down to is that our emotions and feelings play a huge part in our purchasing decisions. Retailers have wised up to this and do everything in their power to make sure that they exploit our receptiveness to suggestion. A great example of this is the way in which sweets and all manner of tempting products are placed just before you get to the supermarket till.

You didn’t even know you wanted chocolate, but there it is, just in front of your eyes. Next second, it’s in your shopping cart. There’s another way in which your impulse to buy can be triggered. If you see a picture of your favorite celebrity, holding up an electrical gadget of some description, you’ll be far more disposed to buy it than if there was a simple display of hundreds of boxes of said gadget. Your interest and passion have been stirred by the celebrity association and emotion has triumphed over reason.

For those who seem fated to repeat their impulse buying mistakes again and again, it’s time to take some drastic measures.

1. It’s good to make a list and stick to it. That piece of paper should be in your hand the whole time you’re out shopping and if it’s not on the list, it doesn’t get bought.

2. Avoid sales. If you weren’t going to buy it at full price, the fact that it’s reduced is no excuse either. Prepaid credit cards can also help as they keep your spending spree to a pre-arranged limit. By using prepaid credit cards, you can still shop for the things you need but will be less likely to be tempted by those other ‘bargains’.

©2012 BUY LIKE BUFFETT. All Rights Reserved.

BUY LIKE BUFFETT - Make Money Investing The Warren Buffett Way

Leveraged ETF

Levered ETF’s have increased in popularity over the past few years. Investors are using them to make bets against specific sectors of the economy. There are levered ETF’s for financial companies, energy companies, and basic material companies. Levered ETF’s are available for almost every area of the global economy. Many levered ETF’s seek to generate a 200% to 300% return on a daily basis. Exchange traded funds that use leverage rely on futures contracts, equity caps, collars and floors, swap agreements, forward contracts, short positions, and reverse repurchase agreements.

Traders use them to take advantage of wild swings in volatility on a day to day basis. Some investors have even brought into the idea of adding these ETF’s to their traditional portfolios. This is a bad decision because these ETF’s reset on a daily basis and can wind up costing you money even when you make a winning bet.

Margin Accounts

Margin accounts are regular brokerage accounts in which investors are allowed to use debt to increase their investment positions. Investors are loaned funds from the brokerage company so they can buy more shares than they already own. A margin account will allow an investor to put down as little as 50% of the purchase price of a specific investment and borrow the rest of an investment. Margin is great because it can amplify your gains and it is not so great because it can amplify your losses. Borrowers have to pay interest to the broker for the right to borrow this money.

In margin accounts, the holder of a financial instrument has to use a deposit to cover the credit risk of the broker. You can find yourself subject to a margin call if your account balance gets to low. This will force you to liquidate your securities and cover all of your losses out of your own pocket. Your brokerage account and your bank account could be wiped out if you are overexposed.

Futures Contract

Buying and selling futures involves speculating on the price of a commodity, currency, exchange or some physical asset.Futures contracts are derivatives since they derive their value from the price movement of an asset and not the asset itself. Buyers can either get long or short a futures contract. Long buyers expect the price of a futures contract to rise and short sellers expect the price to drop.

Futures buyers rely on margin to purchase futures contracts. They only have to put up 5 to 15% of the price of the entire commodity. This allows the futures buyer to get the maximum bang for his buck. It also can put them on the hook for big time losses if a a trading position goes against them.

Photo by: Gene Hunt

©2012 BUY LIKE BUFFETT. All Rights Reserved.

BUY LIKE BUFFETT - Make Money Investing The Warren Buffett Way

Here is how broadly investments may be defined in a 401k:

Aggressive growth mutual funds

I have seen portfolios that classify Microsoft and Dell as growth stocks. Some portfolios consider any technology stock worthy of placement in a growth portfolio. These companies haven’t been growth stocks in over a decade. That is why you need to try and find out what your fund considers growth.

• What classifies stocks in these funds as growth stocks?
• What annual rate of growth is looked for in the investments in these funds?
• Does this fund invest domestically or internationally?

Moderate risk mutual funds

I am often confused as to what exactly this means.

• Does moderate risk mean that a portfolio invests in risky stocks and balances the risk out with AAA rated bonds and money market accounts?
•  Or does it mean that a fund is strictly composed of quality mid cap stocks?

Moderate risk can mean a number of different things depending on the assets in the plans. Check the returns of these funds against bull and bear market periods. This will help to determine whether you are truly buying a moderate fund. If your fund has incredibly wild swings when the market is down then your fund is not as moderate as you think

Conservative mutual funds

A conservative fund could be one that invests in only government treasuries and high grade bonds or one that only buys large cap stocks. A fund that invests only in Treasuries would produce a safe low rate of return. A fund that invests in large cap stocks may not be as conservative as you think. Prior to 2008, many fund managers considered financial stocks very conservative investments. They placed companies like Bank of America, Citigroup, and PNC Financial in the portfolios of conservative fund investors. A truly conservative fund should not produce the great results that the market earns during bull markets. It should also not go through the huge dips that the market suffers during bear markets.

• How conservative is this fund?
• Are the investments in this fund guaranteed or not?
• Is there any risk associated with this fund?

Photo by: urban data

©2012 BUY LIKE BUFFETT. All Rights Reserved.

BUY LIKE BUFFETT - Make Money Investing The Warren Buffett Way

ING DIRECT is offering an Opening Bonus for the following three products.

1. $107 Electric Orange account opening bonus
   • Open Electric Orange November 25th – 27th and make a total of 5 purchases (either signature or PIN-based) using your Electric Orange Card or Person2Person Payments (or any combination of the two) within 45 days.
   • Your $107 bonus will be automatically deposited into your account on day 50.
   • Bonus only available for new Electric Orange checking. Only one bonus will be provided per household.
2. $27 Kids Savings Account opening bonus
   • Open a Kids Savings Account November 25th – 27th and we’ll put a $27 bonus into your new account. Only available when you open a new account with at least one new Customer (either you or the kiddo must be a new Customer to ING DIRECT).
   • $27 bonus starts earning interest upon account opening, and is available for withdrawal after 30 days.
   • There’s no minimum deposit amount required. 0.90% Variable Annual Percentage Yield effective as of 10/21/2011.
3. $32 MONEY account opening bonus
   • Open MONEY November 25th – 27th and make 1 Card transaction (either signature, PIN-based or with PayPassTM) using your MONEY Card within 30 days we’ll put a $32 bonus into your new account. (Keep in mind, the teen gets the Card.)
   • Your $32 bonus will be automatically deposited into your account on day 35.
   • There’s no minimum deposit amount required. 0.25% Variable Annual Percentage Yield effective as of 7/13/2011.

The sale will last 3 days only! Friday , Nov 25, 12:01am ET – Sunday, Nov 27, 11:59pm ET

SIGN UP TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS DEAL

©2012 BUY LIKE BUFFETT. All Rights Reserved.

BUY LIKE BUFFETT - Make Money Investing The Warren Buffett Way