Bank of America The Worlds Largest Financial Institutions

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, online banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. They are a joint of the Global ATM Alliance, a attachment venture of several major international banks that allows customers of the banks to use their ATM card or check card at another bank within the Global ATM Alliance with no fees when traveling internationally.

This bank now processes more transactions online than it does through all of its physical banking centers. However, when a bank tells its customers that its online banking system is safe and secure, most people would be shocked to find out otherwise. Bank of America the leader in online banking rolled out its Mobile Banking service to consumers nationwide in May. The service enables more than 20 million online banking customers to bank directly from their cell phone or smart phone with built-in security features.

The company offers securities underwriting and other investment banking services to corporations. Bank of America has recently spent $675 million building its US investment banking business and is looking to become one of the top five investment banks worldwide. They operates more than 5,700 branch locations from which the company offers investment, banking, and loan services to consumers and businesses. Bank of America, itself a product of several big deals to create a retail bank that stretched from coast to coast, has long desired to be an investment banking power.

Customers looking for the nearest Bank of America ATM or banking center through the new service are served with Microsoft Map Point technology. Customers can seamlessly use Map Point from their phone to find the most convenient bank location around town. Consider One of the world's leading financial services companies, Bank of America is committed to making banking work for customers like it never has before.

Bank of America is a coast-to-coast dominant bank with a powerful and complete consumer franchise. This financial institution is in business is to help make communities stronger and to help people achieve their dreams. They are committed to taking a leadership role in helping to make economic development and environmental protection compatible. They are a leading global provider of integrated working capital management and treasury solutions to business and corporate clients of all sizes, financial institutions and governments worldwide.

Cash Flow For The Start Up Business

Previous studies have shown that stock prices are moved primarily by news about discount rates (expected returns). Applying Campbell's (1991) variance decomposition framework to financially distressed firms supports this argument.

The central focus of the business plan must be the Cash flow Projections for your business. These cash flow projections will indicate to the banker the cash that you expect to flow into and out of your business during the start-up months and years.

The conventional valuation model used in Campbell's (1991) framework suggests that stock prices reflect an infinite series of discounted expected cash flows. Hence, unexpected stock returns of a typical firm are driven by changes in expectations of cash flows and discount rates for all future periods. When a firm faces severe financial distress, however, the value of its stock is strongly driven by the likelihood that the firm will go bankrupt. Since this likelihood is directly affected by the ability of the firm to generate cash in the near future, any news about the firm's cash flows should have a strong impact on its current stock price. Put differently, it is more likely that a firm will go bankrupt due to a decrease in its expected cash flows, rather than an increase in its discount rate.

This argument can be strengthened by taking into account the time series properties of cash-flow and expected-return news. As Campbell (1991) notes, expected-return news is dominant since changes in expected returns are more persistent than changes in expected cash flows. Hence, for firms with short life expectancies, such as financially distressed firms, persistence has less of an effect, implying a weaker (stronger) impact of news about future returns (cash flows) on current firm value.

The young start-up entrepreneur faces many difficult situations along the way to starting a new business. For example, what is the potential size of the market for the product or service? How is the product or service priced? Has a cash flow analysis been done so that the break-even point is determined? What is the break-even point? Will there be sufficient funds flowing into the bank .
The results show that the values of financially distressed firms are less sensitive to volatility shocks. This finding is consistent with the prediction that cash-flow news (relative to expected-return news) is more important for firms in financial distress than for healthy firms.

Cash flow is the life blood of any start up business. If your fledgling business does not have enough cash flow to get it through the first months of business then surely it will fail before it really has time to grow. Therefore it is very important to ensure that when setting your business plan you need to calculate and fund these costs. A large group of new businesses fail because of this and yet if they were to ensure cash flow in the start up phase then they might still be around today. So ensure cash flow is made a priority for your business.

All You Need To Know About Used Pellet Stoves

The advantage that used pellet stoves have to offer is that they are easily available in the market at around half the price of a new stove. That results in significant savings for the consumer. So if you need a new stove then make sure to look for a second hand or used stove. You can then use the extra money saved to buy wood pellets worth a years stock! Yes, that is the amount of savings you can make.

No extra effort needed

Another good thing about used pellet stoves is that the level of effort needed is the same as what would be required for a new stove. It can often prove to be an easier option since the consumer would typically have a lesser number of options. However, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that most of the used pellet stoves are in excellent condition almost as good as any new stove. Hence it results in good value for money.

How to get access

Next is the critical question of where you can easily get access to a stove for burning wood pellets. Usually if you want to install a pellet stove you need to have a permit in the building. You can contact the department of your local building and find out if any additional documents are needed for applying for the permit. This holds special significance if you are the owner of a modular or mobile house. Many departments would want to take a look at some documentation that shows the venting as well as clearance of the pellet stoves before installation.

The size of the stove

This is another critical factor to consider when you want to purchase a stove for your wood pellets. Make sure the size of the used pellet stoves is in accordance with the amount of fuel you plan to burn at a time. Places to the northeast region of the US typically use wood pellets as the fuel of choice as it is readily available and cheaper too. One important point to note is that it is not mandatory to get a large sized stove in order to accomplish good savings. Instead a regular sized pellet stoves will generate around 35000 or even 45000 btus. This can easily warm up a ranch measuring 1200 feet square.

Other considerations to make

There are several other factors you need to consider while purchasing a stove for burning wood pellets. Things like electronic ignition, a convenient hopper of a large size, system for air washing, controls for heat output, as well as other extra conveniences should be something you need to look out for.

Decorating Tips For A Small Space

Small rooms feel confining and uncomfortable. However, we can utilize certain design concepts that fool the eye and make our rooms seem larger then it really is. Try these inexpensive decorating tricks to make your rooms live bigger.

To begin with, Light and brightly colored walls are more reflective, which will help to maximize the effect created by natural light. This does not mean you have to live with white walls. There are a wide range of light colors paints available, such as light green or cream beige.

Once you have chosen your wall color, choose your trim and moldings colors. Paint your trims and moldings in either the same hue as the walls, or a lighter color. Lighter objects appear closer while darker or shadowed objects appear further away. When you paint your moldings a lighter color, the wall appears further back - thus making your room appear bigger.

Now, don't be worried that your room is going to be bland and uninviting, bolder and darker colors can be be used in furniture, artwork and accessories. If your colors are already dark, try to move the darker colors to a 'background' role while maximizing your neutral white or ivory. Be careful when using wallpaper. Solid colors are the safest, with tiny patterns taking a close second. Whatever the wall color or finish, we recommend the ceiling in a small room be painted stark white to maximize brightness.

Secondly, arrange some of your larger pieces of furniture at a angle. You don't have to place the furniture at an exact 45 degree angle, often a lesser angle looks best if you can balance the look with another furniture piece.

Setting your furniture at an angle works because the longest straight line in any given room is it's diagonal. When you place your furniture at an angle, it leads the eye along the longer distance, rather than the shorter wall. As an added bonus, you often get some additional storage space behind the piece in the corner, too!

Thirdly, mirrors can have a favorable impact on a room's appearance. A large mirror in the room will reflect light around the room. The mirrors also reflect both natural and artificial light to make a room brighter during the day and night. They bounce light deep into the room, making it appear larger. This is especially effective with near a window so the outdoors can be reflected.

Added to, use glass-front or mirrored cabinet doors to make spaces feel large and uncluttered. Large, expansive mirrors over vanities, mirrored wardrobe doors or a floor-to-ceiling wall of mirrors (combined with our decorating suggestions) can make even the smallest of spaces seem larger.

Additionally, keep furnishings in scale with the rooms. In small rooms, use slim rockers, open-back chairs or a simple sofa or love seat rather than overstuffed furnishings to avoid overpowering the space. There are stores that deal exclusively in furniture for apartments and mobile homes. Despite its slightly smaller size, scaled-down furniture can be beautiful. An open headboard is best for a small room. When furnishing, keep the view at eye level unobstructed. Taller furnishings should be placed at the end of the room opposite its main entry.

Furthermore, even small things can help small places look bigger such as using curtains instead of interior doors on closets and doors. Replace big refrigerator with smaller, under-counter model. Buy small vacuum instead of big one. Use track lighting aimed at walks to free up floor space and create an expansive feeling. Install lighting inside closets so you can see whats in there. They will be easier to maintain and you will gain the feeling of more space.

Remember to clean your windows often so that more light comes in and your view is not blocked. Go wireless, transfer all your music to your computer and sell your CDs!

In addition, use pale furniture, it will help open up your small space. You should also look for furniture that serves more than one purpose and will free up space in your busy apartment. Find a coffee table with built-in drawers, tables with enclosed cabinets, a couch with drawers underneath. Note that cabinets with sliding doors will save space because they do not encroach on the room when opened.

Lastly, position your couch facing the living room entrance to increase the sense of space and give your apartment a welcoming feel. Choose lightweight, versatile furniture that can be moved around easily.

Serial Entrepreneur Takes on Payday Loan 'monsters' with Flendr

Daniel Green has a colourful and hugely successful history in business: so can he turn the ‘money hub for friends and family’ into his next winning idea?

Social lending: Can friends and family replace payday lenders?

Daniel Green is starting his latest venture Flendr in an attempt to make borrowing from friends and family a genuine alternative to payday lenders.

The business is looking to bring in principles from the Sharing Economy to loans between friends and family – something that feels like the sector’s journey reaching its natural conclusion.

Green has possessed the entrepreneurial spirit that has driven his latest venture from an early age, he told Growth Business. At 22 he was in charge of an innovative retail business that was turning over £3 million and signed up then England captain Gary Lineker for a marketing campaign.

He was also given a free sports car to drive by company TVR; which he subsequently wrote off. But the folly of youth was always tempered by a knowledge of how to make businesses work and in 1999 he sold successful business The Brand Centre to retail giants Moss Bross.

This was followed up by another lucrative exit when his business You Me TV was acquired by BSkyB in 2006.

A stint at Sky and as a CEO in the solar energy sector are also behind Green. During that time he even crossed legal swords with former Liberal Democrat cabinet member Chris Huhne.

After the courts came down firmly in Green’s favour he has continued to run businesses and has tried to keep the core of those successful teams together to work at Flendr.

His latest business is focused on making a business out of the £12bn of lending that takes place between family and friends every year – three times that borrowed from payday lenders. He says that he wants people to think along the lines of “Facebook is for your friends but Flendr is for your real friends”.

“Which one of your Facebook friends would you actually lend any money to?", he asks. “Obviously a friend is more than someone who would lend money to you, but with your very best friends you’d like to think if you were in trouble maybe they would.”

Green hopes that this kind of “social lending” will move people away from the “monsters” of banks and payday lenders whom “most people despise”.

“On the other hand if I’m lending a friend £20 I’m not seen as a monster but as someone helping them out of the situation. Many people lend not to make profits from their friends or family but just to see them through. That’s how the world goes round,” he says.

With this in mind Green says he wanted to harness the power of the social economy to create a platform where people can “comfortably lend money to each other”.

>Related: More than half prefer money transfer services to banks

Another aspect that the friends and family route can bring to lending is that “everybody can chip in”, so it’s not a case of having to find the money from one source.

As well as the obvious goal of monetising this P2P lending market, Green says he founded this business, as he does with all of his ventures, on the principle that “it’s something my children could engage with”.

He has previously turned down the chance to start a business selling e-cigarettes because he didn’t feel it lived up to this criteria – despite being aware of its huge financial potential.

“I just couldn’t bring myself to do it,” he says. “I’m not even sure if they’re good or bad but would I be happy if my kids were going on to my website and smoking them? Not really.”

While he accepts that his new venture “is not helpful for banks or payday lenders”, he says he is more preoccupied with the question “have I done a good thing?”.

And while we are still to see whether Flendr will release people from the astronomical interest and debt black holes of the payday lenders, Flendr does on the surface of it appear to be a good thing.

When Should I Choose an Adjustable Rate Mortgage?

Today's Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM) are much more stable than their predecessors. The uncertainty of the amount of your next month's mortgage payment was considered too much a financial risk. Homeowners wanted the security of knowing that their most important investment would not transform into a burden on their income. Regardless of the initial lower rate advantage of ARMs, fixed rate mortgages have always been considered the wisest choice.

Times have changed. Families are on the move. Traditional Thirty Year Mortgages are too inflexible for the contemporary lifestyles of today. People want to have access to a more positive cash flow month to month. They want to use and control their funds in more creative and aggressive ways to secure their financial futures. ARMs are the answer.

There are many programs available that can accommodate your particular needs. Mortgage products range from Negative Amortized, Balloon Payments, Interest Only, One-Time Adjustable Rate, Etc. Depending on your goals, these programs can be tailored to get you the results you want and need.

Imagine having access to your property's future equity right now. Instead of making payments that have part of it goes directly to principle, you keep it. Current low rates of the ARMs allow you to pay less on your mortgage. This results in more cash in your pocket every month. Even though the thirty- year fixed rates are at forty-year lows, they are still the highest rates available. You are required to pay the principle and interest every month without fail.

Negative Amortized Loans are very popular right now because it has multiple payment options to choose from every month. You can choose to make a minimum payment, an interest only payment, principle and interest payment or a 15 year amortized payment.

There are also products that have a combination of both Fixed and Adjustable Rates. They begin as a low fixed rate for 3, 5 or 7 years and then adjust one time to the 30 year rate at that time for the remainder of the loan.

Interest Only Loans give you the option to pay the interest due for that month. Even though you are not making and payments toward your principle, the equity in your property will continue to increase during that time.

With the economy precariously balanced, most people are refinancing about every 5 to 7 years. In an effort to get the lowest rates, borrowers are incurring more costs with every refinance they do. ARMs, with all their options, are already in a position to clutch and brake with market and economy. In short, you can control your mortgage instead of it controlling you.

Michael Dunne is a Senior Loan Officer for Security Pacific Financial. Mike's success is due to his philosophy of providing the customer with quality product and delivering it on time with impeccable service. Michael's ability to build genuine rapport in addition to his knowledge in the industry provides his borrowers with a sense of security.
Michael lives by the beach in San Clemente, California with his son, Chance, where they both enjoy the surf.

Show Me The Money

Whether you call it a Senior Settlement, Lifetime Settlement, or High Net Worth Transaction - Life Settlements have become a very important factor in the estate planning process for seniors.

Prior to the Life Settlement Industry, if a senior owned a policy that was no longer wanted, needed or affordable, there was no option but to lapse, cancel, or surrender the policy back to the carrier for the cash surrender value.

Life settlements allow qualified policy owners to liquidate a policy for an amount much higher than the cash surrender value. Then, these seniors can take advantage of important financial opportunities using the proceeds of an unwanted, unaffordable or obsolete life insurance policy.

Today, with the advancement of Life Settlements as a mainstream financial product, Life Insurance Companies now face competition for the surrendered policies that they once monopolized.

The Life Settlement Industry has created a competitive secondary market for life insurance policies. Consumers are now in the driver's seat, free to sell their policies in an open market for the highest available price, well above the cash surrender value offered by insurance companies.