Financial Recovery & Growing Risk
By David E Simpson
The year 2009 will test the patience of GCC investors as local economies are challenged to maintain the growth rates of recent years that were propelled by oil revenues. The UAE is likely to see a tightening while other countries, especially Saudi Arabia may follow suit. On the other side, leading global economies of the world are still showing no signs of recovery. The US, considered to be largest economy in the world, has been in recession since December 2007. The UK economy is even worse than the Euro zone. And in Asia, the Japanese economy stands on the edge of yet another lost decade.
Meanwhile, the GCC region has united more with the rest of the world since the correction in oil prices. International investors are asking themselves how well the GCC is prepared for such an environment, although the impacts of recession have been slow to reach the GCC. By putting these facts into viewpoint and we come across with an interesting revealing that the current financial measures may help some companies through these very difficult times. So what does that mean for investors? Most importantly, investors should remain careful in structuring new investment positions. Emerging markets not only need a stabilization of the global financial markets but also a significant recovery in investor appetite for risk. The integrated financial markets and lower financing costs have been vital drivers of economics expansion in the region. Meanwhile with situation like this, investors are sitting passively on the sidelines waiting & looking for probable signs of recovery.
David E Simpson is a Director Investment at Starling Group
http://www.starlinggroup.com
=================================
Do You Qualify For Free Minority Grant Money?
By Sarah Beckham
Many minority American citizens interested in becoming business owners are pretty much up to speed on the ready availability of small business grants sponsored by various government agencies nationwide, and many are applying. What quite a few of our American minority community members are seemingly unaware of though, is the existence of minority business grants, made available to thousands of taxpaying citizens that fall into a minority category.
While at first speculation, this may seem to be an injustice or discriminatory action. However, the government is in no way prejudice when reviewing government grant applications and choosing qualified recipients. If anything, creating minority grant programs is their way of making up for the past injustices of an older and more ignorant past governing system. Many rights and privileges had been restricted from minority citizens (and other groupings) generations ago, and providing specific funding for these groups, among the other hundreds of remarkable government grant programs, is an effort on the government's part, to return something to them that they had been deprived of for past decades.
What appears to be even less commonly known about than the availability of minority business grants, is who all actually falls into this category, which would explain a bit about the abundance of unclaimed government money, and the extreme lack of minority applicants. There are hundreds of thousands of American citizens who are not even aware of the fact that they indeed are considered minorities in the eyes of our nations government. Even throughout the liberations of the nineteen sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties, even into this new century and millennium, people are set to believe the false assumption that minorities are only of color. Specifically, African American or Hispanic.
This could not be further from the truth. It is not only black or Latino citizens that fall into this category and qualify for minority business grants and loans. There are dozens of other cultures and heritages that are considered minority Americans as well. For instance, Asians, Native Americans, Koreans, and in some regions Russian or Polish American citizens are considered minority citizens. Even women and the physically or mentally handicapped, of any race or heritage are considered to fall into this category and in most cases qualify to receive generous cash awards in minority grants.
By following the links below, you can find out if you are eligible to qualify for minority business grants. And if it turns out that you don't, try one, two, three or four of the hundreds of other remarkable free grant opportunities that are available to all American citizens.
Get Grants for Individuals and see how much money you qualify to receive today and never pay back.
Claim your Personal Grants.
===================================
New Car Grants Or Tax Relief on New Car Purchases
By Karl Lavery
The German experience has been mixed and raises some serious concerns.
Firstly; the typical owners of these older cars would usually be in the market for a 3 to 6 year old car on replacement. By incentivising these people to buy a 'new' vehicle, it has jeopardised the livelihood of many used car dealers. A number of whom have gone out of business as a direct consequence of the resulting loss of trade which has switched to the new car dealerships.
Secondly; this incentive is funded by 'all' of Germany's tax payers, yet many of the new cars being bought under the scheme are manufactured in other countries, thus the benefit to the German economy directly is marginal at best.
Thirdly; an incentive which requires the older vehicle to be scrapped is deeply flawed. Effectively a 10 year old car in very good condition could be scrapped, yet many similar aged or older cars will be left on the road in much worse condition and their owners will be deprived from being able to replace these cars with the 'superior' condition vehicles as they will have been scrapped.
So what is the alternative. I would suggest that for a limited period until the economy is back on its feet, it would be far more effective and far better for the cash flow of the public purse not to provide a grant. Instead, 'anyone' who buys a vehicle which meets certain eco standards, should be able to benefit from the same tax benefits afforded to business owners of vehicles. That is to say, an annual Income Tax offset of 20% of the value of the vehicle where the CO2 emissions are below 160g/km and 10% where the CO2 emissions are greater than 160g/km.
The above would have several advantages.
Firstly; the cost to the public purse will be spread over a longer period.
Secondly; rather than being restricted to those who own vehicles in excess of 9 yrs old and requiring them to scrap those vehicles, it would be more appropriate not to place a requirement to scrap a vehicle. Instead, let the older vehicles enter the used car market naturally. Then market will naturally dictate which vehicles will be popular for resale. By natural selection, it will be those vehicles which are less desire-able, in poorer condition or with greater running costs and punitive high emission road tax that will end up on an accelerated path to the scrap yard, without any cumbersome bureaucratic input.
Thirdly; it will favour any manufacturer who is committed to providing vehicles that meet the lower CO2 emissions.
Fourthly; it will reduce the risk of swinging the car market unfairly in the favour of new car dealers, as it will still leave a healthy, though transformed, used car market.
Fifthly; the system for such tax breaks are already in place at HMRC (for businesses) and would not require a completely new department to run it. Thus saving more money.
Finally; this methodology will not dictate as to which form the 'eco friendly' vehicles should take. For example, by not imposing blinkered incentives which favour electric or hybrid cars, it will leave the motor industry to use its skills to develop a wider range of technologies and forms of propulsion, including Hydrogen fuel cells, smaller supercharged and turbocharged engines, regenerative braking systems and stop-start technologies, to meet our needs in the future.
I have to say I do not hold out a great deal of hope on this, as I believe there is a lack of forward vision and the ability to think of the bigger picture amongst those whom we have charged with running our country.
For those of you who are approaching or in retirement, it is actually possible to use Pensions legislation to get the tax man to pay for your new car! If you want to know how, write to me or call me.
To find out more about the authors background, motivation and to access other resources as well as useful, controvertial and incisive articles and downloads or to contact the Author Karl Lavery, please feel free to visit the website, http://www.karl-lavery.co.uk
Alteratively, you can also discover more about the Holisitic Financial Planning service he offers by visiting his work website http://www.baxterfensham.com
By David E Simpson
The year 2009 will test the patience of GCC investors as local economies are challenged to maintain the growth rates of recent years that were propelled by oil revenues. The UAE is likely to see a tightening while other countries, especially Saudi Arabia may follow suit. On the other side, leading global economies of the world are still showing no signs of recovery. The US, considered to be largest economy in the world, has been in recession since December 2007. The UK economy is even worse than the Euro zone. And in Asia, the Japanese economy stands on the edge of yet another lost decade.
Meanwhile, the GCC region has united more with the rest of the world since the correction in oil prices. International investors are asking themselves how well the GCC is prepared for such an environment, although the impacts of recession have been slow to reach the GCC. By putting these facts into viewpoint and we come across with an interesting revealing that the current financial measures may help some companies through these very difficult times. So what does that mean for investors? Most importantly, investors should remain careful in structuring new investment positions. Emerging markets not only need a stabilization of the global financial markets but also a significant recovery in investor appetite for risk. The integrated financial markets and lower financing costs have been vital drivers of economics expansion in the region. Meanwhile with situation like this, investors are sitting passively on the sidelines waiting & looking for probable signs of recovery.
David E Simpson is a Director Investment at Starling Group
http://www.starlinggroup.com
=================================
Do You Qualify For Free Minority Grant Money?
By Sarah Beckham
Many minority American citizens interested in becoming business owners are pretty much up to speed on the ready availability of small business grants sponsored by various government agencies nationwide, and many are applying. What quite a few of our American minority community members are seemingly unaware of though, is the existence of minority business grants, made available to thousands of taxpaying citizens that fall into a minority category.
While at first speculation, this may seem to be an injustice or discriminatory action. However, the government is in no way prejudice when reviewing government grant applications and choosing qualified recipients. If anything, creating minority grant programs is their way of making up for the past injustices of an older and more ignorant past governing system. Many rights and privileges had been restricted from minority citizens (and other groupings) generations ago, and providing specific funding for these groups, among the other hundreds of remarkable government grant programs, is an effort on the government's part, to return something to them that they had been deprived of for past decades.
What appears to be even less commonly known about than the availability of minority business grants, is who all actually falls into this category, which would explain a bit about the abundance of unclaimed government money, and the extreme lack of minority applicants. There are hundreds of thousands of American citizens who are not even aware of the fact that they indeed are considered minorities in the eyes of our nations government. Even throughout the liberations of the nineteen sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties, even into this new century and millennium, people are set to believe the false assumption that minorities are only of color. Specifically, African American or Hispanic.
This could not be further from the truth. It is not only black or Latino citizens that fall into this category and qualify for minority business grants and loans. There are dozens of other cultures and heritages that are considered minority Americans as well. For instance, Asians, Native Americans, Koreans, and in some regions Russian or Polish American citizens are considered minority citizens. Even women and the physically or mentally handicapped, of any race or heritage are considered to fall into this category and in most cases qualify to receive generous cash awards in minority grants.
By following the links below, you can find out if you are eligible to qualify for minority business grants. And if it turns out that you don't, try one, two, three or four of the hundreds of other remarkable free grant opportunities that are available to all American citizens.
Get Grants for Individuals and see how much money you qualify to receive today and never pay back.
Claim your Personal Grants.
===================================
New Car Grants Or Tax Relief on New Car Purchases
By Karl Lavery
The German experience has been mixed and raises some serious concerns.
Firstly; the typical owners of these older cars would usually be in the market for a 3 to 6 year old car on replacement. By incentivising these people to buy a 'new' vehicle, it has jeopardised the livelihood of many used car dealers. A number of whom have gone out of business as a direct consequence of the resulting loss of trade which has switched to the new car dealerships.
Secondly; this incentive is funded by 'all' of Germany's tax payers, yet many of the new cars being bought under the scheme are manufactured in other countries, thus the benefit to the German economy directly is marginal at best.
Thirdly; an incentive which requires the older vehicle to be scrapped is deeply flawed. Effectively a 10 year old car in very good condition could be scrapped, yet many similar aged or older cars will be left on the road in much worse condition and their owners will be deprived from being able to replace these cars with the 'superior' condition vehicles as they will have been scrapped.
So what is the alternative. I would suggest that for a limited period until the economy is back on its feet, it would be far more effective and far better for the cash flow of the public purse not to provide a grant. Instead, 'anyone' who buys a vehicle which meets certain eco standards, should be able to benefit from the same tax benefits afforded to business owners of vehicles. That is to say, an annual Income Tax offset of 20% of the value of the vehicle where the CO2 emissions are below 160g/km and 10% where the CO2 emissions are greater than 160g/km.
The above would have several advantages.
Firstly; the cost to the public purse will be spread over a longer period.
Secondly; rather than being restricted to those who own vehicles in excess of 9 yrs old and requiring them to scrap those vehicles, it would be more appropriate not to place a requirement to scrap a vehicle. Instead, let the older vehicles enter the used car market naturally. Then market will naturally dictate which vehicles will be popular for resale. By natural selection, it will be those vehicles which are less desire-able, in poorer condition or with greater running costs and punitive high emission road tax that will end up on an accelerated path to the scrap yard, without any cumbersome bureaucratic input.
Thirdly; it will favour any manufacturer who is committed to providing vehicles that meet the lower CO2 emissions.
Fourthly; it will reduce the risk of swinging the car market unfairly in the favour of new car dealers, as it will still leave a healthy, though transformed, used car market.
Fifthly; the system for such tax breaks are already in place at HMRC (for businesses) and would not require a completely new department to run it. Thus saving more money.
Finally; this methodology will not dictate as to which form the 'eco friendly' vehicles should take. For example, by not imposing blinkered incentives which favour electric or hybrid cars, it will leave the motor industry to use its skills to develop a wider range of technologies and forms of propulsion, including Hydrogen fuel cells, smaller supercharged and turbocharged engines, regenerative braking systems and stop-start technologies, to meet our needs in the future.
I have to say I do not hold out a great deal of hope on this, as I believe there is a lack of forward vision and the ability to think of the bigger picture amongst those whom we have charged with running our country.
For those of you who are approaching or in retirement, it is actually possible to use Pensions legislation to get the tax man to pay for your new car! If you want to know how, write to me or call me.
To find out more about the authors background, motivation and to access other resources as well as useful, controvertial and incisive articles and downloads or to contact the Author Karl Lavery, please feel free to visit the website, http://www.karl-lavery.co.uk
Alteratively, you can also discover more about the Holisitic Financial Planning service he offers by visiting his work website http://www.baxterfensham.com
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