A Low Credit Score Isn?t The End Of The World ? Repair Your Credit Using These Simple Tips

Has your credit score fallen as a result of life events that you had no control over? Are you worried that you won’t be able to improve it for years? The good news is that you can change it much sooner than that. Here are some ways to repair your credit right now. You know [...]

Source: http://www.legaldebthelponline.com/2012/01/16/a-low-credit-score-isnt-the-end-of-the-world-repair-your-credit-using-these-simple-tips/

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Coke's New Orange Juice Flavor: Fungicide?

Coke's New Orange Juice Flavor: Fungicide?Coca-Cola (KO) has never shied away from trying new variations of its tried-and-true beverage (think New Coke and Cherry Coke). The company also is known for adding flavorful twists -- like lime and lemon -- to its drinks. But last week, Coke revealed that a more disturbing addition had made its way into its drinks: fungicide.

The warning pertained to some orange juices from Coke and its archrival PepsiCo (PEP), which have been found to contain trace amounts of the fungicide carbendazim, a chemical not approved for use here in the U.S. Coke sells orange juices under the Simply and Minute Maid brands, while Pepsi peddles the classic juice brands Tropicana and Dole.

Somebody Slipped Something Into My Drink

In this case, you can blame Brazil. That country's farmers make frequent use of the fungicide, and it supplies some orange juice to American companies. Although both Coke and Pepsi both import orange juice from Brazil, the primary source of their OJ is Florida.

The Food and Drug Administration is on the case, vowing it will ban any juice that contains more than trace amounts of carbendazim. Likewise, both Coke and Pepsi have assured their customers that their orange juices are safe for consumers. And, in fact, the levels of carbendazim that were found in their OJ were below the amounts that would raise government safety concerns.

Still, this marks second time in recent months that American consumers have been jarred into awareness that some unwholesome additives might be stealthily sneaking into their supposedly "healthy" juices.

Last fall, Consumer Reports said that it found high levels of arsenic (exceeding the FDA's rules for the amount that can be in drinking water) in apple and grape juice. Countries like China may be responsible, since some use pesticides that contain the heavy metal. About 60% of apple concentrate used in American apple juice is imported from China.

This also isn't the first time that American consumers have been jarred to discover the less savory qualities of Coke and Pepsi products. When an individual recently sued Pepsi for finding a mouse in his Mountain Dew, Pepsi's rather unappetizing response was that his claim was impossible, because the rodent would have "dissolved" in the drink as time passed between bottling and pouring a cold glass of Dew, transforming it into "a jelly like substance." As French caffeine fanatics might say, mon Dew!

How Safe Do Americans Feel About Their Food?

Last fall, NPR conducted a survey of Americans' food safety concerns. Although the poll showed a slight decline in concern compared to the year before, 57% of respondents said they were concerned about food safety.

Last spring, a poll conducted by Pew, Hart Research, and American Viewpoint showed a majority of likely American voters supported additional funding for the FDA to strengthen food safety measures. Results included 90% in favor of making foreign countries certify that their exports meet U.S. standards, and 86% in favor of the FDA making more inspections of food facilities.

U.S. companies must address issues like these. More and more American consumers are becoming aware of what they're putting into their bodies, and the fact that many additives are stealthy and unhealthy. Increased distrust of certain products could cause a major shift in consumption, and companies that don't get the chemicals out could become outdated and out of luck in no time.

Motley Fool analyst Alyce Lomax does not own shares of Coke or Pepsi. The Motley Fool owns shares of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of PepsiCo and Coca-Cola.

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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/01/17/cokes-new-orange-juice-flavor-fungicide/

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The Magic Formula for These Hardware Stocks

If you're a busy investor with more than just stock-picking on your plate, you might want to consider a mechanical investing strategy. And if you're interested in stocks, one of the most intriguing of these strategies is Joel Greenblatt's Magic Formula.

Greenblatt details this approach in his enriching, funny The Little Book That Beats the Market. His strategy revolves around two factors:

  • How cheap is the stock?
  • How profitable is the company?

This simplified approach really boils down value investing to its essence. When you find a company whose price fails to reflect its high profits, you might have a winner.

A cheap business and a profitable company
To find cheap companies, the Magic Formula looks for a high earnings yield -- basically, a company's EBIT divided by its enterprise value. EBIT is earnings before interest and taxes, otherwise known as operating earnings. Enterprise value includes the company's market capitalization and then adds its net debt. In general, the higher the earnings yield, the better. The Magic Formula looks for a yield higher than 10%.

To find profitable companies, Greenblatt's Magic Formula seeks businesses that generate pre-tax returns on assets (ROA) greater than 25%. In other words, for every $100 in assets it holds, the company would produce at least $25 in net profit. In general, the higher the ROA, the better the business. Greenblatt looks for companies with an ROA higher than 25%.

So how do some of the biggest companies in the computers and peripherals sector fare?

Company

Enterprise Value

EBIT

Earnings Yield

ROA

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL  ) $367,926 $33,790 9.2% 29%
Fusion-io (NYSE: FIO  ) $2,079 $21 1% 5.5%
SanDisk (Nasdaq: SNDK  ) $11,173 $1,473 13.2% 14.9%
Seagate Technology (Nasdaq: STX  ) $9,277 $825 8.9% 9.4%
Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) $75,785 $12,002 15.8% 9.3%
EMC $44,625 $3,426 7.7% 10.6%
Dell $22,813 $4,812 21.1% 11.4%
NetApp $8,996 $814 9% 9.6%
Western Digital $4,387 $864 19.7% 10.2%
NCR $3,394 $162 4.8% 2.9%

Source: S&P Capital IQ.

Going by the Magic Formula criteria, none of these companies meets both standards, but Apple comes close, with an earnings yield within 1 percentage point of the Formula's desired 10% and 4 percentage points higher than the Formula's desired 25%. In fact, Apple is the only company here that meets the Formula's 25% ROA standard. Several companies meet the earnings yield standard, however, including SanDisk, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Western Digital.

Apple's huge cash pile and massive growth make it an appealing investment. However, the company's failure to pay a dividend despite those large cash holdings makes it less attractive for conservative investors who crave those reliable payments. However, the company has even managed to continue to grow its sales and free cash flow during the recession. This is at least partially due to recent innovations that have maintained its popularity, including its hugely popular iPhone and iPad. In fact, the iPhone is so popular that companies like AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint Nextel subsidize customer purchases of the iPhone for their customers. But its lack of dividend makes it less appealing to investors than other big tech players. However, Apple's third-quarter earnings did not meet estimates -- a problem the company has not faced in years. Some argue that this may be a result of threats from Amazon.com and other competitors to Apple's iPad and iTunes businesses.

Fusion-io's data decentralization platform for data storage, which uses solid-state drives, has won clients like Apple and Facebook. The growing popularity of this platform has improved its position against competitors like EMC and NetApp. In addition, tech-powerhouses IBM, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard are helping sell Fusion-io's products. This will help Fusion-io improve its competitive advantage by diversifying its customer base and growing its overall sales.

SanDisk has made a great deal of money off the popularity of smartphones. It has had great demand for its flash memory from smartphone makers and believes the trend will only increase with the growing popularity of tablets. However, the company still has to compete with Micron Technology, which also produces flash memory. SanDisk also stands to gain from the potential changing demand from optical and magnetic storage to solid-state storage -- an area in which SanDisk and STEC lead.

Seagate fared better than some competitors in the face of the mess caused by floods in Thailand last year, which created a shortage of hard disk drives. Seagate's facilities weren't hurt as badly as Western Digital's, which gives it the opportunity to gain more market share as Western Digital struggles to recover. Seagate's ability to continue to produce and sell hard disk drives has helped it topped its sales and revenue estimates, with demand in 2012 likely to exceed supply. And unlike Apple, Fusion-io, and SanDisk, Seagate currently offers a 3.9% dividend

Hewlett-Packard has faced some struggles recently, including difficulties competing in personal computing, increasingly a low-margin business. In response, the company began to move toward offering more consulting and services in attempt to lessen its focus on a commodity business. HP also faces a challenge getting value out of its $1.2 billion purchase of Palm. It is attempting to extract that value by using its webOS operating system in its tablet, smartphone, and PCs. However, its move into the smartphone and tablet business may be too late to compete effectively with the alternatives. The company pays a modest 1.8% dividend yield.

Foolish bottom line
The key advantage of the Magic Formula is speedy decision-making. You can run a screen and mechanically buy the stocks, then spend your free time doing the activities you love. However, such an approach means that you need to pick a lot of stocks (say, 25 or 30), since you haven't performed any strategic analysis of your investments. According to the formula, you should hold the stocks for one year to receive favorable tax treatment, sell all of them, and then run the screen again to find your new picks.

While this approach sounds easy, Greenblatt cautions that it can be tough to stick with during hard times. In some years, this mechanical strategy simply won't work. However, Greenblatt's extensive backtesting suggests that over the long haul, his Magic Formula can significantly outperform the market.

The success of many tech companies is linked with the growing popularity of tablets and iPhones. If you'd like to learn more about how you can cash in on this booming market, check out our special free report, "3 Hidden Winners of the iPhone, iPad, and Android Revolution." It's available free for a limited time. Get your copy.

The Collapse of the Euro
Europe is only weeks away from economic collapse, insists a former IMF chief. Yet you probably haven't heard the whole story: You can protect yourself and even profit from this looming catastrophe if you move fast enough...

Discover your chance to profit now. Enter your email address below to receive your copy of "The Investor's Guide to Shorting the Euro." Developed by the expert analysts of Motley Fool PRO, this report is yours FREE for a limited time. Enter your email address now.

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Source: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/01/14/the-magic-formula-for-these-hardware-stocks.aspx

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Debt Consolidation Services And How They Free You From Debt

The very simplistic definition of debt consolidation goes like this – you combine all your debts into one single and manageable monthly payment. The chances of missing payment become significantly less as you would be dealing with one singular payment instead of multiple payments that might slip your mind somehow. The often nefarious habits of [...]

Source: http://www.legaldebthelponline.com/2012/01/16/debt-consolidation-services-and-how-they-free-you-from-debt/

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Debt Settlement- Resolve Your Debt Situation Once And For All!

Debt Settlement- Resolve Your Debt Situation Once And For All! More than the last 30 years the credit card business has grown exponentially and the consumer debt collection enterprise has as well. Excessive debt is a thing that affects millions of people globally. Debt relief has several possibilities available to the individual or organization with [...]

Source: http://www.legaldebthelponline.com/2012/01/16/debt-settlement-resolve-your-debt-situation-once-and-for-all/

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Why Navigation Can 'Fail' And Other Cruise Ship Questions


Costa ConcordiaAn Italian cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, collided with rocks off the coast of Tuscany and capsized this week, leaving many unanswered questions as to how and why the accident occurred. The Monitor spoke with admiralty and maritime lawyer David Y. Loh, who points out how an over-reliance on technology and staffing shortages have been problems in the industry. Mr. Loh is a former Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy and specializes in risk management. 

1. How reliable are navigation systems on big ships?

The captain of the Costa Concordia cruise boat that ran aground off Tuscany on Friday claims the rock he hit wasn’t marked on navigational charts, reports Reuters. But maritime lawyer David Y. Loh says relying on one navigation system is never fail-proof. 

“[A large rock] wouldn’t show up if the [electronic] navigation system was turned off,” Mr. Loh says. “If it was turned on and operating properly it would work properly, but that also presumes someone is monitoring the system and its settings.”

Some navigation systems will have an alarm built in that will go off when it is close to hazards, Loh says. When a boat is leaving port and close to land the alarm may go off incessantly. “If you’re close to land you might turn [the alarm] off to prevent that,” he says.

Steering a large vessel like the Costa Concordia cruise boat should never rely solely on electronic navigation systems, Loh says. “I don’t know why they were so close and whether or not [the ship] was in a sea lane,” says Loh, but if they intended to take that route, procedure would have likely called for consulting with a local pilot familiar with the coastal terrain.

2. Is reliance on technology overriding common sense in navigation?

“Yes, I think that’s always an issue,” Mr. Loh says.  “There is increasing pressure on vessel owners and managers to … reduce the number of crewmen on board a vessel.” This is, in large part, a tactic to keep costs down, and has been happening since the 1980s, according to Loh.

It is unclear how many people were on the command deck, or bridge, when the recent cruise boat accident took place. “Normally the navigation system and collision avoidance is perceived as an aid to the normal bridge watch standard. It’s not considered a substitute for bridge watch,” Loh says. If the training and experience of bridge staff is low, the technology of navigation systems may be used as a crutch or relied on too heavily.

“The standard throughout the world is that the navigation system is only an aid to a fully qualified bridge watch standard,” Loh says.

3. In such high profile cases, can captains get a fair trial?

The cruise ship captain was arrested on Saturday and charged with manslaughter, according to Reuters. Given ongoing international media attention many question whether or not Captain Francesco Schettino has a chance at a fair trial. A front page editorial in Italy’s Corriere della Sera read, “Italy owes the world, international public opinion, the families of those who lost their lives, those who were injured and those who fortunately remained unhurt, a convincing explanation and the toughest possible sanctions against those responsible for this tragedy,” reports Reuters.

“I don’t think he’s going to get a fair trial, frankly,” says Mr. Loh, who contends he doesn’t believe a captain should be brought to criminal trial in a case like this at all. “It’s unfair to criminalize negligent behavior…. I think he can be held responsible, but there’s a difference between criminal and civil responsibility,” he says.

“It’s a question of mens rea," a Latin phrase meaning a guilty mind, says Loh. “Knowing it to be wrong and doing it anyway is the nature of criminal behavior … but is there any evidence the captain knew what he was doing was wrong?"

4. How do you view the details emerging about the evacuation?

When a collision or grounding takes place, the captain must take many pieces of information into consideration before a full understanding of the circumstances can be reached, says Mr. Loh. 

“Just because you run aground doesn’t mean the vessel will tip over,” Mr. Loh says.  “How bad the hit was, how much water is coming aboard, …is the boat listing immediately,” all need to be accurately evaluated.  “That may take some time,” he says, and can lead back to the question of how many people are on duty.

“If you have a lot of look-outs on the bridge, you can send someone to see what happened, guage the level of seriousness, and respond more quickly,” says Mr. Loh.

Furthermore, the captain does not gather all of the pertinent information of a collision on his own. The Chief Engineer evaluates whether or not a vessel will list, or tip over. The Chief Mate typically aids in evaluating the stability of a vessel and measuring fuel, cargo, and people. He will assist in figuring out how stable the boat is taking those numbers into consideration, says Mr. Loh. “The Chief Mate and Engineer should have some important knowledge or understanding about what’s going on … and we haven’t heard anything about them.”

Regardless, the crew "could have called Mayday earlier," says Loh.

5. What are some lessons learned from recent ship disasters?

In 2007 another cruise ship ran aground offSantorini Island in the Greek isles. The vessel went close to the island’s picturesque cliffs to give the passengers a good view, but struck rocks and sank. 

“Shoulda, coulda, woulda,” says Mr. Loh. “You go close but you don’t go too close."

Stopping a boat or quickly changing course to avoid an immediate collision threat is not a realistic maneuver for most cruise boats, says Mr. Loh. “You have to understand when you’re at sea and in a large vessel like this, the bridge is extremely high up in the air, and you can’t see the entire vessel or over the side of the vessel … and you can’t stop on a dime”

“In order for you to avoid [a collision] requires a lot of prior planning to figure out where you are at any particular time,” Loh says.  “If you’re really close [to land] you have to be in a position that no matter how much momentum you have at that time the forces of inertia could not possibly put you in a position to rub up against a large rock.

“Which means you have to be fairly far away to avoid [collision],” he says citing a full boat length, at least, from any known hazard.

This post originally appeared at The Christian Science Monitor

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/PNX2-fcj0HE/why-navigation-can-fail-and-other-cruise-ship-questions-2012-1

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They Studied What?! 10 Celebrities with Surprising Graduate Degrees

Ashley Judd Whether you're a famous ballad singer, a slapstick comedian, or a granite-faced movie villain, it never hurts to have a backup plan. Little surprise, then, that many well-known entertainers have also pursued graduate degrees. But while some went for the obvious educational path -- can anyone really be shocked that Sigourney Weaver has a Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama? -- these 10 performers chose far more surprising options.


Bruce Watson is a senior features writer for DailyFinance. You can reach him by e-mail at bruce.watson@teamaol.com, or follow him on Twitter at @bruce1971.

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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/01/16/10-celebrities-surprising-graduate-degrees/

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What to Watch This Week: Banking, iPad Textbooks, Auctions, Search, and Big Blue

Chase JPMorganThere's never a dull moment on Wall Street, especially now that 2012 is tossing us into its first earnings season. Let's go over some of the items that will help shape the week that lies ahead.

1. Banking on a Bounce: The banking sector got off to a shaky start when JPMorgan Chase (JPM) kicked off the earnings season with a disappointing quarterly report Friday.

We'll get a clearer picture this week when the rest of the financial services heavyweights chime in.

There's Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) on Tuesday. Goldman Sachs (GS) and Bank of New York (BK) check in on Wednesday. Bank of America (BAC) is Thursday's star on the earnings stage.

No one is holding out for a monster showing from these companies. Savers are turned off by historic low interest rates. Tightening lending standards have made it harder for consumers and companies to borrow money. JPMorgan reminded us Friday that investment banking isn't where it needs to be. However, one of the hardest-hit sectors during the recent recession still has a chance to show us that it's taking baby steps in the right direction.

2. Apple Wants to Rock Your School: Apple (AAPL) has sent out invitations for a media event Thursday.

"Join us for an education announcement in the Big Apple," reads the invitation. A chalkboard outline of the New York City skyline is enhanced with the iconic Apple logo.

This obviously won't be about the upcoming iPad 3 or the inevitable iPhone 5. Apple is hammering home the educational theme, leading most analysts to believe that Apple is finally going to come clean on its plans to replace old paper school textbooks with digital reads that can be conveniently stored on iPads.

Your kids or grandkids -- the ones with backs aching from lugging heavy backpacks around -- will rejoice at the chance to digitally consolidate their textbooks. And if the move results in cheaper textbooks that can no longer be lost, parents will join the cheering.

3. Google Yourself: It's only fitting that the world's largest search engine is also the top dog in online advertising. Search is where it's at, and Google (GOOG) has benefited from a healthy stream of traffic consisting of people who want to go somewhere else. Advertisers love that.

However, Google's numbers aren't the only things that will be on display when the dot-com giant posts its quarterly results Thursday afternoon. The company's starting to hire again in China, and that will lead analysts to ask about Big G's plans there. Twitter accused the search star last week of steering search traffic to Google+ results over the more prolific Twitter. Is this just good business on Google's behalf or a problematic step away from its "do no evil" mantra?

There will also be the numbers, of course, and they should be solid. Analysts see earnings climbing nearly 20% higher to $10.46 a share.

4. Santa eBay: A decade ago, eBay (EBAY) was a great place to find secondhand wares at great prices that just weren't available anywhere else. It really was one big virtual garage sale for collectors and deal seekers.

Every passing year finds the leading auction marketplace transforming itself into more of a conventional online retailer. The emphasis on "buy it now" over the bidding process, and encouraging sellers to offer "free shipping" by building the cost into their prices really have turned eBay into more of a flea market than a garage sale.

Thankfully, eBay also owns PayPal. However, the head of the popular payment platform just jumped ship to take the CEO job at Yahoo! (YHOO), so eBay is going to have plenty of questions to field when it reports its latest quarterly results Wednesday.

5. Big Blue Is Not So Blue: One of tech's biggest success stories in recent years has been IBM (IBM). When the company sensed that the era of tech hardware had run its course, Big Blue shifted gears to make sure that it became a bigger player in the higher-margin enterprise services realm.

The move has paid off, and IBM has managed to grow even during the darkest recessionary stretches. You actually have to go back nearly five years to find the last time that IBM didn't beat Wall Street's quarterly profit target, and that obviously bodes well when assessing where it will land come Thursday as analysts see a profit of $4.62 a share.

Bet on the over. It's elementary, Watson.

Longtime Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz does not own shares in any of the stocks in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of JPMorgan Chase, Google, Yahoo!, Citigroup, International Business Machines, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Apple. The Fool has created a covered strangle position on Wells Fargo. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Google, eBay, The Goldman Sachs Group, Yahoo!, and Apple. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended writing puts in eBay. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended creating a bull call spread position in Apple.

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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/01/16/what-to-watch-this-week-banking-ipad-textbooks-auctions-sear/

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