Long before he became the magnanimous CEO of Centurion Holdings LLC, Joseph J. Grano was, first and foremost, a soldier. He fought as a Green Beret during the Vietnam War, during which the U.S. Special Forces promoted him Captain. For an Italian-American, he remarkably served his nation well.
When that war fizzled, Joseph Grano fell back to banking. In 1972, he promptly found a job brokering for Merrill Lynch & Co. There, he climbed the corporate ladder to become director for national sales.
Sixteen years later, Grano left Merrill Lynch for PaineWebber Inc, which offered him the leadership of their retail division. The presidency of the PaineWebber group of companies eventually went to Grano in 2000. Around this time, he instigated the merger of his company with UBS, establishing UBS Financial Services Inc in 2001. He led this company until 2004.
During his tenure at PaineWebber, Joseph Grano chaired the Board of Governors of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). He has been a member of many other boards, such as that of D.A.R.E., Lenox Hill Hospital, and YMCA in Greater New York. Grano is also affiliated with the City University of New York’s Business Leadership Council as well as the Council for the United States and Italy.
As a philanthropist, Grano likes to give to educational causes. He took home the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund’s Corporate Leadership Award in 2002 for such efforts.
In recognition of his patriotism, Joseph Grano also received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 1996. Finally, in 1998, he received a United Service Organizations (USO) gold medal for his valiant efforts during the Vietnam War.
Real Online Casinos - How to Judge the Best Real Online Casinos
Real online casinos - Since most internet users interested to play the real online casino games, currently the online casino has reached to a peak with compare to the time. We can see a rapid increase of the players during the past decades. The improvement of internet technology can be named as the reason for this condition and the improvement of the casino software also playing a good role on the situation.
Because of the improvement of best online casinos industry, now we can see a number of web sites which offers the casino games with different cash prizes. Some of them offer very huge welcome bonuses and we must always be wise to select the best real online casinos provider in order to get the best use of it.
With real online casinos the first thing we should concern is the software which is used at the site. If the software vendor has not guarantee the security of the online play, then you are in a risk of abusing your personal data. So it is always s recommended to stay away from those sites in order to protect you from the fraud actions. Otherwise you will be getting more and more bills to your credit card bills which are not relevant to you.
Also the best customer care is another factor you need to consider always. The reason is if you have to wait till days to get the answer for any of your queries, then it will be a bad point for both. So when you are going to select an online casino site, select a place where you can get the best customer service.
Play backgammon online for money online and make friends and win money. Backgammon is one of the worlds oldest past times, and most popular games. Play backgammon online today.
Learn how to begin investing today - and start saving for your future. There are many ways that you can invest - stocks, bonds, mutual funds and many others. Learn the inside secrets of what Wall Street doesn’t want you to know, and learn how to begin investing today!!
There are two options for filing bankruptcy as a consumer, chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 7 is often called liquidation as all of your property that is not exempt is sold in order to pay off your debts. Exempt belongings is that property that the bankruptcy trustee allows you to keep in order to live your life normally, like a automobile, clothes, furniture to sit on, etc. Every state sets their bankruptcy exemptions, as well as the Federal bankruptcy exemptions that can be used in some states.
In order to legally to file a ch 7 bankruptcy petition, cannot be a business or farm, must be an individual, you must take a credit counseling course from an approved agency inside the 180 days before filing for ch 7 bankruptcy relief, and pass the means test which is completed with yor petition.
In a chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, you will have to file schedules that list your creditors, belongings, income and expenses. Copies of tax returns, pay stubs and credit counseling certificate will also have to be filed. Bankruptcy filers who are married must provide the spouses information even if they are not a href=”http://www.bankruptcyformprocessing.com”>filing bankruptcy together so the bankruptcy court can determine the households ability to pay the debts.
When completing your petition, you will have the option to continue paying and holding onto your property if you are able to, such as your dwelling or automobile, by making a reaffirmation agreement with the creditor. By reaffirming the debt you are acknowledging that you intend to make payments. If the trustee grants your reaffirmation agreement, the creditor may be able to call you to collect the debt in the future.
When you file your ch 7 bankruptcy papers you will have to pay up a filing fee of $299. This cost can be paid in installments, up to 4 no later than 120 days after filing your petition. Once you file, the bankruptcy stay is in effect, creditors cannot call, collect or file lawsuits. Each of your creditors will be notified that you have filed bankruptcy and yielded a chance to reply. A meeting of the creditors, a 341 meeting, will be called within 20-40 days of filing the petition. During this group meeting, the bankruptcy trustee and your creditors may ask you questions under oath about your debts, assets, income, expenses and your ability to pay. Within 10 days of the meeting the trustee will rule on whether the case should be presumed as abusive under the means test. If the trustee finds a presumption of abuse you can be forced to file ch 13 instead.
Your assets that are not exempt are then liquidated and profits go to creditors. Once liquidation is completed, you are granted a discharge wiping out your debts.
State Requirements
- Bodily Injury Liability: $10,000/$20,000 Limit
- Property Damage Liability (PDL): $10,000 Limit
Florida is a no-fault state implying that your insurer will pay for incurred costs from accidents disregarding of who’s at fault. Since nobody is found to be at fault, you wind up losing some of your legal rights to litigate with a no-fault system. Details of a no-fault system can differ from state to state.
To assist payment for the costs created from an automobile accident, PIP is included in auto insurance policies. Florida state law requires a minimum PIP insurance coverage of $10,000 for a single driver and $20,000 for all people involved.
Underinsured Motorist auto insurance policy is for the event that you get into an accident with a motorist who does not carry auto insurance.This auto insurance coverage is elective, but can help decrease costs if you are in an accident with an uninsured driver.
In 2003, the usual insurance rate in the U.S. was $914,while the average Floridian layed out $1,104. There are plent of of Florida drivers that incorrectly take for granted that they have no control in decreasing their insurance rates.
Florida insurance rates can deviate between two people and one agency to the next. To get the discounted quotes, you must shop quotes online or contact a licensed auto insurance agent. Some insurance companies also furnish a variety of auto insurance programs that you might be eligible for.
In 2007, there was an average lowering of .5%-1% from the year 2006. This was the first reduction in auto insurance costs since 1999. The first months of 2008 continued to show declines, but then the rates started to increase again through the first part of 2009. The only way to always have the best auto insurance is to compare different rates. Checking insurance rates on the web can help you see if you can lower your . You may be able to receive reduce auto insurance rate quotes at another auto insurance firm and/or find that you’re eligible for distinct insurance deductions.
Some people do not recognize how important a debt settlement company can be to their future financial security. Utilizing a debt settlement company to renovate bad credit can impact many different areas of life and create greater opportunities in the future once your bad credit has been fixed. Utilizing a debt settlement company can help a person establish strong credit faster and go a long way towards helping them attain the things that they need in life.
Using a debt settlement company will mean that you will get a better chance of being approved for additional credit or loan products in the future. Being able to get approved for additional loans is very critical for purchasing a new car or getting a mortgage loan to buy a home. Fixing poor credit with a debt settlement company will increase your chances of being authorized by the lender or the credit card company that you are interested in doing business with.
People that have used a debt settlement company will usually qualify for a lower interest rate on any potential loans and credit cards than a person that has poor credit or has a lot of flaws on their credit report. This is because people that have fixed their credit utilizing one of these services are not considered as a credit risk by the company. This permits them to provide the person a lower interest rate because they believe that they will be receiving their money back in a timely manner. Being able to obtain a smaller interest rate on credit products can spare you hundreds of dollars in interest each year.
The original concept of trade was only the exchange of goods or service or both between two persons. As times progressed a medium of exchange was introduced in the form of currency. Exchange of goods took a back seat in the market and buying and selling of goods and service started. Every country produced their own currency and which was the managed by the government. Since the early 1900as there have been many changes in the trading world. The stock market originated which is integral to stock exchange. People are able to buy and sell shares of corporations within the stock exchange. Back when stock trading occurred, one had to be physically to make the transaction. To succeed in the stock market an individual should develop skills related to trading such as the skill of day trading. One may enhance these skills through actual experience but practicing without much experience may cause drastic losses to your portfolio. If you make critical errors while trading, you may cut into your financial dividends so greatly that you are no longer able to continue. Being one of the most complex professions, your skills should be devloped by observing and learning from experts. Oneas chance of increasing profits will multiply as more abilities are inherited. Expert advice can be purchased from agents who will be crucial during trading in the market. For just a small amount of money, one may begin. As stock trading gained momentum and became popular among all sections of society, the form of trading instruments got transformed. Share certificates in the form paper are changed to mere online documents. Due to the sudden increase of internet connectivity all over the world, online option trading has become very popular and it is useful when you are trading from your office or home. As stock trading continued to grow, individuals realized the potential profit making opportunity in trading, and began the art of day trading. They were aware of the need to provide option trading strategies, and started hiring advisors for profitable trading. To aid in a profitable return to your day trading in this intricate line of work one can open a trading account with many brokerages. From there they may receive free tips which are can be extremely helpful. Due to the diversity of the internet one can trade on international markets without ever stepping foot on a plane. However, trading in the international market can be risky as the market remains very unstable. One must be aware of its ever changing ways before engaging in this type of trading. Also, some brokers conduct in schemes which are deceitful and can result in a one being taken advantage of and losing profits. TheScienceOfTrading.com provides 90 free minutes of videos on option trading systems and provides a complete and detailed stock trading course for beginners to experts.
Managing debt - take a look at the solutions
“I’m in debt. What are the solutions?” It’s a common question these days, and a problem that’s not made easier by today’s financial troubles. But whatever debts a person is facing, likely to be at least one solution suitable for their situation.
We’re going to take a look at just a few debt options: debt management plans; debt consolidation; IVAs and Protected Trust Deeds. To some, they’re only words - but to others, they are the path to debt freedom. So how do they work? What’s the difference between them? Perhaps most important: which one could be right for me?
Rather than struggling to keep up multiple payments to multiple debts, some debtors decide to consolidate their debts - applying for a consolidation loan that’s big enough to pay all their smaller debts off. This means they’ll only have one payment to make per month, thus reducing the risk of missing payments (and the charges and damage to their credit rating that can result).
A form of insolvency, an Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a legally binding agreement between the debtor and their creditors. If you owe around £15,000 or more to more than two unsecured creditors, an IP can tell you whether an IVA might be the best way for you to get out of debt. If they think it is, they can draft up an ‘IVA proposal’, detailing how much you can afford to pay towards your debts every month for the next (normally) five years, once you’ve taken your essential expenses into account.
If enough of your creditors agree to the proposal, the IVA can start. You’ll agree to make those monthly payments (and usually free up some equity in your home, if you’re a homeowner), and the creditors will agree to freeze your debt, hold off on any legal action (such as trying to make you bankrupt) and write off any outstanding debt once the arrangement has successfully concluded. Please note: an IVA will have a serious impact on your credit rating, potentially making it harder to borrow money for the next six years.
A Protected Trust Deed is similar to an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), but only available to residents of Scotland. In most cases, a Protected Trust Deed will last for three years.
Who a Protected Trust Deed is right for: residents of Scotland who owe three or more unsecured creditors a total of around £10,000 or more and can’t afford their monthly repayments - but can afford regular smaller payments.
Many of the merchant banks wil show you a rate that is looking secure but doesn’t feel comfortably or so after a period of time. A bank in Jersey City New Jersey or so may have a total completely different actual interest rate for a 35000 dollar deferred payment then a merchant bank in Chattanooga Tennessee and that makes a big clear difference in your monthly pay offs.
In Dutch it means: Woon je in Montferland of Veendam en heb je BKR notering. Lenen met zonder BKR is nergens zo eenvoudig. Koop een nieuwe caravan met lenen met een negatieve bkr registratie, 408966 euro is gewoon mogelijk om te lenen. Van Rheden tot Brummen, financieren met zonder BKR registratie gaat hier altijd.
17.3 percent rate of interest may come along so reasonable but will that be invariant after you’re going to pay back your credit loan. That’s why now you need to check into and visit if you can have a money loan at a serious percent loan rate. Investigate to see if the moneylender who wants to give you a bank loan is beneficial. It doesn’t matter if you live in Holyoke Massachusetts or in Destin Florida a upright online analysis will spare you often lots of ail. Now you can check rates of interest quickly online and check if there are other sneaky conditions you should know about. You should be undimmed today to check up if you have a bargain or if you don’t with the moneylender that offers you a credit loan.
The introduction of Africa in the world market started since the 15th century, could not in many respects be considered as a positive venture. Africa’s backwardness compared to the rest of the world(developed countries, newly industrialised countries and emerging countries) which is a paradox due to its enormous resources and potential, clearly demonstrate that Africa remain the great loser of the international economic order. A situation worsened when considered the policies undertaken by developed countries: the creation of regional and non regional trade blocs, the protection of domestic markets through quotas.
According to Gunnar Myrdal, the underdevelopped countries ‘way of handling their commercial policy will be one of the most significant factors in determining whether they will fail or succeed in their drive for economic development’ This assertion has the merit of addressing trade as the dominant economic activity possible in Africa and other Third World countries. It therefore takes into account the fact that African countries could not live in isolation and retrenched the fact that the growing competition in the production and distribution of goods and services will render these countries more vulnerable each day if nothing is done. As a consequence a reflection needs to be conducted as concerns industrialisation and trade for effective development in a context of liberalized market.
A DISTORTED AND UNFAIR ECONOMIC ORDER
The former American ^president Bill Clinton observed ‘globalisation is a fact not a policy option’ This implies globalisation is more than a mere creation of human being rather the consequence of ever increasing contacts among individuals, peoples and communities. The failure and collapse of the communist model and its abandon by pioneers countries like China and Russia are evidences the liberal economic order was inevitable.
The discussion over a need to reform the present economic order is as old as the deterioration of the terms of trade. On the one hand LDCs, as a result of an international division of labour dating from the colonial experience produce goods in the form of raw materials. They have no control over operations like the transportation, transit and distribution of these resources, thus they can’t determine the prices of these commodities. On the other hand developed countries sell these products once manufactured with such a high added value that there is an enormous gap between the commodity sold by underdeveloped countries and the manufactured product sold to the same countries. Nearly half of third world countries earn more than 50 percent of their exports revenue from one single primary commodity, such as cocoa, coffee or bananas. These countries are now confined in production structure of low value added activities. Not only are third world countries trapped to deal in a single commodity, but they are also depending on a few if not a single foreign market for supply of manufactured products and trade of their primary commodities.
In Africa about 340 millions people that’s half of the continent population live on less than a US dollar a day, the mortality rate of children under 5 is 140 per 1000, while life expectancy at birth is only 54 years. Only 58 percent of the overall African population has access to safe water.
As contained in NEPAD document ‘Africa’s place in the global community is defined by the fact that the continent is an indispensable resource base that served humanity for so many centuries.’ The underpinning theory of the current economic order is to large extent classical and neoclassical trade theories. According to them, all countries would gain in participating in international trade. Free trade maximises global output by permitting each country to specialise in what it does best. According to the IMF, outward oriented trade policies are conducive to faster growth for they promote competition, encourage learning-by-doing, improve access to trade opportunities and raise efficiency of resource allocation. In order not to miss this turning of history and thereby remain loser, Africa and other LDCs should undergo a deep reflection so as to gain advantages of globalisation. A challenge which can not be delayed or neglected in a context of high risk for these countries to miss the few opportunities they already had: the protection of recent inventions and the rush of multinational corporations in the LDCs markets of goods and services are evident dangers. The simple liberal approach to trade is not consistent with the historical experience of many developing countries. First the theory of trade so applauded by some is built on assumptions that are violated in most international markets.
Much of world trade is in oligopolistic industries such as cars, chemicals, electronics and steel. The increasing importance of multinational corporations is a clear indication that imperfect competition matters. On this point Krugman(1987) states ‘the insights of new models incorporating imperfect competition, learning and economies of scale has reduced the doctrine of free trade from an optimal first best strategy to a reasonable rule of thumb.
Our aim in conducting this analysis is to demonstrate regional economic integration and a more effective South-South cooperation among countries could enable third world countries to not fall prey into the dangerous trap of a simplistic participation in world trade.
SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION FOR SELF RELIANCE
As Todaro(1992) pointed out while it may be possible for many less developed countries to be self reliant on an individual country to country basis, some form of trade and economic cooperation among equals is probably preferable to each country trying to ‘go alone’ in a world of unequal trade, technology dominance, increasing protectionism among developed countries and various forms of non market price determination. This means more than ever before, before initiatives toward south south cooperation should be perceived as the basement of any sound economic policy undertaken by a third world country possessing a potential or a resource to exchange.
The south-south cooperation will accelerate the pace and render effective the economic independence of LDCs. The Northern partners of southern countries would be progressively replaced by southern partners. For instance, Nestlé could rightly face a competition from Brazilian coffee, South African milk whose industries in these domains of activities could quickly develop to satisfy that aim. The result would actually be a multiplication of vendors which will inevitably affect the prices of those commodities, in such a situation it’s quite sure the customer would soon pay the real price. In addition, one could believe, the relative proximity (geographical, cultural and sociological) makes south partners more suited to provide satisfying products among themselves. For their needs are relatively the same. Arthur Lewis (1977) stated that ‘the LDCs have within themselves all that is required for growth. They have enough land to feed themselves, if they cultivate it properly. They are capable of learning the skills of manufacturing and of saving the capital required for modernization.’
REGIONAL INTEGRATION
A regional organisation could be defined as a grouping of countries, in most cases neighbouring countries, into an organisation in order to address a particular issue: economic development; the management of their common resources such as lakes, rivers; the management of plagues with potential consequences beyond a country. Economic issues constituting the main problem in almost all societies, it is also the main stake of regional integration. In fact the world is slashed into pieces of regional groupings with membership overlapping at times owing to double membership of certain members. However this enthusiasm toward integration can not hide the relative and mitigated success of regional integration. If excluded the European Union, ASEAN, NAFTA regional integration has offered little compared to the fruits awaited.
Jarle Moen distinguishes between ‘once-and-for-all-benefits and dynamic benefits of integration in third world countries.
For many LDCs especially those with very small domestic markets, regional economic integration may offer a valuable experience, helping the transition to a more balanced economic development and a more open economy. Within the integrated, both quality and marketing techniques can improve and promote diversification and export production at a larger stage without compelling these countries to face the awkward effects of the liberalised market as the tendency seems to be. Integration can also increase the market size and, where economies of scale are present, reduce the cost per unit. This could benefit both producers and customers in the integrated market. For customers, it makes it possible to purchase goods at their real prices, since a competition among more than one regional economic actor (producer or distributor) would have as a consequence the obligation to offer the best prices possible. Also in a larger market, partners outside the integrated region would find it interesting for them to invest in such a region so as to take advantages of the discriminatory policies put in place to safeguard the region’s industries. According to Thomsen (1994) host country market size is one of the strongest determinants of where foreign firms invest. One has to take into account the fact that an investment from a developed country in a developing country is accompanied by a substantial transfer of technology.
Once achieved, regional integration will boost the members’ countries bargaining power in the international community. A power which can easily increase with cartelisation. Countries belonging to a regional organisation tend to present the same features, for instance they could belong to the same climatic belt, central Africa for instance and southern African countries. This geographic situation can enable such countries to bargain with additional strength in what they produce best on which they could expect better returns on sales thereby reach a situation of absolute gains.
REFERENCES
MOEN Jarle: Trade and Development: is South South Cooperation a Feasible Strategy? London School of Economics 1994
MYRDAL Gunmar: An International Economy, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul
TODARO Michael: Economics for a Developing World, New York: Longman 1992
KRUGMAN Paul ‘Is Free Trade Passé?’ Economic Perspectives, vol 1 pp 131-144
Bagneki Hugues is a student in the Yaounde 2 University in Cameroon. He is interested especially with issues of development
The golden key to effective fundraising is an organizations ability to manage relationships. While some may consider this an oversimplified explanation of a complex non-profit business model, our experience has shown us that this is one of the most overlooked, yet lucrative, elements of our fundraising efforts.
The backbone of any fundraising campaign is the appeal to donors for contributions. The problem many organizations run into during this phase of their fundraising efforts is that they have neglected to keep their donors engaged with their organization since their previous appeal for support. The donor no longer feels engaged by, or attached to, your organization in any meaning way. What distinguishes your organization or non-profit from the next?
We advise all of our clients to develop strong relationships with their donors and supporters. In the non-profit sector, these relationships play a significant role in the success of any given campaign. In some cases, these relationships can make or break an organization. Keep in mind that appeals for support are not always of the monetary type. Organizations of every type need support staff, and your donor list is an ideal place to search for new recruits.
One of the most important elements of fundraising is strategic planning, and your donor list can provide you with a lot of useful information. For instance, a well organized donor list can provide you with information about the types of causes a certain individual tends to support. By studying the types of initiatives an individual supports, you can make relatively educated guesses about their receptiveness to your current efforts. By organizing and tracking this data, you can save your organization valuable time and resources that could be used more effectively in another area.
A number of organizations purchase their donor lists from a third party. While this may be the most convenient solution, it is certainly not the most effective. It is imperative for any organization that is serious about fundraising to develop a proprietary donor list. This is a significant point that is often overlooked. By building your own donor list, you become engaged with the people in your community. These are the people that will support your organization over the long term, and the ones most likely to get involved.
Michelle Pearson is a fundraising professional with over 15 years of experience in the non-profit sector. She is also a regular contributor to the internet’s preeminent fundraising magazine, fundraisingknowhow.com - a wonderful website with creative fundraising ideas, fundraising books, fundraising tools and more.