TNJ - Finance 2002

September 2002

Take It to The Bank?
Low-Interest Banks May Offer Better Options Than Losing Your Shirt on Wall Street . Click here for full story By Robert K. Heady.

July/August 2002

Predatory Lenders Lure Consumers Into Debt
Consumers are getting trapped in debt in the name of refinancing and credit-card consolidation. Click here for full story By Robert K. Heady.

June 2002

Rebalancing Your Portfolio
Whether your portfolio is drowning or it is merely waterlogged, this is the time to re-examine your investment blueprint and make mid-course corrections.. Click here for full story By Jodye Deal.

May 2002

Federal Deposit Insurance Likely to Increase On Your Money
Congress has a new legislation that may boost your deposit retirement account Click here for full story By Robert K. Heady.

April 2002

Medicare-Card Carriers At Risk for Personal ID Theft
There is no protection against identity theft for users of Medicare cards. Click here for full story By Robert K. Heady.

February 2002

Why Invest in Mutual Funds?
A fund manager who quickly buys and sells a compact portfolio of high-priced, fast-growing companies will produce different results from a manager who owns 300 stocks of larger companies with lower earnings and cheaper prices. Click here for full story By Jodye Deal

Dec/Jan. 2002

Is This a Good Time To Buy Stocks?
Stock market activity always has an element of psychology in it, but it usually reacts to such mundane events as corporate earnings and on occasions comments from the Federal Reserve Bank’s Chairman Alan Greenspan. Click here for full story By Jodye Deal

October 2001

Buyers Beware of Penny Stocks
Penny stocks are not prudent for many investors. Recent reports have noted that penny stock fraud bilks investors out of approximately $2 billion a year. Click here for full story By Jodye Deal

Time to Refinance Your Mortgage
With the markets trashing your investments right and left, the smartest financial move you could make is to refinance your mortgage. Click here for full story By Robert K. Heady

Monitoring Your Credit Reports

It happens every day that some poor guy gets turned down for a job because he didn’t realize the negative things the prospective employer spotted in his credit record.

Another person’s insurance rates go up because the company found a slew of traffic accidents and fines in his automobile history. At another time, a loan applicant is rejected because his credit records show too many inquiries by businesses and individuals, although he has good credit. By Robert K. Heady Click here for full story

Improving Your Company Sales

When it comes to selling, small business owners would probably get a “D” if they were graded, according to Stephan Schiffman, president of D.E.I. Management Group Inc., a sales training company in New York.

They go into business because they want to run a business, not to sell, he said. But if they don’t sell, their profits will stagnate and they will eventually grind to a halt. By Iris Taylor Click here for full story

Investing Wisely

After the correction the stock markets have had lately, it’s a good time to take another look at your 401(k) plan and make some timely adjustments. By Dale Byrant Click here for full story

The Return of the CDs

Guess what’s almost back in vogue? The bank Certificate of Deposit. That’s right. The sudden instability in the marketplace, which has been characterized by sagging stocks caused by the Mideast conflict, rising oil prices, weak corporate earnings and the elections, have pushed CDs into the limelight again. By Robert K. Heady Click here for full story

Bailing Africa Out of Debt

If you live in the United States and, like most of us, you charter your life along the course laid down by the first and second estates of American life—banks and advertising agencies—then debt is your rite of passage into social acceptance. The debt in some African countries is double the value of goods and services. By Rosalind McLymont Click here for full story

Understanding Interest Rates

To understand interest rates is to understand the economy. One of the most important aspects of a market economy is interest rates. Interest rates represent the cost of borrowing in a given economy; the higher the rates the more it costs to borrow money. By Robert Heady Click here for full story

Guarding Against Identity Theft

Are you banking online, getting freebies or entering contests on the Web? Are you giving out your Social Security number to any electronic outfit that asks for it? There is no solution yet to the burning issue of online fraud. By Robert Heady Click here for full story

Reducing Absenteeism

Having a tough time getting your employees to show up for work? You’re not alone, according to Kristin Accipiter, representative for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in Alexandria, VA. By Iris Taylor Click here for full story

Preserving Peace
In a Family-Owned Business

Daniel Chabbott, president and founder of J. M. Cabot Inc. in Manhattan, a jewelry manufacturer, employs two sons in the family business. Julius, 23, who started as a production assistant two years ago, is now vice president in charge of production and sales. Morris, 17, a junior in high school, is a part-timer and attends trade shows. By Iris Taylor Click here for full story

Debit Cards Are Becoming
More Important Than Credit Cards

Besides your checkbook and credit cards, you’re also carrying a debit card, aren’t you? Two-thirds of American households already have one and chances are that they received their debit cards from their banks without even asking for it. By Robert Heady Click here for full story

Managing Your Difficult Employees

Forget trying to change the behavior of difficult employees. You probably can’t. Instead, “change the way you deal with them,” advises Patricia H. White, senior consultant at the Center for Organizational Effectiveness, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, VA.
By Iris Taylor Click here for full story

Making Your Customers Linger on Your Web Site

Are you in the process of having a Web site developed? Then take some advice from Koorhan and Texas Web master Rebecca Game, founder of www.digital-women.com, a site for women entrepreneurs. You want to create a site that’s simple and appealing so that customers will want to linger on and come back. By Iris Taylor Click here for full story

Avoid Trademark Pitfalls

You’ve picked a nice little name for your business. Now let’s make sure you can legally use it. Otherwise, down the road, your small business might get sued by the name’s real owner, who may force you to stop using it. Worse, the owner might haul your business into court in another state, at your expense, and sue for damages and attorney’s fees. By Iris Taylor Click here for full story

YOUR BUSINESS
Does Your Business Qualify for Venture Capital?

You’ve heard that venture capital firms are eager to invest in early stage enterprises such as yours. Goodness knows your little business is hungry for capital. But can it qualify for the funds put into early stage companies by investors who take an ownership stake in hopes of cashing out profitably in a few years—the venture capitalists? By IrisTaylor Click here for full story.