Mortgage Masters

Credit Card Debt Management: Way To Fix Card Debts By Gracie Bishop
Credit cards sometimes eat up your budget and get you into the clasp of debts. Credit card debt management allows you to fix these debt problems. Here you can combine and pay off all your existing debts through a single loan package. (more)

Unsecured Business Loans Suitable Deal For Your Business Needs By Carmen Cortez
Unsecured business loans provide adequate finance to all types of business people. These loans are approved without collateral and business people therefore incur no risks. Even bad credit history of the borrowers can be sidelined for the loan. (more)

Countrywide Reaches Out To Save Delinquent Loans
Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation’s largest mortgage lender, said Tuesday that it will start calling borrowers to offer refinancing or modifications on $16 billion in loans with interest rates set to adjust by the end of 2008. (more)

ValueInvesting Weekly

This week’s value investing weekly will focus solely on the application of Ben Graham’s text Interpretation of Financial Statements. This is a great book because it acts as both a quick reference tool as well a great cover to cover read. The edition that I will be quoting is the classic 1937 edition which was published right after Security Analysis. The section I want to highlight this week is the appendix in the back of the book that details ratio analysis for both a balance sheet and earnings statement. There are fourteen ratio calculations that Graham highlights as he analyzed Bethlehem Steel Corp. in 1928. This may be simply review for some, new material to others, or a combination of the two, but it is important when debating investing in a company to understand how to manipulate and utilize the publicly available information to better your investing decisions. I also included some commentary that Graham added on the analysis of Bethlehem for better understanding of how he analyzed this firm.

A) Margin of Profit
Calculation-Operating Income divided by Sales
Location-Both found on the earnings statement
Utilization-Used to determine the operating efficiency of the company. For example if the ratio was 10% it would mean that for every dollar of sales the company has 10 cents left after paying all costs of operation. Note that this amount does not include payment of interest on bonds nor dividends on equity.

B) Earnings on Invested Capital
Calculation- Total Income available for interest charges divided by the sum of Bonds, Preferred Stock, Common Stock, and earned surplus
Location- Total Income found in the earnings statement, and the remaining figures found on the Stockholders Equity portion of the Balance Sheet.
Utilization- Once the ratio is determined that number (ie: 5%) represents the money earned on the investment of the business.

C) Times Interest Charges Earned
Calculation-Total earnings divided by interest charges.
Location- Both are found in the income statement.
Utilization- This is used to determine the amount of times interest payments can be covered by income before taxes. Graham felt that for an industrial company such as the one he was analyzing he preferred at least three times interest payments could be paid by income before taxes.

D) Times Interest Charges and Preferred Dividends Earned
Calculation- Total earnings divided by the sum of interest charges and preferred dividends.
Location- All three figures can be found in the earnings statement.
Utilization-This is similar to calculation “C” but with the addition of preferred dividends into the equation. Graham required a four times ratio for an industrial company such as Bethlehem Steel.

E) Earnings per Share on the Common Stock
Calculation-Net earnings after deduction of interest and preferred dividend charges divided by the number of shares outstanding.
Location-Net income is found in the income statement and the amount of outstanding shares is found in the balance sheet.
Utilization- This equation is widely known and used as it shows the dollar amount left over to the common stockholders after all debt obligations and preferred shareholders have been paid.

F) Depreciation as a Percentage of Cost of Plant
Calculation-Deprecation divided by cost of plant (property account).
Location- Deprecation found in the earnings statement and property account found in the balance sheet.
Utilization-This may or may not be used in all situations as Graham was analyzing a firm with high fixed assets that were tangible. If, however, you encounter a similar firm (ie: manufacturing, distribution, etc.) look for as high a ratio as possible as that tells that the average life of all items in the property account, which includes real estate, are longer.

G) Depreciation as a Percentage of Sales or Gross Revenues
Calculation-Depreciation expense divided by sales.
Location- Both are in the income statement.
Utilization-Graham describes this ratio as a valuable tool when comparing two securities within the same industry.

H) Net Income Transferred to Surplus as a Percentage of Net Income Available for Dividends
Calculation- Net surplus after payout of dividends and interest payments divided by net income before dividend payments.
Location-All relevant information can be found in the earnings statement.
Utilization- Use this over a period of years to determine if the company has maintained a conservative dividend policy. Could potentially be very fascinating when looking at the aggressiveness of dividend payments by a firm.

I) Inventory Turnover
Calculation- Sales divided by inventory.
Location- Sales figure is found in the earnings statement and inventory figure is found in the balance sheet.
Utilization- The more times a firm can turn its inventory over the less capital is invested in inventory, and there’s less of a chance of obsolete material.

J) Number of Days Average Account Receivable is Outstanding
Calculation- Account Receivable divided by net daily sales (Income (Sales) divided by 365 (days in a year).
Location- Account receivable found in the balance sheet (asset side) sales found on the top line of the income statement.
Utilization- Shows the credit policy of the company clearly. You want a firm that has the lowest days outstanding as it shows an aggressive credit department and speaks loudly of management and their priority.

K) Current Ratio
Calculation- Current assets divided by current liabilities.
Location-Both items are found in the balance sheet.
Utilization- Shows the liquidity of a firm and how well they can pay off their current debt with the assets on hand. Important to encertain solvency in terms of short term debt financing.

L) Quick Asset Ratio
Calculation- Current assets less inventory divided by current liabilities.
Location- All items are found in the balance sheet.
Utilization- Another indicator of the financial strength of a company, more preciseally the ability to pay off short term liabilities (ie: payroll, rent, utilities, etc.). The higher the number the better off the firm is in meeting these obligations.

M) Book Value of Common Stock
Calculation- The sum of common stock and surplus divided by the number of shares outstanding.
Location- All figures can be found in the balance sheet.
Utilization- This figure normally is of little concern, but should be checked because in cases where the book value is much larger or much smaller than the market price. Further, it must be noted that intangibles such as patents and goodwill is not included in book value of common stock.

N) Price-Earnings Ratio or Market Ratio
Calculation- Share price of the stock divided by the earnings per share.
Location- Share price found from current market price of the firm. Earnings per share are calculate by dividing earnings by the total number of shares outstanding.
Utilization- This is an extremely useful calculation as it tells the investor how many times the stock is trading relative to earnings. Of course as a value investor we want this figure to be as low as possible (preferably under 15).

The above ratios can be used by anyone relatively easily. Not all figures will be appropriate for all firms, but one should use as many ratios as possible when comparing a security to their peers and industry as a whole. There are of course numerous other ratios that can be used, but I only wanted to highlight the ratios that Graham exactally mentioned with the text. If you feel that any other ratios would fall under this umbrella of value ratios, please feel free to submit your comments.

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Unsecured Loans: A Perfect Security Blanket By Anaya
With the prices of commodities all set to rise after every short period, one can be rest ascertaind that unsecured loans would rise in popularity even more in times to come. (more)

Contemplating refinancing your mortgage? By Jack Sparow
We have found that one of the mistakes a homeowner makes is when they want to refinance their mortgage finance they don’t expend the correct time store ping around for the best tariff. It only makes brains to us that if you store around for everything besides why not store around for the best refinance mortgage tariff? You home is your leading obtain you will make in your life, get the best sell promising! (more)

The modern relevance of fixed rate mortgage deals
Fixed rate mortgage deals are getting an awful lot of publicity at the moment because they seem to be attracting the attention of consumers that are indeed trying to get the best possible deal on thei. (more)

Motor Bike Finance: Make Your Own Road By MartinAndrews
Motor bike finance makes it possible for the borrower to get a new or used bike. This finance is available in the loan market in secured and unsecured form. To avail low rates on the loan, borrower can go for secured option of the finances. Bad credit individuals can also apply for the loans. (more)

NRI home loans: Gives life to NRIs dream By Meghna Arora
In NRI home loans, loan seeker pledges his valuable home as collateral to the lender which defines the limit of loan amount. NRI home loans give life to the dreams of NRIs with the best options available. (more)

How To Get Cheap Homeowner’s Insurance Online In Arkansas By
Homeowner’s insurance is designed to protect a person’s biggest asset their home and its contents in the event of a catastrophe. Homeowner’s insurance doesn’t offer any insurance protection in case of flooding and certain types of wind and earthquake damage may be excluded or restricted, so it’s important that you make arrangements for other types of insurance if necessary.In the vast majority of cases, homeowner’s insurance protects a home from fire and burglary, so i. (more)

Trichet Concerned About Inflation
The Euro drifted lower today, and traded to a 3-week low against the US dollar as European finance ministers complained that the Euro is appreciating too quickly. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said yesterday the Euro’s 11.3% gain against the USD over the past year is more than enough to reduce global

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Businesses, truckers feel pain of higher diesel prices
Higher prices for diesel fuel are pushing up shipping costs, pinching businesses and truckers.

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Why is it important to have a credit card? By Mujahed Ali
Many people ask why it is important to have a credit card. The benefits of a credit card are many and not having to carry cash in your pocket every where you go is not the least of the reasons. (more)

Unsecured Debt Consolidation Loan Helps Taming Your Debt By Simon Peyton
Unsecured debt consolidation loan is a financial assistance to fight away from debt-devil. Under the provision, a lenders works for entire of your debt problems and he makes a single monthly repayment scheme for the debtor which debtor find easy at repaying. There are many lenders available online and offline, however online method of obtaining this loan is preferred these days. (more)

How to Get Cheap Renters Insurance in Tennessee By Brian Stevens
Whether you rent an apartment, home, or condo, you need to buy renters insurance to protect yourself and your belongings. Fortunately, renters insurance in Tennessee is relatively cheap - and you can make it even cheaper with some careful shopping. This article shows you how. (more)

Married today!
It was a hectic, occasionally stressful day, with us barely making it on time to city hall. But once we got there everything went ok. I now can call him “my partner”. Sounds so strange.

Few closest friends and our family came, and we went to a random place to eat afterwards.
The. (more)

If You Want A Cheap Secured Loan Then Get A Specialist To Search For You By
If you choose to search the internet yourself when looking for a cheap secured loan then you could be paying over the odds for the premiums for the loan and so end up paying hundreds or even thousands of pounds more than you could have.If you want to encertain that you have the cheapest quotes then let a professional loan broker make a comparison search on your behalf. A expert will know where to look and the lenders to avoid and will present quotes to you in a much shorte. (more)

Long Term Personal Unsecured Loans: Indulge In Realizing Personal Ends
While seeking for a loan, we always look the safest way to procure it and also are very much concerned about the interest rates. In the market, plans vary with the benefits and if you find benefits it. (more)

Wenatchee Mortgage and Housing News Good Again
According to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), Wenatchee, Washington had the highest four-quarter appreciation of all 287 cities ranked in the study. This marked the . (more)

30-year mortgage rate at 6.20%, lowest since May (USA Today)
Mortgage rates sank this week, with rates on 30-year mortgages dropping to a six-month low, a spot of welcome news to would-be home buyers. (more)

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Unsecured Loans UK no Hassle for Financial Vessel By Tim Kelly
Unsecured loans UK are non-collateral based money provisions for individuals living in tenancy. Under the provisions, the sum of money is sanctioned to the borrowers after a brief credit check. There are many lenders available online and offline, for fast processing and instant approval online method is considered as a best applying tool. (more)

Asia stocks tumble on renewed mortgage fears - International Herald Tribune

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Changed my mind
Didn’t go to the store after all. I need to get my secret pal from church her gift and give it to her at church Sunday. Then it dawned on me that tomorrow is Sunday. Why waste gas going to the city today, then again tomorrow? We’ll be at church twice tomorrow (morning and. (more)

Where to Get Cheap Kentucky Automobile Insurance By Brian Stevens
Kentuckians pay on average more than $900 a year for automobile insurance, and most are paying too much. This article explains how to get cheap Kentucky automobile insurance with a reputable company. (more)

Bernanke Ascertains Hill on Mortgage Hit
Washington Post: WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Thursday that the credit crisis has created “significant market stress” and offered fresh assurances that regulators would take steps to curb fallout related to the mortgage mess. (more)

Roommate Finances - 10 Tips For Managing Household Expenses By Enid Steiner
Check out these 10 tips that will let you and your roommates manage your finances more easily. As you will discover, you’ll never need to worry about “for better or worse, for richer or poorer” again. (more)

Mortgage Debt - Avoid Using Your Credit Card By
A survey for the homeless charity Shelter has revealed that in 2007, more than one million people in the UK have used a credit card to pay their mortgage.It seems that young people, including first time buyers are so eager to remain on the property ladder that they’ve resorted to this drastic action. More that 7.5% of people aged 18-24 have admitted paying their mortgage with their credit card.But if you think that’s bad, it gets even worse.It has been reported . (more)

Help Kids Overcome ‘I Want It Now’
You are in the thick of the holiday shopping season and your youngster has a serious case of the gotta-have-it-now syndrome. (more)

Inhigh-priced Gifts to Make Later This Year - Part 2 in a Series
Plan ahead now and save cash in December! Many easy, handmade gifts can be possible this year and convey a thoughtful, personal touch.

I am posting the second recipe for “Mix in a Jar” gifts (scroll down my blog for previous entries) for you to collect and use to your advantage.

Great. (more)

Never Lose Photos Again!
When the photo lab loses your pictures there’s no way to recover valuable lost memories. (more)

How To Choose The Right Credit Card By
When you are approved for a credit card, you’re being given permission to obtain goods or services before payment, based on the trust that payment will be made to the credit grantor in the future. Believe it or not, you dont have to have perfect credit in order to be approved for a credit card. The truth is, however, that a better credit history will be rewarded with lower interest rates, while those with troubled credit may have to pay higher rates and additional fees in e. (more)

Unsecured Loans: Arrange Finances Devoid Of Collateral By AshleyLewis
Unsecured loans can be availed without attaching any valuable asset as collateral. The amount derived can be used to fulfill various purposes. The repayment duration is quite flexible in nature. (more)

Same Day Payday Loans: Cash To Fight Away From Crisis By Tess Ocean
Same day payday loans are short-term cash provisions. Borrowers get the fund on the very day of their applying. There are many lenders available for these loans. Applying for these loans online proves to be a good applying tool. (more)

CGM Focus fund crushing the S&P 500 by 65 percent

CGM Focus fund crushing the S&P 500 by 65 percent

Ken Heebner, in my opinion, is one of the best money managers around. At CGM Focus, Heebner has made a mint by buying metals producers and energy names. He saw trouble in mortgages and shorted Countrywide Financial. All told, CGM Focus is up an breathtaking 75% for the year to date.

Read the full post from FeedTheBull.com RSS - Market News with a VOICE!

Tags: Investment Ideas

via Blogdigger blog search for mortgage.

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Financials help lift TSX; loonie above par
Toronto Star: The Toronto financials sector helped power the TSX sharply higher Monday afternoon and New York’s Dow Jones industrials headed to a record close even as the biggest financial firm in the U.S. warned it will be taking a enormous hit because of the subprime mortgage downturn. (more)

Banks - Money Confession
I have been collecting the money acknowledgeions of people who give them to me anonymously over the past few months. I share some of the more interesting ones here. This is acknowledgeion number 69 in the series:“I keep most of my cash at home. I don’t trust banks.”Other confession already listed: The First 25 Confessions [.] (more)

Salmonella Reports Shut Down Potpie Factory
ConAgra Foods voluntarily stopped production Tuesday at the Missouri plant that makes its Banquet potpies after health officials said the pies may be linked to 139 cases of salmonella in 30 states. (more)

An Introduction To Trading Penny Stocks By Jeff Goodman
Trading penny stocks can be very profitable if you know how to play the game. It’s not odd to have a penny stock go up 100% to 10,000% in one day. (more)

Balance Transfer Credit Cards - Benefits and Detailed Descriptions By Jagan babu vasudevan
Building debts with the Credit Cards are easy. There are certain ways that are possible to save money by transferring the balance from one card to a further. Also some new credit cards offer 0% balance transfer fee. There are many best balance transfer credit card deals available in the market, but one should be careful and must know the exact details about the new credit card offers, before he apply for a credit card. Because, there might be surcharges and extra fee. (more)

Suited Products for Financially Challenged Individuals By Groshan Fabiola
A remortgage is a process practiced in many countries. Giving the same propriety as collateral, one pays off his/ her mortgage using the proceeds from a second mortgage. (more)

Utah announces mortgage fraud task force (Provo Daily Herald)
Utah ranks as one of the biggest hot spots in the country for mortgage fraud and several high-profile cases have brought recent attention to the’ssues. To help combat the problem, state and federal officials announced a new task force that will target mortgage fraud schemes. Gov. (more)

FedEx cuts outlook amid rising fuel costs, freight slump
FedEx reduced its quarterly and yearly earnings expectations Friday and analysts suggested that forecasts could be pared for .

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Tis’ the Season for Credit Repair By David Fech
As you are getting ready for the holiday season and startning to slack off at work, remember that everyone else out there is doing the same thing, including your creditors. Now is the perfect time to repair your credit because your creditors are less likely to do the extra work to verify the negative items in your credit reports. Take advantage of the holiday season by getting the unverified negative items removed from your credit reports. (more)

Natural Disaster Leads To Leaner Restrictions On Louisiana Bankruptcy By
On August 23rd of 2005, Hurricane Katrina formed during the Atlantic Hurricane season and devastated New Orleans and all of the Coast of Louisiana. Loss of property and life caused a change in the lives of those living along the coastline. Due to the enormous destruction, for those people filing bankruptcy in Louisiana leaner restrictions will be allotted.The new bankruptcy forms will still be filled out but precise restrictions will be set aside, such as the use of the m. (more)

Sumitomo pays big to sell bonds
Mitsui Financial Group Inc announced 32 billion yen in charges on investments last month in the US mortgage market, which contributed to a 59. (more)