HRGuru

The shipping market is booming, and yet again Wall Street is speeding into the middle of a once-sleepy market. Bankers are rushing in to broker capacity, finance construction of new ships, and link buyers and sellers around the globe. And just as they did in the mortgage-lending business years earlier, traders are creating widespread use of derivatives. In just five years, ...

No one can guarantee you a healthy and prosperous retirement. Life is just too unpredictable. But you can increase your odds of enjoying your twilight years in comfort by pursuing a regimen of common-sense steps. Here are six top ones: h4. Decide carefully on health care You can do at least three things to help secure your health in retirement: Take ...

Every week you introduce more paper into your home, in the form of newspapers, magazines, flyers, coupons, schoolwork, correspondence, bills, and other documents. It may or may not be difficult for you to ensure that reading material and advertising is discarded when you are finished with it, but when it comes to financial documents, it can be much more challenging to ...

Misinformation and myths plague the insurance industry. Many times consumers aren't sure how much insurance to purchase or if they have purchased the right kind to begin with. If you're one of the thousands of Americans that don't understand insurance and what it offers read this list of the top 5 insurance myths and the facts behind them." h4. 1.) Auto ...

The average American home will spend $990 on heating this year, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Add that to the rising costs of food, clothing, and travel, and almost every individual and family will feel the pinch. Fortunately, you can make your utility bills more manageable. Many steps to reducing your bills apply to everyone, even those living in ...

Does the economic downturn terrify you? Or are you plotting a new strategy for life with less money? Your reaction offers a peek into your psyche, say researchers who study how personality shapes people's reactions to uncertain times. "People think about themselves and others in terms of typology — you're this type," says researcher Peter Jason Rentfrow of the University of ...

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday the largest government economic rescue plan in the nation's history, a $787 billion package of spending, tax cuts and tax credits that's designed to help pull the nation out of what's becoming the worst downturn since the Great Depression. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes everything from money to refurbish public ...

We all have our little fears: The frayed wire on the coffee maker. That knocking noise from the left-rear tire. The zombies staggering around in the backyard. For investors, one of the biggest fears today is inflation — a period of rising prices. Inflation erodes the buying power of your money at home and abroad. In a worst-case scenario, it can ...

Everyone has at least one frugal friend who always crows about how much money he saves by clipping coupons or frequenting discount stores. And while this friend’s behavior/bragging is a great reminder of how you should be more financially savvy — especially when the U.S. economy isn’t in the best shape — he may overlook some simple savings strategies that you’ve ...

A BW senior correspondent details his quest to repair his retirement portfolio and get his family's finances in order It could have been worse. At the end of February—a year and change since my wife and I had shifted our money to professional wealth management advisers—our equity holdings were down 48% for the 16 months they had managed it. But our ...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ - New rules adopted by the Office of Thrift Supervision today will help protect consumers from certain abusive credit card lending practices that can result in excessive fees and interest rate charges. The rules were developed in conjunction with the Federal Reserve Board and National Credit Union Administration, which are expected to adopt the same regulations later ...

Ripple effects of a dour economy are making this college application season as nerve-wracking for some admissions officers as it is for applicants. But for savvy families, there may be new opportunities. "A lot of schools are going to be concerned about meeting their requisite enrollment thresholds," says Barmak Nassirian of the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers. "They ...

If you've just been laid off, your first questions probably involve unemployment insurance. How does it work? How much will you collect? Where do you sign up? The answers depend on where you live. Some unemployment insurance policies are set at the federal level, but states set most of the rules and run most of the programs, explains Rich Hobbie, executive ...

I once received a letter from a woman who had just gotten a job offer. She had been unemployed for three months and wanted to know if she should accept the offer or try to negotiate for more. She felt the offer was low - less than she had been making at her last job - but was afraid that if ...

Finance professionals can find career opportunities in any business sector. Whether you're looking to be a CFO or controller, financial analyst or planner, portfolio manager or investment counselor, the requisites for the resume are the same. When developing your finance resume, focus on skills, areas of expertise, certifications and specific accomplishments. The resume must convey what you can do for the ...

I keep hearing that I should do something or other to improve my tax situation before the year ends. Is there really anything I can do at this point? Whether you are having a good year, rebounding from recent losses, or still struggling to get off the ground, you may be able to save a bundle on your taxes if you ...

If you’ve declared bankruptcy in the past, be prepared to defend that decision to a potential employer. It’s illegal for an employer not to hire or promote you because you filed bankruptcy, but it’s sometimes OK to consider bad credit, which usually precedes bankruptcy. Companies often check credit when a job involves finance, accounting, cash or valuable merchandise and when a ...

As unemployment continues to rise, everyone is looking for other ways to bring in some money while still searching for another job.  Although a job is the conventional way to earn money, sometimes you need to think outside the box or search outside your comfort zone in order to try something new and bring in a little bit of money ...

There are hundreds of finance and accounting concepts, formulas, methods, and terms, most of which the majority of HR leaders will never need to learn. That’s why we have our friendly neighborhood finance and accounting professionals. However, there are a few critical financial terms that most HR leaders need to at least be able to define, better yet, have a basic ...

How well are America's workers prepared for financial uncertainties and for the eventuality of retirement? In their own estimation, millions of employees haven't found a secure path to a bright future, whether that future begins in a retirement 40 years from now or at the end of the month, when the bills come due. Those are the disturbing findings of a ...