I’m here to help give tips for foreign exchange traders to help them become more profitable in this business. There is a huge opportunity in this market for the little guy from home to compete along side big corporations and banks, to make a nice profit for themselves.

• The Federal Reserve: Also known as “the fed” is the central bank in the United States. You probably would of heard on the news or school that this institution has one specific function; controlling inflation. I suppose in a sense, it does, but it plays a far larger role: controlling the supply of money. I’m sure you were aware that as an economy grows, money needs to be added to balance things out, well, it is added in the way of loans and credit in the banking system. As the fed changes interest rates, the market is more or less likely to get loans. Therefor, lower interest rates mean more people will get money, increasing the supply of money. Higher interest rates mean less people will get money, lower the supply of money. A high supply of money lowers the price of the currency and a lower supply of money has the price going up.

• Economic News: Every morning, anywhere from 8:30am to noon there is scheduled economic news coming out. This makes this time the most important to follow the news, so you know what is coming out and what is expected out. This news is the foundation that holds up a currency and you need to ensure that this foundation is strong. If GDP is higher than expected, currency will go up. If employment rates are better than expected, currency will go up.
• Risk & Reward: You should always be looking at this. Professional poker players always look at this. It’s simply looking at how much you have to invest, what is your potential profit and what are the chances of this happening. You need to constantly be looking at this because it can make you a more aligned and smart trader.

I’m currently giving a 7 day free forex training course. Newbies and experienced are all welcome. If you’re interested in participating, check out the Casual Forex Trader.

Forex is the shortened term for foreign exchange. The actual trading does not involve commodities like shares or stocks. It is a financial market where currencies are being traded with other currencies. Forex trading is expressed in currency pairs.

For example: US dollars and Euro or US dollars and UK sterling. The investor will get a return of his investment in terms of the relative ‘exchange value’ of a certain currency against another foreign currency. Basically you are betting on one currency against another and try to profit by the fluctuations with the two currencies.

Many traders don’t know that forex is just short for “foreign exchange”. So trading the forex market is simply trading foreign currencies. If you are a Forex beginner - Caution: “Do not attempt to trade until you receive the education and training to become a successful trader. There is substantial earnings to be made in the forex currency foreign market, but trading in the Forex is for the well-informed”

Forex trading used to be done only through phones with brokers manning them. A small investor or or a group of investors needs to go through their brokers to make their trades. But now, this process has now been made faster and easier. Being in contact with a forex trading company or your personal broker can now be done through a computer with an internet connection.

Learning the Process. Don’t Do Anything Stupid

Learn more about the history of forex trading, and general statistics of forex market. Get information about trading procedure, currency pairs, and forex trading systems. Always ask around before make trading and follow the method that the expert used. Do not try to be hero in forex trading you will lose everything. You must keep in mind the volatile nature of the market before plunging in. Learn how to trade with free demo forex accounts and free, practical trading e-books. When looking for forex brokers remember to ask for a free forex demo account. This is the most important things.

Conclusion

Forex trading is very appealing to the online trading newcomer as it can be a very controlled environment, and very simple to understand.

W.M.REDZWAN is a business writer specializing in finance and credit products and has written authoritative articles on the finance industry. He has done his masters in Islamic Banking (Law) and is currently assisting easy-debt-consolidation-loan as a finance specialist. Visit his blog for more information at {FOREX DEALING}

Forex Tracer can be described as the expert advisor that signals, reviews, and collect profits from the forex market for its clients. This forex autopilot is proficient in producing winning trades periodically. With small investment, you can earn great profits with it. The all-new version is now Windows Vista compatible. The setting up is as simple as organizing a DVD player. A computer that can support multimedia will be required. This would help you in seeing the charts and graphs. The second requirement from your part will be to have a stable and fast Internet connection. The system runs on data, and for real-time data, you would need a good net connection.

Besides this, you would need nothing, no experience, no manual intervention, or no high initial investment. The system knows when and how to make the trades. It implements its own stop-loss to take profit from all trades. The autopilot is also independent of trading strategies. This makes the appeal of the system universal. Any trader located in any corner of the world and employing any trading strategy will be able to earn profit using Forex Tracer. It supports 30 minutes up-to-date intraday trading. Another remarkable fact is the moment you purchase the software you receive a bonus $100 in your account.

When the autopilot was tested for its performance, it earned over $18,000 in nine days. You can have a look at the detailed backtest report available to believe the claims. You can run the system without risking your real money as it has an option of opening a demo account, where you trade with virtual money to test the performance of the system. Once you are satisfied, you can graduate to open a real account. In case you are not satisfied with their performance, you can get full refund within 60 days of your purchase.

Forex in a 24-7 market and is open for 5½ days in a week. At times, more than one major trading market is open simultaneously. For maximizing your chances of gaining profit you must attend them as much as possible, which is not possible by any human trader. But, as Forex Tracer works independently without any human intervention, it continues trading even when you are nowhere near your computer.

The system presents lowest risk with the potential for highest returns. It is compatible with any metatrader 4 broker. As the system has been developed by industry experts, it is capable of handling all practical and probable situations that one may face in the market.

Downloading Forex Tracer is extremely easy. When you click on the “download now” button you reach the next page where you need to specify your location, Zip or postal code, Name, email, the payment option like credit cards, card number, expiry date, and validation code. You can also use Paypal for making the purchase. When you complete the payment, you are free to download the software in your computer. There are video tutorials to help you in initializing the system and all other supports you may need in running the system.

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Changes International is an income business opportunity for those who are looking for financial freedom and a career change. The idea behind Changes International business opportunity is that you set your own hours for selling the products, have your own retail location on the web or in a store, and you get discounts on the items.

With Changes International you have to become a member in order to enjoy the benefits of the business opportunity. As a member you get the cash back rewards, loyalty rewards, but you can also become a seller of the products. You are considered a consultant with Changes International.

To get started, you have to have the Pulsate Plus Pack that offers the items they sell at the company and helps you to provide the correct information to the customers. In order to sell as a consultant with Changes International you have to know the products you sell and be a professional. It is a direct sales opportunity. The success pack has 12 of the Pulsate Plus 30oz product, 25 Pulsate Plus Samples, 25 Pulsate Plus Brochures, 10 catalogs, and a personal website.

In other words the packet you purchase has everything you need to start a retail business online as far as products and catalogs are concerned. To be in direct sales with Changes International you also need to have ways to market the product. Since you are buying the success pack to begin your consultant job with Changes International you are automatically going to have some of the product to sell.

The idea behind the pack is that you take it to home parties, festivals, and other types of places that you can sell from a booth. This apparently allows you to market the products in a direct sales manner. You can also hand out the catalogs or make your own brochures to pass out at social functions.

The website offers the online business through Changes International so that you are also earning income while being at home on the computer. You are supposed to check daily for any sales, and then mail the packages out. With Changes International you make as much or as little as you want with how much time you are willing to invest in the business. You can also sell the Changes International products to other businesses and receive income from that.

To begin with Changes International they believe it is best for you to speak with a consultant to answer all of your questions regarding the business opportunity. You are also able to read about success stories and the member recognition program. The Changes International members’ recognition is all about the consultant level you have as a member.

The more stars you have the more income you can earn. For a home business you can earn six or more stars offering you bonuses at each level that increase. The idea is the more you sell and the more stars you earn the more income you can earn overall.

Learn the Lemons from the Straight MLM Winners and read about Changes International from Brian Garvin and Jeff West at MLM Review Kings. This article may be used royalty free provided Bio & Links remain intact. Copyright © Mission Billion, Inc.

This is an interesting jurisdiction. In Dubai there are no taxes of any sort one has to contend with, so there is no tax filing and no tax audits, etc. Most offshore jurisdictions have no taxes pertaining to offshore derived income but do tax onshore derived income like if you owned a restaurant in the jurisdiction. Panama is loose in that if you had no onshore income you do not have any tax returns to even file. Dubai has no tax collection organization period. BUT Dubai is in tax treaties which is generally a big negative since it opens the door to fishing expeditions.

The double taxation treaties are aimed at reducing taxation in the foreign jurisdiction on profits generated abroad by foreign corporations operating in Dubai.

There are double taxation agreements with Algeria, Jordan, Sudan, Syria, Kuwait, Yemen, Egypt, Finland, France, India, Malta, Pakistan, Poland, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Sudan, Algeria and Turkey. These treaties call for profits derived from shares, dividends, interest, royalties and fees to be taxed only in the contracting state where the income is earned which should ideally be Dubai. There is no corporate income tax in Dubai and the provisions of the treaties do not state that such income must be taxed to qualify for benefits. Thus there could be a tax exemption from the home country even though Dubai/UAE has not levied any taxes on it. Some countries require taxes to be paid and other have a minimum taxation level so the individual treaties must be studied carefully and they may not be very effective tax remedies all. .

The Central Bank rules issued by the Securities and Commodities Authority of the UAE, the settlement of transactions amounting to more than Dh40,000 is required to be properly documented, and the identity of the investor verified. Whoops no privacy here. Think about money being frozen while identity is verified. Federal Law No. 4 (2002), which allows financial authorities to seize suspicious funds whilst investigations are taking place. The DFSA had signed two memoranda of understanding with the Isle of Man’s Financial Supervision Commission and Insurance and Pensions Authority and more are on the way.

Other problems with Dubai are the cost of incorporation is typically in the $5,000 range with zero advantages and numerous disadvantages when compared to an anonymous Panama Bearer Share Corporation.

Another issue is when you start receiving and sending wires to Dubai you are going to pop up on a lot of radar (terrorism and the whole middle east thing) which means your account will be monitored by lots of people and organizations. Then you have to consider the stability of the region and of course it is a hotbed of unrest and can flare up any time. Then you need to study the government of the country and decide for yourself if you would have a fair chance in the courts if someone decided to sue you where your assets are in Dubai. You can find better and safer jurisdictions.

For more information on offshore jurisdictions go here: http://www.panamalaw.org/

It’s quite simple to read and understand forex quotes, if you just remember two things, which are very important.

1. The first thing to remember is that, the number which is listed on the left is called the base currency.

2. And the second thing to keep in mind, that the value of the base currency is always 1 and it never changes.

US dollar is the most traded money in forex market, and it’s usually considered as the base currency for quotes. If the base currency is USD, then the number on the right will show how much of that currency you are able to buy for $1 US dollar.

When USD is the base money and the quote of the currency on right raises, it means that USD has become stronger compared to the other currency, which means you will be able to buy more of that money for the same price of $1 US dollar. If the quote rises, that means base money becomes stronger. If it falls, then the base currency weakens.

Exceptions

There are three exceptions to the rule I’ve explained above:

1. British pound (GBP)

2. Australian dollar (AUD)

3. Euro (EUR)

For these currencies, when USD is not the base one, a rising quote means the US dollar is weakening and can buy less of the other currency.

Simply, when a quote goes high, the base currency becomes stronger. If the quote goes down, the base weakens.

Cross currencies

There are some pairs, which don’t include US dollar. Those pairs are called cross currencies. The above rules apply to them as well.

Bid & Ask

Forex quotes consist of two sides: bid and ask.

BID is the price at which you can SELL base currency.
ASK is the price at which you can BUY base currency.

A Pip

Forex prices are often quoted in tiny increments called pips, which stands for “percentage in point”. A pip means the fourth decimal point out, or 1/100th of 1%.

As you can see, there are quite a lot of things that you need to know when trading forex. However, there is an excellent product called Forex Automoney, which makes trading forex much easier. If you don’t have any forex experience, but still want to make money with forex, then you should consider reading Forex Automoney. You can learn more about by clicking here.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Illegal immigrants awaiting deportation would be confined according to the risk they may pose under a new plan being proposed by the homeland security secretary.

Former hotels, nursing homes and other sites would be used to hold nonviolent, non-criminal immigrants as part of a larger plan to reform immigration detention, according to documents obtained Monday by The Associated Press. The alternative sites are intended to cut the costs of detaining immigrants, which reached nearly $2 billion in 2008.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will detail her plan Tuesday. The reforms were previewed by the agency in August without as much detail.

The plan is based on a review of immigration detention by Dora Schriro, Napolitano’s former detention adviser. She resigned last month to become commissioner of New York City’s jails.

Under the plan, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Homeland Security Department, will develop a way to classify immigrant detainees that will determine the facility where they are detained.

John Morton, head of ICE, will research the hotels and other venues where nonviolent, non-criminal immigrants could be held. The agency expects to save money by not putting everyone in local, state and government jails and prisons as they do now.

ICE also will submit to Congress in coming weeks a plan for using alternatives to detention. The agency says possible alternatives will cost only about $14 a day compared with about $100 a day for detention.

The agency has completed one of the reforms announced in August, removing families from T. Don Hutto detention center, a former prison in central Texas. The agency plans to detain women there who are now held at three facilities in Texas, saving about $900,000 through the end of the year, the documents state.

The agency said it paid $2.8 million a month at Hutto even when it was not full.

ICE plans to put 50 federal employees in detention centers where more than 80 percent of immigrants are held, more than double the 23 employees announced in August, in an effort to improve conditions. Hiring notices for the jobs were posted Sept. 18.

ICE says it has paid $200,000 per facility at more than 30 facilities for contractors to monitor conditions. But the agency says a federal employee, training and equipment would cost about $160,000.

Has the daily bustle of your 9-5 job left you wanting to have more time to spend with your friends and family? Do you have the desire to surpass the current income you’re making solely from the money you’ve made from your online efforts? If you desire to work from home with a home based business online, then you should be aware 5 high income online business that may help you make the transition.

1) The first high income online business is AFFILIATE MARKETING.

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of individuals who have left the 9-5 and are making substantial income from home with this affiliate marketing. This is definitely a proven method for generating a lot of income for a lot of people. The key to making affiliate marketing work is getting lots of targeted traffic to your affiliate sites. This requires that you create a traffic funnel that serves to qualify people whom are interested in your affiliate products or services.

The truly fantastic thing about this business is that you can literally market just about any product or service out there: from guns, to shoes, to websites, and luxury boats, the sky is this limit. When you become an affiliate you are usually given support/marketing materials in the form of banners, links, and other advertising tools you can place on your website to help generate sales.

So, when a prospect visits your site, and clicks on your link, they’ll be directed to the affiliate company. When the prospect makes a purchase, you’ll be given a commission for the sales you help generate.

One way to be successful with affiliate marketing, is to ensure that your website appears on the top 3 pages of the search results of a popular search engine. This means that you’ll need to learn the tricks and tips to ensure your site appears on the top 3 pages.

2) The second high income opportunity that will let you work from home with a home based business online is WEB DESIGN.

Understanding how to design web pages for others is a very lucrative way to earn a high income online. To be successful in web design, it’s important to understand the latest programming languages and web design techniques to compete with others designers online. One simple website design project can bring anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on the nature and size of the project you’ve acquired.

3) NICHE MARKETING is the third high income online business

This is definitely a business opportunity you should experiment with. Armed with the right tools and proper research methods, you can easily uncover a gold mine in terms of niche that you can exploit for a windfall of profits. One way to look for niches is to search for popular threads at a site called 43 things at 43things.com. I’ve found dozens of small niche opportunities just surfing there for a few minutes.

4) The fourth high income online business is trading online in the FOREX MARKET.

With the right information and training, you can enter the currency market/Forex market and start trading online. There are a number of tools available today to get you started trading right now. Simply look for the right Forex trading tools and/or software to get your started.

5) Lastly, ONLINE STOCK TRADING will allow you to work from home with a home based business online.

Just like Forex trading, there is a huge potential for a substantial income. But, this can only occur if you know what your doing, have the right knowledge to back your trades, and the right tools to execute the trade. Both Forex and Stock trading is not something you should jump right into if you don’t have both the knowledge or money to apply to these efforts. Jumping in and investing with out knowledge and/or money can be a quick way to loose a large amount of cash quickly. So be very careful, and learn the proper techniques/methods before your venture into trading online.

The five methods for earning a high income online business, affiliate marketing, web design, niche marketing, forex trading, and stock trading will help you work from home with a home based business online. Further, these businesses can help you make the transition from the 9-5 grind, to making money 24 hours a day. With the different business available, you’ll be sure to find the online business that is just right for you. And remember, the right business is the one that you can understand, and be comfortable with… and the one that makes you the most income.

Dramatically increase your internet income by checking out our free report now. I reveal all the secrets I’ve personally used to triple the money I’ve made since being a school teacher. Go to http://www.Killer-Ads.com right before we wise up and decide to no longer reveal our secrets!

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own or guarantee nearly half the $12 trillion U.S. mortgage market. Not long ago, they were the darlings of Wall Street, ranking next to U.S. bonds as among the safest and most conservative investments in the world. Preferred shares of these GSEs (”government-sponsored enterprises”) were considered so safe that banking regulators let banks count them in the capital required as a cushion against loan losses. The shares were safe until this year, when both the common and preferred shares of the distressed duo suddenly plunged. Between May 15 and August 25, Fannie’s common shares lost 77% of their value, and its preferred shares lost 58.8% in that short time. Freddie Mac’s preferred shares plunged even more, down 65.5%.1

In July 2008, the U.S. Treasury sought and was granted a rescue package involving an unlimited credit line for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with the authority to buy their stock, partially nationalizing them. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said the package was just insurance. “If you have a bazooka in your pocket and people know it,” he said, “you probably won’t have to use it.” But bazookas can spook the very people they were supposed to reassure. After the plan was approved, foreign central banks slashed their Fannie and Freddie bond purchases by more than 25%, and shareholders rushed to dump their stock. On August 22, Moody’s downgraded Fannie and Freddie’s outstanding preferred stock by a full five notches, from A1 to Baa3 (or slightly above “junk”).

On September 7, Secretary Paulson pulled out his bazooka and fired, announcing that Fannie and Freddie would be taken under a conservatorship (similar to a bankruptcy). The Treasury would underwrite the GSEs’ debt and would re-capitalize the corporations, in return for a new issue of preferred stock. On Monday, September 8, Fannie and Freddie share values were virtually wiped out, dropping 99% from their 52-week highs. That could be a disaster for many banks, which are loaded to the gills with these preferred shares. Banks already reeling from losses on mortgages and mortgage-backed securities are now being hit at the core, shrinking their capital base. Loss of bank capital works as leverage in reverse: at a capital requirement of 10%, $1 lost in capital wipes out $10 in loans. Millions of ordinary investors have also been hit hard, through mutual funds, 401K plans, pension funds and annuities that have large holdings in Fannie and Freddie.

There are other aspects of Paulson’s bailout plan that could be giving policymakers Maalox moments. As noted in a July 17 Economist article:

“[N]ationalisation . . . would bring the whole of Fannie’s and Freddie’s debt onto the federal government’s balance sheet. In terms of book-keeping this would almost double the public debt, but that is rather misleading. It would hardly be like issuing $5.2 trillion of new Treasury bonds, because Fannie’s and Freddie’s debt is backed by real assets. Nevertheless, the fear [is] that the taxpayer may have to absorb the GSEs’ debt . . . . That suggests yet another irony; the debt of the GSEs has been trading as if it were guaranteed by the American government, but the debt of the government was not trading as if Uncle Sam had guaranteed that of the GSEs.”2

The U.S. federal debt is already up to nearly $10 trillion, putting the country’s own triple-A credit rating in jeopardy. If the government assumes the GSEs’ weighty liabilities as well, the government could lose its own triple-A rating, prompting foreign lenders to withdraw their massive infusion of funds.3 But if the U.S. does not back the GSEs’ debt, the result could be the same. China’s $376 billion of long-term U.S. agency debt is mostly in Fannie and Freddie assets. Yu Yonding, a former adviser to China’s central bank, warned on August 21:

“If the U.S. government allows Fannie and Freddie to fail and international investors are not compensated adequately, the consequences will be catastrophic. If it is not the end of the world, it is the end of the current international financial system.”4

THE ENDGAME NEARS

It could be the end of the international financial system either way, but let’s think about that. Would the end of the current financial system really be so bad? The international financial system is now controlled by a network of private central banks that print national currencies and trade them with sovereign governments for government bonds (or debt). The bonds then become the basis for creating many times their value in loans by commercial banks. At a 10% reserve requirement, banks are allowed to fan $1 worth of reserves into $10 in loans, effectively delivering the power to create money into private hands. The price exacted by this private money-creating machine is compound interest perpetually drawn off the top, in a Ponzi scheme that has now reached its mathematical limits. The chief role of Fannie and Freddie has been to keep the Ponzi scheme alive by adding “liquidity” to markets, something they do by buying mortgages and bundling them together as securities that are then sold to investors. Old loans are moved off the banks’ books, making room for new loans, further expanding the money supply and driving up home prices. As economist Michael Hudson noted in Counterpunch in July:

“Altruistic political talk aside, the reason why the finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE) sectors have lobbied so hard for Fannie and Freddie is that their financial function has been to make housing increasingly unaffordable. They have inflated asset prices with credit that has indebted homeowners to a degree unprecedented in history. This is why the real estate bubble has burst, after all. Yet Congress now acts as if the only way to resolve the debt problem is to create yet more debt, to inflate real estate prices all the more by arranging yet more credit to bid up the prices that homebuyers must pay.

“. . . The economy has reached its debt limit and is entering its insolvency phase. We are not in a cycle but the end of an era. The old world of debt pyramiding to a fraudulent degree cannot be restored . . . . The class war is back in business, with a vengeance. Instead of it being the familiar old class war between industrial employers and their work force, this one reverts to the old pre-industrial class war of creditors versus debtors. Its guiding principle is ‘Big Fish Eat Little Fish,’ mainly by the debt dynamic that crowds out the promised economy of free choice.

“. . . No economy in history ever has been able to pay off its debts. That is the essence of the ‘magic of compound interest.’ Debts grow inexorably, making creditors rich but impoverishing the economy in the process, thereby destroying its ability to pay. Recognizing this financial dynamic most societies have chosen the logical response. From Sumer in the third millennium BC and Babylonia in the second millennium through Greece and Rome in the first millennium BC, and then from feudal Europe to the Inter-Ally war debts and reparations tangle that wrecked international finance after World War I, the response has been to bring debts back within the ability to pay.

“This can be done only by wiping out debts that cannot be paid. The alternative is debt peonage. Throughout most of history, countries have found again and again that bankruptcy - wiping out the debts - is the way to free economies. The idea is to free them from a situation where the economic surplus is diverted away from new tangible investment to pay bankers. The classical idea of free markets is to avoid privatizing monopolies, such as the unique privilege of commercial bankers to create bank-credit and charge interest on it.”5

Under current law, if the GSEs’ capital falls too far below required levels, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (their regulator) is authorized to take control of the firms and impose a form of bankruptcy called a conservatorship. What happens in a conservatorship was explained by former Federal Reserve consultant Walker F. Todd in a July 23 article:

“Traditionally, conservatorship freezes existing bank accounts and then allows limited withdrawals until authorities determine how much of those frozen accounts may be distributed pro rata to the claimants. After the appointment of a conservator, new deposits and other funds received as well as new investments would be fully protected.”6

Claims of creditors are not imposed on the taxpayers but are satisfied from the corporation’s existing assets. Claimants take according to seniority, with lenders being senior to shareholders, and the proceeds from any new business being kept separate. Fannie and Freddie investors would take some losses under this scenario, but the available pot for settling claims is quite large. Most of the GSEs’ mortgages are not junk but are genuine and are being paid. Nouriel Roubini, who is Professor of Economics at New York University and has a popular website called Global EconoMonitor, estimates that the “haircut” for securities holders would be a modest 5% ($250 billion on $5 trillion). He notes that securities holders are getting a subsidy of $50 billion a year over what they would earn if they had invested in U.S. Treasuries, specifically because Fannie and Freddie carry more risk; and risk means the occasional haircut. Roubini concludes:

“It is . . . time to put a stop to the coming ‘mother of all bailouts’ starting with a firm stop to the fiscal rescue of Fannie and Freddie, institutions that have behaved for the last few years like the ‘mother of all leveraged hedge funds’ with their reckless leverage and reckless financial activities.

“. . . [L]et’s call a spade a bloody shovel: nationalise Freddie Mac and Fannie May. They should never have been privatised in the first place. . . . Increase taxes or cut other public spending to finance the exercise. But stop pretending. Stop lying about the financial viability of institutions designed to hand out subsidies to favoured constituencies.”7

NATIONALIZATION WITHOUT TAXATION: SUCCESSFUL HISTORICAL MODELS

Roubini suggests that full nationalization of Fannie and Freddie would require an increase in taxes or cuts in other public spending, but there are other possible funding solutions, ones with quite successful historical precedents. If the multiple layers of profiteers, speculators, derivatives, commissions, bonuses, fees and general fraud were eliminated from the mix, a nationalized Fannie/Freddie could finance itself. This was proven in the 1930s with the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC), a government-owned agency set up to reverse a disastrous wave of home foreclosures. The HOLC was funded by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), another wholly government-owned agency that performed the functions of a public bank. The RFC successfully funded not only the New Deal but America’s participation in World War II. In a February 2008 article in The New York Times, Alan Binder recommended a return to the HOLC model as a way out of the current mortgage crisis. He wrote:

“The HOLC was established in June 1933 to help distressed families avert foreclosures by replacing mortgages that were in or near default with new ones that homeowners could afford. It did so by buying old mortgages from banks . . . and then issuing new loans to homeowners. The HOLC financed itself by borrowing from capital markets and the Treasury.

“The scale of the operation was impressive. Within two years, the HOLC granted over a million new mortgages. (Adjusting only for population growth, the corresponding mortgage figure today would be almost 2.5 million.) Nearly one of every five mortgages in America became owned by the HOLC. Its total lending amounted to $3.5 billion. . . . (The corresponding figure today would be about $750 billion.)

“As a public corporation chartered for a public purpose, the HOLC was a patient and even lenient lender. . . . But times were tough in the 1930s, and nearly 20 percent of the HOLC’s borrowers defaulted anyway. So the corporation eventually acquired ownership of about 200,000 houses, nearly all of which were sold by 1944. The HOLC closed its books in 1951, or 15 years after its last 1936 mortgage was paid off, with a small profit. It was a heavy lift, but the incredible HOLC lifted it.

“Today’s lift would be far lighter. . . . Given current low interest rates, a new HOLC could borrow cheaply and should find it easy to earn a two-percentage-point spread between borrowing and lending rates, for a gross profit of maybe $4 billion to $8 billion a year.”8

The RFC initially capitalized the HOLC by buying all of its stock for $200 million. The HOLC was then authorized by statute to issue ten times that sum (or $2 billion) in tax exempt bonds. In the same way, in 1937-38 the RFC created and funded Fannie Mae as a wholly government-owned agency, for the purpose of injecting money into the banking system so that banks could increase the volume of home mortgages. The RFC and its agencies funded their operations by selling bonds at a modest interest to the Treasury and the public, then relending the acquired funds at a slightly higher interest. The “spread” was sufficient to cover operating costs and losses from default and still turn a modest profit.

How did the HOLC manage to reverse a far worse foreclosure crisis than we have today and still turn a profit, when Fannie and Freddie - which also raise their loan money by selling securities to investors - have become hopelessly bankrupt in that pursuit? The difference seems to be that the HOLC was a public institution operated as a public service. Fannie and Freddie are private, profit-making ventures designed to make money for their investors and political exploiters. As Professor Roubini observes, “These GSEs were designed to make losses. They are expected to make losses. If they don’t make losses they are not serving their political purpose.” When the profiteering is taken out and the business is run as a public service, the math works.

There is another American model that is even older than the HOLC, which presents even more exciting possibilities. In the first half of the 18th century, the province of Pennsylvania completely funded its government without taxes or debt, through a publicly-owned bank that issued paper currency and lent it to farmers. The bank did not have to borrow capital before it made loans; it just created the currency on a printing press. The money was lent rather than spent into the economy, so it came back to the government in a circular flow, avoiding inflation; and interest on the loans was sufficient to fund the government’s operations without taxation. Such a public bank today could solve not only the housing crisis but a number of other pressing problems, including the infrastructure crisis and the energy crisis. (See E. Brown, “Sustainable Energy Development: How Costs Can Be Cut in Half,” webofdebt.com/articles, November 5, 2007).

Once bankrupt businesses have been restored to solvency, the usual practice is to return them to private hands; but a better plan for Fannie and Freddie might be to simply keep them as public institutions. In the August 8 London Tribune, British MP Michael Meacher proposed this alternative for Northern Rock, a major British bank that was recently nationalized after becoming insolvent. He wrote:

“[W]hen the banks have failed the public interest so badly and still even now continue to pursue so single-mindedly their commitment to privatise their gains whilst socialising their losses, would not a publicly owned bank be the most effective way of changing the current corrosive financial culture of short-termism, lower investment, house price inflation, and insider enrichment at the expense of systemic fragility for everyone else? Perhaps we should not return Northern Rock to the private sector after all.”9

Perhaps we should not return Fannie and Freddie either.

Ellen Brown, J.D., developed her research skills as an attorney practicing civil litigation in Los Angeles. In “Web of Debt,” her latest book, she turns those skills to an analysis of the Federal Reserve and “the money trust.” She shows how this private cartel has usurped the power to create money from the people themselves, and how we the people can get it back. Her websites are http://www.webofdebt.com/ and http://www.ellenbrown.com/ Her eleven books include the bestselling “Nature’s Pharmacy,” co-authored with Dr. Lynne Walker; “The Key to Ultimate Health, co-authored with Dr. Richard Hansen; and “Forbidden Medicine.”

NFU Mutual has been proclaimed as Britain’s ‘best car insurance provider’ by Auto Express magazine for the third year running. However, how do we really know if one provider is better than another?

Certainly there’s a lot to be said for customer reviews - Auto Express surveyed readers on the performance of 45 leading car insurers and NFU Mutual proved to be the best all-rounder across categories including value for money, helpfulness, communication and overall performance.

However, other car insurance companies can point to success in their own customer satisfaction surveys while both Swiftcover and Kwik-Fit have claimed top spot in a comparison website’s examination of the cheapest insurers in the UK. So how do we know which one to choose?

Certainly there’s a lot to be said with sticking with what you know if you’re happy with your provider’s performance. The problem with staying with the same company year on year, however, is that renewal quotes are generally uncompetitive and the best rates are only offered to new customers.

To make the most of these deals it’s sensible to shop around with a comparison website. However, don’t fall into the trap of always picking the cheapest policy - use a comparison 2.0 website so you can assess the performance of the providers and the cover options available to you.

If value for money is one of your key considerations, then don’t forget there are other ways to save. Paying annually instead of monthly will cut out interest charges; and most insurers offer reductions for enhanced security, parking in a garage at night, completing a Pass Plus scheme, limiting the number of named drivers on your policy and agreeing to a mileage limit.

Remember it’s not just about finding cheap car insurance - it’s about finding the right car insurance policy for you.