Category Archives: Financial Services

Financial Services

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Finding the Best Place to Sell Your Precious Gold Jewelry

If you are observant enough about financial markets, like most people who sell gold in Oakland Gardens, NY, you would probably be aware now that prices of gold have been skyrocketing the past few years. In 2003 alone, gold went for $400 per ounce. Most recently, it went above $1,400 per ounce. While the country and the rest of the world were reeling from the economic crisis, gold rose rapidly due to some factors. One of these factors is that gold is a secure haven, Investors in this precious gem ran after its tangible value in the wake of an uncertain economy that is based on fiat currency.

Aside from that, gold is also considered as hedge against staggering inflation. Gold proved to be a good choice while central banks all over the world engaged in practices aimed at kick-starting inflation. And there’s also the widespread fear of what would happen to countries with huge debt problems. Countries with existing debt before the crisis happened plus the new debt incurred during the crisis look to gold for hope.

The hope placed on gold is also felt by the individual consumer. Many people who have been hit really hard by the crisis are now thinking of selling their gold jewelry. After all, that’s $1,400 per ounce, isn’t it? Not really. If you plan to sell gold in Oakland Gardens, NY, the reality is that you may not get that amount per ounce.

Reality Check: What to Expect When You Sell Your Gold

It is important to determine the reasonable amount to expect from your gold. Get somebody to inspect your gold. An independent jewelry store can evaluate your gold’s worth. Have an estimate of how much pure gold content your jewelry has. Pure gold is 24K. You only have a partial gold if what you have is a 10K, 14K, or 18K. The rest of it is less valuable metals added in. Ask the jeweller how much he is willing to pay for your jewelry item. Don’t forget the exact weight of your jewelry’s gold. Then take your jewelry item to another independent jeweller to compare the different estimates.

Also visit a pawnshop before you decide to sell gold in Oakland Gardens, NY to know what prices are reasonable in your area. The basic rule would be not to get less than 70 percent of your gold’s market price. So that’s about $980 for every ounce of pure gold.

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Banks, Credit Cards, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Services, Financial Solutions, Insurance, Insurance Services, Loans, Money, Mortgage, Personal Finance

Confused.com Reveals £203m Worth Of Car Damage Caused By Misleading Sat Navs

New research from Confused.com has revealed that Sat Navs have caused over £203m worth of damage to drivers on UK roads, through accidents caused by misleading directions. With the Department for Transport holding its first ever Sat Nav Summit in March, the issue of misleading Sat Navs has become an ever-increasing problem across the nation.

A staggering 83% of British drivers have admitted to being misled by their Sat Navs, resulting in over half the country (52%) screaming at their devices. 68% of the drivers end up with longer journeys and clock up unnecessary miles while 45% of British drivers have confessed to feeling angry and frustrated while behind the wheel, which in turn has led to 31% of British motorists red faced, spending between£100 – £500 on Sat Nav related car damage.

Whilst it’s mainly men who blame their car damage on their Sat Nav, women are more likely to admit that it leads them astray. Women also get more frustrated than men, with 57% of female drivers freely admitting that they scream at their Sat Navs, a shocking 12% higher than male drivers.

On a national scale, drivers in the East Midlands fared the worst with their Sat Nav relationship, with 57% shouting at their Sat Navs and 50% feeling frustrated behind the wheel. Northern Ireland has proved the most docile with only 31% getting angry at misleading Sat Nav directions. 80% of Scots claimed to be given misleading directions constantly by their Sat Navs leading to over half (51%) of Scottish drivers screaming at their devices. The research did however pinpoint the Welsh city of Aberystwyth as the worst for Sat Nav anger management with an alarming 75% admitting to regularly losing their temper.

With the amount of Sat Nav accidents occurring across the country, and the pending Sat Nav legislation, Confused.com is calling for British motorists to register their Sat Nav blackspots from around the UK on Confused.com.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com, said: “As car insurance costs continue to rise, it’s never been more important to keep your motoring costs as low as possible. Our research has shown that the Sat Nav is not always the blessing it was once hailed to be and increasingly, motorists appear to be sighting the device as a source of frustration and danger. We hope that our Sat Nav blackspot map will not only help reduce risk, but we also hope that frustrated drivers get back behind the wheel a little happier.”

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Confused.com Reveals Young Male Drivers Pay Almost Double For Insurance Compared To Women

Confused.com/Towers Watson have revealed that the cost of car insurance for young men continues to go through the roof, with 17-20 year olds paying almost double what women drivers of the same age are paying.

Male drivers in the 17-20 year old age group are suffering as female drivers pay£1,771 less than the men UK-wide: it currently costs an average of £1,959 for women aged 17-20 to insure a car compared to £3,730 for men. These are the findings of the Confused.com/Towers Watson Car Insurance Price Index (Q4 2011), which is based on more than 4 million quotes.

Young people are feeling the impact most, with car insurance for young drivers seeing huge rises from the previous year. Regionally the picture is even more surprising: young men passing their driving tests in inner London can expect to be quoted an average of £5,523 to insure their car if they are aged 20yrs or younger which is more than 48% higher than the average for this group and 5.7% more than they paid in Q4 of 2010 meaning taking the time hunting around for the cheapest car insurance even more worthwhile. Their counterparts in Manchester and Merseyside fare even worse, with average costs of £5,724 facing them to insure their cars when they throw away the ‘L’ plates, a shocking rise of 10.6% year-on-year (Q4 2011 compared to Q4 2010). A 17-20 year old female in inner London can expect to pay £3,261 on average: a rise of 4.4% year-on-year, and they are paying an average of £3,307 in Manchester/Merseyside – a 9.9% rise year-on year. A high cost, but this is still more than £2,000 less than men of the same age.

When a driver adds another person to their comprehensive policy, average costs come down, so a 17-20 year old man pays £3,907 (UK average) as the only driver, but when they add on another driver the costs fall to an average of £3,345, a saving of more than £500. For 17-20 year-old women the UK average is £2,046 if they are the only driver and this falls to £1,819 for 17-20 year olds with another driver on their policy.

Comprehensive car insurance for women across all ages and regions fell marginally in quarter 4 of 2011 (-1.3%), but prices continued to rise for men, although by just 1% in quarter 4. Year-on-year, it was 61-65 year old men who saw the biggest jump in costs, with a 7.4% increase, bringing the average premium for men of that age group to £504. For women drivers it was the 26-30 year olds who saw the steepest jump in prices with 7.2% hikes, giving an average of £789.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance for Confused.com commented: “From December, EU legislation will mean that insurers can’t use gender as a factor in setting prices. The differences highlighted in our report show that there is still a huge disparity between what men and women are being charged for their car insurance. Insurers clearly still have a long way to go to comply with the new legislation. It’s more important than ever to shop around and we’re committed to making it easier for people to save money on their car insurance.”

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BMAC Finance Releases Their List of the Top 5 Most Dependable Cars on the Road Today

BMAC Finance, known world-wide for financing quality vehicles for drivers with bad credit, also gives valuable advice in an ongoing blog. In their latest blog post, the customer service team gives their opinion for the top 5 most dependable car brands on the road today.

“Even with a new car, you can’t be 100 percent certain that you won’t have trouble as soon as you drive it off the lot”, said Jose Felix, Finance Manager for BMAC Financing. Felix also added, “With more people feeling the pinch of government cutbacks, finding the funds to afford auto finance is tougher than ever. So when making the purchase of a car, you need to make sure it will turn out to be a dependable vehicle that won’t cause you any unnecessary future expense”.

According to a recent survey by J. D. Power and Associates, the Ford – Lincoln brand drives in at the top of the list. This manufacturer has now been crowned the winner for four years in a row. The four remaining places in the top 5 rankings were won by Lexus, Jaguar, Porsche and Toyota .

However, many cars failed to make the grade and found themselves at the bottom of the list of dependency. Mini, Jeep, Land Rover, Dodge and Chrysler were named as the five least most dependable vehicle brands in the survey.

According to the blog post, “One of the main reasons vehicles are more dependable now is because manufacturers have began engineering vehicles and parts to last longer. Fuel, water pumps and engines are now developed to last well over 100,000 miles”. Some of the top brands in this survey have made vehicles that have been known to keep running after 200,000 miles or more.

BMAC Finance leads the way in auto loans for bad credit as well as car loans for bad credit. To read their blog for more great tips and to find out more about their services, please visit: http://www.bmacfinance.com/.

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Payday Express Hold Graduate Recruitment Day To Grow Analytics Department

UK provider of cash advance loans, Payday Express, has held its first graduate recruitment day to attract young analytical talent to its rapidly expanding company.

The payday loan company invited 15 university graduates to attend the day and to undergo an intensive assessment process, consisting of a group task, presentation, interview and case study discussion. The objective of the recruitment day was to find promising analysts to join Payday Express’s analytics team, to help support and shape important business decisions.

After the gruelling process, one candidate was successful and has been offered the position.

Tim Trailer, managing director of risk and analytics, said: “It’s important to put a lot of effort into making sure we recruit the right talent, as the risk and analytics team plays a crucial role in giving management the information it needs to make business decisions, and in ensuring our processes are optimised.”

Analytics has been identified as a key focus area for the payday loans lender in 2012, with the aim of optimising operations and business strategy based on in-depth reporting and analysis.

The business plans to hold regular recruitment days, to offer high-achieving graduates entry level positions within the analytics team.

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Leading Payday Loan Company Implements New And Improved Induction Plan

Payday Express, a UK provider of payday loans online, has announced the implementation of a new and improved staff induction plan.

The move was made to ensure that staff training and development remains high on the agenda for Payday Express, a business that prides itself on understanding the value of ensuring all staff are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to effectively and efficiently carry out their roles.

Richard Turner, HR adviser at Payday Express, said: “Payday Express is passionate about learning and development and makes every effort to ensure that this starts from the moment a new recruit joins the organisation.”

The induction, which marks the start of a training programme, involves being introduced to the company, its mission statement and its principles, before being given extensive training on anti-money laundering, data protection, customer service, learning styles and other key skills and knowledge areas.

After a revamp of the process by operations manager Sarah Carroll and group trainer Emma Furlong, the induction is now much more interactive and people-focussed – a change that has been introduced to ensure all new starters feel part of the team straight away. While the old induction programme involved open discussions, the new one takes interaction to a new level by incorporating group break-out tasks and quizzes designed to ensure that information has been taken in and understood.

The process also involves interaction between experienced team leaders and new starters, after which each group of new employees must deliver a presentation on what they understand about the different roles and teams within the company to be.

Sarah Carroll of Payday Express said: “Getting the new starters to engage with tenured staff is very effective as it means they’re not passively absorbing information and instead are actively participating in their own learning.

“So far this has proved to be a successful addition to our induction programme,” she added.

Group trainer at the payday loan company, Emma Furlong, said: “The induction is beneficial as it provides a great platform for new starters to integrate into the company, and gives them knowledge and insight into company values and functions to foster the right mindset for their role and future career.”

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Exciting office expansion planned for Payday Express

Provider of payday loans online, Payday Express, has announced plans to expand its current office space, in line with plans to grow the business with the arrival of 17 new starters in February.

The payday loan company moved to its current location from smaller premises in April 2011, choosing offices that had the potential for expansion in 2012. With all teams within the business now at full capacity – due to significant and rapid business growth – work has begun on preparing the additional office space for the relocation of the collections department by the middle of this month (February).

The relocation of this department will mean not only that it has room for further expansion, but also that the contact centre and business development teams have room to grow into previously shared office space.

Another team set to expand in 2012 is the analytics team, which recently held a graduate recruitment day and has plans to hold future events to find even more talented individuals.

Operations manager at Payday Express, Sarah Carroll, said: “Increasing office space is a positive sign that the company is growing, and that more opportunities will open up for new staff to join us and for existing staff to continue developing their careers.”

Payday Express has also announced that there is scope to take on more space in the building they currently occupy, which will enable further expansion later on in the year.

Marcus Tibbals, contact centre team leader, said: “It’s very exciting to work for such a fast paced and high growth business.”

The company, which offers payday loan applications online, plans to hold regular recruitment days as soon as the new office space is ready.

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De Vere Group cuts costs and enhances customer service with online payment solution from SecureTrading

De Vere Group, operator of hotels, conference & training venues, golf clubs, luxury lodges and many other facilities across the UK, has implemented a solution from SecureTrading, the UK’s leading independent payment processor, to enable fast and secure online card payment services across its booking engines and websites.

Since the implementation, customers can now complete bookings faster and easier than before, enhancing the overall customer experience. De Vere Group staff no longer have to manually download bookings, take the payments or encrypt the credit card numbers, as this process is now automated via the SecureTrading solution – a benefit that has drastically reduced administration costs. Another plus is that customer payments also reach De Vere Group’s bank accounts quicker.

Joanne Stanford, Group IT Director at De Vere Group, comments: “We were looking to introduce an online payments system and wanted a partner that could work well with our web agency in terms of build as well as providing full PCI compliance and 3-D Secure validation. Having worked with SecureTrading on other projects for three years and recognised its customer-centric approach, we quickly realised it was the perfect partner. SecureTrading has provided an excellent level of service throughout the process, from the initial account set-up to the launch, and the support team is among the best I have ever worked with”.

De Vere Group’s partnership with SecureTrading first started three years ago with the launch of ‘Instant Meetings’, an online booking tool with which De Vere Group customers can arrange day meetings. The relationship was extended via the creation of De Vere Club – the fastest growing golf membership in the UK – which enables members to sign-up and manage their account online, including initial payments. Now, the online payments solution for bedroom bookings offers further capabilities and serves to further enhance the relationship.

Tim Allitt, Head of Sales and Marketing at SecureTrading, comments: “De Vere Group is continuously improving and expanding its online booking processes, and with online bookings for events, Golf Tee-Times, dining and lodges all due for launch shortly, SecureTrading will guarantee successful operations by providing payment solutions that enable fast and secure payment at all times”.

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Credit Cards, Financial, Financial Management, Financial Services, Financial Solutions, Money, Personal Finance

As The Credit Card Industry Suffers Revenue Losses, Consumers In Need Of a New Line of Credit Option

Overall, the credit card industry earned almost 6% less revenue in 2011 than during the previous year, in large part due to a decrease in the use of credit cards by shoppers and, as a result, less revolving credit that can be subjected to interest charges and fees. While come consumers have made a conscious effort to wean themselves off of spending on credit cards in an attempt to get a handle on their personal debt, others were forced into a credit card-free lifestyle during and after the Great Recession when many card issuers terminated the accounts of risky borrowers. Recent years have seen many lenders competing fiercely amongst themselves in order to pursue only the most creditworthy individuals.

Now with the nation’s economic situation slowly but steadily improving, credit card issuers are feeling more comfortable about relaxing their underwriting standards. This, combined with their acute need to acquire new cardholders in order to shore up some of their revenue losses of late, means that many lenders will looking beyond those with good and excellent credit scores in 2012. This opens up a whole slew of opportunities for people with less-than-perfect credit histories as they can reasonably expect lenders to increase their offering of credit cards for fair credit.

Consumers should beware of rising interest rates on borrowing as credit card issuers flounder to recoup some of their loss of earnings. In fact, experts have reported that going in to the New Year, the average interest rate on consumer credit cards is 15.14%, higher than the 14.75% APR that was the national average just six months ago. One option for consumers to find temporary reprieve from high interest rates is to look into 0 balance transfer credit cards which, when used wisely, can be an invaluable tool when it comes to handling debt.

Credit card companies are going to have to come up with some hard and fast ways to up their revenue over the coming year, whether they resort to raising interest rates, laying off employees, making more unsecured credit cards for bad credit available, some combination of the above or employing another technique altogether.

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Payday Express sets up contact centre support team to improve customer service

Payday Express, UK provider of cash advance loans, has restructured its workforce with the aim of dedicating further resources to customer care and support services.

This week, the payday loan company set up a new contact centre support department to take on administration duties previously performed by the customer services team, with a view to freeing up valuable time for advisers to be on hand to answer customer calls with increased efficiency.

Administrator positions within the newly formed team were offered internally and five experienced contact centre agents moved into the new department, with one external recruit completing the new team. Experienced contact centre team leader, Alison Eller, moved across to become a support team leader.

“I’m looking forward to heading up the support team. They are people with very strong administration skills, who will help make the various contact centre functions more efficient,” said Alison.

The contact centre support team will be focusing on answering customer emails as quickly as possible, as well as carrying out all administration functions within the contact centre department. Agents in the contact centre can now focus on their core competencies and offer the best possible service in response to information and queries on payday loans.

“Payday Express is continually focused on having the right people in the right roles to optimise the service offered to our customers,” said contact centre manager Carl Mountain.

“Setting up a new administration department enables employees whose strengths lie in this area to specialise in this, and for us to bring in new talent, while also building up the contact centre teams with employees that have strong customer service skills,” he added.

The latest re-organisation of the business follows the decision made in October 2011 to create a business development department to improve the customer journey through the applications process.

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UC Group moves online security to a new level with acquisition of information security specialists, Cognosec GmbH

UC Group has acquired Cognosec GmbH in a bid to extend its global information security services for the online business community. UC Group and Cognosec GmbH will jointly focus on assisting businesses to trade more securely, by providing integrated security, risk management and payment services, in response to the growing number and sophistication of cybercrimes.

Cognosec GmbH will become part of UC Group’s payment business, reporting to the SecureTrading Group. SecureTrading and Cognosec GmbH together will help merchants to secure the whole payment processing value chain – data, devices and networks – as cybercrime threats become more complex and harder to manage using existing safeguards. Critically, the two companies will also help online retailers and operators to meet their PCI DSS obligations as compliance becomes increasingly complex and expensive.

UC Group is a trusted advisor to US, UK, Asia Pacific and EU lawmakers and regulators and has extensively led the call for improved consumer and business protection to identify and minimise the growing risks to online businesses. In Europe alone, cyber-attacks are growing by 60 per cent a year, while 85 per cent of credit card record thefts are stolen by means of organised crime. The US currently accounts for 47 per cent of the global credit and debit card fraud, while generating only 27 per cent of the global total volume of purchases and cash, according to a recent Nilson Report.

The Cognosec GmbH acquisition enables UC Group to combat payment processing value chain and information security risks through the assessment and application of appropriate security for businesses in any part of the globe.

Oliver Eckel, CEO at Cognosec GmbH, says, “There are strong mutual benefits to both UC Group and Cognosec GmbH; through our specialisms in assurance, governance, enterprise risk and information security management, coupled with UC Group’s understanding of the online market and selected exclusive worldwide partnerships, we will be able to further extend our global reach. As more and more business goes online, the volume and type of threats to security are growing; we have the skills and track record to ensure that key business assets are safeguarded, whilst ensuring that businesses can trade uninterrupted. And with the advent of mobile business, our clients will be looking for even greater support, which we are better placed to offer as part of UC Group.”

Kobus Paulsen, CEO of UC Group, says, “UC Group leads the way in improving the quality and efficiency of internet business for online product and service providers. Recently UC Group has spearheaded the drive to regulate online gaming in Spain and the US to apply appropriate controls and safeguards for improved consumer protection. The acquisition of Cognosec GmbH strengthens our core proposition: to offer our clients safe and secure e-solutions for global trading.”

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Still safe as houses

Leading property investment company reveals why investors should remain confident about putting their money into property.

Grim predictions for the UK economy in 2012 have left many people wondering where to turn to get the best possible return on their money.

But according to Greater Manchester-based property and investment specialists Assetz plc, high demand for rental property across the country’s major cities shows that there are still exciting opportunities to secure strong returns from property investment for buy-to-let.

Assetz CEO Stuart Law says that leading banks’ continuing tightening of their mortgage lending criteria for first-time buyers, and an unwillingness by homeowners to sell in a fragile market, point to a solid outlook for buy-to-let investors who can get the right financing package in place to take advantage of the right houses for sale UK.

“The shortage of apartments in cities such as Manchester and Liverpool is resulting in significant competition between tenants, and driving up rental values,” Law said.

“Banks refuse to fund much-needed development which is worsening the undersupply situation, and with no measurable levels of new-build properties completing in the foreseeable future, tenants are going to find themselves increasingly squeezed out of core areas.”

That view is echoed by Matthew Smith from Manchester estate agent Thornley Groves, who said: “There is an overwhelming demand for rental properties in Manchester city centre, which has driven rents up by as much as 20 per cent over the last year.”

He added that, last autumn, as many as 20 tenants had been chasing every available property in the city. “This has resulted in competition becoming extremely fierce,” he said, “with tenants often reserving properties without viewing to avoid missing out.”

Student investment properties always make solid investments in major cities, Stuart Law added, and because so few other properties are currently being built, those which become available are expected to remain in high demand for many years to come.

Find out how easy it can be for you to put in place a solid foundation for your own future by investing in in-demand UK properties by contacting Assetz today, at www.assetz.co.uk, or by calling 0845 400 9000.

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Lefroy Hudson Forms Team for Institutional Client Services and Sales

Lefroy Hudson today announced the formation of a team dedicated to institutional client services and sales. Lefroy Hudson has recruited this team for the initial part of the expansion: Michael Huff, most recently the Executive Director and Analyst in charge of the Research sector of Lefroy Hudson; Violet Yao Chia, currently the Executive Director of Sales at Lefroy Hudson; Colin Johnston who was most recently a Management Director with one of Singapore most successful advisory; and Karl Erikson who joined Lefroy Hudson 16 months ago to consolidate the company’s presence in the market landscape. He is responsible for rounding out the team as well.

“Michael Huff has established himself as one of the market’s top analysts, and Lefroy Hudson is committed to affording him an environment to oversee his sector independently, objectively, and without conflict,” said Robert Milberg, Lefroy Hudson’s co-founder and CEO. “Violet and Colin have extensive experience of markets from both ends of the spectrum, and bring to us a degree of excitement, the proposition of them joining Lferoy Hudson to apply their skill sets and trade acumen to generate doable, feasible ideas, identify movers and shakers and provide top-notch service to their customers. Michael is already integrated in Lefroy Hudson’s culture of peerless customer service, and dedication to excellence.”

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Lefroy Hudson Forecast Crude Oil Price 2012

Lefroy Hudson revised higher its forecast for U.S. crude oil prices by $3 to $104 a barrel, citing the possibility of strong demand in the northern hemisphere winter, and left its Brent crude forecast unchanged at $116 a barrel.

“Global fundamentals and further monetary easing suggest upward pressure on oil prices. Given tightness in the distillate complex ahead of winter, gasoil-led rallies in crude are equally possible in the event of colder-than-average temperatures,” Lefroy Hudson’s analyst said in a note to their clients.

Brent crude oil prices are forecast to stay well above $100 a barrel, despite widespread expectations of an economic slowdown, a company poll said in late October.

U.S. crude was expected to average $92 a barrel next year and Brent was set to average $106.80 a barrel, the poll showed.

Brent crude was up $1.52 at $109.74 a barrel by 12:42 GMT on Friday after closing down $3.66 in the previous session.

Lefroy Hudson’s forecasts for 2012 implied the WTI-Brent spread would be $12 a barrel, slightly higher than the current level of around $9-$10.

“We believe that the extent of the Brent/WTI spread correction is overdone,” the Lefroy Hudson note said, citing the bullish impact for Brent of limited supplies of light, sweet oil.

lefroy Hudson’s analysts said it expects U.S. crude at around $105 a barrel in the first quarter of next year and $119 a barrel for Brent.

A modest start to the forecast period before oil prices regain strength.

We expect a somewhat weaker oil price trend in the first quarter of 2012. The Euro-area debt turmoil will continue to dampen risk appetite, while an improvement is expected in the supply/demand balance. Libyan oil will gradually return to the market, so other OPEC countries will have to scale back production to balance the market. This will improve OPEC’s reserve capacity.

From the second quarter of 2012 the balance in the oil market is likely to tighten again. Activity in the large oil-consuming countries will again accelerate. Growth in oil demand will again outstrip capacity expansion on the supply side. This will reduce OPEC’s capacity buffer. Tighter market conditions will lift oil prices and this trend is expected to strengthen towards the end of the forecast period. We have cut our oil price forecast to USD 130/barrel in 2012 from USD 135/barrel, but kept our forecast for 2013 unchanged at USD 140/barrel.

The risk of a sharp drop or abrupt upswing in oil prices has increased The risk is still high that we may experience a major downturn in the world economy or we see a new wave political unrest in vital oil producing countries. In our low price scenario we assume that a liquidity crisis and economic turmoil in Europe pushes the world into a new recession. In turn a sharp decline in economic activity will cut global oil demand significantly. Internal conflicts within OPEC hinder the cartel from imposing a coordinated cut in oil production and thereby trigger a drop in oil prices. In our high oil price scenario we assume that the political uprising spreads to Saudi Arabia and a significant share of the country’s oil production is locked in for a long period.

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Lefroy Hudson Announces Timothy Daniels Election to the Company’s Board of Directors

Mr. Daniels served as President and CEO of Beijing Asset Management (BAM) for seven years and is serving as its Chair through this term. In his three decades of service at BAM, he has held numerous offices including Finance Head, Vice President, and President of Market Research. He lived in Europe, Asia and Australia during his extensive career. He has seen memberships with key government councils, most notably in areas of economic stimulus and planning.

Simon Lee Ngieu, President and CEO of Lefroy Hudson, said, “Timothy is a noteworthy and excellent addition to the Board as our pursuit of excellence in all our lines of business within a sustainable landscape continues. His management, planning acumen and economic expertise will be beneficial to the entire Lefroy Hudson family and clients.”

Julian Chaperon, Chairperson of the Board’s Committee on Nominations, said that they are “enchanted to welcome Mr. Daniels to the Board,” and that they “look forward to his contribution to the focus of keeping Lefroy Hudson on the forefront of continued success.”

Mr. Daniels, in his keynote speech, welcomes the opportunity to work with Lefroy Hudson, adding that “he is glad to be part of the winning team,” and that he hopes that his expertise would “be productive and harmonic with the tradition of leadership and excellence Lefroy Hudson.” Furthermore, he said that it is his aim to “keep Lefroy Hudson relevant in the larger business picture in the coming years,” and will “be hard at work to see that goal through fruition.”

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Monthly donations from Payday Express support Build Africa projects

Monthly donations from payday loan company Payday Express to development charity Build Africa have helped to set up two Village Saving and Loan Association (VSLA) groups and will help set up six more over the next 12 months.

The partnership began in September 2011, with Payday Express committing to support the charity in the regular set up of new VSLAs.

Build Africa describes VSLAs as self-managed groups that do not receive external capital and provide people with a safe place to save their money, access small loans and contribute to a welfare fund that members can draw on in emergencies.

VSLAs are currently being set up across Uganda and Kenya , with the help of volunteers from Build Africa as well as funds from Payday Express, as part of an ongoing project to give families the opportunity to save and invest their way out of poverty.

The Umoja B Savings Group and Upendo Savings Groups have already been formed with financial help from the emergency payday loans provider and each already has more than 30 active members. Both savings groups meet once a week to discuss the savings accumulated and to agree on how the money can be most wisely invested. For example, a business that is selling soft drinks in a local village can be extremely lucrative when the nearest town or trading centre is more than 3km away, and such a business can be supported and grown with help from a VSLA.

Sarah Carroll, operations manager at no fax payday loan lenders Payday Express, said: “The donations the company regularly provides to Build Africa are helping communities in Africa transform their futures.

“We look forward to receiving regular updates from Build Africa about the savings and loans groups that have been set up as a result of Payday Express donations. It feels really good to work for a company that is determined to help those less fortunate to save and borrow money to improve their lives.”

The Build Africa VSLA projects have already helped more than 30,000 people in more than 1,000 VSLA groups.

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Payday Express launches daily industry news portal

Payday loan company Payday Express has launched an industry news portal to give customers the latest daily news on everything from general credit and savings stories, to energy prices and consumer behaviour, spending and saving.

Each day experienced in-house journalists will write and publish interesting and pertinent articles to the Payday Express website, covering topics the company believes are relevant and interesting to customers.

News stories already featured on the Payday Express feed include: “Families urged to place children’s cash gifts into junior ISAs” and “Boost for overseas travellers as banks axe currency fees”.

Of the daily news feed, Liam Hills, an account manager at Payday Express, said: “I really enjoy reading the daily news articles and am sure that customers will find them informative too.”

Payday Express is hoping the daily news will inform customers and provide them with a one-stop-shop for all finance and consumer behaviour news and views, complementing the general information already available on the website.

Sarah Carroll, operations manager at the no fax payday loan lenders said: “We are always aiming to make improvements to the overall service we offer our customers, from the website through to our contact centre.

“This news service gives customers visiting our site the chance to keep up to date with current and pertinent news.”

The emergency payday loans provider is also planning to launch a blog in the New Year, with a view to offering quick and easy money-saving tips and more.

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Business, Financial, Financial Services, Financial Solutions, Money

Mobile workforce solution provider ensures its services are on TAAP thanks to SecureTrading

TAAP, which helps organisations in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors save money and improve service through the latest mobile technology has chosen SecureTrading, the UK’s leading independent payment processor, to enable its clients to take payments using mobile devices. The solutions are used by a range of customers including charities such as Shelter to allow credit and debit card payments to be made via smartphones.

TAAP (The Agile Application Platform) is a sophisticated workflow system, which provides mobile workforce solutions and applications to organisations operating ‘in the field’. Using mobile devices pre-loaded with TAAP software, clients can receive, collect and transfer rich data from a PDA, smartphone or tablet to a secure web portal or back-office system in seconds. The systems are also scalable and flexible, making it easy to adapt to the most demanding environments from charities involved in face-to-face to fundraising to automotive clients delivering replacement vehicles and parts.

As with any transaction, data integrity is paramount and the solution’s software doesn’t save any of the credit card details so the transaction is fully secure and PCI compliant.

Angela Walker, Marketing Manager at TAAP, says: “SecureTrading’s products meet our business requirements and by offering an alternative payment method to cash, our clients have the opportunity to generate more income through cards and also improve cash flow as invoices do not need to be chased.”

Tim Allitt, Head of Sales & Marketing at SecureTrading, says, “Providing our clients with the facility to take payments via smartphones and PDAs is part of our ongoing mobile payment strategy. Indeed, the importance of mobile payments will become increasingly clear over the coming months and SecureTrading’s focus is on ensuring our gateway is accessible via whatever technology online retailers, merchants and partners want to employ.”

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Accounting, Assets, Business, Financial, Financial Services, Investment, M&A, Money

Anthony Citrolo Elected Executive Vice President & Director of The Long Island Chapter Of The Accountant/Attorney Networking Group Inc. (AANG)

It has been announced today that, Anthony Citrolo, CPA, CVA, CMAA, CBI has been elected as the 2012 Executive Vice President and Director of the Long Island Chapter of the Accountant/Attorneys Networking Group Inc. (AANG)

The Accountant/Attorney Networking Group is comprised solely of practicing accountants and practicing attorneys who service multiple clients. The purpose of the group is to facilitate networking between and among attorneys and accountants – two professions that have enormous synergy and potential for cross referrals. AANG offers 12 monthly networking breakfast meetings exclusively for accountants and attorneys. AANG also hosts two major networking cocktail receptions open to all professionals. The organizations’ web site is www.aangny.org

According to Mr. Citrolo a Managing Partner of M&A firm NYBB/Reliance Strategies, “the AANG creates a great platform for Accountants and Attorneys to meet and share information and ideas that can be used to bring cutting edge financial and legal solution to business owners or entrepreneurs engaged in a business sale or acquisition. Further Mr. Citrolo adds, “since Accountants and Attorneys are key players of the deal team that representbusiness buyers and sellers, the coordination of their efforts can result in lowering the fees incurred in the transaction and giving the deal the best chance of being consummated.”

About NYBB/Reliance

NYBB/Reliance Strategies is a full-service Merger & Acquisition firm in Melville, New York assisting companies with up to $50M in revenue to develop an exit strategy or make a targeted acquisition. In addition to M&A and consulting services, NYBB/Reliance offers valuation services in determining both Business and Transaction Values. Anthony can be reached at 631.390.9650 or anthony@nybbinc.com.

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Banks, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Services, Financial Solutions, Loans, Money, Mortgage, Personal Finance

Mortgage Network of Ohio Plan to Assist Ohioans Everywhere Find That Perfect Mortage

Unlike banks, the Mortgage Network of Ohio believes that when it comes to finding the perfect mortgage, there is always more than one option. They’d now like to pass this message onto Ohioans everywhere.

The company, one of the State’s leading Mortgage Lenders and mortgage Cincinnati, are currently doing business across the area. So much so that they’ve recently worked hard to improve on what they specialize in, in order to offer an even better service to buyers.

“At The Mortgage Network of Ohio, we believe that our clients should have more than one option on a Mortgage. We will take their application, work every possible scenario, then offer them options of loan programs available to meet their needs. Our objective is to maximize the profitability of the homeowner’s experience by eliminating the hassle of shopping.” – says Jeff Steinacker, president of the Mortgage Network of Ohio.

The company has a long history of helping thousands of families in the Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana region find their perfect home financing option – and have a strict process they adhere to with each application. This expansive service and investment in time ensures that each client finds a financing option that suits their needs, timeline and budget.

“Essentially, our ultimate goal is to help everyone get the keys to their dream home as quickly as possible. We can also assist them with refinancing, debt consolidation, home improvement, home loan Cincinnati, FHA and reverse mortgages” they say.

To find out more about the services that the Mortgage Network of Ohio offer, to speak with one of their experiences and skilled staff and to get yourself on the road to that set of shiny new house keys, please visit them online at:themortgagenet.net/

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