The tax deal struck to extend the Bush tax cuts also includes a temporary 2 percentage-point reduction in the payroll tax. This one-year reduction of the payroll tax effectively means that every working American will receive a 2% PAY RAISE beginning the first of January 2011.

So, what does that mean? If you make $20,000 a year – that is a $400 yearly increase. $50,000 means a thousand dollar increase over the year.

Of course it is only temporary, but it should give a the economy a nice boost.

Other DeepMarket Articles

• Mobile Telephony: The Next Wave in Cyber Crime
• What Are the Most Profitable Businesses to Start or to Be Employed in During a Slow Economy?
• What is the Cost of Raising a Child in America?
• Where to Find the Best Jobs in Economics
• The Secret to Jump Starting Your Revenues in an Economic Recession

Recommended by DeepMarket

• Top 12 methods to stay motivated in sales: the journey of life  (LEADS Explorer)
• What selling metrics are required to manage sales in the recession?  (LEADS Explorer)
• The 2 most important departments in any company  (LEADS Explorer)
• Focus or expand offering in order to survive the recession?  (LEADS Explorer)
• In the Era of Now the Salesman still has to wait  (LEADS Explorer)

Ask Deep Market To Recommend Your Posts

* A. M. Best
* Dominion Bond Rating Service
* Fitch Ratings
* Japan Credit Rating Agency
* Moody’s
* Standard & Poor’s
* CreditPointe
* Egan-Jones Rating Company

These companies “rate” the debt companies sell to finance their operations – the higher the rating, the lower the cost for a company to borrow money. So, when you hear the terms “triple A” or “junk bond” – that means the financial instrument has been rated by one of the rating agencies. Here is the problem: The company that wishes to borrow money pays the rating company for the rating. A possible conflict of interest? Or more importantly, the recent failure of the rating agencies to get it right. AAA rated companies are failing or have failed and those companies were “predicted” to be in wonderful shape by the rating agencies.

So, what can we do?

Freerisk is a project with the goal of making freely available the data, algorithms and tools necessary to perform risk modeling. We believe that risk management is too important to society to be an arcane subject or competitive advantage.

Freerisk is offering up tools and data to allow anyone to do their own research. The data is out there already, but like a lot of things Freerisk is going to put a lot of effort into making the data more available and easier to use for analysis:

* An open repository of financial data, including financial statements for public companies
* A standards-based API for querying financial data
* A distributed method for designing and running risk models
* Open-source tools for parsing and handling financial data
* Educational materials on risk-management

They have a lot of work to do going forward:

Freerisk is under active development, and not all the pieces are in place yet. This site is a work in progress and is here to inspire more people to get involved in the project.

The really cool thing about Freerisk is they might be helping to create a more distributed, independent process for the identification and modeling of risky behavior MINUS the inherent conflict of interest binding the corporate world today. Just as the “wisdom of crowds” concept has captured the imagination of investors, perhaps this will be another tool and data source for the huge debt market. Who knows, perhaps Freerisk will encourage a competition – set up by a very forward looking company – that emulates the X-Prize or Netflix Prize.

Other DeepMarket Articles

• NYSE and AMEX Stock Data Added
• The Benefits of AIX Data Replication in HACMP Clusters
• How to Cut Expense by Choosing the Right Copier
• Inverted Head and Shoulders chart pattern for 2010-03-18
• Best Buy Supports New Line of Business and World-Class Sales Force

Recommended by DeepMarket

• Online advertising and email marketing are out – Content marketing is in  (LEADS Explorer)
• The disconnect between advertising and the buyers  (LEADS Explorer)
• Added Quintura search to website  (LEADS Explorer)
• Die Broke Blog | Just another WordPress site  (Die Broke Blog)
• The Oracle of customer retention and tribe  (LEADS Explorer)

Ask Deep Market To Recommend Your Posts

If you are on the wrong side of events, it may be very difficult to see the silver lining in a dark cloud. The most recent economic downturn has been very difficult for some home owners who are living beyond their means and the likely end result has been their losing their house. This failure in the system as a result of easy money and lax lending standards has created a real estate contagion and the cycle – at the moment – is self propagating. As more home owners lose their property, that property goes to the market at lowered prices, which in turn pushes the whole market lower, which then puts more home owners in danger of losing their homes because of loss of home equity lines or other factors.

This unfortunate cycle is not unlike a forest fire. Without going into all the complex dynamics of a wild fire (which is a fascinating subject) – sometimes the best option is to let the fire burn itself out. The fire consumes all combustibles, eventually runs out of fuel and dies. The housing market now has a backlog in houses for sale not seen in several decades (well, maybe since the early 90′s, but I think it is even worse now). This inventory needs to be burned off and until that backlog is gone, the market prices will continue to fall. As a home owner, it is an unenviable position to be in watching a wild fire fast approaching your home and this real estate plague is no different – there may be nothing that can be done without burning until the fire dies for lack of fuel.

Silver lining? Oh, right – back to that. Using the forest as an example again – fires are a natural part of life in the woods. The natural burning as a result of lightning helps to clear the undergrowth and allows for new fertile ground to be available for oak trees overwhelmed by weeds and minor foliage. If you watch CNBC and hear Larry Kudlow talk about the present situation, he clearly defines the housing market in this manner: The housing market is now more affordable. That is an interesting way of looking at the markets – not just a crash in prices, but more affordability for those willing to invest now. The glass is half-full. And to extend the argument even further, not only are the market prices more affordable – foreclosed properties are absolutely bargain basement deals.

So, an average newly wed couple can better afford a home now than they would have been able to five years ago – for them this is an opportunity. For the active investor, or even the aggressive prospective new home owner, foreclosure sales are an opportunity plus situation. Buy when there is blood in the streets – and I think we have seen some blood in the streets. And if it was easy, then everyone would be doing it – right? The infomercials running late at night that highlight the ease with which anyone can go out and find and purchase foreclosed properties are generally hubris. Intelligent decisions are based on accurate, reliable, timely and actionable information. In the sea of gurus selling programs, a potential investor needs to think for oneself – but with appropriate intelligence to find foreclosed properties that can be acted on.

If you are serious about investing in a foreclosure, then Learn Advanced Techniques from a Foreclosure Expert right from your home with foreclosureS.com! They will explain how you can find Bank-Owned homes in your area 20% – 50% off of market prices. They consolidate and constantly update the foreclosure listings that you need to make decisions.

Other DeepMarket Articles

• Prosper Loans go to 36% Nationwide
• NYSE in Spring – A great way to start a tour
• Mortgage Brokers: How to find a good one
• How to Find Cheap Airline Tickets
• Learn How To Trade Options

Recommended by DeepMarket

• How to Find Multifamily Properties  (Jeffry Evans)
• How to Find Scholarships  (Jeffry Evans)
• How to Find Love  (The Sexy Iguana)
• How to Find Colleges  (Jeffry Evans)
• How to Find Profitable Niches  (Lynx Digital)

Ask Deep Market To Recommend Your Posts

How many US Representatives will vote in favor of the Bailout Plan?

It is a live widget, so it will update as we careen out of control towards the vote this afternoon. Watch the markets – it could get ugly!

Other DeepMarket Articles

• Palin in 2012 – Because the Mayans were Right
• Stock Blog Posts of Interest
• Negative Seasonal Pattern Stocks on Wednesday the 14th of January 2009
• You Will Know the Truth
• Negative Seasonal Pattern Stocks on Monday the 15th of December 2008

Recommended by DeepMarket

• Top 12 methods to stay motivated in sales: the journey of life  (LEADS Explorer)
• Dipping your toes in the side of the pool will get you nowhere: dive in!  (PamSlim)
• The Big Bang of CERN: The Internet or LHC?  (LEADS Explorer)
• The afterburner of a viral press release using free distribution  (LEADS Explorer)
• The vortex power of your company communications  (LEADS Explorer)

Ask Deep Market To Recommend Your Posts

The future of the economy in the US, as well as the rest of the world, is dependent on the outcome of the vote on the economic rescue plan – let’s even call it a stabilization bill. I have been using newsflashr to track the latest stories related to the markets and the legislative action. I especially like the stock market blog feeds and the unique presentation of that stories:

Headlines Sorted by Time

Real-time updating headlines by topic

Individual blog feeds sorted by Alexa

Related articles by Zemanta

• Markets retreat amid growing slowdown concerns
• World markets mixed after Senate OKs bailout plan
• U.S. Senate passes revised $700-billion bailout plan

Other DeepMarket Articles

• Symbol Cloud – the stocks people are browsing
• Evolving Art with Nature Inspired Algorithms
• Guarantee Your Good Name With Lifelock
• Ack! Your Stock is Correlated with Fannie??
• Interview with StockTickr Blog

Recommended by DeepMarket

• Get Back With Your Ex Girlfriend Fast  (The Sexy Iguana)
• Best Savings Account Rates  (blreditor)
• 7 Methods to buy links with content  (LEADS Explorer)
• Conferences: having a booth or attending with a fast pitch?  (LEADS Explorer)
• Business starts with a first customer  (LEADS Explorer)

Ask Deep Market To Recommend Your Posts

So, oil going up is good or bad? Here is a simple view. Traders have an eye on the world economy – with a sharper focus on the US. When the economy slows down, less activity translates into lower oil usage. At least a decrease in the increase of usage. Irrespective of the market action showing a $25 blip in oil prices, the price of oil will open around $108 on Tuesday morning – not $130. $108 is still up from last week and if the oil traders are right, then they are expecting economies to not glide into a slow down. Not to say it will be a pick up in activity, but perhaps stability. Oil is a two-faced mistress – dropping below $100 a barrel encouraged even one into thinking the economy was fine, which in turn restarted the bullish trend in commodity prices, which may in turn push prices down again because of the friction of high energy prices on the economy….

Related articles by Zemanta

• John McCain Has THIRTEEN Cars. Barack Obama Has One.
• links for 2008-09-21
• Oil soars amid anxiety over U.S. bailout
• Oil spike sets new record
• The Bubbles Have Peaks, Oil Doesn’t:

Other DeepMarket Articles

• DARPA’s Grand Challenge
• CNBC Million Dollar Strategy
• Formula 1 Game
• Bullish? 8:1 Stocks with Inverted H&S Patterns
• Goobuntu – Google’s Linux Distro?

Recommended by DeepMarket

• How to add barcodes to your business cards | Ledfrog.com  (Brandon Hann)
• Sudhir Mishra slams Katrina Kaif’s Aamsutra ad  (Indiacitys)
• All About China  (Web Chit-Chat)
• Shia’s Not So DUI?  (Beautiful Sin Webmaster Resources)
• How to measure a website’s IQ?  (Chatdd)

Ask Deep Market To Recommend Your Posts

Image by José Antonio Galloso via Flickr

Related articles by Zemanta

• Good Morning, Your Money Is On Fire [Finance]
• World Markets Tumble On Wall Street Crisis
• Next Up: Will The Fed Help AIG?
• Wall Street’s meltdown and the potential technology hit (Larry Dignan/Between the Lines)
• World markets tumble on Lehman news
• Wall Street fallout shakes economy
• Picked a Bad Week to Stop Sniffin’ Glue
• Wall Street crisis: Investors dump shares after Lehman collapse
• Stocks Tank as Lehman Goes Bankrupt, But Black Monday Averted

Other DeepMarket Articles

• CNBC Million Dollar Strategy
• Oil over $54 again
• Oil down three bucks
• Oil drops to 54 bucks
• Oil Trading Below $100

Recommended by DeepMarket

• Oil Leak or Oil Volcano?  (LogisticsMonster)
• March Crude Oil  (Chart.Ly Blog)
• Gasoline & Oil prices  (dhmercer)
• Financials And Oil  (Upside Trader)
• The Nationalization Continues  (Upside Trader)

Ask Deep Market To Recommend Your Posts

Image via Wikipedia

Previous Federal Minimum Wage:

$5.15

New Federal Minimum Wage:

$5.85 – July 24th, 2007
$6.55 – July 24th, 2008
$7.25 – July 24th, 2009

The unemployment rate just surged to 6.1% – still historically low – but in comparison to the 4-5% rates the nation has enjoyed in the last three or four years, it is on the rise. Notice that the minimum wage went from $5.15 to $5.85 in July 2007. Also notice that the unemployment rate began to rise in mid-2007.

Is it possible that the Federal Minimum Wage is hurting those it is supposed to help? Is it just an unfortunate coincidence? Correlation is not causation, but I find it interesting!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Behind the minimum wage debate
• Joel Barkin: States Still Leading Feds on Minimum Wage
• Minimum wage up to $6.55 an hour
• Minimum wage hike kicks in
• Minimum wage increase going into effect
• The Federal Minimum Wage: Looking Back Over Time
• Federal Minimum Wage Goes Up (Kinda) and Joanna Newsom Sings
• Stop Arnold: Sign the petition to protect 200,000 state workers
• Minimum Wage Boosted, Low Wage Workers Hardest Hit
• How (not) to argue for equality

We are pleased to offer you this exciting, new, and entirely free professional resource. Visit our Free Industry resource center today to browse our selection of 600+ complimentary Industry magazines, white papers, webinars, podcasts, and more. Get popular titles including:

Hacking Your PBX: 15 Ways to Make the Most of a Modern Phone System
eWeek
Next-Gen Load Balancing: 3 Keys to Successful Delivery of Advanced Web Apps

No credit cards, coupons, or promo codes required. Try it today!

Other DeepMarket Articles

• Palin in 2012 – Because the Mayans were Right
• Domain Names and Hosting
• NYSE and AMEX Stock Data Added
• Google PageRank Update in Progress
• Acceptable Head and Shoulders Pattern

Recommended by DeepMarket

• How to add barcodes to your business cards | Ledfrog.com  (Brandon Hann)
• Hotels in Resort World Sentosa  (GoingPlaces)
• Update  (Upside Trader)
• How Certain Kinds of Music Can Relax Your Mind And Body  (richarddacker)
• Why two turkeys don’t make an eagle  (LEADS Explorer)

Ask Deep Market To Recommend Your Posts

Don’t let the work “social” fool you into thinking “socialism.” P2P financing is the furthest thing from socialism. Social lending is market based (well, depending on the P2P lending company you use):

- Lenders “bid” on the right to fund a loan
- Lenders select the loans they bid on by researching the fundamentals behind the loan
- The interest rates of the loans are driven by the market forces – not a “central planning” committee

I would venture to say that Social Finance is even less “socialist” than your average American bank. A bank gathers up investor’s money paying only 2-3% interest, determines the “best” loans to fund at much higher rates, and the difference between the two rates is the bank’s revenue. I am not anti-bank and they are part of the free markets, but they effectively control each side of the transaction – within reason depending on what the rest of the banks are doing. If they fall too far outside the range of reasonable rates, they will either loss all their business to other banks because they are not competitive or they will go broke losing money on all transactions.

Banks create friction.

P2P lending removes friction.

Social Finance makes for a more efficient borrowing and lending market. Market forces are allowed more freedom and are not constrained by a bank acting as a gatekeeper. A lender might get 8% on his investment instead of 3%. A borrower might get a loan for 12% instead of 30% using her credit cards.

As an example, here my listing for a loan on Prosper.com:

$25 Bonus For New Lenders
How to Use Prosper Listing Widget for MySpace, Blog, Website, or Other

Prosper.com is the closest thing to a free market in the P2P lending space. You control the rate you want to place on you loan listing, but obviously you might not get funded if you try to get a rate like 5%. The market will pass you by and your loan will not be funded. Setup a loan with a competitive rate, then market forces will move lenders to research you loan and potentially bid on it. If the rate you select is even better (for lenders) than the rest of the loans on the market, then lenders will compete to get a piece of the action and actually bid your interest rate down.

If you sign up for a new account with Prosper as a lender, you can get a $25 bonus when you lend money for the first time. Don’t be shy about lending some money to my listing!

If you are looking to borrow some money at a lower rate than you can at most banks, try Prosper:

Other DeepMarket Articles

• Social Lending – Higher Rates of Return for the Investor
• Prosper Loan
• Borrow on Lending Club
• Please Vote to Support Social Lending

Recommended by DeepMarket

• How Not To Use Social Media  (BlogGlue)
• Email marketing is not a sustainable model  (LEADS Explorer)
• Ads are easy, social media is not  (LEADS Explorer)
• Social Crapola is not the promised land  (LEADS Explorer)
• Social Media is Not An Experiment  (Phil Lauterjung)

Ask Deep Market To Recommend Your Posts