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What Are Municipal Bonds

What Are Municipal BondsWhat are Municipal Bonds?

A municipal bond is a bond or fixed-income financial instrument that is issued by a city or a local government body and their coordinating agencies. Potential issuers of municipal bonds include the following local areas: cities, counties, special-purpose districts, redevelopment agencies, public utility companies or districts, publicly operated airports and seaports, school districts, and any other entity that is intertwined with a locality’s government.

Municipal bonds are offered by the locality or government body to help fund a particular project and raise money to pay-off expenditures. The bonds can come in two forms: general obligation bonds or secured investments that are backed by specific revenue streams.

In the United States of America, municipal bonds offer their holders interest income that is typically exempt from federal income tax as well as the income tax of the state in which the bond was issued. That being said, some forms of municipal bonds (depending on what purpose the bond serves, meaning what the money gathered is used to fund) are not tax exempt.

All forms of municipal securities consist of short-term issues (typically referred to as notes) that contain a maturity schedule of one year or less and long-term municipal bond issues (typically known as bonds that contain a maturity period of more than one year). The short-term varieties are typically used by an issuer to raise money in anticipation of future revenues such as taxes, aid payments, while the issuance of long-term bonds is used, to cover irregular cash flows, to meet unexpected deficits and raise immediate capital needed for projects until a long-term source of financing can be secured.

Municipal bonds are issued by underlying agencies to finance the infrastructure needs of the issuing government body or municipality. That being said, the needs for each issuer will vary greatly; some municipalities use the revenues obtained from the municipal bonds to fund streets and highways, or hospitals, schools, power utilities, and other various public projects.

Types of Municipal Bonds:
General Obligation Bonds: These types of bonds possess interest and principal payments, which are secured by the faith and credit worthiness of the underlying issuer. These types of bonds are typically supported by the issuer’s ability to implement tax levy on the underlying public. As a result, of the inclusion and relationship of taxation, the general obligation bond is typically voter-approved.

Revenue Bonds: These types of bonds contain a secured principal and interest that is derived from the town or jurisdiction’s ability to charge rent from the facility or project that the proceeds of the bond will go towards to, as well as the money obtained from tolls. The finances obtained from these bonds are used to fund projects such as: roads, bridges, water and sewage treatment facilities, subsidized housing, hospitals, and toll roads.
Holders of Municipal Bonds:
Holders of municipal bonds purchase the fixed-income investments directly from the issuer on the primary market or from other bond holders after the original issuance (on the secondary market). In exchange for an investment of capital, the holder of the municipal bond receives periodic payments composed of a portion of the invested principal and interest payments.
The repayment schedules attached to the municipal bonds will vary based on the underlying agency and the type of municipal bond. Municipal bonds typically pay interest semi-annually; shorter term bonds pay interest only until maturity, while longer term bonds are amortized through the annual delivery of principal payments. Zero-coupon or capital appreciation bonds; however, will accrue interest until maturity at which time both the principal and interest payments become due.

Understanding Security Management

Understanding Security Management

What is Security Management?

Security Management is the administrative process of the management and cultivation of securities, which are financial instruments that undergo trade and exchange within the realm of the public, commercial market – Security Management activities latent within this market rely heavily on the authentication, authorization, purchase, and general transactional activity undertaken by publically-traded securities.

Security Management differs from traditional money management, due to the fact that securities cannot be used as currency within a commercial setting; this means that while securities can be traded and exchanged within the setting of a financial market, individuals in possession of securities are not permitted to use securities as legal tender.

The Role of Security Management

Within individual securities exists an individual monetary value, which is valued both as per its immediate value, as well as its eventual value; eventual value with regard to securities exists as a result of the capacity for the increase or decrease with regard to its valuation.

Individuals or services specializing in the field of Security Management will be well-versed in the methodology of interest with regard to measures, ideologies, and strategies latent within the Security Management industry: While securities do retain an immediate valuation, they also retain an eventual – or prospective – valuation; the differences between these type types of valuation is vast

Immediate valuation represents that inherent value of the security in the event of its redemption; the eventual value is facet that typically taken into further consideration with regard to Security Management strategies – as a result of accrued interest or a decrease in valuation, securities are subject to increase, decrease, or stability with regard to future value

Security Management and Security Transfers

An activity that is commonplace with in Security Management strategy is the notion of transfer undertaken by an individual security; as a result, the receipt of a security certificate allows for the conveyance of legality within an individual transfer.

A Security Certificate is required by the SEC in order for the completion of the process; the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the governmental body responsible for the oversight of all transfer and activity with regard to securities – this requirement is also imperative with regard to approval of the SEC with regard to the transfer of individual securities.

Security Management Legality

Security Management can be a vital resource with regard to investments, trades, and exchanges of both stocks, as well as securities; however, within the realm of the open stock market, there also exists a wide variety of legality and strict stipulations to which must be adhered. Prior to signing any legal documentation or paperwork with regard to the undertaking or contracting of the services of Security Management, individuals are encouraged to consult with an attorney who specializes in business, finance, employment, and contracts.

As a result of the legal acumen provided by a skilled attorney, a contract for the hiring of a business management consultant will retain the optimal benefit for both parties involved in the agreement.

 

What You Didn’t Know About Exchange Rates

What You Didn't Know About Exchange RatesWhat are Exchange Rates?

Exchange Rates are rates that are applied to currency; currency is another classification for the wide range of monetary systems in circulation. Exchange rates are defined by the innate value of an individual currency with regard to others in circulation. Currencies maintaining higherexchange rates may allow for an individual acquiring that currency – in exchange of another currency – to receive a larger amount of a currency with a higher exchange rate. Conversely, currencies with lower Exchange Rates may allow for a subtracted amount of that currency received upon exchange.

A Practical Example of Exchange Rates

Although seemingly complex, Exchange Rates can be explained in far more simpler terms:
A Scenario Illustrating Exchange Rates
On April 3rd, 2009, the following illustrates the Exchange Rates shared between the United States Dollar (USD) and the Indian Rupee (INR):
One United States Dollar, which will be referred to as ‘USD’, is equivalent to 49.89 Indian Rupees – Indian Rupees will be referred to as ‘INR’ for the purposes of this example.
In the event that an American traveled to India and wished to exchange the USD – with regard to applicable Exchange Rates – for the INR – approximately 50 INR were equivalent to 1 USD; upon exchanging 5 USD, the American traveler would expect to receive approximately 250 INR.

On May 7th, 2010, the following illustrates the Exchange Rates shared between the United States Dollar (USD) and the Indian Rupee (INR):

That same American traveler wishes to return to America on May 7th, 2010, whereas the applicable exchange rates between the USD and the INR had since declined subsequent to April 3rd, 2009; the then-current exchange rate was 45.41 INR for every USD.
Upon exchange the initial 250 INR with the hopes of receiving 5 USD, the American traveler will find that as per the actives exchange rates in India, 250 INR is equivalent to 227.05 USD; 23 USD less than the initial amount possessed.

Uses for Exchange Rates
As per the previous example involving the fluctuation of exchange rates, individuals undergoing currency exchanges with regard to international monetary systems are subject to either gains or losses with respect to the applicable exchange rates; as a result, the following activities have arisen in conjunction with the notion of exchange rates:

Exchange Rate Trading (FOREX)
Akin to the act of investing and trading stocks, the act of trading currency is similar in the implementation of value fluctuation with regard to rendering financial losses or gains. FOREX, which is a colloquialism for the term ‘foreign exchange’ is the systematic activity of exchanging various forms of currency within a setting of a commercial market. 
Foreign Exchange Market (FOREX Market)
Existing both in physical and virtual forms, the marketplace used by traders is commonly referred to as the FOREX Market; with regard to the dynamic of exchange rates, international currency is exchanged between individuals interested in the monitoring of the behavior of that currency – in conjunction with the stock market, there exist a wide variety of observable trends and patterns with regard to the valuation of foreign currency and exchange.

What Are The Types of Tax Fraud

What Are The Types of Tax Fraud

What is Tax Fraud?

Tax Fraud is classified as the purposeful,unlawful criminal act committed by an individual – or entity undertaken in with the intent of avoiding the satisfaction of taxes owed to the Federal Government Department of Taxation or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).Tax Fraud is a nature of fraud in which the perpetrator conducts illegal, unlawful, fraudulent, and typically clandestine activity in order to avoid the payment of taxes applicable to – and expected of – the business or commercial operation in question.

Types of Tax Fraud

Tax Fraud can take place in a variety of methods; furthermore, the means undertaken by individuals committing Tax Fraud can range in their nature, as well:

Misrepresentative Tax Fraud

Misrepresentative Tax Fraudis defined as the purposeful act of misrepresenting the status of finances, income, or expenses in order to intentionally avoid the fulfillment of tax payment required by a specific individual or entity:

This type of Tax Fraud can take place in the event that an individual not only misrepresents their respective, reported earning with regard to the fiscal year, but as a result, misrepresents the amount of tax payments owed; due to the fact that taxation is calculated by the earnings of an individual, a misrepresentation of earnings is corollary to a misrepresentation of expected tax payments

With regard to Tax Fraud, Money Laundering is the purposeful concealment of earnings through the facilitation of masking endeavors undertaken with regard to the accurate portrayal of detailed earnings; money can be laundered upon misrepresenting both the sources of income, as well as the whereabouts of that income

Falsified documentation involves the purposeful and fraudulent misrepresentation of financial records undertaken to mask the true amounts of income and resources with regard to tax fraud; illegal falsification of documents is typically employed in order to conceal accurate financial reports

The usage of offshore – or international – banking accounts is typically undertaken by individuals laundering funds or monies into untraceable or hidden bank accounts existing in other countries or nations; this type of tax fraud is typically undertaken in order to conceal the true amount of earnings, funds, or monies in possession in order to commit tax fraud – skewed earnings reports typically result in inaccurate tax payments

Tax Evasion

In contrast to Misrepresentative Tax Fraud, the nature of Tax Evasion is defined as the intentional and deliberate criminal activityundertaken by an individual – or entity – with the intent of defrauding the Federal Government by completely avoiding the fulfillment of taxes owed; while certain methods of tax evasion may be undertaken with regard to Misrepresentative Tax Fraud, certain cases involving Tax Evasion may be employed to avoid the satisfaction of taxes altogether:

Unemployment Fraud is not uncommon within the realm of criminal activity attributed to complete tax evasion and tax fraud; individuals may continue to collect unemployment benefits while maintaining additional employment classified as ‘Off of the Books’ – this classification is result of the absence of reporting earned income rendered from a particular act of employment

 

The Truth About a Stock Market Crash

The Truth About a Stock Market Crash

What is a Stock Market Crash?
A Stock Market Crash is classified as a massive, financial abatement of stock value with regard to the behaviors, values, and trends latent within the various facets of a stock market or trading institution. While marginal declines and rises are to be expected within a forum of investment trading, the nature of a Stock Market Crash is momentous.
Rather than experiencing gradual increases and decreases in the value of stocks and other investments, Stock Market Crashes illustrate rousing declines in stock value and investment trends complete with instantaneous and dramatic impacts affecting all of those involved.


What is a Stock Market?
A Stock Market is a financial forum in which financial instruments, such as stocks, bonds, and derivatives are traded, bought, and sold with the hopes of gaining a margin of profit. Stocks, which are shares of a publically-traded company, are available for purchase by the public, which allows for individuals to invest monies in the prospect that the business will experience financial gain in the form of monetary growth. Shares of stock are purchased as per their listed value. The prospect of the respective value of those shares facilitates the opportunity to either lose money or gain it.
Stock Market Crash Terminology
The following terms and instruments are common within Stock Market Crashes:
Stock Market Index: The formulaic measurement of investment trends that have the potential to surround, cause, or anticipate a Stock Market Crash.
Panic Selling: A communal or singular act that involves a drastic selling pattern with regard to a stock – or stock shares – believed to be rapidly declining. In many cases, panic selling is contributory to a Stock Market Crash.

Going Green gets a Jolt: Porsche Ready to Unveil Plug-in Hybrid Model

Going Green gets a Jolt: Porsche Ready to Unveil Plug-in Hybrid Model

 

 
The new Porsche Panamera E-Hybrid will boast a 20-mile all-electric driving range, along with an 84 mile per hour all-electric maximum speed. 
 
Porsche is set to unveil a new plug-in hybrid version of its Panamera four-door vehicle at the Shanghai Motor Show in China towards the end of the month. The new Panamera E-Hybrid will serve as Porsche’s first plug-in hybrid vehicle.
 
Early pricing for the Panamera E-Hybrid is set at an average of $99,000. In addition to the E-model, Porsche currently has two hybrid models already in production, versions of the Cayenne SUV and the Panamera. However, the Panamera E-Hybrid is the first Porsche vehicle that can be plugged in for a battery charge from an external power source. 
 
This new vehicle is part of an aggressive expansion of the Panamera line-up which also includes larger extended-wheelbase models of the vehicle. The extended wheelbase models were produced primarily for the Asian market; however, Porsche spokesman Calvin Kim announced they will be offered in the U.S. market sometime this year. 
 
With a 95 horsepower electric motor and a 3.0 liter V6 gasoline engine, the new Panamera E-Hybrid will have a maximum power of 415 horsepower. The new model will come equipped with an all-electric driving range of approximately 20 miles on a full charge, which can power the vehicle for roughly two-and-a-half hours, according to company statements. The new vehicle will be able to reach speeds of 84 miles per hour while in the all-electric mode. Utilizing all available power, the vehicle travels from zero to 60 miles per hour in 5.2 seconds with a maximum speed of 167 miles per hour. Fuel economy figures for the new vehicle have not been made public yet. 
 
Prices for the 2014 Panamera E-Hybrid will start at $78,000 for the base model and rise all the way up to $161,000 for the turbo Executive model, which is a high-performance extended-wheelbase vehicle. 
 
Porsche is also developing another hybrid; the Porsche 918 Spyder high-performance sports vehicle will be offered for a starting price of $850,000 and will be available in the United States by the end of this year. 
 
Source: AP

Coming up Aces: Zynga Stock Surges on U.K. Gambling Bet

Coming up Aces: Zynga Stock Surges on U.K. Gambling Bet

 

 
 Zynga, as a result of now offering real money online poker throughout the United Kingdom, experienced strong earnings for the first quarter of this year.
 
Shares of Zynga surged more than 12 percent on Wednesday after the company announced that it had just started offering real-money online wagering in the United Kingdom.
 
Zynga, which is widely known for its popular internet games such as FarmVille, has soared approximately 40 percent this year based on expectations that it would further penetrate the lucrative online wagering market. 
 
The new ZyngaPlusCasino and ZyngaPlusPoker games are now offered in partnership with London-based bwin.party, one of the largest online gambling sites in Europe. Through this partnership, players will have access to various table games, poker and slots. 
 
Online gambling is legal in a number of places throughout the world but is mostly prohibited in the United States. However, investors are optimistic that an opportunity for online gambling may soon be a reality in the states. 
 
“Our vision in the long-run is to offer players the next generation of wagering games on various platforms in regulated markets throughout the world,” said Zynga’s chief revenue officer, Barry Cottle. 
 
The gambling industry has been lobbying the United States Congress to relax online gambling bans, claiming that table games and poker revolve around skill as oppose to luck. New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware have all recently legalized various forms of online gaming. 
 
While Zynga built its reputation and brand on Facebook through games like FarmVille, the popularity of those titles has taken a hit over the past year; Zynga has shuttered over a dozen of its titles since October. 
 
Even though, the gaming company has enjoyed considerable success this year, its current stock price of roughly $3.50 is still 65 percent below its initial offering of $10. 
Zynga went public in December of 2011; shares of Zynga are currently 80 percent below the all-time high, which was hit in March of 2012. 
 
Source: CNN
 

Counterstrike: Facebook’s New Weapons against Google

Counterstrike: Facebook’s New Weapons against Google

 

Counterstrike: Facebook’s New Weapons against Google
 
Facebook is planning to use Google’s own platform—the Android Operating System—against it. 
 
The last time Facebook and Google had an opportunity to make friends was during the fall of 2007, when the two mega powers discussed an advertising alliance. Ultimately, Facebook rejected Google in favor of archrival Microsoft. 
 
The relationship between Facebook and Google has soured since the snubbing as Facebook grew to become an online superpower it opted to poach salespeople, engineers, and executives from Google. The battle for talent is now seemingly perpetual, along with feuds over privacy issues and advertisers. The feud became so intense that Facebook even attempted to orchestrate a smear campaign against the search giant. Google responded to this low blow by paying astronomical sums to retain their talent and spending billions to develop Google+, the search engine’s own social network and direct competitor to Facebook. 
 
Now, Facebook is taking aim at one of Google’s other crown jewels: the open-source Android operating system for mobile devices. Through the creation of a new application called Home, Facebook is venturing into the world of mobile devices, placing itself front and center on popular smart phones while pushing Google’s prized creations, like maps, Gmail, and search into the background. 
 
CEO and founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg said he was not sure how Google would react, but suggested that Home could help Android devices by separating themselves from the iPhone. 
 
In the short-run, Zuckerberg could be right; any boost to Android will help Google, which a significant chunk of its revenue on mobile devices through ads in search results, apps and web pages. However, over time, if the Facebook mobile app platform succeeds, Google could suffer. If Facebook takes the lead role on Android mobile devices, the value of a new Android device to Google will decrease, and its grip on the Android consumer base will weaken. 
 
Facebook is not the first rival to use Android for its own benefit. Amazon, through the creation of the Kindle Fire, also markets Android devices. Moreover, Google’s ally Samsung has made tweaks to the interface of its Android devices and offers cloud storage services to rival the search giant. 
 
Source: AP

Ouch: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Faces $1 Billion Tax Bill

Ouch: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Faces $1 Billion Tax Bill

 

Facebook’s Initial Public Offering made founder Mark Zuckerberg a multi-billionaire; however, it also left him with a pretty hefty tax bill. 
 
Facebook’s stock market debut left founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg with a fortune valued at roughly $13 billion and a 2012 tax bill of around $1.1 billion. 
 
Zuckerberg’s enormous tax burden stems from his move last May to increase his stack in Facebook. On the day of the company’s IPO, Zuckerberg exercised a stock option and purchased 60 million shares at a strike price of 6 cents per share. Even if these shares are never sold, the Internal Revenue Service treats them as regular income once they are exercised. The rational is that said options are a form of compensation similar to regular wages.
 
For Zuckerberg’s sake, these rules require the CEO to report income last year of roughly $2.3 billion for his stock options alone. To augment his obligation, add the top 2012 federal tax rate of 35 percent and the highest state income tax rate of California’s 13.3 percent and you get a total tax obligation of 48.3 percent. 
 
This massive amount owed comes before factoring in deductions and other income collected by the CEO of Facebook last year. Although the government and California’s tax agency know what is labeled in Zuckerberg’s return, but several California CPAs told various media outlets that the Facebook founder’s tax obligation will likely exceed $1 billion. 
 
Such a burden is highly unusual, even for billionaires. 
 
The Internal Revenue Service does not comment on the returns of individual taxpayers, but each year the agency releases aggregate data on the 400 American tax filers with the largest reported incomes. According to last year’s list, the average top earner possessed an income of roughly $245 million and a federal income tax bill of nearly $50 million. 
 
To cover the massive bill he knew was approaching, Zuckerberg dipped into his treasure chest of Facebook stock, selling over 30 million shares during the company’s IPO. At the time, Facebook announced in a regulatory filing that Zuckerberg planned to use the majority of the $1.135 billion in proceeds to cover the taxes on his stock-option purchase. 
 
In addition to his tax bill, Zuckerberg faces another sizeable hit in the upcoming years. 
Zuckerberg is sitting on over 60 million of unexercised options that expire during the winter of 2015. At Facebook’s current share price, Zuckerberg’s options would generate $1.6 billion worth of taxable income. If Zuckerberg were to redeem these shares today with the nation’s current tax rates, Zuckerberg would face a $826 million bill. 
 
The United States’ treasury will gladly accept such a large payment, as will California, which is expecting to receive a windfall from thousands of Facebook employees who are cashing in on stock grants and options. The state of California expects to collect approximately $1.5 billion in Facebook-related tax revenue, according to estimates from the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office. 
 

S&P 500 Finally Hits New Record High

S&P 500 Finally Hits New Record High

 

 
After flirting with the milestone for the past few weeks, the S&P 500 finally topped its all-time closing high in morning trading today. The benchmark index climbed roughly 3 points to 1565.58, inching just beyond its record closing high of 1565.15 reached in October of 2007. 
 
Despite the new record, trading was relatively stagnant on Thursday as investors were busy watching the ongoing crisis in Cyprus and mulling over fresh economic data in the domestic markets. The NASDAQ, S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were all up between .1 and .2 percent during trading hours. 
 
That said, the first quarter of this year has been far from boring. The Dow, which has been enjoying record highs since early March, is up a staggering 11.5 percent and poised to secure its best first quarter since 1998; the S&P 500 is up almost 10 percent; and the NASDAQ is up roughly 8 percent. 
 
Despite the success, experts argue that valuations remain attractive for domestic stocks. The S&P is trading at just 16 times its 2012 earnings, compared to roughly 17 times profits for the period it reached its previous high in October of 2007. 
 
Volume is expected to remain low today, ahead of Good Friday, when markets will be closed throughout the United States and the majority of Europe. 
 
Banks in Cyprus reopened this morning after being shut down since March 16th. The island nation is planning to limit the amount of funds depositors can withdraw in an attempt to prevent a run on banks. In addition to shrinking its banking sector for a 10 billion European Union bailout, the nation agreed earlier this week to raise billions of euros from large depositors at the Popular Bank of Cyprus and at the Bank of Cyprus. 
Meanwhile in the United States, the Federal Government released weekly data on the initial jobless claims and the fourth quarter GDP tally. 
 
Jobless claims in the United States totaled 357,000 in the week that ended on the 23rd of March, which is an increase of 16,000 from the prior week. The forecast called for a total of 335,000 based on a consensus of economists and industry professionals. 
The government report for the fourth-quarter GDP revealed an annual increase of 0.4 percent, which was slightly better than the expected increase of 0.3 percent. 
 
 
Source: Associated Press

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