The FAFSA form, or Free Application for Federal Student Aide may be downloaded and printed from the United States Department of Education website by going to www.fafsa.ed.gov.  The FAFSA form is a free application created by the United States Department of Education that allows the federal government to assess whether or not an applicant for student aid, either in the form of grants or loans, is eligible to recieve funding from the United States government for their education.  The FAFSA form is used for all forms of funding for post-secondary education including: bachelors degrees, masters degrees, juris doctors, among others.

The FAFSA form will require you to input information including your income,and if you are a dependent, your families income; the cost of attendance of the educational institution; your status as a full time or part time student; and whether you will be attending post-secondary education for the whole year or on a semester basis. 

By filling out the FAFSA form, the department of education will properly be able to assess your need based on your, and your families, income. The eligibility under FAFSA will also analyze your expected family contribution which is calculated based on the number of current college students in the household, household income, and your families net assets (not including 401ks).

One exception to requiring a certain need to qualify for funding under the federal loans through FAFSA is if you are a child of a member of the armed forces who has fought, and died, in either the war in Iraq or Afghanistan. This is limited to individuals who were 24 or younger at the time of their parents death and that death occurred during those conflicts at or after September 11, 2001.

In its current form, a FAFSA form will consist of 130 questions based on the student and families income and dependency. None of the questions address the issue of race, religion, or any other aspect that may be considered to insinuate any other motive other than need based.

Your FAFSA form will allow you to apply for numerous kinds of loans and grants that are funded by the federal government.  These include Pell Grants, Perkins Loans, Stafford Loans, and Federal Work Study programs.

The Pell Grant A Pell Grant is a government grant furnished by the United States Department of Education that helps students who could not normally afford the luxury of a secondary education, the opportunity to attend college or, in some cases, post-bachelors degree education.  The federal Pell Grant helps 5.4 million individuals pay for college every year through the United States Department of education, which allots $17 billion a year towards the funding of Pell Grants.

Prior to the 2011 amendmentsfPell Grants would issuie a maximum of $5,550 dollars per student. As of the 2011 amendments a student who meets the hardship requirements and is given Pell Grants may receive $4,705.  The amendment stripped funding from the department of education by $5.7 billion and due to that there has been a decrease in per student funding of $845 per student, with some students losing their status altogether.  

If the funding from a Pell Grant is not enough to meet your education requirements you may also use your FAFSA form to apply for Stafford loans.

Stafford loans are loans that are sponsored by the federal government through lending institutions.  The way they work is that you apply for a loan, through FAFSA, and upon your approval you will be allotted a certain amount of funds for you education.  The benefit of taking Stafford loans is that they are guaranteed by the federal government .  In that way the lending institution is going to allow you a lower interest rate because you are backed by the United States government, which is as close to a guarantee of repayment as anything.  

There are two main types of Stafford loans. The first are subsidized and the second are not. The subsidized loans are the first type you will want to get from the federal government’s department of education, through Sallie Mae. The amount that will be allotted per student through subsidized loans is low, but usually allows around $12,000 per year. The benefit of these loans is that they do not garner interest until the completion of your education.  Federal Stafford Loans are subsidized in that the interest that accumulates while you are pursuing your education is payed for by the federal government.  or example, if you borrow $36,000 over 3 years for your college education starting in 2011 you will not be charged interest for the school years ending in 2012, 2013, and 2014., but upon your graduation in 2014, or if you leave your educational institution before graduation, then your interest will start accumulating immediately.

In contrast, unsubsidized Stafford oans through the federal governments department of education will begin accumulating interest upon the time that your loans are dispersed to you. Because of this reason it is always beneficial for students to avoid unsubsidized loans through either the federal government department of education or through a private lending institution.  

The interest rates that are associated with stafford loans are relatively low.  Due to the guarantee of repayment by the federal government a lending institution will charge a lower interest rate and the loan is almost guaranteed to be granted if you meet the requirements.  Under c.urrent regulations the annual percentage rate of interest for a federal subsidized stafford loan is 6.6% annual interest for those students who are enrolled in higher education for at least half time.  This is going to change under the 2011 amendments under the Budget Control Act of 2011.  Under the Budget Control Act new, starting in July 2012, interest rates for both federally subsidized and unsubsidized stafford loans will be fixed at 6.8% annual interest.  In addition, under the Budget Control Act, individuals who are seeking graduate or professional degrees will be ineligible for subsidized loans as of July 1, 2012.

Upon the completion of your education you will be required to repay your stafford loans.  Upon graduation, or dropping below half-time, you will be allotted an initial deferment of 6 months.  This is called the grace period.  During the grace period you will not be required to begin repaying your loans, however, the interest upon your loans, even those that are subsidized will begin to take effect.  Once your 6 month grace period is over you will be required to start paying monthly installments to satisfy your loans.  The default standard is repayment over a 10 year period.  This may be altered upon request and many times you will be permitted to stretch your repayment period up to 30 years.  Granted, you will end up paying more in the long run but it is beneficial for those individuals right out of college who are not making a high salary.  Once the grace period is over you must begin repaying your stafford loan.  Failure to do so will put you in default and prevent you from receiving future government loans and severely damage your credit.  If you are in a situation where it is impossible for you to make payment then you may apply to the federal government for a deferment based on hardship.

In addition to applying for a Pell Grant and Stafford Loans through the federal government you will also want to use your FAFSA form to apply for a Perkins Loan.  A Perkins Loan operates in much the same way as a Federally subsidized stafford loan in that it is a subsidized loan guaranteed by the federal government.  The difference is that where a stafford loan operates by going through a private lending institution to gather funding for the loan, a Perkins Loan takes its funding directly from your educational institution.  So the federal government is borrowing money from your university and guaranteeing repayment upon graduation, or the dropping of the student from at least half time status.  Federal Perkins loans have an interest rate of 5% per year that begins to accumulate at the time of graduation, or dropping below half time registration.  Prior to that the federal government, through the department of education, will pay the interest on the loan.  A Perkins Loan, through completion and approval of a FAFSA form, will guarantee an undergraduate student as much as $5,500 per year with a lifetime allowance of $27,500; and post-graduate, and professional, students up to $8,000 per year with a lifetime allowance of $60,000.  The default provision for a Perkins loan is that the loan will be repaid over the course of 10 years but that may be altered upon request to a longer period of time with lower payment plans.  Be wary of doing this because, just like stafford loans, the longer the period of payment the more total money you will be repaying due to interest accumulation.  Perkins, loans also allow a 9 month grace period upon the completion of a degree, or falling below half time status.  

In addition to loans and grants a student may apply for federal work study programs through their FAFSA form.  Federal work study is a form of federal aide that allows a student to work in the community or in their field of study part time in conjunction with their education to help pay for their education.  Through the FAFSA form a student who meets the financial needs requirements may be placed in a federal work study program in which the federal government will pay up to 75% of the salary that the student garners through their work study program.  In this way, many educational institutions open up work study positions to students where, under normal situations, they would be offered to others for lower pay.  Many educational institutions require that a student maintain a certain grade point average in order to be eligible for federal work study programs.  If that students grade point average falls below a certain amount they may lose their eligibility for that semester, school year, or for the remainder of their time at that educational institution.

A prudent applicant using a FAFSA form should apply for all forms of student loans and grants, if applicable.  If accepted for all you should only accept funding on a need based analysis and pick which funding is best for you.  If offered you should always accept a Pell Grant.  If you need loans you should order them in the following way:  Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan, and, only if you need it, Federal Unsubsidized Stafford loan.  By looking at the interest rates, repayment dates, and the interest accrual of each loan you will understand better why this is the appropriate way to go about accepting funding through FAFSA.

How to fill out my FAFSA application

When filling out your FAFSA form you will need to gather a number of documents and information including financial documents and identifiication.

The first section of the FAFSA form will be about your identification.   You should have all information dealing with your identity at hand.  This includes your social security number, state of residence, driver’s license information, educational institution, and marital status.

In the second section of the FAFSA will deal with your dependency status.  If you are claimed as a dependent of your parents or another, whether you have dependents and what your income is.

The third section of the FAFSA form will deal with your parents financial status.  This is , of course, of you are being claimed as a dependent by your parents.  You will nee financial information on your parents as far as income tax returns, assets, the number of dependents they have and how many of them are enrolled in higher education.  

The fourth part of the FAFSA application will deal with your financial status.  If you are claiming youself as an independent, head of household or other non-dependency status you will need to include financial information assessing this.  This includes the number of dependents you are claiming, your income, assets, marital status, are you the head of household, etc.

Finally, once your FAFSA application is complete you will either mail or submit the FAFSA application online.  Most universities require that FAFSA applications be received between March 1st of May 1st prior to the school year that the applicant is applying for.  The federal cutoff for FAFSA applications to be submitted is June 1st.  

One of the biggest issues that surround peoples thoughts is how to make money.  Whether you are poor, middle class, or wealthy the idea of increasing your wealth is something that every individual is interested in.  Making money is not exclusively within the realm of your income; however, the more income your family has the more opportunity you have to increase your wealth.  However, any financial adviser will tell you that the salary from your job should not be considered your income.  Your salary from your job should be a tool in making your income.

The first step in how to make money is to eliminate your unnecessary debt.  This includes credit cards, unnecessary luxury items, and any other debts that you can live without.  Paying off your credit cards should be your first step in how to make money.  If you have a balance on your credit card of $3,500 you can expect a monthly interest fee of between $50 – $75.  If you  have any hopes of increasing your wealth it is imperative that you eliminate this debt.  The interest rates that you are charged on a credit card are higher than any other interest rate that you will be subjected to and finding an asset that will counteract that interest is slim.  

When first learning how to make money it should be your number one job to eliminate this expense.  Every month you get a statement you should make it your job to pay the monthly interest rate and, in addition, pay down your debt in a way that is reasonable for you and will allow you to pay down your debt within a reasonable period of time.  

In addition, you will want to eliminate any unnecessary luxury items.  Most millionaires did not become that way by driving the newest model car.  Millionaires mad their wealth by driving used Toyota Camry’s and using the money they saved from the difference to invest in interest bearing, lucrative investments.  If you are leasing an expensive automobile; unless you need it for your job, such as sales, then you should consider ending your lease at the nearest opportunity and opting for a moderately priced, reliable, vehicle.  

It is the elimination of these unnecessary debts that will allow you to garner the extra savings that you need in order to make money.  The old adage stands true, “it takes money to make money.” If you are constantly making payments on credit card interest and paying monthly bills for unnecessary, and unaffordable, luxury items then you will not have that opportunity.  

When you eliminate these expenses you should consider them, not to be extra money, but rather pretend like the debt was never eliminated.  If you take the money that you would have spent on theses unnecessary expenses, put it in a savings account and forget about it then you will be surprised how quickly that money will accumulate.  Within a short period, around a year or so, you should have the capital to start investing properly and begin your journey to prosperity.

At the same time that you are eliminating your unnecessary debt you should also be building your credit.  Whether you have good credit or not it is an important step how to make money that you have the highest credit score you can maintain.  

There are numerous advantages to having a good credit score.  They include: getting lower interest rates on your credit cards; cash or travel rewards on credit cards; high credit limits; and maybe the most important aspect of having good credit is that it will give you the ability to qualify for, and pay lower interest rates, for home, car, and personal loans as well as lower insurance rates.

Lending institutions look at your credit score in analyzing the risk involved in lending you money.  The higher your credit score the lower the risk that the lending institution will feel in lending you money.  When a lending institution is comfortable with the idea that you are a low risk lendee it will reward you by requiring you to pay a lower interest rate on a loan.  

When learning how to make money you will want to learn how to build good credit.  There are a few easy ways to do this.  First, you want to pay your bills on time.  Any history of late payments, actions taken by collection agencies, and especially bankruptcy will be a “black mark” on your credit report and make a lending institution wary as to whether you are a risk.  Don’t use too many, or too few, credit cards.  Most experts point out that you should have between 2 to 4 credit cards that you should use.  You are in the best position to show your lending institution that you have good credit by having a history of paying your bills on time.  If you have more than one credit card it will increase the amount of positive history that will show up on your credit history.  You should also periodically review your credit history.  This can be done by going to a credit reporting agency.  Be sure that you view credit reports from all three credit reporting agencies; Experion, TransUnion, and Equifax.  This information should be checked at least once a year and any discrepencies should be reported to the credit agency and maybe even further.  Having an unauthorized charge, or charges, can be a sign of identity theft; which can be devastating to your credit.

It may sound contradictory to what was mentioned in the first part of this article on how to make money but you will need to maintain the use of your credit card.  The only way for credit reporting agencies and and lending institutions to analyze whether you are a risk or not is to follow your spending and whether or not you meet your payment obligations.  If you never use your credit card you will not be inputting positive information into your credit history.  Although you will want to eliminate your unnecessary debt and interest rates initially you will want to maintain the use of your credit card as a tool to build your credit.  There are some tips to follow when using your credit card to build credit.

First, credit reporting agencies and lending institutions will not only be able to see what your balance is and whether or not you are making your payments but they will also be able have information on what kind of items you are using your credit, and debit card, for.  Many can think that this is an unscrupulous behavior on the part of the lending institutions but it is a viable way of analyzing what kind of individual the lending institution is dealing with.  For that reason you should use your credit card for expenses such as groceries, car payments, utilities, book stores, and other “positive” expenses.  In contrast, you should avoid using your credit, or debit card for “negative” expenses such as alcohol, cigarettes, or any other expense that may be deemed a “bad trait.” If you need to purchase “negative” items you should use cash so that there is no tracking of what your “negative” expenses.

Secondly, when using your credit card you want to use the card as much as possible to build your credit while still maintaining low, to zero, interest payments.  How is this done?  The best way to accomplish this is by looking at your credit card, not as a tool for when you don’t have cash in your bank account, but as a tool in the alternative.  If it is possible to do so you, should only maintain a balance on your credit card that you will be able to pay off at the end of the month through your checking account.  By doing this you will be showing the credit reporting agencies, and lending institutions, that you make your payments on time yet, at the same time, not incurring many, if any, interest charges.

After you have eliminated your debt, built your credit score, and accumulated enough savings it is time to start putting your money to work for you.  There are many ways to make money and how to make money can take many different forms.  You have the option of stocks, bonds, real estate, business opportunities, mutual funds, etc.  This is where all that work you spent paying down your debt and building your savings and credit will come in handy.

The safest bet for investing, especially when investing for beginners, is to look into bonds.  Bonds are certificates that are issued by corporations and government entities that signify a debt that the issuer owes the investor.  These investments are often considered the safest, especially when you are investing in U.S. Savings bonds.  Savings bonds operate in a reverse creditor situation where you are the creditor and the issuer of the bond is the debtor.  In exchange for your investment the issuer will promise to pay you back, with fixed interest, over a period of time that can range from months to 20 years, depending on your bond agreement.  The great thing about bonds is that they are consistent.  When you invest $10,000 in a bond with a fixed interest of 5% and a maturity date of 2 years you know that in 2 years you will have re-couped your investment as well as $500 in interest.  The disadvantage is that normally the amount of money that you can gain through investing in bonds is a low rate of return and unless you have the ability to invest exhorbitant amounts of money you will not receive a quick, and lucrative return on your investment.

In addition to bonds investing for beginners, and those that are looking to build capital through long term investments, mutual funds are a great way to make money.  Mutual funds are investments where an investor will contribute a certain amount of money into an investment pool.  The money collected from numerous individual investors will be used by a fund manager to invest in certain stocks and commodities.  When investing in mutual funds the investor will have the option of choosing mutual funds that deal with energy stocks, commodities, entertainment stocks, etc.  One of the great advantages of investing in mutual funds is that you can trust your money to an experienced and successful fund manager.  The disadvantage of entering into mutual funds is that you have little to no input into what specific stocks and commodities your money will be invested in.  You are putting your money in the hands of an expert and you will not be able to go at it on your own.

Yet another way to make money is to invest in real estate.  How to make money in real estate requires, not only extensive research, but a lot of capital.  Putting money into real estate is a great way on how to make money.  When doing this you should do your homework.  Find out what neighborhoods are up and coming, if the property values are lower than should be expected, possible business developments that may come into the neighborhood, among others.  One of the best forms of real estate investment is through auctions.  Especially in the current real estate environment where mortgage rates can be as low as 4% and housing prices are the lowest in 31 years.  Here is where all the work in building your credit comes in handy.  In order to take advantage of the extremely low mortgage rates your lending institution, especially in the wake of the housing crisis, will severely scrutinize your credit.  If you have bad credit you may have to pay high interest, or even worse, be denied a mortgage all together.  Buy homes and real property that need a little work.  The best way to make money in real estate is to turn a “fixer upper” into a valuable piece of property that will attract high income home buyers.  When you do this be wary about the surrounding neighborhood.  If you spend a good amount of money investing in property and even more turning the property into an even more valuable asset it could still be useless if the surrounding neighborhood is in shambles.  Another great way to make money in real estate is to pool your money with others.  If you have 10 people who are willing to invest $20,000 a piece a mortgage may not be necessary and a joint tenancy or tenancy in common can be created.  Real estate has been traditionally a very lucrative and stable way to make money.  In light of the housing crisis peoples opinions have changed but it should still be deemed a consistent profitable way to make money.

FOREX Trading is a manner in which activity involving the Trade and Exchange of Foreign currency is commonly referred; FOREX Trading is considered to be one of the primary methodologies and genres with regard to trading and investing – however, unlike the stock market, FOREX Trading does not involve stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, but foreign currency.

Similarly to valuation trends and behaviors latent within the stock market – with regard to the respective valuation and worth of individual stocks – currency and monetary systems in circulation are subject to that same value fluctuation; FOREX Trading is the industry of examining and investigating the FOREX Market with the hope of rendering financial gain through investments.

Typical FOREX Trading crimes may include FOREX Scams, which may mirror stock market investment scams in their implicit nature; financial crimes of this sort might prey upon individuals eager to turn a profit in a quick fashion – as a result, a substantial fee may be initially requested with the promise of an even larger return:

On one hand, the FOREX Market mirrors the trading of stocks; the fluctuation of valuation, trends, behaviors, and rates are constant. On the other hand, certain crimes latent within stock trading are less likely to occur with FOREX Trading; although insider trading may exist in the midst of a FOREX Trading agreement, the fluctuation of FOREX rates are determined upon the economy of a specific nation or country in lieu of a single company – unlawful tips in the form of insider trading are more accessible in the realm of a single company in contrast with a nation’s government.

Although hedging FOREX investments is not innately illegal, the Hedge-based FOREX Trading Scams are illegal. The scams involve preying upon investors with a smaller amount of capital by soliciting funds though fraudulent reporting of returns; the funding funneled in from investors with smaller amounts of capital is circulated to individuals with larger amounts of investment capital – this illegal activity is conducted upon the investment firm engaging in multiple, hedged investments that allow for financial gain in concert with financial losses.

FOREX Trading is a highly-specialized financial field, which is subject to all expressed and applicable legality latent within activities rooted in financial exchanges. Many of both the crimes, as well as the legal statutes implicit within the stock market and investments are applicable to FOREX Trading operations. FOREX Trading operations will be subject to any or all financial investigations undertaken by the presiding government of the country or nation; these investigations may take place on a variety of levels with regard to applicable legislature and legal statutes:

FOREX Trading fraud – akin to the bulk of investment fraud – is considered to be a nature of financial fraud, which allows for a variance in applicable legal jurisdiction; while certain financial crimes may be prosecutable by local and state governments, FOREX Trading fraud occurring on a larger-scale may reside under Federal jurisdiction

Individuals interested in engaging in FOREX Trading ventures and operations are encouraged to consult with legal professionals specializing in finance and international law; a legal background of this type will allow clientele to be privy to any or all implicit statutes and legal procedures latent within commercial ventures existing on an international level

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.

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.

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.

Major automakers recorded another solid month of car and truck sales, kicking off the crucial spring selling season on a positive note. 

 

Ford motor, General Motors, and Chrysler Group posed domestic sales gains of 5 percent or better while Toyota Motor sales edged up 1 percent from a year ago. The Chrysler Group posted its strongest sales figures since December of 2007.

 

Sales throughout the auto industry are poised to beat expectations and rise above the 15 million yearly sales rates for the fifth straight month. This positive news comes after the industry went nearly five years without reaching this benchmark goal. 

 

“American consumers are quite confident in the economy, with bad weather and sequesters not deterring them the slightest bit,” said Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst with Edmunds. “The picture is the same as it always has been: a pent-up demand from older vehicles is unleashing credit is available at marginal rates, and new products are resonating with the consumer base.”

 

The four largest automakers were roughly in line with sales expectations for the month of March. Ford and GM both reported much stronger sales for SUVs, pickups and crossover vehicles than they did for compact or traditional cars while Chrysler’s Ram truck unit also posted strong sales numbers. These metrics could be a sign that lower March gas prices boosted truck sales for the month of March.

 

GM claims the rebound in the housing market also helped propel truck sales. Purchases by small businesses, including building contractors, increased by roughly 15,000 vehicles at GM, accounting for a 32 percent boost compared to 2012 sales figures. The jump in home sales and corresponding home prices are allowing contractors to start building new homes at a greater pace than at any time in the previous five years. 

 

Source: AP

Mortgaging financing giant Fannie Mae reported a record profit of $17.2 billion in 2012, symbolizing the improvement experienced by the housing market over the course of the last five years. 

 

Just a couple years ago, the U.S. government was forced to intervene and take control of Fannie Mae, which was nearly crippled by deep losses from foreclosures and plunging real estate prices after the market’s bubble burst in 2007.

 

2012 was the first full year profit reported by Fannie Mae since 2006, and marked a legitimate turnaround from the $16.9 billion loss it posted for 2011.

 

The profitable year also means that Fannie Mae is ready to pay tens of billions of dollars in dividends to the government in what may turn out to be its largest repayment since the $116 bailout offered by the federal government to rescue the mortgage giant. 

Fannie Mae’s improvement in results is a direct result from a sharp decrease in losses on its loan portfolio. This significant drop was due to the fact foreclosures and delinquencies on the mortgages it backs have declined in sizeable numbers. 

Fannie Mae said it anticipates its “earnings to remain strong over the next several years.”

 

The domestic real estate market has enjoyed a substantial recovery as decreased mortgage rates and a shrinking supply of real estate has combined to boost home sales and prices. 

 

In addition to these favorable metrics, a settlement payout from Bank of America also boosted Fannie’s 2012 pre-tax income by over $1.3 billion. Bank of America paid the mortgage financier $3.6 billion in a settlement over risky mortgages that Countrywide Financial sold Fannie during the real estate bubble. Countrywide was then purchased by Bank of America. 

 

Fannie Mae’s profit in 2012 was more than twice the company’s previous record of $8 billion in 2003. The mortgage lender’s $7.6 billion profit during the final quarter of 2012 also represented its best 3-month run in the company’s history. 

 

Improvements in Fannie’s profit margins is fantastic news for American taxpayers as Fannie pays dividends to the U.S. treasury on shares the government owns. Dividend payments totaled over $11.5 billion 2012 and over $4 billion in 2013, bringing total payments to the treasury north of $33.5 billion. 

 

Another benefit to taxpayers is that Fannie Mae’s increased profitability opens the for the lender to use an accounting treatment to reinstate previous tax credits worth nearly $60 billion, which it can further use to pay the Federal Government. 

 

Source: CNN

 

 

CVS charges $150 for a monthly prescription of the generic form of the cholesterol drug Lipitor—the same drug sells for $17 at Costco. 

 

This information was divulged in a recent Consumer Report survey that sent undercover shoppers to 200 pharmacies that carry five prominent drugs: Lipitor, Actos, Lexapro, Plavix and Singulair, all of which lost their patents over the last couple of years. 

 

These mystery shoppers discovered that they could be paying as much as $750 or a whopping 447 percent more each year for a generic prescription drug at the highest-priced pharmacy, compared with the cheapest pharmacy.

 

The most expensive pharmacies to purchase these prescription drugs were Target, CVS and Rite Aid. The cheapest pharmacies were found at Costco and Sam’s Club while Walgreen’s and Wal-Mart fell somewhere in the middle. 

 

So what is the principal factor driving such a considerable discrepancy? 

 

Executives with the Consumer Reports surveys said the difference in prices stem primarily from what sells at each pharmacy or store. “Places like Rite Aid or CVS rely on their pharmacies as their major source of revenue,” said Lisa Gill, a Consumer Reports editor. “In contrast, Sam’s Club and Costco are using low drug prices to attract people to their stores to spend money on other goods.”

 

Many consumers are willing to pay a premium at a drug store because of convenience; stores like CVS and Rite Aid are open 24 hours a day, located in suburban areas, and equipped with drive-through windows. 

 

However, for most consumers, purchasing generics at stores like Costco can be worth the hassle; this is especially true for those using the drugs over a long period of time.

Spokespersons for CVS claimed that pricing surveys like the one offered by Consumer Reports are too small of a sample size to draw meaningful conclusions regarding which pharmacies offer the best value for generic drug purchases. CVS also claimed that the surveys often do not take into account the discounts and third-party insurance programs that pharmacies utilize to lower prices. 

 

In response to these statements, Consumer Reports said discounting programs are helpful, but not truly effective to lower costs. 

 

In a separate survey, Consumer Reports found that Americans who regularly took prescription drugs spent roughly $760 out of pocket in 2012, or 12 percent more than in 2011. Mrs. Gill of Consumer Reports said to get the price, consumers should compare prices by calling different pharmacies in their area to see who offers the best price.  

 

Source: CNN

 

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

 

 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