In late October of last year, Whitney predicted that Citigroup (C) would have to sell assets or cut its dividend. She also downgraded the stock to essentially a “sell.” That report peeled $15 billion off Citi’s market value in one day and, some say, helped usher then CEO Chuck Prince into an unceremonious retirement. On Jan. 15, Citi slashed its dividend by 41%. When I talked with Whitney on Feb. 6, she had just downgraded Goldman Sachs (GS) even though she’s a big fan. And Whitney was expecting losses in the following week when major European banks report earnings.

Facts

1. Born: ca. 1970
2. Analyst for Oppenheimer & Co.
3. Predicted in August 2008 that the U.S. credit crisis would continue
4. Whitney’s prediction detailed in a Fortune magazine article entitled “The Woman Who Called Wall Street’s Meltdown and What She Sees Next”
5. Whitney predicts decline in housing prices could be near 40 percent
6. Married to the business pundit and former professional wrestler John Layfield
7. Whitney and Layfield met in 2003, and married in February 2005 in Key West, Florida
8. Whitney is a graduate of Brown University
9. In October 2005, Whitney predicted “unprecedented credit losses” for subprime lenders

Over the past 18 months, as analyst after analyst has rushed to call “the bottom” for financial stocks, Whitney has stuck by her guns. And now, with the global financial system in ruins, she has parlayed her conviction into a reputation as one of the most respected voices on Wall Street. Earlier this year, after more than 15 years as an analyst, Whitney, 39, left Oppenheimer to launch her own firm, the Meredith Whitney Advisory Group.

In 2008, Ms. Whitney was named one of Fortune’s Top 50 Most Powerful Women, The Wall Street Journal’s 50 Women to Watch, and Smart Money’s Power 30. Ms. Whitney was also ranked in Institutional Investor’s All American Research Team.

But Who is Meredith Whitney ? is a post from: Universal Ramblings

This shouldn’t come as a great surprise: Microsoft stopped updating its financial management software in 2008 and hasn’t released a new version in nearly two years.

If you’re already a Money/Money Plus user, bear in mind that Microsoft’s move will affect you, possibly with considerable trouble: Already-installed Money applications will continue to work, but after January 31, 2011, you will no longer be able to activate Microsoft Money Plus on your computer. That means if your computer crashes after that date, you won’t be able to reinstall the software (and will likely lose whatever data you’re storing in the Money Plus app). Older versions of the Money app (those without the “Plus” and dated 2007 or earlier) should still be able to be installed since they don’t include product activation. If you’re using Money 2007 (or earlier), you’re advised not to upgrade.

All online services included in the MS Money app will end on by January 31, 2011, as well, though the actual date depends on when your software was activated. Tax updates and integrated bill payment services will obviously be discontinued, too, by that date.

ENTER Quicken

Intuit said it is offering the discounts on Quicken products through the end of July to all users, not just the Money users left in the lurch.

Specifically, Intuit said that it is offering $20 off on Quicken Deluxe (now $39.99) and $30 off Quicken Premier (now $59.99). It is also chopping $30 off its Home & Business product and $50 off its Rental Property Manager product. The company is also touting its free Quicken Online product.

Although Quicken is already the market leader in the personal finance space, Intuit clearly sees a chance to move in for the kill now that Microsoft is exiting the space.

Intuit also reiterated that it is working with Microsoft to try to improve Quicken’s ability to import large amounts of data stored in MS Money.

Here is a good article on how to import a Microsoft Money file into Quicken.

To All Microsoft Money Users, Quicken wants your business is a post from: Universal Ramblings

Celente looks carefully at Barack Obama’s history; his post election actions and administration choices and at the tumultuous global situation confronting him. Celente provides a sweeping, yet realistic picture of what to expect from the Obama Administration:

Disastrous failure in the financial sphere that preoccupies the planet. (Ambitious job creation and infrastructure programs notwithstanding.)
Worsening military quagmires in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Moderate progress in environmental, scientific, judicial, labor and other domestic initiatives.
Possible but problematic restoration of America’s battered foreign image.

Celente’s three decades of accurate forecasts make him a voice worth heeding. There is a lot more of the “Obamarama” forecast to read about in the Top Trends 2009 edition of the Trends Journal, which also includes:

The Collapse of ‘09: Markets will tumble and major businesses will fail.

The Greatest Depression: Worse than the 1930’s Depression. Why?

Revolution: What will be the spark that ignites it? Who will fire the shot heard around the world?

Obamarama: High hopes, broken promises: Some victories, major failures.

Economic Slim-Fast: Like it or not, Americans will go on a spending diet and food diet.
Bush Gardens: Lawns out, Edible Landscaping in. Why Bush Gardens?

Whole Health Healing: 2009 marks a year of “attitude change” for the on-trend health aware.

Little People Squeeze: Politicians will put the financial squeeze on the already squeezed.
Regenerative Medicine: The time is ripe for stem cells to come out of the laboratory and into the clinic.

That’s Entertainment: Lifting spirits – and drinking them – will be big business and major pastimes during the Greatest Depression.

College Crash: Following the equity market meltdown, the real estate bust and the retail unraveling, comes the college crash.

Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, is renowned for his accuracy in predicting future world and economic events, which will send a chill down your spine considering what he told Fox News this week.

Celente says that by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts.

“We’re going to see the end of the retail Christmas….we’re going to see a fundamental shift take place, putting food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree,” said Celente, adding that the situation would be “worse than the great depression”.

“America’s going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for,” said Celente, noting that people’s refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis.

Celente, who successfully predicted the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, the subprime mortgage collapse and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar, told UPI in November last year that the following year would be known as “The Panic of 2008,” adding that “giants (would) tumble to their deaths,” which is exactly what we have witnessed with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others.

He also said that the dollar would eventually be devalued by as much as 90 per cent.

The consequence of what we have seen unfold this year would lead to a lowering in living standards, Celente predicted a year ago, which is also being borne out by plummeting retail sales figures.

The prospect of revolution was a concept echoed by a British Ministry of Defense report last year, which predicted that within 30 years, the growing gap between the super rich and the middle class, along with an urban underclass threatening social order would mean, “The world’s middle classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transnational processes in their own class interest,” and that, “The middle classes could become a revolutionary class.”

In a separate recent interview, Celente went further on the subject of revolution in America.

“There will be a revolution in this country,” he said. “It’s not going to come yet, but it’s going to come down the line and we’re going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it: the takeover of Washington, D. C., in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen.”

“The first thing to do is organize with tax revolts. (No taxation without representation). That’s going to be the big one because people can’t afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax. You’re going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop.”

“It’s going to be very bleak. Very sad. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before. Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we’re going to see many more.”

“We’re going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well. It’s going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to. It’s going to come as a shock and with it, there’s going to be a lot of crime. And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression, people’s minds weren’t wrecked on all these modern drugs, over-the-counter drugs, or crystal meth or whatever it might be. So, you have a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody’s comprehension.”

Gerald Celente of trendsresearch.com is a post from: Universal Ramblings

• When I was in college, I worked for Vector Marketing for a summer and found out that I loved sales. My manager never made me invest in it, and I sold $10k worth of that stuff in 3 months. I knew It was just a part-time thing, but I think that it would be safe to say that sales is not for everyone. Today I work for a Fortune 100 firm and earn a substantial living, and its because of my attitude and desire to succeed. I won’t stop until I’m at the top. I have paid my dues to get here. I’m sorry to hear that the Vector Marketing may not be the best company to work for. I think that there are bad apples everywhere. Doesn’t matter what company. My experience is different than anyone else’s, but in my opinion, Vector Marketing can be a good place to start out as your first company to work for, but if you are older, like in your 30s or more, go back to school.

• Actually Vector Marketing isn’t a scam. It is a direct sales position; yes, you do have to invest in the sales kit to do demonstrations. I worked one summer as an independent rep and learned a great deal about how to do cold calling. Vector Marketing certainly isn’t an opportunity for everyone. The experience really helped me in learning how to get over being afraid of making sales calls. No, I didn’t make a lot of money, but no one was scammed, and it is really a decent product if you can afford the knives (seriously these bad boys do last forever.) I think the biggest problem is that they need to be clearer in the presentation of the position. When I met to discuss working as an indy rep, the manager I dealt with was very clear. It’s not a scam, but if you are looking for an hourly job, then no, this isn’t for you. Because they only way you make any money is if you actually make sales. But I did meet quite a few people, and most of them were in their early 20s that did quite well.

• I applied for a job at Vector Marketing and they called me for an interview. I showed up to the appointment (which was today) and I was there with about 6 other people. They went on this huge thing about how good their knives were and I was convinced that they are good. So I came home today and was pretty happy that I had gotten the job. Then I was sitting there and I told my girlfriend that we have to find the people ourselves to sell to. She told me she thought it was a scam so I looked it up. Good thing I did. Apparently vector rips off thousands of students every year like this. How the hell can they get away with such crap? I should have known though because their signs were duct taped to the wall, and the room was only like 10′ by 10′.

  What really pisses me off is how do they get away with such filth??? There were other people in the interview too that I’m not sure if they also got the job or if it was just me. But something needs to be done about this bull. I’m not sure if I should tell someone or if I should just let it go or what. But what a load of s*** this is.

So is Vector Marketing a scam or not ?

Vector Marketing: Scam or the real thing ? is a post from: Universal Ramblings

The FICO scores offered by the 2 CRAs namely Equifax and TransUnion are known as Beacon and Empirica. Consumers can get these scores online from MyFICO. Experian, another CRA also offers FICO score but consumers can’t access it from MyFICO. They can get credit scores based on Experian data available on Experian’s website. However, the Experian FICO scores are available only to lenders.

The FICO score/credit score is calculated using the information available on your credit report. The credit bureaus can only calculate your FICO score if you have at least 1 account open for 6 months or more. Also, there should be at least 1 undisputed account reported to the bureaus in past 6 months.

In general, there are 5 factors which affect your credit score calculation. The factors with their weightage of importance are given below:

1. Payment history (35%): This includes information on -
* How you’ve paid credit cards, installment loans, mortgages etc.
* Adverse public records such as bankruptcy, liens, collections
* Time of past due items and adverse public records
* Accounts paid as agreed

2. Amount you owe (30%): This provides details on -
* Number and type of accounts you owe
* Ratio of balance to total credit limit (revolving accounts)
* Ratio of balance to original loan amount (installment loans)

3. Length of credit history (15%): This includes the time period since you’ve opened different types of accounts.

4. New credit (10%): This provides details of -
* The accounts you’ve recently opened
* Number of recent credit inquiries
* Time since recent credit inquiries
* Time since accounts opened recently
* How you’ve rebuild credit after past credit problems

5. Credit/loan types used (35%): This factor includes the different types of credit/loans you’ve opted for.

Fico Score is a post from: Universal Ramblings