Suze Orman On Finding Hidden Money

Source :Forbes:

30 JAN 2012 @ 10:20AM

“I believe that every single person in the United States of America is entitled to have a good life, meaning they have a place they can call their own, can retire one day and have the money to send their children to college,” financial expert Suze Orman said recently in aninterview with FORBES. “They can live a respectful life. Every one of us deserves that.”

Now Orman has taken her best-selling book The Money Class and translated those financial lessons into a new weekly show, America’s Money Class with Suze Orman, on OWN. The network and ForbesWoman partnered up to provide a preview of each episode before it airs. Tonight, Orman reveals how to uncover lost money, how to turn old gold into cash, tactics for lottery winnings and when to get your dream car. Here’s a closer look.

Finding Hidden Money

Think it’s impossible or a scam to make money with the click of a mouse? It might be your lucky day. On websites like missingmoney.com and unclaimed.orgyou can find lost treasures. In fact, one member of the audience discovered that Orman was owed a few thousand dollars that she’d never claimed.

“It’s far better finding money than losing it!” says Orman. She explains that if you move on from a workplace or an address, someone who owes you money may not be able to find you (or want to). After a period of time, the claim gets turned over to the state. Search your name and state in the database, and if you’re owed money, you’ll receive a check in a few weeks. Here’s proof: three members of the audience recovered a combined $70,000 in lost funds.

Turning Gold Into Cash

Orman says you can earn money by selling gold jewelry and accessories that you no longer want. However, you have to be smart and realistic about what it’s worth. Michael Gusky, owner of gold buyer GoldFellow, says the purity of the gold determines its worth. The higher the carat count, the more pure it is. Thus, a 24-carat gold chain is worth more than a 12-carat chain.

One way to figure out the purity of your gold, says Gusky, is to hover a magnet over it. If it’s attracted to the magnet, it is lower quality. Oftentimes there’s an inscription in the jewelry that will tell you how many carats it has, but Gusky warns that untrustworthy jewelers may inflate the number.

Winning The Lottery

Ever been so lucky as to wonder what to do with your lottery winnings? Two women in the audience asked Orman for her suggestions. One 57-year-old retired school principal had $400,000 in earnings and owed $320,000, with a 5% interest rate, on her home. Orman advised that she pay off the mortgage. Considering the current market, the interest she would earn on the money wouldn’t be that impressive. Plus, she’d be free of the $2,200 monthly mortgage payment. “How would you feel as a woman owning that house outright?” Orman asks.

Getting Your Dream Car

Are you longing for an expensive piece of jewelry, flashy sports car or fancy gadget that you’re not sure is a reasonable splurge? Orman talks to one woman who dreams of purchasing a brand new BMW but doesn’t want to be financially irresponsible. The woman is 62, with monthly expenses covered by a secure pension and $600,000 in savings. All her life she worked hard and saved, saved, saved. “I’ve worked so long,” she says, “and what have I worked for?”

Orman’s advice? Buy it. “If you can afford it, and if that is something that you really want at that age, then why the heck not?” She further counsels that she sell her current car and pay for the BMW in cash.

Would You Buy Obama’s Old Car for $1 Million?

Source :Time :NICK CARBONE : January 28, 2012

A typical 2005 Chrysler 300C, fully loaded and in pristine condition, is expected to fetch up to $19,142 on the market, according to Kelley Blue Book, the authority on used-car prices. But what if the vehicle had been leased by none other than the President of the United States of America? An eBay seller is hoping that detail will justify a $980,000 price hike.

Lisa Czibor, a seasoned eBay car seller based near Chicago, is pulling out all the stops to prove that Barack Obama once piloted the grey 300C she has listed for sale on behalf of its owner Tim O’Boyle. She even posted a photograph of the car’s title written in Obama’s name. But the most shocking detail associated with the sale: the price. Owning then-senator Obama’s ride will cost a cool $1 million.

The buyer also has to pay in full within 10 days of purchase. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that the auction, which closes February 1, has been live for 11 days with nary a bid.

But Czibor is confident the car is worth the budget-busting sum. And that’s not just because of the car’s low mileage (only 20,800 miles over the course of seven years) or its maxed-out options, including leather seats, a sunroof and a navigation system. Obama put more than 19,000 miles on the car driving around Chicago. And the listing cites a host of other cars with famous owners that have fetched record sums on the auction block, including Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 1977 Peugeot, which sold for $2.35 million (£1.5 million) in March 2011. That money was donated to charity, though, while Obama’s ride was put on the market by a private seller.

Obama got rid of the 300C in July 2007 as he launched his presidential campaign. He traded in the Chrysler – which has a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engine – for a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid after taking flak for driving the guzzler while pressuring Detroit to build more fuel-efficient cars.

The 300C was put up for auction on eBay in late 2008 to coincide with Obama’s inauguration. Back then, the minimum bid was $100,000, which seems like a bargain compared to the current price. But O’Boyle, the owner, had to take down the auction because it was overrun by fake bidders who rocketed the price to $100 million, MSNBC reports. Four years later, O’Boyle recruited the help of Czibor, and with a few security measures to ensure that only serious buyers can bid, the car has been listed again. But is the famous former owner enough to justify a 5,000% markup? It doesn’t even get good gas mileage, after all.

CIC fines Indian Overseas Bank PIO for not providing information under RTI

Source :Moneylife Digital :January 19, 2012 04:04 PM

AK Mohanty, chief manager and deemed PIO of Indian Overseas Bank was fined Rs12,000 for delay in providing information to a RTI user while AP Singh, general manager, Board Services Department has been served a show-cause notice by the CIC for similar reasons


The banking sector has been consistent in stonewalling Right to Information (RTI) activists from getting information. But a recent Central Information Commission (CIC) ruling gives hopes to the activists, by pulling up a bank for not providing information about non-performing assets, penalising the public information officer and issuing a show-cause notice to another top official for non-compliance with CIC orders and delaying disclosure. 





Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi has imposed a penalty of Rs12,000 on AK Mohanty, chief manager and deemed PIO of Indian Overseas Bank for not providing information to RTI user Kishanlal Mittal until 48 days after the CIC directed him to do so. For the same reason, AP Singh, general manager, Board Services Department has been served a show-cause notice to appear before the CIC on 16th February and answer why penalty under Section 20(1) should not be levied on him.


“The Commission notes that AK Mohanty, CM & deemed PIO was responsible for not sending the information to the appellant before 10 October 2011, as per the order of the Commission. He sent the information to the appellant only on 29 November 2011. Since the delay in providing the information has been of 48 days, the Commission is passing an order penalizing AK Mohanty Rs12,000 (Rs250 per day),” said the CIC ruling.


In September 2010, Mr Mittal filed an RTI application seeking information on loans forwarded to educational institutes above Rs25 crore. He also wanted to know how many of these loans have been classified as NPAs (non-performing assets) and how many have been written off, and demanded file notings on the decision taken in this matter. 


The PIO, Mr Mohanty refused disclosure claiming that the information is voluminous, uncentralised and will tax the resources of the bank; and that the information is exempt from disclosure because it violates the fiduciary relationship, the bank has with its clients. 
Not satisfied with the response, Mr Mittal went for an appeal before the CIC on 16 September 2011. While the commission upheld the exemption under the ‘fiduciary relationship’ clause, it ordered the PIO to provide the details of the NPAs sought by the RTI user. However, the information did not reach the appellant, and on November, he complained to the CIC about the delay. 

A show-cause notice was served to the PIO for appearing before the CIC on 13th January. During the hearing, it was revealed that Mr Mohanty had obtained the information from the department concerned on 22nd September itself. “Mr. Mohanty states he did not send the information since he was waiting to receive the information on a query from the Board Services Department. This is no reasonable cause and the deemed PIO Mr Mohanty should have sent the information on the other two queried to the appellant before 10 November 2011 as per the order of the Commission,” Mr Gandhi said in his ruling.


The CIC thus served a show-cause notice to AP Singh, general manager of Board Services Department, whom Mr Mohanty alleges of not providing the required information. “The Commission is duty-bound to levy a penalty at the rate of Rs250 each day till the information is furnished. Once the Commission decides that there was no reasonable cause for delay, it has to impose the penalty and the law gives no discretion in the matter. The burden of proving that denial of information by the PIO was justified and reasonable is clearly on the PIO,” said Mr Gandhi.

Nine Things Successful People Do Differently

Source :HBR: Heidi Grant Halvorson 

Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren't sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. The intuitive answer — that you are born predisposed to certain talents and lacking in others — is really just one small piece of the puzzle. In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.

1. Get specific. When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible. "Lose 5 pounds" is a better goal than "lose some weight," because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. Just promising you'll "eat less" or "sleep more" is too vague — be clear and precise. "I'll be in bed by 10pm on weeknights" leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you've actually done it.

2. Seize the moment to act on your goals. Given how busy most of us are, and how many goals we are juggling at once, it's not surprising that we routinely miss opportunities to act on a goal because we simply fail to notice them. Did you really have no time to work out today? No chance at any point to return that phone call? Achieving your goal means grabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip through your fingers.

To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., "If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I'll work out for 30 minutes before work.") Studies show that this kind of planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%.

3. Know exactly how far you have left to go. Achieving any goal also requires honest and regular monitoring of your progress — if not by others, then by you yourself. If you don't know how well you are doing, you can't adjust your behavior or your strategies accordingly. Check your progress frequently — weekly, or even daily, depending on the goal.

4. Be a realistic optimist. When you are setting a goal, by all means engage in lots of positive thinking about how likely you are to achieve it. Believing in your ability to succeed is enormously helpful for creating and sustaining your motivation. But whatever you do, don't underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal. Most goals worth achieving require time, planning, effort, and persistence. Studies show that thinking things will come to you easily and effortlessly leaves you ill-prepared for the journey ahead, and significantly increases the odds of failure.

5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good. Believing you have the ability to reach your goals is important, but so is believing you can get the ability. Many of us believe that our intelligence, our personality, and our physical aptitudes are fixed — that no matter what we do, we won't improve. As a result, we focus on goals that are all about proving ourselves, rather than developing and acquiring new skills.

Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong — abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. Embracing the fact that you can change will allow you to make better choices, and reach your fullest potential. People whose goals are about getting better, rather than being good, take difficulty in stride, and appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

6. Have grit. Grit is a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face of difficulty. Studies show that gritty people obtain more education in their lifetime, and earn higher college GPAs. Grit predicts which cadets will stick out their first grueling year at West Point. In fact, grit even predicts which round contestants will make it to at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The good news is, if you aren't particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it. People who lack grit more often than not believe that they just don't have the innate abilities successful people have. If that describes your own thinking .... well, there's no way to put this nicely: you are wrong. As I mentioned earlier, effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies are what it really takes to succeed. Embracing this knowledge will not only help you see yourself and your goals more accurately, but also do wonders for your grit.

7. Build your willpower muscle. Your self-control "muscle" is just like the other muscles in your body — when it doesn't get much exercise, it becomes weaker over time. But when you give it regular workouts by putting it to good use, it will grow stronger and stronger, and better able to help you successfully reach your goals.

To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you'd honestly rather not do. Give up high-fat snacks, do 100 sit-ups a day, stand up straight when you catch yourself slouching, try to learn a new skill. When you find yourself wanting to give in, give up, or just not bother — don't. Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubles when they occur ("If I have a craving for a snack, I will eat one piece of fresh or three pieces of dried fruit.") It will be hard in the beginning, but it will get easier, and that's the whole point. As your strength grows, you can take on more challenges and step-up your self-control workout.

8. Don't tempt fate. No matter how strong your willpower muscle becomes, it's important to always respect the fact that it is limited, and if you overtax it you will temporarily run out of steam. Don't try to take on two challenging tasks at once, if you can help it (like quitting smoking and dieting at the same time). And don't put yourself in harm's way — many people are overly-confident in their ability to resist temptation, and as a result they put themselves in situations where temptations abound. Successful people know not to make reaching a goal harder than it already is.

9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won't do. Do you want to successfully lose weight, quit smoking, or put a lid on your bad temper? Then plan how you will replace bad habits with good ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves. Research on thought suppression (e.g., "Don't think about white bears!") has shown that trying to avoid a thought makes it even more active in your mind. The same holds true when it comes to behavior — by trying not to engage in a bad habit, our habits get strengthened rather than broken.

If you want to change your ways, ask yourself, What will I do instead? For example, if you are trying to gain control of your temper and stop flying off the handle, you might make a plan like "If I am starting to feel angry, then I will take three deep breaths to calm down." By using deep breathing as a replacement for giving in to your anger, your bad habit will get worn away over time until it disappears completely.

It is my hope that, after reading about the nine things successful people do differently, you have gained some insight into all the things you have been doing right all along. Even more important, I hope are able to identify the mistakes that have derailed you, and use that knowledge to your advantage from now on. Remember, you don't need to become a different person to become a more successful one. It's never what you are, but what you do.

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. is a motivational psychologist, and author of the new book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals (Hudson Street Press, 2011). She is also an expert blogger on motivation and leadership for Fast Company and Psychology Today.

Train Your Brain to Focus

Source :HBR:Paul Hammerness, MD, and Margaret Moore:: 18 Jan , 2012 

Next time you are sitting in a meeting, take a look around. The odds are high that you will see your colleagues checking screens, texting, and emailing while someone is talking or making a presentation. Many of us are proud of our prowess in multitasking, and wear it like a badge of honor.

Multitasking may help us check off more things on our to-do lists. But it also makes us more prone to making mistakes, more likely to miss important information and cues, and less likely to retain information in working memory, which impairs problem solving and creativity.

Over the past decade, advances in neuroimaging have been revealing more and more about how the brain works. Studies of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using the latest neuroimaging and cognitive testing [PDF] are showing us how the brain focuses, what impairs focus — and how easily the brain is distracted. This research comes at a time when attention deficits have spread far beyond those with ADHD to the rest of us working in an always-on world. The good news is that the brain can learn to ignore distractions, making you more focused, creative, and productive.

Here are three ways you can start to improve your focus.

Tame your frenzy.

Frenzy is an emotional state, a feeling of being a little (or a lot) out of control. It is often underpinned by anxiety, sadness, anger, and related emotions. Emotions are processed by theamygdala, a small, almond-shaped brain structure. It responds powerfully to negative emotions, which are regarded as signals of threat. Functional brain imaging has shown that activation of the amygdala by negative emotions interferes with the brain's ability to solve problems or do other cognitive work. Positive emotions and thoughts do the opposite — they improve the brain's executive function, and so help open the door to creative and strategic thinking.

What can you do? Try to improve your balance of positive and negative emotions over the course of a day. Barbara Fredrickson, a noted psychology researcher at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, recommends a 3:1 balance of positive and negative emotions, based upon mathematical modeling of ideal team dynamics by her collaborator Marcial Losada, and confirmed by research on individual flourishing and successful marriages. (Calculate your "positivity ratio" atwww.positivityratio.com). You can tame negative emotional frenzy by exercising, meditating, and sleeping well. It also helps to notice your negative emotional patterns. Perhaps a coworker often annoys you with some minor habit or quirk, which triggers a downward spiral. Appreciate that such automatic responses may be overdone, take a few breaths, and let go of the irritation.

What can your team do? Start meetings on positive topics and some humor. The positive emotions this generates can improve everyone's brain function, leading to better teamwork and problem solving.

Apply the brakes.

Your brain continuously scans your internal and external environment, even when you are focused on a particular task. Distractions are always lurking: wayward thoughts, emotions, sounds, or interruptions. Fortunately, the brain is designed to instantly stop a random thought, an unnecessary action, and even an instinctive emotion from derailing you and getting you off track.

What can you do? To prevent distractions from hijacking your focus, use the ABC method as your brain's brake pedal. Become Aware of your options: you can stop what you are doing and address the distraction, or you can let it go. Breathe deeply and consider your options. Then Choosethoughtfully: Stop? or Go?

What can your team do? Try setting up one-hour distraction-free meetings. Everyone is expected to contribute and offer thoughtful and creative input, and no distractions (like laptops, tablets, cell phones, and other gadgets) are allowed.

Shift Sets.

While it's great to be focused, sometimes you need to turn your attention to a new problem. Set-shifting refers to shifting all of your focus to a new task, and not leaving any behind on the last one. Sometimes it's helpful to do this in order to give the brain a break and allow it to take on a new task.

What can you do? Before you turn your attention to a new task, shift your focus from your mind to your body. Go for a walk, climb stairs, do some deep breathing or stretches. Even if you aren't aware of it, when you are doing this your brain continues working on your past tasks. Sometimes new ideas emerge during such physical breaks.

What can your team do?

 Schedule a five-minute break for every hour of meeting time, and encourage everyone to do something physical rather than run out to check email.

 By restoring the brain's executive function, such breaks can lead to more and better ideas when you reconvene.

Organizing your mind, and your team members' minds, will yield a solid payoff in the year ahead. 

Adding "high-quality focus" is a great place to start. 

Try holding a no-multitasking meeting and see what happens when everyone in the room gives their undivided attention. Have you ever tried this in your organization?

 If not, do you think it would fly?

SC sets legal benchmark, rules in favour of Vodafone in Rs 11,000-cr tax battle

Source :IE :Krishnadas Rajagopal : New Delhi, Fri Jan 20 2012, 22:37 hrs

Noting that Foreign Direct Investment in-flow depends on good governance, the Supreme Court today declared that the Indian Income Tax department has no jurisdiction to tax the $11.076-billion Vodafone-Hutchison offshore deal.

“FDI flows towards location with a strong governance infrastructure which includes enactment of laws and how well the legal system works. Certainty is integral to rule of law. Certainty and stability form the basic foundation of any fiscal system. Tax policy certainty is crucial for taxpayers (including foreign investors) to make rational economic choices in the most efficient manner,” a majority judgment delivered by Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia said.

With this majority judgment, which the CJI co-authored with his companion judge, Justice Swatanter Kumar, Vodafone wins a case it had partially lost in the Bombay High Court.

The Income Tax Department had quantified Vodafone’s tax liability at a possible Rs. 11,217.95 crore in October 2010, based on a direction from the Supreme Court. The British telco was also staring at the prospect of having to pay a penalty of Rs 7,900 crore, the tax amount due.

Vodafone had acquired Hutchison’s 67 per cent stake in a joint venture with the Essar Group in a May 2007 deal. Indian tax authorities have been interested in the deal since March 23 of that year. Vodafone International Holdings (BV), a Dutch subsidiary of British telecom operator, Vodafone Plc, acquired Hutchison Telecommunications International Limited’s (HTIL’s) Indian business operations through the sale of a Cayman Islands company called CGP Investments (Holdings) Ltd, a subsidiary of HTIL, also a Cayman Islands company.

By virtue of this transaction, Vodafone entered the Indian

mobile telecommunications market. HTIL was listed on the Hong Kong and New York Stock Exchange and was owned by Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Limited, the Hong Kong-based multi-sectoral conglomerate owned by billionaire Li Ka-shing.

“We hold that the Offshore Transaction herein is a bonafide structured FDI investment into India which fell outside India’s territorial tax jurisdiction, hence not taxable. The said offshore transaction evidences participative investment and not a sham or tax avoidant preordained transaction,” the CJI read out their 95-page judgment.

The court said the deal was way outside the line of control of the Indian IT department: “The offshore transaction was between HTIL (a Cayman Islands company) and VIH (a company incorporated in Netherlands) and the subject matter of the transaction was the transfer of the CGP (a company incorporated in Cayman Islands). Consequently, the Indian Tax Authority had no territorial tax jurisdiction to tax the said Offshore Transaction.”

The court sends a clear message to the government with its observation that certainty of tax policy would send a positive invitation to foreign investors.

“Tax policy certainty is crucial for taxpayers (including foreign investors) to make rational economic choices in the most efficient manner. It is for the government of the day to have them incorporated in the Treaties and in the laws so as to avoid conflicting views,” the court said.

“Investors should know where they stand. It also helps the tax administration in enforcing the provisions of the taxing laws,” the bench added.

Taking for example the Hutchison “structure” — a long term investor which has marked its presence in the country since 1994, the court said certainty in tax policy would also prove beneficial in the long term for the government.

“According to the details submitted, we find that from 2002-03 to 2010-11 the Group (Hutchison) has contributed an amount of Rs 20,242 crore towards direct and indirect taxes on its business operations in India,” the court noted.

The Bombay High Court had on September 8, 2010 qualified that though the IT department did not have control over the Cayman Islands transaction, it did have jurisdiction over taxable assets in India featured in the deal.

Delivering Vodafone a clean sweep over the IT authorities, the court directed department to return Rs 2,500 crore, deposited by the British telco with interest at the rate of 4 per cent per annum within two months from today.

“The interest shall be calculated from the date of withdrawal by the Department from the Registry of the Supreme Court up to the date of payment. The Registry is directed to return the Bank Guarantee given by the appellant within four weeks,” the court ordered.

Referring to lack of clarity in tax avoidance rules, the court held that the onus is on the Revenue authorities to allege and establish abuse when it comes to taxation of a Holding Structure.

“In the application of a judicial anti-avoidance rule, the Revenue may invoke the ‘substance over form’ principle or ‘piercing the corporate veil’ test only after it is able to establish on the basis of the facts and circumstances surrounding the impugned transaction is a sham or tax avoidant,” the court set the guideline.

The court said that every strategic FDI coming to India as an investment destination should be seen in a holistic manner. Revenue authorities should adopt the “look-at principle”, by which the entire transaction is seen as a whole. The department, as found in the Vodafone case, should not “dissect” a transaction to test its legality.

Applying the look-at principle, the court said revenue authorities and courts should keep in mind the concept of participation in investment, the duration of time during which the Holding Structure exists, the period of business operations in India, the generation of taxable revenues in India; the timing of the exit, the continuity of business on such exit.

“In short, the onus will be on the Revenue to identify the scheme and its dominant purpose,” the court said. 

RBI to issue Rs 100 note with rupee symbol

Source :PTI Jan 18, 2012, 06.34PM IST

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank will shortly issue Rs 100 notes which will have the rupee symbol. The design of the notes to be issued is similar in all respects to the existing Rs 100 in Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005 issued earlier, except for the rupee symbol.

RBI had announced last month that it will soon introduce notes of Rs 1,000, Rs 500 and Rs 10 denomination featuring the rupee symbol.

The Rs 100 notes will be of the Mahatma Gandhi-2005 Series bearing the signature of Reserve Bank of India(RBI) Governor D Subbarao and with the year of printing mentioned on the back of the banknote, the apex bank said in a statement.

All the banknotes in the denomination of Rs 100 issued by the RBI in the past will continue to be legal tender, it said.

The Indian rupee got an unique symbol -- a blend of the Devanagri 'Ra' and Roman 'R', last year, joining currencies like the US dollar, euro, British pound and Japanese yen in having a distinct identity.

The new symbol, designed by Bombay IIT post-graduate D Udaya Kumar, was approved in July 2010.