Seven To Ten

Everybody is concerned about the weak dollar. But even as the greenback sinks to new lows against the euro and other global currencies, experts say this is not necessarily a bad thing for the U.S. economy.

The falling dollar pose problem for an economy in recession and facing higher inflation. Consumers have to pay more for imported goods like toys made in China or a bottle of wine from France’s Bordeaux region.

It also drives up the cost of commodities priced in dollars. And unless you’ve been living under a rock, commodities have skyrocketed to historic highs.

Confidence by international investors in buying dollar-denominated securities is also affected. Although many foreigners are still buying more U.S. securities than they are selling, there are signs that these investors are slowly shifting away from assets tainted by the greenback, such as U.S. Treasurys.

It is a long time since I played backgammon. Yeah, the childhood game which took up so much of my time back then. My friend introduced me to the idea of playing online backgammon and told me about this site, Backgammon Masters.

I was browsing the site when I saw they were trying to achieve a Guinness Gamer World Record in farthest backgammon dice toss. Imagine tossing 2 backgammon dices out of a helicopter onto a gigantic backgammon board-shaped field. A staff, communicating via walkie talkies, will then move the checkers.

For visual impact, everything is huge here. The size of checkers are 3 feet in diameter and the winner will keep the backgammon dice, custom made out of a special inflatable material to withstand the impact of the fall. It is valued at 1,000 Euro, or even priceless if you consider it is limited edition for this event only. Special event tickets will also be sold and all proceeds will go to charity.

I am sure the amount of publicity generated for their Backgammon Freeroll tournaments will be immense. The site also offers Poker and Blackjack games but I will pass on that since I do not have much luck in gambling. If you need live customer support, it is available.

I will get back to my backgammon game for now..

To rescue the economy and encourage consumer spending, the US government is printing more money and increasing federal debt. But the shadow of recession continues to loom large.

Monthly mortgage payments are rising as home values plunge. This double whammy has caused some homeowners to simply abandon their homes and their loans, rather than throw good money after bad.

New tax laws introduced last year have allowed home buyers to walk away from mortgage obligations without a tax consequence. Last time, if bank forgive the shortfall when the house is foreclosed, it is considered as income and hence taxable.

Is it alright for troubled homeowners to walk away when they can no longer afford their homes? I think if you choose to walk away, you have to accept that you’ll pay more for car loans, credit cards and mortgages in the future. At least for a while. I am worried that the hard lessons of greed are not learned if the exit strategy is so easy.

What do you guys think?

A new form of marketing has been tailored for the mass of unsold home inventories and foreclosures. A Foreclosure Bus Tour….

It is a six-hour trip to showcase homes to buyers in Orlando and educate them on the vagaries of snatching foreclosures in a state where residential real estate has stagnated over the past two years.

The foreclosure bus tours are good value for visitors. A cost of $45 per person or $65 per couple covered the tour, house information, teaching sessions, a continental breakfast and lunch at Applebee’s. A mortgage broker, attorney, home inspector and agent are on hand to advise; for newbies, you get a feel of the team you need to set up for your first foray into real estate.

Real estate agents have also organized foreclosure bus tours in California, where the idea seems to have originated, and cities such as Phoenix, Detroit, Kansas City and Jacksonville.

I heard that eBay has stopped taking new submissions for their affiliate program at commission junction and is starting their own affiliate program from 1^st April 2008. You can register for the new program at http://affiliates.ebay.com from 1^st April onwards.

eBbay’s official launch is over here.

If everyone agrees with you, it’s a waste of time, so says Mark Cuban, co founder of HD net.

He netted $2 million by selling his company Micro Solutions, to CompuServe. Then in 1995, he pioneered college sports streaming online and spin off Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5 billion in stock. He sold off the stocks before the bubble burst. And in 2001, he launched all-high-def, all-the-time network HDNet among the early entrants.

This guy knows what he is doing. And with his wealth, he sets the right example to all of us. Don’t follow the crowd!!

Most Americans think times are tough because they are feeling the pinch from rising prices. A survey showed that 65% are “very concerned” about inflation, while 26% are “somewhat concerned.”

Unemployment is also a major concern. The Department of Labor reveals that America has has already lost 85,000 jobs so far this year, with February’s net job report showing the worst loss in nearly five years.

To balance the threat of recession against rising inflation, the Federal Reserve announced a 3/4 percentage point cut of its key interest rate. The purpose for the central bank rate cuts is to boost the economy and stave off a recession. But lower interest rates can also weaken the dollar, sending inflation higher.

The Fed acknowledged that “uncertainty about the inflation outlook has increased.” Inflation hurts consumers and many people will be cutting back on their spending habits. Are you feeling the pinch already?

There are more reasons out there why affiliate marketers fail. We will explore it later, here are two more…

Promoting Only One Product

Some affiliates promote only one product and the readers/customers are not given enough options to choose from. There is also the risk of generating fewer sales, it is always better to give them a few alternatives than to give them only one.

Promoting Too Many Products

The converse is equally true. Promoting too many products can harm your affiliate business. Customers become confused and end up not making a choice at all. They depend on your recommendations and if you say everything is good, they may not trust your judgment.

Understanding some of the common mistakes affiliates make can dispel the gloom about this affiliate business. There are certain dos and donts, just like in any industry, if you want to make your effort count.

Lack of Knowledge

Lack of knowledge concerning principles in their business refers to the affiliate’s knowledge of search engines in particular.

Affiliate marketing involves advertising, and advertising through the internet could not have been better without the existence of search engines. What every affiliate has to do is to make these search engines his best friend through studying search engine optimization closely.

This way, he is able to know what to do in connection with building a better website to ultimately use for his business.

Banner Stuffing

It is a waste of time and space if affiliates just stuff their sites with banners but do not provide enough information about the product at hand. The best way to battle this mistake is to provide good content to accompany such banners.

It is important for customers to know and understand the features of a product, and good content will be able to help them realize this goal.

Americans think the economy is now in a recession and the number who feel that way continues to grow. Of more than 1,000 adult Americans surveyed in March, 74% said they believe the nation is now in a recession. That figure rose from 66% in February and 61% in January.

Economists’ definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, and though growth was sluggish in the last quarter - 0.6% - the U.S. economy has not yet shown one quarter of retraction.

Whatever the definitions, it is clear that average Americans feel the nation has fallen on hard times and making a living is tough. Coupled with escalating monthly bills, the outlook is very gloomy.