SevenToTen - Blogging About Everything

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Online shopping has become very popular over the last couple of years because customers can buy what they want in an efficient, quick and safe manner. Of course, it is important to do some research and comparison shop, else you end up overpaying - as I learned through the hard way. I really regret paying about 15% more for a laptop which I found out to be overpriced a few days after buying.

Once bitten, twice shy! But if you like the idea of online shopping, you can try Mpire, a one stop station where you can compares prices, read product reviews and buy the best deals on eBay, Amazon, Best Buy, Shopping, Overstock, or other online market places.

There are many categories available, ranging from digital cameras, fashion, outdoor sports, electronic gadgets, home improvements, and jeweleries. The procedure is easy, let’s say you want to buy a watch, just type in the keyword in the search function, you then get a price trend for that item and several sources will appear with links and prices. You can zoom into each shop and make your decision base on cost, quality, delivery time, etc.

Another outstanding aspect of Mpire is their extensive coupons collection for almost all online shopping locations. Some shoppers will not contemplate any purchases without coupons. I don’t blame them, with inflation sky-high, depending on coupons is the only way to stretch your dollar.

Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said Wednesday that his company’s $44 billion offer for Yahoo Inc. reflects Yahoo’s worth and the software maker has no plan to raise it.

“We know what Yahoo’s worth. $44 billion is a lot of money,” Ballmer said at a conference in Milan.

Ballmer said Microsoft is “prepared to move forward alone without Yahoo” if the bid doesn’t succeed. The cash and stock bid — valued at $44.6 billion, or $31 per share, when it was first made — is now worth about $43 billion, or $29.88 per share.

Without specifying a precise price, Internet pioneer Yahoo has maintained it is worth more to Microsoft even though its shares had fallen below $20 before the bid.

Girls worry that their breasts are not big enough and guys worry that their penis are too small to satisfy their partner. With penis enlargement, you can get satisfactory solutions for your penis problems and enhance your pleasure, so that your lover will not forget your prowess in bed.

There are many procedures to penis enlargement: surgery, pills, creams, ointments, etc. If it is your dream to have a large penis, then this dream might just be able to turn into reality.

We do not like products which overpromise and underdeliver. The penis extender is a product that can do what it claims, not a male enhancement myth.

Seven out of 10 seriously delinquent subprime mortgage borrowers are still not getting the help they need to keep their homes, according to a report released Tuesday by state officials working to stem the foreclosure crisis.

“We’re still way behind,” said Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who helped form the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group, a coalition formed last year by 11 state attorneys general and bank regulators.

The coalition is working with lenders and companies that service mortgages to try to keep people from losing their homes. It drew its statistics from 13 of the 20 major servicer companies, which handle about 58% of all subprime loans.

More than 1 million of those loans, or nearly 25% of the total, were delinquent as of Jan. 31. And foreclosure proceedings have begun on 300,000 of them - an 8% increase since October.

Mortgage servicing companies, which manage accounts and process payments, play a key role in efforts to help delinquent borrowers work out affordable mortgages. Workouts can take the form of simple repayment plans or more comprehensive loan modifications that involve reductions in balances or interest rates.

Many subprime loans are adjustable rate mortgages, meaning their interest rates jump after an introductory period. Borrowers who had not fallen behind on their payments before their rates reset can benefit from a simple freeze of their rates. Many subprime borrowers took out loans they could not really afford - making workouts more complicated.

The report showed that 28.5% of subprime adjustable rate mortgages that won’t reset until spring 2009 are already delinquent. About 21% of these same loans were delinquent in October.

Do you put much thought into your business cards and logos? I think it is very important to come up with a professional design to project a global brand. Even if you are a freelancer, a memorable logo will serve you well.

I found a site, Logo Yes, which allows us to create business logos. Look at all the Logo Design Examples here. They are high quality and most importantly, can be created quickly, since I am busy with my work schedule. The procedures are simple: just hit the logo creator, choose a logo, a few clicks to modify size, shape, color and font. Then lo and behold, My Logo Design is ready.

Your design will depend on your desired image, whether you want it to look more techy, bold and flair. It is so easy, once you get the hang of it, you can even do it with your eyes closed. Your customers will think you have spent hundreds or even thousands employing a professional graphic designer. But it is actually DIY, quick and looks good.

Try out their Logo Design yourself if you don’t believe me. Anyone can use their service for free and you pay only if you like the final product. It cost $69 for logo files and $99 for logo and matching business cards.

Motorola continues to struggle as they posted a first-quarter continuing operations loss of $194 million, or 9 cents a share, compared with a year-ago loss of $218 million. Excluding costs tied to recent job cuts, Motorola lost 5 cents a share, 2 cents better than the Wall Street analyst estimate.

But if the company’s bottom-line performance was slightly better than expected, the rest of its report wasn’t terribly upbeat. Motorola posted sales of $7.45 billion, down 21% from a year ago. Sales in the hard-hit handset unit slumped 39% from a year ago, as Motorola sold 27 million handsets for the quarter.

The drastic decline at that operation prompted Motorola to agree earlier this year to split off its handset and broadband businesses in a new company, as well as to give some board seats to dissident investor Carl Icahn, who has been criticizing Motorola for more than a year and who has called repeatedly for a splitup.

Motorola is also bleeding cash, posting an operating cash outflow of $343 million in the first quarter. The company said it expects to lose 2 to 4 cents a share for the second quarter, excluding costs related to job cuts.

Analysts were looking for a penny-a-share loss. Shares of Motorola, which have lost more than half their value over the past year during the handset unit’s implosion, dropped 35 cents in early trading Thursday to $9.20.

It is hard to find a job these days but medical careers are barely affected by the depressed economy. Medical professionals and pharmacists are in demand because of the growing awareness of health issues. Education courses like Pharmacy Technician Training, Nursing has started gaining its reputation and numerous job opportunities abound.

The salary is good too. How I wish I had enrolled for ultrasound schools or sonography schools, and taken up a course to become an ultrasound technician. I could shock-proof my career today and not worry so much about unemployment.

Ford Motor Co. surprised Wall Street with a $100 million profit in the first quarter as strong results from Europe and South America helped offset the impact of a slumping U.S. economy that cut car and truck sales in its main market.

The company also said Thursday its latest round of early retirement and buyout offers netted 4,200 hourly workers, fewer than Ford had targeted.

Ford says it earned 5 cents per share compared to a loss of 15 cents a share in the same period last year.
Excluding special items, the company said it made $525 million after taxes, or 20 cents per share. That beat Wall Street’s expectations. The profit came despite a $45 million pretax loss in Ford’s core North American automotive market.

It was Ford’s first profitable quarter since the second quarter of 2007 when it made $750 million. Ford reported a full-year loss of $2.7 billion last year, and it cautioned that the rest of this year will be tough. Ford also lowered its industrywide U.S. vehicle sales forecast for the full year.

A lot of people assume naturally that they will not fall prey to identity thefts. But do you know that every time you use a credit card, you are at risk of giving away vital personal information which criminals can use to clone your identity, meaning a slew of fake bank accounts and credit cards in your name.

Once identity theft happens, you lose money, time and peace of mind. When it comes to identity protection, Debix is a site worth checking out. Their service is simple, they place a fraud alert on your credit file and you get a phone call whenever someone opens an account in your name and social security number. You can then halt the devious act by pressing the * key. Simple as ABC!

But let’s Compare LifeLock and Debix before you decide. Similar to Lifelock, they guarantee protection up to $1 million, reduce your junk mail and receive free credit reports. In addition, you can prevent telemarketing phone calls, keep your cell phone number private from creditors, get a phone call to notify you of unauthorized accounts. They can also find you on up to 3 different phone numbers. And their annual cost is only $89 to Lifelock’s $110.

If you are not using Identity Theft Prevention, it is usually too late for you when you discover the theft. Your credit card or mortgage application is turned down and a collection agency could even turn up at your door. Statistics indicate that a stolen ID is used up to 30 times before you come to know.

Everyone with a slight chance of identity theft will find the Debix solution a very good investment in personal financial security.

The number of newly laid off workers filing unemployment benefits claims increased, according to the Labor Department. Aside from the period in the fall of 2005 after Hurricane Katrina hit, the four-week average for claims has risen to levels last seen in 2003 when the country was mired in a long jobless recovery after the 2001 recession.

Analysts said that claims have been difficult to read because of the government is trying to adjust the figures for seasonal changes to reflect this year’s unusually early Easter and also because of the impact of a strike at a key parts supplier for General Motors.

The unemployment rate jumped to 5.1% in March as businesses cut 80,000 jobs, the biggest drop in payrolls in five years. Many economists believe that was the most dramatic indication to date that the country has fallen into a recession.

Economists believe that the downturn should be short and mild, ending this summer with the help of the economic stimulus package that will send rebate checks to 130 million households. Still, they are looking for the unemployment rate to rise to 6% before stronger economic growth starts generating renewed hiring.

For the week of April 5, 31 states and territories reported increases in claims while 22 states had declines. The state with the biggest increase was Georgia, where claims rose by 4,306, reflecting higher layoffs in textile plants, carpet and rug factories and in service industries. Michigan was next in line, reflecting higher layoffs in the auto industry, followed by Texas with an increase of 2,377.

The states with the biggest declines in claims applications were New Jersey, down 2,737; New York, down 2,465; and Wisconsin, down 2,075