Tomatoes: History, Origin, Facts... or Fiction?
A tomato importer, John Nix, decided to challenge the law after scrutinizing the Tariff Act. His case relied on the fact that tomatoes were a fruit and not vegetable, therefore, it should not be subjected to the Tariff Act. Nix's objections brought the case to the Supreme Court in 1893. Although ... more...

Making it affordable: Nine tips for first time home buyers
It seems that everyone loves a good real estate story. The media is filled with reports about soaring property values and home owners of modest means becoming instant millionaires when they sell. As a result, many first time home buyers, afraid of missing out, will rush into buying decisions and ... more...

Ben Bernanke: The New Era of the Fed
It is the economic news of the week that President Bush has appointed Ben Bernanke, B.Econ, Ph.D. as the new Chairman-designate of the Federal Reserve System. Mr. Bernanke - if approved by the Senate Banking Committee - will take over the powerful post from Alan Greenspan early next year. It is ... more...

Credit and Divorce
Mary and Bill recently divorced. Their divorce decree stated that Bill would pay the balances on their three joint credit card accounts. Months later, after Bill neglected to pay off these accounts, all three creditors contacted Mary for payment. She referred them to the divorce decree, insisting ... more...

Simplifying Your Search For a New Credit Card
Today, selecting the proper credit card can be a bit confusing to say the least. There are literally hundreds of offers from the major institutions eagerly competing for your business. The easiest way to shop for a credit card is to break them down into categories. There are seven major categories ... more...

China's New Currency Regime
The base unit for the renminbi is the yuan, which is how the Chinese currency is most commonly referred to. The official ISO abbreviation for the yuan is CNY, but it is also commonly abbreviated in the forex industry as RMB.The yuan had been pegged at 8.28 to the dollar since 1994. While China ... more...

Free Credit Reports: From The 3 Major Credit Bureau's!
Get your credit report online for FREE. Many financial advisors suggest that you periodically review your credit report for inaccuracies or omissions.This could be especially important if you're considering making a major purchase, such as buying a home. Checking in advance on the accuracy of ... more...

Learning the Secret of Contentment (Part 2)
Pauls encouragement to the Philippians is also our encouragement. Consider his afflictions and trials: - I was beaten 5 times by the Jews with a whip- 3 times I was beaten with rods- Once I was stoned- 3 times I was shipwrecked- On many of my missionary journeys, I was in danger from rivers, ... more...

Free Credit Reports - How to Maintain Your Credit Profile
Maintaining your Credit ProfileEvery consumer should be maintaining their credit profiles to ensure the highest scores possible. To do so, you must first order your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ... more...

Six Tips For Perfect Email Media Pitches
Your media pitches can go straight over the plate. With a little forethought, and a few tips, you can throw fewer balls and more media relations strikes.Brevity is the soul of wit. Shakespeare could have been giving media relations tips when he penned this gem several hundred years ago. If you ... more...

Why Consumers Need a Nationwide Credit Freeze NOW
What do a shoe retailer, an online discount broker, and a popular clothing retailer all have in common? All three - DSW Shoe Warehouse, Ameritrade, and Polo Ralph Lauren - sustained breaches to their customers accounts. Unfortunately, these three are not alone when it comes to security breaches. ... more...

Equity Raising Strategies, Myths, and Cold, Hard Facts
Start-ups and early stage companies are generally not attractive to institutional investors. Even in today's favorable climate, start-ups are basically just too risky for these sources of capital. The primary exception is where it is a proven entrepreneur starting another venture.For start-ups, the ... more...

Free Credit Report - Really
2005 marks the year that consumers will be able to get a free credit report each year. The roll out of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act signed into law by President Bush actually began last December 1. If you didn't know about it, don't worry. You haven't missed the boat. Not everyone ... more...

San Diego Real Estate, Million Dollar Homes
San Diego county has always been known for its Luxury Homes, yet in 2004 San Diego County luxury home sales (homes over $1,000,000) hit an incredible 2774 total units, an increase of almost 170% over total sales in 2003!In the entire State of California, A total of 33,107 homes sold for a million ... more...

Are You Sure That Heirloom Oriental Rug From Your Aunt Hilda Is Really Insured?
Gone are the days of the cinder block and wood plank bookcases. You've come along way from that old reliable jut rug and CDs (or in some cases, actual vinyl albums) stored in milk crates. That's the way it is with first apartments, and sometimes second and third apartments too. It's what you ... more...

Fanning the Flames of the Diabetes Epidemic
INTRODUCTIONIt is my pleasure to introduce to you, a new Diabetes Prevention Education, Public Relations Campaign established under the name Fannie Estelle Hill Grant, started by me, Lyndia Grant-Briggs, after the loss of my mother who succumbed to Type 2 Diabetes on Christmas Day, December 25, ... more...

Can You Buy a Home While on Vacation?
It may not be as crazy as it sounds. According to the National Association of Realtors, one out of every three residential homes purchased in 2004 was a second home. Many of these are mountain cabins or beach cottages. That said, buying a vacation home is not something to do on a whim.You should ... more...

Free Credit Reports Now Available From the FTC
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has set up a new website (www.AnnualCreditReport.com) where US residents can obtain free copies of their credit reports from the three major credit report bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian). The FTC site was set up as part of the Fair and Accurate Credit ... more...

ERP Software Financing: the Future? Overview for Company Owner
In our case we serve Microsoft Business Solutions ERP and CRM products: Microsoft Great Plains, Microsoft CRM, Navision, Microsoft RMS, as well as we do customization and integration to these products. We would like to share with you our experience with financing through Microsoft Financial ... more...

Credit Traps Snag Consumers
Nearly 20 years ago I worked for a small consumer advocacy organization in Washington, DC. Each week we received sacks full of mail from consumers across the country requesting our list of credit cards with low interest rates and no annual fees. If you wanted a low interest rate on a credit card ... more...