Thursday, December 31, 2015
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
RETIREMENT, INVESTMENTS, HOUSING, AND EXTRAS: FINANCIAL ADVISORS. YOUR CHOICE.
RETIREMENT, INVESTMENTS, HOUSING, AND EXTRAS: FINANCIAL ADVISORS. YOUR CHOICE.: Why Betterment, Wealthfront, and Other Online Investment Firms are Wrong about Financial Advisors. FORBES MIKE ALFRED,CONTRIBUTOR ...
FINANCIAL ADVISORS. YOUR CHOICE.
Why Betterment, Wealthfront, and Other Online Investment Firms are Wrong about Financial Advisors.
FORBES
MIKE ALFRED,CONTRIBUTOR
In a recent blogpost, Betterment made the broad-sweeping claim that Financial Advisors are Bad for Your Wealth (Update: Betterment has taken down this post as of 1:30pm EST today. Update #2: The post is back up at 3pm EST). To make their position clear, they included an unfortunate image of a human face on the body of a pig. It didn’t take long for the Reformed Broker Josh Brown to draw the conclusion that Betterment thinks Financial Advisors are Pigs.
Betterment isn’t the only firm that believes financial advisors are greedy, inept, and obsolete. Last week, I had the privilege of sitting on the Web Driven Investment Advice panel at the Future of Money Conference in San Francisco. CNET’s Rafe Needleman moderated and I shared the stage with the founding CEOs of three of the up-and-coming firms in the space: Bill Harris of Personal Capital, Andy Rachleff of Wealthfront, and Bo Lu of FutureAdvisor. Before the panel started, we met up in the green room for a discussion and it quickly became apparent that the room was evenly divided between those who recognize and appreciate the value that financial advisors bring to the table — and those who don’t.
Betterment isn’t the only firm that believes financial advisors are greedy, inept, and obsolete. Last week, I had the privilege of sitting on the Web Driven Investment Advice panel at the Future of Money Conference in San Francisco. CNET’s Rafe Needleman moderated and I shared the stage with the founding CEOs of three of the up-and-coming firms in the space: Bill Harris of Personal Capital, Andy Rachleff of Wealthfront, and Bo Lu of FutureAdvisor. Before the panel started, we met up in the green room for a discussion and it quickly became apparent that the room was evenly divided between those who recognize and appreciate the value that financial advisors bring to the table — and those who don’t.
RETIREMENT, INVESTMENTS, HOUSING, AND EXTRAS: WEALTHFRONT AND FINANCIAL PLANNING
RETIREMENT, INVESTMENTS, HOUSING, AND EXTRAS: WEALTHFRONT AND FINANCIAL PLANNING: WEALTHFRONT Posted Mar 3, 2015 by Jonathan Shieber ( @jshieber ) , Jordan Crook ( @jordanrcrook Wealthfront , the automated i...
WEALTHFRONT AND FINANCIAL PLANNING
Wealthfront, the automated investment services company that competes with traditional financial advisory behemoths like Fidelity, has today crossed the $2 billion mark in terms of assets managed.
The achievement for a company, which one year ago was managing approximately $500 million in client assets, is impressive, and it makes Wealthfront the first in its space to rake in that much cash.
Most of Wealthfront’s clients are in their 20’s and 30’s, and their account with Wealthfront is most often their first investment account ever. Nash says that of the ~22,000 clients, the average puts around $90,000 in the hands of Wealthfront, with the biggest account topping out at $10 million.
“We’re not very concerned about the large companies being able to keep pace,” said CEO Adam Nash. “They simply can’t innovate and deliver features fast enough. Instead, we’re focused on defining a better way to invest for this generation.”
Though Wealthfront has shown tremendous growth, $2 billion is but a grain of sand compared to the trillions of dollars in assets managed by incumbents Charles Schwab and Fidelity.
Massive players are not only competing through traditional means, but giants like Charles Schwab (with more than $2.5 trillion in assets managed) have announced algorithmic asset management tools as well. CS’s “Intelligent Portfolios” product, which is branded as a horror film set in cyber space, is set to launch later this month.
Wealthfront has made its name (and carved out the bulk of its user base) mainly among the tech companies who also put their trust in algorithms.
The company uses its own set of complex algorithms and software to make financial advisory decisions for clients looking to save up for their future, a job traditionally handled by (ostensibly) very intelligent humans. Alongside managing more than $2 billion in client assets, Wealthfront also says that it has saved its clients a total of nearly $10 million in fees they would have been charged with a traditional advisor.
Two years ago, Wealthfront hired Adam Nash to take the CEO position. At the time, the company had less than $100 million in management.
Wealthfront raised roughly $70 million in October of 2014, preceded by a $35 million raise in April that was led by Index. In total, the company has raised nearly $130 million across five rounds.
RETIREMENT, INVESTMENTS, HOUSING, AND EXTRAS: FINANCIAL PLANNING
RETIREMENT, INVESTMENTS, HOUSING, AND EXTRAS: FINANCIAL PLANNING: MERRILL LYNCH FINANCIAL NEWS MERRILL LYNCH At Merrill Lynch, your financial advisor focuses on the things you care about most– family, ...
FINANCIAL PLANNING
MERRILL LYNCH FINANCIAL NEWS
MERRILL LYNCH
At Merrill Lynch, your financial advisor focuses on the things you care about most– family, goals and priorities – even as they change over the years.
Our approach
Creating a financial strategy that reflects your personality. Getting to know you is your financial advisor’s primary goal.
An approach built around your life’s priorities. It’s time for a financial strategy that puts your needs and priorities front and center.
Adapting the approach as life changes and goals are reached. As goals and priorities change, so should your approach
RETIREMENT, INVESTMENTS, HOUSING, AND EXTRAS: PERSONAL FINANCE ADIVCE
RETIREMENT, INVESTMENTS, HOUSING, AND EXTRAS: PERSONAL FINANCE ADIVCE: Personal Finance Advice WisePiggy.com When it comes to money management advice, there's plenty of it: A penny saved is a penny e...
PERSONAL FINANCE ADIVCE
Personal Finance Advice
When it comes to money management advice, there's plenty of it: A penny saved is a penny earned. Pay yourself first. Buy low, sell high. But real life is often more complicated. Everyday something seems to chip away at our best intentions to save versus spend. And why do some people seem to live a more balanced -- and smarter -- financial life? What advice really matters? To find out, we gathered the very best personal finance tips for every single day of the year.Here's to a better money life in 2016!
January 01, 2016
Clean out your closet for cash. Look through your closet and decide which garments you don’t regularly wear or are ready to part with. Then call local consignment shops and get a feel for what each store is taking in at the moment. If you have time, visit the shop and look at the brands and styles typically sold there.
Start the year off right by tracking your tax-related expenses in 2016 in real time and in an organized way, not during an April scramble to dig receipts out of junk drawers. Little-known expenses to track for your federal return can include commuting between two jobs, certain moving expenses, expenses related to volunteer work; even state and local sales taxes paid throughout the year if that's bigger than your state and local income taxes. (You can't claim both.) Imagine how great you will feel during tax time the following year!
PUTIN'S SON-IN-LAW & $1.75 BILLION FINANCE LOAN
PUTIN'S SON-IN LAW
Putin's son-in-law boosted by $1.75B Russian state loan son-in-law of Vladimir Putin stands to benefit from $1.75 billion in cheap finance from the Russian state, a Reuters examination of public documents shows.
The money will help fund a petrochemical project at a company in which Kirill Shamalov, husband of Katerina Tikhonova, the Russian president's younger daughter, has a significant interest.
IBT
Reuters
5 billion from Russia's National Wealth Fund to help build a huge new plant in Tobolsk, Siberia.
Shamalov did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement by Sibur on Dec. 9, Dmitry Konov, its chief executive, described the state finance as having "favorable terms." A Sibur spokesman said the company had no information "about family relations or relations between the company's shareholders and the president of Russia." The state loan, he said, "underwent all necessary procedures and was approved in strict accordance with the ... laws."
The country's National Wealth Fund, which was valued at the start of 2015 at 4.8 trillion roubles (then $72 billion), typically invests in national infrastructure projects such as railways, nuclear technology and major roads. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev issued a decree in October to add the petrochemical plant to the list of projects in which the fund can invest. The decision, Medvedev said, would reduce "dependence on imports" and create up to 15,000 jobs.
The state money forms part of the overall $9.5 billion cost of Sibur's Siberian project, which is known as ZapSibNeftekhim, or ZapSib. Sibur has said in public announcements that the plant will be the "largest modern petrochemical facility in Russia" and create a world-class facility for making chemical products from Siberian gas supplies.
The development is central to Sibur's future – and to the value of Shamalov's stake in the company. In 2012, when design work began, Sibur's chairman Leonid Mikhelson said ZapSib would "change the image of the company and the Russian petrochemical sector."
After Shamalov married Putin's daughter in 2013, he increased his stake in Sibur five-fold and the company invested more heavily in the ZapSib project. As Reuters detailed earlier this month, Shamalov acquired a 17 percent stake in Sibur in September 2014, making him the second largest shareholder in the company, with a total stake of 21.3 percent. That investment is now worth $2.85 billion, judging by recent share deals.
ELOISE FIGUEROA: TURN $5000 INTO 2.5 BILLION
ELOISE FIGUEROA: TURN $5000 INTO 2.5 BILLION: This startup wants to turn your $5,000 real estate investment into $2.5 billion Sponsored by Fundr It’s the motto high...
TURN $5000 INTO 2.5 BILLION
This startup wants to turn your $5,000 real estate investment into $2.5 billion
It’s the motto high-net-worth investors live by: Invest in real estate.
In fact, the famous “Yale model,” which outperformed traditional stock and bond allocations for decades, allocates up to 20% of investment portfolios to real estate. Many people do this by investing in a house — never an office building or apartment building, let alone a skyscraper.
Why? Though commercial real estate is known as a great investment,historically outperforming stock and bonds, it’s had a high barrier to entry — access has always been restricted to billion-dollar investment funds run by Wall Street.
Add to that the fact that commercial real estate investing has been riddled with inefficient systems that get passed onto the investor in the form of higher fees and lower profit margins. But the internet has changed everything, and could alter the way we invest in real estate forever.
Bringing real estate investment to the people
In 2012, brothers Ben and Dan Miller founded Fundrise, a Washington, DC-based start-up, with one goal: Give everyone the ability to invest directly in the same real estate as multibillion-dollar institutions — online.
“The idea is pretty straightforward,” says Fundrise president Dan Miller. “Technology allows us to dramatically reduce costs and provide our investors with better returns.”
Fundrise’s online crowdfunding platform connects individuals with real estate investments in one convenient marketplace — side by side with millionaires. This allows the average investor to build out a real estate portfolio quickly and efficiently, with the opportunity to achieve higher returns.
In addition to being a more efficient process, lowering the barrier to entry to Fundrise’s platform gives investors access to the most desirable commercial properties in major US cities. For example, today on Fundrise you can invest $5,000 in the development of the skyline-defining 3 World Trade Center — a $2.5 billion deal. You can purchase a piece of what stands to be one of the most iconic buildings of the century as easily as you can buy a book on Amazon.
FundriseFundrise is hoping its crowdfunding technology will make traditional investment banks obsolete.
Fundrise is hoping its crowdfunding technology will do to traditional investment banks and Wall Street what the internet did to the travel, publishing, and taxi industries — make them obsolete.
Quality over quantity
The ability to produce strong returns while maintaining quality is not easy. Fundrise says there are 250 new deals submitted through its website each week. Of those, fewer than 1% meet their strict underwriting standards.
“The introduction of new technology into the process of finding quality real estate investments allows us to cast a much wider net,” says CEO Ben Miller. “We are able to find the needles in the haystack that others can't because of the sheer volume of opportunities we see.”
Unlike other investment startups such as LendingClub and Wealthfront, it’s not enough for the Millers to make the process more efficient. The company wants to open up an entirely new asset class worth an estimated $9 trillion to 98% of the population who have never invested in commercial real estate.
For investors, Fundrise's main draw is that it allows them to build build a low-fee portfolio of high-yielding real estate. "This gives me the ability to be in 15 different deals across the country, all from my laptop," says Mesh Lakhani, founder of Future Investor, an online education portal for alternative investments. "I have much better diversification, which reduces my risk. It's part of the income strategy for my overall portfolio."
Fundrise envisions a future where investing in buildings is as commonplace as owning stocks, where investors can shop an inventory of the best properties across the country without leaving their living room.
With an investor base of 50,000 and growing, that future doesn’t seem so far away.
ELOISE FIGUEROA: RETIREMENT RULE
ELOISE FIGUEROA: RETIREMENT RULE: THE 50/20/30 RETIREMENT RULE LEARNVEST PLANERS Whether you're a parent with two kids or a recent college grad wo...
RETIREMENT RULE
THE 50/20/30 RETIREMENT RULE
LEARNVEST PLANERS
Whether you're a parent with two kids or a recent college grad working your first job, our 50/20/30 guideline can help you assess your budget. Learn Vest Planners often use this approach working with new clients to help illustrate the big picture of where their money is going.
Our guideline breaks your budget down into three buckets (rather than the seemingly infinite categories of some traditional budgeting). It’s designed to help you figure out how much you may want to allocate to each area every month, and can also help you determine the order in which your money can be allocated.
50/20/30 Broken Down
1. Fixed Costs
These are bills and expenses that don’t vary much from month to month, like rent or mortgage payments, utilities and car payments. We also include subscriptions, such as gym memberships and Netflix accounts, in fixed costs because you’re committed to paying them on a monthly basis.
These are bills and expenses that don’t vary much from month to month, like rent or mortgage payments, utilities and car payments. We also include subscriptions, such as gym memberships and Netflix accounts, in fixed costs because you’re committed to paying them on a monthly basis.
When it comes to fixed costs, our Planners generally suggest that you aim to keep your monthly total no more than 50% of your take-home pay.
2. Financial Goals
LearnVest Planners typically recommend putting at least 20% of your take-home pay toward important payments or contributions that will help you secure your financial foundation. We believe there are three essential goals everyone should strive for: paying down credit card debt, saving for retirement, and building an emergency fund. But your financial goals can also include larger savings priorities, like a down payment on a new home.
LearnVest Planners typically recommend putting at least 20% of your take-home pay toward important payments or contributions that will help you secure your financial foundation. We believe there are three essential goals everyone should strive for: paying down credit card debt, saving for retirement, and building an emergency fund. But your financial goals can also include larger savings priorities, like a down payment on a new home.
. Flexible Spending
Finally, consider budgeting no more than 30% of your take-home pay toward flexible spending. These are day-to-day expenses that can vary from month to month, like eating out, groceries, shopping, hobbies, entertainment, or gas.
Finally, consider budgeting no more than 30% of your take-home pay toward flexible spending. These are day-to-day expenses that can vary from month to month, like eating out, groceries, shopping, hobbies, entertainment, or gas.
We include groceries in flexible spending because even though food is a necessity in your budget, how you spend on food can vary. Some weeks you might eat out more, while others you may buy more groceries to cook at home. At LearnVest, our Planners often say that it doesn’t really matter what you spend your money on each month in this category, as long as you're aware of your spending and not going over your total flex budget each month.
One Note About Retirement
As you might have noticed, the 50/20/30 guideline applies only to take-home pay. Any contributions you make to retirement before your paycheck hits your bank account are not included. For that reason, you may actually be contributing more toward your financial goals than this breakdown would suggest. And you may find that it's a good thing to keep that retirement money out of sight, out of mind!
How the 50/20/30 Guideline Can Apply to Your Own Budget
If you’re just starting to put together a budget, the 50/20/30 Guideline can serve as a useful benchmark for how to divvy up your paycheck. When it comes down to it, though, how you spend (and save) your money depends on your specific goals and lifestyle.
As part of the LearnVest Action Program, you can work with a dedicated Planner who can give you a clear plan of action for your money, including helping you to create a budget that has the right balance for you. If you’re curious, you can get started by trying out our online budgeting tool for free.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Million Dollar Listings: San Diego, California
Million Dollar Listings: San Diego, California: Luxe Living, San Diego Style
San Diego is a wonderful place to live. Local residents enjoy nearly year-round sunshine, a mouth-watering culinary scene, and a friendly beach culture that’s sure to make you feel right at …
San Diego is a wonderful place to live. Local residents enjoy nearly year-round sunshine, a mouth-watering culinary scene, and a friendly beach culture that’s sure to make you feel right at …
Million Dollar Listings: Colts Neck, New Jersey
Million Dollar Listings: Colts Neck, New Jersey: Everything Your Heart Desires
What if you wanted to live in an authentic French Chateau, but you also wanted a home with all of the modern conveniences that you’ve grown accustomed to enjoying? What if you …
What if you wanted to live in an authentic French Chateau, but you also wanted a home with all of the modern conveniences that you’ve grown accustomed to enjoying? What if you …
Million Dollar Listings: Colts Neck, New Jersey
Million Dollar Listings: Colts Neck, New Jersey: Everything Your Heart Desires
What if you wanted to live in an authentic French Chateau, but you also wanted a home with all of the modern conveniences that you’ve grown accustomed to enjoying? What if you …
What if you wanted to live in an authentic French Chateau, but you also wanted a home with all of the modern conveniences that you’ve grown accustomed to enjoying? What if you …
The 6 Dumbest Upgrades to Make When Selling Your Home
The 6 Dumbest Upgrades to Make When Selling Your Home: Some Upgrades Just Don’t Pay
When you’re selling a home, you want to maximize your profits (or in some cases, minimize your losses). And in order to do this, you might be tempted to perform some …
When you’re selling a home, you want to maximize your profits (or in some cases, minimize your losses). And in order to do this, you might be tempted to perform some …
Decorating Your Front Door for Fall
Decorating Your Front Door for Fall: This morning the air was crisp and clean and you could almost smell the leaves falling. I think fall is knocking at the door - more specifically, the front door.
It's time to round up the …
It's time to round up the …
New Year’s Traditions and Superstitions
New Year’s Traditions and Superstitions: 2016 Is Just Around the Corner
Whether you’re ready or not, the New Year will soon be here. And as we’re getting busy ringing in 2016, most of us will participate in several New Year’s traditions …
Whether you’re ready or not, the New Year will soon be here. And as we’re getting busy ringing in 2016, most of us will participate in several New Year’s traditions …
Growing Home Sales to Fuel Remodel & Renovation Market in 2016
Growing Home Sales to Fuel Remodel & Renovation Market in 2016: Home remodeling is expected to soon kick back into gear. LIRA, the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity produced by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University is projecting that annual spending growth for home …
How to Rent Out Your Home
How to Rent Out Your Home: There are many reasons why you might want to rent out your home. Some individuals strategically own homes as rentals, while others rent their homes out of necessity. Perhaps the market is too soft, you’re …
When It’s Time to Walk Away From Your Home
When It’s Time to Walk Away From Your Home: Is It Really Time to Let Go?
In some real estate markets, housing values have recovered quite nicely since the housing crisis first struck fear into the hearts of homeowners everywhere. But other markets haven’t bounced …
In some real estate markets, housing values have recovered quite nicely since the housing crisis first struck fear into the hearts of homeowners everywhere. But other markets haven’t bounced …
ELOISE FIGUEROA: BAHA' FAITH
ELOISE FIGUEROA: BAHA' FAITH: Resolution Condemns Iran on State-Sponsored Persecution of Baha’i Minority The Baha’is faith is the largest non-Muslim minority in Ira...
BAHA' FAITH
Resolution Condemns Iran on State-Sponsored Persecution of Baha’i Minority
The Baha’is faith is the largest non-Muslim minority in Iran, and a recent Resolution condemns the human-rights violations.
Read more at http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Bahai/Resolution-Condemns-Iran-on-State-Sponsored-Persecution-of-Bahai-Minority.aspx#W5oAaSiwJd8YwHz3.99
People who follow the Baha’i faith in Iran are believed to be committing heresy in Iran. According to the U.S. Baha’i Office of Public Affairs, the Baha’is are the largest non-Muslim minority in Iran.
Religious persecution against the community face torture, imprisoned, can’t hold government positions, and are not permitted to any attend college. They are also facing economic persecution where they are denied licenses for businesses.
In 2015, Baha'i stores were forced to be closed after the Baha'i holy days were observed. Earlier in the year authorities accused shop owners of breaking laws against Iran to pressure the community to refrain from observing their holy days. The Baha’is do believe in one God and unity of all the major faiths , and mankind like Judaism, Christianity and the Muslim faith—something unacceptable in Iran.
ELOISE FIGUEROA: DEUTERONOMY & WOMEN
ELOISE FIGUEROA: DEUTERONOMY & WOMEN: DEUTERONOMY & WOMEN RELIGIOUSTOLERANCE.ORG Numbers 30 describes that a vow taken by a man is binding. But a vow taken by a woman can b...
DEUTERONOMY & WOMEN
| DEUTERONOMY & WOMEN RELIGIOUSTOLERANCE.ORG Numbers 30 describes that a vow taken by a man is binding. But a vow taken by a woman can be nullified by her father, if she is still living in her family of origin, or by her husband, if she is married. | |
 | Deuteronomy 21:10-13 describes how a soldier can force a woman captive to marry him without regard for her wishes. "When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife." |
| Deuteronomy 22:13-21 requires that a woman be a virgin when she is married. If she has had sexual relations while single in her father's house, then she would be stoned to death. There were no similar virginity requirements for men. "If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid....if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you." |
| Deuteronomy 22:28-29 requires that a virgin woman who has been raped must marry her attacker, no matter what her feelings are towards the rapist. "If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife...." |
| Deuteronomy 24:1 describes the procedure for obtaining a divorce. This can only be initiated by the husband, not by the wife: "When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house." |
| Deuteronomy 25:5-10: states that if a woman is widowed, she would be required to marry her former brother-in-law. This was called a "levirate" marriage. Their first-born son will later be considered to be the son of the deceased husband. The man could refuse to marry her. Women were not given a choice in the matter. " If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her." |
| Deuteronomy 25:11: If two men are fighting, and the wife of one of them grabs the other man's testicles, her hand is to be chopped off. There is no penalty if a male relative were to grab the other man. "When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets. Then thou shalt cut off her hand..." |
| Judges 19:16-30 describes an event similar to Genesis 19. Some men in the city wanted to "know" a visiting Levite. The owner of the house offered his virgin daughter and the Levite's concubine so that the men could rape them. Verse 24 states: "Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing." The man sent his own concubine outside to the gang, who proceeded to serially rape her. She died of the attacks. The man only learned of her death when he was leaving the house in the morning and stumbled across her body. The woman was clearly considered expendable and of little value |
ELOISE FIGUEROA: LEVITICUS & WOMEN
ELOISE FIGUEROA: LEVITICUS & WOMEN: LEVITICUS AND WOMEN RELIGIOUSTOLERANCE.ORG Leviticus : This book deals mainly with the duties of the priesthood, the Levite...
LEVITICUS & WOMEN
LEVITICUS AND WOMEN
RELIGIOUSTOLERANCE.ORG
| Leviticus: This book deals mainly with the duties of the priesthood, the Levites. Women were not allowed to become priests. |
| Leviticus 12:1-5 Quotes God as stating that a woman who has given birth to a boy is ritually unclean for 7 days. If the baby is a girl, the mother is unclean for 14 days. "If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days...But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks..." It would appear that the act of having a baby is a highly polluting act. To give birth to a girl is twice as polluting as is giving birth to a boy. |
| In Leviticus 18:20 adultery was defined as a man having sexual intercourse with his neighbor's wife. "Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her." Leviticus 20:10 "And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death." Deuteronomy 22:23 extends this prohibition to a man sleeping with a woman who is engaged to be married. If a man has an affair with an unmarried woman, the act is not considered adultery. Married men were free to visit prostitutes. A man who committed adultery did not commit a wrongful act against his own wife, but rather against his male neighbor. |
| Leviticus 27:6 A child aged 1 month to five years of age was worth 5 shekels if a boy and 3 shekels if a girl. "And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver." |
| Numbers 3:15 shows that a census counted only male infants over the age of one month, boys and men. "Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them." Females were not considered worthy of being included. |
| Numbers 5:11-31 describes a lengthy magical ritual that women were forced to perform if their husbands suspected them of having had an affair. A priest prepared a potion composed of holy water mixed with sweepings from the floor of the tabernacle. He proclaimed a curse over the potion and required the woman to drink it. If she were guilty, she would suffer greatly: her abdomen would swell and her thighs waste away. There is no similar magical test for husbands suspecting of having an affair with another woman. |
ELOISE FIGUEROA: WOMEN OF EARLY SCRIPTURE
ELOISE FIGUEROA: WOMEN OF EARLY SCRIPTURE: WOMEN OF EARLY SCRIPTURE RELIGIOUSTOLERANCE.ORG Gideon: many; Elkanah: 2; David: many; Solomon: 700 wives of royal birth; Rehabo...
WOMEN OF EARLY SCRIPTURE
WOMEN OF EARLY SCRIPTURE
RELIGIOUSTOLERANCE.ORG
Genesis 16:2 : Sarah gave permission to her husband Abraham to engage in sexual intercourse with her Genesis 3:16: Adam's role is to be Eve's master. The King James Version (KJV), New International Version (NIV), and Revised Standard Version (RSV) use the term "rule" to describe Adam's role over Eve: "...thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." The Living Bible uses the term "master". The Modern Language Bible uses "dominate". By implication, all of their descendents are would have the same power imbalance between spouses.
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ELOISE FIGUEROA: ANCIENT TIMES TREATMENT OF WOMEN
ELOISE FIGUEROA: ANCIENT TIMES TREATMENT OF WOMEN: How the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) generally viewed women: RELIGIOUSTOLERANCE.ORG Women's behavior was extremely limited in a...
ANCIENT TIMES TREATMENT OF WOMEN
How the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) generally viewed women:
RELIGIOUSTOLERANCE.ORGWomen's behavior was extremely limited in ancient times, much as the women of Afghanistan during the recent Taliban oppression. They were:
| Unmarried women were not allowed to leave the home of their father without permission. |
| Married women were not allowed to leave the home of their husband, without permission. |
| They were normally restricted to roles of little or no authority. |
| They could not testify in court. |
| They could not appear in public venues. |
| They were not allowed to talk to strangers. |
| They had to be doubly veiled when they left their homes. 1 |
Women were considered inferior to men:
| Genesis 1:27 to 3:24:
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ELOISE FIGUEROA: WOMEN & THE BIBLE
ELOISE FIGUEROA: WOMEN & THE BIBLE: WOMEN AND THE EARLY BIBLE RELIGIOUSTOLLERANCE.ORG Quotations: "As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misb...
WOMEN & THE BIBLE
WOMEN AND THE EARLY BIBLE
RELIGIOUSTOLLERANCE.ORG
Quotations:
 | "As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active power of the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of a woman comes from defect in the active power...." Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica,Q92, art. 1, Reply Obj. 1. |
| "And a man will choose...any wickedness, but the wickedness of a woman...Sin began with a woman and thanks to her we all must die" Ecclesiasticus, 25:18, 19 & 33. 1 |
| "And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her." Ecclesiastes 7:26, from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) |
ELOISE FIGUEROA: #1 RICHEST WOMEN IN THE WORLD 2015
ELOISE FIGUEROA: #1 RICHEST WOMEN IN THE WORLD 2015: The Richest Women in the World 2015 Kerry A. Dolan Forbes Staff ...
#1 RICHEST WOMEN IN THE WORLD 2015
The Richest Women in the World 2015
Kerry A. Dolan Forbes Staff Leadership
Christy Walton
Net worth: $39.1 billion
Age: 60
Source Of Wealth: Wal-Mart
Residence: Jackson, WY
Citizenship: United States
Marital Status: Widowed
Children: 1
Age: 60
Source Of Wealth: Wal-Mart
Residence: Jackson, WY
Citizenship: United States
Marital Status: Widowed
Children: 1
Christy Walton is the wealthiest woman in the world, a title she has held for 5 out of the past six years. She married into what became the richest family in the world — the Waltons — and inherited her wealth when her husband John Walton, a former Green Beret and Vietnam war medic, died in an airplane crash in 2005. She’s the wealthiest of the Waltons thanks to an investment John made in solar panel maker First Solar. The bulk of her holdings are in Wal-Mart, the huge retailer founded by her father-in-law Sam Walton and his brother James in 1962.She leads a very private life in Jackson, Wyoming, but in 2013 had a rare bit of publicity when she was given an award by the Imagen Foundation for producing the film “Bless Me, Ultima,” based on the book by Rudolfo Anaya, who is considered the father of Chicano literature.
ELOISE FIGUEROA: RICH WOMEN OF GERMANY
ELOISE FIGUEROA: RICH WOMEN OF GERMANY: RICH WOMEN OF GERMANY. The stereotype of financially conservative Germans having an aversion to leverage doesn’t apply to Maria-Elisabet...
RICH WOMEN OF GERMANY
RICH WOMEN OF GERMANY.
The stereotype of financially conservative Germans having an aversion to leverage doesn’t apply to Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler-Thumann and her only son, Georg Schaeffler. They’re proprietors of Schaeffler Group, which encompasses Schaeffler AG, one of the world’s largest producers of ball bearings and machine components. In 2008, the company announced a $15-billion, debt-financed takeover of publicly traded tire and auto parts giant Continental AG. Marie-Elisabeth is a member of Continental’s supervisory board and vice chair of Schaeffler’s supervisory board
Kerry A. Dolan Forbes Staff Leadership
Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler
Net worth: $6.6 billion
Age: 73
Source Of Wealth: Ball bearings
Residence: Herzogenaurach, Germany
Citizenship: Germany
Marital Status: Widowed
ELOISE FIGUEROA: BILLIONAIRE FEMALE
ELOISE FIGUEROA: BILLIONAIRE FEMALE: BILLIONAIRE FEMALE Kerry A. Dolan Forbes Staff ...
BILLIONAIRE FEMALE
BILLIONAIRE FEMALE
Kerry A. Dolan Forbes Staff Leadership
Eva Gonda de Rivera
Net worth: $7.6 billion
Source Of Wealth: Beverages
Residence: Monterrey, Mexico
Citizenship: Mexico
Marital Status: Widowed
Children: 5
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education
Eva Gonda Rivera is the widow of Eugenio Garza Laguera, the former chair of FEMSA, Latin America’s biggest independent Coca-Cola bottler and distributor. It has operations in 9 Latin American countries. Eugenio, who died in 2008, left his large stake to his wife Eva and four daughters. The company is making greater inroads in the drugstore retail market after it acquired Farmacias Farmacon, a leading pharmacy chain in northern Mexico, in December 2014, for an undisclosed price. Gonda Rivera and her daughters tend to eschew the spotlight in Mexico.
Kerry A. Dolan Forbes Staff Leadership
Eva Gonda de Rivera
Net worth: $7.6 billion
Source Of Wealth: Beverages
Residence: Monterrey, Mexico
Citizenship: Mexico
Marital Status: Widowed
Children: 5
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education
Eva Gonda Rivera is the widow of Eugenio Garza Laguera, the former chair of FEMSA, Latin America’s biggest independent Coca-Cola bottler and distributor. It has operations in 9 Latin American countries. Eugenio, who died in 2008, left his large stake to his wife Eva and four daughters. The company is making greater inroads in the drugstore retail market after it acquired Farmacias Farmacon, a leading pharmacy chain in northern Mexico, in December 2014, for an undisclosed price. Gonda Rivera and her daughters tend to eschew the spotlight in Mexico.
ELOISE FIGUEROA: WOMEN AND MONEY
ELOISE FIGUEROA: WOMEN AND MONEY: WOMEN & MONEY Kerry A. Dolan Forbes Staff ...
WOMEN AND MONEY
WOMEN & MONEY
Kerry A. Dolan Forbes Staff Leadership
It was yet another record year for women on the new FORBES list of the World’s Billionaires. Of a total 1,826 billionaires, 197 are women, up from 172 in 2014. That’s a nice gain, but women still account for just a small percentage of the list — 11% of the total.
Sandra Ortega Mera is the daughter of the fourth-richest person in the world, Amancio Ortega, founder of clothing giant Inditex. She inherited her fortune from her mother Rosalia Mera, who died suddenly in August 2013. Sandra got 89% of Rosp Corunna, the holding company Mera used to invest her wealth. The organization supports vocational training for people with mental and physical disabilities and it advocates moving them into mainstream jobs. Sandra’s brother Marcos was born with cerebral palsy. She has a psychology degree from the Universidad de Santiago and lives a fiercely private life in the Galician town of La Coruña on the Atlantic coast with her husband and three kids.
17. Sandra Ortega Mera
Net worth: $6.5 billion
Age: 46
Source Of Wealth: Zara
Residence: La Coruna, Spain
Citizenship: Spain
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3
Kerry A. Dolan Forbes Staff Leadership
It was yet another record year for women on the new FORBES list of the World’s Billionaires. Of a total 1,826 billionaires, 197 are women, up from 172 in 2014. That’s a nice gain, but women still account for just a small percentage of the list — 11% of the total.
Sandra Ortega Mera is the daughter of the fourth-richest person in the world, Amancio Ortega, founder of clothing giant Inditex. She inherited her fortune from her mother Rosalia Mera, who died suddenly in August 2013. Sandra got 89% of Rosp Corunna, the holding company Mera used to invest her wealth. The organization supports vocational training for people with mental and physical disabilities and it advocates moving them into mainstream jobs. Sandra’s brother Marcos was born with cerebral palsy. She has a psychology degree from the Universidad de Santiago and lives a fiercely private life in the Galician town of La Coruña on the Atlantic coast with her husband and three kids.
17. Sandra Ortega Mera
Net worth: $6.5 billion
Age: 46
Source Of Wealth: Zara
Residence: La Coruna, Spain
Citizenship: Spain
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3
ELOISE FIGUEROA: ENSLAVED WOMEN OF ISLAM.
ELOISE FIGUEROA: ENSLAVED WOMEN OF ISLAM.: Enslaved women of Islam! Reuters Jonathan Landay EXCLUSIVE-Islamic State ruling aims women enslaved by the extremist gro...
ENSLAVED WOMEN OF ISLAM.
Enslaved women of Islam!
Reuters
EXCLUSIVE-Islamic State ruling aims women enslaved by the extremist group can have sex with them, in an apparent bid to curb what they called violations in the treatment of captured females.
Reuters
EXCLUSIVE-Islamic State ruling aims women enslaved by the extremist group can have sex with them, in an apparent bid to curb what they called violations in the treatment of captured females.
The ruling or fatwa has the force of law and appears to go beyond the Islamic State's previous known utterances on the subject, a leading Islamic State scholar said. It sheds new light on how the group is trying to reinterpret centuries-old teachings to justify the sexual slavery of women in the swaths of Syria and Iraq it controls.
Read the fatwa here.
The fatwa was among a huge trove of documents captured by U.S. Special Operations Forces during a raid targeting a top Islamic State official in Syria in May. Reuters has reviewed some of the documents, which have not been previously published.
Among the religious rulings are bans on a father and son having sex with the same female slave; and the owner of a mother and daughter having sex with both. Joint owners of a female captive are similarly enjoined from intercourse because she is viewed as "part of a joint ownership."
The United Nations and human rights groups have accused the Islamic State of the systematic abduction and rape of thousands of women and girls as young as 12, especially members of the Yazidi minority in northern Iraq. Many have been given to fighters as a reward or sold as sex slaves.
Far from trying to conceal the practice, Islamic State has boasted about it and established a department of "war spoils" to manage slavery. Reuters reported on the existence of the department on Monday.
In an April report, Human Rights Watch interviewed 20 female escapees who recounted how Islamic State fighters separated young women and girls from men and boys and older women. They were moved "in an organized and methodical fashion to various places in Iraq and Syria." They were then sold or given as gifts and repeatedly raped or subjected to sexual violence.
DOS AND DON'TS
Fatwa No. 64, dated Jan. 29, 2015, and issued by Islamic State's Committee of Research and Fatwas, appears to codify sexual relations between IS fighters and their female captives for the first time, going further than a pamphlet issued by the group in 2014 on how to treat slaves.
The fatwa starts with a question: "Some of the brothers have committed violations in the matter of the treatment of the female slaves. These violations are not permitted by Sharia law because these rules have not been dealt with in ages. Are there any warnings pertaining to this matter?"
It then lists 15 injunctions, which in some instances go into explicit detail. For example:
"If the owner of a female captive, who has a daughter suitable for intercourse, has sexual relations with the latter, he is not permitted to have intercourse with her mother and she is permanently off limits to him. Should he have intercourse with her mother then he is not permitted to have intercourse with her daughter and she is to be off limits to him."
Islamic State's sexual exploitation of female captives has been well documented, but a leading IS expert at Princeton University, Cole Bunzel, who has reviewed many of the group's writings, said the fatwa went beyond what has previously been published by the militants on how to treat female slaves.
"It reveals the actual concerns of IS slave owners," he said in an email.
Still, he cautioned that not "everything dealt with in the fatwa is indicative of a relevant violation. It doesn't mean father and son were necessarily sharing a girl. They're at least being 'warned' not to. But I bet some of these violations were being committed."
The fatwa also instructs owners of female slaves to "show compassion towards her, be kind to her, not humiliate her, and not assign her work she is unable to perform." An owner should also not sell her to an individual whom he knows will mistreat her.
Professor Abdel Fattah Alawari, dean of Islamic Theology at Al-Azhar University, a 1,000-year-old Egyptian center for Islamic learning, said Islamic State "has nothing to do with Islam" and was deliberately misreading centuries-old verses and sayings that were originally designed to end, rather than encourage, slavery.
"Islam preaches freedom to slaves, not slavery. Slavery was the status quo when Islam came around," he said. "Judaism, Christianity, Greek, Roman, and Persian civilizations all practiced it and took the females of their enemies as sex slaves. So Islam found this abhorrent practice and worked to gradually remove it."
In September 2014 more than 120 Islamic scholars from around the world issued an open letter to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi refuting the group's religious arguments to justify many of its actions. The scholars noted that the "reintroduction of slavery is forbidden in Islam." (Additional reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Cairo and William Maclean in Dubai, editing by Ross Colvin)
Monday, December 28, 2015
ELOISE FIGUEROA: MORTGAGE ERRORS
ELOISE FIGUEROA: MORTGAGE ERRORS: MORTGAGE MISTAKES Trulia Kali Hawlk Failing to account for all costs While mortgage calculators can be really h...
MORTGAGE ERRORS
MORTGAGE MISTAKES
Failing to account for all costs
While mortgage calculators can be really helpful and show you lots of useful information, they’re only as good as the numbers you plug into them. A calculator designed to show you your monthly mortgage payment will provide you with an estimate of how the loan’s principal and interest breakdown on a monthly basis — but it can’t show you what your properties taxes will be, and it may not take into account your specific homeowner’s insurance policy.
Forgetting to factor in these additional costs, along with all the other expenses associated with homeownership, can add up to a big calculation mistake on how much you’ll owe each month.
Not learning about the whole process ahead of time
Did any of the above sound foreign to you? If so, it’s time to head back to the drawing board and focus on education first. To be a savvy consumer who makes the most of their money and avoids costly mistakes, it’s important that you understand the mortgage process from start to finish.
Start by reading up on the mortgage industry. Create a list of questions that you need more details about and take them to a trusted professional. You can talk with a real estate agent, attorney, or better yet, a fee-only financial planner. Look for someone who can work as your fiduciary to get your financial questions answered.
Taking the time to inform yourself first is the best investment you can make in this entire process.
ELOISE FIGUEROA: MORTGAGE MISTAKES
ELOISE FIGUEROA: MORTGAGE MISTAKES: How To Avoid These 4 Mortgage Calculation Mistakes Trulia Kali Hawlk It’s difficult to buy that home for sale in Po...
ELOISE FIGUEROA: MORTGAGE MISTAKES
ELOISE FIGUEROA: MORTGAGE MISTAKES: How To Avoid These 4 Mortgage Calculation Mistakes Trulia Kali Hawlk It’s difficult to buy that home for sale in Po...
ELOISE FIGUEROA: HOME VALUE CONTRIBUTORS
ELOISE FIGUEROA: HOME VALUE CONTRIBUTORS: What’s Dragging Down the Value of Your Home? U.S. News & World Report Devon Thorsby You upgraded too much. Update...
HOME VALUE CONTRIBUTORS
What’s Dragging Down the Value of Your Home?
You upgraded too much. Updates and added amenities can be a great way to increase the value of your home, but don’t expect to get back what you paid for those changes when you sell the home.
Many subdivisions with homes that are similar to each other will often sell within a 20 percent price range of each other, depending on the age of the homes and renovations, Christensen says. For instance, a homeowner can make major upgrades, such as “a pool and a sauna, and an outdoor kitchen,” she says.
But spending $100,000 on improvements doesn’t mean you’ll sell your house for $100,000 more – and especially not in a subdivision where homes sell for $150,000 to $200,000. “They’re not going to get that back because the area does not support that,” Christensen says.
Barr says improvements made for the purpose of selling your home might not have the return on investment you’re hoping for either. “If you put in $10,000 worth of landscaping, it might help you sell your house faster, but no one’s going to give you back that $10,000,” he says.
What You Can Do With a Low Appraisal
If your home appraised for less than you were hoping for, you’re not doomed. The calculated value isn’t set in stone; it serves as a snapshot of the market at a certain time, rather than an everlasting price.
“If I’m at your house on the 15th of December and I do an appraisal, and the next day the house across the street sells, that could have changed [the value] dramatically,” Barr explains.
You can’t guarantee changes in the market, and you can’t change your neighborhood, but appraisers recommend doing a few things to ensure you understand your home's value, and they offer some easy fixes to increase interest from buyers.
Talk to the appraiser. It doesn't hurt to talk to the appraiser about what led him to the specific value of your home. And if you think something is missing from his conclusion, mention it. Lance Coyle, president of the Appraisal Institute and an appraiser in Dallas, says human error can potentially lead to a mistake in the analysis. "If it's not factually correct, 99.9 percent of appraisers out there are going to fix it, with no questions asked," Coyle says.
Even when all the facts are right, it's possible the appraiser is unaware of a similar house on the market that isn't available in the public record, and any missing transactions can have an impact on your home's value.
"Maybe you know your neighbor sold their house in the last six months. It sold off the [multiple listing service] and so not a lot of people know about it," Coyle says. "If you have a situation like that, then that's certainly something you'd want to convey to the appraiser."
Ask for the price you think is best. An appraised value lower than expected doesn’t mean there isn't a possibility you could sell your home for more money. If you believe you can get a higher offer, go for it.
“A seller can still sell the home or put the home on the market for what they believe the value is. But at least when a buyer comes along and makes an offer, now the seller has the appraisal to go back and say, ‘Oh, there’s something here, because I’m getting a similar offer [to the appraisal],’ and then they can negotiate,” Kellogg says. “Or if they get a lowball offer, the seller may decide to pull the appraisal out and share it with the potential buyer.”
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