1 Pacific Tycoon - Container Investment

Pacific Tycoon is an established and recognized leader in the shipping container leasing industry. Together, private investors and the experienced staff at Pacific Tycoon work in partnership to identify prospering marketplaces that will consistently deliver profitable returns, on every shipping container investment.

1 Easy Energy Efficiency Tips

There are lots of things you can do around the home to save energy and be more green and efficient. Rising energy prices, climate change, and ecological damage are just three reasons why we should all do our best to be more environmentally conscious, help reduce reliance on fossil fuels and save more energy, and the associated cost savings are a welcome bonus.

 

Heat Insulation in the Home

The majority of energy used in the home is used for heating and cooling systems, and people often fail to realize just how inefficient they are being with these systems.

Insulation is important to keep heat in during the winter months and to keep heat out during the summer months. Most unwanted heat transfer happens through the roof so this is the area you should focus on. There are many different types of insulation product available, including fiberglass and polyester. 

The R-value is a measurement of how insulating a piece of material is, and this is what you should use to compare between different products. The cooler and more temperate the climate you live in, the higher R-value you will need. In general you want a higher R-value for the roof than for the walls. In humid climates you need to be careful not to have a R-value that is too high, as this may cause overheating with homes that are exposed to the sun.

It is a good idea to close-off and turn off the heating in rooms that are not in use, and to check for all sources of draughts (such as vents and ducts) to ensure they are sealed effectively. This is especially important in dryer climates – always know your climate!

How Low Can You Go?

When the cold sets in, many people instinctively turn up the thermostat. But you can save significant amounts of money and energy just by turning the heating down by a single degree. Better yet, you can always turn down the thermostat in stages and see if you are comfortable with the temperature. If you get to a point where it is too cold, at least you know the most energy efficient temperature for the current weather. In smaller rooms you can often get away with having the heating turned off completely by using extra blankets for the beds.

Washing, Cooking and Cleaning

Use the lowest temperature setting on your clothes washer (or as low as you can possibly have it). Any good clothes washer will have low temperature options, and as long as the clothes you put in are not heavily soiled and do not have stains you will still gain excellent cleaning performance. To help improve the cleaning performance of your washer at low temperatures, buy detergents that work well in low temperatures.

Clothes dryers use a lot of energy, so dry your clothes outside on the line whenever possible or use clothes stands next to a window. For both washers and dryers, wait until you have a full load of clothing before you use them.

In the kitchen, the oven uses the most energy out of any cooking appliance. Reduce your reliance on your oven and switch to the microwave or the frying pan. When boiling water, you should only ever boil the amount you need. It is more efficient to boil water with a kettle than with a stove.

0 Mortgage Rates Trends

Nowadays, home mortgage rates are moving steadily lower. The 30 year fixed mortgage rate is hovering near the 3.375% region and it is expected to stay below 3.5% for a long period of time. Lenders are also extending credit at reasonable rates, with most lenders charging an interest rate of 3.5% and some at 3.25%.

Mortgage rates are heavily influenced by the prevalent interest rate and the 10-year treasury auction is a good indicator of the performance of interest rate. While mortgage rates are not directly based on Treasury rates, the underlying securities (also known as mortgage backed securities) tend to trade in the same direction as Treasuries. A big move in the 10-year Treasury yield can result in huge volatility on the mortgage rates.

Inflation does have an impact on mortgage rates as well. It is an early indicator of the behavior of mortgage rates. With increasing real estate values and a period of very low inflation, interest rates have remained on an all time low. Many economists feel that mortgage rates will remain fairly low in the future because inflation rate is running extremely low at the present moment.

Most mortgage lenders offer a combination of interest rates and points, for instance 6% and 2 points or 7% and no points. Points consist of a one time upfront payment made to the lender at the time of the closing of the mortgage. It is an additional fee on top of the mortgage payments and it is not part of the down payment. A sharp reduction in mortgage rates will result in a reduction in the cost of borrowing and an increase in prices in markets where money is borrowed by most people to purchase a home. In this scenario, the average payment will remain constant.

During periods of low mortgage rates, most homeowners opt for greater savings via refinancing. Some of the benefits of refinancing at the right time include lower interest rate, consolidation of the second mortgage loan, lower loan terms, lower monthly payments and taking a substantial cash out from equity. Borrowers who refinance also have the option of reducing either their monthly payments or the length of the loan term. It is not impossible to reduce mortgage terms from 25 years to 15 years while maintaining the same monthly payments. In the event that mortgage rates move even lower, borrowers can take the opportunity to reduce it by another five years.

Taking cash out from home equity to pay off credit card debt is another benefit of low mortgage rates. Certain debt consolidation loans also allow borrowers to reduce payment on home mortgage so that the money can be channeled to repay credit card debts, which bear interest as high as 18 to 25%.

Many lenders have come up with their own perspective for the direction of mortgage rates. Mike Owens, a partner with Horizon Financial opines that mortgage rates will continue to slide from its present territory of 3.375%. According to him, it is a good sign because the economy has remained stable so far. Victor Burek of Open Mortgage notes that the 10-year Treasury rate will be kept under 1.87%. As long as the rate stays below 1.87, he will continue to float and only lock in within a few days of closing. On the other hand, Steve Chizmadia, a mortgage consultant with American Capital Home Loans, feels that the treasury and mortgage backed securities market have been very quiet for the past few weeks. The energy that has built up over the last few weeks could potentially lead to a strong movement in rates in either direction. Julion Hebron, a branch manager at RPM Mortgage, has a different opinion. From his point of view, a strong economy will keep the bid for mortgage backed securities healthy and it is less likely for mortgage rates to drop further from current levels.

Suffice to say, even though mortgage rate is close to its all time low, it has risen moderately and there is a greater risk of loss from the practice of floating. Unexpected events can cause rates to move strongly in either direction. Things to look out for this year would include legislative actions in response to US debt ceiling and the Fed's outlook regarding securities purchase.

1 The Bank Bail-Out: Saving America's Banks

Much is known about the near-collapse of the housing market and the financial ruin that followed some of America’s largest banks. The more disturbing story is not how America’s largest financial institutions nearly caused the largest recession in US history, but how in the midst of the federal government’s efforts to stabilize the financial industry, the people, whose houses were being foreclosed and the small businesses on main street that suffered, were left in the dust. By examining the issues surrounding the collapse of the housing market and the federal government’s response, it is clear that the regular Americans were sacrificed in order to save wall-street.

In 2006 a problem arose across America. All economic indicators showed that prices for individual homes were starting to go down across the board. In order to try to force housing prices to increase, the Bush administrations authorized the Fed to lower interest rates and change the rules that pertained to borrowing. These new rules allowed an increase in the number of sub-prime mortgages, mortgages issued to lenders who might have problems with repayment. The result was that many people who previously could not afford to own their own home were allowed take out a home mortgage loan, which caused home prices to increase to record heights. With high prices and record profits, home developers began construction on new housing projects with the hopes of taking part in the housing bubble.

However, government deregulation, the saturation of the market with new houses, and sky-rocketing housing prices coupled with unnecessary financial risks taken by banks caused the housing bubble to finally pop. Homeowners woke up to discover that the value of their home was substantially lower than when they had originally taken out their mortgage for the same house. Many homeowners, who under normal circumstances would not quality for a home mortgage loan and were intending to sell their homes for more than what it was worth, found that their home was upside down and began to default on their mortgage payment. Foreclosures hit a record high and banks found themselves with a set of sub-prime loans that were now worthless, resulting in record losses for the vast majority of American lenders. On the precipice of the greatest financial collapse since 1929, investors and lenders alike solicited aid from the federal government.

What was proposed by Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson, and the White House to Congress was the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, which included the $700 billion Trouble Assets Relief Plan (TARP). The intention was to create liquidity for banks and lending institutions to prevent their financial collapse and, in exchange, the financial institutions would eventually pay back the money borrowed from the federal government with interest once the institution became profitable again. Under the Obama Administration, TARP was extended to General Motors and Chrysler, and a separate fund was created to reconstruct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Though the EESA created stipulations for the restructuring of the financial industry in the United States, this bill, and any bill after the EESA on the federal level failed to establish a plan to help homeowners struggling with their mortgage payments or homeowners facing foreclosure. The bill also did not establish a fund to bail out small businesses that were directly affected by the housing market collapse. Appliance and furniture retailers as well as home construction companies were faced with huge profit losses, and many of these companies were forced to file for bankruptcy or close their doors permanently. Though state and civic governments have attempted to address the issue within their jurisdiction, no federal actions have been taken to help homeowners or local small business. Many of those on main street America felt betrayed by a White House and Congress that was elected to protect their interest, and instead passed legislation to save the multi-billion wall-street banks.

The truth of the matter was just that, the blame should not be placed on the homeowners or the banks, but the federal government that first deregulated the housing market then failed to assist struggling homeowners and businesses. The government traded long-term growth for short-term price hikes, a fateful decision that the American people struggle with today.