HOG a Great Stock

HOG Harley-Davidson is one of those great stocks I think you should own. They have paid great dividends and continue to do so. This is a stock you want to start buying at the beginning of every spring when it is cheap to buy then hold some and sell some, of what you bought around the fall never sell all of it. This is my own opinion and take as you like. From PR Newswire

Harley-Davidson, Inc. HOG announced today that its Board of Directors approved a cash dividend of $0.30 per share for the first quarter of 2008. The dividend is payable March 18, 2008 to the holders of record of the Company's common stock on March 5, 2008.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. is the parent company for the group of companies doing business as Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Buell Motorcycle Company and Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Inc. Harley-Davidson Motor Company, the only major U.S.-based motorcycle manufacturer, produces heavyweight motorcycles and offers a complete line of motorcycle parts, accessories, apparel, and general merchandise. Buell Motorcycle Company produces sport motorcycles in addition to motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel. Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Inc. provides wholesale and retail financing and insurance programs to Harley-Davidson dealers and customers.

Copyright 2008 PR Newswire

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Yuwie news back in December

Social networking site attempts to outflank MySpace & Facebook by sharing advertising revenues with end-users.

Norma, Okla. (PRWEB via PRWebDirect) December 3, 2007 -- Yuwie.com, one of the Internet’s newest social networking sites, today announced the details behind their innovative and highly successful new online business model.

“MySpace and Facebook have already proven how business can make money from the efforts of end-users,” said Korry Rogers, founder and CEO of Yuwie. “Yuwie is proving that both businesses and end-users can finally share the $100 million per month advertising revenue that floods into the social networking market today.”

Rogers explains that Yuwie’s business model is based upon two core tenants: 1) End-user participation is free – no sign-up fees or subscr i ption fees are required, and 2) Yuwie currently distributes well over half of the site’s advertising revenue back to participating end-users. Not only are Yuwie’s end-users paid for the traffic generated for their own personal page, but also for the traffic generated by friends they refer to the site, in addition to traffic generated from their friends’ subsequent referrals (for up to ten (10) layers or generations of personal referrals).

"The revenue potential for end-users is striking and very exciting once you start to run the numbers;” explained Rogers. "If someone only refers three of their friends, who refer three of their friends through ten levels, that one person will ultimately collect a percentage of advertising revenues from about 88,000 end-users, which can translate to about $8,800 per month for that person – every month."

So far, end-users’ response to Yuwie’s new business model has completely shattered initial projections by attracting 300,000 registered members to Yuwie’s brand of social networking – in just five (5) months. Moreover, Yuwie’s growing page views, which currently total 1,800,000 per day, have catapulted the website’s global ranking from below the top 100,000 list, to one of the top 2,500 websites in the world.

About Yuwie.com Yuwie (www.yuwie.com) is the world’s first social networking site that truly allows end-users to collect a percentage of online advertising revenues generated from the website. By integrating end-user personalization, social networking tools, and monthly income potential for end-users, Yuwie appears poised to usher in the next-generation of online business.

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49 in Fast Company's 50 most Innovative Companies

I had to share this from FastCompany.com since I have been with Prosper for over a year now and I love this company.

February 15, 2008

By:Kevin Ohannessian

"What we're really trying to do is to create an eBay for money and credit," says Chris Larsen, CEO of two-year-old Prosper.com (and founder of E-Loan, which he sold in 2005). The company melds the debt market with online social networking, allowing people to borrow money from one another -- and lend it -- without any banks in the middle. So far, Prosper has facilitated the transfer of more than $100 million. Borrowers include stretched homeowners, college-goers, credit-card junkies, and entrepreneurs; lenders are average folks, including Larsen himself (who has funded more than 450 loans).

Tags: Innovation

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7 Tips for honest MLM's

There are seven tips when picking a great home based network marketing or MLM business.

1. LOW START UP COST

Be wary of any company asking for more than $200 to join. Legitimate companies do not try to make their profits on start up fees.

2. GUARANTEE.

Pay close attention to the company's guarantee. Will they buy back the product? Under what circumstances? This is an indication of whether the company's goal is to make money off their distributors or to help their distributors make money.

3. A LEGITIMATE PRODUCT.

Avoid companies who offer pills and potions with exaggerated claims of health benefits. Recently several companies have come under scrutiny by the FDA for claiming cures for everything from cancer to HIV.

4. VALUE

Many times MLM's expensive products that can be purchased for substantially less through traditional sales channels.

5. THE COMPANY SHOULD FOCUS MORE ON PRODUCT SALES THAN RECRUITING.

6. AVOID COMPANIES WITH COMPLEX COMPENSATION PLANS AND DIFFICULT QUALIFICATIONS.

Some MLM compensation plans are difficult to understand as the U.S. tax code in Chinese. These plans often have hidden qualifications that literally "rob the poor to give to the rich." Straightforward, honest fair compensation plans.

7. IF THE COMPANY OR A DITRIBUTOR OF THE COMPANY CLAIMS YOU CAN BECOME RICH WITHOUT WORKING, RUN FOR COVER.

These seven tips for network marketing and MLM's come from "The 5 Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth" by Richard Paul Evans New York Times best selling author.

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Home Business; BookWise

I am someone who loves to share information on how to build wealth, I am always on the look out for great investments be it in stocks or home businesses. I have steadily built a growing residual income base through all my ventures.

My latest venture BookWise however has got to be the best I have found. BookWise provides me with a continuing knowledge base by helping me build my library. BookWise allows me to give to charity every time I buy a book or find some one who wants to be an associate.

When I share BookWise with people I am Sharing knowledge and helping others to create an opportunity for wealth.

If you should be some one who enjoys a good book and are looking for a great business, you can do from home then click on the, I am BookWise banner at the top of my blog and enjoy the short presentation. See if this is the right opportunity for you.

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Baby Etrade

Etrade baby was my favorite commercial from the Super Bowl. I just keep laughing at the baby barf.

Please Share the Wealth

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First Step To Becoming Wealthy

If you intend to be wealthy you must decide to be wealthy.

"Riches begin with a state of mind, with definiteness of purpose, with little or no hard work." ~ Napoleon Hill

Say out loud "Today I decide to be wealthy." Then right it down on and put it on the door you leave through every morning so you see it.

Please Share the Wealth

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So Much Stuff and No Freedom

Have you ever noticed we have so much stuff and no freedom?

Why?

We go to work get paid and then buy stuff that has no true value other than aesthetic reasons, with no time or freedom to enjoy them because we are at work.

It is not bad to work, working is good for our health we may feel accomplished or enjoy the people we work with. I work, I work at a small family Italian restaurant and bring home $1000 a month.

I know what you are thinking no one can live on a thousand a month you are right and many of us do maybe that is the only job you can get.

The big difference is how you look at things are you spending your money on things that you don't need at the moment. Most of us are, we spend money on stuff that make us poorer, we don't think about what we need to do to enjoy that stuff and have the freedom to just take off on a vacation to enjoy the good life.

I am 36 and I am not wealthy yet, I however have freedom, I have worked at this freedom for five years after I lost my job, my house and filed for bankruptcy. I also became divorced after 12 years of marriage.

I have change the way I think about jobs and money I stopped buying stuff for sometime and started looking at investing I started with stocks that provided dividends on a quarterly basis. I looked for low cost startup businesses I could do at home. I found Prosper.com over a year ago, I looked at that as an investment. I also started this blog to share my story, to help others see that you can find freedom and wealth by sharing what you have learned from the past.

I want to help people find this freedom and enjoy the stuff and the families they have. I provide as much free material as I can I will share tips and quality business opportunities. I hope that you will share your thoughts here today.

Human dynamo: How energy from your knees could power an Ipod

I am a fan of new and innovative ideas and thought this was really great just a little bulky at this time. From Daily Mail

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE - More by this author » Last updated at 00:43am on 8th February 2008

Comments (4)

It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase power walking.

A gadget that converts the movement of the knees while walking into electricity has been unveiled.

On a gentle stroll, the knee-brace generates enough electricity to run a mobile phone.

Scroll down for more...

Although the prototype is bulky - like something Robocop might have attached to his leg - smaller versions could one day be incorporated into clothing.

It could allow joggers to power up their iPods while running or commuters to charge their mobile phones while dashing for a train.

The inventors even believe it will help soldiers cut down on the number of batteries they need to carry into battle.

Spending power: Shoppers could charge their mobiles while walking from store to store

Inventor Dr Arthur Kuo, of the University of Michigan, said the device - called a "biomechanical energy harvester" - worked in the same way as the power-generating brakes found in hybrid cars.

These collect energy that would otherwise be lost as heat when a car slows down. The knee brace harvests energy lost when someone bends their knee after swinging the leg forward to take a step.

Dr Kuo said knee joints were ideally suited for generating electricity.

"There is power to be harvested from various places in the body, and you can use that to generate electricity. The knee is probably the best place," he said.

"We believe that when you're slowing down the knee at the end of swinging the leg, most of that energy is just wasted."

Dr Kuo and colleagues from the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and University of Pittsburgh tested their invention on six men walking on a treadmill at a leisurely two miles an hour.

With a device on each leg, the volunteers generated around five watts of electricity while using very little extra energy to walk.

That would be enough power to run ten mobile phones at the same time. By running, one volunteer was able to generate 54 watts of power - enough for a conventional light bulb.

Dr Kuo, who published his test results in the journal Science, said his device needed refining.

"The prototype is bulky but the energy generation part itself has very little effect on the wearer," he said.

"We hope to improve the device so it is easier to carry."

The Updown Serious Investing

From Wall Street Journal Online

The best money manager in Fargo, N.D., may be busy making artificial limbs.

Michael Filloon, 35 years old, makes his living building prosthetics, but spends much of his spare time on UpDown.com, a Web site that blends a stock-market simulation with the social-networking interface of a site like Facebook.

Since joining UpDown in September, Mr. Filloon -- known as "Legmaker" on the site -- has fetched a 7.95% return on a portfolio that began with one million (virtual) dollars. Over the same span, the S&P 500 has declined 9.09%.

UpDown user Michael Filloon

For Mr. Filloon, investing is a passion, one that was awakened when he began managing his own real-life portfolio several years ago. He likes to use UpDown, which also allows members to write financial analyses that other users can read and evaluate, as a place to test-drive new ideas. He says he spends "three hours a day, weekends closer to five, my downtime at work," on the site. In another life, he says, he might have tried to work on Wall Street.

As Mr. Filloon and other UpDown users execute trades and swap tips, the site's three founders are taking notes. They hope to begin investing $1.2 million from an angel investor in about three months, using strategies gleaned from the site's savviest members, says Chief Executive Michael Reich, a 32-year-old MBA candidate at Harvard Business School. Within about a year, Mr. Reich says that UpDown hopes to launch "either a mutual fund or a hedge fund" using the best portfolio strategies from the site. UpDown now has more than 15,000 members.

At least one other site, Marketocracy.com, has successfully experimented with a similar approach. An index of 100 model portfolios from that site serves as the strategic starting point for the Marketocracy Masters 100 mutual fund. It has returned 70% from its inception in 2001, compared to 37% for the S&P 500 over the same span, with dividends reinvested. Among the users whose fantasy holdings are included in the index are a former forklift driver who now focuses on trading full-time and an ex-software developer who moved on to a hedge fund, said Mark Taguchi, president of Marketocracy Research.

Still, experts say collecting a group of amateur portfolios into a real fund in order to reap attractive returns presents challenges, such as separating merely lucky investors from truly talented ones. Given UpDown's relatively short existence, some of the site's top performers could be the beneficiaries of a few well-timed bets that won't yield a consistent model for making money.

Left to right: UpDown co-founders Georg Ludviksson, Michael Reich, and Phuc Truong

Another potential pitfall for an UpDown fund is that there is no hazard in going too far out on a limb. Since members aren't investing real money, they may tend to take risks that they wouldn't pursue if a mistimed bet could have real negative financial ramifications.

"It's hard to tell whether people at the top are doing well," said Jeffrey Kubik, an associate professor of economics at Syracuse University's Maxwell School. "There's almost no gain to playing it safe and earning a market return, [so] you may take big risks and hope that you're lucky." He says fetching high returns over a short period "may not tell you anything about what people can do in the future."

Some UpDown users acknowledge a tendency to roll the dice more than they otherwise might.

"Your own money isn't on the line, so you can try more-speculative things," said Mr. Filloon, who said that his UpDown portfolio includes many Chinese companies with listed shares in the U.S. for months -- something he only began to add to his real-world portfolio last week.

Sumit Saigal, a Harvard classmate of Mr. Reich's, says that on UpDown he acts on instinct much more often. "It's good for somebody who's more risk-averse than they should be, but bad for someone who likes risk too much," he said.

UpDown is relying in part on models built by the Harvard Business School associate professor Randolph Cohen in its effort to find budding investment wizards.

Mr. Cohen, who has no stake in UpDown, and two colleagues published a paper designed to evaluate a fund manager's skill by comparing him or her to pros who consistently outperform the market. Using mathematical models, the paper explored how similar an upstart manager's holdings and trading patterns were to those of distinguished managers.

Mr. Reich hopes that by using adaptations of Mr. Cohen's models to evaluate UpDown users they can make up for the fact that the site's members don't have long, stable records of reeling in solid returns for real investors.

Marketocracy founder and Chief Executive Ken Kam said that the key "is not the wisdom of crowds, but the long-term track record. It took a long time for us to be confident enough to put money behind [members' track records]." More than a year passed between the launch of Marketocracy.com and the opening of the Masters 100 fund. And Mr. Taguchi notes that Marketocracy also relied on an algorithm to evaluate and select portfolios for its index until 2005.

Over time, Mr. Reich believes UpDown's results and data will improve.

"We would be happy to have five years of data but we should be okay without it," he said. "And in the long run, we'll hopefully rely on the histories of managers from our own site."

It's GOOD to Protect Our Identity

I would like to share this post that was emailed to me by a reader and I believe in the need to protect your identity.

Identity Fraud is done when an impostor obtain pieces of personal identifying informations like your name, credit card number, Social Security number without your permission.

How do this thieves steal your identity?

• Skimming- stealing your credit/debit card numbers using special storage device when processing your card.

• Changing Your Address – diverting your billing statements to another location by filing change of address.

• Dumpster Driving – rummaging trash looking for bills or other paper with your personal information on it.

• Pretexting – using false pretenses to obtain your personal information from financial institutions, telephone companies, and other sources.

• Phising – pretending being a financial institutions or companies and send spam or pop-up messages to get you to reveal your personal information.

• Old-Fashioned Stealing – stealing wallets,mails that include bank and credit card statements; pre-approved credit offers, and new checks or tax information.

Internet is the major route for fraud to victimize merchants who sell and ship products and also for those who provide online services. If you are using credit cards to transact business using the Internet, protect your self against these thieves. Be responsible enough with your identity.

The following are tips on how to fail thieves from obtaining your identity:

• Delete any suspicious emails from organizations requesting personal information from you

• Be extra vigilant when giving out personal information

• Shred all personal information before throwing it away in your rubbish

• If you move house, make sure you tell your bank and other organizations in advance

• Tell the Royal Mail if you suspect your mail is going missing

Some identity theft victims resolved this problem quickly, but there are some who spend so much money in repairing their good names and credit record. And now, there's a better way to protect your identity against these thieves. Get the Lifelock Promo Code GOOD it'll surely fit your budget.

Secure your identity, secure your property.