Covering the week’s most noteworthy business news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
WHEN your financial circumstances are forcing you to declare bankruptcy, it is one way of dealing with debts that you can no longer manage on your own. Of course, the decision should not be taken lightly and it is best to consult with an experienced bankruptcy attorney to see if it is best for your…
SINCE I started informing my readers about the Harp Refinancing program, I have been getting a high volume of calls inquiring about this. Thanks so much for your support and I would like to further more explain the process and hopefully shed more light to your concerns. We started our recession in 2008 and the…
IF YOU owe a huge amount of taxes and are experiencing financial difficulties, don’t despair as there are remedies under the law which will help you avoid paying the whole amount. There are two ways to do it: either you propose a reduced amount to pay off the entire debt at a discount (what we…
IF YOU are like a lot of people who have old, unpaid debts, collection accounts and judgments from their past that they don’t even remember, you may feel that it is too late to get a fresh start and rebuild your credit. Over the years, I have met a lot of people in this situation. …
For qualified borrowers who might not have any equity to Refinance ASK about the the NEW FHA Streamline started June 11, 2012 with much lower PMI and almost 0 MIP. Finally The government’s new HARP 2.0 Refinance Program is available to US homeowners as of March 17, 2012. If you’re property has negative equity or …
THE tenth and most important rule is that “there can only be one boss.” Lance explained that this rule is related to succession. The role of the family and owners is to prepare a board to appoint a successor. “You must establish a process to appoint the leaders. My dad and his brothers established a…
THE key and only answer is because they are keeping lending rates at all time lows. I suggest you better stop, listen and act on this. Why? Because if you can reduce your mortgage interest rate on your home, you will be saving money. There is a famous saying: “Money saved is Money earned.” Hard…
IN THE 2007 elections in Canada, Flor Marcelino, a Filipina businesswoman, made history as the first woman of color and first Filipina elected to the Manitoba Legislative Assembly for the electoral division of Wellington. Her outstanding performance as a public servant resulted in her appointment by Premier Greg Selinger as Minister for Culture, Heritage and…
By this time most of you must have filed your 2011 tax returns already, as the filing deadline on April 17 had long passed. But if you are among those who failed to file their tax returns, including those with unfiled tax returns on previous years, the IRS may go after you and impose penalties….
IN MY opinion there is a big bad wolf that is always winning over any market we are in. It’s not the rich guy you here about buying up rental properties, it’s not the Real Agent with their investor clients buying up distress homes, it’s not the banks that are foreclosing on you and its…
IF YOU are considering Short Selling your property now, the first thing your lender will ask of you is what kind of hardship are you going thru? What do you need to consider in determining whether you qualify for a short sale? Hardship comes in many forms and shapes, what lenders usually need is an…
WITH the immense powers that the government wields over individuals, the founding fathers included in the United States Constitution the Bill of Rights to limit the exercise of governmental powers. These rights, which have been enshrined as the first ten amendments to the Constitution, protect individual rights to life, liberty and property. Similarly, in the…
Even if your family business is a model of harmony, it’s a good idea to think about how you’ll deal with conflicts before they arise. “There comes a time when there is not enough jobs for everyone in the family. Oftentimes, professionals may even be better in running the day to day operations,” Lance said….
DOING business with family and friends can be very rewarding. It can also be very complicated and difficult. Anyway, doing business with loved ones has never been a neutral topic. It always involves an even more stringent standard of etiquette than usual, but if appropriate measures and safeguards are taken, it can make life, work…
THE worsening housing sector due to homes being underwater still has a great effect of our economies recovery, why are you not hearing this topic more often being resolve than being brushed under the rug by the administration. Based on my own survey, I believe that it is because the two governments we have are…
YOUR personal home care plays an important role in maintaining healthy smile. Your personal home care starts by eating balanced meals, reducing the number of snacks you eat, and correctly using the various dental aids that help control the plaque and bacteria that cause dental disease. Tooth brushing. Brush your teeth at least twice a day (especially…
THE Sixth Commandment is “pay must be based on contribution to the business”. Lance Gokongwei said that in order for the family member to live and think independently, the family business must pay the right salary for the right job, but the pay must be adequate enough so that the family member will not be…
ZILLOW’S first-quarter home value report found that home values posted their biggest monthly gain since 2006 last month, rising 0.5% nationwide. The data show that 19 of the 30 largest markets have already hit bottom or will soon, and Zillow predicts the national index will hit bottom in late 2012 or early 2013. I believe…
If you think that by brushing and flossing your teeth every day, you’re fulfilling your daily dental obligations, you’re halfway right. The other half involves using the correct techniques, and protecting your teeth and gums from external factors. Many of us grew up thinking that if brushing is a good way to clean our teeth,…
THERE’S an old saying that may be wiser today than ever: “East is east, and west is west; and never the twain shall meet.” This holds true in the case of the 5th Gokongwei Commandment: Personal assets should be kept separate from company assets. Lance Gokongwei, president of JG Summit Group, said that personal expenses…
SHORT selling your home is such an important and stressful step in your life and it’s the springboard into your future so you wont have anymore sleepless nights. It is critical you interview and choose the right agent working for you not themselves. Never choose agent out of obligation just because you might be related…
Dear Ken, WE ARE thinking about walking away from our home. We purchased our home in 2005 for $457,000. In December of 2006 we got a 2nd mortgage HELOC of $85,000. Maxed that on credit card debt and medical bills. In January of 2010 I lost 10% of my pay because of the recession and…
“TO set aside one’s prejudices, one’s present needs, and one’s own self interest in making a decision as a director for a company is an intellectual exercise that takes constant practice. In short, intellectual honesty is a journey and not a destination.” – Mervyn King At the heart of a family business is family relationships….
T WAS a typical appointment on a busy tax season last April. A representative for a Hispanic male in his mid-60s visited my office for a living trust preparation. So did I learn that the man was confined at the Veterans Hospital in Los Angeles but nothing too serious and catastrophic with his medical condition….
The lyrics to the old song, Dem Bones don’t connect the hipbone directly to your mouth, but a surgeon might, by canceling hip surgery if the patient is suffering from acute gum disease. The reason for the cancellation would be for what is commonly referred to as the “mouth-body connection,” where infections in the mouth…
LOAN Modification Scams are growing like wild fire and its consider white collar crime. In my opinion these types of crime are hard to prosecute and if prosecuted it gets minimum time in a Federal prison and sometime just a slap on the wrist by the court system. Therefore, you should know the warning signs…
No in-laws! THIS is the first of 10 unwritten commandments which John Gokongwei, founder of the Gokongwei group of companies, followed in running the family business “the Gokongwei way.” (I will discuss the remaining 9 commandments in succeeding issues.) In the article written by Mary Ann Ll. Reyes for The Philippine Star, Lance Gokongwei, president…
TAXPAYERS who have filed income tax returns using Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business, usually get surprised when they receive a notice from the Los Angeles City requiring them to apply for Business Tax Registration Certificate (BTRC). It is a common perception that only businesses should get a tax registration. So why would then…
WE HAVE been getting a lot of calls in regards to the new Obama Refinancing Programs and the supposedly more aggressive “Loan Modification Programs” that is geared more towards “Responsible Homeowners.” I went thru websites after websites and seems to find lesser issues about loan modification specially involving Loan Balance Reductions. I noticed a huge…
Society is becoming more individually oriented. More and more single occupancy homes are being sold. People are marrying less and later in life. They are also divorcing more. Single parent families are on the rise while birth rates are on the decline. Some couples opt not to have children. There is less social interaction between…
