Are your debts growing faster than your income?

ARE your growing debts starting to worry you and cause you sleepless nights?  Are you trying hard to pay what you can every month but feel like you’re just running on a treadmill and not getting anywhere?  Do you dread getting those credit card statements every month knowing that you don’t have the money to…

Read More

Stock checklist for beginners

1. Learn the Basics Familiarize yourself with the following basics before making your first purchase. • Definitions – Price earnings ratio (P/E ratio), earnings per share (EPS), return on equity (ROE). • Stock Selection Methods – fundamental analysis and technical analysis (moving averages). • Order Types – market orders, limit order, trailing stop loss orders….

Read More

Employer must pay actual hours worked by employee

JOSE Alvarado worked as a laborer for Timber Works Construction, Inc. in Santa Clara County. Alvarado claimed that the employer required them to sign two different documents. One document contained false hours worked (fewer hours than actually worked) and another document contained the correct hours worked by the employees. The employees claimed that the employer…

Read More

Jollibee stock prices drop after LA-based Coffee Bean acquisition

STOCK prices for Philippine food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) dropped 8 percent this week, following the announcement that it will acquire the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for $350 million. Investors were unimpressed with Jollibee’s purchase of the Los Angeles-based coffee company as its stock price closed at P251 on Wednesday, July 24. The…

Read More

First baby steps for beginner traders

1. Start with safer stocks. Buy stocks that tend to be less volatile (meaning more stable with less up and downs in price). Consider consumer staples stocks that people still need products like food, clothing, and medical supplies even in tough economic times. This may be your safest strategy while you’re getting your feet wet….

Read More

Senior with $60K credit cards wants debt relief

THE client is a 70-year-old widow who lost her beloved husband five years ago.  She owns a house with a reverse mortgage of half a million, which she took when her husband died. The mortgage accumulates at the rate of $2,000 a month or $24,000 a year. You can keep the balance from increasing if…

Read More

This Filipino chocolatier wants the Philippines to be known globally as a great source of chocolates

IT was a sweet victory for five Philippine chocolate brands at the 2019 Academy of Chocolate Awards in London last June when they garnered a total of 24 awards across various categories. AuroChocolate (Davao), Dalareich Food Products (Bohol), Malagos Agri-Ventures Corporation (Davao), MS3Agri-Ventures (Davao), and Theo and Philo Artisan Chocolates (Davao) impressed more than 100…

Read More

Jollibee invests $100 million to acquire Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

Philippine fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) on Wednesday, July 24, disclosed that it will be acquiring United States-based The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) through a $100 million investment. The $100 million is JFC’s initial investment. Jollibee Worldwide Pte Ltd, its Singapore-based subsidiary that owns Java Ventures, LLC. in the United States,…

Read More

Q&A for beginners in the stock market (Part 2 of 2)

Should I invest in individual stocks or mutual funds? Unless you are a seasoned veteran, it’s better to invest in pooled funds than individual stocks.  There’s danger in picking stocks in your first years because stock prices rise and dive and create tension that you should avoid. Trading stocks should be fun, exciting. Pooled funds…

Read More

Is going through security checks compensable work time?

CHELSEA Hamilton and Alyssa Hernandez worked for Wal-Mart at its Fulfillment Center in Chino, California for several years. These employees sued their employer in a class action for, among other things, unpaid overtime and minimum wages. The employees claimed that Wal-Mart required employees to go through mandatory off-the-clock security checks during each meal period and…

Read More

From skin-colored ternos to Philippine-inspired scents: Pulo Project rolls out second wave of art and design installations in LA

FILIPINO exhibition series Pulo Project is back until August with a new set of art, design and fashion from Filipino and Filipino American creatives.  Born as a “passion project” by Filipina American curator and designer Michelle Aquino, Pulo Project popped up at the downtown Los Angeles flagship of luxury retail store Please Do Not Enter,…

Read More

Q&A for beginners in the stock market

MORE than half of Americans have stocks in their portfolio. If you don’t, you are missing out. Actually, you have been missing out big time. Conservative people keep their money in Certificates Of Deposit (CD). Conservatism is noble but earning 1% – 2% in a savings account is kind of silly when stock investors earn…

Read More

Chapter 7 or 13: Which is better? 

“The effect of the lowerinterest is to shorten the amount of time it takes to pay off the principal because more principal gets paid with every payment. ” I’VE recently gotten a couple of clients who have been on debt consolidation and are now ready to jump into Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.  First, let’s…

Read More

Four tax deductions that will not be changing

WHILE nearly all articles relate to change, let’s depart from that norm and discuss a few deductions that won’t change. 1. Student loan interest deduction: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) allows student loan borrowers to deduct up to $2,500 on the interest paid for student loans every year. Student loan interest is interest you pay…

Read More

Paid per piece? Make sure you’re paid for all hours worked!

YADIR Ontiveros worked as a technician for Safelite, a company which repairs and replaces vehicle glass for automobiles at various locations in California. Safelight’s technicians are classified as non-exempt employees. They are compensated under a Performance Pay Plan (“PPP”), which is a pay table that lists the amount employees will receive for performing particular tasks…

Read More
Back To Top