Take Some Credit for Your Home Improvements

Looking for reasons beyond energy conservation and lower utility bills to make your home more efficient? In June 2005, Congress passed the Energy Policy Act as part of its energy bill, which offered federal tax credits (deductions affect your taxable income, tax credits reduce the tax itself) for energy efficiency in both the residential and commercial sectors. This was really good news for homeowners. Unfortunately, the act expired at the end of 2007 and has yet to be renewed by Congress.

If you made home improvements before December 31, 2007, you will still be able to claim them on this year's taxes. But for next year's, the situation isn't yet settled. An extension of the Energy Policy Act passed in the House in February; however, a new bill that would increase the tax credits for energy efficiency has been introduced to the House and Senate but has yet to be voted on.

Home Improvement
Homeowners may claim up to $500 for insulation, replacement windows, water heaters, and specific heating and cooling systems installed in 2007, but not yet for improvements made in 2008 (see the Energy Star website). Since these improvement credits may be reinstated (and will provide you energy savings anyways), here is a rundown with standards they must meet in parentheses:

*2004 International Energy Conservation Code
**Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency

New Construction
Building a new home? Solar power can still give you a tax credit up to $2,000 (IRS form 5695). If your home is built by an eligible contractor (one who has completed IRS form 8908 and has followed the statutory energy requirements) and it passes inspection by a home energy rater, you are eligible for a $2000 tax credit as well. Certified raters are listed at the website of the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET), a third-party, standards-making organization recognized by the IRS, Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy (www.resnet.us/directory/raters.aspx).

Hybrid Cars
New fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles earn you tax credits as well. The amount is determined by a set of criteria followed by the IRS and ranges from $250 to $3150. The IRS provides credit amount by model on its website (www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=157557,00.html).

So while April 15 isn't exactly a holiday, you may still get a substantial gift back from Uncle Sam by claiming what's owed to you.

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Put Your Refund to Good Use

Though without fail I always wait until April 13th or 14th to do my taxes, I have plans for my refund by the first of the year. Usually, they have to do with a backed-up credit card or a pair of boots I've been drooling over.

But this year, I've decided on something green. Depending on how well I clean up, I might finally invest in that Energy Star-rated dishwasher I've been fantasizing about and never have to hand-wash a plate again, while saving as much as 5,000 gallons of water a year. If I can't afford my new dishwasher, I might try tucking away my return in a greener mutual fund, keeping me cushioned for the future and supporting socially and environmentally responsible businesses. "Mutual Interest: Finding Your Way to a Greener Retirement" lists some great options. Or maybe I'll prepare the apartment for Manhattan's scorching summer by installing a ceiling fan that will use a tenth of the energy my air conditioner uses.

Who am I kidding? I'll probably blow the whole mess on a new organic cotton wardrobe. In any case, this year's gift from the government is going toward making me a bit greener.

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Google Sediakan Ad Manager untuk Penjual Iklan

JAKARTA- Setelah terobosan iklan baris Adsense, Google kini merilis Ad Manager, platform yang dapat membantu pengelola web untuk menjual space iklan di halaman webnya. Layanan ini tersedia cuma-cuma, namun untuk sementara masih terbatas untuk yang mendapat tawaran saja dari Google.

Dengan Ad Manager, seorang webmaster dapat mengelola bisnis iklan di halaman webnya dengan mudah. Antara lain menyediakan fitur laporan berkala untuk setiap pengiklan. Google tidak mengambil keuntungan sedikit pun dari jualan iklan ini. Namun, kepada pemilik web yang masih sepi iklan, Google tetap menawarkan layanan Adsense. Tentu saja pilihan diserahkan kepada pemilik web.

Layanan ini sepertinya sudah disiapkan Google sejak akhir tahun 2006. Layanan yang sedang dikembangkan Google itu tercium blogger bernama Tony Ruscoe, dengan kode nama GAM. Nama Ad Manager baru dirilis sejak 21 Februari 2008.

Platform yang dikembangkan sendiri oleh Google, seperti dilansir Wall Street Journal, ini tidak terkait langsung dengan layanan DoubleClick yang baru saja selesai proses akuisisinya. Layanan DoubleClick lebih dimaksudkan untuk iklan premium, sedangkan Ad Manager seperti halnya Adsense untuk penjualan iklan kelas menengah ke bawah.

Sejumlah analis memprediksi Google akan menyediakan layanan DoubleClick secara cuma-cuma. Namun, jurubicara Google mengatakan sampai sekarang belum memiliki rencana menggratiskan produk dan layanan iklan DoubleClick.(BLOGOSCOPED/WAH)

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Pejabat Microsoft-Yahoo Akhirnya Bertemu

SAN FRANSISCO- Peluang Microsoft untuk mengakusisi Yahoo sepertinya masih tetap terbuka meski pejabat eksekutif Yahoo sempat menolak tawaran tersebut. Pejabat eksekutif kedua perusahaan dilaporkan telah menggelar pertemuan Senin (10/3) untuk membahas penawaran tersebut.

Dari informasi yang pertama kali dilansir Wall Street Journal, pertemuan tersebut dilakukan di dekat kantor pusat yahoo di Sunnyvale, San Fransisco, AS. Hal tersebut disampaikan sumber terpecaya yang tidak besedia disebut namanya, Jumat (14/3). Pertemuan tersebut tidak dihadiri para investor dan tidak ada diskusi apakah Microsoft akan memberikan penawaran lebih tinggi.

Yahoo menolak tawaran Microsoft enam minggu lalu untuk mengakuisisi seluruh sahamnya senilai 44,6 miliar dollar AS atau 31 dollar AS per lembar saham. Saat mengumumkan penolakan akusisi, pejabat Yahoo beralasan perusahaannya seharusnya layak dinilia lebih.

Sejak itu, CEO Yahoo, Jerry Yang, menyatakan tengah mempertimbangkan aliansi dengan perusahaan lainnya, Google, My Space milik News Corp, atau AOL Time Warner. Namun, beberapa hari yang lalu, Rupert Murdoch, pemilik News Corp, menyatakan tidak tertarik membeli Yahoo. AOL juga sudah membelanjakan 850 juta dollar AS untuk mengakuisisi jaringan sosial online, Bebo, sehingga peluang aliansi Yahoo dan AOL agak sulit dilakukan.

Menanggapi penolakan tersebut, Microsoft menyatakan tetap berambisi dan menyiapkan pengambilalihan dengan caranya sendiri jika Yahoo tidak meresponnya. Jadi atau tidak, yang pasti, pejabat senior kedua belah pihak telah mendiskusikannya.

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Saham Negri Paman Sam Gagal Rally

Sebuah rally (kenaikan panjang) pada saham-saham AS gagal dipertahankan di akhir perdagangan Rabu (12/3), karena pasar melemah di tengah kekhawatiran baru tentang kredit yang seret dan melonjaknya harga minyak ke rekor tertinggi bar

Seperti dikutip dari Antara, Indeks Dow Jones Industrial Average turun 46,57 poin atau 0,38 persen menjadi ditutup pada 12.110,24 dan indeks komposit Nasdaq menyusut 11,89 poin atau 0,53 persen menjadi 2.243,87.

Indikator pasar secara luas indeks Standard & Poor’s 500 melemah 11,88 poin atau 0,90 persen menjadi berakhir pada 1.308,77.

Para investor pada mulanya telah memperpanjang rally besar Selasa, didukung oleh tindakan terkoordinasi the Federal Reserve dengan bank-bank sentral lainnya menyuntikkan likuiditas ke dalam sistim keuangan global.

Tetapi antusiasme itu berlangsung pendek di tengah kekhawatiran baru tentang efektivitas tindakan skala besar tersebut, yang termasuk the Fed menawarkan 200 miliar dollar AS dalam sebuah lelang baru kepada bank-bank dan broker yang terpukul kerugian dari sekuritas berbasis mortgage.

"Pertanyaan besar adalah apakah tindakan kemarin oleh the Fed itu akan memiliki dampak akhir atau hanya antiseptik sangat jangka pendek," kata Frederick Dickson dari DA Davidson & Co.

Elena Mehas, seorang analis pada Merrill Lynch, mengatakan the Fed terus "memberikan reaksi terhadap peristiwa yang membentang."

"Ini eksperimen terakhir, sebagai pekerjaan lain yang lebih jauh, tidak bertujuan menyelesaikan masalah mendasar ... kami melihat tidak ada sebab mendasar untuk suatu perubahan ekonomi mereka atau prospek laba meski pasar modal pada awalnya bereaksi positif terhadap inisiatif terakhir ini," kata Mehas.

Beberapa analis melihat langkah the Fed sebagai pengurang rintangan akan menurunkan suku bunganya secara agresif tiga perempat poin pada pertemuan 18 Maret.

Al Goldman dari AG Edwards mengatakan bahwa sekarang penurunan suku bunga setengah poin lebih mungkin. "Kami yakin sebuah dasar telah dibuat dan satu-dua pekan pasar bearish telah mulai rally," kata dia.

Pasar saham juga terbebani melonjaknya harga minyak yang memicu tekanan inflasi dan dapat menghambat manuver the Fed dalam mencoba menyelamatkan ekonomi terbesar dunia itu terhindari dari sebuah resesi.

Harga minyak melampaui 110 dollar AS per barel untuk pertama kalinya di New York, melesat dalam perdagangan harian ke level tertinggi 110,20 dolar AS dan ditutup pada rekor 109,92 dollar AS.

Di London, minyak berjangka Brent melambung ke rekor 106,39 dollar AS dalam perdagangan harian. Dollar AS terpuruk ke posisi terendah dalam sejarah terhadap euro pada 1,5559 dollar AS.

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Dollar Dicari, Rupiah Menangis

Kurs rupiah terhadap dollar AS di pasar spot antarbank Jakarta, Kamis (13/3) pagi merosot tajam menembus angka Rp9.200 per dollar AS, karena pelaku pasar membeli dollar AS dalam jumlah yang cukup besar akibat kenaikan harga minyak dunia.

Nilai tukar rupiah terhadap dollar AS turun tajam mencapai Rp9.225/9.230 per dolar AS dibanding penutupan hari sebelumnya Rp9.153/9.155 per dollar AS atau melemah 72 poin, seperti dikutip dari Antara.

Pengamat pasar uang, Edwin Sinaga di Jakarta, mengatakan, kenaikan harga minyak mentah dunia yang mencapai 110 dollar AS per barel memicu pelaku memburu dollar AS dalam jumlah yang besar. Harga minyak dunia itu diperkirakan akan masih bergerak naik, akibat merosotnya cadangan minyak mentah AS dan besarnya kebutuhan minyak mentah dari China dan India, katanya.

Rupiah, lanjut dia, kemungkinan akan masih tertekan oleh kenaikan harga minyak mentah itu hingga mendekati angka Rp9.250 per dollar AS. "Kami optimistis rupiah masih akan tertekan oleh isu negatif menjelang bank sentral AS (The Fed) menurunkan suku bunga Fedfund," katanya.

Namun, menurut Edwin, dollar AS sendiri di pasar regional melemah akibat, ketidakpastian The Fed untuk membantu memberikan dukungan terhadap sistem perbankan AS.

Karena itu, dollar AS terhadap euro dan yen melemah masing-masing menjadi 1,5575 dan 101,10.

Edwin mengatakan, rupiah juga mendapat tekanan dari pasar saham Asia yang masih terpuruk. "Kami memperkirakan rupiah akan kembali merosot pada perdagangan sore nanti, karena sentimen negatif cukup besar," katanya.

Meski demikian, menurut dia, kemerosotan rupiah saat ini dinilai hanya sementara saja, karena tekanan pasar yang kuat. Rupiah akan kembali membaik apabila The Fed memutuskan penurunan suku bunganya. Pelaku pasar asing saat ini cenderung menempatkan dananya di sektor komoditas dan minyak yang memberikan gain lebih besar. Karena itu dengan penurunan bunga The Fed, kemungkinan investor asing akan kembali bermain di pasar uang dan saham Indonesia untu meraih gain yang lebih besar, kata Edwin Sinaga.

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Make your Internet pays you

There are many ways to make money online. But if you think that it can be done for free than you might be just dreaming.

If you are serious in making money online, you got to approach it from business point of view. Treat it like a real business.

Online business is one of the lowest business start up. You need to budget for it and what kind of online business model you want to adopt, you can be ads reseller like adsense, or you can be info sellers, or even commission based sale business what is known as affiliate models.

Budget for at least 3 years online operations than you would have learn the trade to make real money.

Important Investment Basics

When most people are asked what are they doing in the stock markets? Most of them do not really know how to answer that questions. Checking with just friends around me, I knew that not many really understood what they are doing.
Their answers normally surrounds the following basic answers such as:
I am investing in stock market, or I am trading the stocks. I am a long term investors. The sad parts is most people do not really make money in the market. And normally their excuse is I buy the stock for a long term. when they start making a little money, they are always in the hurry to sell. Sometimes they may not even know the real meaning of investment.
Investment to a Business people and to a Working people may means different things as well. Maybe I will try to summarise a little bit here what I have learnt from my own experience in making money from the stock market or even from my other investment.
These basics for me is very important because only when I decided to follow them then only I started to see results in my own investment.

1. Investment is not about making money, But it is about preserving the value of your money. The rest is Bonus. Warren Buffet never invest in something that he is not familiar, that is why Warren Buffet follow very closely these rules in investing:

Rule No 1: Never Lose Money,

Rule No 2: Follow Rule No 1 Strictly

When you know the risk in one investment, then only you are able to manage it well and make it grow.

2. Knowing when to exit even before entering into any investment. If it is for a long term then let it be long term, you must be able to stomach the up and down of the stock value. If it is entered for only one month then keep that terms strictly. Most people change their exit everytime the market moves. If the market moves in their direction than they will take profit prematurely, when the stock goes into the opposite direction of their trade, they normally stay too long and expose themselves into greater losses.

3. Investing requires great amount of patience. There are times that I lost patient in watching the market moves, so I enter into the trade too early and exit too late. or it can be the other way as well, entering too late and exiting too early. There are time the money are better save as cash sitting in the bank rather place in any investment.

4. Knowing yourself and knowing your own limits. A lot of people do not know the condition of their own mental health. When you are not feeling well, or when you have very bad day, then put off trying to invest your money in anything. Learn more about the investment that you are going to undertake and do not ever take it too lightly.

Well, understanding where you stand in your investment profile will help you to reduce a lot of heartache due to losses. knowing whether you are better as trader or long time investors and knowing the difference will take you further in your investment life.

Knowledge reduces risk, get knowledgeable and you will be able to manage your investment risk well.

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