New Year - Big ChangesWritten by Dailyfutures.com
As we begin new year of 2002, there are four markets on verge of major trend changes: gold, silver, British pound, and 10 year Treasury notes. All four changes are directly related to Federal Reserve's decisions to cut interest rates eleven times last year. Please understand, I'm not complaining, just observing. There was probably little else that Fed could have done given events of last year. For investors, these shifts are worth noting. The past ten years have been poorest decade that gold and silver industries have had in ages. Recently, central bankers around world have been dumping their metals, sensing that inflation is no longer a threat, and pushed prices to historical lows. Producers adapted by cutting production (gold, silver, and copper) and started a trend of consolidating into fewer, larger mining companies. These changes, along with Federal Reserve's eleven interest rate cuts are giving metals new potential for higher prices. Technically, June gold above $280 and July silver above $4.65 would signal significant improvements in long-term trend. The British pound has been in a downtrend for three years while U.S. dollar has been king, but events of 2001 have shifted tide of growth to U.K. The U.K. is estimated to have grown 2.5% last year, best of G-7 nations, and same is expected for this year. Technically, March pound has a chance to go higher if it can hold above $1.45.
| | HOW TO DOUBLE YOUR DEBT COLLECTIONSWritten by Jim Finucan
Believe it or not success or failure of your attempt to collect a debt is usually decided right at beginning of your phone call - with very first thing you say after other party says hello. Knowing exactly what you’re going to say, and handling call in an organized, professional manner is foundation upon which collections are made or lost. There are four parts to a professionally executed collections call:Part One: The Open How you identify yourself, your company and problem. And how you place that problem before debtor. Don’t ask him when he’s going to get around to paying you or why he’s putting you off. Otherwise you’ve made your move too soon and you’ll be at a disadvantage right off bat. Instead, put debtor in position of having to explain himself. Say something like “What are your intentions toward this bill?” Part Two: The Facts - If debtor doesn’t agree to pay bill early on, move into next part of call: asking questions about his situation. It’s important to make a smooth transition here because you don’t want to alarm debtor. Say something like “Let me just fill out an extension form for you.” Then you can start asking about his job, whether his wife is employed, any outstanding loans he may have, credit cards, etc.
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