sbi remit: Temmuz 2012

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Due to regulations applicable in your state of residence in USA, we regret that, at present, we are unable to continue offering SBI Express Remit - US (our product using direct debit facility through ACH) till further notice.
We are engaged in meeting the state's current regulatory requirements, and it will be our endeavor to restore to you at the earliest the convenience you have been enjoying. Meanwhile, you may use the aid of Rapid Remittance (Web-assistance for tracking wire transfers) when you use wire transfer from your bank to send funds to your beneficiary accounts in India.
Please mail any of your queries to our customer support team at

--- wow! I've alwas had trouble sensor money back to india. I mean I've tried remit2india and a host of other companies. some take forever together the money posted, some are sketchy on their exchange rates, some charge egregious fees while some make it so insanely hard to send money that it's just not oath the effort.

That's when I thought SBI's remittance service was friggin awesome! By that was short lived. I ran into the message I have posted on here at the top with no ETA on when I can actually get to sending money back. Bummer!!

****Update****

Make sure you call or email them. I was told they are running some 'checks' and that they are working with local agencies to get the matter sorted. Bull. In any case I was given a 10 week timeline to see this resolved. In any case, since it is an Indian service, I am not too confident in that time line. We will see how close they are to the timeline. In any case, I will keep you posted. Feel free to comment and update if you hear more on this.

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Ah..Postino's

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I've always loved this spot. In fact I may have blogged about them earlier.
You always get a bruschetta board. Get the tomato jam+cheese, Smoked Salmon+Pesto, Roasted pepper+Goat cheese and prosciutto+fig and cheese.

Also, the beauty of this place is that it has a great happy hour. I mean who does not love happy hour. So while you are at it.. Get a pitcher of Hoegaarten with the bruschetta board.

Their sandwiches are good too and I am a personal fan of the autostrada on a ciabatta.

Hope you love this place! If not, shoot me a note and we shall discuss!
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Mii amo spa

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Now I've done a ton of spas but nothing like this!

Fantastic locale, service and masseuses! You can tell if your masseuse has experience and boy were the treatments great!

Their food and drink options are fantastic ! Organic and healthy never tasted so good.

A must for anyone who is in Sedona for a little bit.

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Location:Bear Wallow Ln,Sedona,United States

S'mores and more!

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Frank and alberts. Fantastic food! Good drinks and great service. Now this doesn't come cheap but it is so worth it!

We had hand rubbed pork ribs with homemade corn biscuit and red beans and salmon with panchetta and spinach.

They also have complete meals that are paired with beer!

Try the Frank and Albert's lemonade.

Now this is one thing I do not want you to miss!

S'more cooked table-side. How fantastic (and delish) is that!!! We ordered the Frank and Albert sampler also which was 4 tiny cups of mostly Ben and Jerry's ice cream with nice homemade whipped cream and fruit bits made into small sundaes! Fantastic!

I might just come back for their great service and their deserts!

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Location:Pima Fwy,Scottsdale,United States

Rito's burritos!

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Rito's burritos never get old. Phenomenally crafted they are runny, and have the nicest softness.

All we get is a bean burro enchilada style. The enchilada sauce will change your life!!

This is a spot that has a set menu. There are no alterations. You get what they have on the menu. Period.

But no matter what you get, get it with the enchilada sauce!

Ps. Always packed.

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Location:N 11th St,Phoenix,United States

8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar

HR 5623 - Home buyer tax credit extension till Oct. 2010 likely !

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H.R. 5623 and tax credit extension

H.R. 5623 is a bill which the Congress has come up with extend the Home buyer tax credit by further 90 days (till 01 October 2010) and consequently stop the further deterioration of the housing market in United States. For details of the bill visit Tax credit extension - October 2010. This bill has indeed been passed by the house - read US House backs 2010 tax credit extension. It has to be still passed by the senate. However, it is expected to be passed by the Senate today.

H.R. 5623: Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act - Legislative Digest - GOP.gov

H.R. 5623 would extend the home-buyer tax credit of up to $8,000 for the purchase of a principal residence before October 1, 2010. The current benefits apply to cover buyers who enter into contracts before April 30 and close by June 30. This bill would extend the closing date to September 30, 2010.

The bill would provide any home-buyer who entered into a contract on a home by April 30, 2010, but have been unable to go to closing within the required 60 days; the provision would extend the closing date for an additional 90 days. This provision is estimated to cost $140 million.
....

For knowing more about the Home buyer tax credit, read my detailed post on Tax credit and its extension.

Federal Tax Breaks, IRS Tax Credits, Tax Rebates in 2009 Economic Stimulus Package that maybe of interest to you

H.R. 5623 - Extension of Housing Tax credit to October 2010.

Cash for Clunkers - Is it Useful?

Will there be a Second Stimulus Plan in 2009 or 2010?

2009 Obama Stimulus Package details explained.

New Car Purchase Auto Stimulus details explained- Excise and Sales Tax deduction for new purchase of new vehicles.

Cars- Cash for Clunkers - Car tax credit when you trade your old fuel inefficient car for a new one and get a rebate of $3500 or $4500.

$8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit details- 2009 Housing Stimulus Bill in Economic Plan proposed by Obama.

$800 Making work pay tax credit stimulus- details explained ($400 working tax credit for individuals and $800 tax credit for married taxpayers).

$250 Social Security Stimulus Check in 2009 Economic Stimulus Package.

2009 Cobra Stimulus Package 65% Reduction in Cobra Health Insurance Premium for qualifying individuals.

2009 Stimulus Checks? Economic Stimulus Payment

$1000 Child Tax Credit, Dependent Tax Credit 2009 extension.

FAQ: Can you claim your $8000 first time home buyer tax credit in 2008 tax return itself or do you have to wait till you file 2009 tax return? The law allows any qualified purchases made in 2009 to be treated as if the purchase was made on December 31 2008. You can claim the $8000 first time home buyer tax credit in 2008 tax return itself by filing form 5405 according to the latest IRS ruling. Thus you can get the benefit of $8000 in 2008 tax return itself.

Income Tax tip for first time home-buyers: If you know you qualify for the $8000 home buyer credit there is no need to wait to file your 2009 tax return in order to get benefit of this housing stimulus. First time home buyers are actually permitted to reduce their income tax withholding by the amount equal to housing credit, i.e. $8000. You can then use this 'extra cash' got by increase in your take home pay for down-payment.

Quick Answers to common queries:

Question: When will the $8000 home buyer tax credit end? Answer: April 30, 2010 for general public and April 30 2011 for Government employees in Military, Foreign Service and Intelligence Community.

Question: Can I purchase a house from my parents or relative and still qualify for the tax credit? Answer: No. please read the 7 important points in detail.

Question: I am married and filing separately and I have not owned a principal residence in last three years. Do I qualify? Answer: For married people, whether filing jointly or separately, both the partners have to be 'first time home buyers' according to the definition mentioned in 7 important points.

Suzlon Energy and RePower - Best Wind Energy Stock - detailed Analysis

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Wind Energy

I am bullish on Wind Energy - and other green energies like those from Biofuels. There are several reasons for this and some of them are discussed in my earlier post on Investing in Wind Energy Stocks. No doubt, other forms of energies like Nuclear energy will also play an increasing role. However, there are strong reasons why I think that we will soon see a period where there will be a 'boom' in wind energy, with several companies trying to set up their own wind farms and wind turbines to satisfy their energy requirements. In this post I am going to analyze a Wind Turbine manufacturing company 'Suzlon Wind Power' (together with Repower, its subsidiary) and explain why at current valuations, this company offers the best investment opportunity, with a time frame of 3 to 5 years. Even if you are not located in India, you can buy stocks of Indian companies, for e.g. by registering with Interactive Brokers.

Suzlon Wind Energy and Repower- best Wind Energy Stock

Suzlon owns 90% of the Repower, and Suzlon Repower combine are the third largest wind turbine manufacturers by market share. Suzlon acquired Repower in 2009, by aggressively outbidding Areva. Read more about Suzlon acquires Repower. Here is the general business overview of Suzlon and Repower.

Suzlon manufactures wind turbines in the range of upto 2.1 MW capacity and targets developing and emerging economies like India, China, Latin America, etc. In 2009, Suzlon held a market share of 53% in India. See Suzlon Products Portfolio on Suzlon's homepage.
Repower manufactures turbines in from 2.5 MW to 6.15 MW capacity and mainly targets developed nations like Europe, UK, US, etc. Repower 6.15 MW turbines are highly suitable for offshore wind farms, something we will see more in the coming years - as building large wind farms in the sea becomes more economically viable option than using up the expensive land area. See Repower products Portfolio on Repower's homepage.

Although the above is only a rough guideline, note that Suzlon also has sold several wind turbines in developed world e.g. U.S., Australia, etc. To dig deeper into Suzlon's business model, i recommend reading Suzlon's Investor Presentation.

Note on REPOWER wind energy stock : Note that REPOWER stock can be bought separately (but not in India, in German stock exchanges). Since the offshore wind farms are expected to see a 'boom', Repower alone also in my opinion is one of the best wind energy stocks available at the moment. This is given the fact that Repower margins are expected to improve because of the advantage of Suzlon's marketing network.

Suzlon Wind Energy stock - financials

Suzlon's current Debt equity ratio is about 1.5.
ROE for the years 2005 to 2008 has been 38%, 29%, 28%, 20%. From 2008 to 2010 Suzlon has not had a profitable year.
Exepected topline growth is about 20% in Wind industry, once the global economy recovers.
EBITDA margins during 2005-2008 were about 8% to 10%. In 2008, and 2009, margins have dropped to less than 4% due to various reasons like lower volumes, recall of some of its problematic blades, etc.

EBITDA margins are expected to grow as volumes increase (at least this is what Suzlon Wind Energy claims in one of its presentation). Suzlon is doing a lot for managing its debt, it has achieved a 24% reduction in debt in the previous financial year by sale of 35% stake in Hannsen Gearbox. In the financial year 2010-2011, it has launched a 2:15 rights issue, which again it plans to use to reduce its debt.

Suzlon Wind Energy stock - Positives

Suzulon's products are nearly 20%-25% cheaper than other leading wind turbine manufacturers. Since initial cost for setting up wind farms is quite significant, this is a great advantage.
Suzlon is a vertically integrated company, and can leverage its network to increase sales of Repower products too.
Suzlon held a 53% market share in India, a fast growing market for Wind turbines.
Management of Suzlon has been very aggressive in expansion of the company. The company started with merely 3 employees in 1995 and went on to become the third largest in the industry by 2009.
Several governments have and are likely to provide tax incentives to encourage clean energy options like Wind Energy.

Suzlon Wind Energy stock - Risks, Negatives.

There is extremely high competition in the industry with several different players.
Suzlons blades have been a major problem in the past with almost all blades supplied to the US developing cracks. These had to be replaced costing Suzlon over Rs. 2000 crore.
Suzlon has serious debt problems. It has $500 million in zero coupon FCCB (foreign currency convertible bonds) due on June 2012 and Oct 2012. Suzlon has managed to bring down the floor price of this bond. However, if the company does not do well by June 2012, and these bonds do not get converted, then the company is in deep trouble in paying back the money. Moreover, even if all the FCCB get converted, there will be about 20% equity dilution.
Any slowdown in China, US and Europe will impact sales.

In all, it is worth investing in Suzlon only if you understand these risks.

Suzlon Wind Energy stock- summary

Concerns about the quality of its blades and high debt remain the main risk factors in investing Suzlon Wind Energy stock. However one should note that recalls and problems with products is something which has been experienced by other large companies, - remember the largest car company Toyota recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide?. That does not necessarily mean the company cannot overcome the problem. Moreover, at current valuations (1.6 times Book Value), Suzlon Wind energy stock is attractively priced and I think of this as the Best Stock available and makes a great investment opportunity.

Recent Posts related to the theme "Best Stocks to Buy Now" (2010)

Suzlon Energy - Best Wind Energy Stock for 3-5 yr investment.
Crisil - Best Stock for Long term Investment
Titan Industries - Best Consumer Durables Stock for long term Investment
Apollo Hospitals - Good Stock to buy for Long term investment.
Godrej Consumer Products - Best FMCG stock to Invest Now

Stocks which were "Best Stocks to Invest" for year 2009, but now, the analysis may or may not apply, as prospects for the current year have changed.

Best Stocks to buy in 2009.
Glaxo - Best Pharma Stock
Cipla - Good Pharma Stock
Tata Tea- Best FMCG Stock
Hero Honda - Best Auto Stock for 2009.
Hindustan Unilever - Safe FMCG stock

Posts on Investment Basics

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Return on Equity (ROE), ROCE and Shareholder's Equity

Consolidated results vs. Standalone Results.

Topline Growth vs Bottomline Growth

Best Dividend Paying Stocks in India - highest dividend payout ratio

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Dividend yield versus Dividend payout ratio.

In this post I will list some of the best stocks in india which have highest dividend payout ratio. Whenever a company earns profit, it distributes part of the profit as dividend to stock holders.
The amount of dividend paid out by the company is best measured by "Dividend Payout Ratio" which is defined as the ratio of dividend distributed by the company to PAT - the total profit earned (after tax). Companies with a dividend payout ratio of over 50% can be considered as those who distribute the dividend generously.

However, there is an alternative way of measuring how much dividend you get on a stock - called the "Dividend Yield". This is nothing but the amount of dividend you get per stock divided by the price you pay. Note that dividend yield changes as the price of the stock changes. A dividend yield of a stock can be high, either because the company has a high dividend payout ratio, or simply because its price is very low.

Best Dividend Paying stocks with highest dividend yield

In any case, if what matters to you is how much dividend you get per amount of money invested, then you should look at 'Dividend yield'. Here are some good stocks which have good dividend yields as of July 2010. I have also made sure that the stocks have some good fundamentals like ROE of 15%+, high interest cover, and good future prospects.

Dividend yields, at the time of writing this post (july 2010). I will update this list every quarter.

Name of the Company / Stock	Dividend Yield
SRF Ltd.	6%
HCL Infosystems	4.6%
NIIT Technologies	4%
Tamil Nadu Newsprint and papers	4%
J K Lakshmi Cement	3.9%
Ballarpur Chini Mills	3.5%
Graphite India	3%
Castrol India	2.9%
Tata Steel	2.8%
GE Shipping	2.8%

My personal choice (also considering the future growth prospects of the company, and not just dividend yield)

Graphite India
Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Paper ltd.
NIIT Technologies (this stock will be risky if debt crisis in Europe worsens).

List of best, highest dividend paying stocks in India with not just highest dividend payout ratio, but strong fundamentals

As mentioned above, Dividend yield is price dependent, and you must check the latest price to get correct idea of dividend yield in the above list. However, a dividend payout ratio is something which is price independent and reflects the policy of the company in paying dividends. Below is a list of stocks with high dividend payout ratio.

In compiling the list below, I have not just focused on the dividend payout ratio, but also on other key financial ratios which ensure that the company is sound and safe, and has good growth prospects. Here are some of the factors that have been considered.

Dividend payout ratio of at least 30%. This is the ratio of dividend distributed by the company to the total amount of profit after tax earned.
Market capitalization of 500 crore+
Interest cover of 3 or above.
ROE of 15% or above.
Qualitative factors which focus on future growth and prospects for the company.

So here is the list. I think these stocks really make a good investment option.

Typically, well established FMCG companies top the list of high dividend paying stocks, as can be seen in the list below. However the list of good dividend paying stocks mentioned below also includes companies from other sectors like Pharma, IT, consumer durables, Power/Energy, etc.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) - This is the biggest FMCG company in India. It has a dividend pay out ratio of about 65% - 85% ! one of the highest in the industry. Other positives for this stock include - less sensitive to economic downturns, low debt, highest ROE (over 120% - indicating a highly efficient business model), and decent growth. However, note that recently HUL has been losing market share to Godrej Consumer Products, especially in rural areas. So although I wouldn't put all my money on this stock, this is definitely a stock you want to have in your portfolio if you are focusing on dividend.
Tata tea - Again, one of the good FMCG stocks to have in your portfolio. Dividend payout ratio of over 75%.
Castrol India - This is a debt free company with a dividend payout ratio of over 75% on average. Other attractive numbers - ROE of over 70%, almost debt free. The company has been growing at modest pace of 10% in the past 3 years (due to recession), however bottom line has grown by over 30%.
Nestle India - Again, a good FMCG stock with average dividend payout ratio of over 70%.
Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GPCL) - Godrej has better growth prospects than Hindustan Unilever, I think. It is also a good dividend paying stock, with dividend payout ratio of over 65%.
ITC - Indian Tobacco Company - average dividend payout ratio of about 65%, in 2009, it was 94%!.
Glaxo Smithkline Pharma (GLAXO) - a good pharmaceutical company, with dividend payout ratio of over 60%. I had mentioned this stock in the list of best stocks to invest in 2009, and it has indeed given over 2 times the index returns.
HCL Technologies - A good IT stock. Dividend payout ratio of over 60%. However, note that IT stocks are in general vulnerable to slowdown in Europe, US.
Clariant Chemicals - This is also a good value stock. Dividend payout ratio of over 60%.
Alstom Projects India - This is one stock I am planning to put my money on, not just for its high dividend payout ratio of 35%-40%, but also because this is one company which is going to benefit by the possible 'nuclear energy boom' in the country. With the Indo-US nuclear deal passed, India will see lot of investments in building Nuclear reactors. Alstom is one (of the several other) players to be benefited by this.
CRISIL - Crisil is the leading credit rating agency in India with a market share of over 60%. Crisil has a dividend payout ratio of around 45%. Must have stock in your portfolio.
Blue Star - Blue star is the market leader in India in commercial air conditioner business. It has a dividend payout ratio of over 35% and a highly efficient business model with ROE of nearly 50%. Moreover, with increasing summer temperatures throughout india, Air conditioners is something you can bet a portion of your money on.

The above is not an analysis or recommendation to buy the stocks, but it is certainly a good list from which you can pick your 'best dividend paying stocks'. I myself own several of the above stocks. Especially the last 3 stocks in the list are not exactly 'best dividend paying', but they are good dividend paying stocks which have one of the best growth prospects.

List of Best Stocks by category :

Best Dividend Paying Stocks

Best Small Cap stocks (coming soon!)

Best MidCap Stocks (coming soon!).

Best Stocks across all categories (coming soon!).

Posts related to the theme "Best Stocks to Buy Now" (2010)

Suzlon Energy - Best Wind Energy Stock for 3-5 yr investment.
Crisil - Best Stock for Long term Investment
Titan Industries - Best Consumer Durables Stock for long term Investment
Apollo Hospitals - Good Stock to buy for Long term investment.
Godrej Consumer Products - Best FMCG stock to Invest Now

Stocks which were "Best Stocks to Invest" for year 2009, but now, the analysis may or may not apply, as prospects for the current year have changed.

Best Stocks to buy in 2009.
Glaxo - Best Pharma Stock
Cipla - Good Pharma Stock
Tata Tea- Best FMCG Stock
Hero Honda - Best Auto Stock for 2009.
Hindustan Unilever - Safe FMCG stock

Posts on Investment Basics

Understanding the P/E Ratio

Return on Equity (ROE), ROCE and Shareholder's Equity

Consolidated results vs. Standalone Results.

Topline Growth vs Bottomline Growth

Avoid Temptation Foods and Compact Disc India - Fraud, Fake companies

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Temptation Foods - Amazing valuation

I was shocked when I found a company with the balance sheet of temptation foods selling so low - almost close to its EPS. Although it is possible to find several stocks current market which are 'value for money' a company which has such a decent growth as Temptation Foods and which is selling at a P/E of around 1.2 - makes me feel suspicious. Ok, let me be honest, this time, I was less suspicious and more excited at first about the investment opportunity. However, as I continued finding our more about Temptation Foods - I have decided to stay away from this stock. Here are two quick reasons:

Temptation Foods had manipulated it balance sheet to show that it holds 11% stake in Kohinoor Foods, when it actually held 5% stake. A SEBI notice regarding this sent the stock plummeting to hit the lower circuit. Consequently all FII's have dumped this stock, and rightly so.
The company now wants to double the equity by issuing warrants at Rs. 36. The EPS of the company is Rs. 25. There is no way the management can justify a price as low as Rs. 36. This is clearly a dubious money-making attempt of the management of Temptation Foods India.

I would like to add a note that probably Temptation Foods is not a fake company. Which means it seems to actually have products in the market (unlike Compact Disc India mentioned below). However, with the given management, it is a wise decision to avoid investing in this stock. Remember, a fraudulent management can really leave the investors in a shock (remember what Satyam's managers did to that company?). You will hear a lot of things about Temptation Foods - for e.g. it being the next possible acquisition target for Nestle etc. While this may or may not be true- with this kind of managers, I would get rid of this stock - NOW!.

Compact Disc India - a step further in Fraud

Compact disc india looks even a bigger fraud than Temptation Foods. From what I read, this looks like a completely fake company !

The promoter of this company - Suresh Kumar has a dubious record. Mumbai police has written to SEBI about Suresh Kumar floating fake companies to make money. The details are summarized very well in Tarkeshwar's blog. So I won't elaborate further.

Please avoid Compact disc india if you love your hard earned money !

Western Union Fees too high- use Promotional Codes, Coupons, 2010

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Western Union Rates and Fees - the biggest disadvantage

Western Union is a trusted method of money transfer and with over 350,000+ agent locations,
one almost always manages to find a Western Union branch near the person to whom you are sending money. If you have never used Western Union before, click on How to send Money using Western Union to learn more.

However the biggest disadvantage of Western Union is its fees. For example, Western Union charges about $12 fee for sending $500 from United States to Philippines. Even for sending money within United States, Western Union charges around $12 for transferring an amount up to $200 ! These charges are ridiculously high. The foreign Exchange Rates offered by Western Union are, however, quite good. The exact amount of fees charged by Western Union depends on the exact locations and to find out exactly how much fees you will be charged, and also about Western Union Rates (exchange rates) click on Western Union Fees and Exchange Rates Calculator. If this link does not work then go directly to Western Union homepage and click on Price Service (a button on the top right column). Remember to select your correct country first.

Using Western Union Promotional Codes and Coupons to cut down fees and charges

Sometimes, or rather several times one has the option of getting a Western Union promotional code or a coupon. This is number which you enter while transferring money and then an appropriate discount applies. You can try to get one such Western Union promotional code from one of the following websites.

Retailmenot.com Western Union Coupon Codes: This website is by far your best bet. Remember not every code here may work for you. The newer the code the better are its chances of getting through.
CouponChief Western Union Codes: I don't know anyone personally who used a code here successfully, but worth a try if the promotional codes in the above do not work.

If any Western Union promotional code does work for you, please share the source of the coupon in a comment for other readers. If no working coupons are available and high Western Union Fees remain your concern, then I recommend looking at some Western Union Alternatives.

Western Union Money Transfer Overview

Western Union Money Transfer is a fast an reliable remittance service to send money abroad to your friends relatives or any other person. Money Sent by Western Union Money Transfer is available for pick up at an agent location, i.e. the person to whom you send money will have to personally collect it from a Western Union Location. Western Union has over 300,000 locations or branches world wide, so it is quite likely that a convenient agent location is available for you. Click on Western Union Locations to find out the most convenient agent location for you. Or continue reading for more on how to transfer money using Western Union, what are the exchange rates and fees charged by Western Union, is Western Union really better than other alternatives like Moneygram etc., and many more related things.

Western Union Alternatives: What is better- Western Union or MoneyGram?

Western Union and MoneyGram function in much the same way, but Western Union is a much bigger money transfer service with nearly 3 times more agent locations than MoneyGram. As far as fees and charges are concerned, there is no clear answer as to which is more cheaper, Western Union or Moneygram. Read my posts on Western Union versus Moneygram or Best Options to send money overseas to find out more about other alternatives to Western Union like Bank wire-transfer, Xoom, Ikobo, etc.

How to send money using Western Union?

Go to an Western Union Agent Location. Pay the agent the money that you want to send overseas. You will also choose a Western Union agent location from where the receiver will collect his/her money.
The person to whom you are sending money by Western Union goes to the chosen agent location from where he/she can pick up the money by simply showing an identity card.

I also remember seeing an Advertisement saying you can send money directly to a Bank using Western Union Money Transfer. Please check Western Union website for more about this possibility.

Using Western Union to Send Money using Debit / Credit Card

You can also send money online using Western Union by a Visa or Mastercard Debit or Credit card if you are located in one of the countries listed below. If your country is appears in this list, this click on that link below, then click on "Money Transfer" tab on the top right, and then finally click on "Price service" to find out more about Western Union Exchange Rates and fees to Send Money online using credit card.

Australia Austria Canada France Germany Ireland Italy Netherlands New Zealand Norway Spain Sweden United Kingdom United States

Western Union Money Transfer Tracking Status

You can also track the status of your money sent by Western Union by click on the following link : Western Union Money Transfer Tracking Status

Western Union Money Transfer Agent Locations

Go to Western Union Locations.

Some advantages of Sending Money by Western Union

There are two clear advantages of transferring money by Western Union.

Trusted Money Transfer Service. I remember that once i even paid some fees to the U.S. Government for a visa using Western Union. This will give you an idea of how trusted Western Union Money Transfer Service is. Your Money is safe with Western Union.
Quickest Method of Money transfer- This method of Global Money Transfer where the person you are sending money to collects cash from an agent location is sometimes called Cash Transfer method. This is the fastest method of sending money because usually the money you send is available for pick up within a couple a hours (or even minutes?). This beats even the speed of Bank Wire Transfer.

However, as mentioned before, high Western Union Fees remain its biggest disadvantage. Depending on which country you are sending money to, for e.g. Philippines, India, etc. there maybe some cheaper or even *free* money transfer or remittance services. Thus unless you want to send money quickly, you can try some of the other cheaper services (listed on the right column of this page).

Western Union Alternatives

Quick Links For this Post

Western Union Exchange Rates and Fees
How to send money using Western Union?
Send Money Online using a Credit Card using Western Union.
Western Union Tracking Status Link
Find Convenient Western Union Agent Locations or Branches.
Pros and Cons of sending money by Western union

Articles on Western Union Money Transfer

Western Union Rates, Fees, Locations.

Comparison of Western Union and MoneyGram

How to Send Money using Western Union?

Western Union Philippines

Articles on Money Transfer

Send Money Overseas or Abroad: The most popular and best ways to send money to your home country.

Xoom Money Transfer Review

Ikobo Visa - A new way to send money abroad where you send a re-loadable visa card to the beneficiary.

MoneyGram Money Transfer and Money Order service.

Online Remittance to India

SBI Remittance Review - My most preferred method of sending remitting money to India. Good exchange rates.

Remit2India Options to Send money to India

Send Money to India by Paypal

HDFC QuickRemit

External Links

Western Union Money Transfer -
A trusted way to send money where beneficiary collects cash from a Western Union location.

MoneyGram - International Money Transfer and Money Order. You send money, beneficiary collects cash from a chosen MoneyGram agent or location.

iKobo - Send Money Worldwide
Money Transfer by ATM Card. Useful for those who have to send money frequently. Check foreign exchange rates on the homepage of iKobo.

Xoom Money Transfer - Online Remittance from United States to various other countries. Xoom Fees are around $8 per transaction.

Send Money to India

ICICI Remit to India
Online Money Transfer to India.
ICICI Exchange rates.

SBI Remittance
Online Money Transfer to India.
SBI exchange rates.

Remit2India
Online Money Transfer to India.
Remit2India exchange rates.

HDFC Quick Remit
Remit Money to India online from U.S., U.K., Europe and Singapore.
HDFC Quick Remit exchange rates.

CitiBank Online Remit
Remit Money to India from US.

Disclaimer

I have been sending money to India for quite a few years. I have been involved in at least 50 money transfers to India and used 4 to 5 different methods of online remittance. Although I do make efforts to provide accurate information about services related to online remittance, none of the opinion, experience or reviews in this post should be used for making any decisions to remit money to India or any other country. It is easily possible that my experience or opinion about a particular remitting service is different from yours. It is your money that you want to remit. So please verify the information from your own authentic sources before making a choice for remitting your money. I do not accept any liability for incorrect or inaccurate information. Some of the links in the posts may be affiliate links, however the opinions and reviews presented in the post remain honest and unbiased.

7 Temmuz 2012 Cumartesi

No iOS6 for iPad 1st Generation. LIfetime of less than 2 years ??

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Source: CNET
I am surprised by the decision of Apple to drop iOS6 support for 1st gen iPad or iPAD-1. Some says, this is due to the slower processor, less memory or low hardware spec. Whatever the reason is this is really a strange way Apple behaved.

I've invested $500 around 18 months back (SG got the iPad few months later) and now no more updates from Apple. Hopefully they won't stop the support :)

Apple Macbook prices in India vs Singapore

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Here is an excellent post from Amit summarizing the prices.

If you are one of those guy who wants to buy the 15" Retina Macbook pro, then it may be better to make a trip to Singapore to purchase.

The price in Singapore is SGD 3,788 including GST (Apple Store SG) which is roughly INR 160,000. In India this is INR 193,000.

And as a tourist (if you stay for a min 3 days) you can avail GST refund which makes it 7% more cheap. So in total it's 193K vs 150K. A flight ticket is max 40K and you can easily break even..A budget flight can be around ~20K. So choice is your..;)

ID Photo in Changi - Instant passport photo

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I've got this strange requirement, that is I need passport photographs while I was at Changi. This is for one of the country visa on arrival requirement and I am not quite sure whether the destination airport would have an instant photo booth.
First thing is try to look in internet. The popular ID Photo (Instant Photo Booth) which is very common in MRT Stations and public malls seems to be a 'missing thing' in internet.
I couldn't find their website as well as their locations. Four Square showed me there is one but when I asked the Customer Service stall @ Changi T2 they stared at me blankly. But the Guardian staff came to my rescue and Yes, There is a ID Photo booth in Changi.

The location in T2 is near the City/MRT Escalator. This is right next to the ATM's (OCBC, DBS) and you can't miss it if you walk there.
Excuse me for the bad quality of the picture as I took it in a rush :)

Understood that there is another booth @ T3 / Terminal 3 near the entrance too. T1 seems to be missing one;

Philippines allows visa-free entry for Indians from Singapore, USA, UK, EU, AU, Canada, Japan

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Source: Philstar

A decision in the right direction. Perhaps one of the best decision by Philippines government and this improves the business travel tremendously and reduce the problems faced by tourists/businessman from these countries.

Today it takes approx 5 business days to get a entry VISA from Philippines consulate in Singapore and two trips (you must go yourself and no agents) which is a waste of time and resources. For multiple entry it may take 20+ days and again three trips to the consulate.

A simple decision will remove all these limitations. If Phil government feels that it might lose $ from visa issuance, they can charge a flat fee (say $250) similar to multiple entry visa/year.

Wish to see more nations following suite. If money is the issue I'm sure people are willing to pay for it.

Update: Comments from Immigration Philippines

Also managed to capture a photo of the circular (not very clear though, but the content is same as above)

Roku Player - No more FREE Indian Channels, No more FREE News Channels

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Recently the Yupp TV & other free channels were found missing from ROKU channel store. Seems like ROKU is simply ignoring the content part. When they lost the Youtube access I thought that's the end of ROKU.

They survived almost an year thanks to the loyal customer base. But now I believe with Apple TV & Google Nexus coming soon in to the markets at similar price points, ROKU will be facing a tough battle. Unless they start doing some modifications to their content offering I see this is the end for ROKU.

Today most of the LED TV's are coming with smart tv capabilities and they do not need an external player to simply connect to youtube/streaming content. Roku need to do much more. be it entertainment or games or whatever. Prefer not to through this cute little box but I guess no choice if they don't improve their offering

5 Temmuz 2012 Perşembe

iPhone 4 cases are hit and miss!

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Its a great case dont get me wrong. The problem is that:

a: getting accessories to fit is a battle.

b: your first drop (even on thick carpet) will break the plastic casing right by where you put the charger in. That is the thinnest part on the casing, the problem being they snap really quick.

In any case it is a great case, I am actually buying it again because of how slim it is.

Duce-- it could be so much better

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I so badly want Duce to do well. It's a great concept. A huge warehouse with cool vintage clothes, a gym area with a boxing rink, an awesome vintage ice cream are and a kick kitchen in a..yup.. You guesses it.. Vintage air stream cab.

But here's the problem. Their food sucks! Their drinks suck!

I mean you can call it organic if you want to but there is no excuse for having drinks taste so bad.

I've tried the Cuba librÃ¨- sucks, the gimlet- sucks, the mojito- sucks!!!

Here's my take on the place. I love the vibe, the decor and the concept but we need a bartender!

Just so you know, the only thing I will eat here is the sausage sliders. They are good.

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S'mores and more!

Location:Pima Fwy,Scottsdale,United States

Restaurant week is back

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Its back and I've always loved it.

Here is the website.

www.arizonarestaurantweek.com

Runs from Sept 17th through Sept 25.

Make sure you make reservations ASAP

The problem with this years list is that every one and their grandma is on here. And that doesn't necessarily mean oodles of great food!!

Some restaurants are using this to bolster their cash flows by serving sub par food!

Make sure you do your research. Eat at places that you know are good and serve food that is in their range of abilities, aka do not go to chick fil e and order fish!

bon a petit!

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Location:Arizona

Rito's burritos!

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Location:N 11th St,Phoenix,United States