A reverse mortgage is similar to a regular home loan with the exception that the interest you pay on the loan is added to the outstanding balance. So instead of making an interest payment each month, the reverse mortgage builds until you sell your property or no longer occupy your house as your primary residence for at least 12 months.

You typically have to be 62 years or older to qualify for a reverse mortgage, although some private lenders make this type of loan available to borrowers as young as 59 1/2 years old. The reverse mortgage allows you to tap into your home’s built up equity in the form of a lump sum of cash, a monthly payment to you, or a combination of the two. The key benefit of a reverse mortgage is that you will never have to make another home loan payment for as long as you live.

The amount of a reverse mortgage that you can get depends on how much equity you have in your house – you do not have to own your house free and clear to get a reverse mortgage – and your credit qualifications. Here is a helpful reverse mortgage calculator that can assist you in figuring out how much you can get.

In the reverse mortgage process you retain the same ownership and title in your property that you have today. Just as with a regular mortgage, the lender places a lien on your house that gets paid off when you sell the property or when you pass away. An important safeguard of a reverse mortgage is that it is a “no-recourse” loan, which means that you or your heirs will not owe more than your house is worth.

While the benefits of reverse mortgages are plentiful, there is an important drawback to be aware of. Because of the extra interest and fees that are added to your loan, you are reducing the amount of proceeds that will go to your heirs once your house is sold. Since you may be reducing the inheritance your heirs will receive, it’s important to discuss this option with your family before making a commitment.

It turns out, not so big. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently released new data on the tax burdens in 30 countries around the world. The United States ranked fourth from the bottom in tax revenue as a percentage of G.D.P., behind only Mexico, Turkey, and Korea.

Mexico’s tax burden is the lowest in the world, at just 21.1% of GDP. In the United States, the tax burden is 26.9% of GDP. The average across the 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is 35.2 percent of gross domestic product.

Not surprisingly, countries like Denmark and Sweden which have well known large safety nets for its citizens have the highest tax burden. Denmark clocked in at 48.3 percent of GDP while Sweden came in at 47.1 percent. Both of those numbers are more than twice Mexico’s tax burden.

While taxes always seem high, in fact they have fallen in recent years across the globe, thanks in large part to the worldwide economic crisis. Tax revenue as a percentage of GDP in 2008 fell half a percent from 2007. The OECD predicts that tax burdens around the world will continue to fall in 2009.

As with last month, the Minneapolis and San Francisco metro areas paced the increase, rising 3.2% and 2.8% respectively. Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Washington D.C. all posted price gains of over 1% for August.

Despite the seeming strength coming back to the housing market, many analysts caution that the rise in prices may be temporary. Unemployment remains high, another wave of foreclosures may be in the offing, and an $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit is scheduled to expire soon.

Some housing experts expect home prices to recover incrementally, following the pattern of the last few months. Getting back to the mid-2006 in home prices may still be a long way away.

The Case-Shiller index is widely considered one of the most accurate gauges of home prices because it compares recent home sales with previous prices for the same home. Last month the Index rose 1.6%.

Supporters say that the proposed insurance exchanges would help small businesses by spreading risk among a greater number of companies, thereby lowering premiums. The exchanges would also allow small businesses to compare the services, quality, and price of numerous plans offered.

Under the bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee, companies with up to 100 employees would be able to enter into an insurance exchange. Sen. Olympia Snowe, a key supporter of the legislation, wants to do away with measures contained in the bill that would fine companies with over 50 employees who do not offer health care plans to their workers.

There is some debate as to whether insurance exchanges will be local, regional, or national. Many small business proponents are pressing for a national plan, arguing that some states do not have enough competing insurers to create an efficient exchange.

Aside from the issue of health insurance, to fulfill your business success, we must know that our old business principles may not work well today; therefore, we should try to find a new business idea which can apply to today’s business environment. iBizBiz.Com contains varieties of helpful articles to make your business successful in different circumstances especially this economic recession. Anyway that won’t be enough to make sure that your business is on the right track, so every business should develop a business plan regardless of the size of your company. A business plan is very helpful for external use (getting money from venture capitalists, banks, angels, or other financial source) and internal use (to keep your operations on the track and remind you in case you are behind the plan and more).

The rebate, passed as part of February’s stimulus package, is available to anyone who has not owned a home in the last three years. Several studies have shown that the program has spurred several hundred thousand home sales in the short time it’s been available.

The real estate industry is pressuring Congress to extend the rebate offer through at least next summer to prop up an improving, though still unsteady housing market. Approximately 1.8 million people are expected to get the credit.

However, critics argue that the money is going to people who would have bought homes anyway. According to Ted Gayer, a Brookings Institution housing economist, 85% of the rebate recipients were already going to buy houses. The program is on track to cost the government $15 billion.

Here’s the chart comparing Barack Obama’s approval rating to the Dow thus far into his presidency:

Here’s the chart for George W. Bush:

As you can see, there’s no easy correlation between approval ratings and the Dow. While you might assume that the stock market would play a big role in whether the public approves of a president’s performance, clearly there are other factors at work here.

• Raise your deductible. The size of your deductible can make a huge difference in your monthly health insurance premiums. If you are young and healthy, consider increasing your deductible as high as $5,000. Yes, $5,000 is a lot to pay out of pocket, but if you rarely need medical care you can more than make up for it with lower payments.
• Get an emergency medical endorsement. If you are going to high deductible route, many health policies will allow you to add emergency medical coverage for which your deductible won’t apply. So if you break your leg and need to be hospitalized you won’t be out of pocket that $5,000.
• Compare all the costs between plans. Just because a health plan might be offering lower rates, make sure you understand what the tradeoffs are. Will you have higher co-pays? Are some essential services not covered? Think about how you are likely to use the plan’s services and whether they meet your needs.
• Participate in your employer’s health plan. If your employer offers a health plan, take it. In most cases you will be paying significantly less than if you try to obtain insurance on your own.
• Buy prescriptions through mail order pharmacies. Unlike brick and mortar pharmacies, mail-order pharmacies allow you to buy a 90-day supply of your prescription medication for the same co-pay you would pay for a 30-day supply. This can save you a lot of money over the course of a year.

Regardless of how you choose to save money on health insurance, there is one route you should not take: don’t forgo coverage.

A recently released Case-Shiller Price Index, compiled by Standard & Poor’s, shows that eight cities had price increases in May, compared to four in April and only one in March. Chicago, Cleveland, Denver and San Francisco are among the markets posting gains.

Significantly, this is the first time since early 2007 that the composite Case-Shiller index of 20 major cities was essentially flat, instead of down. This is on the heels of earlier reports showing that sales of existing homes rose in June for the third consecutive month. In addition, sales of new homes rose in June by the largest percentage in eight years.

As the economy emerges from recession, the real estate market should continue to improve, although skeptics warn that rising unemployment, another jump in foreclosures or a big increase in interest rates could halt the forward momentum.

As the name implies, car brokers takes on all the hassle of locating and negotiating for your new car. A car broker knows al the ins and outs of financing, fees, add-ons, and taxes so you don’t have to. Brokers can often get you a better price than the “best price” offer you get from a dealer.

Unlike the average consumer, car brokers have extensive experience with a variety of car dealerships, so they know how long a car has been on the lot and how hard a bargain they can drive.

Beware, however, because not all car brokers are created equal. You want to find a consumer-driven auto broker that works just for you. These folks often work out of a small or home office and charge a flat-fee to provide buying services to any consumer. Make sure your car broker does not receive a commission from a dealership or sells your name as a lead.

Overall, the unweighted average among pension funds around the world was a decline of -23%. But some countries fared much worse than others.

English-speaking countries were particularly hard hit because stocks make up a majority of pension fund portfolios in countries like the U.S., Ireland, Britain, and Australia. As you can see by this chart from OECD, those were precisely the countries that fared the worst:

In contrast, countries like Germany and Mexico did better because pension funds in those areas had a much lower percentage of equities in their portfolios.