If you are purchasing or adopting a cat for the first time, there are many things that you need to take into consideration and know about your new pet. Cats require a decent amount of training, care, and attention. With these things, your cat can become the pet you always dreamed of.

Initially, you will need a few items before bringing the cat home. A collar is a good idea, since it provides identification. Unfortunately some cats don’t like to wear them. You will also need a water bowl, as well as a food bowl, a litter tray, scratching post, grooming tools, toys, a bed, and a pet carrier.

You will also need food for your pet. The cat is a carnivorous animal, so its diet should follow this trait. They need animal based proteins found in meats. Canned foods are a good source of this. They will need to be fed twice a day and make sure you supply plenty of fresh water.

Now that you have the essentials, it’s time to go pick up your cat. Bringing the cat into a new home is a very stressful time for the feline. You should let the cat set the pace for now. Put him in a small area or room with all his necessary items, such as bowls and litter box. Open the carrier door, and let him make the decision as to when he decides to explore. Keep coming to check on your new pet. This will make the transition a lot easier.

Training is an important part of pet ownership. A well-trained cat will be a happy cat, which results in a happy owner. Litter training should be done early. With proper time and encouragement, your kitty will master this quickly. It is also important to attend to the socialization aspect of training. Remember; encourage good behavior with rewards and praise. Bad behavior should be discouraged, by making it an unpleasant experience. But keep in mind: punishment plays no role in training.

You will also need to make some important decisions when acquiring a cat for a pet. You have to decide whether it will be kept indoors only or outdoors, or a combination of both. Just keep in mind, the risk factors present when allowing your cat to roam freely outside. You will also need to decide whether to declaw the cat or not. Some research into this will help you make an informed decision. Your cat will also need to be neutered around twelve weeks of age. This will be an asset to his health.

Learning to communicate with your cat is very important. You should be able to let him know what you want, and what you don’t want him to do. This can be achieved by developing a bonding relationship with him. Spend time with the cat and interact with him through play. Not only will this help you with communications, but it will also keep your cat stimulated. Have an ample supply of toys on hand to help accomplish this also.

Grooming is also a basic part of cat ownership. Your cat should be brushed daily, and have its nails clipped monthly, if not declawed. Bathing will depend on its coat. A good relationship will make grooming a breeze for you both.

Finally, make sure your cat gets basic medical care. There are immunization shots which are very important to your cat’s well being. Likewise, pay attention to your cat’s communication with you to find out if he is sick. The litter box will be the first sign there is something wrong with your cat.

You’ve prepared your house, taken care of medical needs and trained your cat. Now take the time to enjoy your felines company. He will purr with delight, as he snuggles on your lap.

I’m 25 years old and yes I have money in the stock market and I currently transferred my money into bonds this week and have not lost a single cent, not sure for the long term if this will be effective as it was this week. Thank you for your help.

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by Alexander Green, Chief Investment Strategist Tuesday, June 1, 2010: Issue #1271

U.S. Treasury bonds are the safest investment in the world.

However, that doesn’t mean they can’t be dangerous. Far from it.

Yet a few days ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that, “Long-dated Treasury securities are now the most favored financial assets for global investors fleeing the eurozone’s debt crisis.”

Talk about jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire…

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those end-of-the-worlders who expect the U.S. government to default on its sovereign obligations. That won’t happen.<!–more–>

It wouldn’t even be necessary. After all, history shows that governments always prefer to inflate their way out of a debt crisis by cranking up the printing presses instead. That way they can achieve a de facto debt reduction simply by devaluing the currency.

If you’ve seen the photographs of German citizens hauling wheelbarrows full of cash into the bank during the days of the Weimar Republic, you know what I’m talking about.

Of course, I don’t expect inflation like that. And neither should you.

But what kind of inflation does an investor expect who loans his money to the government for 30 years at a rate of just 4.1%?

Why U.S. Treasury Bonds Could Bulldoze Your Portfolio

That 4.1% figure is the current yield on the long end – and it’s a bet that has a little upside potential and a whole world of downside risk. Why?

Imagine a seesaw with interest rates and inflation on one end and bond prices on the other. If inflation goes down, bond prices go up. And vice-versa.

But how far down can rates go on the long end? Unless we have the sort of deflationary environment that Japan suffered in the 1990s, the appreciation potential here is minimal.

On the other hand, if inflation rears its ugly head, long bonds will get clobbered. And the worse inflation gets, the worse these bonds will do.

I realize that inflation is not an immediate threat. Technology and deregulation have brought costs down over the past decade. And even oil prices have moderated lately.

But if the bond market gets even a whiff of higher inflation, these bonds will drop like a stone. And I’m betting that investors who weren’t around during the early 1980s – and even many who were – don’t realize it.

They are so busy patting themselves on the back for eliminating default risk – and picking up a 4% yield versus next-to-nothing on the short end – that they are forgetting about interest rate risk: the risk that higher inflation will send long yields soaring and bond prices crashing.

Don’t Let the Government Trick You into Speculating

Seth Klarman, President of the Baupost Group, an investment firm in Boston that manages $22 billion, says the U.S. government is inadvertently provoking its citizens into taking very bad risks right now.

How?

“By holding short-term interest rates near zero, the government is basically tricking the population into going long on just about every security except cash, at the price of almost certainly not getting an adequate return for the risks they are running. People can’t stand earning 0% on their money, so the government is forcing everyone in the investing public to speculate.”

Of course, most people aren’t exactly in a speculating mood right now.

So what are they doing? They’re buying super safe long-term Treasuries and earning over 4%.

Except that’s not a safe investment – as many will eventually learn to their chagrin.

Good investing,

Alexander Green

Editor’s Note: Are you concerned about the direction in which America’s elected officials are taking the country? Worried about ever-increasing debt levels? Fearful of major inflation down the road?

Many investors are – and it’s hardly surprising.

But did you know that since 1987 – through bull markets… bear markets… inflation… deflation… debt… unemployment… and the rise and fall of America’s biggest companies – one organization has helped its members generate approximately $19 billion in wealth?

How? Through a simple, diversified, disciplined investing approach, with the twin goal of both building profits and protecting wealth in any climate.

No matter whether you’re focused on the short term, or long term, you’ll find various portfolios and investments tailored to your individual situation. We invite you to join this exclusive and elite group of investors.

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Two Bond Funds for High-Yielding Debt
Here are two funds that offer substantially higher yields than the iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund.

Read more on TheStreet.com

The main type of bonds on the market today are known as surety bonds. These bonds are required by anyone who administers public or private funds, or for individuals or businesses that require licenses or permits in order to operate in their trade, profession, or business. This includes a long list of licensed trades people, agents, and others who are in a regulated profession or business.

These bonds can be viewed as like a third party contract. An insurance company or bonding company acts as the guarantor or surety for one individual or business. This individual or company then performs a service and is known as the obligee. They assume the responsibilities of liabilities of a third party that is known as the principal.

To give an example of how this works, say a taxi cab company wants to open a business in Sun City. They go to the county office and fill out the necessary paperwork. They are also told that they must provide a form of surety to protect the county from any liabilities or damages that the taxi cab operator might incur. The taxi cab company goes to a bonding company, who provides the necessary bonds. In this example, the bonding company is the surety, the taxi cab company is the obligee, and the county is the principal.

Surety bonds play an important and ever increasing role in today’s business environment. They allow the risks and liabilities to be managed and controlled in a way that doesn’t prevent individuals from entering into any number of worthwhile professions and businesses. They protect municipalities and their officials from the liabilities and actions of individuals and business owners, and they protect the consumer by ensuring that only licensed businesses operate in areas where there is great potential for human and financial catastrophe.

There are many other different types of surety bonds, and some of the major ones are used by the court system to process criminal cases and allow appeals. If there are no bail bonding processes, then the courts quickly clog up and there is no space to hold all of the defendants who await trial under court or appeal bonds.

In construction, these bonds are often used to ensure compliance with local or municipal by-laws or regulations, or to cover the city in the case of damages and liabilities that might arise in the construction or demolition period. They are also used for specific events or activities related to construction such as drilling, blasting, or even the closure of streets and sidewalks.

Any activity that requires a permit by city or county officials will almost always come with the condition to post surety bonds and liability insurance. In the case of any special or public event, this is to indemnify the city from any damages or liability that may occur in the course of these events. Until they receive this assurance, they are unlikely to allow the event permit to be issued.

Contact http://www.bfbond.com to learn more about the many bond services that can help you and your business succeed.

In today’s unstable and unpredictable economic climate, surety bonds are extremely important for company owners who wish to ensure that the legal terms of their closed contracts and agreements are properly respected by all parties involved. The practice of establishing surety bonds dates back hundreds of years ago, when such agreements had the role to increase the safety and efficiency of long-distance trade. Nowadays surety bonds can take various forms, play a wide range of roles and are commonly used to secure the terms of major contracts. At present, surety bonds are extensively used in the construction industry, as contractors are often obliged to provide project owners a bond that guarantees the respecting of the terms stipulated in the contract. Sometimes owners are also required to provide payment bonds to ensure that the suppliers and construction teams will receive their payment in time.

According to a series of recent studies, the construction industry in the US is a 445 billion dollar business that includes around a million contractors, up to 70 national contractor agencies and associations, and more than 7 million workers. Elaborate market investigations recently conducted in the US have revealed that over 60,000 contractors in the construction industry failed to respect their agreements over the last 10 years, canceling public and private sector construction projects worth more than 18 billion dollars. In order to prevent major financial losses and an entire succession of undesirable results, increasingly larger numbers of companies nowadays consider using surety bonds when closing major deals. In the construction industry and not only, surety bonds have a crucial role, enabling project owners to minimize serious financial risks.

Surety bonds generally establish a temporary tripartite relationship between the obligee (the secured party), the obligor (the principal) and the surety (the party that is secondarily liable). Suretyships basically require the surety to undertake the debt of another party (the principal). Although many people still confuse a surety with an insurer, they are two distinctive notions. Thus, it is very important to distinguish between suretyship and insurance agreements. For instance, a liability insurer may pay a third party on behalf of the insured, in which case the insured is under the protection of the insurer. By contrast, in case of surety bonds, the surety guarantees the performance of a certain contractor to the owner of a project, but the surety bond protects the project owner instead of the contractor.

Since they first emerged 100 years ago, surety companies in the United States have evolved considerably, nowadays delivering reliable, efficient and high-quality services. Consequently, surety bonds have diversified considerably in the last few years, addressing a wide range of risk situations. The two main categories of surety bonds available today are: contract surety bonds (provide financial security and construction assurance on construction projects by guaranteeing to the obligee that the principal will perform the work and pay subcontractors, workers and suppliers) and commercial surety bonds (guarantee performance by the principal of the obligation stipulated in the bond). These two main categories can be further separated in a wide range of subcategories.

A popular subcategory of contract surety bonds is represented by bid bonds (provide financial assurance that the contractor intends to enter into the contract at the price bid and provide the required performance and pre-negotiated payment bonds), while a popular subcategory of commercial surety bonds is represented by contractor license bonds (contractor license bonds are imposed by state law in order to obtain a license to form a certain business).

Whether you are interested in closing performance bonds, payment bonds, contractor license bonds, subdivision bonds, court bonds or various other types of surety bonds, it is very important to request the services of a prominent, respectable and reliable surety bond-services offering agency. With the help of a solid surety bond-services offering agency you will be able to enter in possession of your desired surety bonds rapidly, with less effort and in exchange for competitive rates.

So, if you want to find out more information about surety bonds or even about contractor license bonds, please click these links.

Junk bonds refer to an investment that is usually rated below the investment grade at the time it is being sold in the market. For the fact that they are given a lower value, they also have the potential for very high yields as a way of attracting investors. Unfortunately they also have a very high risk of default or credit adversities, but this should not be a put-off to investors because, they have proved to be very reliable over the years.

Junk bonds are also commonly known as non-investment grade bond or speculative grade bond. They are seen to have the same characteristics as a regular bond. At the time of issue, the issuing company or organization must state the amount of money they intend to pay you back as you redeem the investment. They also have to be specific about the date of repayment. You will find that the maturity period differs depending on the issuing company.

These investments fall into a number of categories depending on various other factors. The Investment Grade category is that which is issued by low-medium risk lenders. They are normally given labels that range from AAA-BBB. They do not have very attractive returns but their risk factor is also as low. The Junk Bonds are also a category on their own and are labeled as BB/Ba or less.

Fallen angels has been rated under this investment, but this happened because its performance declined and its prices became unfavorable. As such, they have always been given figures less than what they are really worth and hence have the potential for greater returns. Rising Star is a category that has characteristics of an investment that will soon be soaring high in prices and worth as well.

If you are in college, about to go to college, or have children that will soon be in college, student loans should be on your mind.  Can you go to college without borrowing money, is it even possible? 

It is estimated that two-thirds of students borrow money during their four year degree at public institutions – with an estimated average debt of $23,000.  One in ten owes more than 44,000 bucks.  Private school numbers are, of course, higher.

I would argue that trying to avoid student loan debt in these precarious financial times would be well worth the sacrifice.

How can it be done?  Here are three secrets to nearly painless college savings:

Use tax advantaged savings plans such as 529-B’s and its numerous variations – which can vary state by state-and start early to reach your target. If you wait until the kid’s in Junior High to start saving will require higher monthly savings. Let Grandpa do it:  Savings bonds and similar birthday or holiday monetary gifts put into a college fund, makes way more sense than buying a toy or game that will be destroyed and forgotten by the end of the day.

In addition to parents saving for college, I think kids saving for their own college expenses will increase with the current economic challenges.  Working part-time in high school and during college, full time during summers and Christmas, can go a long way towards a student saving for their own annual college costs. 

 It will also decrease the tendency to slack off and party.  If it’s your own money you are blowing, the likelihood of focusing on your studies is much greater.  No, it is not your birthright to attend beer soaked frat parties.

Another common problem is misallocation of funds.  No, I don’t mean somebody stealing your money, but rather, having priorities screwed up.

Why is Junior driving a $25,000 dollar car with the parents paying monthly car payments, with a boat, jet ski or four-wheeler in the yard, but the parents whining “I have no money at the end of the month to save toward college.”

If at the end of the day, however, college rolls around and there are limited funds in the bank, what do you do?

Take all opportunities to identify FREE money.  Scholarships, grants, military commitments, are available-with a little digging.  Check out http://edu.fastweb.com/v/o_registration/flow/step1 Once free money is used up or is not an option, then filling out a FAFSA form  (www.fafsa.ed.gov) at the college financial aid office and discussing your options with them is the next step. Make sure you learn the difference between direct federal loans such as Perkins which have extremely low interest rates and Stafford programs.  With Stafford, find out if you qualify for subsidized loans, which means the feds pay all interest costs while you are in school and during the deferment time frame. School financial aid officers are your best friend – suck up to them, take them chocolates, and mow their yard (just kidding, but I think you get the picture). Make sure you understand the loan limits per year, and have a plan for what to do for the difference. Understand your rights associated with illness and financial hardship during your loan repayment period. Remember, you must be in school at least ½ time to full time to qualify for federal loans.  Don’t drop too many classes. Keep all your paperwork in organized files, because the piper will have to be paid at the end of your education-trying to find what and who you owe may be difficult after moving from dorm to apartment to frat house,  or back to Mom and Dad’s, because you don’t have a job.

Repayment options are beyond the scope of this article, and congress is considering major changes this year in the college loan arena, so keep your eyes and ears open. A great website for student loan information is http://www.finaid.org/loans/ .   

Just keep in mind that government loans can be great because of lower interest rates and more lenient payment plans.  But the government also has enormous power when it comes to collecting on your student loan debt.  Consider the seizing of your tax refunds, denial of new loans, wage garnishment without going to court, taking part of your social security check and large collection fees as just a few of their tools.  Also there is no statute of limitations, if they find you on Tahiti 15 years from now, tough; your behind is theirs, as they say….

Private loans are still available, but much harder to come by with current credit limitations that are increasing daily.  Your FICO score better be good (>700) and you must be up to date with all your payments.

So in summary, the best loan for college is the one with a balance of ZERO.  If you must borrow, plan wisely.  You don’t want to be paying Sallie Mae your last college loan payment when you are getting ready for that first Social Security check.

You will want to consider that there are a lot of timely investments that you can put your money into. You may think that stocks, bonds, and mutual funds is the way to go to protecting your future, however, you will find that there is real estate as an option as well. Real estate makes the perfect investment. You will be able to make a small investment and then you will be able to sell your investment for a lot more. You will find that this is often called “flipping”.

Like all the other investments, you will find that selling higher than the purchase price is your main goal. You will want to make sure that you are able to make a profit, and that you give it a little bit of your time and investment. You will also find that when it comes to stocks you have to wait a day or two until you can get the value up, and then you may end up settling for a lower price. Stocks is such a gamble, however, real estate is not as much as a risk. Of course, there is a reasonable amount of risk for everything, but you will want to consider that there are ways that you can get around the real estate risks.

Real estate is very unique, because you will be able to put money into the investment or you will be able to get your return in full. When it comes to real estate, you will find that beachfront property is always wanted and always sells quickly. You will want to do your research and find out just where the house is on the market and how far up in the market you would like to flip the property and invest. When it comes to real estate you not only need to think short term, but also you need to think long term as well. You will want to make sure that you acquire property at a bargain of a price and then you make sure that you don’t have any liens on the property, make it your own, and then sell it for at least 25% more. You will find that there are many little, inexpensive things that you can do to make a home seem more attractive.

rt.com Paul Craig Roberts, the former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under the Reagan Administration also argued that Obama is not likely to reduce military spending. “Before they cut the military spending they will simply confiscate what remains of the Americans’ private pensions to pay for it or they will require the pension fund managers to use the funds that they manage to purchase government bonds to finance the government,” said Roberts. Roberts argued that the US is the most indebted country in the world and that the nation is in worse shape than Greece. He further argued that the people of the US would welcome a cut in military spending to avoid increased taxes and cuts to other services the people want domestically. The military industrial complex however would oppose any such cuts. “It would be a very hard thing if Obama did want to pull back from the wars of aggression and curtail the military spending,” said Roberts.

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