Making Money With Options

Editors Note: Guest contributor Semil Shah is an entrepreneur interested in digital media, consumer Internet, and social networks. He is based in Palo Alto and you can follow him on Twitter @semilshah.

Reports are swirling that Twitter is in talks to raise $400 million, valuing the company close to $8 billion. It seems as if it was only yesterday that Twitter raised $200m from Kleiner Perkins. At the time of Kleiner’s investment, some pundits chuckled beneath their breath, claiming the old venture firm was paying up on price in order to claim a bit of equity in social networks, which they had been perceived to have missed.

Despite that laughter, it may be John Doerr, his partners, other Twitter investors, and their employees that share in the last laugh. In addition to the success of their niche funds, Doerr knew exactly the bet he was making when he hunted down this deal last December. In buying a piece of Twitter, one could connect the dots for the possibility that Doerr, with his deep knowledge of Google, knows something about a Twitter endgame that got his investment juices flowing. There have been countless blog posts trying to show that Google should buy Twitter. At the same time, other technology giants left hanging without any social data could perceive Twitter as an attractive acquisition target also, giving them a large network and helping circumnavigate many walled-garden sites filled with social, user-generated content. Can the company’s major shareholders help create competition for a Twitter deal in a very small market?

The roll call of Twitter’s investors is impressive, littered with the names of blue chip venture firms and consumer web celebrities, many of whom built their reputations largely through this one investment—and rightly so. With around 400 employees, half of whom are focused on engineering and product, Twitter doesn’t necessarily need almost half a billion dollars of additional financing to keep going. To date, it has been able to book some revenue based largely on the promoted tweet ad unit.

However, it has also been acquiring companies to help eliminate blind spots in its technology and product offering, to date spending more than $50M on purchases like Fluther, TweetDeck, and most recently, BackType. One could make the case that as the company continues to get the product back on track that a mix of housekeeping plus new acquisitions make sense to get the product to a point of stability. This seems to be what is happening especially under the product guidance of c0-founder Jack Dorsey, who came back but still is CEO of Square, and former Google AdSense guru Satya Patel.

That is, because right now, the Twitter product struggles just to be stable. For those that use Twitter’s native web site in the browser, it’s been considerably slower, possibly because the system is processing over 200m tweets per day. Sure, that’s a lot, but in those 200m items are a lot of loud, spammy, and inaudible (or inauthentic) accounts. For those trying to get a handle on direct messages (“DMs”), random old threads keep popping up when they finally load, which means they may be moving all DMs to a new server. @Replies are still not distinguishable from @Mentions, users haven’t been educated to make lists, and it’s very hard to search through favorites or old tweets. There are also more add-on options available per tweet via mobile than there is on the web, perhaps due to the fact that for those that use Twitter heavily, there are so many different clients from which to access the stream.

And therein lies the huge challenge but also Twitter’s massive opportunity. There has been much controversy about Twitter’s handling of its own developer community. For some, the lack of a clear roadmap has spooked people from investing in the space with time, money, and developer resources. For others, talk is cheap, and the reality that Twitter will have to eventually own every piece of the stack is obvious, so those that enter the fray must do so willingly.

Most recently, these tensions were brought to light when Twitter was seen to attack Uber Media and then subsequently acquired TweetDeck, or when Twitter decided to launch it’s own photo-sharing service in partnership with PhotoBucket (and thereby bypassing services like Twitpic and yfrog), or when it decided to get into the URL-shortening game, going so far as to re-shorten URLs that were already shortened by other services like bit.ly. As powerful and disruptive as Twitter can be in the real world, make no mistake that in its own ecosystem, similar forces are at work.

There has now been a good year of “bubble” saber-rattling in the technology world, and combined with today’s red-hot IPO market, Twitter needs to keep advancing its chess pieces forward. While the public demand for shares in Twitter may be huge, the reality is that the five-year old company not only doesn’t have the revenue acceleration needed to make this a viable option, but it’s product isn’t entirely set either. This latest $400m fundraising round may be an attempt to help fuel more product-enhancing acquisitions and, overall, to begin a consolidation of fragmented clients and services that currently survive solely on an oxygen supply from Twitter’s API. With each round raised and as its valuation goes up and up, the possible exit outcomes dwindle and the stakes get higher. The Twitter endgame transforms from chess into a dangerous game of roulette.

From my own personal viewpoint as a Twitter user, my sincere hope is that Twitter remains an independent, standalone company that eventually is publicly-traded. I will line up to buy shares. I view the Web through Twitter and spend more time on the service than any other, by a mile. And while I hope it will IPO, I have this sinking feeling that’s not realistic. This is not to suggest that Twitter is failing at finding and tuning all the best possible business models. They are doing an incredible job with only 400 people. It’s astonishing, really. Rather, it’s that the scope of all the potential opportunities is so massive, wide, and deep—from Internet, to television, to back-end analytics, search, location—that it may take a real partnership to transform these models into real revenue engines.

Who would be interested in Twitter should they continue to remain private and closely-held? Some make the case for companies like Apple, especially after its integration of Twitter into its iOS5 software. A company like Twitter could give cash-rich Apple a huge network to deploy its iAd advertisements on multiple devices, perhaps eventually even on television. Earlier this year, there was some chatter that Facebook may be interested, but they don’t (yet) have enough cash on hand to do this (though Facebook stock could do the trick). There’s always Microsoft, which certainly has cash on hand and an appetite to buy social communication services, recently demonstrated by its $8 billion acquisition of Skype.

This leaves one company, located in Mountain View, that many believe could be the perfect acquirer for Twitter, despite the fact it just launched its own social network, Google+, which is poised to launch brand pages, too. A possible Google-Twitter acquisition has been analyzed to death, so I won’t do that here, other than to say on paper, it makes a ton of sense. Because of all the bountiful seeds Twitter has planted around the world, the company best positioned to harvest those seeds (and turn a healthy buck while doing so) is Google, bar none.

But, as Twitter raises more money at higher valuations, and if an IPO is not likely in the near future, the number of possible outcomes dwindles. While an acquisition by one of the four companies listed above could be huge, both in terms of dollars and media attention, the real game would be to create enough competition among at least two of the four possible bidders to drive up the price and maximize shareholder returns. If Twitter uses the new funding to continue to fortify the product and also continue on a hunt for the best business models, it may give the potential acquirers information that leads them to think they may not be likely to extract profits from Twitter either.

By raising a whopping round, Twitter buys itself time but also elevates the stakes. Does Twitter putter along for the next few years and stumble upon a business model, enabling it to IPO? Does a giant like Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, or Google snatch up the company, or better yet, engage in a chess match with each other for the right to buy it for close to $10b or more, minting money for the company shareholders? Or, does Twitter start to slowly fade away, unable to reel in enough cash to keep the twittering machine humming? With the first option being a longshot, we’re down to two numbers on the roulette wheel. My money and my hope is on black: an acquisition.

Photo credit: Håkan Dahlström

Of course we know that it is a crisis not in a sense that the Federal Government is unable to honour all its obligations, a point which I have been making repeatedly.  It is a political game of chicken, the result of which can threaten global economic growth.

Debt ceiling itself is something rather pointless.  It has never been able to constraint government spending, and the Congress has been raising it routinely, at least until now.  Yet it gives opportunities for some pointless political posturing every time when the borrowing limit is reached.  As Calculated Risk puts it:

The debt ceiling is a joke. It serves no purpose except political posturing. It is not about the deficit – it is about paying the bills, and the U.S. will pay the bills.

A similar point has been made by James Surowiecki at the New Yorker:

The truth is that the United States doesn’t need, and shouldn’t have, a debt ceiling. Every other democratic country, with the exception of Denmark, does fine without one. There’s no debt limit in the Constitution. And, if Congress really wants to hold down government debt, it already has a way to do so that doesn’t risk economic chaos—namely, the annual budgeting process.

Now, there are ways around the debt ceiling which may or may not have been considered by the Obama Administration, as explained by Yves Smith.

Here are the three ways around:

1. Use the 14th amendment of the constitution to declare (or threaten to declare) debt ceiling as unconstitutional – but it seems that the administration is reluctant to use this.


2. Cancel the US government debts held by the Federal Reserve – the government can probably cancel a trillion or two of debts, large chunk of them purchased during the quantitative easing programme.  This can buy a year or two, perhaps.


3. Coin Seigniorage – this requires a little bit more explanation.

The third option, as explained in great detail here, uses the fact that the US Mint can create a platinum coin of any arbitrary face value.  The profit from seigniorage (i.e. the face value of this coin minus the cost of making this coin) can somehow go into the Treasury General Account.  The Mint can, for instance, mint a few US$1 Trillion platinum coins, book the seigniorage profit at the Federal Reserve Mint’s account, then “sweep” that to the Treasury General Account, magically solving all deficits problems.

It is not quite so clear to me if these are politically viable options, and it is also not quite so clear to me if any of these can be useful tactics on the negotiation table for President Obama to get his way.  But at least there are ways around this joke.

This article originally appeared here: 3 Ways Around The Debt Ceiling
Also sprach Analyst - World & China Economy, Global Finance, Real Estate

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Understand How you can Find A Payday Loan That is Right For You

If you are searching for a United kingdom online payday loansor perhaps a Payday Mortgage in the Usa you should usually comparison shop for the very best APR (Annual Proportion Charge) and friendlier payment phrases. Spending a little more time buying can save you hundreds of bucks per month. You should also know the phrases of the loan that you are taking out which means you don't get caught by shock with anything that's concealed within the mortgage paperwork that you signal. It is also essential to inquire concerns and make certain which you comprehend every thing about payday lending before you agree to the payment phrases.

Realistic Budget

It's essential to create a priority of paying off the mortgage you consider within thirty days or less simply because the longer you drag out the loan the much more money you will pay in finance charges towards the loan company. Most people do not think about this once the borrow from payday lending companies and they are wasting a lot of cash each and every month. In case your spending budget will not permit you to pay that mortgage off in thirty days attempting having to pay off the loan in .00 increments that way you are generating some progress rather than usually ravening exactly the same amount.

It is also important to not take out numerous loans in opposition to your paycheck in the exact same time simply because the much more loans that you consider out the harder it'll be for you to pay all of them off.

Don't Buy Into the Buzz

A great deal of individuals might attempt to let you know not to make use of faxless payday loanbusinesses however the truth is the fact that Payday Loans function for one cause: they are an simple and handy way for typical individuals to get money quickly once they require it the most. In the event you require money now it's the very best option that you have available just make sure to use your head and apply audio financial management in the long term which means you won't have to be a normal cash loan customer.

Internet Track record Check Details

An employment criminal search is now usually done not just to potential employees but to current employees for marketing as well. It's generally done to validate info found on an employee's resume or software type. It is also done to determine the best suited possible employee amongst the applicants. Also with what has happened on September 11, 2011, employers are now extremely concerned using the kind of workers they employ.

A track record investigation consists of criminal, arrest, imprisonment, and intercourse offender documents. This is a type of check where state records are examined to research if a possible worker or present employee continues to be convicted or charged with any crime against the state.

Citizenship, immigration and legal working standing checks will also be carried out because American businesses are barred from employing illegal workers from the Department of Homeland Safety and its Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Division.

Litigation data are also checked. Employees who often file discrimination cases might be identified as a danger into a business thus employers resort to litigation checks. Also, these businesses who do company using the government don't wish to hire whistleblowers who file qui tam suits.

Driving and vehicle data are also component with the track record examine, particularly when a possible worker is applying to get a driver place. Employers appear for employees who have thoroughly clean driving data or those who don't have any records of vehicular accidents or visitors tickets.

Drug test data are also being checked. An employer wouldn't want to employ drug addicts in his business because of company ethics, worker performance will probably be impacted and increase of workers' compensation rates.

Education data will also be component with the background check investigation. This is carried out to verify academic attainment with the possible worker and sometimes to check if applicant has had misdemeanor data in school.

Prior employment data might also be checked especially in the event the applicant will fill a sensitive place within the company. This is generally carried out verbally.

Financial info can also be checked especially in the event the place being crammed requires someone to deal with large quantity of cash.

For experts, licensing records are checked for complaints, disciplinary actions and investigations.

Medical, psychological and physiological files are also checked because a possible employee may not be fit to work for wellness factors. A written consent in the applicant should be procured prior to heading through the entire process.

Social security number check is also carried out simply because identity theft is fairly rampant. A past life may be concealed or an applicant may not have fulfilled the citizenship requirement may be verified via the social safety quantity.

Even though most the over data are public data and may be procured from various government companies in the Usa of The united states, it's still extremely inconvenient for employers to complete background check on its possible workers and even present employees. You will find numerous personal investigators who provide the support. Also, you will find third party companies who also offer the same type of support. You will find also accessible online data banks which can offer the necessary info about individuals. What they do is they purchase U.S. public data and offer them on-line for a fee.

Essential Things To think about Before Purchasing Car Insurance

Did you know that where you park your car at evening effects just how much you are having to pay for automobile insurance every month? Most insurers won't tell you this when they're signing you up for his or her coverage and this is why you're paying more cash for auto insurance coverage compared to next individual which you know.

How You are able to Conserve Money On Online car insurance

If you would like to save cash on your present automotive insurance plan or find cheap vehicle insurance coverage you need to consider applying one or all the suggestions in this write-up for your insurance coverage. 1. Maintain a great credit rating. two. Always inquire your insurer for discounts (example: great student discount or great driver low cost). 3. Protect your automobile with the alarm or a protection gadget. four. Maintain your automobile in good situation. 5. Pay a higher deductible every year. These steps can all conserve you countless dollars per year and simplify your existence.

How Your Automobile Effects What you Spend Every Month

For most people if they have a fast, high profile automobile it is their child plus they would never investing it in for some thing much more affordable and decrease profile but if you're on a spending budget and attempting to conserve cash every month you should give promoting or investing in your automobile some thought because choosing a different automobile may be the difference between conserving or investing a few hundred or more for each year in auto insurance online.

One with the issues that you should never do is consider driving with out insuring your car simply because the implications of driving without it are far higher than paying for an insurance coverage policy on your vehicle every month. Besides the serious monetary issues resulting from an accident such as bankruptcy at the very minimum you can encounter tickets, fines, impounding of one's automobile or much more if you generate with out it. That is why it's always much better to have insurance on your car or begin strolling more until you are able to afford it.

Time to Repair A Low Credit rating With a Poor Credit score Loan

Obtaining your credit score online will supply you with a very essential bit of credit score information. These scores assortment from anywhere among 300 and 900. The greater it is the better rates you are able to anticipate to obtain on loans. Your score will assist you to make feeling of one's credit history, it offers a good picture of how nicely you're dealing with your finances and also provides you insight into precisely what collectors and lenders look at when figuring out whether you are certified to get a cost card or mortgage.

This really is exactly why we advise that everybody acquire their totally free credit score a minimum of 1 time per yr. Whenever you are about to use for a cost card, it's a great plan to get a copy of your score and report, and examine it to create certain that all of the info is right. It's feasible to obtain a copy of your report completely totally free of cost every and every yr from each one with the credit score bureaus.

While the above idea is really a totally acceptable means of tracking your credit standing you could also get a 3 in 1 report being an choice.

This kind of report provides the information that appears on your report as compiled by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion and provides you the large image of what your credit background in fact appears like. Usually, a 3 in one credit history gives you a brief list of potentially difficult information, which you are able to quickly and easily evaluate. It's additionally identified as being a three Bureau Credit history.

Collectors, lenders, and financial institutions will report into a credit bureau any time a customer gets a mortgage, opens up a fresh bank card account, misses a payment on a month-to-month bill, or files for individual bankruptcy. However, they're not needed to report it to all 3 credit score bureaus. The outcome is the fact that the no price credit history you get from 1 credit score bureau could probably be lacking some essential details. That missing information can often have a great influence on your credit status. If you would really like a truly clear see of how great or dreadful your credit report really is, you should appear at investing in a 3 in 1 credit report.

A detailed evaluation of your free credit score and report will offer you with a fantastic insight into your monetary situation. Within the occasion you place in your order to get a complete credit score score from 1 of the three credit bureaus, you can be eligible to obtain your credit score document from Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax inside a joint file. They are heading to assist you in simple evaluation of precisely exactly where you stand and make it possible for you to notice the variations inside your 3 credit score reviews. It is going to assist you adhere to all loans and charge cards that are opened in your title and also you also are heading to be inside a position to understand which businesses contact the credit bureaus.

Hoodia As being a Weight loss Supplement

The way in which hoodia functions is very uncomplicated. Following consumption, the active molecule in Hoodia-P57-acts as being a normal blood sugar stabilizer, which in turn prevents the insulin spike that triggers starvation. The outcome is definitely an prolonged feeling fullness, typically for up to six hrs following consuming, plus the elimination from the urge to snack in between meals. That is why they are mentioned to be amongst the major diet plan capsules that deliver the results.

What this means is folks who eat substantially less on a every day basis, normally resulting in weight loss. For instance, inside a 2006 study conducted by Phytopharm pharmaceutical company-the leading researcher of Hoodia diet plan supplements-obese topics who consumed Hoodia ate one thousand energy much less a day, and 7000 calories less per week, than topics denied Hoodia.

Contemplating that it will take a deficit of 3000 calories to shed one pound of physique bodyweight, this could simply translate to a lack of two lbs per week, along with a loss at least10 pounds monthly. For this reason, the weight reduction business is now harvesting and production Hoodia Gordonni as a diet plan supplement. Hoodia diet plan capsules are readily available on line and in well being foods shops everywhere.

Diet plan drugs that operate are extremely hard to arrive by, especially on the net. So should you are not comfy with buying them on line, then we recommend visiting your neighborhood supplement retailer in city to view if they've any of what you're looking for. Chain well being meals shops like GNC, Wholefoods, and so forth. are really very good about carrying diet plan drugs that work like hoodia gordonii.

Discover Advantageous choices For speedy Hemorrhoid Recovery

Hemorrhoid cure may be caused by numerous issues, yet hemorrhoid treatment is frequently not difficult. No two individuals have the same problem so remedies will vary from individual to person. Dietary changes might resolve the issue with out intervention although not always. Some cases might involve just dealing with the symptoms, other people will entail non-surgical methods while serious instances may actually need surgical treatment.

The very best program of therapy can only be established following consultation with a medical expert. Yet, don't hesitate to try house remedies first as they may rectify the scenario. House remedies are often helpful in hemorrhoid therapy. The very first factor to keep in mind is that irritation can aggravate your hemorrhoids. Avoid this by using moistened wipes instead of toilet paper or rinse off in the shower being an alternative. To assist with discomfort and itching, consider a bath in warm h2o. The h2o only requirements to cover the anal region, just make sure to soak to get a minimum of fifteen minutes.

Do not sit or stand for too lengthy when struggling with this situation and, if in any way feasible, rest in your abdomen to avoid further irritation. Over the counter treatments might also provide reduction so do not hesitate to use them. Just make sure to study about any possible side effects so you can know what to appear for.Fixative methods are utilized as being a non-surgical technique of hemorrhoid treatment.

Methods include rubber band ligation and coagulation therapy. Rubber band ligation entails tying a rubber band around the hemorrhoids. Coagulation treatment entails using laser, warmth or electrical present to produce scar tissue. With either technique. the objective is to reduce blood movement to the hemorrhoid so it'll shrink or disappear. Scar tissue which results from fixative procedures helps support anal tissue whilst preventing new hemorrhoids from occurring.

Surgery is always the last resort in hemorrhoid relief.

This surgical process is referred to as a hemorrhoidectomy. This type of process generally has much better outcomes than fixative procedures however demands lengthier recovery time and may outcome in problems. Also, the cost of this surgery is very high which might make it more prohibitive. Fixative procedures are usually favored with older patients due to these risks.

As always, prevention is the greatest technique of hemorrhoid treatment. Dietary changes can frequently help with this particular. Avoid sitting or standing for lengthy intervals of time and take care when lifting large objects. Don't wait to have a bowel movement and steer clear of straining while performing so. All of this will help to prevent hemorrhoids, just know help is available if required.