TD First Class Visa Infinite Offers $200 Worth Travel Reward Points

TD First Class Visa Infinite $200 Promotion Offer Expires On Sep 14

Published Date: September 9, 2012

Annual fee based credit card TD First Class Visa Infinite currently is offering extra points if you sign up by September 14, 2012. These 40,000 TD Points translate into $200 worth in dollar value. Some of the advantages of TD Points are that they never expire, there are no blackout or seat restrictions, and can be redeemed not only for travel expenditures but also for merchandise or towards grocery or gift cards.

TD First Class Visa Infinite card offers most of the benefits like other high-end cards such as Aspire Travel World MasterCard. Some of the features TD First Class Visa Infinite offers are:

– Trip interruption and cancellation coverage

– Delayed and lost baggage coverage

– Travel medical insurance

– Purchase protection and extended warranty

– Preferred rates for Avis and Budget car rentals

– Various VISA Infinite benefits (complimentary concierge services is my favourite one) 

However, one of the major benefits TD First Class Visa Infinite does not offer is the Flight Delay coverage. But if you are already a TD bank client and want to deal with TD for everything without minding Travel Delay insurance, TD First Class Visa Infinite is worth considering. Visit TD Bank for more info

China’s Trade In Africa

China’s Investments and Forward Thinking Strategies In Africa

First Published Date: October 24, 2012 ADawnJournal.com

The United States, once Africa’s biggest trading partner, no longer holds that position. Three years ago China captured that position, and became its number one trading partner with its robust business activities. In just ten years, from 2001 to 2011, bilateral trade grew 16 fold from $10.6 billion to $160 billion. China also provided millions of dollars in food aid and as a good gesture gifted the African Union’s headquarters (cost: $200 million) in Addis Ababa.

Bilateral trade expected to reach $300 billion by 2015 and investments expected to rise 70 percent from 2009 to 2015 by $50 billion. Also, China has consistently offered loans to the African countries and currently has a $20 billion loan offer on the table for the next three years. China’s non-judgemental approach to the African countries and easy terms for loans and businesses brought China closer to Africa, while slowly pushing western countries beyond boundaries.

However, criticism exists that China is in Africa to implement its long-term forward-thinking strategies. According to many, these strategies are:

– To exploit Africa’s natural resources

– To pursue neo-colonialism by bolstering brutal and corrupt dictators

– To grab business opportunities away from the local people

– To flood the African market with counterfeiting, and cheap, below-standard quality products

– To shift China’s manufacturing infrastructure in Africa and thus shifting its population gradually into China

In spite of these criticisms, anti-Chinese protests, kidnapping and killing of Chinese workers, China’s heavy engagement and projects are distinctively visible across Africa: from stadiums in southern Africa to hydroelectric projects in the North, from government offices in the east to cultural buildings in the west. Today, China is in most African countries except these few countries that recognise Taiwan: Burkina Faso (Formerly Upper Volta), Gambia, Swaziland, and Sao Tome and Principe (the second smallest African country after Seychelles). And China’s heavy engagement will only grow in the years to come.

Should You Pay to Read The Globe and Mail?

TheGlobeandMail.com and GlobeInvestor.com Are No Longer Free

First Published Date: November 7, 2012 ADawnJournal.com

Blaming its declining ad revenues, Globe and Mail recently started charging online readers accessing more than 10 articles per month for $19.99 monthly. I have been a religious Globe and Mail reader for a long time and have been contemplating whether to pay for online access or not – and I am sure the majority of online readers are in the same boat as me. Today, I will discuss whether to pay or not to pay to read Globe and Mail online.

Free access to information or knowledge is a basic human right. Free access to information serves as the basic foundation to develop and build a better society – a society better in every aspect: economically, culturally, and technologically. The Internet opens up endless possibilities to access free information across the globe. However, in the name of declining revenues, free access to information has severely been compromised by publishers around the globe. And the recent Canadian version is the Globe and Mail’s restriction.

Now let’s come to the question of whether you should pay or not to read the Globe and Mail online? Unfortunately, there is no straightforward answer. The answer lies in how you value the Globe and Mail content. If you feel it is worth it to pay $20 a month to have full access, you can pay to read. If you think there are still so many other sites available for free and there is no point paying $20 per month, you know what to do.

$20 per month may not seem like a lot of money. However, if you consider the gross amount you need to earn to spend $20 per month annually (considering you are in a 40 percent tax bracket), it comes to $400 gross amount per year. Are you willing to spend $400 gross yearly to read one site? I am not. When I first heard the news that the Globe and Mail will be a paid site and the figures were not published yet, I thought to myself that if it’s $10 a month, I am willing to pay. If not, I won’t.  

There are many other sites you can still read for free. I am mentioning a few of them here. Search online for more and I am sure you will come up with at least one or two that you would like to read instead of the paid Globe and Mail.

Five Simple Steps Toward Financial Literacy

Financial Literacy Does Not Have To Be Difficult

First Published Date: November 15, 2012 ADawnJournal.com

November is Financial Literacy Month. This is a special post to participate in Blog for Financial Literacy campaign. 

Financial literacy does not mean you need to have an MBA, CFA, CGA, and so on or you spend hours endlessly deciphering the Wall Street Journal everyday. Financial literacy begins with taking some simple steps and today I will discuss such basic steps you can take right now to build a solid financial future.

Step One – Spend Less Than You Earn – This is the most basic, yet most difficult, step to take to become financially independent. If you can’t do it, any other financial plans will become meaningless.

Step Two – Pay Yourself First – If you have money in your hand, for sure you will spend it and it will be gone. Depending on your affordability, set aside 5 to 20 percent of your income every month and invest it in a low MER, income-generating and less volatile mutual fund or ETF. Do the whole Step 2 automatically so you don’t see this money and it gets deducted and invested automatically each month, year after year.

Step Three – Avoid Accumulation Debts – Avoid the accumulation of credit card or any debt. Use a credit card only when you can pay it off in full each month. Avoid buying a car or furniture on loan. However, good loans to build asset and generate income are okay, such as mortgage, investment loan, etc.

Step Four – Build An Emergency Fund – Have six months to one year living expenses set aside separately in a high interest paying savings account, mutual fund, or ETF.

Step Five – Set Goals and Review – Know what your goals are (such as buying a home, paying off a mortgage, retirement, etc.) and start saving realistically to pursue your goals. At least once a year review your progress and adjust your spending habits to reach your goals.

These five steps are not the end of financial literacy journey; they are only the beginning. Once you kick off your journey with these basic steps, start educating yourself more on financial literacy and flourish to become financially literate and independent.

India Feels Global Economic Crisis Heat

And There Is The Possibility of Credit Rating Downgrade

First Published Date: December 5, 2012 ADawnJournal.com

Although the Indian economy showed streaks of optimism in September after the government’s economic reforms program, it did not take long to become sluggish again. India’s stock index and as well as its currency has weakened since October. Finance minister P. Chidambaram was right to mention that India’s economy can not be insulated due to the economic crisis the world is going through.

In 2012, the Indian economy is expected to grow 5.5 to 6 percent. Growth is expected at 7 percent in 2013. Beyond 2013, growth should be back to 8 percent. However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed India’s growth forecast from 6.1 percent to 4.9 percent.

The industrial output showed slight signs of growth, but not enough to invigorate the economy. High inflation is also a concern – although it seems like inflation has eased slightly recently. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept interest rates unchanged in the last policy review. The expectations that RBI would lower interest rates did not happen. The RBI is to announce its next monetary policy on December 18.

Public sector enterprises have been blaming high borrowing costs for the sluggishness of Asia’s 3rd largest economy. Higher borrowing costs curb consumer spending and lower industrial output. The government has been blaming public sector enterprises for sitting on large amounts of cash without putting them on investments to help the economy grow. And then there is the recent fear that rating agency Standard & Poor’s might downgrade India’s credit rating. However, India’s government is in decline and a credit rating downgrade will not happen as India is taking all the necessary steps to ride through the economic crisis.