Germany: E-Invoicing as part of the coalition contract

Quote from Bruno Koch's newsletter

"The newly elected German Government plans to accelerate use of electronic invoices in Germany by removing barriers hindering their adoption.

E-Invoicing is to be enabled in a more unbureaucratic manner. The author of this newsletter will keep you informed about future decisions and development."

My comment: As we could read in the Deutsche Bank report the annual savings potential is 54bn - in Germany alone. North of 250bn in EU. Small wonder this is now getting full attention.

But we need bold action - price tags for sending paper invoices and deadlines for accepting paper or unstructured PDF - ONLY then it will become a reality in time to be a part remedy for coming shortage of people in working age..

The Unemployment Game Show: Are You Really Unemployed?

The government is telling us that the economic stimulus is working and the recession is over. But you wouldn’t know it from looking at the unemployment numbers. While we may have dodged another great depression, unemployment is at its worst since then, having fallen to 10 percent by the Fed’s own reckoning. And, while we don’t like to be the bearers of bad news, we do stand for transparency in reporting statistics. So we’ve produced an animated infographic explaining who gets to call themselves ‘officially’ unemployed, and why the government leaves out millions of jobless Americans in their often cited and repeated unemployment rate statistic. So while the economy may be recovering, it might be awhile before many Americans feel it in their wallets. Read the rest of this entry »

Tietovideo

Tieto in 80 sec

Earning Power: A Visual Survey of 80 Occupations

As part of our efforts to provide you with creative ways to improve your finances, we have featured a couple of examples of how a radical change – such as moving to a new city – can lead to new opportunities, or at the very least a reduced cost of living. You may have seen our guide to the Best and Worst Places to Work by Salary, and this is a more comprehensive follow-up, which includes a total of 80 jobs, with a comparison of the lowest, average and highest paying cities for each respective occupation. Please note that, due to the diverse range of regional and specialized industries throughout the US, cost of living often isn’t always as much of a factor as you might think in determining your salary, so these figures are not adjusted for cost of living.

Sonera showing the way in Finland

Charging for paper invoices has been a touchy subject in Finland even if:

- all experience shows that transparent pricing (producing "negative carrots..") is the only efficient way to make mass markets move fast

- consumers say that they will not change behaviour just for the convenience produced by semiautomatic payments ("if I would have to pay even ten cents I would not ask for paper")

- the national e-program has set and the Minister in charge of it (Minister for Communications - Mrs Suvi Linden) has been very outspoken:  2011 should be the "last" year for paper based consumer invoicing of any significance

- consumers start to understand that they pay all costs - it would be better if they were visible and entice them to save

- some consumer already choose service providers with this open and just pricing ("Why should I pay for expensive practises of others?"

- the often referred to succes story  in e-banking would not have happened as fast without charging more for bill payments in branches

- paper invoicing is openly charged for in other Nordic countries

Fortunately there are some progressive companies that show the way. Sonera was first and the leading one. The 1 € is working wonders - as can be seen:

7 Ways to Find Hidden Cash

Whether you’re rolling in dough or trying to make ends meet, maximizing your assets is always a good idea. Obviously, you could increase the cash in your pocket by making more and spending less. But if you’re like most people, chances are pretty good that you’re sitting on some cash that you don’t know about. Here are seven ways to find hidden cash.

1- Unclaimed tax refunds

The funds from your income tax refund: It’s your money, but surprisingly, the IRS ends up with tens of millions of dollars every year that go unclaimed. Typically, people miss their refunds because they move without leaving a forwarding address. Marriage and death can also lead to discrepancies on your return that delay your tax refund. The good news is that the IRS does make an effort to find you and give you your money. But, as is to be expected, they can’t be as efficient or as effective as we would like, so the thing to do is file form 8822, which will update your contact information at the IRS. Simply put, filing this form is one of our 7 ways to find hidden cash — wasn’t that easy?

2- Unclaimed property Read the rest of this entry »

The First Jobs of 10 Wealthy Entrepreneurs

There’s a stereotype in America that successful CEOs and entrepreneurs were born with silver spoons in their mouths. Their eye-popping fortunes were little more than a gift from luck, genetics or privilege. Given this stereotype, it’s tough to imagine people like Warren Buffett ever working “regular jobs” like the rest of us. However, you may be surprised to learn that many titans of industry got their start in very pedestrian positions that you wouldn’t suspect. Today, we look back on the first jobs of 10 wealthy CEOs and entrepreneurs.

Ross Perot

Read the rest of this entry »

Mint Map: Moving from Cities to Small Towns

If you are looking to retire or are just getting fed up with the traffic, filth, crowds, and general urban decay, you may be on the lookout for cleaner greener pastures. We compared Forbes’ 10 Most Expensive Cities in the US to Money’s 20 Best Places to Live in America to help you decide whether moving to a small town might make sense for you. Click on the houses to bring up a snapshot of some of the primary factors in determining the cost of living. You can open several at a time and click to drag to compare multiple cities at once. Simply click the red box to close the windows of cities that don’t make the cut.

Scraping Pavement: Mortgage Rates Hit New Lows

The ups and (mostly) downs of the housing market, combined with tax incentives have left many wondering whether or not now might be a good time to finally buy that dream home. Average interest rates on thirty year mortgage loans have plummeted once more, falling a full percentage point below the lowest rate at any time last year. According to Yahoo! Finance, the average thirty year mortgage rate is now a pavement-scraping 4.78%. That’s down from 4.83% just last week, and it matches the record low set in April of this year. Putting the numbers into further perspective, Freddie Mac reports the average 30 year rate at this time last year was 5.97%. Thirty year mortgage rates were not the only ones to drop this week. Average rates on fifteen year fixed mortgages also sank, from 4.32% last week to 4.29% this week. That’s the lowest 15 year fixed mortgage rates have been since statistics were kept on them beginning in 1991. Additionally, five year, adjustable-rate mortgages saw their average rates fall to 4.18% this week from 4.25% last week. One year, adjustable rate mortgages held steady at 4.35% for the second week straight. The rapid fall can be traced back to last November, when the Fed began its gigantic $1.5 trillion shopping spree of toxic, mortgage-backed securities to lower lending rates. By and large these efforts have succeeded, as rates have hung around the 5% neighborhood since April and triggered a flurry of mortgage refinancing. According to Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft, a homeowner who refinanced today would stand to save about $100 per month on a $200,000 fixed-rate mortgage. On the surface, the falling rates discussed above seem to bode well for the struggling housing market. But according to the Wall Street Journal, refinancing activity may be slowing to a crawl. In the week ending November 20, refinancings reportedly fell 9.5% in spite of falling rates. The Journal also states that the “overall pace of mortgage applications also dropped in the week ended Nov. 13, down 2.5%.” It appears that the housing market’s problems may run too deep for low interest rates to correct, at least presently.

Final report on e-invoicing

final report by the EC Expert Group now public.