Moneygami is origami made from banknote

A little while ago we showed you Moneygami and why they exist and now we’re back with new pics of Moneygami - origami made from banknote.

Money that we see every day transformed into something unique and unexpected.

Moneygami is origami made from banknote; the subtle genius lies in the way the artist incorporates the prints on the money bills into the facial characteristics of the finished figures.
This is called money folding. Sometimes also called bill folding, or banknote folding, or other such derivative terms. I'm not really sold on the Moneygami name- there's a real trend lately to do such things, primarily because people figure out "oh, that must be money origami" or something to that effect.
Actually "moneygami" name is a little dumb because the "gami" (kami) part means "paper", and the "ori" (oru) part means "to fold". So we're talking "money paper" here as a meaning. "Orimoney" doesn't quite roll off the tongue the same way, though, so I guess it's unavoidable. Loan words from other languages and how they eventually get sqeezed into new boxes is an ever-interesting phenomenon).

Oil prices end down after stock market fails to rebound

Oil prices end down after stock market fails to rebound

Oil prices settled lower Friday as traders watched the stock market decline even further, renewing concerns that economic growth may stall.

The tenuous stock market saga overshadowed tightening gasoline supplies that helped push oil's Thursday settlement price to a more than two month high.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery fell 36 cents to settle at $61.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the contract fell to an intraday low of $61.35 after the Dow Jones industrials dropped by more than a 100 points. The Dow was trading at 12,158.08, down 76.26 points, in afternoon trading.

Brent crude for April lost 3 cents to settle at $62.08 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

“Oil is a horse that wants to break out of the gate, but can't until the stock market figures itself out,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.

Tim Evans, an energy analyst with Citigroup Futures Research, pointed out that trading was light on Friday and most investors typically don't take on new positions ahead of the weekend.

“I think the stock market is one issue among many,” Evans said. “Certainly, as a comparison, the oil market is showing good underlying strength in the face of a weak stock market and commodity markets.”

On Thursday, crude oil rose 21 cents to settle at $62 a barrel – its highest settlement price since Dec. 22 – following a rally in gasoline futures, which rose on reports of a glitch at a Valero Energy Corp. refinery. Valero said operations at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery were normal, despite the reported outage of a unit.

Gasoline failed to hold onto gains it made on Thursday and slipped less than a penny to settle at $1.9018 a gallon.

Market participants were also focusing on the outlook for gasoline supply entering the peak spring and summer driving season. Problems at U.S. refineries have reduced output and cut into petroleum product supplies.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Energy reported that stockpiles of gasoline and distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, dropped last week by a larger amount than analysts had forecast. Meanwhile, demand for products over the last four-week period rose by 7.5 percent from the same period last year.

U.S. crude inventories climbed 1.4 million barrels to 329.0 million barrels last week. But gasoline inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels to 220.2 million barrels, and distillate inventories fell by 3.8 million barrels to 124.5 million barrels.

Worries over Iran's persistent refusal to suspend its nuclear program remain on oil traders' minds too, analysts said.

“There's a lot of focus on what's happening with Iran. Tensions over any possible sanctions are obviously positive for oil prices,” said Andrew Harrington, an analyst with ANZ Global Natural Resources in Sydney.

Washington is pushing for tougher U.N. sanctions on Tehran over its failure to comply with demands to halt its uranium enrichment program that the West fears could be used to build a nuclear weapon. Although the United States has said it has no plans to strike Iran militarily, it has also refused to rule out any option.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell nearly a penny to settle at $1.7682 a gallon, while natural gas prices fell 4.5 cents to $7.243 per 1,000 cubic feet.

By J.W. Elphinstone ASSOCIATED PRESS

Asian shares close mostly lower on Chinese fall yesterday; Shanghai rebounds

Feb. 28, 2007

Shares across the Asia-Pacific region closed mostly lower after the steep drop on Chinese markets yesterday followed by the fall on Wall St overnight -- although the Shanghai markets bounced back today on bargain hunting, dealers said.

Tokyo shares ended sharply lower. Dealers said some investors showed an appetite for buying, so reducing the losses, while others stayed on the sidelines, waiting to see how the markets in Europe and the US perform tonight.

The blue chip Nikkei 225 Stock Average finished 515.80 points or 2.85 pct lower at 17,604.12, off a low of 17,382.79 and a high of 17,843.61.

The TOPIX index of all first-section issues dropped 58.59 points or 3.23 pct to settle at 1,752.74, off a low of 1,719.15 and a high of 1,785.05.

Hiroichi Nishi, equity chief general manager at Nikko Cordial Securities, said investors had been 'waiting for some trigger for adjustment.' A sharp rise in the yen also weighed on the market, he said. Nishi said that after a slight rise in the Shanghai market today, the Tokyo market had recouped some of its losses, but investors were waiting to see how the US and European markets performed.

Australian shares closed sharply lower following an 8.8 pct slump on the Shanghai market yesterday and the fall on Wall St, dealers said.

Dealers said few Australian companies avoided the negative sentiment today, including the index leading resource stocks BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) and Rio Tinto which have large exposures to the Chinese resource-led boom.

The S&P/ASX 200 closed down 161.3 points or 2.69 pct at 5,832.5 - now well below Monday's record close of 6,044.0. The index managed to end above the day's low of 5,786.8.

Over February, the key index remained up 59.1 points or 1.00 pct despite today's sell-off and continued to hold a 162.7 point or 2.9 pct gain for investors so far in 2007.

Hong Kong shares were sharply lower in afternoon trade in response to the falls in mainland China and Wall St, dealers said.

They said the budget speech of Hong Kong Financial Secretary Henry Tang provided good news with tax relief measures but failed to lift the market due to prevailing concerns over US and China bourses.

At 3.45 pm the Hang Seng Index was down 460.82 points or 2.29 pct at 19,687.05.

In mainland China, A-shares in Shanghai and Shenzhen closed sharply higher on the back of bargain-hunting after yesterday's slump, with property, telecom and power stocks leading the gainers, dealers said.

Nearly 200 companies closed up by their daily limits of 10 pct.

'The market was boosted by bargain-hunting interest after yesterday's plunge, as investors were reassured by the government's denial of a rumored tax on stock investment gains,' said Wang Mingzhi, an analyst at GF Securities.

According to the rumors, the government was to impose taxes on capital gains from stock investment income. The Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation announced today that there are no plans to levy such a tax.

Analysts said the slump yesterday is temporary and it will be a matter of time before the market picks up again.

'The slump is only a temporary thing. Soon people will realize that nothing has changed - liquidity is still abundant, the yuan is still rising and corporate earnings are still growing, so the long-term prospects are still promising,' said Wu Dazhong, an analyst at Shenyin Wanguo Securities.

The Shanghai A-share Index was up 114.99 points or 3.95 pct to 3,025.75 and the Shenzhen A-share Index was up 29.06 points or 3.94 pct at 767.35.

Seoul shares closed sharply lower on broad sell offs, with sentiment undermined by the sharp corrections seen across global stock markets, dealers said.

The market tumbled by nearly four pct to fall through the 1,400 point level at one stage, with downbeat current account and industrial output data fuelling the decline, they added.

The KOSPI index closed down 37.26 points or 2.56 pct, at the day's best level of 1,417.34. The low was 1,393.96.

10 Websites For Online Stock Traders

CNNMoney.com provides up–to–the–second news on the stock market, technology, jobs and economy, personal finance and more. The site also has articles and commentary that discuss strategy and investing tips from the popular magazines “Fortune,” “Money,” “Business 2.0” and “FSB”.

CBS.MarketWatch.com has the latest news on market data, portfolios, mutual funds and personal finance. You can join a discussion and share information with other investors or look at the Tools and Research page for the statistics on any given stock.

Investopedia.com is a database built for investors. Here you will find articles, a dictionary, tutorials and even a stock trading simulator.

NYSE.com
This is the official website of the New York Stock Exchange—a comprehensive resource for investors and issuers looking for news and information.

AMEX.com
This is the official website of the American Stock Exchange with all of the current information and news.

NASDAQ.com
The official site for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. Here you’ll find investor tools, news and more.

StandardandPoors.com
Standard & Poor’s is the world’s leading contributor of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research, data and valuations.

StockCharts.com offers ShartCharts tools to create attractive financial charts, the Scan Engine instantly provides the market’s best investment opportunities and the Chart School is full of educational articles. Though some of this information is only accessible with a paid subscription, this is still a valuable source if you don’t have a subscription.

MoneyCentral.MSN.com
MSN’s MoneyCentral has articles and information on investing basics for the new investor and resources for the seasoned pro. Here, you’ll find current news, market reports and quotes. You can also watch business news clips from CNBC.

Forbes.com —“Home page for the world’s business leaders.” This is a vast library of up–to–date information. You can find anything from stock reports to information on travel to a guide to philanthropy.

Auto loans: What you need to know

Common financing missteps can cost you thousands on a new or used car. Here's how to get it right.

Few of us have the means to write a check for the full amount of a new - or even used - vehicle.
Unfortunately, car buyers, treating financing as an afterthought in the car buying transaction, can easily waste thousands of dollars.
Here are some tips on what to do and what to avoid.

Know your incentives

Web sites like Edmunds.com (which provides automotive data for CNN's Web sites) list available incentives in your area. Often there are low-interest, or even zero-percent, financing deals you might qualify for.
Don't assume you need perfect credit. Ford Motor Co. (Charts), for example, has recently opened up its zero-percent financing incentive to buyers with a few potholes in their credit history.

Don't go in empty-handed
Hybrid vehicles top fuel economy list

It's true that a car company's "captive finance arm," - for example, Ford Motor Credit or Toyota Motor Credit - will probably be able to offer you a better financing deal than an outside bank or credit union. After all, it's their job to help you buy one of their parent company's products.
But that's not automatic. It can't hurt to make them work a little for your business by researching the cheapest financing you can get before you go to the dealership. A credit union or an organization like AAA or USAA can sometimes offer you access to rates you couldn't get at a regular bank.
Companies like Capital One Auto Finance will even allow you to bring a check to the dealership without having to agree to take the loan. The loan doesn't start until you write the check, which can be up to a pre-approved amount. Until then, all you've done is arranged competitive financing. You can still take it or leave it.
Just don't forget that interest rates are negotiable. If you arrange financing at a car dealership, part of that interest goes to the dealership itself. The dealership's business manager also has an incentive to work with you to earn your business.

Don't get stretched

Before you go car shopping, you have to know how much car you can afford. That means you need to know how much of a down payment you can make, how much you're likely to get for your current car and how much your monthly payments will be.
It's tempting to just let the dealership work it all out for you.
In that scenario, you tell the salesman what kind of monthly payment you're looking for and show them your trade-in. They'll tell you whether you should stick with the entry-level model or if you can move up a step or two. And you'll probably be pleasantly surprised that you can drive a much nicer car than you thought for monthly payments that fit your budget. Yes, the loan stretches out for six years but... look at this car! Feel those seats. Listen to that big, strong V8. Come on, if you can afford it each month, who cares how long the loan is?
Well, obviously, another year or two of payments means thousands of extra dollars out of your pocket. It's just being removed more gently.
Then there's another problem you might find out about years later. The longer your car loan is, the longer you'll be "upside down" in your car payments. In other words, a longer loan extends the period during which you'll owe more on the car than the car is worth.
So figure out your payment situation and know what you can afford before you start shopping.

Do your own math

Once the deal's all figured out, there's one simple step a lot of people forget to take. Get out your pocket calculator and figure out how much that car is really costing you.
Just multiply your monthly payment by the number of payments you'll be making. Then add on your down payment and the value of your trade-in. If you were fortunate enough to qualify for zero-percent financing, there shouldn't be any surprises.
If you're paying interest, especially if you've taken out a long-term loan, you might be shocked by how much that car is costing you.
For example, a six year loan at 7.9 percent on a $35,000 car would cost you almost $10,000 more than the same vehicle if you were paying no interest, according to Edmunds.com.
Then you can decide if that car is really worth almost $45,000.

Peter Valdes-Dapena

5 serious taxpayer problems

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson submits her annual report to Congress, criticizing the AMT, the tax gap, IRS use of private debt collectors and more.


The most serious problem facing taxpayers today is complexity, and no tax represents that complexity better than the Alternative Minimum Tax, according to National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson in her annual report submitted to Congress on Tuesday.
The National Taxpayer Advocate is appointed by the Treasury Secretary and is charged with representing taxpayer interests before the IRS and Congress.
Olson's report outlines for lawmakers what she considers to be 21 of the most serious taxpayer problems - not a conclusive list by any means, as she notes in her report.
Here are five that Olson details:

Alternative minimum tax

First imposed in 1969, the AMT was intended to ensure that the wealthy few paid their fair share of tax by preventing them from exercising too many loopholes, many of which have since been closed.
Today, because its income exemption levels were never adjusted for inflation and because it disallows key breaks allowed under the regular tax code, the AMT threatens to capture millions of primarily married couples with kids and incomes in the middle- to upper-incomes range.
Now, Olson writes, "the AMT is left to punish taxpayers for engaging in such 'classic tax avoidance behavior' as having children or living in a high-tax state."
To make matters worse, it's hard for taxpayers to figure out if they owe AMT, which imposes a higher bill than they would pay under the regular income tax code. And if they find out they do, they may also be subject to a penalty for failure to pay sufficient estimated tax if they didn't count on having to pay AMT.
"'Gotcha' taxation is not good for taxpayers or the tax system," Olson writes. She recommends that lawmakers repeal the AMT as it pertains to individuals.
Leading tax writers in the House and Senate have said they would make AMT a priority issue this year, but given the high cost of repeal - estimated in the neighborhood of $1 trillion over 10 years - repeal is a tall order.
More likely, but in no way guaranteed, are possible reforms to the AMT - such as indexing income exemption levels for inflation. (Here's a closer look at the AMT and whether you may be subject to it.)

Tax gap

Every year, $290 billion in federal taxes owed are not collected. The biggest reason for this "tax gap" is the under-reporting of income, but not all of it intentional. The IRS has noted that confusion over how to comply with complex tax laws also contributes to the gap.
"It is a problem for taxpayers because the average taxpayer is paying thousands of dollars in extra tax each year to subsidize noncompliance by others," Olson writes.
To close the gap, she recommends a number of things, including a move toward fundamental tax simplification, greater third-party information reporting, and better IRS compliance efforts that respect taxpayer rights.

Costs and benefits of private debt collection

Olson has come out strongly against the IRS's recently instituted practice of farming out some of its past-tax-owed debt collection cases to private agencies.
The initiative was intended to be cost-effective, but Olson writes that the IRS has acknowledged it can deal with delinquent accounts more efficiently than private companies, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service has found a high number of complex cases assigned to private companies, instead of the less complex ones which they were originally intended to get.
"The IRS has a nearly $2 billion collection budget with thousands of collection employees. In contrast, (private collection agencies) PCAs at this stage of the initiative are using 75 employees to collect on these accounts , and the IRS is using 65 employees to monitor them," Olson writes.
What's more, she says, the Taxpayer Advocate Service has observed "poor customer service to multilingual taxpayers, (private collection agencies') operational plans being withheld from public disclosure, and PCA collection scripts through which PCA employees attempt to manipulate taxpayers."
Her recommendation to lawmakers: Repeal the IRS's authority to use private debt collectors.
In a six-page response to Olson's charges on private debt collection printed in the report, the IRS noted that two of the three private companies it uses have bilingual staff and the third is in the process of arranging assistance for non-English callers.
In general, the agency said, "Given the backlog of IRS receivables and our limited collection resources, [this] initiative allows the IRS to ensure that more delinquent taxpayers are personally assisted in meeting their obligations. ... [A]nd we will continue to make program decisions to protect the privacy and security of taxpayers while collecting outstanding government debt."

Transparency of the IRS

The IRS needs to do a better job of disclosing to the public its updates to procedures and IRS guidance, and the agency needs to make sure its employees as well as taxpayers and practitioners are aware of what is most current, Olson contends.
"Transparency in tax administration is essential to assure taxpayers that the tax laws are being administered fairly," she writes.
The IRS, in a written response to Olson's critiques, said it is "committed to improving the way it manages instructions to staff. We acknowledge we have experienced growing pains as we have moved towards electronic creation and delivery of the plethora of instructions to staff we produce."

Early intervention in IRS collection cases

Not dealing with delinquent accounts early enough "contributes to long-term financial problems for many taxpayers and costs the government billions of dollars in lost revenue," Olson writes.
And cases are left pending even when taxpayers have tried to settle their debts through installment agreements or offers in compromise, she notes.
Olson recommends that the IRS improve the way it prioritizes cases, initiate more personal contact with taxpayers and become more flexible in the way it provides realistic payment options for taxpayers who owe back taxes.
In its written response to Olson's critiques, the IRS said it agrees that early intervention is important, noted that it is analyzing the rates at which cases are deemed "currently not collectible," and stressed that "all of our processes are designed to reduce personal burden by directing taxpayers to the right treatment at the fastest possible time."

Jeanne Sahadi

Maximize your financial aid

Be the early bird
College applications may be out the door, but your work isn't done. Financial aid season starts
Get cracking. Is it 2007 already? Fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) - which determines your child's eligibility for federal aid and is used by colleges to determine his aid package - as soon as you can after Jan. 1. Go to fafsa.ed.gov to get forms and info.

Roll with it. Schools with rolling admissions policies also distribute aid throughout the year. The best packages go to the earliest applicants; be sure you're at the top of the pile.

Don't rule anything out. Even if you're sure you won't be eligible for need-based aid, know that many schools also use the FAFSA for merit scholarships, so if you haven't filled out the form, you may jeopardize your kid's chance at getting any merit aid.

Work on your profile

It's not just the FAFSA. Some private and state-supported universities use an application called Profile, which determines eligibility for nongovernmental aid. Profile costs $18 to file with each school; download it at profileonline.collegeboard.com.

It's not just about you. While the FAFSA tracks one year of income data, Profile tracks three years and takes into account whether your family owns a home as well as the wealth of stepparents and divorced, noncustodial parents.

It's not always bad. Profile can result in a higher EFC (expected family contribution) than the FAFSA , but not always, since it considers such things as regional variations in the cost of living, notes Mark Kantrowitz, author of College Gold: The Step-by-Step Guide to Paying for College.

Know all the angles

Go to school. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators holds free seminars nationwide offering professional help with the FAFSA. Find a seminar near you at collegegoalsundayusa.org. Web sites such as FinAid.org have calculators that enable you to get a ballpark figure of your expected family contribution without providing identifying information.

Watch for phony Web sites. The official government site where you can get free information and application materials is fafsa.ed.gov. A for-profit, commercial site with a similar Web address, fafsa.com, charges $80 to help complete the application. But why pay when there's good, free assistance available? FAFSA's help number is 800-4-FED-AID (800-433-3243).

Take a shot. Remember that there is no absolute cutoff figure for financial aid eligibility, so you've got nothing to lose by throwing your hat in the ring. Michael Fraher, director of financial aid at Vassar College, notes that roughly 50% of students are getting need-based aid at Vassar, where the median family income for those receiving aid is a little more than $80,000.

"Given federal and state tax liabilities, the number of people in a household and the number of kids in college at the same time," he points out, "it's not unusual to have over $100,000 in income and still get financial aid at schools like ours."

Barbara Bedway