Have you reached the point in your business where you need to hire employees? Does the thought of employee taxes, benefits, insurance issues, figuring out vacation, and more give you a headache? You don’t always have to hire the traditional way. Many employers are turning to a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) to solve their hiring issues. In fact, U.S. Department of Labor Statistics predict that by the year 2020, more than half of American employees will be employed by a PEO.

Sometimes called an “employee leasing company,” a PEO takes the hassle of personnel activities such as payroll processing, employee benefits administration, and other human resource administration off your hands. Other benefits of using a PEO include offering your employees better insurance options, since PEOs can group several companies together to get bigger discounts.

However, once you sign up with a PEO, realize you will no longer have any employees, including yourself. Everyone will be employed by the PEO. You still have employee decision-making power, but paychecks are issued by the PEO, and you may not have any say in what health insurance and other benefits are offered.

When deciding on a PEO, here are some guidelines to follow from the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO):

• Know what you are looking for. Befor

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The Wharf Development in Orange Beach, Alabama has been a fun place for residents and tourists for years. Towering condominiums on the beach have grown up there too, as thousands flocked to wine and dine, take fairground rides or enjoy a concert. Others preferred to spend their days sunning on the beach, or floating down a lazy river.

In a shock to many Orange Beach residents Regions Bank has taken possession of the Wharf Amphitheatre, Wharf Marina and more than 175 mainly undeveloped acres of prime land. After foreclosure, it bought the assets for $18.6 million after nobody else bid at the auction held on the Baldwin County Courthouse steps. Regions Bank previously loaned AIG Baker Shopping Center Properties over $49 million five years ago, to develop the project stages that it now owns. The bid that Region Bank made in the capacity of Oarlock Asset Management One LLC reduces the obligations of AIG Baker by just that amount, leaving the developer of the Wharf Development still deeply obligated. To add further to their woes, JP Morgan Chase Bank loaned $84.2 million towards the Wharf’s commercial properties, while BBVA Compass (which lent $73.1 million) is already advertising 90 brand new condominiums and a 27,000 square foot convention centre for sale. <

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You need not be disillusioned if you do not get the financial aid at the onset because many students manage to get some financial aid from the university/college after a couple of semesters.

1. Post Grad courses

Postgraduate students have to indicate their requirement for financial aid at the time of filling in the application form. The different types of financial help available include

• Tuition waiver: This means that the student does not have to pay the tuition fees at the university. However, general fees (for the use of university facilities like the library, computers, and sports and health services) usually have to be borne by the student. A tuition waiver is frequently awarded in conjunction with a scholarship or teaching/research assistantship.

• Scholarship / Fellowship: This is usually an outright grant based on the student’s academic ability and performance. Hence, only a truly outstanding student may be considered for this type of award, before enrolling at the university. A

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Earlier this week Obopay announced its partnership with the STAR Network, offering an instant and easily integrated offering. This will enable banks or credit unions to easily bring their own branded mobile money service to market and offer it to their customers. The partnership enables banks to leverage their existing connections and back office processes that they already have established with the STAR Network. Read about it here.

1.      What is the significance of this announcement?

a.       As you might expect, Obopay is very bullish about this announcement. We have a long history of firsts in the United States – first to launch mobile money transfer, first to deliver a smart phone application for mobile money, first to form a major partnership with a global financial leader – MasterCard – to name a few. Now we are the first to deliver the mobile money solution that allows people and businesses to instantly receive money directly into their bank account.

2.      Is this different than what others are offering?

a.       Our instant transfer to over 80 million STAR debit accounts (at over 4800 banks and credit unions) in the US is unique in the market – and the sender need not be in the same bank as the receiver. Instant is expectation in mob

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