10 Best Gas Credit Cards with Cash Back Rewards

Rising gas prices have everyone talking about the best way to save money at the gas pump. One of the most effective methods is to find the right credit card to help you and your family save money on gas. In fact, you can save up to 5% on gasoline and other gas station purchases [...]

10 Best Gas Credit Cards with Cash Back Rewards is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Source: http://www.moneycrashers.com/best-gas-credit-cards/

Personal Finance News & Advice Guide To Financial Fitness Money Game Tech Crunch

Zynga?s Largest Shareholders And How Much They Own

Zynga just filed for its much-awaited $1 billion IPO and now we know how much founder Mark Pincus and the company's investors own in the company. Zynga's investors include Reid Hoffman, DST, Google, Tiger Global, Kevin Rose, Kleiner Perkins, Union Square Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Peter Thiel, Foundry Group and IVP. Pincus is the largest shareholder of Zynga, with 16 percent of the company (all in terms of Class B shares). Kleiner Perkins owns 11 percent of the company; IVP owns 6.1 percent; Union Square Ventures owns 5.5 percent; Foundry owns 6.1 percent, Avalon Ventures owns 6.1 percent and DST owns 5.8 percent.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/E9NU23zhyZk/

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STOCKS END GIGANTIC WEEK WITH GIGANTIC RALLY: Here's What You Need To Know (OIL, GLD, SLV, SPY, QQQQ, TLT, TBT)

Jaw dropper.

But first, the scoreboard:

Dow: +165.71
NASDAQ: +41.45
S&P 500: +18.69

And now, the top stories:

• This week was all about the parting of clouds. Head into it, people were extremely worried about Greece and the economy. By the end of the week, Greece basically had its bailout in hand, and the economy showed signs of a pulse.

• Today specifically, markets continued an unbelievable 5-day run, as stocks turned in their best week since July 2009. Everything surged. Even financials had a huge day. Citigroup rallied over 3%.

• In terms of data, it was PMI day today, and most countries actually reported disappointing numbers... except the US. And not only was the ISM strong in the US, the prices-paid index fell more than expected, so it was a double good report in terms of showing economic health. Stocks immediately went vertical on the news.

• Perhaps most impressively is how well equities outpaced commodities (wealth effect!). Gold and silver declined. Oil had a decent week, but did not participate in today's fun. And of course, Treasuries got totally clobbered this week. Some will attribute that to the end of QE2, but obviously it's a natural extension of the big "risk on" move. Click here for a guide to what happened during QE2 >

• It was fairly quiet in terms of corporate news, as earnings season is days away from beginning. Both GM and Ford rallied after reporting auto sales, though neither were all that exciting. Ford said that June was one of its best months in years for truck sales, so that augurs well for the economy. Click here to see a little sneak peak at earning season >

• Anyway, there's a lot to worry about in the world, but that can be saved until July 5, or July 4 if you're not in the US.

• Meanwhile, check out the 20 cities where home prices are still plunging >

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See Also:

• STOCKS SURGE, BUT SOMETHING IS WEIRD: Here's What You Need To Know
• STOCKS BOOM AND TREASURIES CRUSHED AHEAD OF HUGE GREEK VOTE: Here's What You Need To Know
• STOCKS SURGE AND TREASURIES TANK AS GREECE PASSES HUGE VOTE: Here's What You Need To Know

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheMoneyGame/~3/XyfreaRvfa0/closing-bell-july-1-2011-7

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What to Do with Unwanted Gift Cards ? Sell, Trade, or Exchange

If you have unused gift cards lying around collecting dust, don’t let them go to waste. The gift card industry is worth an estimated $60 billion, and experts say that at least 10% to 15% of gift cards are not redeemed. That’s $6 to $9 billion dollars that consumers never use. The retailers are counting [...]

What to Do with Unwanted Gift Cards – Sell, Trade, or Exchange is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Source: http://www.moneycrashers.com/unwanted-gift-cards-sell-trade-exchange/

Personal Finance News & Advice Guide To Financial Fitness Money Game Tech Crunch

Personal Finance Round-Up: Don?t Just Talk The Talk, Follow Through Too!

One thing that became blatantly obvious after I entered the real world was that people are full of it. I don’t mean to be cynical, but I found that people in general would rather tell a white lie to end a conversation before things get complicated than deal with the situation – just like I [...]

Personal Finance Round-Up: Don’t Just Talk The Talk, Follow Through Too! is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Source: http://www.moneycrashers.com/personal-finance-roundup-talk-follow-through/

Tech Crunch Personal Finance News & Advice Guide To Financial Fitness Money Game

CHART OF THE DAY: Zynga's Big Revenues And Smallish Profits*

Unlike some of the other companies that have filed for IPOs, Zynga appears to be a very big and healthy business.

It generated $235 million in revenue for the March quarter, which is up 153% from the same period a year ago when it generated $101 million. The company's net income is $11.8 million for the quarter, up from $6.4 million in the same period a year prior.

While it's a solid profit, it's nowhere near the crazy profits being rumored prior to the filing. In February, the WSJ reported Zynga had $400 million in profit on $800 million in revenue for 2010. Zynga's official numbers for 2010: $58 million in net income on $597 million revenue*.

In this chart you can see net income was down quarter over quarter. Reading through the S1 it looks like that's thanks to an increase in headcount, which affects R&D and administrative costs, as well as increased investment in web-hosting costs to accommodate more players using Zynga.

*UPDATE: A reader writes into note that part of this confusion may come from a difference between GAAP and non-GAAP measurements.

In Zynga's S1, it says it looks at a non-GAAP revenue and adjusted EBITDA measurement to measure itself. The non-GAAP revenue measurement counts revenue all at once as it is booked, where as GAAP revenue is deferred over the "estimated average life" of a virtual good. Adjusted EBITDA also factors in the revenue as an upfront payment.

Zynga's adjusted EBITDA for 2010 was $400 million, and its non-GAAP revenue was $839 million.

While some companies may fiddle with non-GAAP numbers to make themselves look better our reader thinks this is a legitimate way of looking at the company's performance.

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See Also:

• Mark Pincus Explains What Zynga Is All About
• ZYNGA FILES FOR $1 BILLION IPO: It Did $235 Million In Revenue, Earned $12 Million In Q1
• SAICAST: The Highlights And The Red Flags In Zynga's IPO Filing

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheMoneyGame/~3/KQ6Sazg5XwM/chart-of-the-day-zynga-revenue-net-income-2011-7

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Support Your Local Business ? Invest in It

Why can't you invest in your neighborhood bakery, laundromat or bookstore the same way you buy shares in Exxon, Home Depot or Caterpillar? Author Amy Cortese talks to Mint about the growing demand for local investing opportunities and what's being done to meet the need.