September 20,
2005
Written
by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews
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Bentley Commerce Makes CEO Change, Kamm Terminated
The Bentley
Commerce (OTCBB:BLYC) board of directors, pursuant to a resolution
by the board dated September 13, 2005, has removed Bruce Kamm as
CEO and CFO and from all consulting positions with the company.
Anna Taylor
has been appointed as Interim Chief Executive Officer and Interim
Chief Financial Officer. The 40-year-old Taylor will also continue
her current positions of Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice
President and Secretary. Robert Schumacher continues as president
and CIO.
Prior to joining
Bentley Commerce Ms. Taylor served as the District Manager for KinderCare
Learning Corporation, a major education corporation that operates
over 2,000 centers nationwide. For the past five months, she has
had the responsibility for the daily operations at Bentley Commerce...auditing
and managing accounts, overseeing its programs, and training and
developing new associates.
Trade
Exchange Owners...
Build Rapport And Empathy With Your Client Base!!
The most powerful
marketing tool in the barter industry, The Competitive Edge
newsletter, is a monthly, ready to use, professional 4-page publication...no
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Barbara
Martin Appointed National Sales Manager At IMS
International
Monetary Systems (OTCBB:INLM) has appointed Barbara Martin, a long-time
respected veteran of the commercial barter industry, to the position
of National Sales Manager. Over the years Martin has done a remarkable
job of running regional offices for IMS’s Continental Trade
Exchange network.
Her elevation
to this prestigious and important position shows the growing importance
of having a competent on-the-street sales team in addition to inside
brokering services. IMS is on track to break the 10,000 client milestone
within the next 60 days.
According to
CEO Don Mardak, the company has a dozen full-time sales representatives
who are bringing in around 100 new clients per month. “We
intend to continue expanding our training and recruitment program
for new salespeople so that we can eventually sign up 500 to 1,000
new members each month.
“Additionally,”
Mardak disclosed, “we believe that we will have the ability
to continue our acquisitions and roll-up of the existing barter
industry, because of our good reputation and past relationships
with trade exchange owners.”
For additional
information go to www.internationalmonetary.com.
Now
available ...BarterNews issue #64, get your copy
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ITEX/BXI
Integration Successfully Moving Forward
Steven White,
CEO of ITEX Corporation (OTCBB:ITEX), reported that former BXI brokers
and members are “rapidly adapting to the new brand and are
quickly making significant contributions to our marketplace performance.”
Business metrics
for August 2005:
- Cash deposits
of $1,211,000, compared to $801,580 in August 2004.
- Transaction
volume of $16,121,000, compared to $10,543,000 in 8/04.
- More than
22,000 member businesses, compared to 13,400 in 8/04.
- 27,437 completed
transactions, compared to 15,624 in 8/04.
- 1,814 new
online listings, compared to 1,064 in 8/04.
- 257 new
business registrations, compared to 165 in 8/04.
Every
barter company in the world is listed on our web site,
click through to our Global List
of Barter Companies.
Our
Fascinating World
Chauncey Starr,
a physicist who has been pondering energy problems for seven decades
(he’s 93), and is now president emeritus of the Electric Power
Research Institute in Palo Alto, is excited about the future. He
has a big idea which he refers to as SuperGird.
It’s the
building of a network of air-cooled nuclear power plants that would
be located every 100 miles along a transcontinental “spine,”
and located underground for safety and security. Starr contends
the project, which would take 30 years to construct, would end our
country’s foreign-energy dependency.
BarterNews
Online Classified Ad Service
Rainbow
Vacuums & Regal Cookware
Available on
100% trade. Cookware is guaranteed for life. Also available, accessories
such as deodorizer, carpet cleaning formula, floor cleaner concentrate,
and other cleaning products. Contact Grizelda at (847) 588-1818
ext. 133, or grizeldas@itatrade.com.
Measuring
Tape
Will do minimum
order of 140 at $1.00 each. Great for giveaways, promotions, flea
markets or dollar stores. Display at the registers and use as an
impulse purchase. Call Gabi at (847) 588-1818 ext. 120.
Chicago’s
Finest Gift Basket
A unique gift
basket that includes Chicago’s finest hot dogs, sausages,
Italian beef, brats, breads, and condiments. Will ship anywhere
in the U.S. Contact Karen Zaur at (847) 588-1818 ext. 122, or karenz@itatrade.com.
(For
information on placing your company’s classified ad in the
Tuesday Report, see Classified Advertising.)
Chambers
Of Commerce Able To Access Currency Business
A new web based
program is being introduced to chambers of commerce which provides
chamber members the ability to easily create, edit, or delete coupons
that are printable by consumers. The program can be operated as
a stand alone web site or easily integrated into a current site.
One doesn’t
have to be a seer to envision the possibilities of chamber members
using the new ASP (application service provider) technology to begin
bartering their products and services, via coupons, amongst themselves.
Specialty Marketing
Service says the program will allow chamber members to sign into
an online control panel to access printable coupons, without intervention
of chamber staff. Individual members thus have the ability to control
the coupons, allowing them to use the service to test new products
and services, liquidate excess inventory, or take advantage of a
special purchase opportunity from a supplier.
While Chambers
of Commerce are a focal point of a local business community, other
local associations such as convention and tourist bureaus or local
media outlets, such as newspapers and radio or television stations,
can leverage the program for their benefit as well. This is still
another sign that the “cashless marketplace” quietly
continues its expansion.
Specialty Marketing
Service offers vertical marketing solutions for niche industries.
For program details, a live demonstration and licensing information,
go to http://www.coccoupons.com.
Get
New Money-Making Ideas And Valuable Contacts!
You can obtain
useful, informative ideas and contacts in every available back-issue
of BarterNews.
New
Study Shows Real Estate “Flippers” (Traders) Doing Very
Well
A study released
by First American Real Estate Solutions, an Anaheim (CA) data provider,
found that the practice of flipping real estate can pay big returns.
(The study looked
at sales in three hot markets—Las Vegas, Miami, and Orange
County, California—between 1999 and June 2005, and found that
the annualized rate of return for three-to-six month flips was usually
20% to 40% or more above the market appreciation rate.)
The popularity
of so-called flip deals has made section 1031 of the Internal Revenue
Code popular with real-estate speculators. In a 1031 exchange, also
known as a “like-kind” exchange, a person who sells
a business or investment property can defer capital-gains taxes
by immediately rolling the gains into a similar piece of property.
However, according
to some tax experts, the trouble is that people don’t understand
the rules and therefore many trust the advice of real-estate brokers,
who often aren’t well versed in tax law. Also some amateurs
are buying and selling properties too quickly, running the risk
that the Internal Revenue Service may deem the transactions a person’s
trade or business, with gains taxed as ordinary income and subject
to self-employment taxes.
Novice real-estate
speculators who attempt to flip properties should be certain they
understand the rules. The best way to avoid a problem is to consult
a CPA or tax attorney before beginning the real-estate transaction.
The problem
or mistake for novices occurs when the seller takes possession of
the cash proceeds of the sale. Under IRS rules, the money must be
placed in escrow or held by a qualified intermediary (such as a
trust company) until the replacement property is acquired.
To avoid taxes,
you have to roll the proceeds into a similar property, which generally
would be a business property or raw or developed land. (You can’t
trade an investment property for a personal asset, such as a primary
residence or a vacation home.)
In a like-kind
exchange, if you replace a property used for business or investment
with a similar property, no gain or loss is recognized at that time.
Most people do a “deferred” like-kind exchange, wherein
a seller has 45 days to identify a replacement property and 180
days to close on the new asset.
Aside from like-kind
exchanges, remember that you must also hold your investment for
at least a year before selling to qualify for the preferential 15%
capital-gains tax rate. If you sell before a year, the gain is subject
to the highest income-tax rate of 35%.
And you can
avoid the capital-gains tax altogether if you own and use your home
as your primary residence for two years. Gains of as much as $250,000
for an individual and $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly
are excluded. The two years doesn’t necessarily have to be
continuous, as long as you have used it as a primary residence for
a total of two years within a five-year period, ending on the date
you sell the property.
Every
barter company in the world is listed on our web site,
click through to our Global List
of Barter Companies.
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Here
& There...
- In 1935,
average 65-year-olds worked until they were 69 and were dead before
they were 77. Today, the average worker retires at 62 and can
expect to live another 20 years. And the number of retirees will
start surging in a few years when the first big chunk of the 1946
to 1964 baby-boomer generation retires.
- Decades ago
Americans used to snicker at the 40-year mortgages the Japanese
families were shouldering for their sky-high real estate prices.
Don’t look now, but guess what’s ahead in the U.S.—the
40-year loan. And with Fannie Mae, the nation’s largest
mortgage finance company, buying certain 40-year fixed-rate loans,
look for continued lender interest in offering this new product
to the budget-constrained consumer desperate to get into a home
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