04/19/2009

Posted by Ann Mary Anthony

Domain Tip:

Swiss Banks:
James Bond enters a Swiss bank in Spain and is frisked before he can meet with the banker. In the “Da Vinci Code,” a triangular-shaped key activates a robotic arm that pulls a safety deposit box from the wall in a Swiss bank in Paris to ultimately reveal the secret to Christianity. The funny thing is neither of these scenes would actually happen in a real Swiss bank. There is no such robotic system and, while Swiss banks do have security, they don’t search their clients before letting them access accounts. Most of us have formed ideas about what Swiss bank accounts are and how they work based on scenes like these that we’ve seen in the movies, read in books, or maybe even heard in the news. In other words, most of us have a distorted or mostly unrealistic view of what it really means to have the prestigious Swiss bank account.

Swiss bank accounts aren’t just for millionaires, criminals or government officials trying to hide ill-gotten wealth, or celebrities protecting their assets from former spouses. They’re available to anyone and lots of average people have Swiss bank accounts. People who live in countries with unstable governments and banks in particular often turn to Swiss banks because of their security and privacy.
But let’s face it, most of us really just want to be able to say, “Oh, I’ll wire the money from my Swiss bank account

Your relationship with your Swiss bank can be compared to doctor/patient confidentiality or the private information you might share with an attorney. Swiss law forbids bankers to disclose the existence of your account or any other information about it without your consent In Switzerland, if a banker divulges information about a bank account without permission, he can face up to six months in prison and a fine of up to 50,000 Swiss francs.

Privacy is a big deal if you have money you don’t want other people to know about, and unless you’re a criminal it’s highly unlikely anyone can ever find out about your account. For example, doctors who might be sued for malpractice might have money in a Swiss account to prevent them being totally wiped out in the event of lawsuit. Unethical, yes, but it happens.

The Swiss franc is considered one of the world’s premier currencies with virtually zero inflation and has been historically backed by at least 40 percent gold reserves. Swiss banks are also known to have very sophisticated investment services and Internet banking.

Technical Tip:

Internet Explorer Tips:
Quick Search IE :
In the URL address bar, type ? then your topic or keyword
This will go to your default search engine and return search results on your topic.

Select visited web site addresses:
Select the F4 function key.
This will show a listing of sites you have visited for selection.

Stop flashing images IE :
If a website you are viewing has annoying flashing images, wait for the page to load select the Esc button.

Quick jump to Web Site IE :
Type just the Internet domain name in the URL Address bar and press CTRL & ENTER keys.
This will fill in ‘www’ as the machine name and TLD ‘.com’
Try it – type ‘google’ on your address bar and press CTRL & ENTER

Interesting Facts about JP Morgan:
–  JP Morgan kept a very close eye on expenses. From a young age he kept detailed records of even the smallest expenses, including postage and the entrance fees for museums. While generous, he   never forgot the bottom line: one anecdote records that in beckoning a waiter to order a beer he said, “When Morgan drinks, everybody drinks.”  When everybody had had a beer and Morgan had finished his, he placed a dime upon the table, saying, “When Morgan pays, everybody pays.”

–  An event spanning the 19th century exemplifies the long and rich histories of our heritage companies, JPMorgan Chase and Bank One:

Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr, were leading statesmen with very different political agendas.  However, they worked together for passage of the charter to establish JPMorgan Chase’s earliest predecessor, The Manhattan Company. Unknown to Hamilton, Burr had maneuvered a provision within the charter that would allow the Manhattan Company to be involved in banking operations.  The establishment of the Bank of The Manhattan Company – later to become Chase Manhattan Bank – represented the end of the Hamilton’s banking monopoly in New York City and was a serious blow to his business and political interests.

The antagonism between the two men continued over the years until Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel.

Hamilton borrowed a pair of pistols from his brother-in-law. On the morning of July 11, 1804, the rivals and their seconds sailed across the Hudson from Manhattan to the dueling grounds in Weehawken, New Jersey. The men fired and Burr was unharmed. Hamilton was mortally wounded and died the next day. Burr was accused of murder, but the charges were either dismissed or resulted in acquittal.

JPMorgan Chase still owns the guns, along with several replicas. The originals are on display on an executive floor at the company’s New York headquarters.

Inspirational Quotes:
– Face your past without regrets, handle your present with confidence and prepare for the future without fear. Life is short so forgive quickly, believe slowly, love truly and laugh uncontrollably!
– Learn from the mistakes of others instead of making them all on your own.

Calvin & Hobbes Quotes:
– That’s the difference between me and the rest of the world – Happiness isn’t good enough for me! I demand euphoria!
– Theres never enough time to do all the nothing you want.
– To make something special you just have to believe it’s special.

Joke of the day:
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.