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Azimov would not have been surprised to see the practice of law changing radically around the world. According to recent news reports, the once-highly esteemed lawyer profession is now being threatened by robots and supermarkets.

The fields of automation and robotics have made great inroads into a lot of professional disciplines. From car manufacturing to space exploration and from pharmacology to accounting, software programs and robotic solutions are being increasingly employed not only to augment operations but also to completely replace human professionals.

Until now, the legal profession has seemed to have largely escaped the threat of robots due to the decidedly human scope of the discipline. The legal industry still operates on the premise that hiring excellent lawyers with many years of experience is vital to win a case. The reason clients retain prestigious law firms with the right connections is because it increases the odds of a successful outcome. Prediction and intuition are important aspects of the practice of law, but robots may perform better in such aspects by means of computerized analysis.

Lex Machina, a technology firm that started as a Stanford University project, has compiled an encyclopedic database of patent and trademark case law that can interpret complex data. Sophisticated interpretation of the law is how law firms make a living, and it is through this interpretation that attorneys are able to predict likely case outcomes. By stripping away human perception, Lex Machina interprets data using computational modeling that is free from the pitfalls of human error. It would take an army of lawyers charging many billable hours to perform the work that Lex Machina easily accomplishes in a short time.

While robots are not expected to replace attorneys in the courtroom in the near future, computer automation has already replaced several attorneys in law firms in at least one particular area -e-discovery. The tedious process of e-discovery involves looking for relevant case data by combing through massive amounts of records stored in electronic formats. For law firms looking to significantly reduce expenses by trimming staff, e-discovery is exactly what they need.

As if being replaced by robots wasn’t unceremonious enough, lawyers will now have to worry about losing their clients to supermarkets. A new law in the United Kingdom is paving the way for banks and supermarkets to sell legal services to their customers.

The Legal Services Act opens the door to Alternative Business Structures, a type of business run by legal service providers who aren’t necessarily lawyers. Under this new legal arrangement, UK supermarket chains such as Tesco would be able to offer legal services to their customers. Solicitors in the UK have naturally criticized the new law, explaining that the quality of legal services will be decimated. The new law also encourages the creation of mixed practices under one roof; for example, financial and legal advice could be dispensed in the same office.

The Tesco supermarket chain has already expressed interest in offering affordable legal services to British customers interested in saving money. Tesco already offers banking services in their stores, and it expects to sell residential mortgages to shoppers later this year.

You may be one of the many who are tired of renting. Or you may be someone who’s about to be married and saving for that wonderful place you intend to call home. Will owning a house you can call your own remain a dream? It doesn’t have to be. There are many ways to make this dream become a reality for you. It’s just a matter of putting things in order. All these considerations may sound complicated, but they’re actually not. Just like everything else in life, it’s simply a matter of “looking at the bigger picture” and then breaking them down into smaller pieces, working on accomplishing each piece slowly but consistently.

How to Begin

Start with a well designed plan. First, you have to decide on the basic four: 1) the type of house you want; 2) the location; 3) are you building or buying? and 4) How much is your budget?

Knowing the type of house you want is very basic because building a house, or buying a finished one is not something you do everyday. And so a lot of thought has to be put into considerations such as size and functionality. To address these two concerns, think about your family now, or your family five to ten years from now. What’s the size of your family? How many children do you have? Will you have more in the coming years? How many bedrooms do you plan to have? How big will be the kitchen? Or the dining room? How many bathrooms? All these may sound very simple, but if left unconsidered, it will have an effect later on.

The location of the house is also crucial. More than considerations on distance from your workplace and the school, location also determines the value of the land where you intend to build your house (or where the house you intend to buy is already built). This adds up to the actual cost of the house.

Know the amount of the house you want – even of it’s a rough estimate. Knowing and seeing the amount will help you and guide you in your decisions.

From there, you can now proceed by asking your self this question: can you afford it? If through your pencil pushing you realize that you can’t afford it, then at least the knowledge will help you make some adjustments. Moreover, although you may not have the money now, in lump sum, but there is a way. There are home loans available for those who can afford it in the long haul …

What to Do Next

First, evaluate your finances to find out how much you have, and if you need to get a loan, how much you need to borrow. Second, be familiar with the different lenders in your area and find out as much as you can about them. Do Internet research and visit deifferent websites. Make comparisons. Identify which amongst the many lenders can help you best.  Find out about the different home loans they’re offering, their interest rates, the benefits of their loans, and many other information necessary before you make your decision. You can also consult a local mortgage broker for additional information.

Bottom line, there is help out there. Just find the best one, and start working to own the home you’ve always wanted.

There is a common misconception that when you sell an ounce of gold in any form, it is worth the spot price of gold. The spot price of an ounce of gold is the price that a buyer will pay or a seller will accept for the immediate delivery of the precious metal.

People are sometimes shocked to find that a store offering to pay for any old gold jewelry only offers them a fraction of the spot price for their gold chains and gold rings. The confusion is usually attributable to the fact that people do not understand that gold jewelry is not made of pure gold.

What is most gold jewelry made of?

Almost all gold jewelry contains a less-expensive alloy like silver, copper or nickel to increase the strength and durability of the jewelry. The vast majority of gold jewelry is made of 14 or 18 karat gold. Gold content is measured in terms of karats in the jewelry trade. Pure gold is considered 24 karat gold. An 18 karat piece of jewelry is 75% pure (18/24) and a 14 karat piece of gold jewelry is 58.3% (14/24) pure.

Scrap gold dealers will only pay you for the actual gold content. They also reduce the amount they pay for the cost of melting down the gold, delivery charges and a commission for their services.

Gold bullion, whether it is in the form of gold bars or coins, is considered pure gold. It is at least .999 fine and has a value very close to the spot price of the metal. Purity aside, you will pay slightly more for gold bullion coins because they are easier and more convenient to handle. Large 100 or even 1,000 ounce bars offer the lowest price per ounce for gold bullion. Commissions and dealer markup accounts for the higher price you will pay when you buy instead of sell bullion gold.

What makes gold jewelry expspensive?

When you are talking about expensive gold jewelry, the value is determined in part by the gold content, but also by the design and embellishment of the particular piece of jewelry. A similar premium is also placed on collectible gold coins. The condition and rarity of a particular coin can make its numismatic value worth much more than its gold content.

An educated consumer should understand the importance of knowing the gold content and any other extrinsic factors that affect the price of their gold items. By being aware of the type of gold they may be thinking about buying or selling, they are more likely to get a fair price when they make a transaction.

What are the risks associated with private equity finance and how can investors be successful? 

Understanding Private Equity

Private Equity Finance refers to the initiative of raising capital from external investors and in turn rewarding them a share of the business.  It consists of equity shares of companies not registered and traded on a public stock exchange.  There are various ways of investing in private equity – leveraged buyouts, venture capital, growth capital, distressed investments and mezzanine capital.

Private Equity Finance: Risk Capital

Private Equity is often considered as “risk capital” due to its inherent nature and characteristics. In the case of private equity, operational issues make it hard to determine who ultimately is responsible for economic risk that arises out of a leveraged buyout.  These are the result of using increased complex credit derivatives. The chances of these derivatives not being confirmed in a timely manner is very high and this may lead to more amount being traded than underlying assets. Private equity finance is also considered a risk as a conflict of interest may arise between the responsibilities the firm has towards itself and the companies owned by the funds.  Private equity investors are faced with huge turmoil along their way and need to be more prudent while making, managing and exiting investments.  It is always important to have an entrepreneurial spirit when taking up such high risk ventures.  Private equity investors spend tremendous amount of their time and energy looking for good business investments and enable them boost their performance.  Entrepreneurs always believe in the concept of more risk equals more return! 

Successful Private Equity Investing

Private Equity Finance, with its inherent risk characteristics can be a successful venture by knowing what you’re getting into. It is essential to be in places where successful entrepreneurs are.  Success breeds further success, after all.  This will give investors valuable insights and gain knowledge of new companies. They are masters in their field and just being in their presence will enrich investors with a lot of information.  Developing an exit strategy is crucial to the success of private equity finance. The investor should have a liquidity event in place and make sure it brings rewards.  A very important aspect is diversification.  When there is effective diversity in the portfolio, small losses can be negated by higher profits in other investments and lead to long term success. With all these tips and insights, private equity finance can be highly rewarding for an entrepreneur, both as an investor as well as a business owner seeking investment yourself!

DealMarket’s online platform is meant to help the private equity world become simpler. Private Equity Finance can be successful if parties meet each other and close profitable deals. Powered by cloud-based technology, this onlie platform is considerably more efficient than using e-mail and Excel spread sheets.

In 2012, the HARP refinance program for underwater homeowners was revamped.  New guidelines have been set forth by the government and they are soon expected to be adopted by lenders.  But, will the HARP program 2.0, as it has been nicknamed, live up to the expectations?

First, let’s take a look at what this program was designed to do.  HARP was designed as a way for underwater homeowners to refinance their mortgages to current interest rates.  This is assuming that their current interest rate on their mortgage is higher than todays rates, which is usually the case.

Homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments and have a loan that is backed by Freddie and Fannie will be able to refinance the loans.  Homeowners who have late payments will not qualify and must look to other options such as loan modification or a short sale to avoid foreclosure.

The original HARP program placed a cap on your loan to value ratio, which eliminated many homeowners as participants in the program.  Too many people had homes that were worth far less than they owed.  With the new program, this cap has been lifted so that anyone who is upside down on their mortgage and meets the other requirements should be able to qualify and refinance.  Exciting, right?

Sure, if you believe everything that you read.

Here is the main problem I see with the HARP underwater refinance program:  The government does not control what lenders do.  They only set the “guidelines” for the program and expect lenders to adopt them.   The lenders have to agree to these guidelines and use them.

Why they won’t agree to these guidelines

Loans are backed by investors.  For lenders to agree to these guidelines, investors must agree to these guidelines as well.  Wall Street must agree to these guidelines!  Do you think an investor will let someone who owes $300,000 on their home that is worth $125,000 refinance to a lower rate? I for one, do not.

What I think will happen with HARP

When the guidelines are officially adopted by lenders there will definitely be a “feeling out” period.  Sure, HARP refinances will happen, but the majority of those refinances are going to be loans with an LTV (loan-to-value) of 125% or less.  This is what investors are looking for.  I think some lenders may be able to push up the cap to 135% or maybe even 145%, but I just don’t see it getting any higher than that.

HARP can say that they have new guidelines and no LTV cap for underwater homeowners looking to refinance, but it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.

I imagine we will see similar problems with HARP that we saw with the HAMP loan modification program.  Sounds great, but not many homeowners will qualify and get the help that they need.

About the author:  Jeff G. is a prolific financial writer who has composed numerous articles relating to loan modification and the HARP refinance program.