Things are going nicely with Finanzas Forex so far. At the beginning of the month, I tried to make a small withdrawal, to see how it would work. Seeing as how the minimum was $300, I went with that.
Now, there are two ways to make a withdrawal in FFx:
1) Conduct a traditional transaction, where you put in your bank details, and hit send. The downside is that any transaction takes about two weeks to complete, in or out.
2) Do an account-to-account transfer of the money to someone that also wants to avoid the two week waiting period. You put the money into their FFx account, and they write you a check. Apparently, there are people lined up to do this kind of transfer.
Since I wanted to see all of the ins and outs of bank transfers, I went for option two.
I don’t know if it was a coincidence or some kind of cosmic irony, but a few days after I put in the request for my withdrawl, Finanzas Forex announced they were having bank problems, and was in the process of changing the bank they use to conduct transfers. I don’t know if that will set me back a few days, but i’m checking my bank account every day to see when the funds will come through.
Updates on FFx: Some unnerving things bubbled up to the surface in the last few weeks:
There was an email, sent out by the director of forexmillonario.com, stating that FFx would have a zero tolerance policy for those that deliberately defame and slander the company. Here’s an excerpt:
-La Compañía hará seguimientos a Inversionistas actuales y gente del común, deshonestos y que denigren de la Compañía; aplicándo ahora si, todo el rigor de la Ley para evitar comentarios negativos y mentirosos en contra de FFX. Abogados en cada País se encargarán de colocar las demandas respectivas. Además, si el infractor es Inversionista de FFX, perderá su inversión, como sanción punitiva para comenzar. Todo esto será obviamente con pruebas contundentes y no por comentarios o rumores de otros usuarios.
Now, I’m all for stopping slander and libel, but I certainly hope that they will allow investors to review the company with a critical eye. I am especially concerned about the threat to take away our investment, as a “punitive sanction”. Here’s hoping my blog isn’t considered “negative” to the company.
For now, i’m taking a “wait and see” approach. Several people close to me are already making contacts and signing up people, which I think is great. But as for me, I would like to be absolutely sure that everything is going to work as smoothly as I pitch it… As soon as those 300 bucks come through, i’ll let you know.
Here’s an email they sent me some time ago:
New Investment Product:
The new product, presented in the Convention, will be launched in the next few weeks.
We already have the Trading Platform ready, as well as the team of professionals who will be in charge of these investments, as a very high level of specialization is required.
At this moment in time, our Juridicial Department, is finishing the details for the contracts. Once this phase is complete we will activate this type of investment.
We will also publish the technical information about this product, as well as the conditions to be able to participate.
___________________________
It seems like FFX going to be getting into the commodities markets, with big, big returns… I’ve attached a Powerpoint presentation from the second convention they had (in Brazil), where they talk about the commodities market (*it’s in spanish). Now one thing i’ve noticed about FFX is that they have a tendancy to tweak the details of things they announce. Maybe it’s a latin american thing, or a new company thing, but I don’t know how many of these projects are still underway. However, it seems like the commodities investments are still being worked on. From what I heard, right now it’s only being offered to big investors ($100,000 or more), and will soon be opened up to us little people.
This post is in response to the 53rd comment on my “Entrepreneurs” entry of December 15th, 2007. The comment made reference to a wireless company “My Wireless Rep”, and called it a scam.
I beg to differ.
There have been whole empires built on the quote, “There’s a sucker born every minute”. For Chinese companies that make iPod knockoffs that end up breaking after two months, the suckers are the cheap consumers that think they’re getting a deal. For companies like My Wireless Rep, Mona-Vie, Amway, YourTravelBiz and other companies, the suckers are the “representatives”.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s ways to make money in companies like those (obviously, someone up the line is), but if, to sell the product, you have to mention to the client that HE TOO can turn around and become a seller of this wonderful product, it’s probably because you’re pushing something that can’t stand on its own two legs. Take Mona-Vie, for example. A friend introduced me to this product… It’s made from the Brazilian Acai fruit, and supposedly works miracles for everything in your body (Makes you lose weight AND fights anorexia!). The thing is, it tastes HORRIBLE! The only way people will buy the 40 dollar bottle of nastiness is if they can somehow be convinced that they will be able to sell it to THEIR gullible friends.
The same thing goes for that wireless company– on their website, they take the number of total wireless customers in the WORLD (255 million), and tell you that if you can just snag 10,000 of them to sign up for your wireless plan, you’d be banking 24,000 dollars a month.
Sure, the math makes sense, but, honestly– how many people have you ever convinced to switch their wireless plan? One? Three at the most? The suckers are the representatives, and the head honchos bank the cash. In the end, these aren’t scams, just improbable business ideas that require insane amounts of effort to break a profit. Just remember: the bigger the rainbow they paint, the longer the walk is to the pot of gold.
By the way, I’m starting a company, it’s called EverMud. I’m selling bags of nutrient-rich mud from the pristine Everglades National Park– it does wonders for your skin! Rejuvinates, Restores and Revitalizes. PLUS, you get 5 percent of whatever you sell. Be your own boss! 5 oz bags are starting at $19.95. Want in?
So La Promesa is going to launch… in a couple of days? If i’m not mistaken, La Promesa corp will go live from Puerto Rico on the 17th of August. Honestly, I still don’t know what they’re selling… Most companies give you an idea of what they’re launching before they’re launching it… Info is really scattered, and it seems like there’s going to be an event on the 15th… I’m really really curious to see what they’re going to do after their “launch”. Hopefully they won’t have another “restructuring”, like they did after they posted a launch date in January. I want to see actual business plans, and something that doesn’t mention faith (yessss, I know faith is important, but I’m picky about who I have faith in… ) We’ll see what happens after the 15th (or was it the 17th?), since it seems like there are quite a lot of people that have been sucked into all of this.
FINANZAS FOREX:
It’s been a couple of months that i’ve had my money in there, and don’t have any complaints. From the news they’ve been giving us, it seems like they’ve been working with Wells Fargo to try to work out bank accounts for the users, to make money transfers easier. It seems like the deal went sour, and people were talking directly to the bank. FFX sent out a memo to investors, saying this: “Les ponemos en conocimiento a todos ustedes que, con el fin de salvaguardar y proteger los intereses y la imagen de nuestra Compañía, serán expulsados todos aquellos inversores que se comuniquen con el BancoWells fargo.”
Needless to say, it made me uncomfortable. There’s a fine line between company transparency and an irresponsible use of information. But I’m still investigating. The next thing i’m going to do is see if I can turn those supposed earnings I have into cold, hard cash… I want to pull out some money.
By the way, There’s commission for me if people sign up for FFX under me. If you’re thinking of signing up ANYWAY, why don’t you do it through me?
Updates coming sometime later.
Once again, the topic of risky investment opportunities comes up. Finanzas Forex is a private company, based in Panama, trading on the Foreign Exchange market, which recently opened itself to the unregulated retail market.
So far there is no formal review on Finanzas Forex, so i’m pretty much flying blind, picking up information as I get it. Hopefully by next week i’ll have more info from a conference they are having in Brazil.
FFX (Finanzas Forex) offers different investment plans, in varying risk levels… depending on how much money you invest, the maximum ROI (Return on Investment) changes.
From 100 to 3,999 dollars, the maximum you can earn is 10 percent MONTHLY.
From 4000 to 19,999 dollars, the max is 14%
From 20,000 to 49,999 dollars, it’s 16%
Fifty grand and up, it’s 20% maximum return per month.
There’s also a High Risk plan, that offers up to 50% return per month.
You have to keep your original investment with FFX for 6 months to avoid paying a 15% penalty. However, the gains you make are completely liquid.
There is a commission that can be gained by bringing another person into forex: .05% of that person’s investment per month. The commission structure is multi-level.
Going against conventional wisdom, I decided to become an investor. I’m going to watch this one closely.
The National Futures Association warns about Forex markets, saying:
As mentioned above, retail off-exchange forex trading carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The possibility exists that you could lose all of your initial investment and be liable for additional losses. Therefore, you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. Be aware of all the risks associated with forex trading and make an informed decision after consulting with your financial advisor and considering your own financial situation and objectives.
The Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets had this to say about FFX (or Evolution Market Groups, Inc– the company it’s under):
According to information disclosed by staff linked to the company, on 15th March 2008, the number of clients recruited by the company in the countries where the company performs business activity has added up to 18,720 clients and the amount collected up to 121,154,519 $. The company presents an increase of 600 clients and 2 million $ a day.
The report continued, essentially warning consumers about the company.
The Comision Nacional de Valores de Panama (Securities Commission of Panama) issued a clarification about FFX, possibly due to the number of inquiries made about the company:
La Comisión Nacional de Valores (en adelante la CNV) aclara al público que en esta institución se ha recibido solicitud de información y datos relacionados a las actividades desarrolladas por la empresa Evolution Market Group Inc., sociedad anónima de nacionalidad panameña y cuyo nombre comercial es Finanzas Forex.
Si bien es cierto, la actividad de Forex no es una actividad propia del mercado de valores, según se ha reiterado mediante Opinión administrativa 5-2004 de 5 de mayo de 2004, ratificada a través de Opinión administrativa No. 5-2007 de 27 de mayo de 2007, la CNV ejecuta el análisis de la información recibida como corresponde para determinar si hay actividades relacionadas con el mercado de valores y por tanto requieran algún tipo de licencia o autorización por parte de ésta, y/o con el objeto de determinar la posible violación al Decreto Ley No. 1 de 1999 y sus reglamentos por parte de la referida empresa.
Con respecto a un posible traslado de la referida investigación al Ministerio Público, se informa que la Comisión Nacional de Valores no ha encontrado a la fecha elementos para proceder a instaurar una denuncia al Ministerio Público por posibles infracciones en la esfera penal, no obstante de haberlo en un futuro correspondería remitirlo a las autoridades penales correspondientes en el ejercicio de nuestras funciones como funcionarios públicos.
There are some interesting parallels with FFX and Charles Ponzi’s scheme. The thing is, even with Ponzi, there were people making good money. The trick was to pull out in time. FFX has been around since January of 2007. By this time, they are hitting their third 6 month cycle. Ponzi was able to run his scheme for about 11 months, in the course of which he had amassed millions of dollars.
Here’s my conclusion:
The Foreign Exchange market is high risk, high gain. The raising and relaxing of interest rates has made the US dollar (and, consequently, many other currencies) fluctuate wildly. This allows smart brokers to make very good returns on their investments. Why these brokers would want to share their amazing secret with isn’t all too clear. They could be taking a Wal-Mart approach to business (Small profit margin is made up for by wide client base). So far, current FFX clients are very happy with their investments. If this is a Ponzi scheme, it may be coming to an end, and there might not be much more time until everything collapses. I’m willing to invest for six months, until I regain my original investment, and leave the rest as seed money (If I lose it, it’ll only be the interest I gained).
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I hope I won’t be sorry. Updates coming soon.
There’s so much on the internet, screaming for attention. Everyone wants a piece of the action– to bank on the fast-paced feeding frenzy of distracted Webaholics. But how to get past the noise? How does someone get their message past the closed circles of friends and out to the general public? Here’s my take on things:
1) You actually need to have an interesting message. No one cares about how badly things are going from you (unless you have really juicy details, like the guy from iamfacingforclosure.com did). If it’s going to be personal, be prepared to make your life very, very public.
2) People’s time is getting sliced into smaller and smaller fractions. Give me the most information in the shortest amount of time possible. You probably haven’t read this far, because you’re busy websurfing on another open window. Video blogging seems to be the best way to go right now. Heck, just look at YouTube.
That’s all I can come up with for now. Hopefully i’ll try these things out, and see how they work
Let’s take a look at gas prices from a few years back, and current prices. Notice that the difference between gas grades remains the same: ten cents. Back in the day, a ten cent difference meant almost a tenth of your total gas purchase, but as we’re hitting 4 dollars a gallon, it really doesn’t matter much anymore.
I’d heard that premium gas was better for your car, and it would give you better gas mileage, so i decided to give it a try. My tank takes about 15 gallons, and when filled with regular gas, it gives me approximately 300 miles to the tank (20 mpg). Using the price from the Mobil picture, a full tank of regular gas would cost me $52.50, or 17 cents per mile driven. When I filled my tank with premium gas ( for 57 dollars), apart from getting a smoother-running engine, i got about 360 miles to the tank. This translates to 15 cents per mile driven. The added gas efficiency made the switch to premium gas worthwhile. Now, if I had done those calculations with the old prices, it wouldn’t have been such a big advantage– they both come out the same: 6 cents per mile driven.
So for 4.50 extra, I can have a cleaner running engine, and save money in the long run. I’m switching to premium.
I was browsing around, and I noticed this banner ad:
Well, what if I vote “No”? What would I want with this shirt then?
To soak in gasoline, maybe? To dress scarecrows?
These “Vote” advertisements get dumber every day.
What is the internet, really? When we get down to the tangible stuff of the internet, it’s nothing more than a bunch of pits and grooves on hard drives all over the world. But like any other abstract concept (like love, trust and freedom), the internet means many different things to different people. Here’s a breakdown by age:
Children 0-5 years old: The internet is what keeps them away from mommy. It’s like a TV, but with letters. And that’s kind of dumb, since Sesame Street isn’t on there.
6-10: Something amazing was discovered: Sesame Street IS on the internet! Mom just has to show you where it’s hiding! She types something in, and you can make Elmo sing and dance over and over AND OVER AGAIN FOREVER! This sometimes annoys mom, but that’s why it’s hilarious. The internet is an extension of the TV.
11-15:
With the ability to read and write comes the ability to get in on other people’s drama. The internet consists of three websites: Myspace (to hear about other people’s bizness), YouTube (for funny wipeout videos and the new “Soulja Boy” remix) and Wikipedia (for school research). The internet is a mix of TV for ADD-types, and an extension of the school hallways, where you can hurl insults at your inferiors, or gossip with your friends. AIM, MSN and Yahoo Instant Messenger have always existed. There is a little extension of the internet that lives on your cell phone. This extension is called “text messaging”.
16-20:
The internet is part of the daily currency of life, and is the final authority for everything. If you want to know if a company is legitimate or not, check their website. If there’s no website, there’s obviously a problem. When making a new friend, instead of jotting down email addresses, they only spell-check the full name, so they could “facebook” them.
20-30:
The internet is a way to make and save money. Internet jobs, internet specials, online textbook deals, they’re all ways for you to increase your cash flow. You can get rich posting videos, blogging, or web-surfing. If something is a certain price in a store, it’s most definitely half price on ebay. Music and videos are free on the internet, and free is good. Craigslist is an object of veneration.
30-40:
The internet can be confusing at times, but the gist of it is understood. It’s a place for lonely singles to meet, and for checking bank and stock trading accounts. Some remember the days when forms were filled out and mailed, but the internet is all about making things easier. It’s easier to pay your taxes, check your mail, stay in contact with family and read the paper.
New friends exchange email addresses
40-55:
The internet is like mailbox with a typewriter and screen. It zips emails off to other people’s online inboxes. There’s also a way to talk to other people for free , but it’s a little confusing (Skypipe, or something like that…) It’s good for sending some very funny stories to all of your friends, and for helping out little girls with cancer, just by forwarding the tragic news to everyone. Apparently, the American Cancer Society just wants you to forward the email, and they’ll give the poor girl three cents. The internet is a great philanthropic tool. ALSO, EMAILS ARE BEST UNDERSTOOD IN CAPS. THANK YOU. Any computer problem is automatically judged to be a virus. If the screen doesn’t turn on, it’s a virus. If the printer doesn’t print, it’s a virus. The internet is a wasps nest of viruses. Some people in this age group have discovered facebook, but cannot understand why their kids dont “friend” them.
New friends exchange phone numbers.
55-70:
The internet is what your children use when they print out pictures of your grandkids. There’s an air of mystery to it, but thankfully there are experienced people everywhere to help. If there’s ever a website that is listed on the nightly news or newspaper, write it down, and give it to someone who knows how to websurf. The younger someone is, the more they know about the internet. Then sit by them, and dictate what you want them to do (go down! wait, i’m reading! forget it, just print the website!”)
70+:
The internet is evil. There are scams everywhere. If a company has a website, be suspicious of it: they are up to no good. Senior citizens should not venture into the waters of the internet, no matter what, since they are preyed upon. Home computers, touchscreen pads and cell phones are threatening. The government is watching you through the computer. Stories of diseases, or “viruses” abound, and anything digital should be considered infected. Evil “hackers” will break into your house through the computer monitor.