If you've ever wanted to know how to become a billionaire, Sam Zell is the person to tell you how. In the real estate field, many individuals have longed strive to earn millions through investing in property. For beginners, it is important however to understand the market, particularly if you have no prior experience.

Billionaire investing real estate mogul Sam Zell, who made his fortune in US property, has announced that he is now shunning US real estate investment in favor of opportunities in India and Colombia. Zell has favored international properties over US deals for the past few years, as he will pursue commercial real estate deals in Colombia and eventually try to get in on the residential market in that country as well. In India, Zell will focus his investments in the booming hotel market.

According to Zell, Colombia is a rising star in Latin America and India is fertile ground for hotel and motel chain expansion. He plans to base his hotel investment in India on the Residence Inn at Marriott model and expand the chain nationwide. Zell, the co-founder of Chicago based Equity International, has a lot of experience in overseas investment with prior projects in Brazil, Mexico and China.

Many businesses highly rely on the common postal service to ensure that products and services are delivered to consumers all over the world. For businesses in Canada, this is very important. This is particularly for businesses who offer their products and services online. Although there are many companies and small businesses who offer their services offline, there is still an option to have your consumer products shipped directly to you.

Small businesses Canada have the most to lose from a strike by Canada Post workers. It's estimated that the strike may be costing as much as $250 a day per company on average, despite the increasing use of email and private courier services. Many small businesses still rely on Canada Post services, and if the strike is prolonged or spreads nationwide it will cause even more disruption.

The cumulative effect will be less serious then postal strikes in the past due to the more numerous alternatives today, but many sectors of the economy will still be hurt and and many different types of firms will take a hit. Canada Post workers downed tools in Winnipeg late last week after unions and management failed to reach agreement over working conditions. The strike is expected to spread to Hamilton, Ontario this weekend as well.

For just 100 Euros, any investor can buy into the Liechtenstein-based Classic Car fund launched in February by the Zurich-based Count of Custoza family office. It may sound too good to be true, but with the recent recession, there have been many antique car dealers opening up to offer one of a kind unique cars for a fraction of the price. The fund aims to buy 350 million Euros worth of beautiful antique cars within 5 years, and has an annual target return of 17%.

This may sound unrealistic, but the fact is that the prices fetched by the more exotic classic cars have more than doubled in the last decade or so. Not to mention that the fund has some heavyweights on board including experts from Sotheby's and Christie's. Classic cars are a global business these days.

In America, it was the baby-boomers who kick-started this market by buying up muscle cars from their youth like the Mustang Boss, Chevy Chevelle, Corvette Stingray, Plymouth 'Cuda and Shelby GT500 competition cars. But today, wealthy people all over the world who are unnerved by the volatility of normal investment markets are looking for alternative assets like classic cars that have genuine tangible, long-term value.

The market for investment has been growing with a range of possibilities emerging. Qatar for example, is currently hot in the media topic as it is settling deals with other international multimillion dollar companies. This has been a deal that many companies have expected to happen in the last couple of years due to the growth of the company.

Qatar is a prime emerging market investment destination, which had the world's highest economic growth rate in 2010 at 19.4%. With a population of 1.4 million and very low unemployment, it is not your average emerging market, yet it technically is still considered a frontier market.

This distinction is drawing investor's attention, because next month the index provider MSCI will be announcing whether the gas and oil rich nation's stock exchange will be upgraded from 'frontier' to 'emerging' status. The prospect for such an upgrade is just one of the reasons why investors are flocking to Qatari stocks, which they expect to make further gains should an upgrade occur.

The country has been under review for several years, but has failed to make the cut before due to restrictions on foreign ownership of companies that have not been significantly reformed. For more information you can read about the latest investment progressions here.

On the typical fund raising pitch for the startup of businesses Austin tech incubator Capital Factory is organizing an event "ATX in NYC," It is especially to raise fund by selling ideas for the start up of new business. There are 16 Austin companies which are heading to New York within a week. It expects to draw a couple of hundred attendees, including angel investors and venture capitalists. Such events for new startup business are frequent happenings in Austin, hosted by groups like the Central Texas Angel Network, Texas Entrepreneur Network and TIE Austin. Greenling Organic Delivery, which delivers organic produce and other goods to area customers, is making the trip to raise money to startup their expansion at national level has already raised $1.5 million from angel investors previously.

Intuit has recently reported its Small Business Employment Index, a study conducted over the period from September 24, 2011 to October 23, 2011. For the study, small businesses with less than 20 employees that use Intuit Online Payroll have been taken as the sample population. The research represents three categories: small business employment, compensation and number of hours worked. According to the research findings, small business employment increased by 0.14% in October and generated 30,000 new jobs. The study revealed that despite this annual growth of 1.7%, a decrease of 0.2% in number of working hours indicated that the employees are working for lesser hours and the declined in compensation by 0.06% showed less income for them. Clearly, the soft labor market indicates that the small businesses have been victim of the European economy downfall and the Greek bond default.

There are many different types of loans available for different purposes. The loan process typically begins with a paper or online application. At a minimum, applicants applying for loans will need identification resources like a drivers license or passport, employment information, asset information, social security number, banking information and personal addresses for the past five to ten years. Other information that is often required includes a list of companies the applicant has established credit with and the balances left on those loans.

Underwiting Criteria

The institution making the loan uses the loan application to determine whether the risk associated with making a particular loan is worth the potential interest income that will be earned. Most lending institutions have underwriters that evaluate the risk of making a particular loan. Company underwriters use a set of specific standards to either approve or deny a loan. Compensating factors that often influence the approval or denial of a loan include collateral considerations, income, credit score and personal stability related to time on the job and at a particular residence.

While every loan application is different depending on the lender, there are certain requirements that almost all lenders are seeking to fulfill. Lenders evaluate applications trying to discern whether an applicant has the ability to repay the loan. By evaluating applicant credentials, lenders also decide whether the prospective applicant is likely to repay the loan based on previous behavior. Applicants should provide lenders any information that demonstrates credit worthiness and financial stability.

Collateral

Loans are categorized as collateralized loans or unsecured loans. Offering substantial collateral in order to obtain a loan can persuade a lender to grant a loan, since the collateral offered minimizes the perceived risk accepted by the lender. Most car loans and home loans are considered collaterized loans since the terms stipulate that the car or home is considered as collateral. What this means to the applicant is that if they do not make payments as specified in the terms of the loan, then the lender has the right to repossess the car or home, respectively.

Collateral that can be used to secure a loan can be anything that is valuable and easily liquidated. Different lending institutions accept a variety of collateral. Cash in savings accounts, CDs, cars, life insurance policies and other assets can be offered as collateral to persuade a lender to make the loan. The most attractive collateral is typically whatever is easily liquidated.

Co-signors

Another resource that a loan applicant can use to obtain a loan is a co-signor. A co-signor is a credit-worthy person who will sign the loan papers with the applicant sharing responsibility for repayment of the loan. For people who are trying to establish credit for the first time, or for people with bad credit, having a co-signor can make the difference between being approved or rejected for a loan.

Conclusion

Applying for a loan takes patience. Getting all of your paperwork together to verify income, assets and work and residential stability is the first step to be taken before applying for a loan. Applicants can increase the likelihood of obtaining a loan by supplying a credit-worthy co-signor or acceptable collateral.