Electronic Arts , the second largest pure video game publisher in the world, made headlines this week when it surprisingly emerged as the second largest social game maker on the Internet, trailing only behind industry leader Zynga. Electronic Arts had previously purchased Playfish and PopCap, both dominant game makers on Facebook, for $250 million and $750 million, respectively. This week, it announced that its new Facebook game, The Sims Social an online version of its best-selling Sims franchise had become the fastest growing social game ever, reaching a total of 4.6 million active users within a week. Combined with its other games, Electronic Arts now boasts 34.6 million active users on Facebook and other social gaming networks.

The companys social games also include venerable franchises such as Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies. Electronic Arts has a total of 72.3 million registered social gaming users across the Internet, which is still a third of market leader Zyngas 275.4 million users, but EAs gains have definitely caught the markets attention.

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Debt mangement plan is very essential if you want to take control of your finances. It is common for most Americans have more than one credit card. The maps were very accessible than almost anyone from all walks of life can afford. However, some simply do not have the discipline to use that plastic card with wisdom that many suffer from overwhelming debt problems.

Everyone should remember that the credit of any kind, small or large, if poorly managed, always leads to interest costs on the rise. We’ve listed some effective measures in managing the credit card debt to help you avoid getting stuck in your debt.

Gather all your bills and statements of credit will keep you informed of your credit report. Read more…

Its no secret that I love Vanguard. In fact, with the exception of two employer-related retirement accounts that are held at Fidelity, we do all of our investing at Vanguard. I was thus pleased to see that theyve added the ability to make same-day mutual fund trades when transferring money in from a linked bank account.

Same-day trades with electronic bank transfers Now you can get todays trade date if you use our electronic bank transfer service to buy a Vanguard mutual fund. Just submit your request on business days before the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time) and youll receive that days closing price.

Theyve apparently been rolling this out gradually for awhile but, as of last week, its available to everyone. While the vast majority of our investing happens through automatic (pre-scheduled) transfers, its certainly nice to have a bit of added flexibility.

The old rule was that, if you bought (with outside funds from a linked bank account) by 10PM Eastern on a particular day*, youd get the next days trade date (and closing price).

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They say nothing is certain in life but death and taxes. When you’re a homeowner, that statement includes property taxand potentially paying more of it if your property’s value is re-assessed by the county auditor’s office.

While counties vary in how and when property values are re-assessed, most have a process that takes place at least every five to eight years. You’ll know it’s underway when you receive notification from the county auditor’s office by mail. If you’ve been paying taxes on the inflated home values that dominated the market before the housing bubble burst, your notification may actually lead to a lower tax payment.

Nevertheless, despite the continued lull in the housing market’s recovery, some homeowners are receiving news from their county auditor that property values are slated for an increase. As a result, property taxes go up, too. Here is an expl

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Hurricane Irene left many people on the east coast dumbfounded about how to financially deal with the natural disaster. While there were not as many human casualties as expected and the storm was relatively milder than many predicted; the weak hurricane/tropical storm combination took out a lot of vital infrastructure. It is estimated that the damage left by Irene will cost between $7 billion and $10 billion. Residents of the eastern seaboard were left without financial restitution and didn’t know how to properly financially prepare for the aftermath.

What if Irene had been a more violent storm? The entire population of the US would be in trouble because the financial hubs and firms that make our stock picks are clustered along the Atlantic. Here are some vital things to take care of if you are worried about a disaster knocking out power or crippling our infrastructure:

Insurance

Most of the damage caused to homes during Hurricane Irene was not covered by insurance because most of the damage was not caused by wind, but by flood. L

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 CENTRAL BANK CHOOSES SLOWER GROWTH OVER HIGHER INFLATION

By Aaron Chaze

Indian stock exchanges are performing poorly in 2011

With inflation hitting 9.4%, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has become the most proactive central bank in Asia for monetary tightening. It raised its repurchase rate 11 times since January 2010, the last was a 50 basis points rise on July 26—to 8%. The government is targeting inflation of between 5% and 6%—down from 9%. The RBI said recently it would prefer slower economic growth to higher inflation. India’s benchmark wholesale price inflation accelerated to 9.44% in June. The RBI maintains its GDP growth forecast of 8% for the fiscal year 2011–2012, a slight decrease from the 8.5% growth seen in 2011–2010.

Given the steady increase in borrowing costs and the expectation of another 50 basis point increase in interest rates before the end of the calendar year, the outlook has continued to weaken for Indian equities. Indian equity

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