“Something I would’ve never imagined was when I put all my life savings into the company, that it would have been an IPO at this level,” Saverin said.

“You never imagine that $30,000 accumulated through your life, through gifts and birthday parties and other events, and investing it in the company would create this type of returns.” 

As of 2012, Saverin owns less than 5% of Facebook’s shares and has a net worth of $2 billion, according to sources. He also invested in early-stage startups such as Qwiki and Jumio.

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If you have a savings at a Massachusetts bank, you may be wondering how you can ensure that your money will grow and that your account will be as profitable as possible. A savings bank account is primarily designed to help bank clients save their money for a certain goal and usually pays a higher interest rate than a checking account. 

One concern that many holders of savings bank accounts have is getting the best possible interest rate. To do this, all you need to do is to compare the different accounts offered by various financial institutions. Some pay higher interest rates than others and it is not uncommon for a bank to have a rate structure that increases the amount of interest paid depending on the balance that you keep in your account.

If making your money grow is your top priority, you may actually want to consider certain other banking options in addition to or in place of a savings account. Certificates of deposit, that you can purchase for a fixed amount starting at $500 and which are held for a certain period of time, ranging from 6 months to 5 years, normally offer better interest rates than a savings account. They are also guaranteed, so unlike stocks or mutual funds they are not liable to losing value. But the downside is that you may not be able to withdraw any money before the term of the certificate of deposit is up and even when that’s allowed, you may be charged penalties.

If you also hold a checking account at a Massachusetts bank, see if there are any automatic savings plans available. These will help you save money by automatically transferring a certain amount over to your savings account from your checking account each month, or a small amount of your choice (usually between $1 and $10) every time you make a checking account transaction.

Even though as of late, banks are trying to cut down on the amount of “gifts” that they give to their customers, promotions that could be advantageous to you have not disappeared from the banking would altogether. You will find that some banks can offer you a certain cash bonus if you open a savings account with them, deposit a certain amount of money and maintain your balance for a period of time. Certain banks may also offer discounts on banking packages and other products if you have more than one type of account with them, such as waiving the annual fee on some of their credit cards or giving a reduction on the monthly fee for checking accounts

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A recent report published by The Star shows some details of the government accounting that happened during the 2008 – 2009 financial crisis. Many people, both ordinary individuals and experts in finance and economics have been very happy to see that Canada did not need massive bailouts to save banks and other businesses, like what happened in the United States. However, big Canadian banks have still received billions of dollars during the whole crisis. 

A report by the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives has given us some numbers about how much banks have borrowed from the government. It indicates that there was an estimated $75 billion that was borrowed by the largest financial institutions in Canada in the form of short term loans. These funds were borrowed either from the Bank of Canada or the U.S. Federal Reserve. Additionally, banks have also sold of more than $70 billion of insured mortgage backed securities to the Canadian government as a way to reduce their risk exposure and provide some needed funding.

The report went on to note that these amounts were not gifts from the government, but rather loans. All of the funds were repaid in full. However, David Macdonald, the author of the report for the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives has stated that while all of the loans have been now paid back in full without the government eating any losses, it should be clearly known that banks have relied on public financing in a major way during the crisis, where private funds were much more difficult for financial institutions to access.

It should be known that some of the government accounting details behind the loans to the banks have been kept secret by both the government and the banks involved, therefore some parts of the report are based on estimates formulated by some economic and banking industry experts. Even though the economic crisis has been less felt in Canada than in the United States and the European Union, some have expressed concern about the loans made to banks. The report did state that in order to have a healthy financial system even in times where the economy is doing very poorly, the system cannot be based on one where massive government support happens to banks and the finer details of the loans remain secrets. The Federal Government, however, has maintained that the banking system in Canada is one of the safest in the world, regardless of economic climate. They have gone to show that none of Canada’s major banks have failed or had to be rescued from certain bankruptcy like what has happened in the United States and some European countries.

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On Sunday, Avon announced that it would look at Coty’s latest offer but respond within a week. 

Coty, the world’s largest fragrance company that made fragrances for Madonna and Beyonce, offered to buy Avon products Inc. for about $10 billion last month.   

But the Coty’s offer was refused by the cosmetic direct seller, which is known in the U.S. for its “Avon Ladies” who sell products door to door to friend and family. 

Coty, which is known for its fragrances and nail products, got 57 percent of its $4.1 billion in sales in fiscal 2011 from perfumes. 

“This continued delay and unwillingness to engage in discussions is disappointing,” Coty Chairman Bart Becht said in a letter to Avon’s board that was released in a statement. 

“It is time for Coty Inc. to move on and pursue other opportunities.”

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Government accounting is accounting for different departments done both internally and externally. It can be done at the federal, state and local level. This type of accounting uses the double entry system of accounting journals and ledgers.

The government is one of the nonprofit organizations whose main aim is to offer services to its citizens and maintain good provision of resources. It is therefore mandatory for the government to implement measures that ensure efficiency and accountability of its operations.

As a result, fund accounting is employed. To improve its functionality, the government also uses both private and public accountants as part of the control panel. Their main work is to make sure that the accounting procedures and elements are followed in different governmental units. They also ensure that the financial report given by the units are true and balancing.

Functions of government accounting

Government accounting gives a financial report that shows its operations. Some of these operations are like responding to different organizations or groups, citizens, creditors among others. The government can do this through its business entities. The entities monitor the work by collecting, interpreting and analysing data. This is possible because of the information produced in the governmental financial reports. Through this, the government is able to identify areas where they are overspending or under spending. It also uses it to check its consistency in its operations.

Objectives and visions of government accounting

The government can only achieve its objectives, vision and mission if this is properly laid down in a financial report of all its pre- and post-activities. The planned financial report should be within a range of wide and diverse objectives catering for both short and long term goals. Users of government financial reports should not have any difficulty in implementing any changes that need to take place. The objective of accountability is achieved by giving relevant information to its unit branches and users of annual financial reports that clarifies what should be done and at what time to enhance efficiency.

The structure of this type of accounting

Government fund accounting has different elements in its structure. The structure simplifies the work by breaking the whole system in small units whereby relevant information is entered into its corresponding unit. Some of the elements are; its hierarchy, measurement focus and basis of accounting, fund structure among and internal control structures. Government accountability deals with different areas to achieve it.

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“Target continually evaluates its product assortment to deliver the best quality and prices for our guests,” said Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder. 

“Target is phasing out Amazon- and Kindle-branded products in the spring of 2012. We will continue to offer our guests a full assortment of e-readers and supporting accessories, including the Nook.” 

Amazon became a bigger competitor since Target started selling Kindles in its stores two years ago. 

Target also offers Apple’s iPad online and in stores. All Kindles and related products will be out of stores by the end of this month, according to Molly Snyder. 

Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer. The company produces consumer electronics - notably the Amazon Kindle e-book reader - and is a major provider of cloud computing services.

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Total revenue slipped 2.1% to $32.4 billion in the first quarter. 

Meanwhile, Ford’s shares rose 1.2 percent to $11.87 at the close in New Yorkm, according to sources. 

Ford also said it lost the U.S. market share in April because it ratcheted back incentives too quickly. 

The company ended 2011 with net income of $13.6 billion, or $3.40 a share, compared with $190 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier.  

Ford announced today, along with its earnings, it will offer its 90,000 salaried retirees as well as U.S. salaried former employees’ due pensions to get them to voluntarily give up all rights to monthly payments. 

Ford is the second-largest U.S.-based automaker and the fifth-largest in the world based on annual vehicle sales, after Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen AG, and Hyundai Motor Group. 

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According to the Commerce Department the home sales fell 7.1 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 328,000 units, compared to 353,000 units in February that was the highest in two years, according to Commerce Department data issued Tuesday in Washington.  

Sales of new homes were 7.5 percent higher in March than they were a year earlier. 

The Commerce Department reported that sales price of new homes was $234,500 in March, down 1 percent from the February price. 

The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index showed that prices fell in February from January in 16 of the 20 cities it tracks. 

According to index, home prices dropped 0.8% from January to February, and 3.5% from February 2011. 

“Broadly-speaking, home prices continued to decline in the early months of the year,” said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices.

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YouTube was accused of copyright infringement in uploaded videos by German royalty collection group, GEMA. 

GEMA said in court that YouTube didn’t do enough to block copyright-protected music videos being posted. 

GEMA represents about 65,000 composers, authors and music publishers and the rights of more than a million copyright owners internationally whose works are used in Germany. 

Google argued that it has a system in place under which copyright holders could object and ask Google to remove copyrighted material from YouTube. 

“Today’s ruling confirms that YouTube as a hosting platform cannot be obliged to control the content of all videos uploaded to the site,” Google said. 

“The ruling is a partial success for the music industry in general, for our users as well as artists, composers, YouTube and other Web platforms in Germany.” 

GEMA sought to raise its fee charged to Youtube to 12 euro cents per streamed video, according to sources. 

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Read here - Rockland Trust Ranks Highest in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2012 Customer Satisfaction Study among All New England Banks

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