| Credit card industry tries to hook young people
All major banking institutions pay big money to colleges and universities for on-campus recruiting rights, offering students low initial interest rates and/or other sweetheart deals if they accept a credit card. The rest of us get solicitations through our phone or the mails.Seductive sales campaigns focus on high school graduates and for all kinds of items that TV, movies or society has told them they want, need, should have because they deserve it and others have, so why don't they? Car dealers offer "one-time sales events" to first-time wage earners, high-end electronic stores give 90-day-same-as-cash deals and guarantee that no one will be turned down, furniture showrooms offer newlyweds "no payments 'til next year," cell phones, Internet providers, cable companies, satellite dish outfits all make it sound as if you can't have a decent life without their help.All this has given birth to an additional parasite - the debt-consolidation, paycheck-cashing, payday-loan, instant-refinancing-of-your-car (and you get to keep your car - 'til they come to take it away) industry.Public schools teach kids how to drive, play sports, fit a condom, take birth control pills, find an abortionist or fill out a job application at McDonald's.
Cape & Islands News
Regardless, Gulf of Mexico estuaries are proportionally less impacted than those in the heavily populated Mid-Atlantic. The Pacific region has very little nutrient load data available, making it difficult to provide an overall assessment. In looking ahead, the report predicts that conditions in 65 percent of the nation's estuaries are likely to worsen in the next decade, while only 20 percent will improve. The remaining 15 percent will remain unchanged. Read the complete NOAA report here. .
Sampson's self-destruction leaves fans asking "Why?"
Considering how successful he had been up to the moment he resigned in disgrace last week, it's hard not to think he had at least 10 more good years of major Division I coaching in him if he chose. So go ahead, do the math. Sampson would have stroked a $500,000 check to make it all go away in a heartbeat. Cheating in sports, large and small, is nothing new. However today's incredible fortunes available for those who win, or hit an extra 20 home runs per summer, make getting that "cheaters edge" even more tempting. Perhaps the cheater, once he's stooped to the level of cutting corners, starts to rationalize in his own mind the acts he's committing. Perhaps then, and only then, does he lose sight of just how much he endangered his fortune, reputation and legacy.
Jeff Thelen's Blog
Do you have any ideas to save money? We ran a couple of stories this week talking about the tough economic times that could lie ahead. And we heard some great advice from experts and the people putting them into action. They say you need to write down a budget and stick with it. Save money and take advantage of your 401k plan as much as possible. Other advice is find hobbies that don't cost as much money (play basketball instead of buying video games) cut down on your number of stops per week at your favorite high end coffee shop and read stuff off the internet instead of subscribing to a magazine. So, do you have any ideas? Feel free to share them. You know what to do. J Respond to Jeff's blog here: Jeff, I saw the clip on "Hunters Coalition Against Earn-A-Buck" and am looking for contact info.
Investigation Over 9/11 Teachings
On the radio show and in an interview with a Wisconsin newspaper, Barrett said that he would share his views in class (noting that he would also share what he considers the official, whitewashed version of the events). Madison officials and educators elsewhere typically have an easier job defending the right of professors to espouse views that are widely seen as lies if those views aren’t shared in class. Northwestern University, for example, has repeatedly resisted calls to fire Arthur R. Butz, an engineering professor who is a Holocaust denier, but who doesn’t discuss the Holocaust in class. In his announcement that Barrett’s plans for the fall course would be reviewed, Farrell stressed the fact that Barrett had talked about views he would share in class. "Mr.
Visa sees IPO of $406 million Class A shares at $37-$42 each
SAN FRANCISCO: Visa Inc, the world's largest credit-card network, on Monday registered its initial public offering of 406 million Class A shares at an estimated price of $37 to $42 per share.
The company estimated that net proceeds of the sale would come to about $15.6 billion, assuming the mid point of the offer range.
In an amended filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said JP Morgan Securities, Goldman Sachs, Banc of America Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, HSBC Securities, and Merrill Lynch, among others, were underwriting the IPO.
The San Francisco-based company said it applied for a New York Stock Exchange listing under the symbol "V." .
Creative Reaches 25 Million MP3 Player Milestone
MILPITAS, Calif., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Creative, a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products, today announced that it has now shipped a total of 25 million MP3 players. Creative is recognized as number two in global unit shipments in the IDC March 2007 report on worldwide and U.S. flash and HDD-based portable media player shipments. "Shipment of 25 million MP3 players marks a major milestone in Creative history, as our player unit volume exceeds the combined unit sales from some of the biggest names in consumer electronics," said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. "We believe that we now have our strongest lineup of MP3 and portable media players ever, as we continue to innovate with our recently introduced ZEN(R) Stone, ZEN Stone Plus, and the credit card-sized ZEN." Creative shipped its first NOMAD flash memory-based player in 1999, and in 2000 launched the Creative NOMAD Jukebox high-capacity hard drive-based player, stealing headlines all over the world.
How to navigate the cellphone maze
We'd like to hear your tips for getting satisfaction from the phone companies. What kind of problems have you had, and how did you get them resolved? Or did you get them resolved? « Previous Post | Main | Next Post » This discussion is now Open. Submit your Comment. .
Woolworths shares jump on huge profit result
THE nation's largest retailer Woolworths has booked a 28 per cent increase in first-half profit to almost $900 million, sending its shares back over $30. Woolworths this week confirmed that it expects net profit for fiscal 2008 to grow by 19 per cent to 23 per cent. The company also announced that it would partner investment bank HSBC to launch a branded credit card late in calendar 2008. Woolworths booked a $891.3 million net profit in the 27 weeks ended to December 30, compared to $695.6 million in the prior corresponding period. Investors were happy with the result. Woolworths shares jumped 3.62 per cent, or $1.05, to $30.06 by 11.01am AEDT. "This is clearly a strong result and one that reflects the momentum for sustained profitable growth that exists in our business," chief executive Michael Luscombe said.
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