| Britons Face Billion-Pound Interest Payback
One in four people is struggling with their debts as Britons collectively face a 93bn annual bill for interest. At the same time, around three million people have taken out a debt consolidation loan to try to get on top of their borrowings. Borrowing through credit cards, loans, overdrafts and mortgages has hit almost 1.4 trillion, according to comparison website uSwitch.com. An estimated 9.5m people had "maxed out" on one form of credit during the past six months, while 38% have had a credit card application rejected, the group claims. But nearly two-thirds of these failed to close down their existing credit facilities, and instead went on to rack up a further 2,300 of debt on average. Overall, the research found that the average household has now amassed unsecured debts of 4,281.
Killer or hero? Let's wait for facts before we pass judgment
If you believe marijuana should be legal, call your state legislator and demand that it be decriminalized. Don't blame the cops for enforcing Virginia's laws. I don't know if Ryan Frederick is guilty of murder or of anything else. Neither do you. None of us has all the facts. So here's a thought: What do you say we all hold our fire until the defendant goes on trial? Kerry Dougherty, (757) 446-2306, kerry.dougherty@cox.net .
Life with Diana 'would have been hell'
It was only when I heard the news on the radio that I learned about Dodi," Khan said. "I think she wanted to be with someone who was happy to be seen with her in public and she could do that with Dodi." Khan said he thought Diana realised that al-Fayed "could give her all the things I could not. He had money and could provide the necessary security for her". French and British police investigations have both concluded the deaths were tragic accidents caused by their speeding chauffeur who was found to have been drunk. Both inquiries rejected al-Fayed's conspiracy theories. Reuters/AP/AFP .
The Lynch effect has Autonomy bubbling up
On Friday, the company will update the market and investors are expecting even more good news.
It is the leader in a rapidly growing market offering companies technology to search and archive unstructured data - the "human-friendly" information locked in formats such as e-mails, voicemail, and video footage, rather than the more easily searchable databases of the past.
Last year, Autonomy added Boeing, Shell, Oracle and News Corporation to an already impressive client list. Analysts now rave about the company. Almost half the houses covering it rate the shares a strong buy despite their sky-high multiple of almost 50 times next year's earnings. It was not always thus. Autonomy was one of the poster-children of both the dotcom boom and bust.
Wild Card/Vacation Day 11 of 12
Only two more shopping days until I return to the final days of the City Council campaigns. Then, we'll have fun taking apart the campaigns. Any dirt yet? Any mudslinging. You know, the good stuff. Or is everyone behaving? My wife is now looking over my shoulder -- literally -- so I have to pretend that I'm just checking ball scores. See ya in two days. Here's Wild Card ... .
Kerry's drowning in debt
WAYWARD Kerry Katona is on the brink of going bust after blowing a fortune on cocaine, booze, partying and flash cars. Despite being on TV EVERY night in Iceland's I'm A Celebrity ads, the hard-up star is drowning in a tsunami of debt. The taxman alone wants 200,000 by the end of the year and if she can't find the money she's facing bankruptcy. In desperation Kerry and her husband, former drug dealer Mark Croft, have now hired a team of professional insolvency advisers to help them DODGE bankruptcy court, AVOID paying the huge sum, and DUCK 60,000 of loans and credit card bills. But the experts fear that is just the tip of the iceberg and the true total of the former Atomic Kitten's debts could top 1MILLION. Even with the Inland Revenue off her back, Kerryexpecting her fourth childcould STILL be made bankrupt by other creditors and lose her 1.2m home and fleet of luxury cars.
Hoke presented at Builders' Show in Fla
David Hoke, a partner with BLF Marketing, was a featured presenter at the 2008 International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla. About 100,000 housing professionals turned out for the industry's largest annual trade show and exposition, at the Orange County Convention Center, Feb. 13-16. .
Exclusive Reports
Joseph acquisition [Monday] Baskin-Robbins to expand in Cincinnati [Monday] Site Selection mag ranks Ohio, Cincinnati tops for development [Monday] First Franklin-Oak Hill branch deal dies [Monday] Hillenbrand announces tender offer for senior notes [Monday] Articles with the ( ) icon are for Print Subscribers only. .
Benazir’s Haryana Connection
NH-1, one of the busiest roads of the country that passes though Haryana, is also considered as the highway corridor connecting north India with the national capital. Due to heavy vehicular traffic, the stretch is among the most accident prone zone of the region. The police said during the year-end, the highways, particularly the GT Road, experienced an increase of 10 per cent in vehicular traffic, which included travellers from New Delhi moving mainly towards HP for Christmas and New Year celebrations. Scores of these commuters often indulge in drunken driving, sources said. Additional inspector general of police (NH) Rajpal Singh said a written communication had been faxed to all SPs to undertake a special drive on December 31 against drunken driving. Every year, a large number of people loose their lives due to irresponsible motoring and drunken driving was one of the major factors responsible for fatal accidents, he added.
RBA lifts rates by .25 percent and it will hurt, says Rudd
PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd says the latest rise in official interest rates will be a double blow for family budgets still struggling with last month's increase. "Today's news is a double blow for the family budget," he told reporters in Canberra. "Two rate rises will hurt working families." Homebuyers will have to find an extra $50 a month for the average mortgage after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its official cash rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to 7.25 per cent, following today's monthly central bank board meeting. The move to the highest level in 12 years was widely tipped by economists, given the RBA's concern about a worsening inflation outlook. Last month, the RBA raised rates by a quarter of a percentage point as well. How much monthly mortgage repayments will increase after today's interest rate rise, assuming a new standard variable mortgage rate of 9.20 per cent on a 25-year loan.
|
