| Annual “Lambs to the Slaughter” ritual has begun
It's that time of the year again. Holiday spending was up another 5% this year to …. get this….. $457.4 Billion. As reported By Parija B. Kavilanz, CNNMoney.com staff writer in the article found here. That's right, billion with a “B". And, once the credit card bills begin to get delivered…. the slaughter will begin. Many might be thinking that I'm going to drone on about the high cost of credit, how long it will take to pay off those credit cards, fees, penalties, etc… Not this time. The ritual that I'm referring to is mortgage refinancing. Every year thousands of homeowners find themselves in a little trouble with last years spending habits. And this year many people are going to get the old Double Whammy with roughly 12% of adjustable mortgages coming due. Scratching their heads trying to figure out how they will make ends meet, refinancing (or debt consolidation) begins to look appealing.
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.
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.
Debt Management: Reduce Financial Worries, have Smooth Life
Summary: Debt management plans help you to reduce your debt and interest burden and live a smooth life. These plans merge your entire debts into a single low-interest and borrower-friendly loan plan. People who are struggling to pay multiple credit card bills or feel being caught in the debt trap should opt for immediate and effective financial solutions. These people should consider the loan plans available in the UK financial market to avoid paying accruing interest charges. Those who continue to struggle with mounting credit card debts are simply wasting their hard-earned money, if they continue to battle with unrealistic interest charges. A simple loan plan could take away the suffocating effects of using plastic money. The rescuing options for people in such situations are opting for consolidation plans and availing effective debt advices as offered by several financial institutions.
CityPac trade halt as shares halved
ONE of the country's biggest non-bank loan providers, City Pacific, has been placed in a trading halt after its shares lost half their value yesterday on fears that it will not be able to repay the bulk of a $240 million loan facility due next month. There are also concerns that its directors might face margin calls on their shares. City Pacific yesterday revealed it had to repay an instalment of $90 million to the Commonwealth Bank by the end of March, and another $149.9 million by the end of April. The remaining $100,000 is due by the end of May. City Pacific also has to stump up $49 million by April 4 for Mariners Cove, located in Southport, Queensland, which it agreed to buy from property group Ariadne last August. The deal was meant to be finalised in February but City Pacific announced it would be delayed until April, without explaining why.
Valad quells takeover talk
VALAD Property Group is entering a strategic alliance with another party that may involve the issue of Valad securities but will not involve a full takeover of the property investor. Valad securities were placed in a trading halt today at the request of the company after they rose over 15 per cent on Friday on takeover speculation. "The trading halt is necessary as an announcement is expected to be made with respect to a proposed strategic alliance," Valad said in a statement to the Australian stock exchange. "The proposed terms of the strategic alliance will not involve a whole company offer being made for Valad but may involve an issue of securities by Valad," it added. Valad said it expected to make an announcement before 9am (AEDT) tomorrow. Reynolds & Co director Markus Muller said the motives of the company were wide open.
Brent Boyer: Good news — more content
Dave's Sunday Outdoors page is one of the most popular sections of our newspaper, and I'm happy to report Shively isn't going anywhere. He has been named our first full-time magazine reporter, assuming responsibility for much of the editorial content in At Home in Steamboat Springs magazine as well as our other magazine products, including Explore Steamboat, Yampa Valley Real Estate and Colorado Hunter. Dave's new phone number is (970) 879-7762. His e-mail address is dshively@steamboatpilot.com. Two additional staff updates worth noting: Steamboat Springs High School senior Katie Birch is doing a reporting internship at the newspaper. She's already had one story published, and we'll push her to continue producing one story a week throughout the remainder of the second semester.
Britney Spears
Sam Lutfi was finally served the restraining order yesterday that effectively requires him to stay 250 feet from Britney Spears and have no contact with her whatsoever. The restraining order was set to expire today, but the judge in the case extended it to March 17, according to the AP: In court papers, Jeffrey Wexler, an attorney for her father, James Spears, wrote that "after three weeks of apparently evading service," Lutfi was served at 11 a.m. outside his Los Angeles apartment.
The order, which requires Lutfi to stay 250 yards away from Spears and her home, was set to expire Friday. Wexler had asked for the order to be extended. Poor Sam Lutfi. He must miss Britney Spears. I bet he walks in on random pap smears just to remember the good times. Surprisingly none of the women really cared until Sam started throwing Cheetos at them and screaming "Where's the checkbook?! I'll feed you to Satan!" Then it got a little weird.
Egypt Today Archives
Sharm, on the other hand, was where the better coiffed set hung out. Dahab was a place you traveled to by bus; Sharm had the airport. You went to Dahab to smoke up; down in Sharm, they sipped Chivas. Hammada El-Tawil owns a dive center on El-Fanaar Street in Dahab. He came here 20 years ago when it was a palm-lined beach with a few huts and a makeshift bar-cum-restaurant called the Hard Rock Café. Intending to stay for a week, Hammada ended up trading in the Honda 750 he rode for a half share in the Hard Rock. He stayed on, serving up omelets and beer on the beach, for nine months. Things, however, have changed since those days. The place was clean and people were clean, he says. They came for the nature, for the air and the sea; things are different now. Theres lots of cheating now.
Equities seen flat-to-lower on weak global cues
MUMBAI: Equities are seen opening flat-to-lower Tuesday, with losses on Wall Street and Asian indices weighing on sentiment.
US stocks ended lower overnight after brokerages downgraded banks and credit card companies on signs consumers are falling behind on debt payments, hinting at the shaky state of the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 109.17 points, or 0.86 per cent, at 12,634.02, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 14.54 points, or 1.04 per cent, at 1,380.88 and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 30.51 points, or 1.26 per cent, at 2,382.85.
Asian stocks also declined as a lower profit forecast from Olympus Corp, Japan's third-largest maker of digital cameras, and downgrades of Posco and South Korean shipbuilders by Goldman Sachs projected a weak outlook for regional earnings.
|
