| 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.
BHP boss dismisses China's Rio raid
BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers has brushed off Chinalco's share raid on Rio Tinto, saying the company's takeover can be completed without the support of the Chinese aluminium giant. Describing Friday's share raid as an "interesting development", Mr Kloppers said the improved offer for Rio Tinto was "favourable" to the target's shareholders, including Chinalco. But Mr Kloppers was adamant the takeover could be completed without the support of Chinalco and its junior US partner in the raid, Alcoa. "By the terms of our offer, absolutely," he told told journalists during a conference call today. "I think the offer terms are very favourable to all the Rio Tinto shareholders, and indeed Chinalco as well," he added. China's state-owned Chinalco and Alcoa teamed to secure a 12 per cent stake in Rio Tinto's UK shares on Friday for $US14 billion ($15.63 billion).
Minutemen question Carlsbad's farmworker shelter funding
These guys on capital hill think the major issue affecting Americans is DRUGS in the sporting world. The government knows what the issues affecting millions of Americans but are to cowardly to face the issues. I don't know about you, but if I had an employee who REFUSED to do his job he would be gone in less than a minute. These bozos on capitol hill better start realizing the Americans are ticked and APRIL 15th is coming up! As in Jorges own words, heck you can't expect me to lock up 12 million non paying tax payers can you? Tuck wrote on Mar 5, 2008 6:21 AM:When is the protest?- Carlsbad Resident wrote on Mar 5, 2008 6:30 AM:Why not use the 2 million to make up for what the state is going to take from our schools. It makes no sense to fire teachers and then give 2 million for a homeless shelter.- shelter wrote on Mar 5, 2008 6:57 AM:For decades now the strawberry workers next to I5 have had to live in outdoor camps and had these camps destroyed yearly when the season was over.
Financial institutions cashing out of ATMs
Duncan Dewar did something unusual recently: He got cash from an automated teller machine.
"I use the debit card whenever possible," the 31-year-old Winthrop, Mass., resident said after a stop at a Citizens Bank ATM on Milk Street in Boston.
Millions of other consumers are doing the same thing — last year the number of ATMs in the United States fell 9 percent, the first big drop since the devices were introduced in the 1970s. The percentage of cash-payment transactions in the United States also is falling.
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Blotter: ‘Secret shopper’ paid in faux money orders
A woman who lives on Melton Road near Justin told Denton County sheriff's deputies that she applied for a "secret shopper" job in a newspaper advertisement and received two bogus money orders in the mail. The woman said she was supposed to deposit the money orders in her account and then wire money through a local wire service. She was supposed to document her experience with the wire service and send the information to the "secret shopper" company, according to the packet she got in the mail. Over a period of time, she received two money orders for $2,850 each. She used the first money order before being notified by her bank that it was counterfeit and her account was being debited. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were notified, since the money orders came from Canada.
Local artist performs tasks on demand on her Web site
Imagine letting perfect strangers order you around, mess with your head and demand that you do stupid, demeaning things just so they can laugh at you. After a while, even the most compliant souls would likely rebel.
But not Rebecca Nagle, a sweet-faced, 21-year-old senior at the Maryland Institute College of Art, who's given new meaning to the phrase video on demand.
Make a request on her Web site and she'll do just about anything you ask - within reason - in a 15-minute video made just for you.
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Yahoo may consider an alliance with Google
Yahoo management is considering revisiting talks it held with Google several months ago on an alliance as an alternative to Microsoft's bid, that source said. At $31 a share, Yahoo believes the bid undervalues the company, two sources said. A second source close to Yahoo said it had received a procession of preliminary contacts by media, technology, telephone and financial companies. But the source said they were unaware whether any alternative bid was in the offing.
In a memo to Yahoo employees on Friday, Yahoo leaders wrote: “We want to emphasise that absolutely no decisions have been made — and, despite what some people have tried to suggest, there's certainly no integration process underway." Few natural bidders exist besides Google that could engage in a bidding war, and Google would be unlikely to win approval from antitrust regulators, some Wall Street analysts said on Friday.
OGRA asks govt to allow setting up of new CNG stations
ISLAMABAD: Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has asked the government to allow setting up of CNG stations for which provisional licences have already have been issued, to save billions of rupees investment made, till date across the country.
OGRA has issued around 6,000 CNG provisional licences for opening of CNG stations since 2003 and these provisional licence holders have been asked to wait for the next decision of the government. The further work on provisional licences for opening CNG stations has been stopped as the government has also banned the transfer of machinery to the provisional licence holders after February 6, 2008.
Sources further said that following the directions of Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro, OGRA has also stopped the extension in the provisional licences.
A very wide loophole for unsolicited cards
"I have never shopped at Wal-Mart, have never owned a Discover Card, and have never requested a Discover Card," Molldrem said. "I get credit card offers multiple times a week, and I usually just throw them in the trash without reviewing them carefully. This one looked like a typical credit card offer, but my husband opened it up while I was out of town and to his shock, it contained a fully functional card." Tossing a fully functional card out could expose the couple, Molldrem said, to anyone picking through the trash and activating the card. Wondering how the company could get her name and why it would expose people to security risks, Molldrem said the couple called the customer service number given on the back of the card. Molldrem said she was told that Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
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