1-17-2009 (Sat Afternoon) Fin. & Econ. Activity

At least 21,000 jobs were targeted for elimination yesterday as employers from Hertz Global Holdings Inc. to Advanced Micro Devices Inc ... -parts division. Hertz, the second-largest U.S. rental-car company, said it will cut more than 4,000 jobs ... by trading losses on mortgage bonds, the bank faces credit-card losses that surged to a record [more...]

Date: 2009-01-17 18:27:49

Blog posts (594) | Videos (253)
 

Jon Henley reports on the pitiful state of the British pension system

A hundred years ago next month, half a million eldery people popped down to their local post office and collected, for the very first time, a state pension. It wasn't a lot - five bob a week, about £20 now - and there were strings attached: you had to be one of the 5% then aged over 70, and enjoy a weekly income of less than 12 shillings [more...]

Date: 2008-12-19 08:22:25

From Bad To Worse To Horrible To Holy Crap!

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “After years of making Canadians feel steadily richer, ... said even more cases are coming as banks take bad loans off their books. ‘That’s when we’ll see why these loans went so bad, and there will be criminal investigations,’ said Curt Novy, a California [more...]

Date: 2008-11-14 20:26:25

Meet a self-described “bank terrorist”

Revolting (h/t: Moonbattery): Bruce Marks, founder of the leftist Neighborhood Assistance Corp ... “easy lending.” Listen to NACA’s pitch: “Come to NACA, and regardless of how bad your credit ... , while increasing the number of mortgages it restructures by lowering interest rates and extending loan [more...]

Date: 2008-11-20 23:53:27

Emotional, financial and legal advice on surviving redundancy

Keep calm Remember you're not alone Redundancy can be a devastating, sometimes brutal, experience but it's not your fault ... the credit crunch in your own backyard," says Phillip Hodson, a fellow of the British Association ... way as due to the western economic cycle, the bastard in charge of hiring and firing, or bad luck [more...]

Date: 2009-01-08 14:45:20

Why Didn't Regulation Save Us?

The story being pushed by many is that somehow, George Bush reduced regulation too much, and that was the cause of many of our current fiscal woes. Of course, when people try to sell this particular tale, they are amazingly devoid of facts ... that things will be safer/better/more efficient. Rather, the type of regulation, and the people [more...]

Date: 2009-01-13 17:28:10

Everyone Needs a Messiah

Superman, Batman, Spider-man. However you want to slice it, we need heroes in our lives ... , not us personally, but we contributed to it. We bought a house at the wrong time, using a loan that would be considered “sub-prime”, ramped up our credit card debt, and we would love to see a Deus ex Machina come [more...]

Date: 2008-11-03 05:00:50

News and Blogs: Wednesday, November 19, 2008

5 Money Mistakes in a Bad Economy. Here are the mistakes: continuing to use credit cards, withdrawing or taking a loan from your retirement funds, paying for college without loans, grants, or scholarships, neglecting to invest, and taking home-equity loans. Bid to Ban Sale of Obama Tickets. Tickets to presidential inaugurations have always [more...]

Date: 2008-11-19 18:00:30

Is Gilbert The New Castle Rock?

I recently had a change of plea for a DUI in Gilbert where I started to feel like I was in a Stephen King novel ... . Maybe Gilbert wants to help out the payday loan business? Maybe they think a reduced credit score ... in effect. I think the judge actually felt bad about the policy, and I can see why. Not only does [more...]

Date: 2009-01-17 18:11:08

Real Estate during a poor market

by Doc Schmyz OK a few ground rules for this article first. 1) Bad markets have happen before…and people still made money. 2) ... have gotten countless tips from other investors on investments and financing issues. Do not over look ... as finding the funding and the marketing/exit strategy as well. Finding financing Everyday [more...]

Date: 2008-10-20 20:33:15

Stocking Stuffer

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse… With the Federal Reserve cutting bank lending rates to near zero, ... up with a lot of what makes America both good and bad, modern and in debt. A friend told the story ... interest and never pays off the loan. That way, when the value of the house goes up, they can flip [more...]

Date: 2008-12-18 18:47:31

Ugly Americans Cause World Financial Crisis - Especially George Bush

The French government is investing $14 billion into its six biggest banks ... ? Or was it Joe the Plumber buying a McMansion with a sub prime loan instead of being content with a trailer ... with the reality of bad debts. Sorry, but it's just too easy to blame your favorite disputant (or decider [more...]

Date: 2008-10-21 20:12:44

Creative Financing In Large Real Estate Transactions

I have a friend who has fallen on hard times, and he owns home that is (was) ... the valuations have fallen so far. Use Your IRA To Help Reduce Your Mortgage Balance The first thing ... collateral that they can borrow against. In the case of somebody who is trying to finance (or refinance [more...]

Date: 2008-10-10 12:38:03

At the Fed, rate cuts aren't where the action is any more. Quantitative easing is

In one sense the Federal Open Market Committee's decision today to move its intended Federal Funds rate down to "a target range .. ... Loan Facility to facilitate the extension of credit to households and small businesses.  The Federal Reserve will continue to consider ways of using its balance sheet to further support credit markets [more...]

Date: 2008-12-16 21:31:42

The end of The Columbian?

The Columbian newspaper in Vancouver is reporting that it will return to its old offices in a desperate attempt to stay afloat ... the company is trying to negotiate a new loan with its lender or will seek temporary Chapter 11 ... to financial health. Whew. I’m no expert but given what we’ve been hearing about the credit crisis created [more...]

Date: 2008-10-09 01:49:05

Back to Basics: Reduce your debt

Being in debt simply means that at one point you borrowed money to fund some purchase, and are now paying it back over time. ( ... . There are many reasons why people go into debt, and they’re all not bad reasons. Funding a college ... one’s means, is usually a bad use of debt. Buying a car with a loan, though sometimes unavoidable [more...]

Date: 2008-11-16 07:24:43

Employment Background Checks

by Ben Dave Background Checks are typically conducted discreetly. By that token, it is sneaky to some degree ... , Negligent Hiring being the big issue that it has become in human resource operation. Credit or loan ... . Employers, credit officers, landlords, lawyers, business partners and even prospective in-laws [more...]

Date: 2009-01-17 14:39:08

Avoid These Three “Short-Term” Loans

Payday Loan Storefront In an ideal world, when you needed to borrow some money, you could just walk into your bank and just ask ... earned from folks who didn’t know they were getting a loan in the first place? Probably more than you’d think. Payday Loans Need a few extra bucks to make it through to your next paycheck? How [more...]

Date: 2008-11-03 10:50:51

Unprecedented Fearmongering

Unprecedented Fearmongering Anytime President Bush warned us about being vigilant as we fought the terrorists, Democrats would chastize him for playing on people’s fears. It’s to be expected, though, that these same Democrats aren’t critical after President-Elect Obama delivered a speech that’s mostly fearmongering with a tiny hint of optimism [more...]

Date: 2009-01-09 16:00:01

Bailed-Out Banks Stiff Credit Card Customers

Since bailouts are so timely today, Bloomberg weighs in to point out that banks that have been recipients of government bailout money are reacting ... is it that my credit-card loan got pulled? Why am I being charged a higher rate?’” Wonder if Southern ... by charging higher fees on credit cards for consumers. Apparently, they’re trying to get ahead [more...]

Date: 2008-12-19 15:01:55

For the Class of 2009, job prospects appear grim. As an employment alternative, which is better: heading straight onto grad school, ... , may be better solutions.The Case for and against Grad SchoolIn any economy, both good and bad ... school also will allow you to defer loans, and may offer more affordable health insurance options than [more...]

Date: 2009-01-09 18:10:43

The Coming Great Depression

Martin Armstrong: The Coming Great Depression It is frustrating to read so many comparisons of our current situation with 1929 while watching ... may signal a recession, but the collapse in debt signals a Depression. This Depression was set ... and shifted spending that created jobs into the banks as interest on things like credit cards [more...]

Date: 2009-01-08 03:55:35

Did You See What God Just Did To Us, Man?

Evangelical Christianity’s prosperity gospel is indicted for ints contribution to our current economic troubles: ... who got dicey mortgages to believe “God caused the bank to ignore my credit score and blessed ... to Wachovia and get a loan,’ but I have heard, ‘Even if you have a poor credit rating, God can still [more...]

Date: 2008-10-13 12:22:42

Okay NDP. Listen up: “Debt is the pariah in the new economic order”

There was a good article in Saturday’s Globe by industry player (read: not a lame reporter) Tom Bradley entitled “Debt is the pariah in the new economic order”. This is a reality that all Canadians, especially policy makers need to understand.Interest on debt, like distributions on income trusts is paid from pre tax cash flows [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 16:01:00

Things You Tend Not To Spend Much Time Thinking Seriously About When Making A Decision To Relocate

I have had this item on my blogging to-do list for probably 18 months now, without attempting to address it ... s start with credit history, something discussed in this blog a long time ago. Or, rather, your lack of such overseas, which will hamper your efforts to obtain auto financing or even apply for local credit [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 20:29:06

Deal Journal] Bottom Feeding: Banco Santander of Spain is in advanced talks to take full control of Sovereign Bancorp, ... the credit crisis? Look to a measure called Value at Risk, or VaR, explains Gordon Crovitz. WSJ ... a program to buy mortgage-backed securities. The United Arab Emirates will guarantee domestic bank [more...]

Date: 2008-10-10 14:10:24

Financial Help

With the price of gas sky rocketing nowadays, there's no doubt that life is getting harder and harder ... you can get cash by applying for a quick easy payday loan at Yellow Leaf Financial. They offer national personal loan services which offer fast applications for any credit type. Whether you have a good or bad [more...]

Date: 2009-01-12 14:15:57

Instant Background Check

by Ben Dave Background Checks are typically conducted discreetly. By that token, it is sneaky to some degree ... which background checking has become a standard procedure and effectively accepted as a part of life. Employers, credit officers, landlords, lawyers, business partners and even prospective in-laws [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 14:47:28

Instant Background Check

by Ben Dave Background Checks are typically conducted discreetly. By that token, it is sneaky to some degree ... which background checking has become a standard procedure and effectively accepted as a part of life. Employers, credit officers, landlords, lawyers, business partners and even prospective in-laws [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 14:48:59

Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/8/2009

The latest word is that an agreement with Russia has been reached, and the flow through the gas pipeline will resume.Also, look for the storming of the Israeli consulate in Montreal, as well as other Gaza-inspired violence around the world.Thanks to AA, Abu Elvis, Insubria, JD, Tuan Jim, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in [more...]

Date: 2009-01-09 04:49:00

Pre Employment Background Checks

by Ben Dave Background Checks are typically conducted discreetly. By that token, it is sneaky to some degree ... , Negligent Hiring being the big issue that it has become in human resource operation. Credit or loan ... . Employers, credit officers, landlords, lawyers, business partners and even prospective in-laws [more...]

Date: 2009-01-08 14:51:27

Closing Out Ten Odd Lots

1) Do you need new investment ideas?  John Dorfman’s column at Bloomberg is back.  There are some good ideas in the second column ... credit for political gains.  Some of the debt proceeds are used to buy up other bad debts, others ... is doing will cause more harm than good, because they delaying the reconciliation of bad debts. 3) We must [more...]

Date: 2009-01-09 03:03:38

Fannie and Freddie to Announce Mass Loan Modification Program

re-default. This may also further erode investor confidence in residential mortgage backed securities, ... monies to put towards housing payments. Step 3) Start Improving Your Credit Rating This can take a long ... you pay your bills on time, that you have good credit.  Paying your bills on time only accounts for 30 [more...]

Date: 2008-11-11 19:02:07

Why Does The GOP Want To Destroy The Auto Manufacturing Sector?

Three dangerous reactionariesI can't say what I liked less as a kid, going to the dentist or going to a Broadway musical. But I've never gotten one musical, or one scene from a musical, out of my head. I was around 10 when my mother dragged me to see the musical adaptation of Al Capp's comic strip, Li'l Abner, at the St. James Theater [more...]

Date: 2008-11-17 16:00:00

The Brakes Are Not Working In California

The LA Times reports from California. “A record 10% of the nation’s mortgage-burdened homeowners fell behind on their loan payments or were in foreclosure during the third quarter, according to a survey released Friday by the Mortgage Bankers Assn., which said California and Florida were the biggest contributors to the worsening picture [more...]

Date: 2008-12-06 18:15:59

Rainbow Financing

Believe it or not, a certain company exist nowadays that provides Car loans to everyone. Yes, they offer the cheapest loans with the best APR rates ... your own car and credit history is not a problem with them even if you had good or bad credit before ... , they are still serving many people that are looking for the best loan company in town. Rainbow [more...]

Date: 2009-01-13 22:36:00

End Game

This is my 603rd and last column for pbs.org. If you want to continue reading my work, please visit http://www.cringely.com, which is also in this week's links. Thanks for your support. Everybody in my line of work writes prediction columns for the coming year, but I wonder how many we will see this time around? The world is unsettled [more...]

Date: 2008-12-16 15:01:01

Credit Crisis Timeline

This is lifted from American Thinker, and by the way to the editor if you'd prefer I not take so much of the text leave comment or email me, ... to my article Why banks aren't the bad guysThe Growing Government Hand1933-1938President Franklin ... backed by the Federal government.1970President Nixon chartered Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan [more...]

Date: 2009-01-02 12:09:00

Five Things That a Generation X Financial Planner Did, That You Can Too

This is a guest post from Jeff Rose, an Illinois Certified Financial Planner(TM) and co-founder of Alliance Investment Planning Group ... student loan and credit card debt at ease.  Luckily, I stumbled into a career as a financial ... students graduate with a combination of student loan and credit card debt. Most of us are just kind [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 15:45:19

The View From Southeast Michigan: Economy

When I wake up everyday, I wake up in Southeast Michigan the Macomb county part, the view isn’t all that great.  The gas prices may be down but are still high enough to put a hurtin’ on your pocketbook.  Jobs are constantly being lost, last month I heard a couple guys talking about how their plant just shut down with little notice [more...]

Date: 2009-01-02 18:52:25

E is for Economy. D is for Downsizing. And S is for Smelling the Roses.

 The typical home in the US today is double the size of what it was in 1940, with two or more baths and a mean of two rooms per person (!), but the average individual isn't any happier. Does a couple or small family really need to live ... , and ability to obtain credit. I wish to make the (perhaps unpopular) argument that losing [more...]

Date: 2008-10-25 00:58:58

Refinancing When You Owe More Than The Home Is Worth

I've been looking around for an answer to this but my searches haven't returned anything useful ... ? Was all the refinance hype only because the markets kept going up? Is this the reason why people who got an bad loan ... to the utter limit for 100% financing could refinance into more favorable loans as their equity picture [more...]

Date: 2009-01-08 09:54:12

Free lunch? - What does UK government funding mean to startups?

This is a guest post by Nick Halstead, CEO and founder of fav.or.it As I am in the midst of raising another round of funding for fav.or ... funding for business that is meant to help SME’s survive through the credit crunch. The question ... SCHEME This is just a fancy new name for what you probably know as the SFLG (Small Firm Loan Guarantee [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 09:25:59

Q&A with the Banker Panel at the National Auctioneers Association

Here are my notes from yesterday’s Mortgage Industry Panel from the National Auctioneers Association’s Convention in Denver ... National Bank; Residential Mortgage Lending Ken West VP Commercial Lending Mountain Plains Farm Credit ... loan right now. A: (Wes) Underwriting guidelines will continue to get tighter. We have a few [more...]

Date: 2008-12-02 08:00:57

The Obamamercial Live

Live blogging the Obama Infomercial .... so you don't have to. (see this, this, this) Wheat .... Flags .... Fans in slow motion ... of energy independence. The Green Economy. American built hybrids and a tax credit to buy them ... for it all without raising taxex, line by line fixing of the budget. Iraq. OH, nice job. Segue [more...]

Date: 2008-10-30 01:00:00

DrumBeat: December 18, 2008

Oil drops 9 pct as demand outlook overshadows OPEC NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude prices dropped more than 9 percent to $36 a barrel Thursday as slumping demand and swelling U.S. inventories offset OPEC's record supply cut agreement. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Wednesday agreed to cut output by 2 [more...]

Date: 2008-12-18 13:42:11

Maybe I DO like rap, after all.“I Want My Bailout Money” is the first song on the new hip hop album by NaturalNews.com editor Michael Adams ( ... LyricsI want my bailout money Keep the bills coming Sweet green cash just drippin like honey I’m a new ... robbed blindHow do you think we got runaway credit? Ain’t nothin goin down unless the crooks [more...]

Date: 2009-01-12 17:36:53

What Is Wrong With This Picture?

They’re tossing our money into a black hole and they KNOW it: Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is basing hundreds of billions in emergency lending on credit ratings from companies ... and lent $631.8 billion under eight credit programs, most of which require appraisals of short-term [more...]

Date: 2008-12-19 14:53:38

Another Bailout Plan: Directly Bailout Homeowners

—Ace Actually, if you accept "bailout logic" at all, this makes the most sense and should have been done from the beginning ( ... credit and a mortgage can refinance at a new lower rate. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson ... mortgage rates to 4.5 percent would allow most homeowners to refinance into a cheaper loan, far fewer [more...]

Date: 2008-12-06 06:32:52

Those Order Takers Are Now Gone In California

The Ventura County Star reports from California. “According to Bill Watkins, executive director of the UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project…a foreclosed home in California sells for $200,000 less than a traditional home. Until foreclosures are worked through the market, ‘we don’t think the real estate market can clean itself up, [more...]

Date: 2008-12-27 18:47:48

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