Filed under: Banks, Credit, Debt, Home, Recession
In recessionary times, it would seem that Canadian financial institutions remain true to form. By that I mean, Canadian banking professionals are again seeking to be proactive and flexible in dealing with that nation’s current residential mortgage troubles. It is my opinion that our American bankers could have dampened a fair amount of our current economic turmoil by taking a smart and compassionate page from the Canadian mortgage industry playbook.
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Filed under: Banks, Credit, Debt, Home, Recession
In recessionary times, it would seem that Canadian financial institutions remain true to form. By that I mean, Canadian banking professionals are again seeking to be proactive and flexible in dealing with that nation’s current residential mortgage troubles. It is my opinion that our American bankers could have dampened a fair amount of our current economic turmoil by taking a smart and compassionate page from the Canadian mortgage industry playbook.
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Filed under: Retire, Health
In many situations these days, it sometimes takes a tragedy and/or lawsuit to expose unknown dangers. Such is the case with a recent accidental death, which has revealed a startling truth about the possible flammability of some adult sanitary undergarments. Recently, a resident of a Spokane Valley adult care facility was burned to death when his clothing caught fire and the adult diaper which he was wearing burned with the same intensity that nearly all plastics do.
The story, which was provided by KIRO 7 Consumer Investigator Amy Clancy, makes clear that while the undergarment was not the cause of the flame up, the characteristics with which it burned may have made the fire more difficult for the victim, 63-year-old Jimmie Wilson, to extinguish. A witness on the scene stated that she had seen flaming pieces of molten plastic dropping from a balcony above.
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Filed under: Banks, Career, Recession, Bankruptcy
Move over fantasy football and fafarazzi. There’s a new online game sweeping the net that puts all the power in your hands. The game, entitled “Layoff,” lets you be the boss: Donald Trump, Whole Foods, your choice. The object of the game, modeled after the popular online game “Bejeweled,” is to switch characters around to line up similar people in a row. Once you line up three of the same workers in a row they fall to the unemployment office, saving your company millions. Five people means a bank takeover. And if you get stuck, you can always hit the bank bailout button for help.
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Filed under: Debt, Transportation
As unemployment rises and access to cash falls, an increasing number of consumers are having trouble making payments on their car loans.
The USA Today reports that “Car loans that were 60 days past due – and likely to soon go into default – were up 17% in the fourth quarter, says Experian Automotive credit tracking. And the share of loans 60 days past due is expected to be up 40% by December, compared with the share in December 2007, TransUnion Credit says.”
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Filed under: College, Fraud
Seems you can’t throw a stick these days without hitting a a couple of smart-talking money guys exposed as big-time swindlers. Even “low risk” investments haven’t been safe from these charlatains. Bowling Green University is the latest victim, having invested in a safe, low-risk vehicle with Westridge Capital management, run by two guys who,it’s now been discovered, used the funds for their own high-rolling lifestyles.
Even though the university lost access to $15 million when the SEC froze the Westridge Capital Management funds; Carol Cartwright, president of BGSU, assured the campus community that there would be no short term impact on university operations, which is welcome news to the 21,000 students who attend the state school. But despite these assurances, there are sure to be tough times ahead as universities face increased enrollment and charitable giving challenges.
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Filed under: Insurance, Career, Health
It’s going to be a while before (and if) the Obama Administration can put its healthcare-for-all plan in place, but I wonder if any employers will still be offering healthcare plans by that time.
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Filed under: College
The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that NCAA basketball players participating in the big tournament are heading to the business school in droves.
According to the Journal, “The Count was able to identify the majors of 636 players who will be participating in this month’s men’s basketball tournament. Of them, 145 are studying business, economics, finance or variants thereof. Another 64 are studying sports management. . . Overall, there is an astonishing dearth of liberal arts majors. Only two athletes listed their majors as English and only nine chose history.”
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Filed under: Banks, Borrowing, Buyer Beware
Your looks can tell a lender if you’re likely to repay a loan or default, according to a Reuters story.
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Filed under: Budgets, Debt, Saving, Shopping
Americans are delaying major purchases according to a new poll by CNN. Some 62% percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday morning say they’ve postponed a major purchase. That’s up 10 points from December, during the height of the Christmas shopping season. Low income families have been hit hardest, but even a quarter of those making more than $50,000 say they have had to cut back on necessities.
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