8:36 AM Bush tells UN of confidence in financial crisis solution

President George W Bush has made his farewell speech to the United Nations, offering assurances of his commitment to stabilising world markets threatened by the American financial crisis.
US President George Bush says Washington is working to solve the US credit crisis. [Reuters]
North America correspondent Michael Rowland reports that Mr Bush has told the UN General Assembly the US government had taken bold steps to avoid a severe disruption to the US economy which in turn could have had a devastating gloal impact.

He has used his speech, his last to the UN as US President, to underscore the speed with which he was addressing the problem.

"I can assure you that my administration and our Congress are working together to quickly pass legislation approving this strategy and I'm confident we will act in the urgent timeframe required," Mr Bush said.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has expressed fears the financial crisis could jeopardise the UN's plans to reduce world poverty.

But resentment is growing on both sides of the US political divide over a plan to bail out Wall Street firms with bad mortgage debt.

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4:43 AM Low cost debt solutions 'are out there'

Consumers struggling with unsustainable amounts of debt need not risk losing their assets and going into bankruptcy, as a reputable organisation can help work out a suitable solution to their problems, it has been claimed.

Michael Richardson, a financial follower of DebtBuster Loans, believes seeking professional help during times of economic difficulty is crucial in ensuring affairs are handled in the appropriate manner.

He claims low-cost solutions are available to consumers but enlisting the assistance of qualified persons is necessary to make sure the correct plan of action is put in place to stop people losing their home and possessions.

"There are a lot of opportunities but only a few professional or expert companies will give to their clients the right solution…it is better to find a solution from an expert or a specialised company than risk losing your assets and go into bankruptcy," Mr Richardson said.

According to DebtBuster Loans, bankruptcy need not be considered as an option because more suitable options are available such individual voluntary arrangements which can eliminate a large percentage of debt and organise the remainder into monthly payments over a five-year period.

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4:55 AM The plan: Group wants taxes, fees for sewer debt solution

A group of community activists and State Rep. Mary Moore said today the county should increase property taxes and impose non-user fees on water customers to resolve the county's $3.2 billion sewer debt crisis. At a Friday, Aug. 29, 2008, news conference, advocates distributed this outline of the plan:

The People's Plan for Dealing With Jefferson County Sewer Crisis!!
The People in District One and District Two of Jefferson County (80 percent of whom are black) have formulated a plan to deal with the present sewer crisis.
We feel that all other plans have failed to recognize the disparity that the 329 percent in crease in sewer rates have had on the poorest citizens in the county. $3.2 billion was distributed among white contractors, lawyers and bond dealers, and blacks received only $900,000 (less than 1/3 of 1 percent). Now Governor Riley is purposing a plan that might include bankruptcy, which will leave the burden of this debt solely on the backs of the poor.

1. We propose that a clean water fee be imposed on every Jefferson Co. water customer who is not connected to the sewer.
2. We propose that impact fees be increased on commercial and subdivision development s that reflect the regional average.
3. We propose that all new subdivisions be mandated to connect to the sewer if trunk lines are available.
4. We propsoe that all septic tanks be inspected for clean water compliance.
5. We propose that an Advalorem tax increase be initated to pay sewer debt.
6. We propose that ratepayers only be charged for opeartions and maintenance.
6. We propsoet hat the County repay to bondholders the $400 million that they still have from the oriiginal loan to reduce the debt.
8. We propose that if the County fails to act on these proposals that the Cities of Birmingham, Bessemer and Fairfield (136,000 of the 146,000 rate payers) initiatie Rebate and lease programs to return their citizens to high tech septic tanks.
9. We propsoe that legal class action be taken against the County to relieve the poorest citizens from this burden.
10. Create a Sewer Authority to manage sewer operations.
11. We will ask Brmingham Water Works to stop telling people that if they don't pay sewer bills, their water will be cut off.


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6:33 AM Crush solution

CityRail network buckles under the weight of thousands of new commuters each week, RailCorp is trying to clear room at crowded Town Hall station to accommodate them.

After a successful trial of marshals moving passengers to empty areas on afternoon peak trains, a minor upgrade is under way to make more room on some platforms. The renovations will fall well short of the extra capacity required at the ageing station, however.

Work is being done on platforms five and six to remove storage and cleaners' supply rooms to create 40 to 45 square metres of extra space.

Town Hall's platforms are 158 metres long, however, and the work will not create a huge amount of breathing space for commuters. But with the station straining at its capacity, RailCorp's management is trying to remove all non-essential items to free up room.

It is all the organisation can do until the State Government signs a hugely expensive, and disruptive, station upgrade plan that continues to gather dust.

A 2007 RailCorp plan exists for a $600 million overhaul to bring Town Hall up to fire safety standards and provide capacity for growth. It has failed to meet these standards since 2001.

Consultants have warned that "Town Hall cannot currently be fully evacuated in the morning and evening peaks within times stipulated by the Standards for Fixed Guideway Transit and Passenger Rail Systems". It still has no fire-escape stairs.

About 150,000 passengers use the station every day and the Government estimates this to rise to more than 168,000 within eight years. The actual figure is likely to be even higher.

With mounting household debt and strong CBD jobs growth in past years, railway patronage is rising by more than 8 per cent a year on some lines.

Overall, the growth rate was more than 4.7 per cent for the 12 months to February this year, which is more than 200,000 extra passengers using the network a week.

In June the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal said an urgent increase in capacity was needed in the CBD railway network to prevent Town Hall and Wynyard stations becoming swamped by passengers.

In 2005 the then Premier, Bob Carr, announced a plan to install a $5 billion rail line through the city, with new stations that would alleviate the crush at Town Hall and bring relief to every part of the rail network for decades.

This was plan scrapped in March with the announcement of the North West Metro. "The likely growth in peak-period demand means that meeting the Government's objective of reducing the cost of CityRail services while also improving the quality and reliability of these services will be a major challenge," the tribunal's report says.

A review of station operations by Boston Consulting Group has led to some changes in the way Town Hall operates. One of the most successful reforms has been the introduction of marshals on busy city platforms to move people to either end of the train, where there are fewer people.

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4:29 AM Bailout the least bad solution

Yacht brokers and Maybach salesmen cracked open the champagne this weekend after investors roared back into the stock markets Thursday and Friday.

But the U.S. government's vast - and still amorphous - bailout of the financial sector will not,signal a return to business as usual. For the financial-services industry, the era of vast profits, huge salaries, stunning bonuses, lavish benefits and platinum handshakes just came to a sudden end. That's the price the industry must now pay for its indiscipline.

The bailout is deeply unfortunate but even more deeply essential. The underpinnings of the global financial system were beginning to creak and rattle as the crisis-of-confidence turmoil grew. Washington owed it to the whole world to prevent the cancer of failed confidence from metastasizing any farther. The U.S. financial sector truly is too big to be allowed to fail.

If you take a financial risk, you deserve to cash in if things work out, but ought to pay the price if they don't. When there's no downside to a venture, why not go big? So what if it's a long shot? Uncle Sam will pay if you lose!

The financial services industry in the U.S. has enjoyed a breathtaking boom for many years, but now the party is over. The industry that emerges from this shakeup, and from what will likely amount to a sort of temporary partial nationalization, will need to be quite different.

But cries for "more regulation" are by themselves not helpful. The industry has a long history of taking care of itself first, despite successive waves of regulatory fervour and reform. As long ago as 1940, a man named Fred Schwed wrote a book about this, called Where Are the Customers' Yachts? The title makes the point.

Still, greed is part of human nature; the real policy challenge is not to outlaw greed, but to harness it so that it becomes responsible diligence. Policy decisions - capital requirements for banks, lending standards and other controls on the sector - will have to be made tougher and be enforced fully. And individual investors, we can hope, will by now have learned that if you can't understand it then you shouldn't invest in it. (What is a synthetic collateralized debt obligation, anyway?)

But no amount of new regulation will revive moral hazard. The top executives of financial firms, such as Dick Fuld of Lehman Brothers, are walking away from this shambles unpenalized. The government and the industry need to look hard at ways of instilling disciplined prudence at the top of the corporate pyramid.

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10:25 AM Management briefing the Wiki solution

we need an infusion of fresh capital into the industry and we need some fresh new regulations, but they may be insufficient. What I argued to the bankers is that the industry itself needs to change to solve these problems,” he told The Times. That involves embracing the four principles of Wikinomics:

1 Be transparent and open: “Investors should have full access to information and data on collateralised debt obligations and underlying assets . . . Basically, now that AAA ratings are pretty much worthless, investors have no idea really of what they are being asked to buy, and they won’t start buying until they fully understand what it is they are purchasing and they know that the price is fair,” he said.

“We’ve understood the value of transparency in pricing for market goods. As securities become more complex, we can use new digital tools to bring that same market approach to underlying information as well.”

2 Share intellectual property: “A lot of our risk-management models are viewed as proprietary sources of competitive advantage. They \ hoard all this information. They don’t share best practices. Banks and financial institutions should get together and share a lot of this information,” Mr Tapscott said.

“For something like 4 per cent of mortgages in the United States the lender knew that the borrower wouldn’t even make the first payment but they were passing it off on to somebody else, so they didn’t care. So there was no collaborative framework, there was no co-operation.”

3 Act globally. Mr Tapscott said that regulation should be agreed globally, not locally. “If Lehman is going under in the United States, you can bet eventually it is going to ripple through the UK and France . . . This is a global problem and we need to have global solutions.”

4 Collaborate with peers. “The big financial institutions need to get together and find an industry-wide solution to this problem,” he told the bankers. “The CEO of Barclays should call upon his peers to come together to form a global think-tank of all financial services institutions and figure out how to apply these four principles to fundamentally reinvent the modus operandi of the financial services companies.

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5:24 AM More debt no solution to debt problem

Actually, I’ve been thinking about unfolding events, fallacies, the rule of 10:90 or 90:10, bailouts, mission(s) accomplished, rising tabs and the keystone cops.

As I write this column, we are looking down the gun barrel of our third weekend (in a row) “make it or break it” crisis for the U.S. financial system. At this point, there are few details as to what all will be added to Uncle $ugar’s growing list of guarantees. Future tax cash flows from taxpayers will be committed to cover the financial losses of the rich, the well-born and the powerful. There are even fewer guess-timates as to ultimate costs. But, once again smiling faces (botoxed to mask the true scowls of terror) will emerge. We will be told that “mission accomplished and crisis averted” again!

You see, by now the spin, the hype, and the fallacy of the “don’t worry, be happy, we’ve got it covered” song and dance should be old hat. Since a year ago this past August (when the powers that be were finally forced to acknowledge a crisis of debt was “rumbling” in the wings), we have witnessed the unraveling of our debt only driven economy. Growth in consumption and spending came not from the value added numbers of domestic production. It came from the largesse of foreign benefactor, it came from additional paper appreciation of assets and it came from the windfalls of additionally minted “money” via the government’s printing presses and fresh lines of credit on newly issued credit cards. Growth was not that of wealth and prosperity, but growth of liabilities and obligations.

We were warned that if pre-emptive action were not taken, we might lapse into some recession contraction in 2008. This was a major fallacy because the real growth for most Americans in past decades was in net liabilities not in growth of net assets. I read that a third world country was defined as a nation where 10 percent of the population owned or controlled 90 percent of the wealth and assets. In the alternative the 90 percent had the 10 percent share. With what we have witnessed of late, I’m not so sure that it is even the wealthiest 10 percent of our own citizenry which now owns or controls 90 percent of this nation’s wealth or assets. Just where does that sorry state leave the country going forward?

The solution to every economic downturn in the past has been to open the floodgates of credit. Problem is this economic mess is mired in too much debt already. You don’t rescue a drowning person by giving them a drink. You don’t help a drug addict by providing cheaper heroin or crack. So, how could more debt be the solution to a debt problem? Well, that’s the only solution the U.S. Treasury and the FED know how to do mainly because that is all they can do.

Since last fall, the FED began buying back on a “Repurchase Agreement Basis” (REPO) financial institutions’ worth-less (or even worthless) mortgage paper to delay the write-offs and write-downs that would result in insolvency. These rolled over temporary transfers from institutions’ balance sheets to Uncle $ugar’s accounts now are pushing a record $480 billion. The Bear Stearn’s event involved a $29 billion guarantee. The IndyMac intervention cost us about $9 billion.

The Fannie and Freddie debacle comes in at conservatively $200 billion. Bank of American picked up the tab (for now) for the resolution of the Merrill Lynch situation by issuing $44 billion of their own stock. Lehman Brothers was left without a bailout and it (and its prior “merged with investment banking behemoths” – Shearson, Kuhn, Loeb, Rhodes, and Hutton) simply ceased to exist. Meanwhile, insurance giant AIG was “saved” by some $85 billion in Uncle $ugar’s guarantees.

Now it appears all these one time fixes were for naught as the really big bailout intervention was required again this past weekend. A government buy-out of some $700 billion in distressed investments is now on the table. The rushing around the corridors in DC would be reminiscent of a keystone cops comedy, were it not so tragic. Not to worry, mission accomplished, until next weekend, that is. I’ve been thinking.

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1:05 PM Welsh Rugby Union group reduces debt by £10m

THE Welsh Rugby Union group has reduced its debt with Barclays by £10m and negotiated a new revolving funding arrangement.

In an endorsement of its business plan and strategic direction under its chief executive Roger Lewis, Barclays has removed the punitive covenants under the previous arrangement.

As part of the restructuring, its debt has been reduced to £45m – of which £10m is redeemable only under a number of exceptional circumstances, including the sale of the Millennium Stadium.

The reduction of £10m had been made possible from record revenues of £50m generated by the WRU from its last financial year to the end of May 2008.

As with many businesses, the union has also negotiated a new revolving funding facility. This means that in theory the union could pay off up to an additional £10m of its debt without penalty, as well as being able to draw down up to the same amount.

The vast majority of the union’s revenues are generated around the autumn internationals and Six Nations’ Championship, so the facility allows the union the option of boosting cash-flow during quieter financial periods.

The deal follows a year of negotiations between the bank and the WRU’s group finance director, Steve Phillips.

However, the reduction in the debt, which now has to be repaid by 2035 as opposed to the previous arrangement of 2039, will not result in a cashflow boost.

The WRU has agreed to raise the capital repayments on the debt – off setting the interest rate saving of £200,000 from the £10m reduction with an additional cost this year of around £500,000.

The union could negotiate with Barclays a repayment of the debt before the new repayment deadline of 2035.

Drawing down on the new revolving facility will also allow the union to potentially make further investments into the game at all levels, as well as on its key asset – the now ten-year-old Millennium Stadium.

Mr Lewis said: “This is a major step forward for us and offers us considerable opportunities in taking our business planning onto a new level.

“Any organisation with ambitions to grow and prosper must have the confidence and the ability to manage its finances properly, effectively and responsibly.

“Now the WRU has a new level of financial freedom and the announcement of this deal sends out all the right messages to our stakeholders, potential partners for the future and the rugby fans of Wales.

“I have overseen major changes in the senior management team, internal structuring and commercial strategy of the WRU and Barclays are basically telling us we are making the right decisions.

“I know Steve [Phillips] in particular has shown great determination and endeavour to reconfigure our internal structures to create the measures and balances we were then able to take into our talks with Barclays.

“I am now excited by the pros-

pect of being able to utilise this new financial standing we enjoy for the benefit of Welsh rugby as a whole.”

Mr Phillips said: “The dialogue with Barclays has been extremely focused and they challenged us on all our financial plans and strategies.

“This arrangement basically means they are restoring to us a level of trust which allows us to properly manage our business and make the hard decisions involving millions of pounds.

“It is incumbent on us to manage that trust with the due control it deserves, which means using this arrangement with the kind of commercial creativity which will help us prosper.

“What it all boils down to is that Barclays are giving us a greater degree of freedom in how we manage our business and allows us to focus on the repayment profile of this substantial loan. I am delighted that Barclays have afforded us this opportunity and would wish to thank them for their efforts over the last few months.”

Greer Hooper, relationship director with Barclays Commercial Bank, said: “By really understanding the business, Barclays has been able to provide innovative solutions and financial packages beneficial to both parties. The facilities of the Welsh Rugby Union have been restructured on a more commercial footing which reflects the confidence which we have in the business and the management team. Barclays are delighted to continue our support for the Welsh Rugby Union and wish them continued success on and off the field of rugby.”

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1:02 PM Online Payment, Debt Collection and Customer Service Easier with New Web Based Invention

ACCESS Receivables Management and InterProse Corporation are proud to announce a joint patent filing for a new web-based invention that makes customer service, debt collection and online payment faster and easier. The patent was filed with the USPTO under the name "Methods and Systems for Account Management and Virtual Agent Design and Implementation." The invention enables any company with a web presence to collect delinquent accounts, make sales and offer support in a fast, friendly manner. It incorporates the use of an Avatar that converses with customers to quickly point them to a solution based on a series of questions.

Experts estimate that most businesses have still not designed their websites to be customer-centric. Statistics indicate that more than 70-percent of website visits end with the customer leaving because the sites are confusing, difficult to navigate or don't offer payment options. But with ARIA(TM) Virtual Agent, customers find a one-click solution.
"ARIA(TM) Virtual Agent can incorporate bill presentment, purchase options, online payment, delinquent account collection and lots more," says Tom Gillespie, President of ACCESS. "In the debt collection business, consumers and businesses are tired of 'press 1,' 'press 3,' 'press 5,' who also don't answer the phone or return calls. This 'communication gap' has spawned a new industry in offshore countries that offer cheaper cost per attempt. But it is our belief that today's consumer and small business owner prefer to handle communication via the web."
ARIA(TM) Virtual Agent is a multi-lingual application built on WebAR, a robust SAAS/SOA/ASP Internet-based multi-function accounts receivable management and collection system platform from InterProse.
"Prior to ARIA, customers had to navigate a site, searching for the right solution. ARIA's intelligent decisioning allows it to combine information from internal and external databases to present customized offers based on demographics, histories, and credit scores, and take payments with its integrated payment engine," explains Matthew Hill of InterProse.
InterProse is PCI compliant and implements quarterly testing to ensure a secure environment. Originally founded as a data integration company in 1996, InterProse transitioned into a preeminent provider of web-based products and solutions for accounts receivable and debt management.
ACCESS Receivables Management, founded in 1999, is a certified diversity (WBE) owned business and has consistently been honored as one of the premiere diversity businesses in Maryland and across the country. ACCESS was the first company in the debt collection industry to offer online payment to debtors. ARIA(TM) Virtual Agent is an extension of the founders' philosophy to leverage the web for debt collection. To view this new customer service

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1:01 PM Managing Debt – with the ‘Nice Decade’ Behind Us

Following Mervyn King’s warning that “the nice decade is behind us”, debt management company Gregory Pennington reminds borrowers that any major change in circumstance, whether personal or national, should prompt them to review the way they manage their debts. “Even in good times, managing debt isn’t always easy,” says a spokesperson for the company, “but the Governor of the Bank of England reminds us that those good times could be over – and that the economic worries of the nation will directly affect us all as individuals.”

For individuals, the actual transition from ‘good times’ to ‘bad times’ can be a particularly difficult period: “Many people have grown used to making monthly debt repayments that take up their entire disposable income. It’s a dangerous balancing act which can easily be upset by any change in their disposable income, whether it’s due to reduced income or to inflationary price increases.”

“Anyone in that situation today will remember 2008 as the year that demonstrated the dangers of over-commitment and the importance of considering the worst-case scenario before taking out credit. In the short term, however, they’re looking for an immediate solution to their debt problems – and for many of them, we believe our debt management plan may be that solution.”

Like any debt solution, debt management doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Creditors are all too familiar with the effects of the credit crunch and the uncertainty in today’s housing market. They understand that debt consolidation may no longer be an option for many people. At the same time, they understand that a debt management plan offers them something which insolvency doesn’t: complete repayment of all monies owed.

“From the borrower’s perspective, debt management can deliver the flexibility they’re looking for. Our clients depend on us to keep payments at an affordable level by renegotiating with their creditors if their disposable income shrinks. This is always a major benefit of our debt management plan, but the current volatility of the financial world makes it more valuable than ever.”

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12:52 PM EDITORIAL: Burning solution

Having been saddled with a money-sucking waste-to-energy incinerator for years, Bay County finally may be seeing a pinprick of light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.

From its inception two decades ago, the incinerator has burned county taxpayers more than it has dry trash. It has never come close to being self-sufficient and has bounced between being private and public ownership, with costs - and losses - continuing to escalate. The county still owes $35 million on the facility, its debt payments alone consuming more than $10 million of Bay's annual budget.

On top of that, the darn thing keeps catching on fire. A recent blaze shut the facility down for a month while repairs were done. It's like living in Cleveland in the 1970s.

But just as that punch line of a city eventually rebounded, there is a ray of hope for the incinerator. Despite years of county missteps and mismanagement, EnGen LLC, the facility's new operator, has it pointed in the right direction.

The County Commission this week approved a contract with Gulf Power that, if it receives a final OK from the Florida Public Service Commission, would substantially increase the price of energy that the company purchases from the incinerator. The facility currently charges $53 for each megawatt hour of energy that is generated by burning municipal waste, which has produced between $2.5 million and $3 million in revenue. However, Gulf Power has agreed to pay $72.50 per megawatt hour, which could increase the incinerator's take to as much as $5 million annually.

EnGen has promised to earmark $3.2 million a year to pay down the incinerator's debt. At that rate, the facility will be out of the red in 11 years. That doesn't erase years of misguided county policies that inflated incinerator costs, but it at least presents a potential path out of this fiscal wilderness.

One of the keys is to produce more energy that can be sold, which involves needing more trash to burn. Thus, EnGen is hoping to boost the incinerator's capacity from 56,000 megawatts of electricity each year to 66,000. The more refuse it burns, the more juice it can produce to sell and the more money it can rake in - and the sooner the county can remove the albatross that has been wrapped around the taxpayers' necks.

The trick has always been finding enough waste to dump into the facility's maw. To that end, earlier this year EnGen persuaded the county to spend $1.2 million to be used for a metal-recovery system. The company estimates that the garbage system produces about 500 tons of metal each year that sits in landfills, when it could be used by the incinerator to produce electricity.
Of course, garbage isn't the only thing that's being recycled. Gulf Power has requested an 11.3-percent rate hike, which if approved by the PSC means that some of the money that Bay County customers will be paying in higher energy bills will be used by Gulf Power to buy electricity from the county incinerator. Talk about a closed circuit.

Setting It Straight: Thursday's editorial "Burning solution" erroneously reported the annual debt payments on the Bay County incinerator. The debt payment is $3.2 million a year.

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12:48 PM Newtomorrow.com launches broker debt solution portal

The website, www.newtomorrowbrokerservice.com will allow advisers to refer clients to the company’s broker services team of debt solutions experts, who can offer independent and free debt advice.

The service is designed to offer intermediaries an alternative for indebted clients who might otherwise be refused further credit or a remortgage.

Ian Wright, director of newtomorrow.com, says: “If intermediaries have exhausted all of their own options, we are able to use our experience in debt solutions to offer their client a way out of debt.”

After the intermediary has logged on to the new site and completed an online fact find, Newtomorrow Broker Services will run a solution which could include a personal debt management plan, where debtors make monthly repayments to creditors, or more formal agreements such as IVAs or protected trust deeds.

“Current market conditions are making things more difficult for everyone, intermediaries will be feeling the impact of tighter lending criteria as fewer people will be granted credit,” says Wright.

As consumers feel the pressure of rising costs and may not be able to obtain credit which was once readily available, there will be a knock-on effect for intermediaries. Their income streams are being reduced as they are unable to source suitable refinancing solutions, he says.

”The new online portal is designed to help intermediaries offer a real alternative to indebted clients. Our whole ethos revolves around finding the right solution for each individual client, ensuring access to the solution is convenient and the arrangements are sustainable.”

Newtomorrow is part of the Invocas group.

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12:46 PM Secured loans still a viable debt solution

In the midst of the credit crunch, thinkmoney.com reminds existing and potential customers that secured consolidation loans are still a viable debt solution for many homeowners - and that a range of alternative debt solutions are available to borrowers who either can't secure a loan against their property or prefer not to.

"There's no question that obtaining secured credit has become harder and, in many cases, more expensive," a spokesperson for the financial solutions company commented. "As a second charge on a home, a secured loan involves a certain risk from a lender's perspective, so secured lenders are keeping a very close eye on issues in the housing market. A recent Bank of England survey revealed that default rates on secured lending rose by more than expected in Q2, and lenders expect these rates to rise further in the months ahead.

From the individual borrower's perspective, equity withdrawal of any kind is clearly a more attractive option when house prices are rising: "Today's falling prices are reducing the number of homeowners with enough equity to make a secured loan a viable solution - and deterring many who are keen to retain their 'safety margin' against negative equity.

"Having said that, it's important to see recent falls in house prices in their correct context: as relatively small drops following a decade of rapid growth. According to Nationwide's House Price Index, for example, the 'average house' in Q2 2008 was still worth almost 10,000 more than it was in Q2 2006. In just ten years, Nationwide reports, the average house price rose from 60,754 to 184,131 - homeowners may be worried about falling prices, but many are still likely to own significant levels of equity. For them, a secured loan can be an excellent debt solution: a realistic way to consolidate their unsecured debts into one manageable, lower-interest debt which they can arrange to repay at an affordable rate.

"Nonetheless, when major secured loans providers like Firstplus announce they're ceasing to make new loans, it's clear that the secured loans market as a whole is suffering under today's adverse conditions. With lenders tightening their criteria or even turning down new business, it's more important than ever that borrowers choose a company that works with a wide range of lenders and specialises in finding secured loans for people from all kinds of financial backgrounds. Talking to the right company can make all the difference between being offered credit at a competitive rate and being unable to avail a secured loan at all."

Concluding, the thinkmoney.com spokesperson stressed that secured consolidation loans are by no mean the only way out of debt. "Depending on the individual's circumstances, a number of other debt solutions may be more appropriate than a secured loan, such as a debt management plan, an unsecured consolidation loan, an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) or, for residents of Scotland, a Trust Deed. For anyone in debt, the important thing is to seek impartial debt advice from a company that offers a wide range of debt solutions - a company that has an in-depth understanding of each solution's benefits and drawbacks and can recommend the one that constitutes their optimal route out of debt."

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12:46 PM 'Plethora of debt solutions' available to consumers

People who are struggling with high levels of personal debt have a range of solutions available to alleviate the burden, however they must consult with a professional in order to ensure they choose the right one, an industry figure has said.

A spokesperson for thinkmoney.com claims the credit crunch has reduced the availability of secured consolidation loans and made them more expensive, however there are many different options for consumers to take advantage of in order to ease their financial worries.

The representative stated those homeowners with equity in their properties could turn to a secured loan as a way of consolidating their unsecured debts into one manageable debt but those who do not still have several options available.

"Depending on the individual's circumstances, a number of other debt solutions may be more appropriate than a secured loan, such as a debt management plan, an unsecured consolidation loan, an IVA (individual voluntary agreement) or, for residents of Scotland, a trust deed," the spokesperson said.

Those considering a debt solution should seek professional advice before deciding which direction to take, the representative added.

Moneyfacts.co.uk recently reported seven lenders have withdrawn from the secured loans market since last summer, including Capital One Bank, LoanOne Intermediaries and Breeze Loans.

















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12:42 PM Debt solution website could 'wipe out' debts

Law company Stephenson Solicitors has launched an advice website aimed at those who face the threat of having their homes repossessed, with the possibility of having the debt eliminated.

The website, www.debtandrepossession.co.uk, will offer consumers advice about how best to deal with their financial difficulties as well as offering information about the various options available to them, Crain's Manchester Business reports.

In addition to providing details and advice, consumers are also offered a free, 30-minute session in which a qualified professional will assess the deals they are tied to and explore possible avenues which allow them to be challenged.

Many credit agreements have areas in which the debt can be disputed according to Andrew Leakey, a partner at the firm.

"A large percentage of (credit agreements) have discrepancies in them which ultimately means, in a lot of cases, the debt can actually be wiped out," he told the website.

In other news, new research from financial comparison site gocompare.com has found the main priority for the majority of people in Britain is to reduce their levels of personal debt and monthly outgoings.

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5:55 AM Schroder tips gold to hit $US5000

Gold prices may rise to $US5000 an ounce as investors seek to protect themselves against accelerating inflation, said Schroder Investment Management, which oversees $US277 billion of assets globally.

''You could easily see for the next several years that prices rise not to $US1000 an ounce, but prices rise to $US5000 an ounce or beyond as inflation psychology becomes more and more embedded and people become desperate to have a source of value,'' said Christopher Wyke, London-based emerging market debt and commodities product manager at Schroder, which oversees about $US10 billion of commodity assets.

Investors are turning to gold for protection as two-thirds of the world's population cope with inflation rates that are climbing to more than 10 percent, Wyke said. Cash and inflation- linked bonds are poor substitutes as low interest rates, coupled with surging inflation, erode the real value of assets, he said.

Gold futures for August delivery rose $US10.70, or 1.2%, to $US904.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest closing price for a most- active contract since May 28. Wyke didn't give a time frame for his gold prediction.

Demand for gold will also rise as central banks become net buyers for the first time in 20 years, driven by developing countries, he added. Last year, world production of gold sank to the lowest since 1937 as reserves are depleted and few new sources of gold have been found.

New Fund

Wyke was speaking at a press conference in Hong Kong to market the Schroder Alternative Solutions Gold and Metals Fund, the first commodity fund authorized for sale to individuals in the city that invests primarily in derivatives, including futures, warrants, swaps and options. Robert Howell and Paula Bujia will manage the fund.

Gold may account for about 40% of the fund's assets, based on a ''model'' fund used to simulate returns, said Wyke. The fund would also buy securities linked to metals including aluminum, copper, iron ore, zinc and uranium.

The limited amount of gold available, relative to the size of the global capital markets, means a small shift in investments may lead to significant price changes for the metal, Wyke said. Total gold above ground is worth about $US4.8 trillion, compared with global stock and bond markets worth $US135.2 trillion.

UBS, Hang Seng Bank, KBC Groep and Lehman Brothers are among firms that manage commodity funds in the city, according to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. Bank of East Asia in February started a fund that buys shares of companies that produce materials and energy.

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5:53 AM Life after debt

Corey Rademaker is a fourth-year film studies student at the University of Manitoba who has dreams of being a screenwriter that he tempers with a healthy sense of reality. Living off of student loans, help from his parents and a part-time job, he has become adept at living at low cost.

Studying film was more of a pursuit of the heart than one of the wallet -- something Rademaker's always been aware of.

Corey Rademaker sets a daily spending limit to help balance the books.



(Joe Bryksa / Winnipeg Free Press )

"The decision to go into film was based on what I wanted to do," says the 27-year-old, who shares an apartment in Osborne Village. "I love creating characters and storylines that can be told through film."

Yet despite the daydreaming, he knows he's chosen a tough road when he graduates this fall. He says he hopes to find full-time work and take a few courses with Film Training Manitoba, but he is also resigned to likely being no better off economically in the near future than he is now.

"I'm kind of doomed to be a starving something," he jokes.

His situation isn't unique. Every year in Manitoba, thousands of post-secondary students graduate with debt accrued paying for an education. Despite having borrowed what experts call opportunistic debt -- a loan to improve oneself instead of one to purchase a luxury item -- many former students are often in worse financial shape than when they started.

In 2006, the Canadian University Survey Consortium found that more than a third of students in Manitoba had a student loan, and the average debt upon graduating was $14,800 -- though down from about $20,000 in 2000. Yet, the challenge remains.

They must find full-time, gainful employment that will not only cover living expenses but will also allow them to pay down the debt.

"It's sort of like being lost in the woods," says John LeBlanc, a credit counsellor with The Canadian Financial Wellness Group (CFWG), based in Halifax.

"You're lost; and you don't have any survival tools whatsoever. People come out of school like that."

The tendency is to feel bewildered and fearful. And that's often why people get into further debt trouble, says LeBlanc, whose business helps individuals reestablish positive relationships with creditors and promote long-term economic stability.

"The first thing (many graduates with loans) do is start digging holes and go under ground," he says, adding CFWG often does pro bono work because many clients are in such bad financial shape.

"They become gophers. They don't dodge the creditors. What it is self-preservation."

Going underground, though, will often make things worse. Debts get bigger and more daunting by the day because of interest.

"If you ignore it and hope it goes away, it won't," says John Silver, executive director of Community Financial Counselling Services, a non-profit agency that helps borrowers in trouble consolidate debts and pay back creditors in an affordable way.

"We see lots of students who have come in past the deadline and have ignored it. If you don't pay, they go to collection agencies and you get harassed."

And even for graduates who do find full-time work in a desired field, the problem doesn't end there. It can get worse. Sure they can start paying off the loan, but now the offers for credit cards start pouring in, and before they know it, they've bought thousands of dollars in goodies for their new apartment.

In itself, the spending isn't a bad thing, but quite often the way that they've gone about it is.

"Credit cards are probably the most expensive way of borrowing money to get what you want," says Silver, adding they have the highest interest rates, aside from payday loans.

"It's not a bad thing to have a credit card and pay it off every month because what you're doing is establishing a good credit record. But then, they can quickly get out of hand."

Sandra Hanna is all too familiar with the situation. After graduating with a psychology degree, she moved back to Vancouver to live with her parents. She found a job in public relations, saved up $8,000 and decided to strike out on her own.

"After a few months of being on my own, I had spent it all on clothes and furnishing my apartment," she says. But instead of simply accepting debt as an unavoidable fact of life, she got together with her friends and found out she wasn't the only one swimming in red. Taking their inspiration from Oprah's Debt Diet series, they set out to trim their expenses.

"One of the tips that I suggest for new college grads is do what we did and start with your friends a group where you start talking about your financial situation," says Hanna, 26, who with her four friends went on to found The Smart Cookies, a fledgling personal finance advice media empire with a TV program of the same name airing Wednesdays on the W Network.

Like a book club, they get together, drink wine and discuss finances, leaving no gory detail untold, and share solutions. It has turned out to be a lucrative social club. After two years, they had reduced their collective debt from $55,000 to $10,000. And their hard work hasn't gone unnoticed. Dishing out down-to-earth advice, they have appeared on several television programs, including Oprah. They even have book coming out this fall, titled The Smart Cookies Guide to Making More Dough.

"It's not rocket science. It's just a matter of aligning your spending with what you really want to have in your life." And, of course, sticking to it -- for which your friends in the club will hold you accountable.

It's advice that many university students can easily understand, since for many, budgeting is nothing new.

"I have a little book that I write it all down in," says Rademaker, who has become a disciplined spender while in school. "I actually figure it out right down to my daily spending limits -- like I have $10 per day to spend for the next two weeks."

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5:42 AM UK Debt Management – Come Out Of The Financial Mess

With a larger section of the UK population languishing under debts, it has become inevitable that they opt for debt management. They are provided with crucial tips for finding out the solution of the existing financial problems. But ensure that the remedy is adequate and makes you free of the burden in few years.

Usually, it is not possible for the debtors to have control of their monthly outgoings to old unsecured loans, credit cards, store cards and other bills, as they are not well versed in the ways of managing the old payments. Thus, the UK people have to rely on the experts of the field. These experts can be contacted through the companies who are providing the help. You can contact the companies on internet.

Just as you apply for UK Debt Management, after finding one such suitable company, it will contact you and take charge of your old payments. After assessing the situation, it can offer you various plans to come out of the financial mess.

However, usually you are given an affordable repayment plan that takes into account your earnings and expenses. This means that the repayment can be easily made through your existing monthly earnings. Then, the company can contact your various creditors for lowering the interest rates on your old unsecured loans and credit cards. Thus, your monthly outgoings are reduced to larger extent.

Then, you can offer a low monthly payment to the company, which will disburse it to your various creditors. One can say that you have consolidated monthly payments to number of creditors under the new company that is offering you UK debt management. Ensure that your creditors are being paid back regularly. Go through the terms and condition of such a company minutely before settling for one and stick to the repayment plan for keeping out of the financial trouble.

Rave Blackburn is a well known author and has been writing content for UK Debt Management. His content is worth reading as it gives you an insight about different aspects
of UK debt management, credit card debt management, debt management programs, debt management service.


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5:37 AM Show Me The Money!

I received my pay rise letter late last week, and I'll be getting a 6.5% raise starting the 15th July, which is a healthy increase considering the current economic environment.
Since July 2007, my salary has increased by 21%, not too shabby! I went after and got a promotion last October which really helped that number along, but I've done well in that new role and have been rewarded accordingly, if I do say so myself.
I spent the weekend (no, not the whole weekend – what do you think I'm like?) tossing around what I should do with it against what I really want to do with it. I’m happy with the compromise I've decided.

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5:34 AM Savings

Emergency Fund: $1,985.32 (+104.67) - Regularly budgeted contribution plus a little interest. I'm calling this fully funded even though we're a few dollars short of my $2000 goal. Hopefully interest can make up that slack in the next few months. I'm moving the monthly budgeted $100 contribution from this account to the Christmas savings until that is fully funded. Then I'll have to decide if I want to snowflake that budgeted $100 to debt or keep building the emergency fund or some third option like maybe rebuilding the Christmas fund for Christmas 2009?

Short Term Savings: $595.33 (+111.04) - $90 down for some medical bills and then $150 up from the garage sale and $50 up from the regular monthly budgeted contribution. All in all, not bad. This account is already $408 down this month however to pay for my NM plane ticket. The rest of the money in this account is earmarked for hotel room, rental car, food and souvenirs for NM so by the end of the month, it'll probably be pretty depleted. That's OK though, that's what this account is for! The plan is to rebuild it to purchase a Garmin GPS/heart rate monitor for Chuck (and me). After that I'd like to save again to purchase a treadmill for myself.

Anniversary Savings: $254.34 (+20.59) - Made regularly budgeted contribution plus a little interest. It's going to take a long time at this rate to go on any trips! When we are debt free I'll start contributing a little more to this fund. We are so going to Hawaii in 2012!

Christmas Savings: $604.09 (+1.46) - Nothing contributed this month but a little interest. This month the $100 from the monthly budget will go here instead of the emergency fund. This should enable us to meet our $1200 goal for Christmas 2008. Yes, that may sound high but we have grandparents, parents, siblings, friends and children all to buy for plus an upscale Christmas Eve dinner to host and all that has to come out of this budget. Whatever is left over will be held for Christmas 2009. You can never start saving too early!

Our NCN chart went from 40.45% to 45.79% this month! Nice increase! Chug, chug, chug. Time to keep moving along!


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5:30 AM Debts:

CC debt: $0.00 - No new credit card debt this month. This should be a recurring sentiment here from now on!

HELOC: $13,767.93 (-142.18) - Regularly budgeted minimum payment made. One more monthly minimum and then this one gets the snowball treatment! I haven't moved this to a 0% credit card yet either. Something is telling me to hold back on that.

Student Loans: $1.300.47 (-1,344.14) - We paid another huge chunk to the student loan this month! If we could do that again this month, we'd knock it out! As it is, I project us paying $1034 to this debt this month, more if we can squeeze it out of the budget. Either way, August is just around the corner and that is a three paycheck month for me so not only will this debt be long gone but we should get a nice jump start on the HELOC!

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5:35 AM The Re-Balancing of the 401k

I wanted to put out a quick note to readers to ask for your help in telling me what direction you want to see the site head in the future. Primarily, I think most people come for either Personal Finance topics or Investing topics. I'd like to understand if there's a strong preference for one over the other or if you actually enjoy both topics. Additionally, of late, I've seen a lot of traffic related to ShopToEarn, but I've moved on to new topics after closing that chapter. This begs the question of whether I should split out a new blog geared toward one niche or the other or whether I should just continue to post diverse content here. It also highlights that if 90% of the visitors are here for one topic or the other, perhaps I should shift gears and focus more on one segment.

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5:26 AM Everyday Finance - Readers Speak

I wanted to put out a quick note to readers to ask for your help in telling me what direction you want to see the site head in the future. Primarily, I think most people come for either Personal Finance topics or Investing topics. I'd like to understand if there's a strong preference for one over the other or if you actually enjoy both topics. Additionally, of late, I've seen a lot of traffic related to ShopToEarn, but I've moved on to new topics after closing that chapter. This begs the question of whether I should split out a new blog geared toward one niche or the other or whether I should just continue to post diverse content here. It also highlights that if 90% of the visitors are here for one topic or the other, perhaps I should shift gears and focus more on one segment.

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12:27 PM A Shortcut to Debt Free Life

(Best Syndication) There is no magical, mystical and ready-made formula available to lower your debt burden. The best solution is your common sense and having a plan for your own budget. Good plans aiming to reduce debt burden are 80% about your financial behavior and 20% about financial knowledge.

It is not a rocket science that will immediately propel all your debts in one shot. However, reducing your debt burden is easy though it takes time. Your behavior during this period is the greatest factor for the plan's success.

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12:25 PM Lawmakers irate over payday rates

"I still believe that they are the new loan sharks of the 21st century," she said. Stories of quick cash and high interest rates like Medlock's are driving legislation at the Capitol this year to sock it to "predatory lenders." "Not even the mob can charge as high of interest rates," said Rep. Mark Ferrandino, a Denver Democrat who announced a bill Thursday that would muzzle the industry. "This legislation will help hardworking men and women in Colorado who are living paycheck to paycheck."

In what they say is the toughest crackdown on payday lenders in the nation, lawmakers want to cap the annual interest rate on payday loans at 36 percent and prohibit lenders from giving people with unpaid loans more money. Lenders would have to check a database to see whether customers are already in debt.

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12:18 PM Will Rebate Checks Make a Difference

Rebate checks might soon be in your mailbox. As part of President Bush's stimulus package, income tax filers will receive between $300 and $1200 come may. Congress hopes putting money in American's hands will boost the economy, but Senator John DeFrancisco of Syracuse believes this is only a short-term solution, and we need to look towards the future. A recent poll shows American's will spend the money paying bills, filling up the gas tank, and getting out of debt. DeFrancisco says taxes should be lowered instead of a one time rebate check.

Here is more information and some guidelines to find out if and how much you will be getting back.

Source: Associated Press

Beginning this spring, more than 130 million people will get rebate checks from the government in amounts from $300 to $1,200.

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12:15 PM The art of borrowing sensibly

TO THE hard-working mums and dads who have children at ABC Learning Centres, I know from doing brekkie radio this week that many of you are worried.So, what are the ramifications of the company's plummeting share price? There are none – at least none threaten childcare places. However, CEO Eddy Groves can teach us some good lessons. Firstly how to avoid high-risk borrowing and secondly the right way to save for your kids' education, and finally let's look at his hair. What's going on with that? Eddy and his key executives borrowed heavily against their shareholdings in the company, using their existing stock as security (otherwise known as a margin loan).

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12:08 PM Our Debt Settlement Program

The Goal: To help people who are in a dangerous debt situation to ethically and completely solve the problem so they can get back on their feet financially and flourish and prosper in life.

Who do we serve: We help those who are in over their heads with unsecured debt and have no workable way out. Typically, our clients are those who, due to a change in circumstances, (this could be the loss of a job, health problems or some other business situation) find it difficult or impossible to keep up with their obligations. They usually have been barely making minimum payments for some time and due to their circumstances are finding it increasingly difficult to continue to make minimum payments. They are often falling behind in their payments and could be at or near the point of bankruptcy.

What we do: We stop collection actions and negotiate with the creditor on behalf of our client to reduce, as much as possible, the amount of debt they owe. We negotiate mutually agreeable settlements based upon the client’s budget. The client pays the settlement as agreed and we assist with the process from beginning to end. Each settlement offer is made in writing by the creditor and agreed and signed by the client before it goes into effect.

What are the benefits: The client does not have to deal directly with the creditors any longer. For those clients being harassed by collectors the stress level comes down dramatically so the client can concentrate on making money and getting some enjoyment out of life. We actually settle debts at substantially reduced amounts and the settlements are paid off within the constraints of a workable budget for the client. Once all debt is settled and paid the client is now out of debt and can use their financial resources for something more productive.

Click Hear

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11:19 AM Let’s Go to Debt

How about a life without debt? Have you experienced also? If you have, Off course you know the big difference. But don’t worry. Even if you are in a sea of debts right now, you can still come out of it victorious. It is still possible to lead a debt-free life.

1. Prioritize paying your debts. Yes. In order for you to be free of debt, you have to pay for it in full. There’s no other way about it. This is the main solution; the only solution.

2. Get professional help. If you feel that you can’t possibly get out of your debts on your own, there are many companies out there which offer debt management services and debt consolidation. Try talking to them and select the system that will work for you.

3. Prioritize accordingly. Before you spend on anything, think twice about it. You also have to make sure that your monthly debt obligations are always met. Don't pass up payments. You wouldn't want to recede into debt further.

4. Control your money. Control means you aren't going to spend on the spur of the moment. You will be more conscious on how your earnings are spent. You won’t focus on the luxuries. Instead, you will dwell more on the necessities of life.

5. Use your credit card sparingly. A credit card is something so powerful it can help you or break you. Choose not to be broken by a credit card. Use it wisely. Don't use it for unnecessary and small purchases. Always pay with cash when you have it. And if you have more than two credit card, please make sure to close them. Don’t have credit card more than two.

6. Stay out of debt. In cases where you can put off applying for a loan, do it. If you can save instead of calling your loan agent, settle for that. Loans are simply excess baggage in the long run. Don’t apply for one unless you really have to.

7. Save. Not just for rainy days but always. Your savings is going to be important in times of emergencies and times where you want to make a big purchase. Save as much as you can in any way you can.

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6:02 AM Debt relief 101 for Understanding your options and avoiding the scams

Debt Consolidation
The most well-known form of debt relief is debt consolidation. The principle behind debt consolidation is that by combining the many small debts, many of which are very high interest such as credit cards, under a single lower interest loan, you can get control of your debt. Under the single lower interest loan, the overall cost of servicing the debt, that is your total monthly payment, is lower than the combined total of the many smaller debts. That at least is the theory behind all debt consolidation programs.
Many programs go further, however, by limiting your discretionary spending. The theory goes, that because you have accumulated so much debt through your own uncontrolled spending, the debt consolidation lender will in effect act as your accountant too. The limitations placed on you by debt relief programs range from prohibiting major purchases like as a new car or home, all the way to those organizations which take your paycheck before you get it, and then dole out to you the remainder. While the latter version sounds intrusive, and certainly it is, it may prove for some individuals the best option as it will force a rationing of discretionary spending. But one thing you can count on with almost every debt consolidation program is the requirement that you cut up all of your credit cards. As credit is the number one contributor to consumer debt today, that isn't all that bad of an idea.

Creditor Negotiations
But debt consolidation isn't the only option available to those in debt crisis. Another option is to hire a creditor negotiator. These services, usually under the name debt management or debt managers, mediate negotiations between you and your creditors in the hope of lowering your total debt. In effect, these individuals bargain with your creditors, threatening them with the possibility of you seeking bankruptcy (in which case they get almost nothing) to try to get them to lower the interest rate, or the principle of your debt. This can be a very effective method for those unable or hesitant to secure a new larger debt through a debt consolidation loan.
The problem with both of these options is that they do not come for free. While many organizations present themselves as non-profit or even public servants, the reality is that almost every agency is in business because of the profits they can make off of you. For example, many individuals in need of debt consolidation are so thankful to find a willing lender that promises to lower their monthly payment, that they fail to examine closely the loan contract they are offered.

The Negatives and Scams of Debt Relief Programs
A common scam is to hide huge "service fees" or "debt consolidation fees" in the principle of the loan. So, if for example you have $50,000 in outstanding debt, your debt consolidation lender may provide you with a loan as high as $80,000, where the extra $30,000 is comprised almost entirely of fees. The lender then extends the loan out for years and years, so that your monthly payment is actually lower and as a result you do not ask any questions. Another, even more devious scam is to vary the interest rate over the life of the debt consolidation loan. For example, the lender might offer you a loan in which for the first two years the interest rate is an extremely low percentage, say 4%. But very quickly, the interest rate balloons to something like 15% at which point you will no longer be able to make payments and must go back to the lender and "consolidate your debt" once again. But debt consolidation lenders are not the only one's trying to scam you. Creditor negotiators seem to offer a problem-free solution to your debt troubles. They offer to negotiate with your creditors, making the process seem infinitely more complex than it actually is. In truth, many individuals can simply negotiate with creditors themselves. The threat of bankruptcy is very real for many lenders, and as a result many are willing to offer you alternatives to the current high interest rates they are charging you. By cutting out the middle man credit negotiator, you can save much by way of charges, for the rather minimal hassle of calling the creditors yourself.
Both debt consolidation and debt management services fill important niches in a world where consumer debt is increasingly prevalent. It is important to remember, however, that these companies make money off of you. And because the industry is in a stage of rapid growth there are a great number of companies working on the edges of the law if not engaging in outright predatory lending. By entering the world of debt relief you are entering the world of scam artists and sub-prime lenders. Educating yourself before you enter the arena is the only way to ensure that you attain the best debt relief for you.

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5:59 AM Debt Consolidation Stop Foreclosure-2

This would causes the homeonwer firstly, losing one of thier most valued investment, their home; secondly their credit rating would be severely affected. Foreclosures can stay on their record for up to 10 years; it makes it almost impossible to purchase another home.

The obviously better option is to seek professional help to prevent foreclosure from taking place and find ways to catch up on their mortgage payments. The leader in the foreclosure prevention industry is Intermark Media - the premier source for homeowners who are 90 days or more behind on their mortgage. Their experience is unparalleled in providing financial services for homeowners online. All a homeowner have to do is fill out a short form here and one of thier foreclosure prevention counselors will call back for a free no-obligation analysis. They have a 98% success rate in saving their client(homeowner)'s home to boast about.

Their clients includes homeonwers with bad credit rating and homeowners who are already deep into the foreclosure process. Foreclosure is a frightening process that no one wish to go through. Unfortunately, there are times when we get into tough situations that prevent us from making payments. Fortunately, there are helps available. If you are one of those homeowners who are 90 or more days behind on your mortgage payments, you owe it to yourself to get in touch with Intermark Media The sooner you fill out the form, the faster you can receive your free consultation and the quicker you can get back on track.

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5:58 AM Debt Consolidation -1

Foreclosure Prevention is an option consumers are not aware of when they face the foreclosure process. It’s a well kept secret that foreclosure proceedings can be stopped up to an hour before the sale of one’s home.
There are only two options a homeowner can take if he/she is several months behind their mortgage payments. Option one is the foreclosure option. This is the option that no homeowner would want to take. However, this is the legal means that their lender can use to force the sale of their home, if they do not make their mortgage payments on time.

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4:51 AM Student Loan Debt Solutions

The figures for students opting for loans are only going higher as each year passes by. Not only that; with the escalation in the cost of tuitions, the amount borrowed is also at an all-time high. But despite that, the list of student defaulters is low. This is due to the fact that today there are many solutions for student indebtedness and students are better-informed of how to implement these solutions.

The wisest solution is that of loan consolidation. A student can bundle up all the federal loans that may have been borrowed during the educational period into a single loan, with a single rate of interest. When a student consolidates loans, then the rate of interest locks in at the current rate and hence, the student does not have to suffer the rising rate in the future. Consolidation also saves the student from having to deal with more than one creditor.

Consolidation is a seemingly viable option, but the student must do some research to find out whether it would really help. Sometimes with consolidated loans, the interest reductions are not much and the student must think whether it is worth making the effort to get the loans consolidated. The Student Assistance Act of 1965 has facilitated students with huge loans to extend their tenures of repayment up to as many as 30 years. But though this gives an ease of repayment to the student, it will pile up a tremendous interest for such a long tenure.

The best option seems to be debt forgiveness. There are several socially benefiting organizations that the student can work with to get the loans forgiven. Students may work as doctors, nurses, teachers, or may join the armed forces or work in voluntary institutions such as the AmeriCorps or PeaceCorps to get their loans forgiven. The amount of loan forgiven depends on the period of service the student provides. However, the catch here is that the student must think whether working for a higher paying institution may help to get the loan repaid faster.

There is also an option of rehabilitating loans. After 12 monthly payments to the lender, the student may request the lender to sell the loan off to someone else. Once this is agreed upon, the student has 9 years to repay the loan. Filing for bankruptcy is a possible, though very difficult, process. To be declared bankrupt, a court must be ascertained that the student will not have even a minimal standard of living for a major chunk of the repayment period, were the loan to be repaid.

Student loans cannot be completely eliminated. Hence, students must try to repay them as soon as possible. It helps to take up a job immediately after graduation. There are students who are still unemployed when the grace period is coming to an end. This is a catastrophic situation. In fact, lenders provide discounts to students who manage to repay their loans on time.

Students must learn debt management techniques. Becoming aware of the sticky situation they are in often helps to solve the situation.

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4:49 AM Reduce And Eliminate Your Debt?

Easy access to money means people are borrowing more money. Borrowing more and more money eventually leads to a situation of unmanageable burden of debt. People's spiralling debts have given rise to a new and growing industry.

Consolidate all your debts into one. The debt consolidation service combines all your debts into just one debt as illustrated by Mr & Mrs James case:-

1) Credit Card debts $4,900 @ 27.5% apr

2) Personal loans $9,700 @16.7% apr

3) Arrears on mortgage payments $3,300 @ 5.5% apr (house may get repossessed due to these arrears)

4)Store Card bill/debts $2,300@33.34%

5) Gambling debts by Mr James $13,500@22% apr

6) Work Credit Card $1,600@18% apr.

7) Bar Bill (at a local bar) $490

Total monthly payments in respect of the above came to $2,900 per month plus household bills including food costs. Mr James brought home $4,200 per month and almost all of that money went on paying for debts and arrears. They could not live on the measly amount which was left.

Mr & Mrs James's total combined debt came to $35,790 at an average interest rate of 20.51%. On the basis of average interest rate, over five years the repayments will be $1208.21 per month. There is also the mortgage payments of $890 per month.

The critical issues.

The gambling debt needs to be paid within the next 3 months. The gambling company is going for foreclosure so the risk of losing their home is eminent. Additional costs of food, gas/electricity, fuel for their two cars meant that they need just about $2,000 to meet their living costs.

The family home is at risk of being repossessed. There are proceedings being instituted both by the mortgage provider and the company responsible for collecting Mr James gambling debts.

The debt consolidation solution.

Mr James bought his house 5 years ago for $172,000. He has built up some equity in his investment. A re-valuation priced the house at $265,000. The immediate solution proposed by the consolidation service was to release some of that equity to clear these debts. Mr & Mrs James agreed to live within their means. They had to surrender their cards; in total they had 10 cards between the two of them, and they both agreed never to use them again. With the help of Bank of America, the debt consolidation service released 85% of the equity in their family house and raised $53,250 with the intention of clearing all their debts. The debts were all cleared. Mr & Mrs James paid $750 per months for their new mortgage because of a discounted deal which was negotiated & secured on behalf of Mr & Mrs James.

Mr & Mrs James went through a real ordeal which nearly cost them everything they worked for. As a direct result, they have now set up a debt advise help line to help other American families become debt free. Additionally, they have devised a help yourself guide packed with practical ideas for people to get out of debt first of all and then to remain debt free. Their suggestions and recommendations are:-

1) Don't be afraid to ask for help. The sooner you ask for help the better for you. Because they themselves kept deferring their own decision to seek help, they simply got deeper into debt.

2) Only spend cash from your earnings. Do not use credit cards as an alternative. Apart from James's gambling debts, most of our other debts were from credit card use. Bad idea and bad move. Don't do it.

3) Talk to your partner about the problem and look for a solution. Mr & Mrs James did not talk about it nor did they try to find a solution. A lot of our debt problems could have been pre-empted had we spoke about our concerns and issues.

4) Talk to your creditors, explain the problems to them and ask them for help too. If you propose a sensible solution to reducing or eliminating your debt to them they may agree to it and stop charging you more interest.

5) We did not know about the extra equity in our house until the debt consolidation service suggested that option as a possible way out for us. So, talk and look for solutions by examining all possibilities.

6) Reduce costs and outgoings where ever possible. We spent a lot of money dining out when we could not afford it. When we looked at our goings we were amazed at how much we wasted dining out. So, we curbed our spending by cutting our unnecessary waste.

7) Look for problems in your life and in your relationship. James gambled to the tune of $13,500 because he was bored it came to light when we finally decided to face up to our problems. Remedy these problems as soon as you can.

Debt consolidation service has given us our lives back. We are not likely to be in situation again. We are trying to help others from being in debt and we would ask you in turn to help more people become debt free.

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7:35 AM Debt Management Solution

Considering that you are assisted by a debt counselor in repaying your debts, it is important that your regularly check with your counselor and your creditors about the payment and the implementation of the discounted rates on your loan. The debt Counselors provide debt solutions by collecting monthly payment from you and paying it to your creditors every month on a negotiated rate which is normally lesser than what you had to pay otherwise.

Things you should always remember before you begin using the debt management program include, do not stop paying the bills, while the negotiation between your creditor and the debt counselor is still on. Continue to pay your bills according to the scheduled calendar to avoid late fees or negative billing.

Once the plan has been accepted by your creditor, contact them and confirm it for yourself before you start sending the loan amount to your debt solution team, i.e. the debt counselor.

Now that you are already using an effective debt solution program and are also paying your bills to the debt management team on time, make sure that they too are paying your bill to your creditors before the due date of your bill. This is necessary to avoid tendering late fees on your bills due to the negligence of your debt solutions counselor.

Ask for monthly statements from both the counselor and the creditor to keep track of the amount that is being credited on your bills. Reviewing these bills will also help you find out how successfully or unsuccessfully your Debt Solution plan is going.

In most situations the debt counselors negotiate with the creditors to waive your late fine, or reduce your interest rate etc. So make sure that these negotiations are being followed and you are not still being charged for them.

The author has been in the financial industry for a considerable period of time and has been assisting quite a few reputed banks and other financial institutions. Now he has his own set up and counsels people on debt related queries. He is also assisting Online Debt Advice {Debt Solution} and their customers on debt related issues.


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12:06 AM Consolidate Your Student Loans Now!

SHARES in the nation's biggest debt collection agency, Credit Corp Group, collapsed yesterday, falling nearly 80 per cent after the company revealed its full-year profit would probably drop by almost 50 per cent.
Less than three months after its first profit warning, Credit Corp revealed that its full-year profit would be slashed by up to $9 million to $10-12 million -- and at least one analyst believes the company will not meet that revised target.
Management blamed the dramatic profit decline on a "substantial proportion" of recent debt ledger purchases failing to meet revenue expectations.
Debt collection agencies make their money from bidding for parcels of bad and doubtful debts, with the aim of recouping more than they paid for them.
Chairman Christopher Deane resigned immediately.

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6:40 AM Consolidate Your Student Loans Now!

Steven Schell , a 31-year-old attorney from New York, is almost as obsessed with interest rates as Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. He may not have the weight of the U.S. economy riding on his shoulders — but he does have $40,000 in Stafford loans. Needless to say, that's quite a burden. To help ease the pain, in 2003 Schell consolidated his loans. Wise move. That saved Schell more than $400 a month (provided he only pays off the minimum on his new 30-year loan). Every year thousands of consumers like Mr. Schell take advantage of Federal Consolidation Loans in order to lock in the prevailing interest rate and lower their monthly payments by extending the payback period. Consumers with student debt who haven't yet taken advantage of this program — sorry folks, you can only do it once — have the opportunity to do so now and lock in the lowest rates in nearly 40 years. The government resets its lending rate anually in July. If you haven't consolidated your student loans, here's a quick tutorial on how to go about doing so. Consolidation 101Federal Consolidation Loans were created as a debt-management tool to help consumers lower their monthly payments. As we mentioned above, a borrower can combine all of his federal student debt into one payment and lock in the prevailing rate for the lifetime of the loan.

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