Quicker Holiday Pay Offs
December 19, 2007
A recent survey conducted by the Financial Services Roundtable found that nearly 75 percent of Americans are planning to pay off their holiday debt within a period of ninety days.
Subprime Hotline is HOT
December 13, 2007
President Bush recently announced the creation of a national hotline for those individuals who are under sub-prime mortgages. The phone line was set up to help the 1.2 million people currently estimated to be under sub-prime mortgages. As of 11 December the hotline has already received over 45,000 calls. The program announced by the President is called Hope Now.
Help For Subprime May Be on the Way
December 5, 2007
Henry Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, recently announced that an agreement was close at hand that would assist thousands of homeowners who are at risk of losing their homes due to foreclosure. The assistance would come in the form of an interest rate freeze.
New York Subpoenas Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
November 30, 2007
Andrew Cuomo, New York’s Attorney General, recently stated that he had sent subpoenas to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government sponsored lenders, concerning his concerns that the organizations had conflicts of interests in their mortgage lending policies.
Hard Hit Foreclosure Areas To Lose Even More
November 29, 2007
According to a recent report by the US Conference of Mayors, the increase in foreclosures will result in billions of dollars being lost in some of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.
Credit Report Mistakes
November 28, 2007
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group did a study recently and found that 25 percent of consumer credit reports have mistakes on them and that these mistakes can be serious enough to cause a lender to deny credit.
Chrysler Cuts Jobs
November 20, 2007
An estimated 11,000 jobs will be cut by Chrysler Corp. The job cuts will take place in the United States and in Canada. The company reported that the cuts will be made up of 1,000 salaried jobs along with 10,000 hour-based jobs. Earlier this year, Chrysler announced that it would downsize an additional 13,000 jobs. When these numbers are viewed as a total, the cuts represent nearly thirty percent of the workforce employed by Chrysler.
$2 Trillion Dollar Cutback
November 19, 2007
Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs reported recently that the current mortgage mess could bring about a whooping $2 trillion reduction in lending. This cut back, according to Goldman Sachs, could have far reaching and dramatic consequences for the overall US economy.
Debt Collector to Pay $1.4M Fine
November 14, 2007
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that it has fined a Houston-based debt collection company to the tune of $1.4 million dollars. The company has agreed to pay the fine to settle charges that it illegally threatened and harassed consumers.
Retirement Plan Participation Decreasing
November 13, 2007
The Employee Benefit Research Institute recently reported that fewer employees are participating in company sponsored retirement plans but that decrease may be due to the fact that fewer employers are actually offering retirement plans to their employees.