| Debt Concerns And Impact On Mental Health
Overspending over theholidays and new year season may have a wider-ranging impacton consumer mental health than just on their finances, new research shows. A poll carried out by Mind revealed that over half of those surveyed spent more money during the festive period than they could afford to. Research from the institution suggested that 39 per cent of Britons used a credit card in the run-up to Christmas to help them cope with extra demands on their spending. The mental health charity also reported that concerns about repaying debts, that may have been accrued through the likes of credit cards and loans, have seen about a fifth (19 per cent) of people state that they feel less able to manage their mental health. In addition, the study showed that 40 per cent of those surveyed believe that they are under increased levels of stress and anxiety, while a further 25 per cent of people feel more depressed as they attempt to get to grips with their spending.
The Clock is Ticking on Some Now-Or-Never Tax Breaks
Despite the stock market's wild ride this year, 2007 is expected to be a record year for mutual fund distributions, according to Tim Roseen, of Lipper, a mutual-fund analysis firm. Now is a good time to scour your portfolio in search of losses you can use to offset taxable gains. If your investment losses exceed your profits, you can use them to offset up to $3,000 of ordinary income and carry over any unused losses into future years. Normal year-end tax planning calls for paying next year's deductible expenses, such as January's mortgage interest, property taxes and state income taxes, in the current year. But you don't want to do that if you are subject to the alternative minimum tax. The AMT, a parallel tax system with its own set of rules, does not permit deductions for state and local taxes, home-equity loan interest (unless the borrowed money was used to finance home improvements) or personal exemptions -- worth $3,400 this year -- for yourself, your spouse and your children.
Educator's love for students pays off
They got a $10,000 bank loan. They bought five Apple II computers. And they hired Nick, a senior at Madison Central High School (now Old Bridge High School), who was referred to them by a fellow teacher. Nick worked on the business part time, even when he went to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh to study engineering. And the team developed software to assess students' progress. School districts weren't enthused, in part, Nadler said, because it would have put teachers under closer scrutiny. "There's an element of accountability in the product that wasn't appealing," she said. So the company shifted its focus to special education, where the state and federal government required schools to assess students more closely. It wasn't a huge market; in 1986, the company's sales were less than $100,000.
'Yo-yo tactic' prompts loan officer to question automobile sales ...
In October, she selected an unused, white Nissan Altima at North Texas Nissan in Corinth, signed the paperwork with salesman Brian Hall, turned over her old car as a trade-in, and took her new car home."I just fell in love with the car," said Judy Miller, a senior loan officer with Maverick Residential Mortgage in Gainesville.Miller had the car for two weeks when Ruth, one of Hall's assistants at the dealership, called to tell her the bank could not accept the terms she and Hall had agreed on."I was told that everything was a done deal, and I would begin making payments on my car on Nov. 26," she said. "I was shocked."Miller explained to Ruth that she had a copy of her signed contract."They couldn't just change the terms," Miller said she told the assistant.Then Ruth told Miller about a car contract provision Miller had never heard of."She informed me that the dealership had done a 'spot delivery' and that they could, in fact, change whatever they wanted," Miller said.Miller had the option of agreeing to a new contract with new terms or bringing back the new Nissan.Miller turned to the Internet where she said she found lots of auto dealership horror stories."I could not believe what I was reading," she said.
ALL BUSINESS: Banks face more woes from rising delinquencies on second ...
Contrarian investors who think now is the time to start buying beaten-down banking stocks could be in for a shock if they don't carefully review those companies' distressed home-equity loan portfolios. Massive losses tied to subprime-mortgage investments knocked down bank earnings over the last year, spurring investors to flee those stocks. But that could be only the start: Rising delinquencies in home-equity loans and other second mortgages could keep the banks' results from improving anytime soon. In recent days, executives at Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. said missed loan payments were a factor in their quarterly earnings declines. Most said the problem would only get worse. Why? A so-far small, but growing, number of homeowners who used their homes like an ATM to fund their spending and investment bets are finding themselves in a financial pinch.
4 Parish homes up for grabs
Consequently, investigators have spent months sorting out ownership claims on the real estate. "We originally thought that we'd certainly get a few hundred thousand dollars out of these properties, but everything's a mess," Dantzler said. "Unraveling this has cost tens of thousands of dollars. And then you get to the end of the rainbow and it's a dry hole. It's just unbelievable." Parish listed all four properties as collateral for a $2.5 million loan from the National Bank of South Carolina, none of which has been repaid. He also used a house at Edisto Beach as collateral to secure a loan for an Internet business in which he owned a 10 percent stake. NBSC, which granted the loan, has a $610,000 lien on the property over that agreement. Bank of America also has a lien on the Edisto Beach house over $465,489 outstanding from another unpaid loan to Parish.
ITT Educational confident in 2008 view
CARMEL, Ind. - Post-secondary education provider ITT Educational Services Inc. said Thursday it is "confident" it can achieve 2008 earnings per share of $4.50 to $4.60 despite the reduction in lender subsidies under federal student loan programs and tight credit markets which are pressuring students. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect full-year profit of $4.47 per share, on average. The company said it expects to continue to improve student retention, but believes future increases in the quarterly persistence rate will moderate from 2007 levels. "Recently, there has been a lot of speculation in the market with respect to the ability of our students to obtain the financing needed to pay their education costs," said Chief Executive Kevin Modany in a statement. "This speculation was caused by a recent reduction in lender subsidies under the federal student loan programs and the current credit crunch that arose from the subprime mortgage crisis." ITT said it has arranged for Bank of America, Chase Education Finance and Citibank, The Student Loan Corp.
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