Saturday, July 3, 2010

Student loan backed securities up for sale

Some lenders that administer student loans are planning a big sale. Securities made up of or combined with student loans are set to go on the market very soon. Should governments be on the hook for federally backed loan credit sold by private businesses? Are these companies relying on taxpayers for a bailout?

Resource for this article: Student loan backed securities up for sale by Personal Money Store

The administration of student loans

Since the student loan program started, private businesses have administered these loans. Private companies administer the loans, but the government backs them up should the students default on the loans. The original theory was that this private system would get students the best personal loans. The federal government will take over the administration of the loans, thanks to a student loan reform bill that was most recently passed.

Securities backed by student loans

Like the subprime mortgage securities created by Wall Street, student loan securities are "bundled.” Investors buy and sell these "loan-backed securities". Because these student loans are government-backed, they are considered “safer” investments. A student loan group owned by Citibank is selling $ 855 million. Bank of America is also going to be selling $ 1.23 billion of student loan backed bonds. Sallie Mae may also sell $ 1.7 billion in bonds.

Are these bonds and securities good investments?

The student-loan backed securities being sold as federally guaranteed loan securities will benefit the companies and investors. The federal government and taxpayers who take on the risk of these student loan bonds, nevertheless, will not be seeing much benefit. This situation has been partially resolved, but not entirely. The new student loan bill removes private companies from the middleman position. At the same time, will the federal government continue to sell these securities? If the government agency does, at least the taxpayers will see the benefit.



Knowing when to switch out your car battery

There is a sound that each driver dreads – the lack of sound when you try to start your car. To hear just a click-click-click when you turn the ignition is very frustrating. It could mean that you just left the lights on overnight, or it could mean that your battery is dying. Knowing when to replace your car battery can help cut down on these unfortunately surprising moments of being stranded.

Post resource: When to swap out your car battery by Car Deal Expert

The workings of a battery

The essential essence of a car battery is the same. Chemical energy is created when diluted sulfuric acid runs across and around lead plates. Call on the battery for power, and it puts out electrical energy by running the acid over the lead. Eventually, the lead plates run out of charge, and they must be recharged before they can be used again. Eventually, the parts of the battery wear out.

Replacing the battery on time

Depending on the kind of conditions you use your car battery under, you could need to replace it as often as every two years. Most batteries, under average driving load, will last up to six years. Very rough driving could contain

:

  • Living in an areas with a very cold average temperature
  • Not checking or refilling the battery water
  • Using add-on systems that take many power
  • Regularly jump-starting others

Any maintenance shop should be able to test the battery for you. Have a look at the alternator if your battery tests low – just to make certain that isn't a mechanical problem.

Keeping your car battery?

An old, used-up car battery can nevertheless be useful. A car battery can be environmentally damaging if you just throw it away. Instead, a local recycling center will most likely be very happy to take the battery. Usually, a dead car battery will net you between $ 3 and $ 5 dollars – not a huge amount of money, but enough to treat yourself to a latte for changing the battery as part of your car.



Friday, July 2, 2010

Get ready for Taste of Chicago 2010!

The annual Taste of Chicago is at it again, bringing out the delectable, tasty flavors of Chicago, Ill., from people across the globe. Taste of Chicago 2010 will be June 25 through July 4, and it will be held at the city’s front yard, the beautiful Grant Park.

Resource for this article: Taste of Chicago 2010 – Tasteful food and entertainment by Personal Money Store

Taste of Chicago 2010 brings yet another tasteful experience

You will not need quick cash loans to enjoy the fun at Taste of Chicago 2010. There is no admission fee, and tickets for food and beverage purchases are available at a very low price — 12 tickets for $8! Be sure to check out the food booths to find out what number of tickets is required for each food and beverage purchase. There are a ton of sample foods offered for only 2-4 tickets. Besides that, you get entertainment – free! – from some of the hottest musical performers like Salt-n-Pepa, the Steve Miller Band, Emily Osment, Bel Biv Devoe, Trey Songz, Los Lobos, Los Lonely Boys, and many more!

A partial sample of Taste of Chicago 2010

Courtesy of ChicagoTraveler.com, here is a partial list of this year’s Taste of Chicago menu:

  • Chicago Italian beef sandwiches from Tuscany Restaurant, located in Little Italy in Chicago
  • The finest Chicago pizza from Home Run Inn Pizza, Doreen’s Pizza, Bacino’s Pizza, Lou Malnati’s Pizza, Reggio’s Pizza and Connie’s Pizza
  • Bobak Sausage Company’s wide selection of full-of-flavor sausages
  • Deliciosa comida Mexicana from La Justicia, Carbon and Adobo Grill
  • Seafood lovers! – Grilled shrimp and lobster from Oak Street Beach Cafe
  • Glorious dessert offerings from Abundance Bakery, Eli’s Cheesecake, Churro Factory and JR Dessert Bakery

This is only a small portion of what Taste of Chicago has in store for you this year, as it continues to hold the number one spot for the largest food festival – in the world!

Taste of Chicago — a taste of Unity in Diversity

It’s not just about food at Taste of Chicago 2010; it is about gathering people of all walks of life to learn from each other through extraordinary cooking. The fact is the world revolves around food, and it has brought together many people from across the globe, through unity in diversity. Food at its essence signifies the shared flavors of life, love, and the lifelong bond that unites the two. And through this bond and shared experiences in life, real relationships thrive, intimacy cultivates and sweet, sweet memories form.

Additional information at this website:

Chicago Traveler

chicagotraveler.com/attractions/taste-of-chicago.html



Wedding Cans Update - Peter and Andrea reach 5-ton goal

Just in time for their wedding day, the Wedding Cans couple has successfully achieved their goal to collect 400,000 cans to pay for their wedding – completed in just eight months! Who would have ever thought that collecting aluminum cans could pay for a whole entire wedding? Yes, some might call it crazy, but this couple in Spokane is proving that through the craziest ideas, great success could be achieved.

Post resource: Wedding Cans Update – Peter and Andrea reach 5-ton goal by Personal Money Store

Wedding cans are ringing success

In just 197 days, Andrea Parrish and Peter Geyer have already reached 100 percent of their goal, thanks to the United Recycling Services, Alcoa Aluminum and the outpouring support from people across the globe. The couple can be married next month, July 31, in Spokane, Wash. at the Corbin Art Center, where wedding cans will right, not just for the love they share, but for their great accomplishment.

“The response to this project has been overwhelming,” said Andrea./p>

“The most exciting thing about the project is how many individuals have borrowed the idea,” Peter added. “We have other engaged couples recycling for their weddings and honeymoons — even a woman collecting cans to pay for her liver transplant.”

Peter and Andrea will donate more than half of the proceeds of any additional cans they collect to nonprofit organizations Rim Country Land Institute and Doctors Without Borders, using only 40 percent for their honeymoon.

Wedding Cans – a story to remember

The couple has suffered through numerous trials and challenges throughout their quest to collect five tons of aluminum cans to help pay for their summer wedding. Nevertheless, the two have remained true to their values, as well as that crazy idea that came to mind at around 1 o’clock one morning. In an era of extreme consumerism and outlandish wedding costs, Peter and Andrea are truly admired for their fearless efforts of dedicated probably the biggest moment of their lives to saving our planet. Congratulations to Peter and Andrea on their Wedding Cans success!

For more information about Wedding Cans, visit www.weddingcans.com



Smashing the testosterone barrier – Women in auto sales

A recent article that was in Automotive News reports that when it comes to auto dealers, women in auto sales may be just the recipe needed to increase the bottom line. The tradition of having male salespeople in the auto sales industry created a “testosterone barrier” that may have been appropriate when purchasing decisions in American households were made mostly by the husband. However, today’s sales figures show there is an almost complete shift toward women making more household purchasing decisions. This holds true when it comes to auto buying, hence more auto dealers have welcomed women in auto sales business in order to best serve the market today.

Article Source: Women in auto sales – Smashing the testosterone barrier by Car Deal Expert

A friendlier sales environment with women in auto sales

Automotive News has an example of Cindy Monson of White Bear Lake, Minn., in its analysis of women in auto sales. Monson had a successful sales career in consumer electronics, but wanted a new challenge with the potential for greater reward. She then went into auto sales. Her husband Vince initially discouraged Cindy from the male-dominated world of cutthroat sales. The dealership them switched to a no haggle, one price sales model.Cindy was prepared to take on the competition before, even if the constant sales crush was less than desirable. But she found the new no-haggle environment to be appealing.

Low pressure – High on fun and repeat business

Cindy found that the world of pressure and bait-and-switch that previously characterized automotive sales as a whole has gradually faded away. ”I pride myself on repeats,” she said to Automotive News. And Monson has had 400 of them over her successful 12-year- career at Polar Honda Mazda in White Bear Lake. That is indicative of the new atmosphere in auto showrooms across America, although much change still needs to occur.

If it is true that women buy more than half of all new cars and also that 80 percent of all automotive purchasing decisions are made by women, then auto dealers should take notice. Some dealerships, like Leona Kenney’s 2nd Chance Auto Sales in Ottawa, Ontario, even credit a “Women Certified” brand of auto sales, and it makes a great deal of sense. Consumers with buying power should be well-served.

Read more on this topic here

Automotive News

autonews.com/article/20100622/BLOG14/100629982/-1 (subscription required after first view)

On a dealership being “Women Certified”

youtube.com/watch?v=eC4dtysWQEQ



Thursday, July 1, 2010

No body count, just dead jobs – operation sunset

Operation Sunset is going to place a rate cap on short-term loans that will drive those lenders out of business and out of the state. However, according to the Tucson Citizen, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard is prepared to mount a massive offensive against the supposedly heinous crimes of purveyors of easy personal loans. Part of that offensive is an information campaign informing Arizona citizens of what will happen after Operation Sunset takes effect on July 1, 2010.

Article Source: Operation Sunset – No body count, just dead jobs by Personal Money Store

Operation Sunset came as no surprise

Think about the phrase "operation sunset". As it is show on the site, Wikipedia, the most popular use of the term refers to a bloody offensive during the Eritrean–Ethiopian War (1998-2000) where Ethiopia liberated the key town of Badme. Thousands of lives were lost, which makes it all the more disgusting that Arizona lawmakers chose to call the end of easy personal loans in their state “Operation Sunset.”

The sun always sets very gradually, and Operation Sunset has been waiting in the wings for quite some time. Despite opposition from the check cash advance industry and the good word of consumers who wanted to make their own financial decisions rather than being spoon fed by the government as if they were John McCain on a bad day at Shady Pines, Operation Sunset will commence. ”Consumer loans with annual interest rates over 36 percent (plus authorized fees) will be illegal as of July 1, 2010,” says the Attorney General’s office. Consumers with outstanding balances on some of their fast personal loans will “probably not” be able to ignore those charges as of July 1, says the AG. Yet the Attorney General who equates the end of some of the easy personal loans in Arizona with a campaign from a bloody African war does not go into detail on their informative website as to what “probably not” means. What is clear, however, is that amounts! due cannot be rolled over into other loans during the Operation Sunset campaign. Rollover isn't a good idea.

Blow whistleblowers

Reputable check cash advance companies abide by the laws of the land regarding their products. However, Goddard advises consumers via the Tucson Citizen that if they see any kind of stray businesses continuing to offer the same products that were outlawed by Operation Sunset, they should then inform the Operation Sunset Enforcement Team. They can very easily be contacted at operationsunset@azag.gov and (866) 879-5219 (866) 879-5219 (866) 879-5219, or by writing to: Arizona Attorney General's Office of Consumer Complaints, 1275 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007.

Cry the beloved check cash advance

Consumers can use the AG’s website to find out which lenders are currently licensed in Arizona. {In the event that credit counseling is necessary for consumers who have overextended themselves, they can call (202) 514-4100 or choose an agency licensed by the U.S. Trustee|In the event that credit counseling needed, they can call (202) 514-4100 or choose an agency licensed by the U.S. Trustee|In the event that credit counseling is necessary for any of those consumers who have overextended themselves, they can call (202) 514-4100 or choose an agency licensed by the U.S. Trustee.

More information on this topic

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eritrean%E2%80%93Ethiopian_War

Tucson Citizen

tucsoncitizen.com/hot-off-the-press-release/2010/06/23/ag-answers-questions-about-payday-loan-law-sunsetting-next-week/

Arizona AG on Operation Sunset:

youtube.com/watch?v=hhKKqSt0mCE



U.S. Supreme Court to consider credit card notification

The companies that issue credit cards and those that hold credit cards will be watching the new Supreme Court case very closely. McCoy v. Chase Manhattan Bank, USA, will be heard by the Supreme Court during its next session, which begins in October. The case is a class-action suit that alleges credit card companies cannot retroactively increase the interest rate on a card without notification. The card issuer is claiming that there was notification – in the initial card holder agreement that was signed.

Source for this article: U.S. Supreme Court to consider credit card notification by Personal Money Store

The case of the credit card holder

In McCoy v. Chase Manhattan Bank, James A. McCoy is claiming that Chase Manhattan violated the law when it raised his credit card interest rate. McCoy admits that he was late with a payment on his credit card, and because of that Chase bank increased the rate on all of his transactions for the month. McCoy had agreed to this increase by signing the cardholder agreement, but he did not receive separate notification of the increase. McCoy claims that this modification was illegal under the new Truth in Lending Act.

How Chase bank sees this case

Chase Manhattan Bank appealed this case to the Supreme Court, saying they did comply with federal law. The TILA does require that these short term lenders deliver written notice of changes in the interest rates on cards. The TILA has one provision that says if an item has been agreed to in the past, they do not have to re-notify the card holder. Essentially, the debate comes down to interpretation versus ambiguously written laws.

Late payments on credit cards

This supreme court case started because of a late credit card payment. The Truth in Lending Act aims to make the unsecured loan companies that offer credit cards more transparent in what they are charging consumers. So what do you think: Should credit card companies be required to notify the card holders of every change they have already agreed to, or is the responsibility to read the agreement on the cardholder?