| Tax refund loan costs lower
Consumers who take out refund anticipation loans this year will probably pay less, but critics of the controversial loans say they are still a big drain on income. Refund anticipation loans, or RALs, are short-term bank loans — usually from 7 to 14 days — secured by a taxpayer's expected refund. They are usually obtained for a fee through a tax preparation company. Tax preparers say RALs offer convenience and a faster way to get a tax refund. Taxpayers can also avoid upfront tax preparation fees by having them withheld from the loan amount. But under pressure from critics, most big-name professional tax preparation organizations have lowered or even eliminated some fees. Fees charged for RALs in the past often amounted to an effective annual interest rate of 50 percent to 500 percent.
American Society and the Economy
If you are, then good. Because youre at a point of very serious realization that everything is not always good and troubles always have a habit of cropping up. One thing that many Americans, and even people around the world for that matter, fail to do is plan for hardship. They get complacent. Times are good so they take every dime they make and then some and spend, spend, spend. They fail to save. They fail to think about reality. This is made even worse by so-called promises by government that they will take care of you if something happens.
When the safety net exists people take bigger risks than they normally would or even should. If you think about it like a high wire at the circus would you, as someone that has never attempted such a stunt if you didnt have a net under you? Probably not because odds are that you would be in for a world of hurt.
Locking down financial security
One might reasonably expect the finance services sector to be well in credit when it comes to electronic security. But losses from online fraud continue to rise. Danny Bradbury combs through the books. Finance is one of the most heavily regulated industries, so electronic security in this sector should be exemplary. But why is online fraud on the rise and what are financial services firms doing about this and other kinds of financial scams? While overall card fraud is falling, instances of online fraud are rocketing, according to UK payment association Apacs. In 2006, internet fraud reached 154.4m, accounting for 73 per cent of card-not-present fraud. That's up from 117m the previous year, when it accounted for just 65 per cent of card-not-present fraud. Overall card-not-present fraud is expected to rise again in 2007.
Thirsty and hungry? Let's go to McWells
McWells, for all intents and purposes, looked like a restaurant at first glance. A huge bar stands in the front, but booths and tables litter the rest of the area for family and friends to nosh, giving it a dated WingHouse-type feel.
We sat at the bar and ordered a couple of beers, my Michelob Ultra (trying to keep with the South Beach Diet) cost only $2, the same with Casey's McWells. I kid you not, there is a beer at the bar called McWells. It's a Budweiser product, we found out from the bartender. And, as with most Budweiser products, Casey was choking it down after a couple of sips.
Not a fan, to say the least, but good news: It was only $2. He stuck with Guinness after that, and at $5.50, it cost a bit more than most places. But the $2 domestic draft I was drinking was saving us some change.
Planners Need Better Sense of Digital Landscape
AOL has been an early proponent of aggregation, working with corporate sibling Warner Bros. to syndicate second-run TV shows. Yahoo took a strong stance -- and then reversed it. Microsoft, on the other hand, has most recently bet much of its content efforts on branded entertainment. .
Clinton, Edwards bash Bush's mortgage plan
John Edwards proposed their own plans that would not only freeze mortgage payment rates, but also declare moratoriums on further foreclosures to pressure lenders to reach at-risk homeowners. In a letter to Paulson dated Dec. 3, Clinton had called for a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures on subprime, owner-occupied homes. "The moratorium will stop foreclosures until lenders and servicers have an opportunity to implement the freeze on mortgage rates," Clinton wrote. "The moratorium will also give state and city organizations, as well as community groups, the necessary time to provide financial counseling to at-risk homeowners." Under the administration's plan, mortgage companies will offer to freeze the loans at the lower introductory rates as long as the borrowers did not miss any payments at the lower rate.
Fintura Tapped to Drive RBC Centura Banks' Credit Card Business
Fintura to provide turnkey New Account Origination solution to expand RBC Centura's credit card portfolio presence in the U.S. ATLANTA, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Fintura Corporation announced today that it has signed an agreement with RBC Centura Banks to help the bank grow its credit card accounts in the U.S., with an initial focus on increasing credit card penetration among existing RBC Centura customers. RBC Centura will use Fintura's turnkey New Account Origination solution, under which Fintura makes all upfront marketing capital investments and applies its targeting expertise to help grow RBC Centura's credit card business. "We are excited to work with Fintura to help us reach our strategic objectives for growing our credit card program here in the U.S.," said Vickie Van Meir, Director of Retail and Business Cards of RBC Centura Bank.
Day 3 - July 8: Elite Men/Women road races
The final kilometer of the course featured a 250-meter climb before a slight descent to the finish, so in a lead group that featured strong climbers such as Neben and Thorburn, Armstrong waited until the end to make her final attack. I had a feeling the climbers were going to go with three or 400 meters to go on this climb and I knew that was too far sprinters dont even go that far and so I waited for them to go and got in from behind, Armstrong said. I know my sprint is just a little bit stronger so I knew it was to my advantage to have it come down to a group of climbers. But those final six riders spent much of the race exchanging attacks to little avail. About 60 kilometers into the 132-kilometer contest, a chase group including Armstrong, Thorburn, Kimberly Baldwin (T-Mobile), Kimberly Anderson (T-Mobile), Neben, Under-23 rider Mara Abbott (Rio Grande/Sports Garage) caught a group of three riders who took the lead early in the race.
Laws for dodgy brokers can't be fast-tracked
In November, NSW Fair Trading Minister Linda Burney unveiled a draft bill to reform the mortgage and finance broking industry in Australia. Under the reforms, brokers would be subject to a licensing process, in a bid to screen out operators with a history of dodgy lending practices. The reforms, drafted on behalf of all states and territories under a Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs (MCCA) agreement, will be voted on by the various Australian governments at a ministerial meeting set down for April or May. Ms Burney said the legislation would come into force at the end of this year, or early in 2009. Opposition fair trading spokeswoman Catherine Cusack slammed the delay, calling for both the meeting and the legislation's enactment to be brought forward.
McLeish hails Hampden heroics
The Scots took a massive step closer to qualifying for next summer's Euro 2008 finals with goals from Kenny Miller, Lee McCulloch and James McFadden at Hampden Park. But the win came at a cost to McLeish, as McCulloch and substitute Garry O'Connor picked up bookings which will mean them missing Wednesday's match in Tbilisi. With Paul Hartley and Gary Caldwell injured, the Scotland squad will be stretched to the limit. Darren Fletcher, who has not played since he injured his knee in the 1-0 win over France in Paris last month, will return - but McLeish could be forced in to calling up extra players. He said: "It was the best game we have played at Hampden since I've been here. "It is a massive step towards qualifying - but I have mixed feelings because we have some walking wounded and we have suspensions.
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