Monday, December 26, 2011

Banks not lending? Corporate borrowing soars in 2011

Consumers may be cutting debt and banks may be tightening up their balance sheets, but borrowing by U.S. corporations is in full swing.

At a time when the popular narrative centers on how tight-fisted banks are getting with their lending, end-of-year data for syndicated loans tell a different story.

Corporations use syndicated loans for longer-term financing. The loans usually are provided by a group of deep-pocketed lenders who can distribute liability among them and thus decrease their risk. Big Wall Street investment banks are usually the source of such loans.

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

How to Pay Off Your Christmas Debt in 2012

For many people, Christmas shopping is a must and the holidays will never be complete without spending.  But before the year ends, ask yourself, “Will you be stress-free come 2012 or will you find yourself stuck in deep holiday debt that would be difficult to get out of?

In case, you do find yourself stuck in debt, be sure to act quickly and do not delay paying off your Christmas debt.  On this post, we present practical tips on how you can become debt free at the soonest time possible. 
Check your report. As a consumer, you have the right to request for a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus.  You can exercise this right at the start of 2012 especially if you used credit cards to shop. Thus, you can check the status of all your accounts and make sure that the charges are correct. 

Read more How to Pay Off Your Christmas Debt in 2012

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Charities focus on water for Christmas

Christmas is all wet. Not all wet as in humbug and Scrooge. All wet as in water.

Clean, accessible water for the world’s poor is one of the hottest causes of the season.

December donors who open their hearts and wallets will send millions of dollars flowing to villages and urban slums in Africa, South Asia and Central America.

And, drop by drop, lives are changed. Countless children are spared killer waterborne diseases. Countless women are spared backbreaking hours fetching water in 40-pound, 5-gallon plastic jugs.

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Thursday, December 22, 2011

European banks retreat from U.S. property sector

(Reuters) - In September, German bank Eurohypo and developer Forest City Enterprises Inc (FCEa.N) were negotiating a $65 million loan for 9 MetroTech, part of a 11-building office campus in Brooklyn, New York.

By October, the European bank told Forest City to find another lender, according to sources familiar with the talks. A month later, Eurohypo announced it was halting lending for U.S. commercial real estate altogether.

Eurohypo is not alone. Many European banks are retreating from the United States property market to deal with problems at home.

With other lenders also pulling back from the market, borrowing costs for property developers and buyers could jump, said Michael Higgins, managing director and head of U.S. real estate finance for CIBC World Markets Inc.

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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Ratings agency Fitch warns US of possible credit downgrade

The ratings agency Fitch has warned that it may downgrade America's triple-A credit rating unless action was taken to reduce federal debt.

Fitch said the country's rising debt burden was not consistent with maintaining its top rating, but said it would probably not make a decision before 2013.

Last month, Fitch changed its US credit rating outlook to negative from stable, citing the failure of a special congressional committee to agree on at least $1.2tn in deficit-reduction measures.

"Federal debt will rise in the absence of expenditure and tax reforms that would address the challenges of rising health and social security spending as the population ages," Fitch said in a statement on Wednesday.

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Thursday, December 15, 2011

Prosecution: Gervasi swimming in red ink before arson

Using personal bank accounts and bankruptcy records, prosecutors Wednesday attempted to portray former Scranton firefighter Thomas S. Gervasi as a man drowning in red ink who was routinely hit with late fees on mortgage payments and awash in credit card debt totaling more than $139,000.

On one American Express credit card, he owed $26,989; on a second American Express card, he owed $31,045, according to his court papers filed in 2004 seeking Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection.

Mr. Gervasi's case was later dismissed when he stopped making the $350 monthly payments he was required to pay, said attorney Jim Jones, a bankruptcy court trustee. As a result, Mr. Gervasi's case was thrown out of court and all outstanding debt he tried to discharge in the bankruptcy remained against him, Mr. Jones said.

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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

How to Manage Holiday Credit Card Debt

The best way to avoid bad debt is to plan your expenses, set a definite budget, and stick within your limit.  But what if you find yourself stuck in credit card debt after the holidays?  What can you do to get yourself out of the situation?  On this post, we present tips for cardholders on how to manage debt:

1. Check your accounts. Make sure that there are no incorrect charges in any of your accounts, especially if you have balances on multiple credit cards.  In case you find errors, call up your credit card issuer immediately to dispute the charges.  This way, you can be sure that you are not paying for debts you did not owe.

2. Prioritize your debts.  If you are dealing with multiple credit card debt, see which of your accounts have the highest rate.  If possible, pay off your full balance on this account to stop debt from further accumulating.  Be sure to submit the minimum due payment on the credit cards that you can’t pay in full to avoid late fees.  Afterwards, you can work on paying off your debts from one card to the next. 

Read more How to Manage Holiday Credit Card Debt

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