Posted on Thursday, 14th July 2011 by Jesse Walker
Standard & Poor’s has warned U.S. lawmakers privately that it would downgrade the country’s debt if the Treasury Department is forced to prioritize payments because Congress does not raise the debt limit, a congressional aide said Thursday.
The warning undercuts an argument made by some Republicans that the country’s credit rating would not be affected as long as the Treasury Department made debt service a priority over other obligations.
Posted on Thursday, 14th July 2011 by Jesse Walker
– JPMorgan Chase & Co posted a higher-than-expected jump in second-quarter profit as it wrote off fewer bad mortgages and credit card loans.
The second-largest U.S. bank managed to make new loans faster than customers paid off existing ones during the quarter, a reversal from the first quarter and a bright spot for a sector long plagued by weak loan demand.
JPMorgan’s revenue rose and it added staff, and its shares were up 2.75 percent in afternoon trading.
But the bank still faces stiff headwinds, including big expenses from mortgages as the effects of the housing crisis linger.
Foreclosures could take another 12 to 18 months to start declining, Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said on a conference call with reporters.
“JPMorgan’s revenue growth is a sign that things are getting better. They’re just not getting better quickly,” said Ralph Cole, portfolio manager at Ferguson Wellman Capital Management in Portland, Oregon.
Tags: Loan, Loan Book
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Posted on Thursday, 14th July 2011 by James Martin
With the number of holidays, birthdays, graduations and weddings to shop for, many people find themselves drawing a blank when it comes to finding the perfect gift. Nobody wants to spend hard-earned cash buying an unwanted present or something that will get buried in the back of a closet. One of the more everlasting gifts that family and friends can bestow is one that will teach young people about personal finances and encourage them to save. Want to give a gift that keeps on giving? Try one of these distinctive gifts for young investors.
Gift givers can purchase a single share of a company through websites such as oneshare.com and giveashare.com. Rules established by the Securities and Exchange Commission prohibit these companies from selling certificates worth more than one share of stock; you can, however, buy multiple, one-share certificates.
Tags: Young, Young Investors
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Posted on Wednesday, 13th July 2011 by Christopher Allen
For some people, buying sports watches is a huge hassle. You may spend a lot of time shopping around at different places looking to figure out which watch is the best. What these people don’t realize is that if they did their research ahead of time, the shopping part would be easy! You got it! Buying a sports watch does not by any means need to be hard. As soon as you’ve figured out what watch you want you only have to track down where to find it. You of course may decide this is the most difficult part of watch shopping, trying to locate a retailer with the watch you want at a price you want. See below for a short list of places that might help.
If you don’t mind kissing some frogs you might try craigslist.com. As with any classified ad you’ll want to tread carefully buying a watch through them. Some of these sites aren’t so trustworthy because the people listing on them have no greater intention than to take advantage of your good will. Don’t sen
Tags: Sports Watches, Watches
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Posted on Tuesday, 12th July 2011 by Jesse Walker
The utility intends to close one unit at Plant Branch in Milledgeville by October 2013 and another one by December. Jeff Burleson, a vice president with Southern, told the AJC the company also wants to shutter an additional unit but would not specify what type of fuel. He also would not name the power plant that would be impacted.
The decision to shutter the coal-fired units is based on the pending Environmental Protection Agency rules that would require the utility to install equipment to meet stricter environmental controls, the company has said. It would be too costly to upgrade the Plant Branch units, which started operating in 1965 and 1967.
Additionally, Georgia Power plans to cut an additional 2,600 megawatts from its system through energy-efficient programs, said Greg Roberts, vice president of pricing and planning. It will do this by promoting more energy-conservation or “demand-side management” programs, he said.
Roberts announced Georgia Power’s plan to reduce demand on its system at the Georgia Renewable Energy Forum, sponsored by the state’s Public Service Commission.
Tags: Close, Close Powerplant
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Posted on Tuesday, 12th July 2011 by Jesse Walker
The union that represents workers at HMSHost, one of the largest concessionaires at Hartsfield-Jackson International, wants assurances workers can hold onto jobs at the airport. It also wants a requirement that all concessionaires strike preliminary agreements with unions that could pave the way for representation.
The city of Atlanta at first went forward with such language last week, but a day later rescinded it. Mayor Kasim Reed’s deputy chief of staff, Katrina Taylor Parks, said it was an error.
“There was definitely a mix-up,” Parks said. Instead, the city issued language saying that “encouraging retention of high performing airport concessions workers” is essential to its mission, the first time it has added such wording, she said.
Posted on Tuesday, 12th July 2011 by Christopher Allen
Delta is one of several airlines to make the list.
The list, which is based on customer satisfaction surveys, features 19 members this year.
Tags: List, List Hated
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Posted on Tuesday, 12th July 2011 by James Martin
It turns out some discount brokers are indeed discontinuing all swap transactions in RRSP accounts even though Budget 2011 proposed penalizing only those swaps that result in an advantage. As Preet Banerjee explained in this column in Globe Mail, a RRSP swap transaction is one where an asset inside a RRSP (say a Canadian stock) is exchanged for an asset that is of more or less equal value held in another account (say a GIC held in a taxable account).
Unfortunately, TD Waterhouse has informed clients that as of July 1, 2011, it will be disallowing all asset exchanges with RRSP accounts, whether legitimate or not. It is a bit puzzling why TD Waterhouse chose to impose a draconian interpretation of the clampdown on RRSP swaps proposed in the Federal Budget. After all, the Budget is not prohibiting swaps entirely. The Budget is merely proposing to penalize those swaps that are intended to unduly exploit the tax attributes of an RRSP and slap a 100% tax on the advantage.
Tags: Swap, Swap Transactions
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Posted on Tuesday, 12th July 2011 by Christopher Allen
Homeowners facing payment difficulties should consider two options-loan modification versus refinance-when seeking a solution to an unaffordable home loan. What is the difference between the two and what are the pros and cons of each option? Here is a brief description of what each option has to offer a struggling homeowner:
Loan Modification vs. The home affordable refinance program – Can be done at no cost vs. Borrower pays closing costs.. No appraisal needed vs. Appraisal required. No escrow or title required vs. Escrow and title required. Almost always features lower interest rate vs. Rate subject to current market conditions. Completion time-30-180 days vs. 30-60 days. Credit score not important vs. Credit score criteria must be met. Lower home value can work in your favor vs. Declining home value may disqualify. Must verify income vs. Must verify income
There are, however, some limited options for underwater homeowners. T
Posted on Tuesday, 12th July 2011 by Jesse Walker
– A string of troubled initial public offerings in Europe has pushed Bank of America Merrill Lynch to draw up a set of new guidelines to improve the listing process and restore confidence between sellers and buyers.
The investment bank, the second-biggest equity fundraiser globally in the first half of the year and the fourth in Europe, said the suggestions were aimed at increasing disclosure and transparency in the market.
“There has been a lot of disappointment … We are suggesting that all of us involved in IPOs have to do their part to contribute to improving the process,” Craig Coben, the bank’s the bank’s head of equity capital markets for Europe, Middle East and Africa, told Reuters.
“Distrust has seeped into the process …
Tags: Restore, Restore Trust
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