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| English: Newly industrialized countries (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Gerald talks about gold demand, bankers unexpectedly dying, emerging markets are melting down, hyperinflation is taking root, Fukushima is out of control.
Defending The Republic, Not some Democracy, and enjoying some of life's rewards along the way.
Showing posts with label Financial services. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Financial services. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Gerald Celente - SGT Report - February 15, 2014
Gerald talks about gold demand, bankers unexpectedly dying, emerging markets are melting down, hyperinflation is taking root, Fukushima is out of control.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Suze Orman Calls For Debit Card Transactions To Be Considered Same As Credit
The following was sent to us through Change.org's website. Suze Orman, Financial Advisor. Before we make our comments, let's look at what she has to report. As a world-renowned financial advisor, I know that building good credit is one of the most important things you can do to secure your financial future. But did you know that none of the purchases you make with your debit card count toward building your credit? This puts debit card users at a serious disadvantage when it comes to making big purchases like a car or a home, or even applying for jobs and rental agreements. No credit = bad credit, and because the credit bureaus don't track debit card transactions, debit card users get no reward for being financially responsible. This is a deeply unfair system, especially for lower income people, and I am determined to see it change. That's why I started a petition on Change.org calling on the Senate Banking Committee to mandate that the major credit bureaus track debit card transactions as well as credit cards. Please click here to sign. This change could make a big difference for a lot of people, from young people applying for student loans, to new families who want to own their own homes, to people who've fallen on hard times and need to refinance their mortgages. You could be the most loan-worthy person in the world, but simply because you choose to use a debit card rather than a credit card, you run a high risk that your credit score will be negatively impacted -- and you might not be able to get the loan you need. The good news is that the Senate Banking Committee is led by folks like Senator Elizabeth Warren who want to promote financial fairness. I know that by using a petition to draw attention to this important issue, we can give the Senate Banking Committee the leverage it needs to help make the credit ranking process more fair for everyone. Our Notes: Sorry Suze Q, we just can't support stupidity. A debit card is not a credit card and we do not need more intrusions into our financial affairs watching everything we purchase, we need less intrusions. The concept is the same as saying that we need to track cash transactions to determine credit scores. It makes no sense. How would anyone track cash transactions? Should the local drug dealer get credit for paying for his drugs from his supplier in cash? Give that drug dealer bonus points for paying cash? Hey I just paid my bookie off, now give me bonus credits for being caught up with the bookie? A debit card is the same as a cash transaction. It's not a credit card and should not be considered the same as one. For a world class Financial Adviser, this sure is a pretty bad move. What were you thinking? |
Monday, January 20, 2014
Citibank: Make the Citi Health credit card terms fair
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| (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
I had an original debt of $4,000 that I had paid down to $2,881 over the 18 month introductory term of the Citi Health credit card. On the 19th month, after making payments every month, I was saddled with an additional $1954 debt due to the sneaky "deferred interest" clause.
Consumers are often signing up for this card when they have no other way to pay for out-of-pocket medical and dental costs. Worse still is that these products are exempt from federal truth-in-lending requirements, meaning that the medical professional doesn't even have to understand or explain the terms of the credit card to the consumer.
People trust their doctors and dentists and when they're told they need to buy a service (for example, corrective braces to prevent teeth from striking together which would ultimately cause teeth to fall out). When their medical professional tells them there's a debt product that can help them afford the procedure/product, they trust that their doctor wouldn't lead them into a trap.
A 30% interest rate is absurd for someone who pays their minimum payment on time and the whole idea of retroactive, deferred interest is sneaky at best. Citbank needs to stop tricking customers; they should:
- reduce the interest rate to a standard calculation (Prime + a rate based on user's credit score or debt-to-income ratio);
- adhere to the Truth in Lending Act (including use of Schumer box to make clear the interest rates being charged); and
- remove deferred interest features (interest can only be charged on the balance at end of promotional period, not original balance, and can only be charged on a go-forward basis, not retroactively)
Let's send a message to Citibank that consumers have enough to worry about without being tricked into these poisonous debt products.
By Ian Miller
Sent to us through Change.org's website.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Hurricane Sandy America's Next Big Financial Boom And Bust- A Word To The Wise
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| NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 31: Firefighters stand among the remains of homes in the Rockaway neighborhood destroyed by fire during Hurricane Sandy on October 31, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. With the death toll currently at 55 and millions of homes and businesses without power, the US east coast is attempting to recover from the affects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Hurricane Sandy. JFK airport in New York and Newark airport in New Jersey expect to resume flights on Wednesday morning and the New York Stock Exchange commenced trading after being closed for two days. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife) |
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| NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 31: Flood damaged streets are viewed in the Rockaway section of Queens where the historic boardwalk was washed away due to Hurricane Sandy on October 31, 2012 in the Queens borough of New York City. With the death toll currently at 55 and millions of homes and businesses without power, the US east coast is attempting to recover from the affects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Hurricane Sandy. JFK airport in New York and Newark airport in New Jersey expect to resume flights on Wednesday morning and the New York Stock Exchange commenced trading after being closed for two days. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife) |
Fortunes will be made from this travesty at all levels and fortunes will be lost that have not already been lost. One may not have a choice as to whom they hire to get clean up jobs done. The best advice we can give you is to check out each potential contractor out to the fullest and do not let them pressure you. If they offer a lot of pressure, then let them move on and even help them to do so. Check out where they are licensed, bonded and or insured. Make sure that coverage also covers any job the potential contractor may do for you. If you have no choice and there will be plenty of you who don't. At least check out the backgrounds of the potential contractor and confirm where they presently live and get copies of their drivers license.
We know what you are about to go through and these words are based on actual experience. We had no choice but to hire a rogue contractor who said he was local and as it turned out later, he was from Florida. He was supposed to remove a tree from our property before it fell and hit our house. To make a long story short, we didn't have to worry about the tree falling on our house, the contractor made sure that it did. While cleaning up the mess and removing the tree he dropped on our house, he and his crew were dropping tree branches on our new Lincoln Town Car. We had the car for less than a month. We had to sell it for scrap a few weeks later as it was beyond repair. Of course the contractor gave us a ton of false information and we were never able to recover our loses. Our insurance company even tried to help us find him to recover anything at all possible. The guy just fell off the face of the earth.
The insurance fraud that is about to be committed by many would be folks seeking gain from this travesty are going to be everywhere. The insurance companies know this and there will be a good amount that gets paid out even though the insurance companies know of the potential fraud. Higher premiums for us all. Not to feel all that bad for the insurance companies, they to are going to be playing some serious games and many people are going to wake up to see just how bad their policies really are. The insurance companies will claim higher payouts than actually paid, and will pay out smaller claims than they will actually state. This is just the nature of life these days. Rates for property insurance will go up all over the nation to help recover the payouts claimed by the insurer's. Prices on many goods will also go up due to claims of loss and the loss will be lower than the claims stated. Plus there is the real issue at present of transportation in and out of distressed areas that will raise costs temporarily.
There will be a serious credit crises arising out of all this as many people will stop paying their consumer credit, instead opting to pay rent and for food instead. Many are now homeless and there will be a good number who will remain homeless because of this storm. Both car loans and home mortgages will be highly stressed as many will walk away from the payments and just let the banks or insurance companies take the hit on the loss. Some will rebuild but it's only some who will be able to afford to rebuild. The overall costs that hurricane Sandy will hit us with will be in the hundreds of billions if not well over a trillion dollars.
And we have yet to discuss all of the vehicles that have been damaged by the flood waters. Many of these vehicles will end up having their titles washed and cleared and these cars will be chopped, cleaned and resold as clean at the highest values that can be had. Those stuck with the purchase of these vehicles will end up with a vehicle that has a very early ending or very high repair bills. The gas tanks, gas lines, brake lines and fuel intake all need to be cleaned and in many cases replaced. This simply will not get done. Within the next year there will be a flood of slightly used cars all over the country that are not fit to be bought, but how will you know? When your wallet is drained you will know and there won't be any recourse.
The auto manufacturers should be gearing up for increased output as many people will need new transportation. Entire fleets will need to be replaced. Look for increased shipments into the northeast within the next three months. Used goods of every kind will hit markets on line such as eBay and Amazon being sold as new or slightly used that came out of flooded areas and will be less than desirable. The tremendous amounts of food being thrown away even as you read this could feed a third world country for probably about an entire year.
Yes there are a lot of profits to be made on all of this. Devastation is good for business. The more the merrier. Wait, what about the coming tax increases to offset the cleanup costs the local, state and federal government are going to have to pay. Yes that is coming to. And do not forget about your friendly IRS man who will be highly scrutinizing returns and claims for losses. What each of you can do to help make it through this mess? Help thy neighbor and also seek help from thy neighbor. Learn to trust and respect one another again. Don't look for or wait for the handouts. Your going to be disappointed when they are either not there or you do not qualify or you just missed the boat or it's no where near close enough to even be considered help.
Come together as a community. Put your faith and trust back into God and each other once again. Those who do will succeed. Others will complain for years to come and still do nothing. For one last idea. There are opportunities waiting. Recovery services can be a very big business. If you can recover wood, doors, paneling, or any other useful building materials in a honest fashion without taking advantage of another's misfortune, then you could help build a business and a tremendous service to others. What can come out of this experience can either be good or bad, What will you make it?
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