| Florida sues Coral Springs lawyer's debt managment services
The Florida Attorney General's economic crimes division filed suit Thursday against a Coral Springs lawyer, her practice and two companies she controls, alleging they deceptively marketed debt management services.
Attorney Laura Hess is behind Hess Kennedy Chartered LLC and the Consumer Law Center, according to state regulators. The center's Web site claims it negotiates reduced debt payments for clients to help them avoid bankruptcy and reviews their statements for inappropriate charges that can be removed.
But court documents filed in Broward County Circuit Court say the defendants falsely told their clients they no longer had to pay their creditors while the charges were disputed, resulting in some clients being sued for the debts or facing legal action. The suit claims the companies also misrepresented what portion of money consumers initially paid toward debt settlements were actually nonrefundable retainers and fees, and did not forward payments to creditors as promised.
Treasury’s five-year Rock loan
Some will see it as a taxpayer subsidy to a bank which got itself into a mess and was unable to raise money in a conventional way. However shareholders are likely to view it as a potentially crippling burden on the company which – if the Treasury wanted it back – could wipe out the value of Northern Rock's shares. Update 08:00 Northern Rock's shareholders have had a huge dose of bad news this morning. The company says that the preliminary bids for the business all value it at significantly less than the current market value. And the Treasury has said that neither bidders or the company should assume that the £24bn of loans made to it by the Bank of England will be kept in place after February. The Treasury has also warned that the support it has provided to the Rock represents state aid under EU rules and may therefore turn out to be illegal.
Fears over Wal-Mart bank further ILC bill
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says it's finished trying to obtain a charter that would allow it to offer financial services, but it hasn't convinced Congress, which is working on a bill to keep retailers and other commercial entities from entering the banking business.Banking associations and consumer groups have pressured Congress to act quickly on legislation that would prohibit commercial companies from acquiring industrial loan companies charters and prevent existing commercial ILCs from expanding into branch banking, among other things.The House passed the bill in May by a 371-16 vote. On Wednesday, the Senate Banking Committee approved the bill by a vote of 11-10, but because the vote did not represent a quorum, it faces another committee vote.Amid the legislation and ongoing debates on the issue, Wal-Mart opened a bank in Mexico, but says it no longer has U.S.
Melbourne property catching up to Sydney
Melbourne house values rise 25pc in 2007 Sydney house values up just 4.8pc Buyer confidence likely to slip in 2008 MELBOURNE is caught up in a property boom reminiscent of the Sydney market five years ago, with house values in the Victorian city surging 25 per cent last year. The average value of a house in Melbourne jumped from $370,059 in December 2006 to $463,488 in December 2007, according to data just released by Australian Property Monitors. APM’s managing director Michael McNamara said if that trajectory continues, by 2009 Melbourne could overtake Sydney as Australia’s most expensive city to buy a house. But he thinks the current level of growth is unsustainable. "I mean 25 per cent growth in house values is almost becoming ridiculous. People can only afford so much." Melbourne’s boom compared to a rise of just 4.8 per cent over the same period in Sydney, where house values rose to $553,357.
SLM hires Hewes in new job as credit chief
SLM Corp., the largest US student lender, has created the position of chief credit officer and hired industry veteran John Hewes to fill it. Hewes will oversee credit risk management and underwriting policies for private student loans, SLM, of Reston, Va., said yesterday in a statement. Hewes spent the last 22 years at MBNA Corp., the world's largest independent credit-card issuer, where he headed the consumer finance and business lending divisions, SLM said. MBNA was acquired by Bank of America Corp. in 2006. SLM, known as Sallie Mae, said in January that subsidy cuts for US-guaranteed loans are driving its focus on higher-margin private loans, and that it will become more selective in screening borrowers. Some for-profit education companies, including Corinthian Colleges Inc., have said Sallie Mae halted loans for students deemed high credit risks.
Councilman MikeK Recalls Knievel Action Figure
The card goes everywhere with me; it's one of my favorite things. Evel was a good person, demonstrated quite recently by the fact that he forgave the rapper Kayne West before he died. I guess that was one of his last acts. "Happy Landings," Evel. RIP/Brent Andrews. .
Bullpen sparks Cubs' surge
I look at what Scott Boras was able to do with his three top pitchers and while I tip my hat to him, he got them to the three teams that could afford to meet his price," says one GM. He is referring to Boras telling teams that it would take a major league contract to sign the following pitchers: Wichita State's Mike Pelfrey, Craig Hansen of St. John's and Tennessee's Luke Hochaver and got them to the Mets, Red Sox and Dodgers, respectively. "I have no idea how the Yankees can give Jason Giambi six or seven years, then pass on Hansen because they don't want to give [him] a big-league deal," says another GM. "We couldn't afford him, but Hansen has the best arm, the highest upside and is the quickest to the big leagues of anyone in the draft. And the Yankees let him go to the Red Sox?" That's why Brian Cashman and Gene Michael should have more control over drafting and development.
Taupo: Sunday Quotes
It means a lot to me and the pressure's been on all weekend. It's been all go since I got back from the Christmas break and it's really, really satisfying to get one on the board for everyone. "The pole position was nice but now we've got the points and that's what matters in the championship. It's great to have all the home support and I'm just stoked to be number one in the Sprint." Previous Series leader Switzerland was involved in a nasty turn one collision with Malaysia that ended their morning and left them struggling to maintain first place in the Series. A drive-through penalty for jumping the start ended their Feature Race hopes, but they did snare a point for setting the fastest lap of the day. A1GP officials were thrilled with the weekend, which saw 70,000 attendees over the three days.
|
