| Avoid interest rate 'roulette'
Consumers are being urged to take measures to ensure they are able to cope with any further rises in the Bank of England base rate.New research from Legal & General shows that in the last 30 years the bank's interest rate has increased 58 times, on each occasion putting homeowners and borrowers under pressure.The rising cost of borrowing makes expensive forms of debt, such as credit cards, an even less attractive personal finance option."Borrowers will be waiting to see if they are going to be in the red or the black in the base rate roulette next week," said Stephen Smith from Legal & General."Rates are still at a relatively low level compared to 70s and 80s, and many people would struggle with today's debts at yesterday's prices. Whilst the boom and bust has flattened out since the turn of the millennium, borrowers are still facing a probable hike in rates in the near future," he added.Consumers who are feeling the strain from the three successive rate rises – and who are worried about the likely prospect of further rises – can use a secured loan or homeowner loan to help cut their monthly outgoings.© Adfero Ltd .
Slowing market weeds out subprime lenders
It's tough to survive in today's mortgage lending industry. Many originators, particularly those that have been specializing in the subprime niche of the market, are folding their tents and silently leaving the business. However, there's a bright side to the current trend. "We're seeing 40 or 50 subprime companies a day throughout the country going down in one form or another," said Angelo Mozilo, chief executive of Countrywide Financial. About two dozen large subprime mortgage lenders nationwide have gone under or stopped making loans, according to Implode-O-Meter, a Web site that tracks closures in the subprime lending industry. The failure of so many subprime lenders is symptomatic of a larger trend - Wall Street's loss of appetite for risk, the site reported. With so many mortgages going bad, investment banks have quit backing subprime mortgages and are actually kicking bad loans back to some originating lenders, forcing some of them to close their business.
Carlisle neighbors act globally
As a 14-year-old boy, Michael Ansara participated in a boycott of a Wonder Bread factory in Roxbury, helping persuade the company to begin hiring black workers. Later, Ansara protested against the war in Vietnam and was active in the antiapartheid movement, calling for the divestment of American banks from South Africa. Now 60 and the president of a customer service company, Ansara has three children and lives in Carlisle. And he's still an activist. In the spring of 2005, Ansara networked with parents on his son's soccer team and acquaintances on town committees and formed a group of 20 Carlisle couples who wanted to lend money to black people in South Africa. First there was a potluck dinner in the Ansara home. And last October, the group made its first contribution -- a total of $29,000 in loan guarantees to help South Africans start their own businesses.
Graham Packaging Reports Gain of $47.5 Million in Net Sales for ...
YORK, Pa., April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Graham Packaging Holdings Company (the "Company"), parent company of Graham Packaging Company, L.P., today reported results for the year ended December 31, 2006 and the refinancing of Term Loans under the Company's Credit Agreements. Backed by strong investor demand, the Company amended its Credit Agreement to place $1,875.0 million of new term loan borrowings. The proceeds were used to pay off the Company's existing Term Loan B borrowings of $1,569.9 million, repay in its entirety the Company's $250.0 million Second Lien Term Loan, reduce its outstanding borrowings under its revolving credit facility by $50.0 million, and pay related fees and expenses. The amendment will reduce the Company's annual interest costs by greater than $5.0 million and provide for a single financial covenant measured by net leverage.
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