| Use equity for friend with credit-card debt? Be careful
My friend has several credit-card accounts totaling more than $35,000 in debt. My friend has a steady, well-paying job. But the debt-to-income ratio is too high for the banks, so a personal loan could not be approved and tapping into home equity is out of the question. I have considered using my home-equity line of credit to help, but am very concerned about putting myself into that situation. It's a close friend, but someone whom I have known only for a couple of years. I'm also concerned about how this might appear to family and other friends. I do trust my friend and I want very much to help. I am looking for advice that will really help my friend and still keep me in a financially good position. _ Dan Dear Dan, Your intuition was right on when you became concerned about risking your home and financial well-being to help a close friend.
National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation Gains ...
HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation's (CFC) credit rating Outlook was revised by Fitch Ratings from Stable to Positive on February 23, 2007. Fitch Ratings also affirmed CFC's long-term issuer default rating at "A" and short-term rating of "F-1". According to Fitch Ratings, an "A" rating denotes high credit quality, low credit risk, and a strong capacity to meet financial commitments. On March 12, 2007 Standard and Poor's confirmed CFC's long-term counterparty credit rating of A and short-term counterparty credit rating of "A-1", both with a Stable outlook. On March 12, 2007, Moody's Investors Service affirmed that it has assigned a credit rating of "A1" to CFC's collateral trust bonds, "A2" to CFC's medium term notes, "A3" to CFC's subordinated notes and "Prime-1" to CFC's commercial paper.
Act now to avoid blunders at banks
IT WAS a bad week for the banks. Consumer watchdog the Office of Fair Trading announced an in-depth investigation into current accounts; City policemen at the Financial Services Authority ordered new refunds for credit insurance; the banks' clearing service admitted failing to pay hundreds of thousands of salaries on time; and hackers have stolen the credit and debit card details of 45 million TK Maxx customers. So how will consumers know if they are caught up in any of these developments, and what should they be doing to protect their bank accounts and financial arrangements? .
People on the Move
Brent Howe CPA has joined Aleut Management Services as chief financial officer. He has experience in accounting and government contracting. Ken Cluck has joined Re/Max Properties Inc. as a broker associate in the north office. He previously spent 10 years in the pastoral ministry. Linda Southhard has joined Re/Max Properties Inc. as a broker associate in the Monument office. She is a member of the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors and has won awards for buyer specialization. Lucas Jensen has joined Re/Max Properties Inc. as a broker associate in the south office. He is a former sales manager. Kelly Hipolito has joined Aspen Diversified Industries as the director of Workout Ltd. She has experience in human resources and child labor law.
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