| 6 Million Brits Consolidating Their Loans
The preferred method of debt consolidation in the UK is where unsecured personal loans are combined into one loan with a lower monthly payment. While this is a positive move in the short term, it can be fiscally devastating over the long-term if done in the wrong way. Unsecured personal loans are the preferred method of consolidating loans. The interest rate is normally lower than interest being charged on credit cards and store cards. Research from uSwitch.com revealed that a number of Brits who consolidate their loans continue to use their credit cards and store cards to create further debt. The number of UK consumers who apply for personal loans that are higher than the amount they need to consolidate their loans are using the extra money, not for wealth generating, but to maintain a higher lifestyle.
Bank of Japan's Conundrum
How many more times will the Bank of Japan (BOJ) raise interest rates before its governor, Toshihiko Fukui, almost certainly steps down in a year's time?
The 71-year-old Japanese central bank chief's five-year term of office expires next March. He has said he "does not bear in mind" his possible reappointment. Many analysts predict that the BOJ will raise rates twice by next March -- each time by a quarter percentage point -- to 1 percent from the current 0.5 percent.
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The case for going Dutch
My paternal ancestors were Flemish silkweavers, but they had already migrated over here and set up shop in Norwich some time before the foundation by royal decree, in 1824, of Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij, the oldest forerunner of the Dutch banking group ABN Amro. Nevertheless I’d like to think I might have had a distant cousin who was an early customer there – and regular readers will already know that I have a rather complicated two-generation relationship with Barclays Bank. For these tribal reasons, rather than analytical ones, I found myself inclined to join the minority of City commentators in favour of the proposed merger between Barclays and ABN Amro, which would create the world’s fifth largest international bank. On closer examination, the analytical reasons stack up as well.
For Distressed Homeowners, Short Sales Stave Off Credit Ruin
Wednesday, April 4, 2007 | As a growing number of homeowners stare down the barrel of foreclosure, some are electing to negotiate with lenders to sell their homes at a loss, hoping to avoid the credit-marring implications of surrendering the home to the bank. Lenders might take losses of tens of thousands of dollars instead of repossessing the home and putting it up for auction. The auction process would incur additional costs for the bank and may result in a meager selling price. Homeowners, in turn, avoid getting slapped with a seven-year black mark on their credit. .
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