| Surgery a money trap for unwary
COMPANIES spruiking easy, high-interest loans for cosmetic surgery are exploiting vulnerable people, consumer and doctors groups say. Credit providers offer loans up to $40,000 for anything from breast implants to hair replacement, even for those with bad credit histories. International Surgery Group patient adviser Pamela Noon said about 80 per cent of her clients borrowed to pay for their surgeries. "It is particularly popular with young women who get their procedure done and then have weekly payments of around $50 to $60 a week," she said. Websites such as cosmeticsurgeryloans.com .au offer online approval and no-deposit terms. Mediplan, which provides credit for medical, cosmetic, veterinary and dental costs at a rate of 14.7percent, gets half its business from cosmetic surgery, chief operating officer Stuart Johnson said.
How the failure of subprime mortgages hurts the overall economy
Given the huge piles of consumer and business debt out there, many U.S. residents seem to think easy credit is their birthright. That cozy feeling that a loan is always within reach is getting rudely shaken. An international credit crunch is upon us. The subprime mortgage crisis spawned it, but everything from home-equity loans to business lines of credit may be touched before it's over. Sectors as disparate as auto-parts suppliers and developers of riverfront condos in Detroit are feeling the pinch of tighter credit, battering an already weak Michigan economy. "The unwinding of debt is all encompassing. It's from the little homeowner out there to the big corporation," said Larry Moss, senior vice president for the Raymond James investment firm in Birmingham. .
TBank goes international
Thanachart Bank (TBank) says it has adjusted its business position from a niche bank to an international one, targeting more corporate loans following its partnership with Canada's Scotiabank. The medium-sized bank has been concentrating on auto loans for more than 20 years, and auto hire-purchase loans make up 78.41 per cent of its overalll loan portfolio. Last year, Scotiabank became TBank's strategic partner by acquiring 24.99 per cent of Thanachart Capital, which owns 74.92 per cent of the bank. TBank now plans to "go international" with support from its new shareholder, Scotiabank, which will give it an advantage over others in the foreign banking business. With this strategy, TBank will generate better returns, said Thanachart Capital president and CEO Suphadej Poonpipat.
Coventry plan for administration
This legal notice gives Coventry City a 10-day window to complete the takeover talks with Ray Ranson and Sisu Capital, along with all other parties," the statement continued. "Following recent speculation, the club can confirm that staff and player wages have now been paid and we look forward to a successful conclusion of the takeover in the near future." Iain Dowie, the Coventry manager, recently hinted that he could be forced to quit should the club go into administration. "I would review my position in light of what I have been told," said Dowie. "From my point of view, I have had to deal with it before at Oldham but you don't really deal with it, you go on with what you are given." .
R. Carriere from Maritimes, Canada writes:
A minor editorial change has been made in Section 10 of this Travel Report.
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Australia
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Coming Soon: SR to Release E-mail Exchanges ... (Not so fast...)
Baughman first asked to make a statement: "I hope that you obtain the income from the sales of your paper from the sensationalizing of people being human beings or friends. "I recognize that your paper is a business. I understand that, but when you start destroying peoples lives and credibilities and when you start causing humility amongst their children in their high school you have overstepped the bounds. "At some point you have to draw the line. How many times do my kids have to undergo the torments of their friends just so you can sell a newspaper." Asked about the sexual harassment allegations, Baughman replied: "There have been no complaints filed." Asked why he sent the e-mails, Baughman was silent. Asked if he sexually harassed female coworkers, he answered, "Now you're going low." Baughman then said: "My intent of calling you is twofold.
Running for the economic empathizer in chief
Clinton laid out a list of college loan assistance, mortgage relief, heating oil assistance and more. But people who said they would vote for her today focused less on the specifics than on a prospect of a return to the booming economy presided over by her husband in the 1990s.
Obama supporters embraced his message that real economic reform can occur only under the guidance of someone capable of breaking the partisan logjam in Washington.
Fighting for attention, trailing in the polls, Edwards hammered home his message of economic populism, which he has stuck to more than any of the others since the start of the race.
Bill Clinton, running for president in 1992 as a relatively obscure Southern governor, set himself apart with his ability to show empathy to working-class Americans locked in the throes of a recession.
Already planning their spending
If the money comes, they will spend it.
Most taxpayers in Southern California would be eligible for tax rebates under the economic stimulus plan drafted in Washington on Thursday. Many, it seems, would cash their checks and head to the mall.
"I'm not just going to go out and blow it, but it's unexpected, and that's a pretty good amount of money," said Adam Finer, a 36-year-old lighting technician from Burbank. He and his wife, Mariella, a 24-year-old hotel front-desk clerk, might get a total of $1,200 from Uncle Sam.
If Congress passes the plan and President Bush signs it into law, what will they buy?
"We were just upstairs drooling over iPhones," he said during a break from window-shopping at the Glendale Galleria. "This will make it easier to get one."
For those unsure what to do with their windfalls, retailers would no doubt provide "a little nudge" with sales and special markdowns, said Scott Krugman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation, the industry's largest trade group.
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