Federal debt relief system: Can you trust them?

When you’re spending sleepless nights due to a huge amount of unsecured debt, you might be seeking debt relief options. Whenever you come across any advertisement with the name “Federal debt relief system”, you might feel that it’s a government agency. Many private companies use the name Federal Debt Relief System to convince consumers that they can provide reliable services to alleviate their debt burden. You should know that the federal government is in no means involved in the profession of making you debt free.

Companies that project themselves as Federal Debt Relief System would charge huge upfront fees from you. In addition, they wouldn’t do anything to make you debt free. Their aim is to make the most of consumers suffering from financial problems. They typically target consumers who have a debt amount of $10,000 or more and are desperately looking for a way out. Companies carrying the name Federal Debt Relief System have lost people’s trust due to a number of reasons and some of them are given below:

• They don’t provide clear details that often confuse the clients.
• They say they work with renowned attorneys but in reality they don’t.
• They’re more interested in publicizing their services than helping the consumers
• They prefer oral agreements in place of written agreements. It has been also noticed that they advised their clients not to maintain any records related to debt relief.
• Clients are asked to make upfront payments before any services are offered to them.
• Many clients had to leave midway since the assistance extended by Federal Debt Relief System didn’t have any positive outcomes. This is a criticism they often face. When the outcomes are not satisfactory for the clients, there is no backup program to compensate for the loss.
• They would ask you to provide information like the maiden name of your mother and your social security number. This is certainly something unusual.
• They don’t disclose anything on how they handle the accounts of their clients.
• It has also been reported that they took more fees from their clients than what they initially informed them.

Whenever you come across a company with the name “Federal Debt Relief System”, you should try to avoid them by any means.

August Business Activity Increases

August Business Activity Increases

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/business/economy/01econ.html

In another sign of an improvement in the US economy, business activity continued to rise in August and was better than expectations. According to the Institute for Supply Management Chicago, their business index increased to 50 which is the highest level since September 2008 from 43.3 in July. A reading above 50 indicates expansion while a reading below 50 indicates contraction. The order gauge of the index increased from 48 in July to 52.5 in August and appears to be largely driven by the boost to the auto segment by the government’s cash for clunkers program. Meanwhile the production index increased from 43.3 in July to 52.9 in August while the employment index was up from 35.5 in July to 38.7 in August. A rebound in the manufacturing activity is likely to be driven by the auto segment.

Bank Of America Offers To Repay Some Aid

Bank Of America Offers To Repay Some Aid

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aW0trv637ehw

Bank of America intends to repay a portion of the $20 billion federal aid received by it at the time of acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co, the Wall Street Journal said quoting unidentified sources. The company also seeks to end its loss sharing agreement with the government on Merrill Lynch assets and may have to pay $300-500 million for that. A partial repayment of the federal aid will remove the company from the scrutiny of the Congress and the regulators. In January this year, the federal government had agreed to guarantee Bank of America’s assets worth $118 million to help it absorb Merrill Lynch and prevent a deepening of the financial crisis. The government had also agreed to be liable for 90% of any additional losses after the Bank of America has absorbed losses worth $10 billion. More and more companies are planning to repay government funds to avoid various restrictions on their functioning.

All Good Things Must Come To An End

All Good Things Must Come To An End

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090821/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_cash_for_clunkers;_ylt=AjkjlMFkvi39sHF4IOlXq3is0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTMzcTI5NmhxBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwODIxL3VzX2Nhc2hfZm9yX2NsdW5rZXJzBGNwb3MDMwRwb3MDMTEEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA29iYW1hYWRtaW50bw–

The Obama administration is closing its “cash for clunkers” program Monday evening. What has this program achieved? For one, it has kick started the automobile industry which had been idling for a long while. Both Ford and General Motors announced an increase in production of certain models, with GM even announcing recalling of a thousand plus laid off workers.

Administration problems aside, only $145 million has been paid out as reimbursements to dealers for a $3 billion program, this program has been an immensely successful one. The point to watch out for is what happens next. Was this only the pent up demand being met boosted by attractive discounts, or has some traction come back into the automobile industry demand? The next few weeks will give us the answer.

More Cash For Clunkers

More Cash For Clunkers

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090807/bs_nm/us_autos_clunkers_senate;_ylt=AowpdABYfqkQGiE3fK3si2es0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM2cDkxdTY5BGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMDkwODA3L3VzX2F1dG9zX2NsdW5rZXJzX3NlbmF0ZQRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA3NlbmF0ZWNsZWFycw–

The Senate approved a $2 billion extension for the “cash for clunkers” program. Under this program, a car buyer can get a discount of up to $4,500 if he or she trades in his or her old fuel guzzling car for a new fuel efficient car. This program has been received extremely well, and has generated more than 220,000 auto sales.

This program was originally envisaged as a $1 billion rebate program scheduled to run till October 31st. The $1 billion ran out in less than two weeks. This increased level of activity comes as a great relief to both car dealers as well as manufacturers who have had to deal with declining sales for quite a while. Let us hope, that some part of this increased activity is sustained even after the rebate program ends.

Boeing Trying To Fix Structural Issues With 787

Boeing Trying To Fix Structural Issues With 787

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/23/business/23boeing.html?em

Aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing has said that it is making good progress in resolving the structural issues associated with its 787 Dreamliner and discovered recently. However, no firm date for the Dreamliner’s test launch could be given yet. W James McNerny Jr, the chief executive of the company has also refused to divulge the estimated financial impact of the delay in the delivery of the 787 planes to its customers. The company has orders to deliver 850 Dreamliners but is already two years behind its delivery schedule. The company’s engineers are currently trying to fix a problem identified during a test run last month. The Dreamliner is being made from lightweight composite materials and is aimed to be lighter and more fuel efficient than the other commercial aircraft.

Lear Files For Bankruptcy

Lear Files For Bankruptcy

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31775674/ns/business-autos/

Lear Corp. filed for bankruptcy this week. For a company dependant on sales to North American and European automobile manufacturers, of which GM and Ford were primary customers, this was waiting to happen.

The point of interest was in “when” and not “whether”. While reams and reams of newsprint have been used to report on the GM and Chrysler saga, not much attention has been paid to industries dependant on these automobile giants. Ford and GM accounted for 40% of Lear’s revenues. While Lear and Visteon before it, who also filed for bankruptcy in May, are giants in their own right, the small auto ancillary suppliers are the ones that have been hit the hardest in this recession. Many had just one customer; they supplied one product to one GM factory. If that factory has been closed down, effectively the auto ancillary factory too has pulled down it shutters.

Michigan GM Factory To Build Small Cars

Michigan GM Factory To Build Small Cars

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090625/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gm_small_car_plant;_ylt=Agh4SD3GHcq74FJaRj1R7nGyBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJtbTF2dm1kBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwNjI1L3VzX2dtX3NtYWxsX2Nhcl9wbGFudARjcG9zAzMEcG9zAzkEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDYXBzb3VyY2VnbXRv

For a factory which is on notice, an announcement that a new car will be built there is like getting all its prayers answered. GM had announced when it filed for bankruptcy that its Orion plant would be on standby status implying that workers would be called back if the company felt the need.

This news, not yet formally announced, but expected to be announced on Friday will come as a real boost for workers in this town. A new car being built in this plant will mean saving 1,200 jobs which were slated to go at the end of the year. In today’s recessionary environment, saving jobs and creating new ones is of paramount importance.

Will The Cheer Last?

Will The Cheer Last?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090607/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street_week_ahead;_ylt=Aslrr4i96WCOZS9s_aTJIGyyBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJxb243M2xnBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwNjA3L3VzX3dhbGxfc3RyZWV0X3dlZWtfYWhlYWQEY3BvcwMzBHBvcwM4BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA21hcmtldHJhbGx5aA–

The stock market rally is now about three months old. Gains witnessed in three months are of the type seen over a couple of years. What should an individual investor do? Should he invest now stay invested or book profits and leave the market?

It is difficult to fathom really what has prompted this strong rally. Most economic indicators remain weak, the jobless are not getting hired, unemployment rtes are at a 26 year high, consumer spending has not quite picked up, so how is it that the stock markets have so much to cheer about?

I would think that this is a good time to book some profits. If sentiment is what is ruling the market, the moment all believe that nothing really has got better the red arrows might soon start popping up.

Oil Prices Continue To Rise

Oil Prices Continue To Rise

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/6446586.html

Global oil prices have risen to $66 per barrel on reports of a recovery in Japan and India. Meanwhile the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has also predicted a recovery in global oil demand and decided to maintain its production levels. Shrinkage of the US crude inventory levels from 5.41 million to 363.1 million in the last week has also acted as a booster. The current upsurge in oil prices is largely being driven by the sentiment related to improving economic situation and not the demand for the commodity. Japan has reported a sharp improvement in its factory production levels in April this year and the trend is likely to continue in the coming months too. India, one of the largest economies in Asia too has reported an economic growth of 5.8% in the first quarter of 2009. The positive stream of data is likely to keep the oil prices high in the near future.