As last spring's college graduates near the end of their six-month student loan grace period, now is the time for them to consider repayment options that will help establish financial security and a healthy credit history.

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Two Austin companies set IPOs to raise $415 million

Austin investor Steven Hicks, the architect of several fortunes in media businesses, is asking investors for a blank check — about $200 million should do — for his next venture.

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The monetary analysis confirms the prevailing upside risks to price stability at medium to longer-term horizons. The strength of both money and credit growth in recent months - with the annual growth rates of M3 and MFI loans to the private sector both at more than 11% in September - may have been influenced by a number of temporary or special factors, such as the flattening of the yield curve and the recent financial market volatility.

However, even taking into account these special factors, the underlying rate of money and credit expansion remains strong. Monetary developments therefore continue to require very careful monitoring so as to detect underlying trends on the one hand and to better understand shorter-term dynamics on the other. This monitoring will provide a more complete picture of the response of the private sector to the increased volatility in financial markets.

Phone scams seek account information

Dear Troubleshooter: I was told to write to you. There is a phone scam going around; I had a third call today and decided to listen and talk to those people. They call themselves by a generic name and are from Florida. In short they ask for your name and how many credit cards you have, if you pay high interest etc. because they are working with hundreds of lenders who are willing to lower the interest. I asked her how she got my phone number and she claimed it was given to her by a lender. I have a credit score of 820; of course she did not know that and I made her think I had problems. I was asked to provide her with my credit card accounts and a bank name and address. That is when I told her she was not legit and she hung up. I have no caller ID, but did try to trace the call. It was not traceable.

First Eid promo draw held

ABDULLAH Abdulghani & Bros (AAB) Co, the sole agents for Toyota and Lexus vehicles, announced the first winner of their Eid al-Adha campaign that runs till December 27.
The winner of the first Toyota Corolla is holder of coupon number 0261.
The draw took place in the presence of a representative of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce and AAB officials.
AAB is raffling away seven Corolla (1.3l) and 24 units of 42� LCD LG Televisions during this campaign, in addition to a host of other benefits.
AAB have also tied-up with Doha Bank, which is offering the lowest interest rate of 3.99%, plus other benefits including no guarantor, no salary transfer, first six months grace period, instalments up to 84 months, free for life credit card, and free life insurance on loan amount.