| Academic Financial Solutions Advises Recent Graduates Not to Delay on College Loan Consolidation
Leading student loan debt consolidation company, Academic Financial Solutions, recommends college loan consolidation before the six month grace period expires in November. Tampa, FL (PRWEB) November 5, 2007 -- Academic Financial Solutions, a leading student loan debt consolidation company based in Tampa, Florida, alerts college graduates who graduated last May or June not to delay on college loan consolidation. �Waiting to consolidate will be costly,� says Michael Babb, President of Academic Financial Solutions. �Many student loan borrowers don�t realize that their six-month grace period is expiring until it�s too late and lenders begin demanding repayment. It�s really an unfortunate situation. Many borrowers get caught up in transitioning from college life to finding a job, a place to live and other immediate necessities and lose track of the timing of their repayment obligations.
AMD Sells 8.1 Percent Stake to Abu Dhabi
SAN FRANCISCO -- With oil prices surging and U.S. stock prices slumping, chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s sale of an 8.1 percent stake to the Abu Dhabi government's investment arm represents the latest plunge by a wealthy Middle Eastern nation into a troubled U.S. corporation. It also raises fresh questions about the appropriateness of Middle Eastern firms owning large chunks of U.S. businesses that specialize in advanced technologies. .
Constellation Brands adds to wine business
Fairport Constellation Brands Inc. is staking a bigger claim in the more profitable end of the U.S. wine market with a deal to add Clos du Bois to its collection of $8 to $11 wines led by Robert Mondavi Private Selection. The world's biggest winemaker said Monday it is paying $885 million for the U.S. wine business of Fortune Brands Inc. In addition to top-seller Clos du Bois, the buyout would give Constellation the Wild Horse and Geyser Peak brands, five California wineries and more than 1,500 acres of vineyards in the Napa, Sonoma and Los Carneros grape-growing regions. Even with its latest acquisition, Constellation will control less than 5 percent of the highly fragmented global wine market. But its share of the American market will expand 1 percent to around 20 percent.
Diamond-studded card for the 'VVIP'
A South Korean company took bling to the next level with a diamond-encrusted credit card it will use to attract the very, very important people.
Kim Sam-sun, president and chief executive of GK Power, the card producer, said "VVIP customers want differentiation, and banks want to attract these big spenders," The Independent reported Thursday.
The Seoul-based company developed the luxury high-end card that features diamonds embedded in a silver rivet on a black card.
GK Power has produced a black-and-gold card with embedded diamonds that is supplied only to royal Middle Eastern families through a Dubai First Bank contract, the British newspaper said.
"There is always that top millionaire class anywhere," Kim said, "and that's the crowd we're initially aiming for."
.
Liquidity, Not Collateral Problems, Caused CDO Rating Cut-Fitch
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- In the blitz of downgrades to collateralized debt obligations, one ratings cut this week stood out. Fitch Ratings downgraded Thursday five slices of a CDO - called Duke Funding High Grade II-S/ EGAM I Ltd. - managed by Ellington Global Asset Management LLC, not because of its collateral but because it faces steeper financing costs in money markets where it goes for funding. The ratings action underscores the extent of the credit crunch triggered by the subprime mortgage debacle. It also highlights the pitfalls of leverage, or borrowed funds, that this CDO depended on. The rating cuts, of as many as 10 notches on a AA+ slice, affect $463.25 million of securities made up of mortgages, including subprime home loans. Fitch also left the door open to further downgrades.
|
