Leading student loan debt consolidation company, Academic Financial Solutions, recommends college loan consolidation before the six month grace period expires in November.

�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.

Indian shares slip on U.S. credit fallout worries

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Indian shares fell for a fourth day on Thursday, led by ICICI Bank after fresh concerns over the fallout from the U.S. subprime mortgage troubles rattled global markets.

Although Indian lenders are not exposed to the U.S. mortgage market, the poor sentiment for financials across regions weighed on investors, traders said.

"The markets are mainly reacting to the international markets," said Gajendra Nagpal, chief executive of Unicon Financial. "This is only a short-term correction in the absence of any trigger. I remain bullish over a medium-to-long-term."

By 10:50 a.m., the benchmark 30-share BSE index was down 0.63 percent, or 121.97 points, at 19,167.86, with 22 components in the negative zone, after falling 1.6 percent in early trade.

At the day's low 18,973.42, the index had extended losses to 5 percent this week, and was more than 6 percent off its record high of 20,238.16 hit on Oct.

First Calgary Pete issues US$267M in convertible bonds to fund Algeria work

CALGARY - First Calgary Petroleums Ltd. (TSX:FCP) is issuing US$267 million worth of convertible debt "to implement the company's independent development strategy in respect of its Algerian assets."

The company raised C$152.4 million last spring through an issue of 30 million shares at $5.08 each.

Who Built the Debtors' Prisons?

Consumer debt is a divisive issue, judging by the reactions to "Prisoners of Debt" (Cover, Nov. 12). The article described a growing business in pressuring individuals to pay obligations they no longer legally owe--debts forgiven by bankruptcy courts but still purchased in the secondary market by outfits hoping to collect payments. Many readers were disturbed by the practice--"a gross injustice," one wrote. Some who responded focused on lax regulatory enforcement and the holes in the law that allow such collectors to operate. But others sided with the creditors, saying indebted consumers are shirking their responsibilities by seeking bankruptcy protection in the first place.

The actions of Capital One [which, the article said, failed to report a discharged debt to credit bureaus] may have been improper.

S&P Raises SSCC’s Corporate Credit Rating

Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.’s (SSCC) corporate credit rating was recently raised by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services from B to B+. S&P called the company’s outlook stable, and raised the senior secured ratings of Smurfit-Stone’s subsidiaries from BB- to BB and senior unsecured debt ratings from CCC+ to B-.

According to S&P, balanced supply and demand fundamentals should continue to support favorable pricing, and the company’s strategic initiatives are improving profitability.