| Don't let overdraft fees drain your account
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)(MCT)It was late Friday afternoon. With a thin envelope from my bank in hand and a sick feeling in my stomach, I sped to the nearest branch to beg them to reverse about $100 worth of insufficient funds fees. Fresh out of college, I couldn't afford the charges and was frustrated and confused about how I had screwed up to begin with. Fortunately, the banker took pity on me and reversed three of the four fees.Flash forward to today. I recently wrote a story about a Center for Responsible Lending report that found that 18- to 24-year-olds pay about $1 billion per year in overdraft fees. I was relieved to find that many of the students I spoke with about the findings had never overdrawn their accounts. Some others, such as 21-year-old Nadia Labyad, a senior at Hamline University, have tried to no avail to get their banks to reverse some fees.
Payday Lending Group Pushes Disclosure
Many payday lending shops will be required by an industry trade group to put up small posters displaying their fees and interest rates. But one critic said the posters are little more than window dressing for an industry long derided for taking advantage of people. .
State holds $2.28B in downgraded debt
The Florida agency that manages the state's massive investment portfolio holds $2.28 billion in debt that was downgraded to below investment grade by credit rating companies. A state Board of Administration report said the downgraded debt is in its short-term securities portfolio, specifically in asset-backed commercial paper -- a bond issued by a company and backed by assets, such as mortgages. It said about $2.28 billion, or 4.7 percent, of the short-term holdings are below investment grade and an additional $3.59 billion, or 7.3 percent, are on credit watch. .
Warning from Experian
EXPERIAN, the credit checking group, has warned of a further slowdown in revenue growth as embattled banks and credit card firms clamp down on lending. Chief executive Don Robert said the current situation was "as big of a market challenge as I've seen in the last couple of decades". This article: http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1813492007 Last updated: 16-Nov-07 12:07 GMT .
Perth Amboy refinances water utility debt to help budget
Perth Amboy is taking advan tage of a novel way of refinancing its $17.25 million water utility debt that will pump at least $750,000 into the city budget this year. David Milkosky, the financial adviser to the Middlesex County Improvement Authority, which is selling the bonds, said it is a "very good deal" for the city. He ex plained the city reached an agreement with NW Financial Group LLC, an investment firm based in Jersey City. Under the terms of the agreement, NW Financial will underwrite the bonds when they come due in 2009. In return, NW Financial agreed to pay Perth Amboy at least $750,000 for locking in at an interest rate when the deal is finalized in December. "By locking in at the current low interest rates, the city is taking away the risk of refunding when (the bonds are) called in 2009," Mil kosky said.
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