Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines (AHN) – To help Filipino families cope with the non-stop rise in prices of goods and services, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said Wednesday the government is considering a wage hike and reducing the 12 percent rate of value added tax. Aquino has ordered the country’s economic officials to study all ways that the government could ease the impact of high fuel prices, particularly on the poor and minimum wage earners. Because of the weekly increase in pump prices due to the political instability in the Middle East and North Africa, transportation fares, electric bills, food prices and toll [...] Continue Reading…

Between February and March, personal bankruptcy filings increased more than 41 percent, the American Bankruptcy Institute announced. It was the second month in a row that the number of U.S. consumers to file bankruptcy rose. ABI said that Chapter 13 bankruptcies accounted for more than a quarter percent of [...] Continue Reading…

Everyone is familiar that interest rates could rise or fall and such changes may be truly fast, maybe several times in one day. Mortgage rates could be shaped by quite complex chain of issues including the industry, the Federal reserve and interbank lending rates. Maybe most mortgage loan applicants are not really worried with the underlying facts, but the rates at the moment. Here is a simple explanation of why the rates may rise or fall.Mortgage is an instrument for an awaiting applicant to acquire a home with someone else’s money in return for interest payment. Therefore investors enter into the marketplace for such interest return and make the [...] Continue Reading…

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Beijing, China (AHN) – China’s central bank on Tuesday raised interest rates for the fourth time in seven months in an effort to curb lending and fight inflation. The increase by the People’s Bank of China brought benchmark lending and deposit rates up by a quarter percentage point each. Bank officials announced this most recent interest rate hike on a holiday, which caught financial markets by surprise. The new rates take effect on Wednesday. One-year yuan deposit rates increase to 3.25 percent while one-year yuan lending rates go to 6.31 percent.

Article © AHN – All Rights [...] Continue Reading…

A lavish birthday party for a billionaire’s wife that almost wasn’t shines a spotlight on the conflict between those for whom Miami Beach is a playground and those for whom it is home.
[...] Continue Reading…

The Federal Reserve Board filed its response to an appeal by mortgage brokers to have the loan originator compensation rule delayed. A memorandum of law was filed Monday by the Fed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The Fed wants an April 1 order [...] Continue Reading…

During the first three months of 2011, a total of 37 mortgage-related firms or departments either failed or were closed down by management, based on coverage at MortgageDaily.com . A decline in casualties was primarily attributable to a slowdown in the number of bank failures. The Federal Deposit Insurance [...] Continue Reading…

Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will start an investigation of the country’s discount tour bus industry folliowing the deadly New York crash last month, Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Nydia Velazquez announced Sunday. The March 12 accident, which took the lives of 15 passengers, occurred at Interstate 95. The bus, which had 33 riders, was returning to Chinatown from an overnight trip to a casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. The bus driver, 40-year old Ophadell Williams, insisted he was in control of the bus until a tractor-trailer truck suddenly veered toward the bus. After the collision, [...] Continue Reading…

Recently adjustable rate mortgages gained a bad name essentially since people do not know their benefits and drawbacks well. A few mortgage payers do not get the mortgage jargon and read the thick mortgage papers. In comparison to fixed rate mortgages, adjustable rate mortgages are slightly more complex. They are also named flexible rates as opposed to fixed rates. With a fixed rate mortgage, people know their rates and payments from beginning. In contrast, adjustable rate mortgages may go up or down based on underlying criteria. If you are looking at an adjustable mortgage rate here are the areas to go over.Normally flexible rate mortgages have lower starting interest [...] Continue Reading…