| Hard times keep pawnshops busy
Locally At the Kendallville Pawn Shop in downtown Kendallville, manager Kenny Gohn said he has seen increased business as more people who need money come in. And with it being tax season, Gohn said many people are coming in to spend their refunds."I have hardly any TVs here right now," Gohn said Thursday. Victor Amato, district manager for Lev's Pawn Shop, with two locations in Fort Wayne, said business is growing, but it has grown steadily the past three to five years. But Amato said the slowing economy is not the only factor in the pawnshop's growth. With the rapid increase in the value of gold, Lev's is seeing a large increase in pawned jewelry, especially gold. Amato also said customers are coming to Lev's to buy high-definition TVs and video-game systems with their tax refunds. About 75 percent of people who pawn items at Lev's get their items back, Amati said.
Is the sunshine state a good bet?
Use money in Premium Bonds to reduce debt. Consider pension contributions for Jan even if she isn’t working. Reappraise protection needs. LINKS Savills Private Finance: 020-7877 4710, www.spf.co.uk; Torquil Clark: 0800 0723186, www.torquilclark.com; Yellowtail: 020-7933 8670, www.yellowtail.co.uk . Jan’s response "The advice from the experts has confirmed the complexities of owning a second property thousands of miles away, despite the attractive prices. But it may be something we revisit in five or six years’ time. "The pensions advice was very valuable. We believed that Jan could not pay into any sort of fund while she was not working. We were also not given the option to consolidate Ben’s additional voluntary contributions, which is certainly something we will look at now.
Trump has made us look like a nation of parochial bumblers
I am sure he will investigate it thoroughly and professionally and will communicate with all parties involved. He is a man of integrity, honesty and dignity. Quite an unknown personality and character for the unionists in a politician but there you go. The SNP are lucky to have him on side. Ian McWhirter says he was playing golf in the US just a couple of days before the calling in. Erm...I don't think golf is Mr Swinney's thing, perhaps it was a game of pitch and putt. Mr Swinney lives in a constituency surrounded by championship and other excellent golf courses and has never attempted the game as far as the locals know. We would know of course as we have a very effective grapevine here, so Ian, just a wee slip up in your reporting. .
Debt-ridden customers banned from using credit cards
They will receive letters in the next few days warning them their Egg credit cards will stop working in 35 days' time. It is the first time a credit card company has resorted to such a drastic move to curb over-spending, but others are expected to follow their lead as the global credit crunch tightens its squeeze on the beleaguered banking industry. If they do follow suit, it could lead to a retail crisis in Britain because credit card spending has fuelled the "spend, not save" shopping culture. Many adults rely on their credit cards to pay for a lifestyle they cannot afford. On Friday Egg said its dramatic move affects seven per cent of its two million credit card customers. They are being targeted because they have a "higher than acceptable risk profile", the company said.
Google Gives All SF Homeless Free Voicemail
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Google has made an announcement that could help hundreds of homeless people in San Francisco get back on their feet.
Every single homeless person in the city will be given a life-long phone number and voicemail, should they choose to accept it, NBC11's Lisa Bernard said.
VIDEO: Google Gives Homeless Phone Numbers
SLIDESHOW: SF, Google Give Free Voicemail, Phone Numbers To Homeless Google is partnering with San Francisco to provide the service to homeless individuals and to shelters and agencies so they can distribute the numbers to their clients. The announcement was made at a Project Homeless Connect event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium Wednesday. .
'My Favorite Dog': Dueling Rhymers
EWU isn't a private religious school where a porn star giving a chat would be wildy inapproriate. It's a public institution that represents a diverse political and religious base. America is great because Mel Gibson can make Passion of the Christ and Ron Jeremy can make porn. It's called freedom. I am willing to fight to the end to defend Jeremy's free speech rights even though I find him vile and disgusting. The Edge P.S. I find it outrageous that Passion of the Christ wasn't even nominated for the best picture award. It's political payback from a hypocritical group that thinks it's smarter than the rest of us. For shame Oscar, for shame. .
Lakewood considers dropping grocery sales tax
Eliminating the grocery sales tax is "an issue that has been percolating in the city for some time," said Lakewood Mayor Bob Murphy. "We can't make an important policy decision until we know all of the facts." To do that, Murphy assembled a committee of seven citizens who are studying the impact that a grocery sales tax reduction would have on the city's budget and services. Regardless of its findings, the issue will likely come to the forefront this year: One of the members, Natalie Menten, independently plans to gather enough signatures to put a question on the November ballot asking voters to repeal the tax. One of the main criticisms of a grocery sales tax is that it puts a higher financial burden on low-income shoppers based on a percentage of their income. Some cities, including Boulder and Fort Collins, issue rebates for eligible poor or elderly residents.
Shoppers become stingy with gift cards, the latest sign of consumer ...
NEW YORK (AP) — Here's a sign of how shaky the economy has become: Wal-Mart says its shoppers are redeeming their holiday gift cards for basic items — pasta sauce, diapers, laundry detergent — instead of iPods or DVDs. Merchants had hoped shoppers armed with gift cards would provide a lift after a dismal holiday shopping season — partly because shoppers tend to spend even more than the value of the card. But that didn't seem to happen last month, and retailers are feeling the pain. Yesterday, the nation's retailers turned in their worst January in almost four decades as high gas and food prices, a slumping housing market, tighter credit and a tougher job market pushed consumers to the edge. Sales at 43 retailers surveyed by the UBS-International Council of Shopping Centers rose just 0.5 percent in January, well below the original 1.5 percent forecast.
McFadden benefitting from Johnson's tutelage
Those are the sprints in which Johnson set world records during the 1990s. When his track and field career began winding down, Johnson made the transition to training athletes. He began working with NFL draft prospects in 2001. McFadden and Razorbacks teammate Felix Jones who had the ninth-fastest 40 time (4.47) among running backs who ran in Indy also prepared for other Combine drills at Johnson's training center. Sessions were held six days a week, which led to Johnson and McFadden spending extensive time together. "You think about the fact he won five gold medals and you wouldn't think he would spend as much time working one-on-one with you, but he does," McFadden said. "He works with everyone and treats everyone the same with respect. He's just a great guy to be around." The two have become so close that Johnson personally watched McFadden run at the Combine.
Identity thieves turn to old-fashioned channels — mail and phones
NEW YORK When it comes to identity theft, most people think they're especially vulnerable when they're working on their computers or when fraudsters hack into big databases and steal card numbers. In fact, consumers are far more likely to be victimized if their wallet, checkbook or credit card is lost or stolen, according to a new study released by Javelin Strategy & Research. The research group, which is based in San Francisco, also found that as financial institutions and retailers have improved their in-store and online security, ID thieves have turned to more traditional channels of theft, especially the telephones and the mail. While the incidence of ID fraud through in-store and online purchases declined in the latest survey, conducted last October, from a similar study in 2006, the portion of fraud stemming from mail or telephone purchases jumped to 40 percent from 3 percent.
Clinton's attempts to dislodge Obama from top appear to fall short
I'm a middle-class, hard-working legal secretary, and the low-deceitful attacks she has taken on Obama make me sick. It is the picture of why young people have no inclination to even attempt to be involved in politics. During the last election I boycotted all election ads. If one came on the tv I changed the channel. I didn't care what I changed it to, but I was not going to give my time to those kind of negative attacks. Being President is basically a decision based on popularity. I am embarrassed that our country uses such slime to make one person look better than another. I saw those pictures of Obama a long time ago and I still voted for him because I think he is the better person. We are near creating an English system of law with two families fighting over territory for HOW MANY YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Think about it………and Jeb Bush has yet to run.
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