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) Online Mortgage Directory Adds Tax Relief to Menu of Services for Consumers
LendingGateway.com just added Tax Debt relief to the company's menu of online applications that connect consumers directly to professionals who can help them.San Diego, CA (PRWEB) September 17, 2007 -- LendingGateway.com is expanding its menu of services to include Tax Debt Relief. As an online mortgage lender directory that connects potential borrowers matching lenders, LendingGateway.com receives many visitors with damaged credit or other financial issues. The company responded to the inquiries for help last month by adding Debt Consolidation and Student Loan Consolidation assistance. And because of further consumer interest in help with Tax Debt problems, LendingGateway.com partnered with Tax Debt Relief experts nationwide who can help applicants with their tax issues, be it a tax lien, unfilled taxes, or Wage garnishment. More>>
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) Japan Weakens
Yasuo Fukuda faces an uphill battle as Japan's new prime minister.The 71-year-old has to heal a rural community that feels left behind after five years of combative economic reforms while imposing structural changes to boost the world's second-biggest economy.The former cabinet secretary has to restore the battered credibility of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party after a scandalous 12 months and work with a hostile Upper House in Parliament.The son of Takeo Fukuda, a former prime minister in the late 1970s, has to face the policy dilemmas of an aging population and a massive public debt that is 150% of Japan's gross domestic product.He must deal with weak wages growth and stubbornly high unemployment in some areas.The bespectacled party veteran said he had "drawn the short straw" to replace Shinzo Abe, 53, who was hospitalised shortly after resigning as prime minister after only one year in power.Yasuo Fukuda says he will not reverse policies that have helped Japan's economy."We have to promote reform," he said."The world is changing, and if we don't change we will be left behind."And he has acknowledged the tough challenges."Japan is at a turning point," he said."The population is shrinking and greying and the social structure is changing."We have to raise labour productivity to meet these challenges."Fukuda, who spent many years as an oil company salaryman, has received mixed reviews.He has been described as mild-mannered, a foreign policy dove, shrewd and tough, a quiet compromiser, a moderate on international affairs and typically bland but sometimes testy.Some Japanese fear he could represent a return to the old days of Japan.Others have said he will be a "good caretaker" as the new prime minister, a reference to opinion polls showing a majority of the Japanese people want an early election in summer time next year."This is something that we should consider carefully," Fukuda said.An election is not legally required until September 2009.He has held out an olive branch to the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan: "I want to have dignified discussions with the aim of protecting the people's livelihoods and national interests."But financial markets will be unforgiving if the reform agenda stalls.Standard & Poor's, a credit ratings agency, said it might lower its AA credit rating on Japan if the new Fukuda government did not continue the path of fiscal restraint."The ratings of Japan could come under pressure if political gridlock resulted in a reversal of the government's fiscal consolidation," S&P said in a statement."Policy risks present a serious challenge to improvements in Japan's economic and credit outlook."Japan's official interest rates of 0.5% are the lowest among rich countries.Last year the Bank of Japan (BOJ) first raised its official rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.25% after five years of zero interest rates due to an anaemic economy for more than a decade.The ultra-low rates have fuelled demand for yen carry trades.These risky bets involve investors borrowing the low-yielding Japanese currency to fund investments in high-yielding currencies, such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars."There is little pressure for the BOJ to consider aggressive moves on rates in the absence of higher inflation," ANZ Investment Bank senior currency strategist Tony Morriss said in a weekly report.Analysts at Westpac said the August BOJ minutes indicated the central bank's outlook remained basically on track, implying the board was taking a "glass half full" attitude on recent soft data."The board has some thinkers who feel that normalisation should proceed as soon as stability in offshore financial markets is again apparent," Westpac analysts said in a report.UBS recently trimmed its 2008 growth forecast for Japan by 0.1 percentage point to 1.8%.Just over a year ago, Fukuda said low official rates in Japan were abnormal but putting Japan's public finances back in order was the main priority for the ruling LDP government.Some analysts believe Fukuda's election to the top job will be positive for financial markets."It was good for financial markets to see Fukuda chosen as the new leader because of his clear commitment to fiscal consolidation," Seiji Shiraishi, chief economist at HSBC Securities in Toyko, was quoted by Reuters as saying.Japan's Asian neighbours are also likely to welcome Fukuda, who has ruled out visiting the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which is often at the centre of political storms.Although the shrine is dedicated to about 2.5 million people who have died in Japan's conflicts between 1853 to 1945, it also venerates 14 convicted Class A war criminals."Fukuda respects other Asian countries," Zhou Yongsheng, a professor at the Institute of China Foreign Affairs University, was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying. More>> - (
) The Debt Counsellors are Seeing More Middle and High-Income Debt Enquiries
Financial slowdown sees a surge in middle and higher income earners seeking IVA and Debt Consolidation help, according to The Debt Counsellors customer profile.(PRWEB) October 5, 2007 -- The current moneymarket confidence freeze -- caused by the recent credit crunch -- promoting a sense of fear in the money markets and making loans harder to find and more costly, is now affecting even the more well-off, as noted by recent enquiries to The Debt Counsellors.
According to a recent news report: "Second quarter figures from the Insolvency Service showed a 4.2 per cent annual rise in the number of individual insolvencies through bankruptcy and individual voluntary arrangements and anecdotal evidence suggests these now include borrowers on middle and higher incomes."
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) State gives $24M to Orange Regional
Town of Wallkill � Imagine if someone gave you a nice chunk of change to help pay off your debt.
That�s what the state just did for the new hospital that will serve thousands of us.
Orange Regional Medical Center � the consolidation of Horton and Arden Hill hospitals � was awarded a $24 million grant to reduce its present debt. Debt reduction is needed to move forward with Orange Regional�s new hospital, which is scheduled to open in 2011 off Route 17�s Exit 122.
The $350 million hospital will be the first new one built in the state in 27 years. It will be the largest medical center between the Tappan Zee Bridge and Albany.
But even with this new vote of financial confidence, Orange Regional still must raise millions. The hospital recently was awarded a state grant of $24.6 million, which must be matched. More>>