| PM promises to repatriate Balibo Five
PRIME Minister John Howard says a re-elected coalition government would seek the repatriation of the remains of five Australian-based journalists killed in East Timor in 1975. A long-awaited report by Deputy NSW Coroner Dorelle Pinch into the death of the newsmen, known as the Balibo Five, this week found they were deliberately killed by invading Indonesian troops. Indonesia has always insisted the Balibo Five were killed in crossfire in the border town of Balibo during its invasion of East Timor. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer yesterday indicated the government was willing to help with the repatriation of the remains of the men, which was recommended by the coroner. Speaking from a car dealership in the safe Liberal seat of Greenway in western-Sydney, Mr Howard promised a re-elected coalition government would seek to have the remains of the men repatriated.
PC makers shouldn't have to be babysitters too
I'M ALL FOR child safety when it comes to PCs and the Wibbly Wobbly Web but things are getting out of hand. There is an abdication of responsibility going on at many levels regarding the evils of technology and the precious youth and it’s high time it stopped. This week, the great NSPCC organisation renewed its call to PC manufacturers to bundle Net nanny-styled software on PCs as standard so that when little Johnny goes hunting online he finds the Beeb, not the Boob. I have no real issue with this and for PC manufacturers suffering falling desktop sales, it’s a potentially smart marketing move to create a new niche based around child-safe PCs. So what sparked the NSPCC’s renewed calls? An outbreak of underage teen sex, a rampage by armed tweenies dressed as zombies through the local Tesco? Dumb PC superstores.
Freddie Mac hit by huge loss, says needs capital
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Freddie Mac (FRE.N), the No. 2 U.S. mortgage finance company, on Tuesday stunned Wall Street with a unexpectedly wide loss and plans to slash its dividend or use other means to raise capital to withstand a continuing downturn in the housing market. Freddie Mac shares lost more than one-quarter of their value after reporting a net loss of $2 billion, blaming falling home prices and tighter credit conditions for having increased the number of borrowers defaulting on their mortgages. It was the worst one-day percentage drop ever and pummeled the stock to an 11-year low. .
Bank accounts don't impact credit score
Dear Dr. Don, Does it hurt your credit rating if you keep opening and closing high-yield savings accounts? I started using Bankrate to find the highest yields in 2001 and opened an ING account. I've since moved it to E-LOAN and now noticed that I can do 0.5 percent better if I move it somewhere else. -- Rich Rates .
Foreclosures quietly blighting neighborhoods
Eighty-five bungalows dot the cul-de-sac that joins West Ontario Avenue and East Ontario Avenue in Atlanta. Twenty-two are vacant, victims of mortgage fraud and foreclosure. Now house fires, prostitution, vandals and burglaries terrorize the residents left in this historic neighborhood called Westview Village. "It's created a safety hazard. And if we have to sell our house tomorrow, we're out of luck," said resident Scott Smith. "Real estate agents say to me "We're not redlining you, but I tell my clients to think twice about buying here." ' As defaults surge on mortgages made to borrowers with spotty credit and adjustable-rate loans, more people are noticing that their neighbors are caught up in the meltdown. Their misfortunes are haunting those left living on the same streets.
Atmos Energy Corporation Purchases a License under the Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. Patents
LOS ANGELES, BUSINESS WIRE -- Atmos Energy Corporation, the country's largest natural gas-only distributor, (NYSE:ATO) headquartered in Dallas, has purchased a license under the patent portfolio held by Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. and licensed through its affiliate, NNOVIA Replacement Battery for Quickcapture A2D
B&H Photo-Video-$119.95
');" onMouseOut="setTimeout('hideLayer()',500);" class=hotlink2>A2D, L.P. The nonexclusive license covers services offered by Atmos in the "Energy and Utility Services" Field of Use, including customer service provided via automated systems and live agents. Other terms of the license were not disclosed. The patents held by Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. cover a wide range of interactive technology including automated forms of: customer service, securities trading, prescription refill services, merchandising, prepaid services, telephone conferences, registration, home shopping, as well as functions involved in securing information from databases by telephone, interactive cable transactions, and various other uses of toll free and local numbers.
Growing credit debt is crushing Canadians: study
A new study of Canadians' credit debt finds that a whopping 25 per cent owe between $10,000 and $40,000, and 28 per cent don't even know the interest rate they pay on their main credit card. The report by Credit Canada and Capitol One was timed for release during their Credit Education Week, and is designed to raise awareness of good financial management. Laurie Campbell, of Credit Canada, said the numbers -- which don't factor in mortgage debt -- were surprisingly high. "The numbers are quite startling, even I was quite surprised, but nevertheless, this is truly what we're seeing," Campbell told CTV's Canada AM. "Savings rates at an all-time low and debt rates at an all-time high so this financial literacy week in my opinion is long overdue." The study, which questioned 4,000 respondents about their personal credit debt practices, found a disconnect between Canadians' debt levels and retirement plans.
The how and Y of getting it together
The financial concerns of generation Y, people born between 1976 and 1991, can be summed up with one word: debt. Unlike other generations, Generation Y members are exposed to both credit and debt from an early age but are often not equipped to manage either. Bernard Salt, demographer with chartered accounting firm KPMG, says this group has three main types of debt to contend with. "They have HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) debt, which can be $30,000, $40,000 or $50,000 or more burdened on them by the time they're 25 or so," he says. "They frequently have credit cards ... and a monthly mobile phone account that must be paid for and managed." The latest AMP.NATSEM (National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling) Income and Wealth Report that studies the spending and savings habits of generation Y found mortgages also figured heavily in the debt equation.
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