| QPR fans give thanks a billion times over
Bernie Ecclestone does not mince his words. "One thing’s for sure," he says. "If we owe anything, we pay it back." Ecclestone, one of the wealthiest men in sport with an estimated fortune of £2.24 billion, was not referring to his family policy on monthly credit card repayments. The Formula One impresario was alluding to the debts he inherited when, along with Flavio Briatore, another of motor racing’s more colourful characters, he took over Queens Park Rangers. Their arrival was greeted with rapture by long-suffering fans who in recent years have seen the club teeter from one calamity to another. The subsequent arrival of an even wealthier investor – Lakshmi Mittal, reputedly the world’s fifth-richest man – consolidated a new nickname for the club.
BBB releases its February list of tips for consumers
This week the Better Business Bureau of Northern Indiana has issued a new list of consumer/business tips. The BBB asks readers to consider the importance of the practice in question as you review this list, and to look at the total performance of the company. • The overpayment scam is back with a vengeance. In this scam consumers put something up for sale, usually online, and the potential "buyer" offers to pay more than the asking price. However, the consumer is asked to wire the difference to someone else, which is routed back to the scammer. • Clear Your Debt promises to negotiate settlements with creditors. They also claim to be a "Christian" organization, which makes consumers feel comfortable about turning over banking and credit information to them. The BBB reports that this Texas company has the BBB’s lowest rating. • Father’s Promised Land Properties offers help to consumers to stay out of foreclosure.
Lenders launch 50 repossession notices a week
SPECIAL REPORT: BANKS say they are not at fault for more than 50 homeowners a week being hit with repossession notices, some after missing a few repayments. Association chief David Bell said non-bank lenders were "irresponsible" and their lending practices had been behind the increase, and major banks comprised only a small proportion of delinquencies, he told 3AW radio today. "The major difference between banks and other lenders is that banks are very careful about lending money. "We want to make sure that our customers pay that money back. More than 50 Victorians every week are being hit by repossession notices, with action taken on 707 properties in the past three months, the Herald Sun revealed today. Banks have launched action to take 707 properties, worth more than $200 million, in the past three months.
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That high figure must have seemed like a stretch to the school, too. In the 2005 catalog that students received, a 2003 figure of 98 percent is covered by a stapled-in page that drops the placement rate down to 89 percent. Today, the school's materials claim an 81 percent placement rate. Graduates say the new figure might be accurate if the school is including every Starbucks barista in its count of positive outcomes. The complaints and allegations against CCA should sound familiar to its parent company, Career Education Corporation. Over the past few years, the company has been hit with a succession of student lawsuits, and federal investigations are underway. All take issue with admissions policies and question the truthfulness of admissions representatives. In 2005 people began asking questions about the company's business model, and investigating how it made such spectacular profits.
A new hotel scheme for gouging the customer
I'm interrupting my previously scheduled column to tell you about a hotel policy that really makes me mad. I don't know how long hotels have been doing this or who thought it up, but I think it's fairly new and probably the work of some greedy corporate vice president. A few weeks ago, my friend Mary Ann made a reservation through the Holiday Inn Express Web site for a room at the Holiday Inn Express in her hometown. She was having some company and was afraid she might not have room for everyone at her house. After one of her visitors canceled his trip, she knew she could accommodate all the guests, so she called the hotel to cancel the reservation. Too bad, she was told. You booked a special rate online, and you can't cancel or change your reservation. Never mind that you called well in advance of the arrival date.
Enid’s Carver Educational Center is praised by state
Youth, the saying goes, is wasted on the young. The same can be true of education.Sometimes young people don't take advantage of their educational opportunities and it isn't until they reach adulthood they realize the error of their ways.For these people, and for any adults seeking academic improvement, the Carver Education Center is a valuable asset.Recently the Carver center received visits from four representatives of Oklahoma State Department of Education's Lifelong Learning Section. They conducted interviews, observed classes and reviewed materials.The panel's conclusion? Carver Educational Center is doing a good job.Thumbs up to Carver Education Center and its staff.THUMBS UPEnid Community Foundation recently hit a milestone, hitting $11.4 million in assets.This is quite a jump from the original $1.8 million challenge grant from Sisters of Mercy in July 2000.
Explorers piling up bills, businesses say
Local businesses say the Great Falls Explorers professional basketball team and team owner Michael Tuckman of Seattle are racking up more than points this season. They say Tuckman has between $40,000 and $50,000 in outstanding bills. Tuckman said Monday night that he has outstanding bills with two Great Falls hotels but denied any responsibility for the other expenses, saying they were accrued prior to his taking ownership of the Explorers on Nov. 24 from Apex Sportstainment. .
This year, the American people will choose between two diametrically ...
The Democratic Party looks at our nation and sees the twilight of the American soul. Republicans affirm that now, as throughout history, the spiritual and intellectual genius of the American people will create a better nation and maintain a just peace. To Republicans, creativity and growth are imperatives for a new era of opportunity for all. The Republican Party's vision of America's future, the heart of our 1984 Platform, begins with a basic premise: From freedom comes opportunity; from opportunity comes growth; from growth comes progress. This is not some abstract formula. It is the vibrant, beating heart of the American experience. No matter how complex our problems, no matter how difficult our tasks, it is freedom that inspires and guides the American Dream.
Spring Training
In 2008 in Florida, 17 teams will hold their preseasons in the Sunshine State. They are: the Atlanta Braves (at Disney's Wide World of Sports), the Baltimore Orioles (Fort Lauderdale), the Boston Red Sox (Fort Myers), the Cincinnati Reds (Sarasota), the Cleveland Indians (Winter Haven), the Detroit Tigers (Lakeland), the Florida Marlins (Jupiter), the Houst... Show more .
SABEW Best in Business Journalism Contest Adds Online Division, Plus ...
The registration deadline is February 1, 2008. The contest is for work published in calendar 2007. The Best in Business contest has three main components. The GENERAL EXCELLENCE competition honors outstanding daily newspaper business sections, weekly business newspapers, business web sites and business magazines. The NEWS competition honors outstanding stories published by the business news media. The ONLINE competition honors outstanding business journalism on the web. There also is a student competition. New this year are three categories for business magazines: outstanding magazine cover stories are judged through a new category in the news contest, while general excellence for business magazines is judged through new categories in the general excellence contest and online contests.
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