US Finance World

Here’s a brain-teaser for you.

Which corporate honcho bragged recently about his company’s strong resources, positive outlook and outstanding “execution” skills? Who said he was “particularly pleased” at recent developments, and predicted “competitive returns to shareholders in the quarters ahead”?

Tim Cook at Apple? Alan Mulally at Ford? Mike Duke at Wal-Mart?

None of the above. The answer is Jon Corzine, who runs MF Global Holdings Ltd. He made those remarks a week ago. Yesterday the company filed for bankruptcy.

One week. No kidding.

You may be watching the news about MF Global and shrugging. You may think, “minor blowup on Wall Street, few injured.”

But you’d be wrong. What just happened at MF Global illustrates everything wrong with the U.S. economy. That’s right: It’s all here!

1. Spin, spin, spin

On Oct. 25, just days before the company collapsed, Corzine told investors that MF Global’s exposure to European government bonds was fine.

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Financial products such as interest free credit cards are useful when you use them on a regular basis, but what about if you have an emergency? Many people make use of their credit card for things such as this, like if they have an unexpected payment they need to make at short notice. As long as you stay within your credit limit, this is absolutely fine, but what about once you have taken care of the emergency?

Managing your credit card payments is always important as you have certain obligations to meet as a card holder. This means you need to make at least your minimum payment every month in order to keep up with your commitments. This is arguably even more important if you have used your credit card in an emergency situation, such as to take care of repair bills or to pay for a hotel if your car breaks down.

This is because the expenditure will be out of the norm for you, and so it is important to budget it for it so you can pay it off as quickly and easily as possible. Read more…

As a major car dealer falls foul of the Office of Fair Trading, we expose the tricks of the trade.

Last week used-car seller Carcraft was humbled by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The consumer watchdog criticised Carcraft, which owns 11 car supermarkets in England and Wales, for poor business practices in its before- and after-sales service.

The regulator launched an investigation after some Carcraft customers complained that their cars developed serious faults shortly after purchase. The OFT found that Carcraft’s 120-point pre-sale vehicle inspections were not always carried out properly.

As a result of unsatisfactory cars not being repaired or replaced, the OFT criticised Carcraft’s after-sales guarantee.

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A recent survey of 300 professionals involved in the hiring process indicated that 91% of them have used social media profiles to screen job applicants.

Amongst the three major social networks:

- 76% used Facebook

- 53% used

- 48% used LinkedIn

The breakdown may seem a bit surprising at first. Intuitively you may think that LinkedIn would be used the most, but Facebook has a much higher adoption rate and is likely to show a bit more of what youre really about (LinkedIn essentially serves as an online resume with network connections).

Recruiters and hiring managers are looking for dirt on you! 69% of survey respondents have rejected candidates based on what they found in your profile. Reasons cited include inappropriate photos or comments, lying about your qualifications, drinking/drug comments, negative comments about your previous employers, and confidential information shared.

Why are Recruiters Using Social Media Profiles?

This may come as a shock to you that employers are using your authentic musings against you, but it shouldnt!

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When it comes to instant payday loans there is nothing quicker than a no fax payday loan; unfortunately, many people who would benefit from this superb short term credit solution fail to do so because of a lack of clarity about what exactly it is. Put simply, no fax payday loans are exactly the same as normal payday loans; the only difference is that they can be applied for and even approved entirely online.

The name ‘no fax payday loan’ harks back to an older period of short term credit solution, to a time when companies needed to acquire a great deal of personal documentation about their customers. This information often needed to be faxed over to a company before a payday loan could begin to be approved. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, this arduous process has been all but eliminated and customers are now able to enjoy the same great payday loan services without all the hassle of faxing document after document = hence the name ‘no fax payday loan’. Read more…