Posts Tagged ‘ Mortgages ’

Bloggers to the Rescue

Bloggers to the Rescue

Considering all the layoffs, downsizes and cutbacks reported in the news these days, it’s not surprising to learn that the news itself is being cut back. According to Joe Samuel Starnes, visiting assistant professor of English at Saint Joseph’s University, “You don’t have to look far to see struggling businesses, but newspapers have been going down for a while because of the loss of advertising revenue and readership.” In response to the newspaper industry’s decline, he said, “It’s concerning because our democracy needs good journalism, and newspapers have supplied and supported a majority of our country’s high-quality reporting in...

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McMansions Are Just Too Tacky

McMansions Are Just Too Tacky

A new study provides a first glimpse of exactly what people find offensive about super-sized houses which have sprouted up in neighborhoods around the country. Researchers found that people particularly dislike when these large homes, often derisively called â’McMansions,â’ are more than two times as tall as surrounding homes, and when their architectural style is not compatible with the neighboring homes. The results can provide guidelines for communities that are struggling to regulate the construction of these super-sized houses in existing neighborhoods, said Jack Nasar, co-author of the study and professor of city and regional planning at Ohio State...

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Fast Food :: Pay For Frills

Fast Food :: Pay For Frills

The typical American consumer is accustomed to unwrapping a hamburger from their favorite fast food establishment and finding â’the worksâ’: lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and a few packets of ketchup on the side. However, according to John Stanton, Ph.D., chair of food marketing at Saint Josephâ’s University in Philadelphia, the â’frillsâ’ that come with fast food or restaurant meals could become a thing of the past. â’In an environment where food companies are reducing the size of packages and charging more for products, consumers can expect to pay for what they used to get for free.â’ This trend has become...

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Layaway Programs :: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Layaway Programs :: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Retailers like Kmart and TJ Maxx have experienced a sharp increase in customer demand for their layaway programs, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Holiday consumers see layaway as a payment alternative at a time when credit card companies are reducing purchase limits and access to loans is tightening amid the countryâ’s ongoing financial crisis. â’People are shying away from credit cards, because maybe their limits have been reduced or they simply donâ’t want to carry any debt ahead of an economic recession,â’ said Bob Robicheaux, Ph.D., chairman of the UAB Department of Marketing and Industrial...

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28% Older US Citizens Might Loose Homes

28% Older US Citizens Might Loose Homes

New research by the AARP shows that for the six month period ending in December, 2007, 684,000 older Americans (aged 50 and over) were either in foreclosure or were delinquent in mortgage payments. That’s more than a quarter of all foreclosures or delinquencies (28.1%). “The public perception is that older Americans are financially secure in their homes,” said Reinhard. “But the reality is that while many are in fact secure, hundreds of thousands of others are not and face unsettling uncertainty over their futures as homeowners. “Older Americans depend on their homes both for shelter and as a retirement asset,”...

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