Finance Space

A new law proposed by Gilad Erdan is meant to encourage pension funds to take “social” considerations into account by compelling them to give an accounting of their policies regarding social investing. The pension holder would thus be given the information he or she needs to make social responsibility one consideration in the investment decision.

The law would put Israeli workers in a position to exercise “socially responsible investing,” a term which is all the rage in business ethics circles.

Tough times often open doors to new avenues. If doors to the Indian stock markets do not seem to be in a welcoming mood at the moment, there is a whole world awaiting the investors, literally, outside the domestic circuit. That was the theme of the recently concluded Global Investment Marathon organised by ING Investment Management, one of the world’s leading asset management companies, in Mumbai.

The two-day summit aimed at creating awareness about the investment opportunities available around the globe, through a series of workshops and panel discussions conducted by leading experts in the investment arena.

Following the recent British Retail Consortium (BRC) survey on consumer confidence, debt consolidation experts debtadvisersdirect.co.uk remind people in financial trouble to seek expert debt help as soon as possible.

Of the thousand people polled, nearly 60% felt their personal finances would be either bad or not so good over the next year. “What’s interesting about the BRC’s figures,” says a spokesperson for debtadvisersdirect.co.uk, “is that they reflect consumer sentiment, rather than any official perspective. Today’s economic troubles aren’t the kind that only worry bankers and Treasury officials: they’re issues that impact day-to-day life.”

Consumers experiencing debt problems should consider a consolidation loan to help them manage their finances.

According to debtadviserdirect.co.uk, people should consider these products as they usually have lower interest rates than those on individual loans and allow people to free up more money to go towards bills and other living expenses.

In addition the period of time over which people must repay the debt can be discussed and changed if need be, meaning consumers can pay less each month but do so for a longer period of time.

New credit card data released Thursday by TransUnion.com shows the first quarter of 2008 marked the first dip in credit card debt and loan delinquencies since the beginning of 2007.

The Chicago-based credit and information management firm said average credit card debt and national credit card loan delinquency (the ratio of borrowers 90 or more days past due) had statistically relevant quarterly declines. National average credit card debt per credit card borrower dropped 1.25 percent to $1,673 since the fourth quarter of 2007, though the total remains 5.6 percent higher than $1,584 in the same period last year.

You can arrange biweekly payments and save interest.

There is one universal goal that my clients share: They want to retire without a mortgage.

As retirement creeps closer, many of them start adding extra payments or prepaying additional principal in order to retire free of that monthly mortgage payment. Alternatively, you can start paying off your mortgage early by signing up for a biweekly mortgage payment plan.

My regular columnist, Mom2KG, checks in on the comings and goings of her family’s personal finance and why you should always stay sober at places designed to take your money.

Viva Las Vegas!

Vacations are lovely things. But a girls’ weekend in Vegas – that’s a whole different kinda lovely. I would like to share some lessons I have learned.

Cheryl Costa, an investment adviser with Family Financial Architects in Natick, took readers’ questions about debt management, mortgages, and education planning. Here’s a transcript.
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Cheryl_Costa: Hi Everyone! Welcome to today’s chat. I see a queue of several questions already so let’s get started!

bottomout__Guest_: we are 60,000 in debt and currently renting a house and are desperate to buy a house please help us with ways to work down our debt

At a special Westport Board of Finance meeting on Monday night, the board voted 4 to 3 along party lines, with Republicans opposed, to lower the increase in real estate taxes to 4.98 percent from the previously voted-on 7 percent increase.

New York – June 19, 2008 (WABC) — The announcement wasn’t much of a surprise – but it’s something of a risk, politically, for Barack Obama. He is now the first major party candidate to refuse to participate in the public financing system for Presidential campaigns. His position is that the system of taxpayer-funded campaigns has collapsed, and that to participate would put him at a disadvantage against Sen. John McCain, who will benefit from a better-financed, Republican Party-paid-for ad campaign against the Democratic candidate.