A recession is loosely defined as a period of two or more financial quarters where the Gross Domestic Product declines. It is truly difficult to measure; difficult to determine when a recession starts, and difficult to determine when it ends. Until 1929, all recessions were generally known as depressions. By contrast, depressions are now measured [...]
January 2009
The 2005 amendments to the Bankruptcy Code, known as the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) changed the time that a debtor must be domiciled in a state before the debtor can claim the bankruptcy exemptions of that state. Under the pre-BAPCPA Bankruptcy Code the debtor generally had to wait 90 days to [...]
Have you received an offer for 0% financing from your credit card lately? A careful look at the terms of such offers reveal the continuing traps of the finance industry on consumers. Time for some grade school math and a different way of looking at the world. Consider the offer of zero percent for six [...]
Effective July 1, 2008, Connecticut established a mediation program for foreclosures. Â Statistics available for the latest period ending November 30 2008 reveal some interesting detail. Â Mediators are working diligently to rescue residential homes from the auctioneer. Â However, the program is missing important components. In the period of July 1st to November 30th, there were 9,917 [...]
In an article published on the internet, Credit Suisse has come out in favor of a proposed change to the Bankruptcy Code to allow Bankruptcy Judges to modify residential mortgages. This is now the second major lender who supports this common sense change. Citibank previously issued support for the change. More lenders are considering the [...]
When a debt collector uses illegal debt collection tactics, a consumer can bring a lawsuit under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) for damages. This point is easy to impart. However, one of the key things about an FDCPA case which is often very difficult to impart is that the case is not about [...]
