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) Boss defends home loan 'formula'
Rudco CEO Rudi Visagie believes his "simple" business formula is a winner for consumers and has big banks and financial services brokers running scared. The National Credit Act regulates maximum interest rates and initiation fees, but no minimums, Visagie said in defence of his six percent interest rate on home loans. Visagie said Rudco was complying with the act by offering a maximum initiation fee of R150, plus 10 percent of the agreement in excess of R1 000, but limited to R1 140 (including VAT). A further proviso of the act is that the initiation fee may not exceed 15 percent of the principal debt. Rudco's "management fee" of R750 had been converted to an interest rate of 17 percent, said Visagie. Before June 1, when the act came into force, this was how Rudco calculated a R100 000 "debt consolidation" - what the act refers to as a personal loan: Capital outlay of R100 000 (this was used to repay people's debts, Visagie stressed, and no money was paid directly to clients); 20-year (240 month) repayment period; R750 management fee. More>> - (
) Debt Consolidation Advertising Traffic Jumps 600%
Adknowledge traffic in the debt consolidation services category climbed more than 600 percent in September 2007 compared to a year ago, the largest advertising category increase so far this year. Bad credit loans and loan refinancing are other categories to jump over 500 percent.. More>>
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) Online Mortgage Directory Adds Tax Relief to Menu of Services for Consumers
LendingGateway.com just added Tax Debt relief to the company's menu of online applications that connect consumers directly to professionals who can help them.San Diego, CA (PRWEB) September 17, 2007 -- LendingGateway.com is expanding its menu of services to include Tax Debt Relief. As an online mortgage lender directory that connects potential borrowers matching lenders, LendingGateway.com receives many visitors with damaged credit or other financial issues. The company responded to the inquiries for help last month by adding Debt Consolidation and Student Loan Consolidation assistance. And because of further consumer interest in help with Tax Debt problems, LendingGateway.com partnered with Tax Debt Relief experts nationwide who can help applicants with their tax issues, be it a tax lien, unfilled taxes, or Wage garnishment. More>>
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) Commander could be Telecom target
AAPT-PowerTel, an Australian subsidiary of Telecom, has hinted at interest in the troubled Commander Communications after predicting further consolidation in the industry over the next 18 months.AAPT-PowerTel has boosted its alliance with Macquarie Telecom - in which it has a 10 per cent stake - after signing a three-year deal to provide $A100 million of services a year.
More than $A300 million has been wiped from Commander's market value since April, after the company shocked investors with three profit downgrades.
Yesterday AAPT-PowerTel's chief executive, Paul Broad, said he would "still look at them" should the opportunity arise, after admitting to examining Commander more than a year ago when he was boss of the stand-alone PowerTel.
But he emphasised that for "us to do something now would be a big ask" because of Commander's high debt levels and his primary focus on integrating AAPT and PowerTel. More>>
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) Nigeria: Scorching the Resource Curse
During the 1960s, the Nigerian economy was driven by the non-oil sector, especially the agricultural sector, with an average contribution of about 70 per cent to non oil GDP. The agricultural sector was vibrant and Nigeria was self sufficient in food and was a major exporter of agricultural products, notably cocoa, groundnuts, palm kernel and rubber, among others. The oil boom of the 1970s and 80s, followed by the excessive appreciation of the exchange rate reduced agricultural competitiveness and encouraged rent seeking behaviour in the economy. Agriculture declined in importance from 41.3 per cent of GDP in the 1970s to 20.6 per cent in the 1980s. Its contribution to GDP in the last five years averaged 5.6 per cent. The sector contributed about 65 per cent of total employment in the 1970s and 80s. More>> - (
) Keep On Truckin’
Conventional wisdom says the only way to invest in transportation these days is via the railroads. With Berkshire Hathaway buying Burlington Northern (BNI) shares by the trainload, who am I to argue? Warren Buffett obviously sees railroads as a “toll bridge". There are only a handful of competitors and a host of nearly captive customers. If you want to ship coal, you'll need a railroad and the choices are limited.By contrast, the trucking industry is an extremely fragmented industry. Customers have almost unlimited choices from large integrated carriers to a guy in a pickup. The industry has often been characterized by excess capacity and irrational pricing. Let's not forget that rising fuel costs disproportionately penalize truckers. Combine that with worries about the global economy and you have an industry that investors avoid. More>>
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) Outlook for Asset Managers Discussed in Wall Street Transcript Financial Services Issue
67 WALL STREET, New York-October 8, 2007-The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Brokers & Asset Managers issue, a report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This 38-page feature contains an expert roundtable forum of leading industry analysts, and industry commentary through in-depth interviews with top management from 7 firms. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.. More>>