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Today's Top Stories
Fraudulent wage slips fools money-lenders
Experts warn about fraudulent borrowers that exaggerate their income by purchasing fake pay slips online to get approved for mortgages and loans they could not receive on their pay. "Pay slips or end-of-year P60 forms can be bought for as little as £10 online — including whatever name, company details and wages you choose, a new report reveals." Consumers' borrowing habits have escalated of the past couple of years resulting into more than £1 trillion owed towards mortgages, overdrafts and other debts, with companies that don't always bother to double-check one's payment details with their employers. The sites, that were started to help provide those who lost their proof of payments due to unforeseen circumstances (fire, flood, etc), are legit and don't have any rules against them.
India uses credit cards least in the World
Recent research has revealed that India has the lowest use of credit cards in the world. With Indians spending just 1% of their total purchases through credit cards it comes as no shock that they are at the bottom of the credit use food chain. "The very low levels of penetration in India offer immense potential for credit card companies. Also, there are fewer credit card companies than those in other parts of the world. The high growth in spending is attracting a lot of entrants into the segment," said SBI Card CEO Roopam Asthana.
Credit card holders in Ireland pay extra tax
According to a recent report from one of London's research company, Lafferty, Ireland is second only to Saudi Arabia when it comes to profiting from the use of credit cards. This stems from the €40 annual fee that is imposed by the Government on all credit cards, resulting to a profit of €65 million from the fee alone. "There [are] about two million credit card users in Ireland, with the average debt at €603, compared with €1,624 in Britain. In Saudi Arabia, up to €67 profit is made by financial institutions on each credit card compared with €35 in the US, €26 in Russia and €24 in Britain."
South Africa's changing of the guard
As of today, June 1, in South Africa it is a criminal offence under the new National Credit Act for unscrupulous money-lenders to exploit consumers and put them in situations that may lead them into a life of debt. The revised act will make it difficult for credit grantors to give loans to over-indebted consumers, which should lower the debt tolls over time. On the other hand, people should be warned that lying about their income and expenses when trying to borrow from money-lending companies are at fault instead of the company.
Confident Canadian consumers
Despite increasing debts and inconsistent household finances, Canadian consumers are confident in the country's economy and optimistic that financial smooth sailing is in the near future. Canada benefits from a strong economy, with a healthy real estate market, a well-off stock market and the lowest unemployment in 30 years. With the dollar rising, increasing their purchase power many consumers are feeling the urge to go out and buy "big ticket items". With such a strong economy many people think they can increase their debt load and stay afloat although many Canadian's are only one pay slip away from financial disaster.
Wal-Mart needs to roll up prices
Stock up on your cheap swimsuits now because Wal-Mart stores may be on the path to sinking financially. Information from a private report leaked out to the press showing the world how Wal-Mart's low-low prices aren't quite paying the high-high bills. Wal-Mart still stands as one of the number one US retail figures, attracting 138 million shoppers a week. Despite such high numbers their reputation and popularity is falling across the US year by year. If they don't start rolling up prices soon they may be out of business in the future.