You're not helpless in the face of rising mortgage rates. Here are some of your options.
Bankrate.com
(posted 0 sec ago)
Investors can find higher CD rates at banks with low Safe & Sound Ratings, but should they invest?
Bankrate.com
(posted 0 sec ago)

The FTC recently imposed the second-steepest penalty ever imposed on a debt collector. According to the New York Times, Asset Acceptance, one of the largest collection companies in the country, recently agreed to pay a 2.5 million penalty to settle charges that company deceived consumers in the process of trying to collect debts.

I suppose that this is supposed to be good news and maybe even an indication that the federal government is finally poised to take action against an industry that nightly leaves thousands of grandmothers and single mothers across the country in a state of terror, waiting for collectors to make good on their false promises to sic the sheriff on them or have them imprisoned. However, given the profitability of the debt collection industry, the penalty doesn’t even rate as a slap on the wrist.

The original post is titled Asset Acceptance Fined for Illegal Collections Activity , and it came from Oregon Bankruptcy Lawyer | Portland, Salem, and Vancouver, Wa .

Oregon Bankruptcy Lawyer
(posted 3 hours 4 min ago)
The lease-to-own term has expired, and the home lost value. Can this deal be saved?
Bankrate.com
(posted 22 hours 20 min ago)

Practicing bankruptcy law in the greater Washington, DC area, we often get this question from nervous government employees and defense contractors: "If I file bankruptcy, will I lose my security clearance?"

The answer is: It's not the bankruptcy itself that is the problem. It's the underlying circumstances leading to the bankruptcy that is the determining factor.

Think about it. If you got a very serious illness and racked up a million dollars in medical bills you could not pay, and needed bankruptcy relief to stop the collection calls, lawsuits and garnishments, does the bankruptcy -- in any way -- reflect upon you personally as a security risk? Was the illness your fault? Is it evidence of a personality defect that would make it more likely you would breach security? I think you know the answer.

Where the circumstances leading to the bankruptcy were financial irresponsibility, then that's another matter. But then, the late charges, delinquencies, high credit balances, judgments, tax liens, etc. would already exist on your credit report. If anything, the bankruptcy would actually show you acting responsibility by exercising your legal right to "wipe the slate clean" and get the "fresh start" the law allows.

The US Air Force Academy's website discusses this issue and provides some interesting guidance: (The highlighted text is mine.)

Money Law Blog
(posted 1 day 4 hours ago)

I saw that Katie Porter over at Credit Slips posted a blog that new, simplified forms for consumer bankruptcy cases are being considered by the Bankruptcy Rules Advisory Committee.  The proposed forms can be accessed here and start at page 189 through page 315.  One item of note is that the forms are being divided into two categories:  a set of forms for “business” cases and a set of forms for “consumer” cases.

I looked through the forms and it seems as if the forms for “consumer” cases are designed to make it simpler for people to file bankruptcy without the assistance of an attorney.  I fully acknowledge that people are entitled to represent themselves in legal proceedings, of which, bankruptcy is one.  However, it bothers me a bit that the forms are billed as “simple”.  Without expressing an opinion on the forms themselves, bankruptcy is not a “simple” legal proceeding.

Bankruptcy Law Network
(posted 1 day 6 hours ago)
From swimwear to blueberries to winter jackets, here's what's on sale in February.
Bankrate.com
(posted 1 day 22 hours ago)
Michael Stockman and Michael Roseman may have had the same title at MF Global, but their testimony highlighted distinct differences in actual roles, responsibilities and perspectives. And salary.
BankThink
(posted 1 day 23 hours ago)

This week on The Broke and the Beautiful, Kodak wants to pull its name from Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre, and actress Debbie Reynolds is writing a new memoir. Also, “30 Rock” star Tracy Morgan’s mom is facing foreclosure.

WSJ.com: Bankruptcy Beat
(posted 2 days 35 min ago)
Associated Press

A federal judge in Los Angeles doesn’t think much of the literary abilities of a defense lawyer for two former IndyMac officials being sued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Judge Dale S. Fischer of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles blasted what she called Paul Hastings lawyer Kirby Behre’s overzealous and “somewhat annoying” legal filings.

“I don’t know whether you stay up nights trying to think of clever phrases, but trust me, no judge that I’ve ever spoken to has ever said, ‘Boy, can that guy turn a phrase.’ They only say, ‘Boy, why didn’t he get to the point.’ So, please, in future pleadings, remember that,” Fischer said at a hearing Monday.

You can read the entire transcript here (h/t dandodiary.com).

Behre represents IndyMac executives Kenneth Shellem and Richard Koon, who say the FDIC failed to collect and preserve documents and emails after taking receivership of IndyMac following the bank’s 2008 collapse, leaving the pair handicapped in mounting their defense.

WSJ.com: Bankruptcy Beat
(posted 2 days 1 hour ago)