Sharon L. Secor
Articles by Sharon L. Secor
June 29, 2009
Nations throughout the world are casting an uneasy eye over the American debt situation, the value of the dollar, and how that affects the worth of their holdings. As the value of the dollar falls, so too does the worth of their reserves, and with losses mounting, some of the world´s nations a...
April 09, 2009
During the past couple of years, there has been the occasional news story about the increase in middle class homelessness, often reported more as an anachronism than as a real trend. However, with the significant increase in unemployment, middle class homelessness is being treated in a much more ser...
March 16, 2009
It is amazing how federal and state lawmakers are able to decide that an American´s free choice to enter into a business agreement with a payday lender should be legislated away, while at the very same time funneling trillions of taxpayer money into propping up their cronies and political camp...
March 06, 2009
As the world´s leading consumers, it´s been quite a while since Americans have appreciated the old-school values that the almost archaic phrase home economics represents. Decades ago, home economics was a standard part of the education program of many schools and those skills were value...
December 18, 2008
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates again, and according to some press reports, the new rates have sparked a bit of a refinancing surge among consumers eager for a way to shave a bit from their monthly mortgage payment. By refinancing, some homeowners are able to reduce their monthly mortgage obl...
October 22, 2008
Recent news stories highlight changes in the auto loan industry, yet another aspect of the credit markets to be significantly affected by the current trouble and turmoil in the economy. With both lenders and consumers experiencing a bit of difficulty as they adapt to the new challenges brought by th...
September 21, 2008
Those of us watching the financial markets and the business sector have seen some dramatic changes occur recently. From outright bank failures to last minute bailouts of major financial institutions and lenders, the action in the financial sectors has been fast and furious of late. Current circumsta...
August 13, 2008
With banks and other lenders reeling from the fall-out of both the mortgage and lending meltdown and the bursting of the housing bubble with its resulting home price correction, most economists and financial experts in the know predicted that turmoil would spread to other financial markets and types...
The New Reserve Solutions Visa 401 (k) Debit Card – Practical Credit Option Or Risky Borrowing Choic
July 20, 2008
The New York Times recently ran a story referencing an easy and convenient method of borrowing for those running short on other credit options -- "a Visa debit card aimed at people who wanted to borrow money from their 401(k) accounts." Operating like the standard debit card, users of the Reserve S...
July 06, 2008
As though forced short term loans -- called, in a triumph of Orwellian Newspeak, overdraft protection or overdraft courtesy -- with associated fees that would make Larry the Loanshark cringe in disbelieving horror weren´t bad enough, the big names in banking have still more outrageous fees to pass o...
June 26, 2008
As the mortgage and lending debacle tightened up liquidity in the world of finance, leading to what has been termed a credit crisis or credit crunch, there were many in the economic world that feared the spread of loan delinquencies and defaults into the credit card industry. Naturally, the lending ...
May 25, 2008
The idea that the government has the right or even the obligation to tell grown-up people how to run their personal finances to the degree that they are told from whom they can borrow money and how frequently they can borrow it before being eligible to be mandated to participate in some form of a government re-education camp should be offensive.
May 02, 2008
Controversial and hotly debated, payday loans are under legislative attack again throughout the nation. However, a recent study provides some illuminating statistics concerning traditional banks, making the payday loan matter much less cut and dried as it may seem at first glance.
April 24, 2008
While minorities, women, and those at the lower end of the socio-economic scale have made significant progress in the area of fair access to credit, the fact does remain that discriminatory lending practices are still an issue. As the sub-prime mortgage and lending fiasco unraveled, some disturbing patterns in lending became apparent, such as the steering of certain segments of the population into more costly sub-prime loans, although they were qualified for less pricey prime loans.
December 17, 2007
Even as the shock waves of the sub-prime mortgage meltdown are still shaking the foundations of the American economy, rumbles are beginning to be heard of another market rocking event on the horizon. It seems that another bubble may soon burst, its fragile surface already showing the signs of a slow...
December 10, 2007
As foreclosure cases clog the dockets of courts around the country, a variety of interesting details about the dealings of the mortgage industry have begun to come to light. One legality in particular has been the source of debate and delay in a growing number of foreclosure actions, centering aroun...
December 03, 2007
While the fallout from the latest speculative market mania is still spreading its contagion throughout American financial markets and those of many countries with which we do business, the media coverage of these events might lead the public to believe that the current crisis is an unprecedented eve...
December 02, 2007
Throughout the past several decades, a number of changes in federal banking industry regulations have made substantial differences in the everyday operations of United States credit markets. Beginning in the late 1960's, a number of legislative measures were introduced to reduce certain regulatory ...
November 24, 2007
The OPEC Heads of State summit that took place over the weekend of November 17-18 was a rare event, only the third since the launching of this organization 47 years ago. As the meeting was held, the world was treated to a rare view of private discussions between OPEC members. In a rather ironic twis...
November 18, 2007
According to recent news reports, the sub-prime lending crisis and the mortgage meltdown are starting to inflict real fiscal pain on investors that have money tied up in mortgage related derivatives and financial instruments. Many experts suspect that this may be just the tip of the iceberg, as the ...
November 18, 2007
As recent headlines indicate, housing values are taking a tumble throughout the nation, something that can have an affect on home equity loans. Home equity loans are tied to the value of the home, which is why falling home values can affect home equity loan potentials. That doesn't mean that a home ...
November 11, 2007
With all that is going on in the economic world, there have been a variety interesting stories concerning credit card debt in the news lately. Reviewing these news stories offer a bit of insight into how the current economic situation is affecting the average consumer, as well as other economic sect...
November 09, 2007
Rising college costs are making it necessary for more college bound students to include student loans in their education financing plans . The majority of students who apply for these loans are not well versed in financial matters, and can find navigating through the many student loan options availa...
November 04, 2007
The sub-prime lending industry has been the topic of much discussion over the past few months, with many placing the blame for the foreclosure crisis on sub-prime lending practices, calling for tougher consumer protection standards, while others argue that a great deal of responsibility must be born...
October 30, 2007
The sub-prime lending crisis has become quite a scandal for the United States mortgage industry, shedding light on the development of a pattern of reckless and sometimes predatory lending practices in many areas of the home loan market. While much of the press on this issue has been centered around ...
October 28, 2007
Dollar devaluation, while always a subject of contention among economists, has become even more controversial in recent months. Today's economic climate, with the current upheaval in the housing and credit sectors, has brought the issue to the forefront once again, as economists debate the best cour...
October 26, 2007
The sub-prime lending crisis has affected a broad range of consumers, with nearly every demographic represented within today's rising foreclosure statistics. However, as the foreclosure crisis deepens, increased scrutiny into the workings of the lending industry has exposed some interesting details ...
October 22, 2007
In our faith-based economy, the value of the dollar is not tied to any real, solid thing. It hasn't been, in any meaningful way since 1933, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt took the nation off of the gold standard. The dollar is fiat money, supported by nothing more than the faith that those tha...
October 18, 2007
In recent years, many Americans have come to believe that inflation has become a non-issue. Recent government reports are full of statistics that show inflation at record low levels, approximately 1.1 percent. Omitted from these figures are the cost of items that affect the average person on a very ...
October 17, 2007
Bound by debt and obligation, the serf of old eked out his living, toiling long and hard for the basic necessities of life, having little to show for his work beyond making it through another day, another week, another month. In the medieval era, his debt and obligation were inherited by the next ge...
October 12, 2007
The deepening sub-prime lending crisis and the deflation of the nation's housing bubble are market events that are tightly intertwined. Each feeding off of the other, this combination of events has been largely responsible for the creation of a downward spiral in the nation's housing market, with fo...
October 12, 2007
Recent news reports describe a national push by consumer advocacy groups, college administrators, and student organizations to limit or ban the marketing of credit cards to college students. While some schools are instituting more courses geared towards personal finance management, the primary means...
October 11, 2007
With the shock effects of the sub-prime meltdown and the deflation of the housing market rippling through the economic system, many people are struggling to manage their personal finances. Skyrocketing adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) payments, high fuel costs, and the increasing costs of day-to-day l...
October 08, 2007
There has been a marked shift in the American attitude towards spending during the past century, one that has resulted in concepts of thrift being tossed to the wayside, as consumption rises up to rule the day. While this change had its roots in the late 19th century, as the Industrial Revolution re...
October 04, 2007
While there has been a significant amount of news coverage of the housing bubble and the mortgage crisis, that isn’t the whole economic story. Other factors at play in the current economic climate include the effects of the housing correction on related industries and consumer spending, the falling ...