Business and Financial News

Imagine you’re a renter. You’ve been paying your rent faithfully every month. Then you come home from work one day to find an eviction notice on your door. Your landlord has defaulted on the property, a bank is the new landlord, and they’re forcing you to get out. What do you do?

For the past two years, the headlines have been dominated about housing foreclosures. One of the aspects of the foreclosure crisis that has received very little attention, however, is the role that rental properties have played in the housing slump. Many landlords have seen their properties go into foreclosure, and as a result, many tenants have found themselves in very dire straights. In Mi

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Travel insurance customers are advised to avoid alcohol while skiing. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is reaching out to travel insurance customers in order to highlight the dangers of drinking excessive amounts of alcohol at ski resorts.

Visitors to the slopes in France, Switzerland and Italy in recent weeks may have noticed new posters urging them not to misuse alcohol.

According to the FCO, an unfamiliar environment, cold and high altitudes can “heighten effects of alcohol drinking and lead to accidents and other mishaps”.

“More often than not they involve young people, students, seasonal workers and club groups,” the department said in a statement.

Airports, bars, restaurants and chalets are displaying posters advising “Don’t catch your death” as part of the campaign, which is being supported by tourist offices and the French police and rescue services.

For travellers to France, the FCO “strongly” recommends purchasing comprehensive travel insurance before setting off and ensuring that cover is provided for potentially dangerous activities such as skiing. Full Article…

The Government is launching a new low-cost pension scheme called Nest

When a name fits, you can be forgiven for thinking you’re on to a good thing. S

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In recent months President Obama has pressured banks to increase lending to small businesses in order to spur job growth. Now, a long-awaited program approved in the stimulus package last February is set to begin that could help make that happen by reassuring wary bankers with a new approach.

For the first time, the Small Business Administration will guarantee up to $3 billion in pools of banks’ 504 loans sold into the secondary market. That way, if borrowers fail to pay, investors who bought the loans would be made whole by the government. The SBA expects the program to start soon but doesn’t have a firm date, according to spokeswoman Hayley Matz.

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I recently had dinner with a friend who asked me if I could teach her how to cook. She and her husband eat out every night because neither one of them knows how to cook, and it’s really taking its toll on their budget. “I need to know how to cook cheap, healthy food, and it has to be easy.” I think it’s great that she has specific goals in mind, and I’m really excited to help her achieve them.

One of the first things to consider when you are learning how to cook is making a meal plan. A healthy meal has three components: protein, starch (aka “carbs”), and fruits/vegetables. If you think

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