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TORONTO -- Two of Canada's biggest banks took big charges yesterday, reflecting troubles in the U.S. mortgage business and corporate credit markets, but also booked gains from their stake in the restructuring Visa credit card company. Royal Bank of Canada said it will record a $360-million charge related to losses in the U.S. subprime mortgage market, but will also post a $325-million gain for Visa credit card restructuring. Canada's largest bank said yesterday it "expects its fourth-quarter earnings to be only modestly affected by these items due to largely offsetting impacts." Meanwhile, Scotiabank disclosed it will book writedowns totalling $190 million on non-bank asset-backed commercial paper and structured credit instruments. The writedowns amount to about $135 million after tax.
Foreclosure fire sale: Cashing in
A hand shoots up in the back of the room. "Alexis, she's got one," a student says. Alexis McGee, real estate instructor and president of Foreclosures.com, scoots around her desk, sits down and picks up a headset. "Tracy, look up. I'm on the line," McGee, 47, types into her computer, which is linked to a giant screen at the front of the room. Tracy Romero, 31, and her 17 fellow students have reached the heart of McGee's $9,000 three-day seminar on foreclosure investing: They are cold-calling homeowners who are behind on their mortgages, getting them to talk and, the students hope, convincing them to sell. But Romero is struggling. The home owner on the other end of the line demands to know who she is and why she's calling.
Phone scams seek account information
Dear Troubleshooter: I was told to write to you. There is a phone scam going around; I had a third call today and decided to listen and talk to those people. They call themselves by a generic name and are from Florida. In short they ask for your name and how many credit cards you have, if you pay high interest etc. because they are working with hundreds of lenders who are willing to lower the interest. I asked her how she got my phone number and she claimed it was given to her by a lender. I have a credit score of 820; of course she did not know that and I made her think I had problems. I was asked to provide her with my credit card accounts and a bank name and address. That is when I told her she was not legit and she hung up. I have no caller ID, but did try to trace the call. It was not traceable.
Wachovia is looking to add products as part of its overhaul of credit-card unit
Wachovia Corp. is looking for innovative thinkers and fresh ideas as it expands its card and payments business. And the bank also wants to introduce new products from that business soon. This week, the company began interviewing candidates to lead its emerging payment services group. It's one three segments of the new consumer and small-business payments unit headed by Steve Boehm, who previously ran Wachovia's relaunched credit-card business. The others are card services and payment services. In weighing new products, Boehm is particularly interested in areas such as mobile payments, in which consumers would use phones or handheld devices to process payments. Other possibilities include products in the health-care arena and online peer-to-peer payments such as PayPal.
International Forecaster November 2007 (#3) - Gold, Silver, Economy + More
The following are some snippets from the most recent issue of the International Forecaster. For the full 24 page issue, please see subscription information below. THE INTERNATIONAL FORECASTER SATURDAY 111007(3)_IF P. O. Box 510518, Punta Gorda, FL 33951-0518 An international financial, economic, political and social commentary. Published and Edited by: Bob Chapman E-Mail Address: International_forecaster@yahoo.com CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE www.theinternationalforecaster.com 1-YEAR $159.95 U.S. Funds US AND CANADIAN SUBSCRIBERS: Make check payable to Robert Chapman (NOT International Forecaster), and mail to P.O. Box 510518, Punta Gorda, FL 33951-0518. Please include name, address, telephone number and e-mail address.
Standard Chartered PLC and First Data Launch Merchant Solutions
Standard Chartered PLC (Standard Chartered) and First Data Corp., a global leader in electronic commerce and payment services, today announced they have completed their transaction to jointly establish Merchant Solutions, which will provide acquiring services to merchants, initially across Asia, with plans to further expand around the world. Headquartered in Singapore with subsidiaries throughout Asia, Merchant Solutions will support Standard Chartered Bank's merchant clients with an expanded range of First Data products and services for debit and credit cards, as well as additional forms of electronic payments such as e-commerce and contactless and prepaid card acceptance. Merchant Solutions will initially deliver payments solutions to Standard Chartered merchant clients throughout Asia in India, Bangladesh, Brunei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Macau, Singapore and Sri Lanka and sales related services for internationally issued card acceptance in China, with plans to expand to additional markets within Asia and the Middle East.
JENNIFER OPENSHAW: Finding The Best Real Estate Markdowns In Your Local Market
NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- The foreclosure market continues to boom as no relief appears in sight for stretched subprime mortgage holders. As the economy shows more signs of a slowdown, this trend is likely to continue. Although the real estate industry would prefer otherwise, foreclosures continue to make headlines. The latest data showed superficial relief, with September foreclosures down 8% from some 243,000 in August, but still more than double last year -- and still with more to come. It may be a harsh analogy, but I often think of foreclosure buyers as the forest-floor ants consuming the dead wood to clean the forest. That means three things. First, as I see it, the sooner we get through this credit mess, the better. Second, the faster properties get through the foreclosure process and find buyers, the sooner we'll get through the mess.
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