Personal Finance and Investing

This is just amazing Bloomberg has become too nutty even to caricature.  From CBS NY via Overlawyered

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s food police have struck again!

Outlawed are food donations to homeless shelters because the city can’t assess their salt, fat and fiber content, reports CBS 2’s Marcia Kramer.

Glenn Richter arrived at a West Side synagogue on Monday to collect surplus bagels — fresh nutritious bagels — to donate to the poor. However, under a new edict fromBloomberg’s food police he can no longer donate the food to city homeless shelters.

It’s the “no bagels for you” edict.

“I can’t give you something that’s a supplement to the food you already have? Sorry that’s wrong,” Richte

Read more…

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has stripped one of the largest UK loan brokers of its credit license. Yes Loans is no longer permitted to sell loans following the discovery that it engaged in “deceitful and oppressive” practices. OFT representative David Fisher stated that the agency will continue to take action against businesses that treat consumers, particularly those considered most vulnerable, unfairly.

Portions of the credit industry in general were recently criticized by a committee of MPs as being “opaque and poorly regulated.”

Based in South Wales, Yes Loans is a credit broker, a company that matches consumers looking for loans with organizations that provide unsecured financing. The com

Read more…

OK, those of you looking for a business opportunity, Taylor dominates the soft-serve ice cream machine business.   Today one of our machines broke.  We got a quote for a refurbished machine with trade-in of our old macine $14,000!  The brand new ones cost as much as a car.

So investors there is your flashing price signal.  There should be a big enough umbrella here to make some money with a good design and thoughtful sourcing.  And I can tell you everyone who uses these machines is eagerly awaiting such an entrant.

Pawnbrokers are just one category of alternative lenders benefiting from the financial shortcomings of many UK consumers. Droves of people are taking short-term loans from pawnbrokers to cover living expenses.

Cash Converters, a high street pawnbroker, recently reported that its UK personal loan book nearly quadrupled from 2010 to 2011. Customers are exchanging jewelry and diamonds for instant cash or taking out a smaller personal loan.

For the 12 months through December 2011, the value of UK personal loans held by Cash Converters skyrocketed from £2.3 to £8.5 million. T

Read more…