Consumer Leads

DeadDeals.net purchases qualified uncloseable mortgage deals & leads from mortgage brokers and loan officers throughout the state of Florida, for $200 and possibly $500 each, in an effort to feed their CashToolBox.com Program. The Cash Tool Box Program utilizes their own cash, Pre-Closing cash, to fix problems associated with a consumer mortgage loan application which are preventing a loan approval and closing.

We observed that the new company, through purchasing of leads from Mortgage Brokers and others in and around the mortgage industry, provides an opportunity for these professionals to make some money on a deal where previously there was no revenue.

infoUSA(R) Announces Resignation of Board Member Dennis P. Walker

Aviation. At a Board of Directors meeting on January 25, 2008, the infoUSA board accepted Mr. Walker's resignation, fixed the current number of directors at ten, and passed a resolution expressing the appreciation of the Company for Mr. Walker's years of service. "We are sorry to lose Denny as a director, and thank him for serving so well," said Vin Gupta, infoUSA's Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We wish him all the best going forward." About infoUSA infoUSA (www.infoUSA.com), founded in 1972, is the leading provider of business and consumer databases for sales leads & mailing lists, database marketing services, data processing services and sales and marketing solutions. Content is the essential ingredient in every marketing program, and infoUSA has the most comprehensive data in the industry, and is the only company to own 12 proprietary databases under one roof.

Viewing all entries for: December 2007

Economist Anna Yurko details a model in which higher income inequality leads to competition on quality and price in a way that reduces the variation in product quality (i.e., makes what the richest and poorest buy more alike in quality), and leaves the lowest quality goods at both a lower price point and a higher level of quality than would be the case in a system with lower income inequality. "Thus," she argues, "aggregate consumer welfare is higher in less egalitarian economies." This may help us conceptualise why self-reported life satisfaction has been narrowing in many wealthy countries, even as income inequality has been on the rise.

Of course, like all models, Ms Yurkos' contains a number of simplifying assumptions. The important thing to note is that fairly straightforward economic theory can support the counterintuitive idea that increasing income inequality can actually enable declining real consumption inequality.

How the rate cut will affect you

What is the impact of two rate cuts in two weeks? The cut was expected, so it did not send stocks into a high. Like last week's cut, the move leads to lower interest rates for mortgages and other borrowing. But much of the impact is psychological, intended to boost people's confidence in the economy, the value of their homes and the returns on their stocks. That can have a tangible effect, from more spending on home renovations to improving the health of pension funds. "The market will follow with the confidence that the consumers are going to get moving again and not feel like they have to put a padlock on their wallets," said Allan Pelkonen, a senior financial adviser at the Melville office of Ameriprise Financial.

Which consumers win? Homeowners with equity lines of credit should see some relief in their bills.

J. K. Rowling To Speak at Commencement

Harry Potter never returned to Hogwarts for his seventh and final year, so J. K. Rowling never got to write a graduation speech for her magical protagonist.

The author of the mega-bestseller "Harry Potter" series will get a chance to make up for that in June, when she delivers the keynote address at Harvard's Commencement exercises, the University announced Thursday morning.

"Perhaps no one in our time has done more than J. K. Rowling to inspire young people to experience the excitement and the sheer joy of reading," said University President Drew G. Faust in the statement.

The "Harry Potter" books have sold more than 375 million copies since the first volume, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," was released in 1997, according to a University statement.

Starting Out in the Evening

The Magnolia at the Modern film series continues to offer a vital palette of moving pictures to broaden its contemporary art exposition. The series' works of solemnity or quirkiness, of historical note or modern interpretation, are always thought-provoking and tasty. This weekend's selection, Andrew Wagner's Starting Out in the Evening, based on Brian Wagner's novel, may bring to mind past cinematic simmerings between "September" authors and the "May" nubile lovelies that have come to stir their creative juices—Lolita, Stealing Beauty and Wonder Boys. In Starting Out, Langella's aging literary master Schiller is 10 years into writing his last novel when a beautiful grad student Heather asks for his time to research a thesis on him. Penetrating research…that will re-enervate his dried-out working regimen.

UM braces for UNC, tries to forget tough loss

Our guys are definitely stung,'' Haith said Monday during his 10-minute ACC teleconference. ``There's no question after that ball game it hurt. Everybody was hurt. I think it filtered a little bit over to [Sunday]. But now, we've got to put it behind us and get ready to play North Carolina.''

'All of my teammates have come to me and told me, `You know it will be all right. Don't try to carry the burden all on your shoulders alone,' that it's a collective effort.