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Featured Structured Settlements Articles

Cash For Structured Settlements
This article provides useful, detailed information about Cash For Structured Settlements. Structured settlements might include either periodic payments or a lump sum payment made to an injured party. Also, some amount might be paid in advance ...

Debt Consolidation – Can You Negotiate with Your Credit Card Company?
The average American household has nearly $10,000 in credit card debt, and many people are only able to make the minimum payment of 2% of the balance. Even 2% is $200, and by paying the minimum payment, you could be paying on the balance for decades ...

Sell Structured Insurance Settlements
This article provides useful, detailed information about Sell Structured Insurance Settlements. It is not good practice to sell a structured settlement without a real need for the money. Structured settlement annuities are usually bought as ...




Credit Report – Check Yours Regularly.and for Free
 
In the twenty-first century, there are few documents that have a greater impact on the lives of Americans then their credit report. Credit rating determines one's ability to buy a home, a car, or to obtain a credit card or a job. Since these things are important, it is equally important that the information be accurate. The only way to be sure of that is to check the report regularly. Prior to last fall, there were two ways to obtain a copy of your credit report: to pay for one, or to obtain one for free after being denied credit. Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act passed last year, Americans can now obtain a free copy of their credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies once a year.

Due to anticipated heavy response to the offer of free credit reports, the program has been rolled out in stages. People living in the West and Midwest are already eligible to apply for a copy of their report at www.annualcreditreport.com. As of June 1, 2005, those living in the Southeast are now eligible, and on September 1, 2005, those living in the Northeast will be eligible. All that is required to receive a copy of your credit report is to answer a few simple questions. Since it only takes a few minutes to do, there is really no reason to put off checking your credit report, and you may benefit tremendously by doing so.

The credit score is a single, three digit number that represents an individual's credit worthiness, and that score is obtained through a complex formula that takes into consideration a person's borrowing and spending habits and payment history. A high score makes someone more eligible for loans and credit, while a lower score may indicate that a person is a risk to repay. While the information contained on a credit report is generally accurate, incorrect information sometimes shows up on credit reports, and incorrect information could result in someone who being denied a loan for which they might otherwise be qualified. Furthermore, a credit report check is the best way to determine if you have been the victim of identity theft, an increasingly popular crime that often goes unnoticed for a year or more. If your identity is stolen, your credit rating can be ruined and you can be burdened with thousands of dollars in debt. The new bankruptcy law, which goes into effect in October 2005, draws no distinctions between debt incurred by an individual and debt incurred through identity theft. This alone should be reason enough to check your credit report regularly.

Since the law now allows individuals to obtain one free report per agency per year, anyone who wants to keep a close eye on their credit report can obtain a free report as often as every four months. Since the credit report affects your life in so many important ways, checking it regularly should become a habit.

About the Author
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling, and StructuredSettlementHelp.com, a site devoted to information regarding structured settlements.


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Structured Settlements News

Father paved way for Street's debut - Denver Post
If the Rockies keep Huston Street, the reliever won't be the first member of his family to pitch for a Colorado team. Huston's father, James, was best known as the wishbone wizard who quarterbacked the Texas Longhorns to the 1969 national ...

Securities analysts an endangered species - International Herald Tribune
NEW YORK : Securities analysts are being culled in large numbers on Wall Street, and unlike in previous downturns, many of these jobs may never come back. Already, an estimated 150,000 jobs have been lost by the financial sector worldwide, and more ...

Investors skittish about bank results - Windsor Star
Bank of Nova Scotia's pre-announced fourth quarter charges of $890-million, or $595-million (60¢ per share) after tax, marks the first warning from Canada's banking sector on the negative impact of credit issues and market volatility since the ...

Wall Street toll mounts - The Age
Securities analysts are being culled in large numbers on Wall Street - and unlike in previous downturns, many of these jobs may never come back. Already, an estimated 150,000 jobs have been lost by the financial sector worldwide, and more are ...

Ambac commutes $3.5 Billion in CDO exposure - Forbes
Ambac Financial Group Inc. said Wednesday it paid about $1 billion in cash to close positions in four collateralized debt obligation transactions with a combined exposure of about $3.5 billion. New York-based Ambac said the settlements would improve ...

Archive » 2004 » November - Banker
Never have forecasters been as lost in their predictions for the world economy as at present. The US is said to be in recovery mode but the burgeoning current account deficit was the major topic of concern at last month’s World Bank/IMF meetings in ...

'Honey, I shrunk the analysts' -Wall St toll mounts - Guardian Unlimited
NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Securities analysts are being culled in large numbers on Wall Street -- and unlike in previous downturns, many of these jobs may never come back. Already, an estimated 150,000 jobs have been lost by the financial sector ...

Archive » 2004 » January - Banker
I have been following the debate about Basel II in The Banker with interest. To use an insurance analogy, moving from a flat-rate method of assessing motor premiums to one in which premiums depend on the driver’s accident history inevitably ...

Resurgent dollar a challenge for concert biz - Reuters Canada
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Amid the current financial crisis, at least one thing is going up in value: the U.S. dollar. For American artists on the road overseas, the dollar's sudden strength against the euro, the British pound and the Canadian and ...

Mirvac sees glimmer of residential growth - ninemsn
Mirvac Group (MGR) reiterated its latest earnings guidance of 13.4c per stapled security for fiscal 2009. The company said it had completed a detailed review of its earnings as the magnitude of the change in economic circumstances became clear ...