Business & Finance - 12 June 2007

There are two big things that cause me to hate my local cable company:

1) They are a government-forced monopoly. They have an exclusivity contract with my local government where they are the only cable company in town. As a result, prices and customer service absolutely suck.

2) They continually send me spam mail about their "digital telephone" service, despite the fact that I have consistently told them that I'm not interested. That's not too bad, except that they won't stop calling me, either. At one point, I was getting 2-3 calls per weekday about this service. I don't want to block them from my phone, in case there is something important.

What can I do to express my discontent? Obviously, there is letter writing. Unfortunately, I cannot stop using them, since they have no competition.

I had seen on TV that some guy was protesting his electric company by paying his entire bill in pennies - that's pretty awesome! Any other sweet ideas? :P

2007-06-12 06:39:13 · 2 answers · asked by Tony R 3 in Corporations

I live in Texas and am looking for places to find fossils.

2007-06-12 06:35:42 · 3 answers · asked by MD 4 in Personal Finance

We are two and a half years in, not making anything, but paying all our bills. It is a neighborhood bar in a small city, in the downtown core, not in suburbia or near where all the chains are. Our numbers are on the increase, albeit, slowly.

2007-06-12 06:34:08 · 3 answers · asked by basport_2000 5 in Small Business

I am thinking of moving some where in or around the Inglewood area and I would like to continue in Real Estate (preferably Coldwell Banker, Keller Williams, or maybe Century 21 or any one else big in L.A.)
I would greatly appreciate tips and advice from anyone working as a real estate agent in this area. Also, what would be the best way to learn more about the market and the way things work out there?

2007-06-12 06:25:34 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Renting & Real Estate

My husband and I are moving to Iowa in a year and would like to try to own a home for the first time. I noticed that there were many more condos available in our price range than single family houses. Even with the monthly association fees, they are either comparable or less expensive than a regular house.

We only plan to live in Iowa for 3-4 years. We are used to living in apartments and thought it would be wise to buy a place so we'd be able to recooperate some of the money instead of renting a place and never seeing that money again. Even if we sold for a loss, we would still get SOME money when we left, isn't that correct? However, I would like some advice on this. Are there huge drawbacks to selling a place (a condo especially) after only a few years? I'm afraid I know next to nothing about real estate and could really use some advice.

2007-06-12 06:16:56 · 8 answers · asked by aflowerinthemud 1 in Renting & Real Estate

2007-06-12 06:16:28 · 7 answers · asked by Crystal Dead! 2 in Other - Careers & Employment

My car was recently stolen and has yet to be recovered. When I file a claim with my insurance on this matter, will it make my rates go up??

2007-06-12 06:15:13 · 10 answers · asked by Matt T 1 in Insurance

If I made a mistake and I have to pay back money, will they work w/ me. I am a single mom and I don;t have extra cash just laying around. I am just sick to my stomach!

2007-06-12 06:14:04 · 6 answers · asked by Jeannette z 1 in United States

I let my good friend use my credit card to buy a ticket for 280 dollars. all the sudden we arent friends anymore. what happens if he says he wont pay? Is there anything i can do to get him to pay?? or do i have to suck it up and learn from this and pay it??

2007-06-12 06:03:29 · 11 answers · asked by ByouTfull 4 in Credit

Who now owns your house? Do the original terms of your loan remain intact?

2007-06-12 05:59:52 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Renting & Real Estate

my wife and i have seperate bank accounts, she has the mortgage payment automatically taken out of her account and i write her a check for half every month in her name to be deposited in her personal account, does she have to report this as income, she doesnt do that now but should she

2007-06-12 05:50:42 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in United States

If I was to get a repayment mortgage over say 20 years with an initially low rate of 6% rising to 7.5% after two years, and I could start paying as much of it off as i wanted as soon as I wanted without penalty, if i paid it all off in the initial two year period before the rate rise would this be allowed? Or would it make more sense to just get it over a shorter time scale? However i was wary of this as the obligatory repayments are so much higher, whereas if i get it over 20 years i CAN pay off large chunks but dont HAVE to pay off such a high amount each month? What would work out as more beneficial?

2007-06-12 05:49:24 · 2 answers · asked by Zna 1 in Renting & Real Estate

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could offer a bit of advice, I would ask friends but no one else in our circle of friends have children yet. The thing is this..... I work for an educational establishment and get term time holidays. Normally I would get a job through the summer to top up my wages. As I am 29 weeks pregnant, I didnt think anyone would employ me , although I understand that it would be classed as discrimination (but we all know companies can get through this one way or another). However, I am pleasantly pleased to say that a call centre has offered me a job.... As the training will be 4 weeks , it means that I will only be able to do that before going off on the 13th of August (when my mat leave starts at other employer). I was wondering if, as my new job will only be approx 16 hrs or less per week, is there a minimum that can be worked whilst on mat leave? I am not being greedy, please dont think this, I am located in Scotland.

2007-06-12 05:48:18 · 2 answers · asked by brunelscooby 4 in Other - Careers & Employment

2007-06-12 05:42:42 · 5 answers · asked by anglemoma 2 in Personal Finance

my fico score is only 525 and I have no money down, with a good paying job? Is it unreasonable to hope that I could become a homeowner under my current circumstances? Be honest, I can take it.....

2007-06-12 05:42:23 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Personal Finance

My FICO score dropped from 747 in November 2006 to 694 this month...... Ive been paying my payments on time, the only thing i could think of is that i had a CareCredit line of up to $8,000.00 that i had never used until April 2007 when I got invasalign so I used my Care Credit and charged about $5,500.00. Could that be why it dropped? And any tips on how to make it go back up? Thank You.

2007-06-12 05:38:34 · 3 answers · asked by **** 2 in Credit

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a joint venture with a foreign firm?

2007-06-12 05:36:17 · 2 answers · asked by dainty_baby 1 in Small Business

my wife only claims on taxes what her company checks are written out for, she is a day spa owner and the company writes her a check every 2 weeks,and this is the amount she claims on her taxes, her personal bank account however shows that she has deposited about 20,000 more than what she made, can this 20,000 be considered income as well

2007-06-12 05:35:03 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in United States

I cannot get a payday loan. I have terrible credit and cannot get traditional loan. I have a car, but the title is in two names, and would rather the other party not know I need the money. Also the car is not paid off. I need to pay my rent by the end of the day, as I got a three day notice.

2007-06-12 05:17:05 · 11 answers · asked by jon d 1 in Other - Business & Finance

We live in an apartment complex w/ four apartments per building. . The neighbor couple are in their 40's, drunks, drug addicts, and loud party people. I have told them six times to please keep it down, (music so loud at 1 am that wakes my 2 yr old and at 5:45 am also). They always say they will keep it quiet. The other three neighbors in this complex have told him more than 6 times to keep it down. The cops get called and tell them to be quiet and they say they will. But it never happens. This month the landlord served him a cease and desist letter after all tenants complained. It only made him angry, louder, and abusive. He now harasses us and calls us all snitches. Got in my husbands face. Now pushes it just enough to be legal but still harassing. Not from georgia and do not know the rental laws here.

2007-06-12 05:09:05 · 10 answers · asked by Lyssa B 2 in Renting & Real Estate

2007-06-12 05:07:57 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Other - Careers & Employment

I have been getting E-mails from this law firm saying that I have 4.6 million in inheritance comming to me and they will get 20% and they gave me documents to fill out and fax back. They gave me there number witch is in the UK and told me to call them with any questions. How do I know if this is 4 real or not? $10,000 to the best answer if this turns out to be real and I get the money.

2007-06-12 05:04:51 · 15 answers · asked by 29LICKS & MR.29LICKS 3 in Other - Business & Finance

I have a friend that told me that they received an approximate $4000 over-refund from the government this year. They were supposed to get a refund for like $4000, but got a check from the IRS for somewhere north of $8000. They asked what I thought they should do- I told them that in addition to doing the right thing, they were highly likely to get caught if they didnt return the money. I suggested they get a CPA to guide them through the process of returning the $$ to the IRS. This was a married couple, and I know the wife wanted to return the money- but Im pretty sure the husband did not. Im 99.9% sure they just kept the money in the end. So now here we are about 4 months after they got the $$, and Im pretty darn sure they kept it, and I know they havent heard a thing from the IRS. What are really their odds of being caught? Am I just going to look like an alarmist for telling them that they were almost certain to be caught, when in reality, they werent?

2007-06-12 05:03:38 · 11 answers · asked by bmwdriver11 7 in United States

Also where can I find the IPO's in the Wall Street Journal? Are the IPO's posted everyday?

Thanks in advance!

2007-06-12 04:59:39 · 3 answers · asked by capri1480 1 in Investing

When I file for IRS tax, can I deduct the real estate taxes and interest for the entire year of 2007 even though I was added to the mortgage and deed toward the end of the 2007 tax year only?

2007-06-12 04:57:41 · 5 answers · asked by pc 1 in United States

Need to know if this is ligit or not.

Has anyone actually paid a site to see what is at these government seized items?
How does it work and does it work?

I don't belive you should have to pay to get a list on the items that are for sale.
Thanks!!

2007-06-12 04:49:22 · 1 answers · asked by Mom of 2 great boys 7 in Other - Business & Finance

2007-06-12 04:45:06 · 1 answers · asked by FRED R 1 in Personal Finance

2007-06-12 04:40:49 · 1 answers · asked by Anonymous in Other - Business & Finance

Can anyone tell me if they took it...what score the got and how soon you got called for an interveiw.....and maby all the steps that come after being called?

2007-06-12 04:39:29 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Government & Non-Profit

I have always desired to have self-employed someday. Whenever I see people who are self-employed, I become more inspired everytime. For any of you who are self-employed, how did you get your start in the business? Did any of you start off working for someone else then later on progressed into having your own business? How is your business going now that you call the shots?

2007-06-12 04:36:56 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Small Business