The right to default: when did bankruptcy become an accepted fixture of everyday life?
My friend "Tom" is your typical yuppie. He has the pretty wife, the cute kid, the well-paying job in high-tech, the two cars (one a Mercedes 300), the sailboat (a 35-footer rigged for racing)--and the obligatory Chapter 7 bankruptcy on his credit report. Yes, this December Tom...

Christ saved us, now let's save ourselves.
AS we celebrate Christmas, we continue to reflect on meaning of the birth of Jesus Christ. What's the meaning and relevance for me? Can it help me solve, for instance, my festering problem, heal my illness, or remedy the depressing economic crisis? * * *...

What to see: films to watch out for.
In Dear Francis students from Dallas Baptist University, Swaziland, and South Africa travel to Swaziland high schools to discuss sexual abstinence as part of HIV/AIDS prevention. They are soon confronted by the challenges of polygamy (legal in Swaziland), rape, incest, and desperate poverty in a country with one of...

Profnet Sources for Tuesday, March 27: Consumer Confidence Rebounds.
Consumer confidence made a forceful comeback in March after declining for five consecutive months, apparently unshaken by the recent turmoil in the stock markets, a private research firm said Tuesday. The New York-based Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index shot up to 117, up from a revised...

Are you financially illiterate?
Do you know the difference between a defined-contribution plan and a defined-benefit plan? Can you explain the time value of money? Do you know why you should have a living will? What common type of investment has the best track record for the past 60 years? Which kind of...

Managing your home loan.
Byline: Kavita Sriram Shop, compare and negotiate to clinch an enviable deal from the lender. You've successfully impressed the lender with your impeccable credit history and tremendous earnings potential. Within a matter of days, the entire loan amount is disbursed and your EMIs kick off. Is it...

High-flying '90s leave legacy of mounting bankruptcies.
Byline: From Register-Guard and news service reports WASHINGTON - Bankruptcies have nearly doubled in the past decade, including more than 1.6 million people who filed for personal bankruptcy this fiscal year alone in a hangover of debt from the free-spending 1990s. Continuing the record-setting pace...

'My life without personal loans...'.
Byline: Shreya Biswas Foreign trips, visit to malls, bigger cars, swanky homes and plasma TVs. So who's paying for the Indian middle class' huge appetite for the good things in life? Well, along with their other inhibitions, Indians are shedding their apprehensions about loans too, and turning...

Deficit blues.
Nearly two hundred and fifty years ago, Benjamin Franklin observed that it is "better to go to bed supperless than wake up in debt." During the past four and a half years of the Bush administration, the American people have bought supper on credit and supersized the debt left...

How to enjoy a debt-free holiday.
Christmas and Hanukkah are just around the corner, and surveys indicate that consumers probably will spend more during the holidays than they did a year ago. Be sure not to get carried away to the point that you wake up in January with a financial hangover. Here are some tips...