Learning More About Bankruptcy's Fresh Start

There are quite a few people in America that are on the brink of survival, some having lost their jobs, others, their homes, some, both. Many of these people can help themselves out with a little bit of knowledge about how the bankruptcy laws in their states - and throughout the United States - work, possibly saving themselves from the pitfalls of endless debt, homelessness or worse.

One way to get started learning more about bankruptcy and how it gives individuals and companies a fresh start, would be to sign up for a bankruptcy class online. Understanding the basic precepts and concepts of bankruptcy and how the process operates is essential to anyone facing serious economic issues.

An online bankruptcy course can give individuals fresh insight into what debts can be discharged through bankruptcy and why most of the time an individual or family can remain in one's home and also keep most personal assets. Most people never get close to bankruptcy or a US bankruptcy court to understand that a bankruptcy filing is an orderly, honorable process that allows people to retain some, if not most, of their valuable assets, along with their dignity and self-worth.

Another step toward resolving debt issues would be to enroll in a credit counseling course, either for oneself, or to offer services to people who are on the edge and can't pay bills. While bankruptcy filings generally require the expertise of an attorney well versed in the laws of that particular area of practice, credit counseling requires no degree and only rudimentary training. Anyone with a solid background in finance or math can easily learn the basics of credit counseling and immediately being helping out oneself or others with sound advice.

Sisterly Love

Written by Sherri Hicks

Last summer my sister and I moved to New York from the sweltering Miami. Her job in the fashion industry brought her to the city that never sleeps and I thought I’d just quit my barista job and tag along. We had it all planned out, live in a shoebox, sleep in the same bed, keep the ceiling fans running and windows open to save on our power bill, and cook every night so we can spend money on fancy dinners on the weekends. It seemed like the perfect move towards sisterly bonding. However, three weeks into sweating in our sleep, we decided the fans weren’t cutting it. I broke down on a Monday afternoon in July and looked upHttp://NEWYORKenergyrates.com to get the AC crankin’. Ceiling fans in 90 degree weather wasn’t our only fail. Turns out, Sarah kicks in her sleep. I didn’t get a restful night for six months and we finally decided it was time to give in. We splurged for a two-bedroom uptown and have never looked back. Of course, we don’t exactly eat fancy dinners on the weekends. Unless roast beef instead of PB&J counts.

Third Quarter a Stinker for Stocks; NASDAQ, SP Down 14%

The Markets

The third quarter officially ended today on September 30, and, unlike the usual quarter-ending, window-dressing ramp job, stocks suffered through their worst day of the week, in a month and quarter that was one of the worst of recent memory - and there have been some bad ones, recently.

The Dow Jones Industrials ended the quarter off more than 12%. The S&P and NASDAQ were rocked lower by 14%.

In simple terms, anybody in an index fund with $100,000 at the end of June, now has somewhere between $86,000 and $88,000. That may not sound like much, but $12-14,000 is roughly equivalent to the wages for a minimum-wage worker for a year. That's not a good sign for the bottom income earners in American society, because it means that the "wealth creators" so often cited by Republican office-seekers, have one minimum wage job less than they can create, should they now choose to part with some of that hard-earned (and easily lost) cash.

On the day, stocks started lower, stabilized, but fell off a veritable cliff into the close. There was no window dressing, no PPT push, no ETF re-balancing or anything to keep stocks afloat into the close. Nobody seemed willing to take significant positions in stocks, even though the 4th quarter is historically the best for stocks. The levels of gloom and doom rival those of the disastrous 4th quarter of 2008, when the global financial crisis was first realized and stocks gyrated lower and lower and lower.

Not only were stocks affected negatively during the month and quarter, but most commodities also fell by extraordinary percentages, especially gold and silver, which were whacked roughly 16 and 25% respectively. There was no place to hide for even the most conservative investors. Yields on Treasuries fell like rocks off a precipice. Bond yields for the 2-year, 5-year and 10-year note fell 40-45% in the quarter. The benchmark 10-year note closed out the quarter at a yield of 1.90%. The 30-year bond was the best performer of an ugly bunch, with yields falling only 35% since the end of June.

Crude oil was down 17% in the quarter, though gas prices at the pump have barely matched the decline. With gas prices nearly $4.00 a gallon at the beginning of summer, the average price - if 17% is the expected decline - should be around $3.35, though the AAA Fuel Gauge Report has the national average at $3.44. For perspective on how high real gasoline prices are, the price at the same time last year was a celebratory $2.69.

In company news, Eastman Kodak (EK), once a proud member of the Dow 30, fell 54% on the day amid reports that the company had hired the law firm Jones Day to discuss reorganization plans or a bankruptcy filing. Shares of Eastman Kodak dropped 91 cents to close at 0.78, an historic low.

Bank of America (BAC) plans to begin charging debit card users a $5 monthly fee in January, 2012, due to changes in the amounts banks can charge merchants per debit card use. BAC finished the day 23 cents lower, at 6.12.

Big corporate bankruptcies are dead ahead, likely to commence in the fourth quarter and accelerate through the first three quarters of 2012. Third quarter earnings reports kick off on October 11, when Alcoa (AA) reports after the bell.

Thank goodness for the baseball playoffs and football. Yeesh!

Dow 10,913.38 240.60 (2.16%)
NASDAQ 2,415.40 65.36 (2.63%)
S&P 500 1,131.42 28.98 (2.50%)
NYSE Compos 6,791.65 183.26 (2.63%)
NASDAQ Volume 2,081,539,875.00
NYSE Volume 5,323,945,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 1442-5118
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 31-515 (look out below!)
WTI crude oil: 78.65, -3.47
Gold: 1623.80, +7.90
Silver: 29.94, -0.73