Personal loan rates have a big impact on whether consumers decide to take out a loan. Some of these loans are taken out of necessity for things like debt consolidation, college tuition, critical home repairs and such. Others are taken out for pleasurable things like new toys and vacations. You might think banks would always keep their rates low so more people can borrow. But the rates vary depending on the times, and depending on a person’s credit report.

Why Do the Interest Rates Vary?

The rates for personal loans vary depending on a couple of things: the prime lending rate and personal credit history. B

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In 1971, Starbucks opened its first store in Seattle’s Pikes Place Market. For about twenty years, it remained a small-scale operation until 1991 when it became the first privately-owned US company to extend stock option programs to its part-time employees. Just a year later, Starbucks IPO’d at $17 per share and closed trading on its first day at $21.50 per share.

In 1996, Starbucks opened its first stores in Japan – the first outside of North America. Just

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This personal bankruptcy question was posted on the internet in January of 2011 as comments in a bankruptcy discussion: “Our children have a savings account, I am the custodian on the account. Is the account safe in bankruptcy? We try to contribute when we can, but most the money is from when they did modeling jobs, gifts etc.”

One of the gray areas that seems to be in bankruptcy law is between a parents bankruptcy and custodial accounts held for minors. From what I have researched, it appears that Trustees can take a close look at the accounts and possibly seize them under certain circumstances. A similar but more serious problem arises with judgments from creditors. If

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A new report from Javelin Strategy & Research uncovers some potentially troubling numbers about the changing face of identity theft. Here’s a look at the report’s findings and some reminders about what you can do to protect yourself, your identity, and your credit.

• In total, fewer people were victimized by identity theft in 2010: The number of identity theft cases dropped by a reported 28 percent from 2009 to last year – reports in 2010 dipped to the 2007 level. Additionally, it seems the average dollar amount of fraud committed by identity thieves dropped slightly (from $4,991 in 2009 to $4,607 last year). The

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