Easy Debt Settlement

In a great win for all Suncorp staff nationally, FWA agreed with the FSU’s assessment that Suncorp under clause 23 of the Agreement have a legal obligation to provide a “safe and healthy work environment for employees”.

The FSU will return to FWA to try and stop Suncorp from eroding your legal right to a safe and healthy workplace.

The FSU helps protect the rights of insurance and finance workers across the industry. The more members we have, the stronger we are. Talk to your Suncorp colleagues about joining today.

Tags: Fwa, Fwa Decision

Americans love their cupcakes. And despite a crumbling economy, US cupcake sales have tripled since 2007. Yet, the familiar ingredients of these treats arent as sweet and simple as we think. From flour explosions to Norways butter criss, the politics and science behind this little treat can blow your mind.

The following infographic is taken from FrugalDad.com.

Tags: Cupcakes

Photo by covilha

Gold is a well known hedge against inflation, uncertainty and a falling dollar. Since this pretty much sums up the environment weve been living in for the past decade, its easy to see why the value of gold has been on the rise. But thats past performance and as we all know, past performance is no guarantee of future results. So is gold still a good investment?

Im not going to pretend to know the answer to where gold is going in the future, but here are some things to consider. Quite frankly, they are no small part of why I was convinced to invest in gold in my IRA a few months back when the price dipped.

Budget busting entitlement programs.

Unfunded entitlement programs will force future income earners (you, your children and grandchildren) to keep less of their income after taxes, thereby shrinking available wealth.

U.S.

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Tags: Gold, Gold Ira

Despite what you may have heard or read, employers do not have access to job candidates’ credit scores. That should come as a relief to cash-strapped job seekers with maxed-out credit cards or other score-busting blemishes.

SEE OUR SLIDE SHOW: 7 Ways Job Seekers Sabotage Themselves

But your prospects for getting hired aren’t immune from a poor credit history. In most states, employers are able to check a potential or current employee’s credit which lists information such as balances on your loans and credit accounts, late payments, and debt collections.

About 13% of employers check credit reports for all candidates and 47% check for those applying to selected positions, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Employers are usually most interested in the credit backgrounds of applicants who will handle finances, hold an executive-level position or have access to other employees’ confidential information (such as human-resources professionals).

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Tags: Credit Score, Job

Toward the end of every year, consumers typically borrow more, particularly on their credit cards. That trend seems to have continued in 2011, and even exceeded analysts expectations.

Economists project that consumers increased the amount of money they borrowed both for installment loans and on their credit cards in November, marking another month of increases in consumer credit following more than a year of drops, according to a report from the Associated Press. In all, the amount borrowed by consumers increased $7 billion during the month, down somewhat from the Federal Reserve Boards data for October, which showed a $7.6 billion increase for that month.

The gains in the previous month were largely the result of consumers borrowing more in nonrevolving debt, or installment loans such as those for education or auto purchases, but not including mortgages, the report said. Read more…

Tags: Consumers, Consumers Climbed