| Schapelle book money 'hidden'
THE Federal Government has little chance of getting its hands on almost $270,000 in profits from convicted drug-runner Schapelle Corby's tell-all book, a family spokesman says. The boast comes after the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions successfully applied to freeze $267,750 in proceeds from the best-selling book, My Story. The issue has sparked fiery debate amongst our readers - with some saying the family deserves the cash and others disagreeing. What do you think? Tell us via the feedback form below. The DPP alleged Corby was seeking to cash in on her notoriety after being convicted of smuggling 4.1kg of marijuana into Indonesia in 2004. But the Corby family spokesman said the money had been wired by publisher Pan Macmillan to Indonesian bank accounts operated by Mercedes and her husband Wayan Widyartha.
Credit card firms jack up charges
More credit card companies have been quietly raising a variety of charges to restore their profitability, says the information service Moneyfacts. Its latest survey shows that six card companies have made big changes to their charges in the past two weeks. Offers to transfer a card balance free of charge have almost all disappeared. Moneyfacts says banks are responding to last year's ruling by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) that credit card default fees should be cut to just 12. "Battling with rising bad debts and a huge loss in revenue from the capping of default fees, credit card providers have been forced to look for other ways to maintain their income stream," said Michelle Slade of Moneyfacts. "Changes range from interest rate increases, by as much as 10% (on cash transactions), to shortening of interest-free deals," she added.
Man can't see that wife is abusing him
Dear Abby: My son, Marshall, is in an abusive marriage. This week, while his military unit was training in another state, his wife had his cell phone turned off. Then she took a cash advance (over the credit limit) against the card Marshall uses while away from home, and canceled his ATM card so he would not have access to money. She did all this because she was angry with him. Marshall had to leave his training early and fly home to straighten out the mess. Abby, she has locked him out of the house and made up allegations of physical abuse and reported them to his command. I have never met anyone so vindictive. This has happened repeatedly during their nine-year marriage. They have two young sons. Marshall is miserable, yet he is hesitant to free himself from her control.
Feds warned on native funding
OTTAWA -- Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice's department issued a pre-budget warning that a growing cash crunch for basic services is shortchanging the country's growing First Nations population. Federal documents obtained by the Free Press show departmental officials red-flagged the long-term impact of a two-per-cent cap on funding increases that has resulted in less money for capital projects like schools, housing and welfare. The tracking of the cumulative effect of the government's failure to keep up with both inflation and native population increases shows that funding for basic services is down six per cent in real terms from 1996 to 2006. And that shortfall, the department says, comes with a price: * erosion of on-reserve infrastructure; * health and safety issues; .
Uh-owe: Options to consider if money is due IRS
By this time, many taxpayers have reached Line 76 on their 1040 forms and found those three little words nobody wants to read: "Amount you owe." If that number is larger than the sum of your liquid assets you are likely fighting the urge to shred the forms and curl up under the bed for a year or two. Don't bother. The cat already owns that spot -- and the Internal Revenue Service will find you anyway. So what's a taxpayer who can't pay his taxes supposed to do? The first step might be to free up some cash by diverting funds from a discretionary purchases, such as a posh vacation or a plasma TV. Paying taxes is a priority; watching the Phillies in hi-def is not. If there's no wiggle room, try to borrow the money, either privately from a friend or relative or from a bank.
Credit card companies in profits crisis
More credit card companies have been quietly raising a variety of charges to restore their profitability, according to Moneyfacts. Its latest survey shows that six card companies have made big changes to their charges in the past three weeks.Offers to transfer a card balance free of charge have almost all disappeared. Moneyfacts says banks are responding to last year’s ruling by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) that credit card default fees should be cut to just £12. "Battling with rising bad debts and a huge loss in revenue from the capping of default fees, credit card providers have been forced to look for other ways to maintain their income stream," said a spokesman for Moneyfacts."Changes range from interest rate increases, by as much as 10 per cent (on cash transactions), to shortening of interest-free deals," the spokesman added.
West side Plato's robbed
Police are looking for leads on a robber who attacked and tied up a female employee at a west side business as she opened up the store Monday morning. The robber demanded money from the woman, who works for Plato's Closet, a used clothing shop at 286 Junction Road, then bound her to a chair to prevent her from escaping. He fled with an undisclosed amount of money. It took the employee 45 minutes to free herself from the chair so she could call 911. The suspect is described as black, in his early 20s, 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10 and of medium build. He was wearing a black stocking hat and black jeans. Anyone with information about this crime is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 266-6014. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash award. East side mugging: Police are also seeking the suspect in the assault and robbery of a 79-year-old man on Madison's east side.
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