Leadpile’s Blog

Is having bad credit preventing some people from being hired for positions that they would otherwise qualify for? According to some, this may be true.

In theory it has been thought that credit reports can give outsiders a glimpse into a persons reliability and honesty, however with the current economy and jobless rate, this might not be a fair way to judge or determine levels of responsibility. With so many people out of work and unable to pay bills, consistency in financial liability may not be as clear as it once was.

Credit checks may have some relevancy when hiring for positions with authority to spend, access to cash, financial responsibilities, or for an employee with the ability to access confidential information about other employees.These positions all need an individual who has proven dependability and honesty… of course, these are qualities that every employer looks for and hopes that their candidates of choice will hold, but does every job position constitute pulling a credit history? When does the line get drawn and personal information remains personal?

June 30th is the date that the Payday loan industry in Arizona will have to fight to survive past. The industry has many advocacy groups and local businesses supporting a bill that would allow the short-term loan companies to continue operating. Supporters of the bill believe that this economy has shown short-term smaller loans are necessary and not easily available from banks or credit unions; the lower dollar amount loans are helping a lower income or “fallen on hard times” part of the population.

In recent weeks, there have been talks on the largest debate surrounding the Payday industry, the interest rates. The interest rates are currently under a temporary exemption from the 36 percent, charging $17.65 per $100 borrowed for a 2 week loan; this exemption would expire on June 30th. The Payday loan lenders would possibly not generate enough revenue to cover overhead costs if capped at 36%, however this is the number that Representatives from the minority House Democrats would like to hold them to…

As these discussions continue and the debate grows, LeadPile will continue to keep you updated!

In Wisconsin, the state Senate is being asked by the Assembly Speaker to avoid delay with moving forward with the legislation regulating payday loan companies. It has already been approved recently by the Assembly to limit the size of loans, restrict consumers from taking out more than one loan at a time, bans auto title loans completely as well as “rolling over” the balance of a previous loan.
A Senate version of this bill includes a cap on interest rates, however the Assembly rejected this bill as they believe their version does enough.
There are currently over 500 payday lenders in the state of Wisconsin.

LeadPile will continue to keep you posted on changes…

Being in the internet marketing industry, it is pretty common knowledge that there are huge benefits to utilizing the social networking site LinkedIn. However, have you ever thought of LinkedIn as a source for traffic to your site? Webpronews, referenced some good points about the business social networking site, and it’s huge advantages. “You need to take into consideration that LinkedIn has the highest average household income per user over any other social networking site (even NYTimes.com and BusinessWeek.com readers).” “That being said, these are business decision makers you are targeting with your traffic from LinkedIn. The network is for real, and it will only continue to grow in time as there are currently 60 million professionals.”

The steps you should follow in order to truly maximize the capabilities of the LinkedIn site:
1. Complete your profile.
2. Increase you connections.
3. Customize your website links.
4. Answer questions.
5. Update your status.
6. Join niche groups.
7. Post comments in groups.
8. Add RSS feeds to groups.
9. Create a group.
10. Add the blog application to your profile.
I find this information very helpful and am going to look at following these steps with my LinkedIn profile, but also with the Leadpile profile. In the age of competitive traffic, finding a “free” way to get more traffic to your site is very very important. LinkedIn seems to be able to help with that if we all use it to it’s fullest potential.

Changes to fees and terms may be positive for many consumers struggling to pay their bills! New rules obtaining to overdraft protection requires consumers to specifically request it, rather than being automatically enrolled in it. According to the Credit CARD Act, should the consumer enroll for overdraft protection, fees can only be applied once during a billing cycle and the card company must notify the consumer of the amount. These new overdraft rules only apply to debit cards, not checks or electronic transfers.
Consumers now are given 21 days to send credit card payments in, rather than only 14, and if changes are made to terms, 45 days notice must be given instead of 15. This change does not apply to reducing your credit limit, the credit card company can do this at any time without any warning!
One new change might be scary for many consumers to see, but after the initial shock sets in, the overall perspective will hopefully ultimately help consumers in the long run. Effective starting February 22, credit card bills must make it clear how long it will take the consumers to pay off the balance, and how much interest will be paid if the minimum amount is all that is paid each month.
While there is no current cap placed on increasing interest rates, credit card companies are required to give customers 45 days notice on changes and may not raise the current interest rate on customers existing debt unless payment is more than 60 days late on payment. Additional help to consumers trying to pay off debt, additional fees for paying over the phone, electronic transfer, or mail are no longer allowed and universal default for existing credit card balances may no longer be practiced. The Credit CARD Act has now made is more difficult for college students to obtain credit cards, someone under 21 may not be offered a credit card without a co-signer or proof of proper income.
LeadPile matches consumers in debt with Debt Consolidation, Debt Settlement and Bankruptcy companies daily. Debt is a huge source of stress for many people, hopefully the new Credit CARD Act will help get people back on track and become more aware of their own debt, and make plans to get things paid off!

As the economy has began to rise out of it’s rut, companies have been hiring temporary workers to get them through without initially handing over the large cost of hiring full time workers. In the past, this has been a symbol that permanent hires are in the near future and that the economy is on its way back up, however this might not be the case this time.

According to msnbc.com economists and business people say that employers are lacking confidence that the economy will continue to get better. The current economy is believed to be fragile and unpredictable.
In the 90’s, temporary hiring launched the quick return of job creation and permanent hiring, as well as in 2003 this was shown once again. For people who are not employed, temporary jobs help feed families and give people pay checks who have been unfortunate and lost jobs.
In a time where to have any job is good news, hopefully the temp jobs will keep coming and eventually turn into long term permanent employment.

It is once again that time of year to start thinking about getting your taxes done. Uncle Sam is ready to collect his money, unless you are one of the lucky ones and expecting a return. Whether or not you owe or are owed money, there are both pros and cons to filing your taxes early.
The IRS officially starts accepting returns as early January and gives you the choice to file as soon as your W2 and 1099s are received.

Advantages to filling early can be:
*Receiving your refund faster
*Getting it over with
*Avoiding crowds and long lines at the post office
*Avoiding the possibility of being late, and owing more
*Giving your self time incase you realize something is more complicated that originally though

Advantages to waiting to pay your taxes until they are due:
*Maximizing your interest by keeping the money you owe in an interest-bearing account until April
*Possibly decrease your chances of being audited. Some think that it’s best to put your taxes off until the very extreme, and this will lessen your chances of being audited
*Tax forms can sometimes be updated during the tax season, the changes might not be reflected yet if you file early

If you are receiving money back it may be hard to wait, lending out your money to the government interest free is very nice, but not something that we all want to do for extended periods of time. If you are going to have to pay, it might be worth the wait!

Changes to the Wisconsin Payday lending industry could be very close. A vote by the Assembly Committee 6-5 supports the bill that would place restrictions that would cap Payday loans at $600 allowing borrowers to only take out one Payday loan at a time. Auto title loans will no longer be offered when/if this bill passes. A vote to pass this bill could happen as quickly as next Tuesday. Concerns have been raised about a $1 fee for each transaction to pay for statewide database to track the loans. According to the Associated Press, Republicans argued the bill was flawed and the public should have more time to consider the plan unveiled late last week. Leadpile will be watching….

Just when we thought the auto industry was headed in the right direction, a recall happens with Toyota…. then another recall.. then another recall with Honda. I don’t know about you but this is scary for the auto (finance) industry that we very much work in. Going to a dealership was like going to a ghost town, and then things finally started getting better. This shake up with Toyota, and now Honda, could not have come at a worse time. The struggling auto industry was finally heading in the right direction, and then this all happens. The ironic thing about the recent recalls is the fact that the two companies now in the news were the ones that stayed out of the negative lime-light in the last few years. Kudos I guess to our nation’s automakers for already having gone through the “bad” part of the auto industry hiccups, but gosh when is the auto industry going to get a break? Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that the auto industry keeps moving forward, not backwards!

As if consumers do not have enough financial stress to worry about, the credit card companies are decreasing credit limits and increasing annual percentage rates. Due to the high number of people without jobs and suffering financial hardship, the credit card companies have had billions of dollars worth of losses. To attempt to fill in the gap, the card companies are making changes effecting card holders who are behind in payments in addition to card holders who have always paid their bills on time and have a perfect history. Credit cards have in the past always been issued to people with an interest rate and credit limit based on their specific risk to default.
With the economy in the state that is has been and many people with additional debt, consumers have been forced to use their credit limits, now faced with paying off balances with interest rates that have doubled or tripled.
According to msnbc.com we are entering a new “era” for credit cards. Previously as many of us experienced, credit card offers would appear daily in your mailbox, each with enormous credit limits and interest rates that were so competitive that it made applying for the card hard to resist. Many people who “couldn’t resist” are now paying for it with the increase in interest.
Possible changes in the near future…The new Credit Card Bill of Rights. The American Bankers association has stated that the new law will limit the amount of credit that is available and it will come attached to a higher price tag. In theory, consumers will have a better idea of long term costs and terms with the new law and will allow them to make more educated decisions.
LeadPile currently helps match consumers with unsecured debt such as credit card debt with debt settlement and debt consolidation companies, but what will change in the future of credit card debt if there is a “credit card bill of rights” that gets passed? Will it really affect anything? Who will feel it the most?

Facebook is saying goodbye to banner ads supplied by Microsoft, and HELLO to more targeted ads. Internews.com reports, “Facebook, which counts nearly 400 million users, said its own display ads feature interactive aspects and can target viewers based on their personal information, making them better suited to its social networking service than Microsoft’s standard Web banner ads. Ad formats that feature social actions perform better and provide a better user experience since they are more consistent with the look and feel of Facebook,” the company said in a statement. This combination of targeting and social relevance is the primary driver behind the shift in strategy.”
This change will probably not affect Microcsoft, but it brings up a good question on taking control over your page and what the user experiences. Facebook is obviously concerned with the experience the consumer goes through, versus a deal they have with Microsoft. Is this something of the future where companies really pay attention to the consumer experience versus making the most money on the ads they choose to display? Leadpile has an ability to supply banner ads for it’s publishers, however a website owner caring about the consumer experience is something we are very much concerned with also. Consumer experience or make more money????? What is the answer you believe is right?

Watching the Super Bowl has become not only about the game, but also about the high dollar commercials that run during the game. These 15, 30, and 60-second time slots continue to go up in price and are now worth millions. In the past 43 Super Bowl games many different ads have run featuring celebrities, but many that stick out, and that have stuck with the company for years, are ads featuring animals.

According to msnbc.com 10 of the most memorable animal pitchmen have been:

Nissan pigeons – first appearance 1997, life expectancy 1 year.

Tabasco mosquito – first appearance 1998, life expectance 23 seconds.

The Pets.com sock puppet dog – first appearance 2000, life expectancy: 9 months.

Budweiser lizards – first appearance 1998, life expectancy 4 years.

The Mountain Dew cheetah – first appearance 1999, life expectancy 1 year.

Budweiser Dalmatians – first appearance 1999, life expectancy 10 years & counting.

The E* Trade money – first appearance 2000, life expectancy 2 years.

The Budweiser frogs – first appearance 1995, life expectancy 7 years.

Spuds MacKenzie – first appearance 1987, life expectancy 3 years.

The Budweiser Clydesdales – first appearance 1986, life expectancy 23 years & counting.

Will we have a memorable one this year? Let’s all tune in and see……… AND to watch the game!