Porco: Read study on merger of city, county

Allegheny County and Pittsburgh officials' desire to merge the two governments will affect every community in the county will be affected, according to Frank Porco, Forest Hills Council president.

That's why Porco is urging local residents to go online and read the findings of a study led by University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg.

"It's a pretty big event. It's a history-changing event. It impacts anybody who lives in Western Pennsylvania."

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Asia century: China, India, Taiwan, Japan in world finance, trade, politics, outsourcing

Watch out on the sudden surge of Asian giants! Is a new global war coming? Are emerging China and India the source of troubles? What is the next in world finance, outsourcing, labor, trade, politics, leadership? 3 challenging educators George Zhibin Gu, Chalmers Johnson, and Andre Gunder Frank talk about global development in the next stages and new century conflicts.

The China Factor and the Overstretch of the US Hegemony in the 21st century: opportunities, challenges, conflicts and development 4 books that can change your mind in 2007 about the geo-politic and geo-economic dynamics going on Interviews by Jorge Nascimento Rodrigues, editor of Gurus online. tv George Zhibin Gu (顾志斌), author of two new books, "China's Global Reach", and "China and the New World Order"; Chalmers Johnson, author of "The Sorrows of Empire" Andr� Gunder Frank, author of the forthcoming "ReOrient the Nineteenth Century" (a sequel of his 1998's "ReOrient") FIRST STORY A view from an insider George Zhibin Gu CHINA IS BECOMING A GLOBAL THEATER "A new power balance will emerge gradually and most likely indirectly" INTERVIEW First idea: "Today, most Chinese would prefer to be the one just following the leader.


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Ohio bill could lower payday loan cap to 28%

COLUMBUS: In a surprise move Tuesday, House Republicans introduced legislation that would cap the annual percentage rate charged on payday loans at 28 percent.

The bill, which is expected to clear a House committee today and possibly hit the floor for a vote, was a sudden reversal in policy on the rate cap and appeared to be an effort to trump Gov. Ted Strickland.

On Friday, Strickland issued a letter to the Coalition for Responsible Lending stating it was critical that any payday lending bill would have an all-inclusive 36 percent rate cap.

State Rep. Chris Widener, R-Springfield, introduced legislation Tuesday that includes the 28 percent annual rate cap, bans any other fees and stops someone from having more than two loans at one time.

The bill also limits the total loan amount to $500, gives borrowers a minimum of 31 days to repay, mandates financial counseling for anyone seeking a third loan and prohibits anyone from having more than four loans in one year.


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(AFX UK Focus) 2008-04-30 09:35 TFN NEWS BRIEFING: Mergers and acquisitions highlights to 09:20 BST

2008-04-30 09:10:26 India's Strides Arcolab says value of Australian, Asian ops cut to A$61 mln

MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - India-based Strides Arcolab Ltd. said the purchase price of its Australian and Asian operations has been cut to A$61.0 million from A$65 million, with Genepharm Australasia Ltd. proposing to assume about A$4.1 million of debt.

2008-04-30 09:01:27 BSkyB CEO says to look at Tiscali

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC. will look at Tiscali SpA., the Milan-listed company with broadband operations in the UK, but have not yet started talks with the company.

2008-04-30 09:00:35 Skanska sells Malmoe retail park to German investment fund

STOCKHOLM (Thomson Financial) - Skanska AB said it has sold a retail park in Burloev, near Malmoe to an unnamed German investment fund.


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Introduction to Debt Management

(ARA) - If you are among the nearly seven million Americans whose short-term debt exceeds 20 percent of their annual net income, a debt management program may be able to help you.An effective debt management program consolidates your bills into one payment with several benefits:1. Lower payments by up to 50 percent.2. Pay off debt in 36 to 60 months. .


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Which is Best?

You've seen the ads: credit counseling companies say they can help with debt by getting your payments and interest rates lowered.

Others claim they can get your debts wiped out entirely by settling them for pennies on the dollar.

So which is better for your situation?

If you're in debt trouble, you've got plenty of company.

And you've got lots of people willing to help you too. For example, credit counselors:

"A credit counselor with work with the client and reduce the debt over time, and you will pay...in many cases...a lower interest rate or no interest rate at all," said Jessican Cecere from Consumer Credit Counseling.

So a credit counselor gets between you and a creditor, tries to negotiate better terms and sets up a plan to repay all your debts over time: generally 3 or 4 years.


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Air Industries Group Reports Record Financial Results for Fiscal Year 2007

Air Industries Group, Inc. (OTCBB: AIRI) today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2007.

Financial Performance Highlights for Fiscal Year 2007:

-- Net Sales Increased to Record $46.1 Million, Up 40% from 2006

-- Gross Profit Margin Increased to Record 27.6%, Up from 15.2% in 2006

-- Gross Profit Increased to Record $12.7 Million, Up 152% from Prior Year

-- EBITDA to Record $4.4 Million, an Increase of 110% from $2.1 Million in 2006

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