N.J. lawmakers taking on debt collectors

The practice of debt collection is under renewed scrutiny.

New Jersey lawmakers have introduced a bill in the Assembly that would regulate the practices of debt collectors and give authorities the power to issue significant fines for violations.

Dubbed the New Jersey Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the proposed legislation mostly mirrors a 30-year-old federal law that regulates things such as when and where debt collectors can call consumers. But it also goes further, imposing rules on creditors -- not just third-party firms that are hired by creditors or buy debt at a discount.

The bill, introduced last month and now in committee, comes during an economic period in which consumers are having a harder time paying their bills. Perhaps not surprisingly, that has meant some collection agencies are now getting more accounts to work.


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N.J. green-lights Pascack hospital sale

Pascack Valley Hospital's buyers will officially take possession of their new property today.

The state Attorney General's Office cleared the way for the deal to close.

Attorney General Anne Milgram said she had no objection to the $45 million purchase by Hackensack University Medical Center and Touro University College of Medicine.

She ruled that no public hearing or review was needed under a special state law governing the sale of hospitals, since the hospital was closed when the sale took place.

The 280-bed hospital was $80 million in debt when it closed in November. Since then, ambulances from the Pascack Valley and Northern Valley have rushed patients elsewhere, and doctors have admitted their patients to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Hackensack or Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck.


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Invacare Responds to Analysts Assessment of First Quarter Results

24/04/2008 16:35:00 Business Wire Invacare Corporation (NYSE: IVC) reiterated that its quarterly results announced earlier today were on plan for the first quarter and that the Company remains confident in its projected range for adjusted earnings per share for the year with most of the earnings attributable to the second half of the year.
In its earlier announcement, Invacare noted that, because it does not provide quarterly earnings guidance, "the investor community may project quarterly earnings that vary from management s expectations." A.
Malachi Mixon, III, Invacare s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "It appears that projections by some analysts for our first quarter, which the Company has never confirmed, have led to a sharp decline in Invacare s stock price which we do not believe is justified.


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Duncan Energy Partners Reports First Quarter 2008 Results

Duncan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE:DEP) today announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2008. The partnership reported net income of $6.0 million for the first quarter of 2008, or $0.29 per common unit on a fully diluted basis.

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Investors wary before Fed's rate decision

Wall Street pulled back modestly Tuesday as investors, disappointed by a low reading on consumer sentiment, traded with caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's Wednesday decision on interest rates.

The Conference Board said its April reading on consumer confidence fell for the fourth straight month because of heightened concerns about soaring inflation and the weakening job market.

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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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