Made in China Image Tainted by Lack of Quality Control: What Can China Do to Save Economy?

Tainted Food Imports: China, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and others.

Welcome to the new massive Globalization. In your own refrigerator and freezer, you will have grocery, produce and food items from more than a dozen countries around the world. Who is vouching for their safety? The Food and Drug Administration inspectors have stopped more tainted food items from other countries. The only difference is that they do not grab the headlines like the recent cases of Chinese food problems. There have been cases of Black pepper with salmonella from India, crabmeat from Mexico that is so filthy to eat and candy from Denmark that is mislabeled. The Food and Drug Administration officials are watching many other countries' imports closely. They have also stopped more food shipments from Mexico and India in the past year than they have from China. What is the statistics for countries such as the Dominican Republic? Produce from Dominican Republic was stopped 817 times last year, usually for having traces of illegal pesticides. Candy from Denmark was stopped a total of 520 times.

The major question is how often shipments of any products are impounded. All the countries of the world want to export coffee, cocoa, rice, basmati rice, cucumbers, coconuts, peas, beans, peaches, cantaloupes, watermelons, oranges, seafood to the U.S.

So far, officials have been saying that there is no evidence of a systematic problem for any particular product. Consumers need to remain aware of tainted foods that may slip through inspection. On many occasions, Japan has suspended the import of Harris Farms beef, for example. They have regulations that need to be followed. It is not only a U.S. phenomenon. Most governments around the world are careful about what is entering their countries.

Banks Charge Overdraft Fees in Predatory Lending Practices. Find Out If You Are Scammed

Stop Banks and Credit Unions from Taking Your Money with Overdraft Fees

How banks and credit unions are scamming their members.

The not-so popular practices, the insidious predatory lending practices of your own credit unions will make you as mad as hell. If you did not know about them, The Center for Responsible Lending has just accused banks and credit unions of turning overdraft loan fees into profit centers. They manipulate the process so that customers get caught paying more fees than necessary, without any warning. Now, you can see why these banks and credit unions are encouraging their customers to participate in online banking. Once you start using that debit card they hand to you, they know for sure that you will be making mistakes by bouncing one or two checks. Oftentimes, ridiculous amounts such as $2.00 or $5.00 cups of Starbucks will end up costing you $50. The number of times these credit unions can charge your account behind your back depends on the number of small purchases you have made when you do not have sufficient funds in your account. These practices must stop if credit unions which claim to take great pride in their community.

Most of the Credit Unions in California charge $25 when their customers do not have enough funds in their account. They offer overdraft protection as a valued service that helps customers avoid embarrassment and merchant charges for insufficient funds. I was hit by these overdraft fees, got mad, canceled the account and asked them to set my account to deny payment in case of lack of funds. That is the problem that comes with online banking. The payments are pre-set. No matter what, they will go through. Account holders will have to make several overdraft fee payments for a higher total. Banks that cover overdraft by charging fees are taking money from American families. They know that the debit card will keep working despite the lack of funds in their account. Common banking practices such as processing the largest check first or debit card transaction first are misleading. Single surprise overdraft can lead to a domino effect.

http://microcreditcapital.com/financialmatters

World's Richest Men and Women List: Carlos Slim, Bill Gates, Ophrah Winfrey and....

Well, Carlos Slim is worth more than $67.8b. He has surpassed Bill Gates. Whatever! To whom should this bit of news matter any way?

According to Sentido Comun, a financial web site run by Eduardo Garcia, Slim's worth went up to $67.8b at the end of June. He also calculated Microsoft Corp. founder Gates' worth at $59 billion last month.

Well, let's them duke it out!


http://podshoppingblog.com/lasvegas/

Private Equity Firm Blackstone Group LP Is Buying Hilton Hotels Corp.

Flush with money from the recent IPO, Blackstone Private Equity Group is buying Hilton Hotels Corp. It will also buy all outstanding Hilton shares for $47.50 eacch. Hilton's board approved the deal last Tuesday.

So what this purchase means is that the Beverly Hills-based Hilton Hotels will be made private. At the same time, it is worth mentioning that Blackstone owns more than 100,000 hotel rooms in the United States and Europe. They include La Quinta Inns and Suites, LXR Luxury Resorts and Hotels. If you add the number of hotels owned and operated by Hilton, you are looking at a huge number of hotels. Hilton operates more than 2,800 hotels and 480,000 rooms in 76 countries and territories and includes brands such as Doubletree, Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn.