Although debt consolidation is considered to be a helpful and effective means for dealing with unsecured debts, it should not be viewed as a one-size-fits-all solution. It should not be considered as a magical solution that can eliminate your debt all at once.

Making more research into debt consolidation is important before choosing it as a financial solution. You need to make sure that you are in fact dealing with a reputable company that provides excellent debt management services.

Here are steps you can take to make debt consolidation work best for you.

1. Obtain a home equity loan or debt consolidation loans

A home equity loan or debt consolidation loans can provide you with the cash needed to pay off all of your outstanding debts. You can apply for a home equity loan if you have a property as collateral. Once you have used the proceeds to pay off your debts, you need to make prompt monthly payments to avoid losing your home. continue reading…

The US Federal Reserve has taken a step towards boosting economic recovery, by saying it will use proceeds from its investments in mortgage securities to buy longer-term government debt.

The move means that it will maintain the size of stimulus spending programme, pumping in money to try to bolster the economy.

The Fed warned that the pace of recovery had slowed in recent months.

It also kept interest rates unchanged at between zero and 0.25%.

There had been speculation that it would signal it was restarting, or expanding, the “quantitative easing” (QE) scheme. Commentators dubbed this latest move “QE lite”.

Stock markets recovered some of their earlier losses after investors reacted positively but still cautiously to the news. continue reading…

World stock markets have tumbled as investors worry about the health of the US economy after the Federal Reserve warned that the recovery was likely to be “more modest” in the short term.

The Dow Jones finished 265 points lower while European markets closed down 2%.

On Tuesday, the Fed said it would keep up its efforts to try to bolster the economy amid signs the recovery was weaker than expected.

Separately, data showed the US trade deficit rose to a 20-month high.

The Commerce Department said the deficit widened to $49.9bn (£31.9bn) in June, which surprised economists who were expecting a smaller trade gap.

The expansion of the gap to its widest level in almost two years reflected a rise in imports from China and a decline in exports.

Meanwhile, the Treasury Department said the US budget deficit – the difference between the government’s income and its spending – in the first 10 months of the fiscal year stands at $1.17 trillion, down from last year’s 10-month deficit of $1.27tn. continue reading…

Zimbabwe has held the first sale of diamonds from its Marange fields since the body overseeing the trade in “blood diamonds” lifted a ban.

The Kimberley Process had suspended the diamond exports in November in response to allegations of atrocities committed by the military at Marange.

But last month, it ruled that abuses had ceased and said Zimbabwe could resume limited exports.

The diamonds from the Marange field could generate $1.7bn (£1.1bn) a year.

About 900,000 carats valued at about $72m were on sale on Wednesday, according to Abbey Chikane from the Kimberley Process.

A review of conditions at Marange will be carried out in September, after which Zimbabwe may be able to resume full exports. continue reading…

A preliminary investigation into accidents involving Toyota cars has suggested driver error may have played a part in many of the incidents.

The US National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration is looking into cases of “unintended acceleration”.

But in a briefing to Congress members, it said that data recorders of 58 cars involved in incidents suggested brakes had not been applied in 35 cases.

The NHTSA said it was drawing no conclusions from the findings.

In nine of the 58 cases, the brakes had been applied late, the note said, with both the brake and accelerator depressed in another incident.

But reviewing data recorders was only “one small part” of government efforts “to get to the bottom of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles,” said Transportation Department spokeswoman Olivia Alair. continue reading…

Chinese industrial growth slowed again in July, adding to data suggesting that the country’s economy is cooling.

Factory output was up 13.4% from July 2009, but this was the fifth consecutive month the annual pace had slowed and the lowest rate of 2010.

Retail sales and factory investment also eased, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

It comes after Beijing has cut stimulus measures, closed inefficient factories and curbed bank lending.

“This tells us economic growth is continuing to slow,” said economist Zhu Jianfang of Citic Securities in Beijing.

“If they don’t make changes, the economy will see a danger of further sliding.” continue reading…

A “hyper-competitive” market meant profits at India’s biggest mobile phone firm, Bharti Airtel, slide by 32% in the three months to the end of June.

Bharti suffered after a price war between 14 operators led to rates being slashed.

It reported a net profit of 16.82bn rupees ($361m; £230m), down from 24.75bn rupees a year earlier.

But Bharti’s chief executive in India said there were “encouraging” signs that the price battle was stabilising.

“I’d say the worst is over. Cutting rates further would be suicidal” added Sanjay Kapoor. continue reading…

Devastating flooding in Pakistan has destroyed crops and led to a surge in food prices in the country, the United Nations has warned.

Some severely hit areas have seen all crops wiped out and many livestock lost, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

About 700 000 hectares of crops are under water or destroyed, with many surviving animals without feed.

It said the upcoming wheat crop was now at risk.

This was “the bread basket” of the country, the group added.

“The consequences for the local populations’ food security are acute, as food prices have already started to rise sharply,” said David Doolan, the FAO’s head of programmes in Pakistan. continue reading…

The UK economy faces a “choppy recovery” over the next two years, the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, has warned.

His comments came as the Bank lowered its economic growth forecast and said inflation would stay higher for longer than previously forecast.

The Bank now expects the economy to grow by less than 3% in 2011, down from its previous forecast of nearer 3.5%.

It added that a lack of bank lending would limit economic growth.

“It will take many years before bank balance sheets and fiscal positions return to anything like normal,” said Mr King.

“In the meantime they will act as headwinds to the recovery.” continue reading…

France and Germany have joined the UK in rejecting the idea of the EU levying taxes directly.

However, officials in Austria and Belgium have taken a positive view of the EU budget commissioner’s idea.

With its own income the EU would be “fairer”, Belgium’s Budget Minister Melchior Wathelet said.

Earlier, France’s Europe Minister Pierre Lellouche called the EU tax idea “perfectly ill-timed”. He said the EU ought to be planning cutbacks now.

The EU Budget Commissioner, Janusz Lewandowski, told the daily Financial Times Deutschland on Monday that he would present some options next month for direct EU taxes.

He said the burden on national budgets could be eased if the European Commission were able to levy direct taxes.

EU taxes on aviation, financial transactions and CO2 emission permits could be considered, he said. continue reading…