People are already lining up to buy the iPhone, even though it doesn't go on sale for a few more days. To get it, you're going to need to sign a two year contract. AT&T always claims they make you sign contracts in order to subsidize the phone, but this time, they're just lying--you're purchasing this phone from Apple! Apple's made the iPhone as sleek and easy to use as their other products, and it's packed with features. In other countries, there are no restrictions on what features a phone can have, but in the U.S., the cell phone companies control what a cell phone is allowed to do. Let's say you want GPS....U.S. phone companies want to be the ones to sell you that service, so they make cell phone makers deactivate the GPS feature. Apple has been aggressive towards these cell phone companies, and maintain that no one can say what the phone does except them. Apple has made this a true consumer purchase, letting the consumer decide what it will do, as it should be. So ultimately the iPhone is going to democratize the cell phone industry.
The real estate market around the country is in the doldrums. The number of homes for sale increased in May, which is unusual, since most people prefer to move in the summer. If no other homes went on market, it would take 9 months to sell all the homes currently out there! Plus, the cost of a mortgage is more expensive than it was, with interest rates rising. In reality, it's not that homes aren't selling - 6 million a year change hands - it's just not a good time to be a seller. If you're a buyer, there will be some real deals as people slash prices. Home prices are down about 2% from a year ago. To balance this, builders are reducing the number of homes they're building, and people are choosing not to put their homes on the market right now. If you simply have to sell, one thought is to do what lots of people are doing, and rent the place out while you wait for the market to stabilize. This isn't an option for many condo owners, as some have rental restrictions, and the rent you would get generally doesn't cover the cash outlay per month. So now is the time to buy condos, since the market has fallen out under them. In general, the real deals on single family homes will be coming this fall and into 2008, as we move out of the prime summer selling period. This winter will be especially friendly for buyers...but not for sellers.
When you get a mortgage loan, you sign a lot documents--good-faith estimates, a truth-in-lending statements, settlement statements, and more. You'll sign other documents to protect the lender against future claims that you didn't fully understand the terms and conditions of the loan. And worse, you'll be asked to sign a power of attorney authorizing the lender (or the title company) to make corrections should errors be found later. One of the reasons people get so rooked on mortgage loans is because the paperwork is so fouled up. The mortgage industry has fought efforts to have clear disclosure to you when you're taking out a loan so you'd know exactly what the terms were. Why? Because the industry makes a lot of money by cheating you by having the paperwork as confusing as possible. So the American Enterprise Institute came up with a form that they'd like mortgage lenders to use, but instead, YOU use it. There are a series of simple fill in the blank questions that you should require the lender to provide to you, then you'll know exactly what your loan is. And it's very easy for anyone to follow, even for first time home buyers. You can download and print the form here. And if you're not familiar with mortgage terminology, here's a clear definitions of terms, stating the essentials of the loan in simple English.
AT&T has done something unethical. When they took over Bellsouth, as part of the deal they were forced to offer an inexpensive plan as one option. They did, offering a slower (768k) DSL connection at $10 per month. It's a great deal. But they hide the link to this service on the website, making it almost impossible to find if you don't know where to look! Well, Clark thinks this stinks, and wants you to know how to find the deal. Here's how: This direct link will show you all the details: http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=7690#10_basic Or, navigate to it this way:
If you drive a pickup, SUV or minivan and have replaced your tires at some point, you need to check your tires to see if they're unsafe. To save money, a company in China produced their tires without an important safety step. As a result, after a short period of time, the tires shred right off the car. The importer knew there was a safety problem but didn't alert the government. People have been hurt, so you need to be aware of the brands that were sold with this serious safety defect:
YKS Compass Telluride Westlake
The following sizes are defective: LT235/75R-15, LT225/75R-16, LT235/85R-16, Lt245/75R-16, LT265/85R-16, and LT3X10.5-15.
China's economy is expanding rapidly and in a chaotic fashion, and this is not the only case of defective merchandise. We've heard of the unsafe toys and dog food, and now there are reports of antifreeze being put in toothpaste to extend its shelf life. (Never mind what it does to the consumer!) This is damaging the reputation of products from mainland China.
