Consumer Credit Collector Blog

For over 12 years, the Consumer Credit Collector ADVISOR has been the premier source for straightforward advice on how collectors can reach their full potential and boost collection totals. The Advisor is a monthly publication providing proven and effective collection techniques. It is not designed to render legal advice or legal opinions. Each issue provides information, inspiration, new ideas, and techniques for successful collections.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Trading Club Delivers Stock Picks, Trade Set-ups and Market Intelligence

Swing Trading Club from Investing Systems Delivers Stock Picks, Trade Set-ups and Market Intelligence to Day Traders, Swing Traders and Long Term Investors

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla.-- July 26, 2008 --Investing Systems announced today the opening of their new Swing Trading Club for traders and investors.

"Buy and hold investing has seen better days," said William McKinley, President of Investing Systems. "Most people believe that you need to take a more active role in order to effectively manage a portfolio."

The swing trading club offers trade set-ups daily and shows investors the entry and exit strategy, the stop-loss points and target prices for each trade. The site features a chat room, market trend indicators and commentary from professional traders.

"Everyone knows that you need to invest for yourself," McKinley said. "But that does not mean that you have to trade by yourself."

The Swing Trading Club is open to all traders and investors and even includes training sessions and coaching on specific technical trading styles. The subscription price is just $49.95 per month and the members already love the interaction with other traders.

"People like to trade along with others in the club," McKinley said. "Beginners are learning the ropes and experienced traders like to share their expertise. We think everyone should take a serious look at the club if only to have some trading buddies to bounce ideas with."

Investing Systems Inc. manages a network of more than 100 websites focused on the benefits of disciplined systematic investing. Customers in more than 70 countries have used ISI products and services to become better, more disciplined, investors.

"I am not sure exactly how many members we will let into the club," McKinley said. "The most important thing to us is that people have fun, make money and become better traders and investors. If we have to limit the size, we will."

For additional information about the Swing Trading Club website visit:

http://www.SwingTradingClub.com

Contacts

Investing Systems Inc.
Douglas Newberry, 904-261-5289
DNewberry@investing-systems.com

Monday, August 11, 2008

Bonds Outlook Stable

Fitch Upgrades Cape Regional Medical Center's (NJ) Bonds to 'A'; Outlook Stable

NEW YORK-- August 11, 2008 --Fitch Ratings has upgraded the $23.5 million outstanding New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority revenue bonds (Burdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital, Inc. Issue), series 1999 to 'A' from 'A-'. The Rating Outlook is Stable.

The rating upgrade to 'A' is based on Cape Regional Medical Center's (Cape Regional; formerly Burdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital, Inc.) excellent liquidity and light debt burden as well as improved operations over the last 3 1/2 fiscal years. At fiscal year end Dec. 31 2007, Cape Regional had days cash on hand (DCOH) of 273.1 days and cash to debt of 301.9%, both well above Fitch's 'A' category medians of 185.2 DCOH and 111.6% cash to debt. Additionally, Cape Regional defeased its 1991 series bonds in fiscal 2007.

Maximum annual debt service (MADS) on the remaining series 1999 bonds is $2.1 million, which is $1.2 million lower than previous MADS. Pro forma debt service coverage in fiscal 2007 was a strong 6.2 times (x), above Fitch's 'A' category median of 4x, and the cushion ratio was 33.3x, more than double Fitch's 'A' category median of 15.4x. Unaudited results for six months ended June 30, 2008 show MADS coverage of 5.5x and a cushion ratio of 31.4x.

In addition to Cape Regional's strong liquidity and light debt burden, operations over the last 3 1/2 fiscal years have continued to improve. Since fiscal 2005, Cape Regional has improved operations with positive operating margins two out of the last three years and positive excess margins in all three years. Cape Regional ended fiscal 2007 with a 0.6% positive operating margin and a 5% positive excess margin ($5.6 million in total excess income). Further indication of the operational turnaround has been the improvement to Cape Regional's operating EBITDA margin and EBITDA margins. Cape Regional's Operating EBITDA and EBITDA margins have averaged 7.5% and 11.2%, respectively, from 2005-2007 compared to 5.3% and 7.3% from 2002-2004.

The Stable Outlook is based on Cape Regional's continued market dominance, lighter debt burden, and Fitch's belief that Cape Regional will be able to sustain the current operating performance. Cape Regional enjoys a 72% market share in its primary service area as its nearest competitor is more than 20 miles away. This market dominance helps to offset concerns about Cape Regional's small revenue size for the rating category. Ongoing credit concerns include Cape Regional's rising bad debt expense and vulnerability of revenue stream given the seasonality of admissions.

Fitch does not anticipate Cape Regional issuing additional debt over the next few years. A prior credit concern of Fitch's had been the hospital's capital needs. Management has begun increasing capital spending, including a $2.2 million renovation of inpatient rooms. Capital expenditures as percentage of depreciation increased to 217.4% in fiscal 2007 from 66.2% in fiscal 2006; Fitch's 'A' category median is 155.8%. Given Cape Regional's operational turnaround, Fitch anticipates that over the medium term the hospital will be able to continue to fund capital projects from cash flow and philanthropy without the need to issue debt.

Fitch believes that Cape Regional will be able to sustain current levels of operations. Cape Regional has significantly lowered its length of stay over the past few years, from 4.9 days in fiscal 2004 to 4.3 days in fiscal 2007, started a hospitalists program, had strong physician recruitment, and established an affiliation with University of Penn Health System for oncology and cardiology, which has improved cardiology coverage at the hospital. These programs should help sustain operating margins over the medium term. While Cape Regional has a negative 0.8% margin for the first six months of fiscal 2008, it showed bottom line profitability with a 3% excess margin, and is ahead of budget heading into the busy tourist season. Management indicated that the volume numbers from the first two months of the season, June and July, have been strong.

Cape Regional is a 242-licensed (208 operated) bed facility located in Cape May County off exit 10 on the Garden State Parkway, approximately 45 miles south of Atlantic City. Cape Regional, with total revenue of $107.5 million in fiscal 2007, is part of the Cape Regional Health System, which includes a foundation, and Cape Regional Health Enterprises, which houses a small management services organization. Cape Regional covenants to provide annual and quarterly disclosure to bondholders. Disclosure to bondholders has been good, including quarterly income statement, balance sheet, cash flows, utilization, and management discussion and analysis.

Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.

Contacts

Fitch Ratings, New York
Eric Espino, 212-908-0574
Gary Sokolow, 212-908-9186
or
Media Relations:
Cindy Stoller, 212-908-0526

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Locate Real Estate Agents Fast

Find a Real Estate Agent Anywhere Fast

Fizber.com announces the launch of its Real Estate Directory featuring professional profiles of real estate agents, offices, and brokers throughout the country

Miami Beach, FL  -  April 15 -- Looking for a real estate agent? A new comprehensive directory of real estate agents, brokers and Realtors® has been launched by leading real estate Web site Fizber.com.

Realtor.Fizber.com is a real estate directory featuring professional profiles of agents nationwide. Users are able to find a Realtor or real estate agent they're comfortable with, one who will help them buy the right home or sell the home they own. They review profiles of real estate agents and Realtors®, they choose which individuals to contact, and they call or email them at their convenience.

"Consumers increasingly look to the Internet as their first source of information and education about the purchase or sale of a home. Each month, lots of consumers look to Fizber.com to help them select a real estate agent, research local home listings and link up with lenders, movers and other related service providers," said Julia Foster, VP of Marketing for Fizber.com. "To find a real estate agent near you, search by zip, city or state. Our agents are experts in home buying and selling, and they are ready to help you with all your real estate needs."

About Fizber.com
Home owners can place a listing with Fizber and it will be posted to 70+ partner sites. This is a one-stop shop for yard signs, ad writing tips, home staging advice and more for the seller. For the buyer, Fizber provides city and school profiles, crime rate statistics, mortgage lenders and cost of living advice.

If you are a real estate agent, create an Agent Profile on Fizber and increase total buyers to your business by 5x. Sign up today.

For more information, please visit www.fizber.com

Press Contact: Julia Foster
Company Name: Fizber.com
Phone: +187769349237
Website:
http://www.fizber.com/

Thursday, August 07, 2008

No Cost Personal Finance Program

The Money Books.com is offering "Links To Your Financial Future" for a limited time.

Los Angeles, CA  -  March 14 -- dash Media Networks announced today its website The Money Books.com (www.themoneybooks.com) will offer a free downloadable personal finance program for a limited time. Users will need to join The Money Books mailing list to get access to the program. Links To Your Financial Future provides valuable internet links to a variety of important financial topics in the categories of Investment and Planning, Credit and Retirement.

According to a dash Media Networks spokesman, "This type of personal finance program is particularly important this time of year when everyone is concerned about the IRS and their taxes. The Money Books.com site is all about helping people increase their personal wealth and financial well being and this program provides an avenue for greater financial knowledge."

For dash Media Networks, the move is part of an effort to increase its interaction with the users of The Money Books.com. By encouraging users to sign up for its mailing list the site can service the needs of the community more efficiently as well as provide important information to the most motivated users. Mailing list subscribers will receive targeted content in a variety of areas such as mortgage finance, insurance, and entrepreneurial wealth building.

About dash Media Networks:
dash Media Networks is a collection of broad and niche oriented e-commerce and social networking outlets focused on products and communities in the range of technology, consumer electronics and other high growth potential sectors.

Press Contact: David Ashe
Company Name: dash Media Networks
Phone: 310-749-5055
Website:
www.themoneybooks.com

Monday, August 04, 2008

Strong Web Presence is Necessary During a Recession

Noted Dallas Interactive Marketing Firm WrightIMC to Host Free Site Clinic: Marketing Experts to Offer Free Clinic to Area Businesses on How a Strong Web Presence is Necessary During a Recession

Noted Dallas search firm WrightIMC (www.wrightimc.com) is set to host the firm's first site clinic on May 8, 2008 at their offices at 101 E. Park Blvd. #600 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The site clinic is designed to teach area businesses how a strong Web presence can benefit them financially in troubled economic times.

April 23 -- Noted Dallas search firm WrightIMC (www.wrightimc.com) is set to host the firm's first site clinic on May 8, 2008 at their offices at 101 E. Park Blvd. #600 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The site clinic is designed to teach area businesses how a strong Web presence can benefit them financially in troubled economic times.

"Just because you are a grown-up doesn't mean you can't continue to learn a new field," said Tony Wright, CEO and Founder of WrightIMC. "
One of my passions is to teach and share my years of experience with businesses on how a strong web presence can benefit the growth of a company."

After a brief introduction by Wright and Vice-President John Confer, WrightIMC
personnel will view the Websites of those in attendance. Each Website chosen will be critiqued from a search engine optimization, pay-per-click marketing, usability, design and conversion rate analysis standpoint. WrightIMC personnel will then make recommendations on how to change each site in order to increase its Web presences and make it more profitable.

The clinic will critique as many sites as possible, however if all sites cannot be critiqued in the time allotted, WrightIMC will schedule personalized sessions with each attendee so everyone can be
assured their sites are viewed.

"I've done these clinics at national seminars and local organizations for years, and they are always the highlight of any presentation," said Wright. "I'm really looking forward to doing this within the confines of our own
teaching environment with no limits on the types or amounts of critiques we can do."

The site clinic will be located at the WrightIMC offices from 6-8pm May 8 at 101 E. Park Blvd. Suite #600, Plano, Texas 75074. The event is free and on a first come, first serve basis. To assure that you have a seat, please contact WrightIMC at 972-516-3853 or email protected from spam bots.

About WrightIMC

Founded in 2007 by noted interactive and
search marketing expert Tony Wright (http://www.wrightimc.com/tony_wright_bio.html), WrightIMC is a Dallas, Texas based interactive and search marketing consultancy dedicated to helping companies create profitable, sustainable Web presences. The company is also known as the "search marketers search marketing firm" for its ability to assist agencies and in-house search teams enhance and efficiently manage their own search practices.

Press Contact: TONY WRIGHT
Company Name: WrightIMC
Phone: 9725-516-3853
Website:
http://www.wrightimc.com

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Auto Leasing Troubles Affect Consumers and Dealers

How Auto Leasing Troubles Affect Consumers and Dealers: Zag CEO Scott Painter Available Immediately to Discuss

August 01, 2008 - Zag, Inc.:

WHAT: News that major automakers and leading banks are dropping or limiting popular auto leasing programs affects parties on both sides of the auto transaction. Zag CEO and auto industry pioneer Scott Painter is available immediately to discuss how consumers and dealers should respond.

For Consumers
It's understandable that consumers would feel a little vulnerable these days: uncertainty about their auto financing options, and the fear of being stuck with a gas-guzzler, are just a few possible reasons. What they can do:

-- Look to membership based organizations with special car-buying programs, like AAA, USAA, credit unions and others. In these trusted organizations consumers find an advocate using group buying power to offer members lower prices on new cars and a better buying experience overall.

-- Educate themselves about their options: there's a wealth of car and financing information online, and there are dealers today that are making the buying process easier by giving guaranteed prices upfront and improving the overall dealership experience.

For Auto Dealers

Dealers are coping with a struggling industry, sluggish economy and belt-tightening consumers. It's more important than ever for dealers to streamline costs and find ways to boost volume. Painter just published a some provocative ideas on this very subject, in a white paper titled, "Long Live New-Car Profitability," available at
http://www.zag.com. He can address this from a variety of angles. Here's a snapshot:

-- Eliminate the haggle to steal customers from competitors: abandon the "come on down" approach, and instead offer bottom-line prices to consumers upfront, while they're researching new cars online.

-- As consumers shift from leasing to buying, be the dealer that makes the process easy and enjoyable for them. Eliminate the commissioned sales force and shift to "concierge mode" - which will change the often-contentious sales relationship to one based on trust.

WHO: Scott Painter, founder and CEO of Zag, Inc. (www.zag.com). Painter pioneered the fledgling online car-buying sector six years ago with the launch of CarsDirect.com. He was instrumental in bringing car shopping online and is credited with being the first to introduce upfront pricing on the Internet.

His latest venture, Zag (www.zag.com), has created a better way to buy a car. Zag operates a robust auto shopping, research and pricing technology platform that saves buyers money by concentrating group buying power, while providing a better car buying experience by connecting buyers with select dealers that provide upfront discounted pricing and a no-hassle delivery process. Its partners give Zag a combined total audience of more than 100 million members/consumers. Zag is fully operational for 65 percent of U.S. households and services more than 93 percent of in-market customers. Zag has made 1 million introductions since inception - meaning 1 million consumers have received a guaranteed upfront price on a car in writing.

Zag is based in Santa Monica, Calif.


WHEN:   Available immediately for an interview.

HOW: To speak with Scott Painter, contact:

Contacts

Edge Communications, Inc.
Ken Greenberg, 818-990-5001
ken@edgecommunicationsinc.com