Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – New claims for unemployment compensation dropped to 421,000 for the week ending Dec. 4, a decrease of 17,000 claims from the week before, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Not all jobless workers are insured by the unemployment compensation program. The advance seasonally adjusted rate of insured unemployed workers was 3.2 percent for the week ending Nov. 27, which was a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.4 percent, the DOL said in a statement.

The DOL also released the figures for the week ending Nov. 27 for the advance number of seasonally adjusted insured unemployment, which was 4,086,000. That was a decrease of 191,000 from the preceding week’s revised number of 4,277,000 insured unemployed.

Advance unadjusted figures for the week ending Nov. 27 showed the percentage of unemployed workers eligible for unemployment compensation was 3.3 percent. However, the unemployment rate during that week was 9.6 percent.

Figures for the number of unemployed Americans claiming benefits under all unemployment compensation programs was from a week earlier, or the week ending Nov. 13 was 8,297,938.

Extended unemployment compensation benefits, for jobless Americans who are covered by that insurance program, were available in 35 states and the District of Columbia for the week ending Nov. 20.

Those states were Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

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NY, NY, United States (AHN) – The National Football League Players Association is preparing to file a collusion case against the league’s owners reportedly because only one of 216 restricted free agents was signed to an offer sheet during the offseason.

Executive director DeMaurice Smith is in the process of reviewing the case for filing by Special Master Stephen Burbank in time for Wednesday’s Dec. 8 deadline, 90 days from the regular season opener.

The union gathered very similar dialogue from a variety of teams communicating with agents who represented the players, a source told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

Jeff Pash, the NFL’s vice president of legal counsel, previously blamed the lack of activity on the looming uncapped year.

However, in 2009, only four of 55 restricted free agents were signed to offer sheets with no one changing teams.

The current CBA expires March 4, with both sides remaining hopeful a work stoppage could be avoided. Owners and team executives meet Dec. 15 in Fort Worth, Texas, to discuss labor matters.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 462,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists were expecting only 450,000 Americans to file first time unemployment claims. Americans filed 449,000 first-time claims the previous week.

Although the economy is viewed as being in recovery, the continued loss of jobs indicates a continued bumpy road for America’s working class.

Some 4.399 million people continued to file unemployment claims for their second week or more, during the week ended Oct. 2, the latest week for which such statistics are available.

In addition, extended jobless benefits were available in 36 states and Puerto Rico during the week ending Sept. 25, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Those states were Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

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• This only applies to a homestead property, that is the customers primary residence
• LTV refers to Loan to Value, meaning the loan amount as compared to the value of the home. As an example, a loan of $75,000 on a home valued at $100,000 would be a loan at 75% LTV.
• These specifics only apply to Texas cash out loans in the State of Texas – obvious, but I had to put it in here.
• Although the actual Texas Cash Out Laws in Texas have not had any “major” modifications in the last few years, there have been minor adjustments made, that does not mean that future changes will not occur.

Essential Information

First, and foremost, I will highlight some of the most important points of Texas Cash Out loans:

• A person can only have one homestead propety
• Any Texas Cash Out loan is limited to a maximum of 80% LTV
• Only one Texas Cash Out Loan may be given in any 12 month period
• A 12 day “cooling off period” , known as the 12 day letter, is required on every transaction
• A maximum of 3% of the loan amount can be charged to the customer which includes all closing costs
• Once a Home Equity loan is taken on a persons homestead, all transactions following from that point on (with the exception of the sale of the property) are considered Texas Cash Out loans.
• In regards to the last point, just to further clarify, even if you are refinancing the balance of a current Cash Out loan and not getting any new cash out, it is still considered a Texas Cash Out loan. The rule is quite simple, once a cash out, always a cash out loan.
• Every owner of the property must given the HUD-1 settlement statement for review at least 24 hours prior to closing your loan

The Process

The process of obtaining a Texas Cash Out loan is really only slightly different than a home equity loan or refinance loan in any other state. Yes, the documentation and requirements are different, but the process itself is very similiar.

Before applying to obtain a cash out loan in Texas, you have to realize that you are limited, by State Law, to a maximum of 80% LTV for the new loan. So, if your house is worth (appraised value) of $200,000, then the maximum loan you can get, including any/all closing costs involved is $160,000. So, if you currently owe more than $160k on your current mortgage on the house, you wiil not be able to obtain a home equity loan in Texas. I only say this to save you some time and effort if it is your desire to get cash out or obtain a debt consolidation loan on your homestead property. You can also use this figure to estimate as to how much cash will be available to you from your new loan as a maximum amount.

You can also expect that your options will be more limited than if you were looking to simply do a rate/term refinance (refinance the balance of an existing loan) or purchase a home. Your options are more limited because not all lenders will do Texas Cash Out loans. The reasons are a combination of them not willing to adjust to the more stringent documentation requirements of the Texas Home Equity loan, some are simply because they believe the documentation and legal restrictions are simply too much of an additional burden on them to offer these types of loans. Understand that while the process itself is not that different from the consumer stand point, from a lenders stand point the differences are more unique and do require the lenders to essentially have a seperate set of documents and, most likely, additional staffing just to manage and keep up with any/all changes to Texas Law regarding these loans.

The application process will be essentially the same as any other mortgage loan. You contact your mortgage broker or one or more mortgage lenders, give them your information and you are on your way. Once your applciation and credit have been evaluated, you will, as in any other mortgage transaction, receive a Good Faith Estimate and Truth in Lending within 3 days of you giving your information on an application. This can be used to compare your offers and to help you make an educated decision as to which lender/broker to go with. Once you have made the decision as to which company you will use, you will then be sent a disclosure package which will contain initial RESPA disclosures, other state required forms, lender required forms, and a list of items that you will need to provide along with these documents in order to get your loan completed. I have another section for disclosures (posting to be completed shortly), so I won’t go into the specific disclosures other than the ones that apply strictly to Texas Cash Out loans.

You can expect your loan to take longer than a standard mortgage loan. The reason is that Texas Law requires a 12 day cooling off period, so, your transaction cannot take place for at least 12 days after you sign that document which essentially states your rights as a consumer. In most cases, the delay may only be a couple of days as during that time period the normal other items can be taken care of simultaneously, ie., the appraisal, preliminary title report, and the gathering of the required documents from you, the consumer. I am simply saying that if you are anticipating your loan to done inside of two weeks, then you know now, that it is simply not possible.

Once your documents are in the hands of the company you chose, and the appraisal and title work are done, then the loan is underwritten and final approval is given as in any other mortgage transaction. At this time, there may be some outstanding conditions, or other documentation that may be required to be provided due to individual circumstances and/or is something was simply left out or missing from your file. Once those documents are provided, and your loan is cleared of all pending conditions or documentation, then the closing time/date is set and your documents are sent to the title company which prepares the documents for closing.

One item of note here, Texas Cash Out loans are required to be closed at a title company location, they cannot be closed in the customer’s home as some mortgage transactions are. This is strictly forbidden by Texas Home Equity Lending Laws, so don’t expect anyone to come to your home out of convience for you to close your loan, it just won’t happen in Texas.

Additionally, once your closing is set, it is a requirement that each owner of the property be given the HUD-1 settlement statement at least 24 hours prior to closing the loan. If any changes are made to the settlement statement before closing, then another 24 hours must be allowed before closing the loan, again, this is not optional. The reality is, in my opinion, this is actually a very good thing and one of the better laws that Texas has pertaining to home equity lending.

The fact that the consumer gets to see the actual HUD-1 settlement statement a day before the loan closing gives them the opportunity to ask questions and to make certain that everything is correct OR as stated on their initial Good Faith Estimate. This means that there can be no surprises at the closing table. If it were up to me, all consumers would get the HUD-1 one day prior to closing, that way all questions can be eliminated and it would make the closing go that much smoother as you would already be aware of exactly what the settlement statement has on it before you get to the closing table – that is for another discussion.

After you sign the documents there is a 3 day right of recission, as on all mortgage refinance transactions on owner occupied homes. This means, quite simply that once you sign, you are given copies of all documents and given 3 business days (Saturdays count) to review all documents and make your final decision as to whether or not you want the loan. Keep in mind that the decision is YES, unless you decide to say no. So, if you sign documents on Monday, you are given until midnight of Thursday to cancel the transaction, you loan funds on Friday. Friday is too late to cancel. So, if you are going to cancel, make cetain that you notify the title company as soon as possible but you only have until Thursday to do it.

Once your loan funds and you are given your proceeds (cash or payoff sent off), then you are done. Keep in mind that you cannot complete another Texas Cash Out loan for 12 months (1 year) to the day of your loan funding, without exception. You can’t even sign the initial disclosures on a new loan until after that 1 year is up. The reason I mention this is so that you realize that you only get one shot a year to do a loan like this, make sure you get what you need the first time because it will be a long time before you can do it again.

Any questions pertaining to this information can be emailed to me or you may simply comment on this post and I will respond back to you.

My next article will be about the what is required for a mortgage loan.

Author: David Demko
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
US State tax list

Although the economy is showing clear signs of recovery, the banking sector may not rebound any time soon. It’s possible that the continued problems in the banking industry will substantially outlast the recession, resulting in a significantly suppressed availability of credit in a recovering economy.

With many banks struggling to keep their doors open, small business owners seeking financing, who are already finding limited options, are faced with desperate cash flow issues. As businesses attempt to recover along with the economy, they need financing solutions now.  It is critical that businesses acquire a funding source that is readily available and dependable.

Accounts Receivable Financing is an often overlooked choice for growing businesses. This form of financing (also known as Factoring), is a financial tool that allows businesses to capitalize on the power of their outstanding invoices. Factoring is a valuable mechanism to turn a business’ invoices into immediate cash, enabling them to fund business operations.

It is not widely understood, but a factoring firm provides funds to its clients based upon its clients’ accounts receivable. Most invoices billed to credit worthy customers can qualify. Banks, on the other hand, must consider more stringent criteria before qualifying a borrower for any type of funding. In most cases, when considering assisting a business based strictly upon its accounts receivable, factoring companies can provide funds when a commercial bank cannot.

Keith Mabe is Director of Operations for Charter Capital, recognized as one of the hardest working independent providers of invoice factoring for small to mid-sized businesses. Charter Capital offers a complete line of no-loan business funding and related financial services. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Charter Capital provides accounts receivable financing and asset-based lending for major industries including freight and transportation, consulting firms, service providers, staffing firms, distributors and manufacturers, medical service providers. Find out more at http://www.CharterCapitalUSA.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/loans-articles/economy-recovering-bank-loans-still-scarce-1291274.html