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GOOD NEWS! You can stop payin' those mortgages and go ahead...run up those credit cards! According to some experts, Armageddon is coming this summer!
The stock markets are down. Your 401K full of worthless Enron, Countrywide and Bear Stearns stock will last you about 2 weeks post retirement. Your house payment is about to triple and your credit cards are maxed-out. 
Not to worry, since Swiss scientists are working overtime to get their giant proton-smashing "Particle Accelerator" up-and-running this summer!
Two men are pursuing a lawsuit in federal court in Hawaii: They think the accelerator, which will begin smashing protons together outside Geneva this summer, might produce a black hole or something else that will spell the end of the Earth — and maybe the universe.
Start spending the kids' inheritance and read all about here!
You think Alphonso's prayin' he doesn't get indicted? Only Big Al knows for sure...one thing's certain,  though. He's out as Secretary of Housing & Urban Development: He announced earlier today (Monday, March 31) that he was resigning after seven years on the job.
Jackson, 62, is under criminal investigation and has been fending off allegations of cronyism and favoritism involving HUD contractors for the past two years.
It's going to be interesting to see who has the cojones to take this job in the new administration, come January'09. Considering the nightmares in the housing markets for the next few years, it's a guaranteed thankless job that gonna be under everyone's microscope.
Time to call the movers for Big Al and read the rest of the story here.
The credit card companies are no better than a buncha crack dealers in the park! Check out their updated and aggressive strategies designed to hook 18 year olds on their legal, plastic drug: Banks are getting more aggressive — and creative — in their efforts to pitch credit cards to college students by hawking cards near college campuses and striking exclusive partnerships with college  alumni associations, according to a growing body of research.
The latest sign: A study released by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group shows that 76% of students say credit cards have been marketed to them through tables set up on or near college campuses, and nearly a third of these students have been offered a free gift to sign up. T-shirts were the most common gift given, but students also received Frisbees, candy, pizza — even iPods — to fill out a credit card application, according to the group's research.
Read more about our society's legal drug dealers (the credit card-issuing banks) here...
Dover’s Critical Thinking Exercise For The Week. Please analyze the following headline:
"American Airlines cancels
325 flights to check planes"
Now read the story before answering the following question.
Let's see how sharp you really are: Did they ground the planes because they were...
a. So concerned about wiring
b. More concerned about the price of jet fuel
c. Even more concerned about flying flights with a bunch of unsold seats
d. Willing to use the wiring inspection story as a cover to consolidate flights, even though it inconvenienced travelers
e. Answers b, c & d represent the real truth behind their cover story
If you answered 'e', you're a Dover Certified Critical Thinker!
From the 'w hat's old is new again' department: With real estate prices falling across California, there's a land rush on...but not the kind you're hoping for.
Gold prices hovering around $1,000 an ounce means the return of the 49ers. No, not overpaid and spoiled pro football players, but desperate minors miners trying to raise cash to pay off their credit cards. Read all about 'em...
Wanna make some money in the market? 'Short' Lehman Brothers!!! Last week Lehman said they have "ample liquidity."  You know, just like Bear Stearns said 3 weeks ago and Countrywide said 6 months ago. So by applying simple 20-20 foresight you can make money on their silly public statements! (You've gotta love their 'tag line' in the logo shown to the right...heh, heh, heh...)
First, read their story...
...and then learn how to 'short' a stock.
First it was subprime mortgages, now it is home equity loans that may cause the next wave of foreclosures: The credit markets are really getting ugly out there...which is why some experts are predicting the next wave will be triggered by home equity loans. Read more...
If you’re depending on cash flow/cushion from a Home Equity Line of Credit (a/k/a HELOC), you’d better read this!
Homeowners Losing Equity Lines – As House Values Fall, Some Banks Withdraw Credit: Nancy Corazzi was told by her lender, USAA Federal Savings Bank, that her equity line of credit was suspended because her Howard County home had dropped in value. In one brief  phone call, Nancy Corazzi's lender yanked away what was left of the $95,000 home equity line of credit that she and her husband took out five months ago.
The lender informed her that her Howard County home had plummeted in value and the company did not want the risk that she would owe more than the house was worth. "I got off the phone and I was shaking," said Corazzi, who was using the money to pay preschool tuition for her twins ."I was near tears. We needed this credit line to get us through some tough times."
Several of the nation's largest lenders, along with smaller ones, are shutting off access to home equity lines in areas where home values are declining. Read the rest of the article here...
Dover's cover-your-ca$h tip that'll preserve your remaining credit lines? Draw down the entire line and put it into the highest-yield account you can find, to offset the interest expense. Remember, any creditor can cut off or reduce your credit lines (in whatever form) at ANY time. Your payment record means nothing these days, so don't whine...you've been warned.
Guess who wants the value of your home to keep dropping? "Housing prices should be allowed to fall," says Treasury  Secretary Henry Paulson.
Betcha he's not underwater on his mortage.
Before you start looking to 'key his car,' you might wanna read the rest of the story first...
 Hey Elliot: Check out the new Motel 6! Guess what motel chain is morphing into a respectable place to take hookers?
Too bad they won't change their cheesy name. Find out much "leaving the light on for ya" costs these days...
If you're FOR it, it's called a RESCUE.
If you're AGAINST it, it's called a BAILOUT.
In a sure sign that the American public doesn't have a clue as to how bad things will get if several large banks collapse, read why the American public is opposed to Fed bank bailouts...
The value of your home has fallen 20 percent since you bought it. 
The good news? Your property taxes will be lower.
The bad news? Your tax rates are going up.
Final score: Homeowners Less-Than-Zero.
According to Standard and Poor's Case-Shiller index, home prices have dropped an average of 14% since March 2007. And perhaps as much as 20% since the peak values in June 2006.
So when was the last time your home was assessed?
A reader in New York, brought up this very issue by asking: "Now that home prices are falling shouldn't we all be getting our homes reassessed so that we pay less property tax?"
You bet it's time. Since it doesn't look as if there will be an immediate let-up in the price decline, this is a good time to take steps to determine the current value of your real estate, whether it's home or investment property.
Read the rest of the story here...
Do you have your law degree? Whaddaya mean no?!? Well then how are you goning to figure out what those inserts written in TINY TYPE that come with your bills means? Oh yeah...you won't!
Check out this feature story about those Privacy Notices, and why you'd better take the time to at least try to figure out how your credit card company or utility is gonna sell you out!
You have been listening to Ben's weekly broadcasts, haven't you?
 You don't have to have an iPod or a satellite radio to get your Dose of Dover radio fix!
Seriously...turn up the speakers and enjoy Ben like the good ol' days, sans obnoxious commercials, "traffic-and-weather-together" breaks and irritating self-congratulatory promos.
Listen to the best radio that's not on the air by clicking here...
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