Money Talks

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  • Deficit Cutting Will Widen Retirement Gap for Minorities


    From Reuters:

    New research finds an appalling 20 to one chasm in net worth between white and black Americans, and an 18 to one gap between whites and Hispanics. The Pew Research Center found that the net worth gap has widened during the Great Recession, mainly because the housing bust disproportionately cut into the wealth of African-Americans and Hispanics.

    Read more here.

     

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  • Wells Fargo Probed by Feds for Preying on Black Borrowers

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    From Salon.com:

    Staggering findings have emerged about the vast extent to which minority households were worse hit by the housing market crash than white households. Now the Department of Justice is preparing a lawsuit against Wells Fargo, the nation's largest home mortgage lender, for "allegedly preying upon African American borrowers during the housing bubble and steering them into high-cost sub-prime loans."

    Read the full story here.

     

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  • Mariah Carey's Hilarious HSN Appearance

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    The adventures of Mimi aren't all about her life as a wife to actor Nick Cannon and mom to almost three-month-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe. Mariah Carey debuted a new collection of fashion, jewelry, shoes, and fragrances in a two-hour spot on HSN last night, which also showcased the songstress' comic relief.

    Matt Cherette at Gawker highlighted some of Carey's best HSN moments, including a bevy of complaints about the horrible pregnancy she had, carrying the twins for forty-seven weeks, and the "math involved" in keeping up with the cameras on set.

    "I'm kind of proud of myself. I really am -- sorry, pregnant with twins is different than anything!" she said. "[People] were always saying to me, 'Oh, but it's all worth it!' Yeah, but it's easy to say when you're not the one whose feet are this big!" Her many asides kept the focus more on herself than on the products she designed -- glitzy jewelry and handbags, velour sweatsuits, and strappy metallic heels.

    Carey hasn't been seen much in public since she gave birth to twins and we couldn't imagine a more entertaining comeback.

     

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  • The 10 Best and Worst States to Get a Loan

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    From Daily Finance:

    Credit is ever so personal, and ultimately it's your responsibility -- but maybe this time, it's not solely about you. Where you live matters: Your state's creditworthiness can impact you too.

    For that reason, CardRatings.com's recently released rankings of the 10 Best and Worst States for Consumer Credit is worth a look-see.

    Read the full story here.

     

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  • Did Rihanna Pay For Facebook Fans?



    From BET    :

    Rihanna's recent jump to most popular female on Facebook with 41.2 million fans and counting was partly assisted by a viral marketing firm, ViralMS.com. The company revealed to BallerStatus.com that exactly one day before it happened, an unnamed individual bought 100,000 fan "likes" of Rihanna's page for $7,799.

    Read the full story here.

     

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  • Rosa Parks' Estate Drained, Lawyers Say

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    From Detroit Free Press:

    Six years after her death, the memorabilia collection of civil rights icon Rosa Parks -- medals, papers, even the hat she wore on her historic bus ride -- is in the hands of a New York auction house, its ownership in limbo, with a value once pegged at $10 million.

    Her estate, with a cash value of $372,000 at the time of her death, is mostly gone -- eaten up by lawyer's fees.

    Read more here.

     

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  • Magic Johson Gives Millions to Detroit Entrepreneurs

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    From Inc.com:

    File this under "why I still love Magic Johnson." Legendary NBA star for the Lakers and-what's more germaine to this posting-Michigan State alum, Earvin "Magic" Johnson has announced he has joined a tech start-up VC group, Detroit Venture Partners, and will be infusing millions of his own personal dollars into Detroit-based tech start-ups.

    Read the full story here.

     

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  • Oprah's "Million Dollar Neighbourhood" Show In The Works



    First came Oprah's "Million Dollar Wedding," a competition between six couples eager to win a wedding of their dreams. Now, a group of families in Aldergrove, British Columbia are getting their shot at a million bucks in the OWN Network's "Million Dollar Neighbourhood."

    The show, which is being billed as a "social experiment reality series," begins filming in August and will feature a group of families working together to increase their collective net worth by 1 million dollars in just three short months. The families will receive in-depth financial advice, complete a series of investment challenges, and win prizes for their achievements.

    Four Force Entertainment, the production company behind the show, is known for another town-challenge TV show called "Village on a Diet," in which the northern B.C. town of Taylor went on a health regime for a 10-part CBC series.

     

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  • Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Jacket Generates Thousands For Charity

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    From the Huffington Post:

    Milton Verret is giving some Austin children a "thrill."

    The East Texas man has been using a jacket worn by Michael Jackson in the "Thriller" music video to generate thousands of dollars for children's charities.

    Read the full story: The Huffington Post

     

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  • Is A Black CEO Set To Take Over IBM?

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    From Fins:

    Rodney C. Adkins oversees 50,000 employees and is responsible for $18 billion in revenue as senior vice president and group executive for systems and technology at IBM, one of the world's largest and most durable technology companies. Adkins, 52, also is one of the most powerful African-Americans in high tech.

    Read more here.

     

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  • 40 Best Companies for Diversity


    From Black Enterprise:

    Black Enterprise took the conversation about diversity beyond race and procurement spend this year. Here are our top 40 companies, including whether they rate on the Human Rights Campaign's Best Places to Work list with regard to the LGBT community.

    Read more here.

     

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  • Oprah's Ultimate Australian Adventure Fails To Boost Tourism

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    Apparently the "Oprah effect" doesn't transcend U.S. lines. Winfrey's audience went into typical pandemonium when she announced that she'd be footing the bill for a trip to Australia last December, but the resulting TV series, titled Ultimate Australian Adventure, underwhelmed viewers and failed to boost Australia's tourism efforts as planned.

    As we reported previously, it was actually Australian taxpayers who shelled out money to fund Oprah's adventure, some $3 million to be exact, including expenses for 300 of her fans. Updated estimates put the cost closer to $5 million. The return, which was valued at over $300 million in global publicity according to Tourism Australia, didn't quite hit the mark. But just how far off it is has yet to be determined as Tourism Australia chief, Andrew McEvoy told the Sydney Morning Herald, "the full impact will be seen over many years to come."

    Experts have relied on visits by Americans (as well as those by Canadian and British residents) to gauge Oprah's influence, numbers which showed that U.S. visits fell 0.8 percent in the first five months of 2011, compared with the first half of last year. The dip was even more pronounced in Britain and Canada, where Oprah's special also aired.

    Australia's rising dollar is partially to blame, but critics also say that the TV series' narrow focus-showcasing only two "stereotypical" parts of the country-was also a factor.

     

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  • Ex-Inmate Gives Back By Offering Financial Advice to Recently Released Prisoners

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    From The Grio    :

    Just by talking to her, you wouldn't know that Vivian Nixon is an ex convict.

    Confident, articulate, and now pursuing a Master's Degree in Theology, Nixon seems more likely to have spent time in a church worship hall rather than a prison hall.

    But it wasn't always that way.


    Many years ago, she got into legal trouble and wound up with a felony conviction.

    Nixon won't say much about it -- other than to note that she spent three and a half years in prison for a non-violent offense.

    She now runs the College and Community Fellowship in New York, which helps female ex-inmates successfully reintegrate into society by bolstering their educational and economic opportunities. In her present role, Nixon encourages former prisoners not to dwell on their past -- even as Nixon acknowledges her own atypical background.

    Read her 6 Must -Do Financial Moves here.

     

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  • Ja Rule Faces Even More Prison Time

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    Rule number one of musical stardom: pay your taxes. Ja Rule, who's already been off the rap radar while serving a two-year gun-possession bid, was sentenced Monday to another 28 months behind bars for failing to file income tax returns.

    The offense, which took place between 2004 and 2006, is the result of youth and lack of guidance, Ja Rule, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, explained during a court appearance in New Jersey yesterday. "I was a young man who made a lot of money. I didn't know how to deal with these finances, and I didn't have people to guide me," he said.



    Luckily, most of this new sentence could be served at the same time as his weapon-possession stint thanks to a ruling by U.S. Magistrate Patty Shwartz, but Rule will still be expected to pay the $1.1 million in back taxes that he owes the IRS.

    Tax evasion seems to be the Achilles' heel of many celebs, including Wesley Snipes who was sentenced to three years in prison for failing to pay taxes on some $13 million he made between 1999 and 2001; "American Idol" Ruben Studdard, whose failure to pay between 2003 and 2005, the year he won the TV contest, resulted in property liens; and Dionne Warwick whose 11-year default has earned her the title of California's third-biggest tax debt, according to ABC News.

     

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  • Beyonce's Dad Speaks Out on Theft Allegations

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    Mathew KnowlesAs we reported earlier this week, Mathew Knowles, the father and former manager of megastar Beyoncé Knowles, has filed court papers against Live Nation Entertainment over claims he stole funds from this daughter.

    After lots of speculation on the details of the case, Knowles finally responded in an interview with the Associated Press yesterday.

    "We absolutely have not taken any money from Beyoncé, and all dollars will be accounted for," he said. "In no way have we stole money. Again, this about the people who have made these claims - they have to come into the light."

    Knowles said that while he has not specifically addressed these claims with Beyoncé herself, he did tell her that the "the only way [they] will be able to understand this is through a court of law."
    In March, Beyoncé's camp released a statement announcing the split with her father. "He is my father for life and I love my dad dearly," the singer said in a statement. "I am grateful for everything he has taught me."

    On Thursday, Mathew Knowles corroborated the mutual goodwill. "The relationship with Beyoncé is extremely amicable," he said. "I want to make that clear. Where there's concern is the people that she's doing business with, I'm challenging all of these folks on integrity, professional integrity."

    But when later asked he did admit that they hadn't spoken since she let him go.

    After years of watching this family work together to build a music, movie and fashion empire, we hope this issue gets resolved soon and the wounds from this scandal get healed for the Knowles family's sake.

    Neither representatives for Beyoncé nor Roc Nation have commented on Mathew Knowles case or recent statements.

     

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  • Foxy Brown Plans to Sue NYC for $100 Million Dollars



    For now, Foxy Brown 's long-running rap sheet won't get any longer, following the dismissal of charges that she violated her probation in a 2010 incident with a neighbor.

    But the Brooklyn MC, born Inga Marchand, apparently felt violated that prosecutors pressed charges against her after she allegedly mooned her neighbor last July, and is planning on filing a $100 million-dollar lawsuit against the city of New York.

    According to the New York Post, Brown's lawyer, Salvatore Strazzullo, is also filing a claim against the Assistant District Attorney's office for "malicious" treatment of his client. "With school budgets cut, they had the audacity" to file charges, he said to the Post. "Do we want our tax dollars going for this?"

    Luckily for the controversial rapper, her accuser, Arlene Raymond, refused to testify against her resulting in Wednesday's dismissal. Raymond, who has an order of protection against the 32-year-old rapper, was also involved in a 2007 encounter where Brown struck her in the face with a BlackBerry. The altercation sent the rapper to Rikers Island prison for violating a probation order that was in place, stemming from another heated altercation where she beat up two manicurists back in 2004.

    At press time, a rep for the city's Corporation Counsel told the Post that they "have not seen any legal papers" from Brown's team, before adding that the assistant district attorneys have "absolute immunity" from being prosecuted, and that the city would likely move for immediate dismissal.

     

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  • Beyonce's Big Spending Spree

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    Beyonce's from Texas, where everything bigger is better, and it seems like she took that mantra with her all the way across the pond spending big in London. At a couple retailers Beyonce spent 9,000 euro, the equivalent of $14,000 in 90 minutes!

    Her first stop was spending 5,000 euros in Topshop in 50 minutes and then she hit the ritzy store Selfridges and spent 4,000 euro in just 40 minutes. "It was like that shopping scene out of Pretty Woman. Everyone was gobsmacked at the speed she was choosing clothes,"one source told the The Sun.

    And once Beyonce got to the shoe section her shopping picked up even more speed. Just a few weeks ago she gave her sister Solange Knowles 25 pairs of shoes for her birthday.

    But Beyonce's not the only big spender in her family. Last Christmas hubby Jay Z dropped $350,000 on Hermes Birkin bags and other Hermes treats for Beyonce.

     

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  • Something on the Side: How a Side-Hustle Can Help You Survive

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    From The Grio    : "Don't get mad, UPS is hiring"

    What was once a comic line in a lyric from "Flava In Ya Ear", a song from Craig Mack, has become just one of the many revenue streams people are turning to in an attempt to stay afloat in what many are now referring to as "The Great Recession".

    Unlike previous economic downturns, the amount of Americans using a source of government aid to assist them has never been higher. About one in six Americans are now on some form of government-funded anti-poverty program and citizens are still receiving other help, through student loans, Medicaid and unemployment benefits.

    Yet when these government measures are still not enough to break-even on the monthly budget, many citizens have gotten creative. Gone are the days of hunting loan sharks or searching for the nearest pawnbroker to sell your mother's prized necklace. Household incomes nationwide are not only flat, but have declined, especially for African-Americans. So the question is no longer what job do you have, but how many?

    Read More Here.

     

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  • What Will We Really Be Losing in the Ebony/Jet Share Buyout?

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    From The Atlanta Post: The end of an almost 70-year legacy is upon us as the last bastion of black-owned media space known as the Johnson Publishing Company, owner of Ebony and Jet magazines, will now only be partly black-owned.

    Johnson Publishing announced last week that JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s special investments group has acquired a "substantial" minority stake in the company. It is the first time in the company's history that it will not be fully family-owned.

    Find out what that means for the black audience here.

     

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  • Mathew Knowles Fights Theft Claims Against Beyonce

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    As previously reported, multi-platinum singer Beyoncé Knowles ended her management relationship with her father, Mathew Knowles and his Music World Entertainment company earlier this year. At the time both parties stated that their decision to part was "mutual." However, recent reports claim that Beyonce dismissed her father due to stolen money.

    According to Mr. Knowles, who filed court papers against tour promotion company, Live Nation Entertainment, the claim is false.

    TMZ managed to get their hands on the legal documents which outlined how the company allegedly lied on the former Xeox executive in order to helm her 2011 world tour. Knowles claims in the document that Live Nation befriended the international Pop star and told her that he "had stolen money from Beyonce on her most recent tour or otherwise taken funds that [he] was not entitled to." Adding that the 'Single Ladies' singer ordered her law firm to conduct an audit, which in fact proved that Knowles had swindled a lump sum of money for her.

    The documents also claim that following Mathew Knowles' termination Beyonce hired a replacement who previously worked as an executive at Live Nation.

    Knowles is reportedly seeking the right to take depositions of various people at Live Nation, to determine just how they concluded he was a thief.

    Shortly after she ended her professional relationship with her father, Beyonce released a statement stating that she is; "grateful for everything he has taught me. I grew up watching both he and my mother manage and own their own businesses. They were hardworking, and I will continue to follow in their footsteps."



     

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