Personal and Business Loans

Tom Ramstack – AHN News Legal Correspondent
DC, Washington, United States (AHN) – The U.S. Conference of Mayors wrapped up its winter meeting Friday in Washington, D.C., with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel stepping into controversies on same sex marriage and education. Emanuel joined about 80 other mayors from across the nation in endorsing laws to give legal recognition to same sex marriage, along with the tax breaks and other benefits spouses can share. The mayors signed on to a statement that said, “Our cities derive great strength from their diversity and gay and lesbian families are a crucial part. Studies have shown what we know through our hands-on experience that cities that celebrate and cultivate diversity are the places where creativity and ideas thrive.” Emanuel supported the Illinois Legislature’s effort last year to legalize civil unions for [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Kabul, Afghanistan (AHN) – Allied forces suffered a day of heavy losses in Afghanistan Thursday in a helicopter crash that killed six U.S. Marines, and an attack Friday that killed four French service members, raising the possibility of France withdrawing its troops early. The Marines were killed after their CH 53 helicopter crashed in Helmand province, according to military officials. The NATO-lead forces reported no enemy activity in the areas, but the Taliban claimed credit for bringing the copter down. In a separate incident, an Afghan soldier killed four French service members and injured 15 others in eastern Afghanistan, French officials reported. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he was suspending French training operations and combat help as a result. Friday’s latest attack was the latest in a series of attacks on [...] Continue Reading…

AHN Sports Staff
Ottawa, Canada (AHN Sports) – The Ottawa Senators are the hottest team in the NHL right now and are pushing the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins in the Northeast Division. The Senators are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and are looking to add another win Monday night against Winnipeg. The Senators have beaten the Jets twice this season and will be going for their fifth straight win. Ottawa is just a point behind Boston in the Northeast and are featuring a balanced attack with strong offense and good goaltending. Senators goalie Craig Anderson has gone 11-2-2 in his last 15 starts and had a stretch of 129:28 without yielding a goal during a recent three-game road trip. Anderson recorded his first shutout of the season in a 3-0 win [...] Continue Reading…

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Initial unemployment claims went back up again during the week ending Jan. 7 to 399,000 after weeks of dropping, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday. That number is close to the critical 400,000 mark. However, analysts were not concerned about the higher numbers because the increase in claims could just be seasonal, rather than a trend. They say it is common for employers to hire extra help for the holidays and then shed workers in the first few weeks of the year. The less volatile four-week moving average was also up. It increased by 7,750 claims to 381,750 from 374,000 the previous week. Despite the increase, the four-week moving average figures over the past month have been at their lowest levels since 2008. The [...] Continue Reading…

The Media Line Staff
Cairo, Egypt David Rosenberg / The Med – It’s not just Facebook and Twitter that have enjoyed surging on-line activity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in the past year. E-commerce is growing, too, analysts say as more and more people in the Arab world use the Internet and take out credit cards. A report by Euromonitor International, the market research company, estimates that for three key economies in the Arab world-Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt-Internet retail sites pushed past the $1 billion for the first time last year. In a forthcoming study, Euromonitor sees in-line retail sales doubling over the next five years to just over $2 billion. Saudi Arabia will account for more than half of all on-line sales, but the proportion will drop as Egypt [...] Continue Reading…

AHN News Staff
Naypyidaw, Myanmar (AHN) – Myanmar President Thein Sein on Wednesday celebrated the country’s Independence Day and used the occasion to give credit to the former junta and the army for the country’s recent political reforms. Stressing the day’s significance, Sein said it was the “Tatmadaw” military that directed the nation towards building a peaceful, modern and developed democratic one. “The army took step-by-step measures for writing a constitution in order to practice multi-party democracy,” Sein said in a message read by Vice President Sai Mauk Kham. The nominally-civilian president also praised the military for fighting several wars with numerous armed ethnic rebel groups, adding that the army would continue to remain Myanmar’s most essential pillar. “A Tatmadaw of international standard is required for national defense,” he said. The speech was delivered in front of [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Last year was turbulent, trying and tumultuous for global stocks and commodities, And for many investors and traders, 2011 couldn’t end soon enough. In the final trading day of 2011, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 69 points, but managed to eck out a 5.5 percent gain for the year. The closely tracked Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed virtually flat, ending 2011 down 0.43 percent, while the tech heavy NASDAQ said good-bye to 2011 off 1.80 percent. Commodities fared much better. Oil gained 8.15 percent in 2011, and gold was the sole double digit finisher bidding the year adieu with a stellar 10.23 percent gain. The top three performers in the Dow were McDonalds, IBM and Pfizer. Laggards included Bank of [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Washington DC, United States (AHN) – Average fixed mortgage rates in the United States end 2011 near all-time record lows. The 30-year fixed home loan exits the year at 3.95 percent. According to Freddie Mac, the rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage has stayed at or below 4 percent for nine consecutive weeks. It averaged above 5 percent just twice in 2011. For the week ending Dec. 29, the 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 3.95 percent, up from 3.91 percent the prior week, and below 4.86 percent in the same period a year ago. Rates on 15-year fixed mortgages averaged 3.24 percent, up from last week’s 3.21 percent, and below 4.20 percent a year ago. Mortgage rates hit historic lows in 2011, but did little to help the ailing housing [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – It’s the economy that keeps Americans up at night, on edge and worried, revealed a new CNN/ORC International poll released Friday. Some 70 percent said that things are not going well in the United States, with just three out of 10 saying things are okay, putting the state of the economy as the top worry and the most pressing issue heading into the new year. More than half of those surveyed, or 57 percent, said the economy is the most important issue facing the country at present, and half named unemployment as the most important issue facing the economy. The deficit came in a very distant second with 16 percent. Even as the payroll tax extension bill looms, only 7 percent of Americans named [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – New home sales jumped in November from October. But, 2011 is still on track to end the year as the worst year for home sales in history. On Friday, the Commerce Department said new home sales rose 1.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 315,000. The scant rise is less than half the 700,000 new homes that economists say should be sold to sustain a healthy housing market. The number is also below the 323,000 homes sold in 2010, the worst year for sales on records dating back to 1963. While new home sales account for just a fraction of the housing market, they do have a big impact on the economy. According to the National Association of Home Builders, [...] Continue Reading…