Latest news with #debtManagement
Arab News
09-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan kicks off investor roadshow in China for inaugural panda bond
KARACHI: Pakistan has launched a series of investor meetings in Beijing this week as it prepares to issue its first-ever panda bond, the finance ministry said on Wednesday, marking a significant step in the country's strategy to diversify its funding sources through China's onshore capital market. Representatives from the Pakistani ministry of finance are holding the non-deal investor roadshow (NDR) in China from July 7 to 11, 2025. The delegation has engaged in technical discussions with potential investors, underwriters, prospective guarantors, the Chinese Rating Agency, and Chinese legal counsel as part of the pre-marketing process for the debut issuance. The investor meetings focus on Pakistan's macroeconomic outlook, ongoing debt management reforms and the proposed bond's structure. The initiative reflects Pakistan's push to broaden its investor base and strengthen its credibility in international capital markets. A panda bond is a Renminbi-denominated bond issued by a foreign government, multilateral institution, or company in China's onshore bond market, allowing overseas issuers to raise funds from Chinese investors while diversifying their investor base and gaining access to China's deep capital pool. 'The visit reflects the Government's commitment to proactive investor engagement and diversification of funding sources through access to China's onshore capital market,' the finance ministry said in a statement. According to the ministry, the inaugural panda bond is expected to be launched later this year after the completion of documentation and regulatory approvals, including credit guarantees from multilateral development partners. Officials said the roadshow has drawn strong initial interest, signalling investor confidence in Pakistan's reform trajectory. The ministry described the move as a milestone that would help Pakistan tap China's deep and diversified onshore bond market while using local currency instruments backed by multilateral partners. 'The successful NDR so far reflects the Government's commitment to innovative and forward-looking financial diplomacy — and sends a clear message: Pakistan is ready to enter new capital frontiers with confidence and credibility,' the statement added.
CBS News
07-07-2025
- Business
- CBS News
4 clear signs that bankruptcy is your best option now
We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms. If you're unsure of how to tackle your debt, there are signs that filing for bankruptcy is the best move to make. Getty Images Financial stress has a way of sneaking up on you. One day you're managing your bills just fine, and the next you're lying awake and wondering how you'll make next month's debt payments. The current economic climate hasn't made things any easier, either. While inflation has cooled recently, years of elevated inflation have pushed up the cost of everything from groceries to gas, while the high-rate environment is making it more expensive to borrow money. Add in issues like unexpected medical bills, a job loss or a major life change, and suddenly you're staring at debt that feels impossible to maintain. That's when the idea of bankruptcy may come into play. While the word bankruptcy may carry a heavy stigma, the reality is that this type of debt relief is a legal tool designed to give people a fresh start when their debt becomes mathematically impossible to overcome. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people file for bankruptcy protection, and many of them are simply people who found themselves in financial situations beyond their control. How do you know when your debt issues have crossed the line from "things are tight" to "I need serious help," though? After all, it's important to recognize that milestone, as waiting any longer could just be avoiding the inevitable. Luckily, there are a few warning signs that indicate that bankruptcy is now the best option for getting back on solid financial ground. Below, we'll detail four of those worth understanding. Get more help with your overwhelming credit card debt today. 4 clear signs that bankruptcy is your best option now If you're unsure as to whether bankruptcy or another debt relief option may be your best bet, keep an eye out for these warning signs: You're using one debt to pay another When you start using credit cards to pay other bills, taking cash advances to make loan payments or transferring balances between cards just to stay afloat, you've entered dangerous territory. This financial juggling act, colloquially known as robbing Peter to pay Paul, is a clear sign that your debt has become unmanageable and you're borrowing your way into deeper trouble. The math becomes especially brutal when you're paying cash advance fees (which are typically 3% to 5% of the amount), balance transfer fees and higher interest rates on these transactions. You might feel like you're solving problems by moving money around, but you're actually creating a complex web of debt that becomes harder to escape with each transaction. So, if you're regularly shuffling money between accounts to meet basic obligations, taking advantage of what bankruptcy can offer could make sense. Filing for bankruptcy can break this cycle and give you a clean slate to work with real money instead of borrowed funds. Find out how the right debt relief strategy could benefit you now. You're spending more than half your income on essential bills When your mortgage or rent, utilities, groceries, transportation and minimum debt payments consume more than 50% of your income, you're in what financial experts call "survival mode." At this level, there's virtually no room for unexpected expenses, emergency savings or quality of life improvements. You're essentially one car breakdown or minor emergency away from falling behind on everything. This situation is particularly dangerous because it's unsustainable long term. You can't build wealth, invest in your future or even maintain your current lifestyle when essential expenses, like healthcare costs, housing and other necessities, are consuming most of your paycheck. In these cases, bankruptcy can help reset your financial obligations to a manageable level, offering you breathing room to rebuild a sustainable budget. You're weighing the idea of draining your retirement accounts One of the options that people tend to weigh during a financial crisis is raiding their retirement savings to pay off their debt. But retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs are typically protected in bankruptcy, meaning you can eliminate debt while preserving these crucial assets for your future. So, if you're contemplating early retirement withdrawals that will trigger taxes and penalties, filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy might be a far better option. After all, the money you'd lose to taxes and penalties by taking an early retirement withdrawal, combined with the lost growth potential of those funds, often exceeds the cost of filing for bankruptcy. You're facing foreclosure or repossession If you're behind on mortgage payments or car loans and are facing foreclosure or repossession, bankruptcy can provide powerful protection. For example, Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows you to catch up on missed payments over three to five years while keeping your home or vehicle. The automatic stay that takes immediate effect when you file stops foreclosure proceedings and gives you time to reorganize your finances. But even if you ultimately can't save your home, bankruptcy can help you manage the process more favorably. You might be able to negotiate a deed in lieu of foreclosure or ensure that any remaining balance after a foreclosure sale is discharged, preventing the lender from pursuing you for a deficiency judgment. The bottom line Bankruptcy isn't an admission of failure; it's a recognition that sometimes life delivers financial blows that exceed your ability to handle them through conventional means. The bankruptcy system exists for those who need a fresh start to rebuild their lives and contribute to the economy again. So, if you're experiencing multiple warning signs from this list, it's important to consult with a bankruptcy or debt relief expert about the options available to you. Many offer free consultations to help you determine whether bankruptcy or another debt relief strategy makes sense for your specific situation. Just remember that the goal of whatever strategy you choose isn't just to eliminate debt. It's to create a sustainable financial future.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
8 factors that don't affect your credit scores
Consumers are really confused about what goes into their credit scores. As a credit expert and a former NFCC-certified credit counselor, I've heard every myth in the book about how credit scores work. In fact, I've even counseled people who were so convinced by something wrong they'd heard from a friend or saw on TV, that I could not change their minds. So let's set the record straight. There are many financial behaviors that, surprisingly, have no impact on your credit scores. As a general rule of thumb, if it doesn't have to do with debt, it doesn't impact your scores. However, knowing more of the specifics can save you the time and heartbreak that comes from acting on bad information. The main information that impacts your credit scores is your history with managing credit cards, loans, and unpaid bills that turn into debt. Despite what you may have heard, the following information has no impact whatsoever. Most of the information you see in your credit reports is factored into your credit scores, but personal information is an exception. The following personal details are only listed in your reports to help confirm your identity, but not to calculate your scores: Name (including names you've used in the past) Date of birth Social Security number Phone numbers Home addresses Names of your employers Another popular myth about how credit scores are calculated is that your demographic information (such as income level, ethnicity, or age) is included. It's understandable why people believe this, since it's well documented that demographics have a major impact on consumers' finances. If you're struggling financially, for example, you're more likely to miss a debt payment. As a result, you could end up with damaged credit, making it difficult to qualify for loans and credit cards from reputable creditors. However, it's important to know that your credit scores are based solely on the information in your credit reports, and they do not contain demographic information. So while it is accurate to say that demographics impact credit, that data is not used to calculate your scores. The most popular credit myth I've heard is that pulling your own credit reports hurts your credit scores. This myth can be incredibly harmful, since it keeps people from learning what's in their credit reports, making necessary improvements, and even catching early signs of identity theft. The truth is that pulling your own credit reports not only has no impact, but it's also essential for building and maintaining good credit scores. You can pull all three of your credit reports (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) for free at There's a lot of confusion about how your credit scores are impacted when someone checks your credit. If you apply for a loan or credit card, and your credit is pulled to determine if you qualify, your credit can be impacted. These credit pulls show up on your reports as "hard inquiries," and according to FICO, you will usually lose less than five points for each pull. When your credit information is pulled for reasons other than a credit application, the pull shows on your reports as a "soft inquiry" and does not impact your scores. These are some common situations that can cause a soft inquiry: A creditor pulls your information to send you an unsolicited offer You pull your own credit reports Your information is pulled to determine if you qualify for a non-debt product or service (e.g., rental unit, utilities, and insurance) It's natural to assume that all bills impact your credit scores. But the truth is, if it's not debt, paying a bill doesn't impact your scores. Here are some common bill payments that are not reported on your credit reports and have no impact on your scores: Rent Utility bills (including cell phone) Medical bills Subscriptions and memberships Rent-to-own agreements However, these types of bills can impact your credit if you fall behind on the payment and the bill becomes debt. If that debt is turned over to collections, and is reported to the credit bureaus, you will usually see a big drop in your credit scores. If you have problems with managing your bank accounts, such as overdrafts, bounced checks or unpaid banking fees, your credit scores will not be impacted. Problems with bank accounts can, however, hurt you in other ways. Issues with your checking or savings account can appear on your ChexSystems report or your Early Warning Services (EWS) report and make it hard for you to open new bank accounts in the future. Read more: Does closing a bank account hurt your credit score? Applying for new credit cards and loans can hurt your credit scores, since these applications result in hard inquiries to your credit. But if your application is denied, there is no additional damage. In fact, the opposite can be true. If you're approved for a new account, and you decide to open it, your scores can initially drop. That's because new accounts impact several factors that go into your credit score calculations, including your amount of debt owed and your average length of credit history. As a credit counselor, I often spoke to people who believed mistakes they had made decades ago were still hurting their credit. Fortunately, they were incorrect. The truth is that (with the exception of Chapter 7 bankruptcy) all negative information is removed from your credit reports after seven years. That includes missed payments and collection accounts. For Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the information is removed 10 years after the initial filing. The good news is that for any negative item you currently have on your credit report, the repercussions lessen with time. In other words, the older the negative information is, the less it impacts your scores. That's why it's important to add new, on-time debt payments to your credit reports if you want to improve your credit scores. Now that you know what's not included in your credit scores, let's set the record straight about what is included. According to FICO, these are the five categories of information used to calculate your credit scores, and how heavily each category is weighed: Payment history (35%): This refers to whether or not you make credit card and loan payments on time. Being late by 30 days or more can cause your scores to drop by as much as 100 points. Amounts owed (30%): This is how your credit card balances compare to your card limits, and how your loan balances compare to the original loan amounts. The smaller the balance in comparison to the limit, the better, especially when it comes to credit cards. Length of credit history (15%): Your length of history with debt accounts matters. In general, longer is better. If you want a perfect 850 credit score, you likely need accounts at least 30 years old. New credit (10%): Applications for new credit cards and loans have an impact. These appear on your credit reports as hard inquiries for two years, but only impact your scores for one year. Credit mix (10%): Your mix of different types of credit cards and loans plays a role. This category isn't very impactful, so it's not worth applying for a new account just to raise your scores. What's the most common myth when it comes to the five credit score categories? Many people incorrectly believe they need to get their credit card balance just below 30% of the limit in order to maximize their credit scores. But according to FICO, there is no magic number. However, the lower your balance, the better. On top of that, paying off your credit cards each month will help you avoid interest charges, late fees, and damage to your credit scores.
Bloomberg
24-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Colombia Bond Investors Are Ready to Ride Out Gustavo Petro's Final Year in Office
Investors in Colombia's dollar bonds are digging in for the final stretch of Gustavo Petro's presidency, hoping that next year's election will bring relief after years of fiscal and political missteps. The bonds returned more than 1% over the last two weeks, beating a Bloomberg index of emerging market debt, even as Petro suspended a fiscal rule capping government borrowing. The cost to insure the nation's debt against default in the next five years has fallen since.
Zawya
18-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Using personal loans to fund a business: What South Africa entrepreneurs should know?
An increasing number of South Africans are turning to personal loans to fund business ventures, according to Nedbank. While this approach may seem accessible, experts warn it carries significant risks if not backed by a solid financial plan. Wendy Beaumont, executive for unsecured Lending at Nedbank, says personal loans can work for certain entrepreneurs—particularly those with stable incomes and minimal debt—who want to finance early-stage operational needs. However, she cautions that using personal loans for untested business ideas or high-capital ventures could lead to long-term financial strain. 'The ideal scenario is when your current income is stable enough to cover repayments even before your business starts generating profit,' says Beaumont. She notes that individuals already managing debt should be especially cautious. A personal loan adds another monthly obligation, which can affect credit scores and household budgets if the business fails to generate returns. When personal loans make sense Personal loans may be suitable for modest capital requirements—such as buying equipment or covering start-up costs—where the business case is proven, and personal finances are healthy. Beaumont says loans are best used to fund clear, realistic plans rather than high-risk ideas. Alternatives to consider Before applying for a personal loan, aspiring entrepreneurs should explore alternatives such as: - Personal savings - Support from family or friends - Government grants or supplier development programmes - Reinvested business profits These options may reduce the size of the loan required or offer more favourable repayment terms. Borrow with a plan Beaumont advises borrowers to keep personal and business finances separate, understand the total cost of borrowing, and prepare conservative budgets with contingencies. 'Taking a personal loan for a business is not about funding a dream,' she says. 'It's about funding a plan.'
