When the House Commerce Committee held its public hearings on a bill that would cap high-interest loans made by short-term lenders like payday loan companies, Chairwoman Tara Reardon’s seat was empty. Reardon, whose father-in-law, Richard Bouley, was there quietly lobbying…
The state House of Representatives will not be able to debate a bill imposing an interest rate cap on short-term loans this session, thanks to a March 20 vote in the House Commerce Committee. The committee voted to retain the…
As this column has noted many times in the past, the 424 people in the Legislature are activists or they would not run. If each of them has one “good idea” that he or she wants to advance, there will…
‘Stop loss’ abuses those who serve To the editor: I think that it is about time that we as Americans who have served and/or who have children in the military speak out as to the way the military thinks that…
Most employers are familiar with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act’s requirement that an “eligible employee” is entitled to up to 12 weeks of leave per year if the leave is taken for a qualifying reason. But just who…
E-business constitutes over $2 trillion in annual sales for our economy, and two-thirds of American households now contain a computer with Internet access. So it is no surprise that businesses try to get a competitive edge with their Web sites. Sometimes…
With the advent of so many mobile application architectures, such as laptops, notebooks, hand-held devices, and numerous other mobile and wireless operating systems, it’s no longer just about getting the job done well, but also about how quickly and efficiently…
While delinquency rates on residential mortgages in New Hampshire rose during the fourth quarter of 2006, they remained below the national average and were the third-lowest in New England, according to the most recent National Delinquency Survey of the Mortgage…
In the subprime mortgage market, lenders have been extending loans to consumers without focusing on their credit history or credit record, and in many cases not requiring a down payment and now this is resulting in an extreme rise in…
A trip to any supermarket will reveal just how much organic products have become a part of our lives. In fact, according to the Organic Trade Association, the leading organic industry group, the U.S. organic industry grew by 17 percent,…
