| Brown's most trusted ally 'not ready' to be next Chancellor
As Gordon Brown's most trusted adviser and City Minister, Ed Balls has long been seen as the most obvious candidate to succeed the Chancellor when he moves to Number 10. But the 40-year-old pretender doesn't think he is yet ready to leap into the second most powerful job in government. More here... • Put up or shut up, Blairites are told In an interview in his bright office overlooking St James Park, Balls gives a definitive 'No' when asked if he will taking over the at the Treasury. "I have been a Minister for less than a year," Balls says. Adding rather modestly for the official credited with the authorship of many Brownite policies including the creation of an independent Bank of England: "I still have a lot to learn." Like his boss Balls has a huge capacity for work and is part of the life force which has made the Treasury central to almost every aspect of New Labour's work.
Home-saving scams abounding
WASHINGTON - As risky mortgage loans fuel a rise in foreclosures, scam artists are targeting struggling U.S. homeowners, promising a quick bailout but ultimately stripping the properties of their value or owning the homes outright. So-called "foreclosure rescue" and equity-skimming scams have been around for years, but they've proliferated over the last five years as the U.S. housing boom took off, experts said. The market cool-down hasn't hurt business, either. Tens of thousands of homeowners with shaky credit are reeling after interest on their sub-prime adjustable-rate mortgages increased, requiring higher payments. Many are turning to foreclosures, giving con artists an even larger audience. As the white-hot foreclosure environment and the property-tax season converge, state officials urge cash-strapped property owners - particularly the elderly, immigrants, minorities and low-income - to be wary of mailings, phone calls and visitors offering to help "save your home" and "avoid foreclosure." "These offers of help and money may seem like a godsend, but it is the con artist who ultimately benefits," New Jersey Attorney General Stuart Rabner said.
Wells offering credit card to mortgage customers to help repay loan
Wells Fargo said Wednesday that it's introducing the Wells Fargo Home Rebate Card for the bank's mortgage customers that will help pay down the mortgage faster. Virtually every purchase (minus returns and credits) that customers make with the card counts toward a 1 percent rebate credited to the principal on their Wells Fargo home mortgage. The rebate is applied .
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