Friday, August 21, 2009

Dr Boyce Money – the latest on AOL – 8/21/09

KELIS WANTS ALL DA MONEY

kelis and nas

just learned that R&B singer Kelis is claiming that she’s having a hard time making ends meet.
Remember how last month a judge ordered Nas to pay Kelis 55 thousand dollars a month in child and spousal support? Well apparently that’s not enough.
Because in a new court filing,  We learned that Kelis is asking to have her support INCREASED … to 72,000 a month ... plus another 18,000 a month in child support!!!
here's the list of things that Kelis is asking for:

--child support totaling $17,225 a month
-- spousal support totaling $72,728
-- retroactive child support totaling $29,522
-- retroactive spousal support totaling $281,571

Thursday, August 20, 2009

DADDY’S GIRL IS MAKING HER OWN MONEY

vanessabrides

Dressed in a chic American Apparel jumpsuit, Christian Dior pumps and an endless array of gold jewels, Vanessa Simmons' face glistens like the charms wrapped around her neck. Although the mini mogul celebrated her 26th birthday at the plush Su Casa in New York City, it's evident that she has more to celebrate than getting another year older.
The second season of 'Daddy's Girls'

will reveal the same glowing Vanessa as viewers get a first glimpse inside her and sister Angela's delicious empire known as Pastry, only to witness the evolution of their brain child as it expands to Macy's.
Viewers will also get the opportunity to watch the Simmons' sisters as they moRev. Runve into their new plush Hollywood home. But what viewers may find most intoxicating is "reserved" Vanessa's budding romance now made public.
In a candid interview, Vanessa revealed to BV Newswire details about her romance, the challenges of being a young entrepreneur, friendships lost and the inner strength she's found as a woman.

read more click here

Is our Economy Turning Around?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

The economic downturn has hurt us all. Black unemployment has been nearly 70% higher than that for white Americans, and the blow is even greater for people of color, since there is less black wealth to fall back on during tough financial times. We must remember, however, that the global recession has literally led to starvation around the world, as there were many citizens who could barely buy food even during the good times.

The IMF's chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, says the global recession had "left deep scars, which will affect both supply and demand for many years to come." Blanchard also makes the additional point that economic models used to understand past recessions cannot be used to understand this one. When attempting to understand the cyclical nature of African American wealth, the models are even sketchier than they are for the rest of the world.

If you want to understand what happened to our economy, imagine you have a friend who appears to have the flu. The standard flu recovery time is going to be just a few days, so you expect to see them back at it within a week. They then go to the doctor, and it turns out that they have a sinus infection, extending the recovery period at least another week. But instead of coming back to work in 1 - 2 weeks, they are sick for an entire month. Well, this warrants another trip to the doctor, where you find out that the person actually has HIV. This changes the entire treatment strategy, since the short-term problems were nothing more than symptomatic triggers of serious long-term health issues. What's worse is that with or without serious intervention, the patient may never be completely healthy again.

Click to read.

News and Money: 4 Lies that Can get you fired

Lisa F. shares his pain, but from a managerial perspective. “I know when a woman lies about being sick, just by looking at her hands and toes.” For the senior level new media executive, the giveaway is newly polished nails. “You cannot imagine how many women come in after a sick day with a fresh manicure or pedicure,” she observes.

Every day individuals fib, lie and embellish their way through the work day, not realizing that there are repercussions. The consequences may not always be as severe as termination, but it can be a reduction in bonus, a permanent mark on your record or a poor score on your yearly review, not to mention the damage done to your reputation among fellow colleagues.  What follows are 4 frequent fibs that every single should avoid in the workplace. 
Pulling the Healthy Sick Card

If you call in sick when you’re feeling perfectly fine you better be smart about it. Taking off one too many hangover Fridays, or regularly turning the day before calendared holiday 3 day weekends into your personal 4 day long weekends, will no doubt cause suspicious minds.  So come clean to your supervisor and ask that these  be reported as vacation days, or try to schedule your healthy sick days on less conspicuous days during the week.

Click to read.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Dr Boyce: Love, Money and Merging Your Assets

Some people think that money and sex have nothing in common. Actually, they have everything in common. The act of merging your assets with another person's can be an exhilirating process leading to the high of a lifetime, or it can be a devastating and emotionally crippling experience.

In a series of articles, I plan to lay out some examples that explain what sex and money have in common. Follow along, so that you can avoid the mistakes that are made by milions of people every single year.

Sex and Money Comparison Number 1: You could actually get the job done by yourself if you wanted to

No one says that you have to merge your money or your body with another person's. There is a word we use to describe when someone takes care of his/her own physical needs, and I am not going to say it here. If you are not sure what the word is, then ask your mother, your boyfriend or your priest.

Just as you can take care of your physical needs yourself, the same is true of your financial needs. There's an old saying "I can be broke all by myself." Thus, the choice to merge finances with another human being is not a choice we have to make. Merging assets with another person is also not a decision that should be taken lightly. It's a decision you make only if you see potential benefits from the interaction.

Click to read more.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Wells Fargo Accused of Predatory Lending….Again

Wells Fargo was recently hit with another discrimination suit in the state of Illinois.This is the second high profile lawsuit alleging that the company has engaged in predatory lending in black and Latino neighborhoods. The suit was filed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and presents evidence that black and Latino customers were being guided toward higher cost loans even when they qualified for lower cost loans.

Obviously, these lawsuits are not good PR for a company that is one of the primary sponsors for Tavis Smiley's yearly State of the Black Union event.

"I'm talking of the worst of the worst bad loans that were sold in the run-up to the collapse of the housing market," the attorney general said in a press conference about the suit.

The attorney general should be commended for taking on this lawsuit. Just a few months ago, Wells Fargo was accused of engaging in similar practices in black neighborhoods in the city of Baltimore. Christopher Chestnut, a prominent attorney in the state of Florida who pursues racial bias cases, stated that, "The factual allegations plead in both Illinois and Maryland courts indicate a trend of predatory inequity in lending by Wells Fargo. The alleged behavior is alarming, depressing and unnecessary."

Click to read.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Black Love: What Tiny and Toya Teach the Rest of America

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University

OK, was I confused when I found out that Tiny and Toya (TI's "baby mama" and Lil Wayne's ex-wife, respectively) were being given a reality show on BET? Yeah, I was a little surprised. If only I could find a way to become a high profile baby mama -- that seems to be the way to go. With my being a man, I guess that might be difficult to accomplish. All jokes aside, I watched this show with tremendous curiosity, as I think we can all learn from observing the thought patterns of those who live behind the scenes of our favorite celebs. Part of me feels sorry for both of these women, who seem to be desperately fighting their way out of the massive shadows being cast by the powerful men in their lives. Even the daughters of TI and Lil Weezy are trying to get their own reality show. Maybe they too are feeling the weight of their daddies' collective fame. Why don't we just give a reality show to the family dog? Now that would be hot!

Click to read.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Dr Boyce explains the meaning of “consumer confidence”

Beyonce has a song about how she loves men with "big egos." This might imply that she likes men with confidence. Confidence matters a great deal in terms of male/female attraction, but believe it or not, it actually impacts our economy. Every month, the University of Michigan measures consumer confidence, to determine if Americans are willing to spend money and how they feel about their current and future economic security.

But you might ask, "Why would I care about confidence, since it's only psychological and imaginary?" Good question. Actually, confidence is a psychological phenomenon which leads to very real impacts on our choices and behavior. A confident man who asks out every girl he meets will probably have more mating opportunities than a good looking guy who doesn't open his mouth. A confident consumer is someone who feels good about his/her economic situation and therefore decides to spend money, which is always good for the economy. Confident companies make investments and hire new employees, but insecure companies put projects on hold and don't hire anyone. Confident banks make loans, but nervous banks hold onto their capital, thus slowing down economic growth for the nation.

Click to read.