Careers, Finance and Investing : Money-zine.com

When businesses and individuals are failing to meet their financial obligations, they have the ability to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection - although it is more common for individuals to file a Chapter 13 case.  Unlike Chapter 7 cases that involve the liquidation of assets, in a Chapter 11 case the business remains in control of its operation while a court oversees the operation of that business.

The price of high quality bonds is directly related to interest rates.  Investors that are looking to expand their portfolio of stocks to include bonds need to understand the relationship between bond prices and interest rates.

Businesses that are no longer interested in continuing to operate, or individuals that do not have enough income to repay their debt, can seek protection from creditors by filing a Chapter 7 petition in bankruptcy court.  But filing for Chapter 7 comes at a great cost.  It requires the debtor to sell off all their assets and can damage credit ratings.

As investors in bonds, we have a large choice of issues to choose from in the market.  One of those options includes high yield debt, more commonly referred to as junk bonds.  But as we'll see, the greater returns of these bonds are a direct result of their greater risk of default.

Also known as individual debt adjustment, Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows individuals with a source of regular income to build a plan that allows them to repay some, or all, of their debts.  Under this bankruptcy chapter, repayment to creditors occurs over the course of three to five years.

Each year, the IRS announces how much money is available to individuals via unclaimed tax refunds.  The most common cause of a refund going unclaimed is failure to file a tax return.  But there are also undeliverable refunds due to bad mailing addresses and other credits that remain unclaimed.

If a cash advance is needed to cover short-term expenses, then borrowers have the option of taking out a payday loan.  As the name implies, this type of loan is paid back when the borrower receives his or her next paycheck.