The selection of Salazar is expected to be popular among environmental advocates but, as with Obamas earlier Cabinet choices, would set off a political scramble: Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) would appoint a replacement to complete Salazars term through 2010, when a potentially tough fight would follow. And the move would put a freshman, Rep. Mark Udall, who won the other Senate seat last month, in position as the states senior senator. Salazars brother, John, serves in the House and could be among those considered for the appointment to succeed him in the Senate.
Ken Salazar, who has pitched himself as a moderate throughout his political career, was elected to the Senate in 2004 after serving six years as Colorados attorney general. His departure for the Cabinet would leave only two Hispanics in the Senate, one of whom, Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), is retiring at the end of the next Congress.

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We took out a large loan, at the time took out a payment protection insurance. We were just told that it would cover us if we were ill; or out of work.. We have just applied to cancel this insurance,as we found out it only covered us for the first five years of the loan thought it would lower the monthly premium. The bank will let us cancel it but when i asked if that would lower the monthly amount,by the £68 that we pay for the insurance per month we were told oh no it wont lower your payments it just means you wont have the insurance.. When i questioned this; the person couldnt answer my query..
Surely this is a scam.. ANY IDEAS ??? SURELY THEY CANT DO THIS

You need to contact the company providing the payment protection for the refund. They were paid in full by whomever lent you the money, so they would be the ones to refund the money (most likely with a penalty).
When you took out your loan the bank paid the payment protection the full amount of the premium for the life of the loan. Thats why it wont reduce your monthly payment. But if you get a refund from the payment protection company youll have the money and you can use that money to help pay off the monthly balance.
There are so many people who dont contact payment protection, credit life and credit disability insurers when they pay off their cars early, or if the cars gets traded in or totaled. So many people miss the opportunity to get a refund on the unused premiums. And the banks dont tell you what do do because the front line operators often dont know you can do this.
Best of luck.

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A short overview of what happened in other parts of the world while you were in bed. TTAC provides round-the-clock coverage of everything that has wheels. Or has its wheels coming off.
D2.8 may get unexpected break - strength from weakness: The money-losing automakers made at least some money in some foreign markets. However, the recent strength of the greenback wasnt in their favor. In July, a profit of one Euro translated into a $1.6. But what counts is when the books are closed, and that usually happens at year end. The recent strength of the dollar made foreign profits look less juicy. In October, that one Euro profit was worth only $1.23 - ever since, the Euro bounced around in the $1.25 to $1.29 range, which worried CFOs with foreign profits to no end. In the last few days, a miracle happed: The dollar got weaker. In the last few days, the Euro shot up into the $1.40 range, and it may even climb some more. With a little luck, and some end of year central bank machinations, a profit of one Euro could translate into a $1.50 by years end. Which will look quite good in the books. The bad news: If you have foreign losses, it will have just the opposite effect.
Nissan cuts output: Nissan wanted to make 1.38m units worldwide in their 2008 fiscal year, which ends in March 2009. That plan is no more: Nissan will end the year with 230,000 units less, a reduction of approximately 17 percent, the Nikkei (sub) reports today. Nissan will also eliminate all nonpermanent positions by March, becoming the first major Japanese automaker to ever do so. Starting in January, assembly work will be suspended for several days a month at two factories in Japan. Production speeds will be slowed. By March, all temporary workers will be gone. Any further layoffs, and the (in Japan) sacrosanct permanent workforce will be affected.

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Interest rates have been fluctuating since the last 6 years, so much so that
the consumer is not sure of the future. In March 2000, the interest rates on
home loans were about 14%; which started falling quite steeply. By the last
quarter of 2003, the interest rate (floating) on home loans fell to 7%. Again
the loan interest waves have splashed to a high of around 10.00% (floating
rate of interest) in January 2007. This hike is dramatic; considering that it
is a jump of 3.50% since the historic low of 7% reached in 2003.
home loan: what you need to know?This uncertainty makes the question a
million dollar one. What should a home loan consumer do? Should he go in for a floating rate home loan? This could mean a home loan at a cheaper rate with
an inherent risk of being hit by a huge increase in interest rates in the
future. Or, should the consumer seek the safety of a fixed rate home loan.
This effectively means that he could be paying a huge premium today?
While the interest rates are a deciding factor in taking a home loan, we must
remember that this is not a one-time decision. Be a vigilant consumer even if
you have opted for a fixed rate if interest. As a matter of practice, assess
how the markets have moved in a six-month period and consider the costs and benefits of changing your decision. A well informed consumer makes better choices. So, let's try and get to the nuances of the interest rates options.
A true-blue 'fixed' interest rate is one which remains fixed during the
entire tenure of the loan. It should be such that the bank does not have the
power to change the rate under any circumstances. Very few banks offer
actual true-blue fixed interest rates. Unlike the 'fixed' interest rates on
the home loans; floating rates will be changed by the bank. As a consumer, it
makes sense to opt for 'transparent floating' interests on home loans. This
essentially means that the interest rates should move downward when general interest rates register a fall and move up when the general interest rates move up. To check whether the bank offers a 'transparent floating interest rate on home loans; request for its record of benchmark rates in 2002 and 2003. This data will help you gauge whether the bank has actually passed on the benefit of reduced rates to its existing consumers at the time when the lending rates had fallen rather dramatically. A strongly recommends the option of 'transparent floating interest rates on home loans. Our choice is based on certain criterion: These loans are at least 2% cheaper than a comparative tenure fixed rate home loan There is safety in numbers. Over 90% of the home loan consumers opt for floating rate loans. This is a potent and large community which the politicians can ill afford to ignore (witness the imbroglio when the PSU banks tried to raise their home loan rates) and hence a dramatic increase in rates in a short time is very unlikely If you go in for a transparent floating rate home loan, you also get the benefit of reducing interest rates as (not if) and when the interest rate cycle turns and commences on its downward journey. Even if the interest rates rise, in the interim as long as they do not rise above the 1.00% differential; you are still a net gainer. A advises you to go in for a transparent floating rate loan unless, you want to play it completely safe and are willing to pay the premium (in terms of high interest rates) for such safety. In any case, signing a fixed rate loan; that is not a real fixed rate loan-makes no sense whatsoever. So, float; but with transparent rates.

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