The privacy of a massive gay readership might be at stake as a magazine has essentially put a price on their names, home and email addresses. Even personal pictures appearing on an affiliated website are apparently up for grabs.  XY Magazine and a related social networking site, XY.com (which folded in 2009) have listed subscribers and users’ personal information as property up for auction in their debtor’s estate. 

The Federal Trade Commission has even issued a warning to the rag that they could land in serious trouble for printing the names of its users, since they had promised that they would never release personal information.  The bankruptcy sale of personal info is attempting to wedge into the gray area of internet privacy, a hot-button issue since a recent Facebook scandal where Mark Zuckerberg mocked users for giving up their personal information.

XY Magazine may try to revel in the gray area of what can and cannot be released once one surrenders info to the web, but the FTC counters that the privacy statement to both readers and online users is explicit and cannot be broken.  Selling the names of young, vulnerable XY magazine readers is a particularly sensitive issue, harkening back to when patrons involved in “vice raids” of gay bars had their names printed in local papers. 

Bankruptcy propels a massive transference of property. Simon Davies, the head of a human rights campaign group called Privacy International, believes that bankruptcy allows a loophole to undermine privacy agreements: “In the real world, when a firm goes into (bankruptcy) receivership, all bets are off when it comes to protection, because everyone’s scrabbling for something of value.  (Bankruptcy) is yet another hurdle for data protection advocates to jump through.” 

XY Magazine and XY.com’s bankruptcy case is sure to elicit a massive lawsuit, which could potentially set ground rules for online communities going through bankruptcy.  We truly need ground rules--should Facebook ever be sent into bankruptcy, 400 million users would be at risk.

Bankruptcy usually protects the average consumer from damaging financial lawsuits, as well as the repossession of homes and automobiles.  When bankruptcy works against the average consumer illegally, the effectiveness of consumer protection laws come into question.  Find out how personal bankruptcy can protect you from a damaging creditor lawsuit or foreclosure by calling for a free consultation from a skilled attorney.  Call toll-free at 1-800-260-1402 www.legalhelpers.com. 

Cozumel Caribe South America, a Mexican tourist company on the beach that provides tourism to beach front hotels across the country has filed an international Chapter 15 bankruptcy.  The company reports more than $100 million debt liabilities and $10 million in assets.

When a foreign company or entity has U.S. creditors rapping at their door, they have the option to file a bankruptcy from abroad.  This particular bankruptcy, Ancillary and Other Cross Border Bankruptcy, became an added option in 2005, along with several laws added by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act.  Chapter 15 filing often takes place in Manhattan, using the city’s ample outlets to conduct international correspondence; after all, debt collection is hard enough as it is without a language barrier.

In the past year, Mexican tourism has taken a huge blow by a weakened peso, swine flu, and the devastating Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.  To make matters worse, the U.S. Department of State has issued a formal warning in late July to notify tourists that Mexico’s drug-related violence has reached an alarming high.  Their warning acknowledged, “Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major drug trafficking routes”.  The U.S. government knows how hard Mexican tourism is hurting and managed to preserve the safety of resort areas, but their mixed warning is sure to set off alarmist would-be vacationers.  This means that adventure trips by Cozumel Caribe have taken a particular hit.

Mexican tourism has never had it easy.  The prolonged war on drugs, increased reports of tourist kidnappings and violence have made visitors reluctant to take risks on a Mexican vacation surrounded by known dangers.  Despite these unfertile circumstances, resort companies have found a way to cushion Mexico’s bad rap with all-inclusive packages and turn it into a veritable “resort nation”.

Bankruptcy allows everyday consumers to cancel debt, a shield from collection lawsuits, and the ability to prevent a foreclosure against a home.  For assistance filing for bankruptcy, call the team of attorneys at Legal Helpers at 1-800-260-1402 today.

Americans’ credit scores are sinking to new lows, with about 25.5%, 43.4 million people, having scores below 600 in April 2010, according to FICO statistics. Historically, only about 15% of consumers, 25 million people, have had such low scores. The number of consumers in the middle of the spectrum has also dwindled, with only 11.9% having moderate credit scores of between 650 and 699, down from the average of 15%. The bright note in all of this is that the percentage of consumers with high credit scores, 800 and above, has risen, making up just slightly less than 18% overall.

There are three main credit reporting companies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, which use slightly different models of scoring. However, average scores break down as follows: below 600 indicates a high lending risk, 620 is the division between good and bad credit, 640 and above is considered a pretty good score and scores of 690 or 720 are excellent.

In a Chicago Tribune article by Shan Li, director of credit analytics at Moody’s Analytics, Christian de Ritis, states that “Consumers with low credit scores will have a harder time getting credit cards and other loans.”

deRitis continues, saying that high unemployment, 9.5% in June 2010, is the reason for the credit dip, since people who are out of work often cannot make payments on their debts. Many Americans also have high credit balances as compared with the total amount of available credit.

Craig Watts, spokesman for FICO concurs, saying, “’…when a two-income family turns into a one-income family, people have to prioritize which bills to pay, and some bills aren’t paid.’”

Although, as consumers have increasing difficulty obtaining new credit, which slows down the economy, consumers have become more aware of how important it is to lower their personal debt and increase their credit scores. This is becoming more apparent as people have decreased spending while paying down their credit card debt. Although this does negatively impact the economy in the short run, the long term economic effects should prove to be beneficial.

If you have been contemplating filing for personal bankruptcy protection due to overwhelming credit card debt, contact the lawyers at Legal Helpers. We are knowledgeable and experienced in the field of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 personal bankruptcies. Call toll-free 800-260-1402 today for your initial free consultation or log onto www.legalhelpers.com.