More than a third of the UK population is 30 days away or fewer from financial crisis, according to new research from Prudential.

The life and pensions provider conducted a study into British employment and financial planning, and found that an alarming number of working residents admit to having little or no savings. Sufficiently covering expenses, should they stop working, is very unlikely for many British citizens.

This means that they are effectively living from payday to monthly payday with little to no buffer. Is a surge in payday loans far off?

One in 10 working adults, equivalent to 2.9 million people, said they were concerned about their financial future, fearing their jobs were in imminent danger. Job insecurity is increasingly becoming a worry for the population as unemployment levels are at four-year highs.

"No-one likes to think that they could get a severe illness or lose their job, but what if the unthinkable happened? Without any savings or protection, many people put themselves in a vulnerable position," said Angus Maciver, Business Director of Insurance at Prudential UK.

In fact, 30 percent of respondents said that they had no insurance to cover job loss or redundancy. Only 1 in 10 said that they could cover periods without employment. That makes British citizens prime target for online payday loan solicitations in the event that they come up short on cash at a critical period.

The problems of rising consumer debt have been well reported, and this could be one reason for the widening savings gap. Many banks highlight a rise in personal bankruptcy in their results as customers struggle to meet repayments on credit card and personal loans.

The findings come weeks after Prudential released the results of its six-monthly Retirement Index, which discovered one in four pensioners, more than 2.7 million people, did not have sufficient income to cover all of their financial commitments. Working Britons must take adequate steps to ensure their future.

"We urge people to contact a financial adviser to plan their finances, in order to achieve their everyday financial aspirations," Maciver said.

Prudential believes the answer lies in overall financial awareness, but also in life insurance products, such as its Flexible Protection Plan. Customers can use the plan to help to cover mortgages and provide general financial support in the event of illness or death.

For at least a few days, Knoxville's Robert Isakson didn't care about controversy of payday loans in Tennessee.

The owner of Always Payday Cash Advance turned what started out as an online hobby into $47,006 in poker winnings this weekend. Isakson finished 160th out of 8,773 competing in the World Series of Poker Tournament at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas.

"I'm looking forward to going back out there and trying it again next year,'' said Isakson, who won his entry fee and hotel stay through an online poker Web site. "On any hand luck can be involved, but over the long run, skill outweighs luck.''

Perhaps dealing with numbers and percentages via the instant payday loan business also paid off.

Isakson said he's been playing online for three years, but about 18 months ago decided to get more serious and better at the game.

"I read books and got into some online poker discussion groups,'' he said. "I decided I wanted to do more than be entertained.''

By earning more than $50,000 over the two weeks he was in Las Vegas playing - Isakson also placed 148th out of 2,803 to earn $4,591 in another poker tournament - he has certainly done that.

We doubt he'll need a faxless payday loan any time soon!

Only recently, pawn shops and instant payday loan operations were considered shady operations in Quebec. But now these establishments are gaining respectability as legitimate retailers and money lenders.

"The industry is being transformed," says Robert Tessier, head of Canada's largest chain of pawn shops - Comptant.com - established in Quebec five years ago through mergers and reorganization of existing shops.

With 24 outlets and more than 100 employees, Tessier said "lots of small independents are gone now, and they were the ones more at risk of getting stolen goods. My guys are salaried, so they have no interest in fencing stolen goods."

While payday loans are still debated in Canada, the pawning business has become so viable that some hock shops are actually publicly traded now. Fourteen years ago, Cash Canada Group Ltd. of Alberta became the country's first company to trade on the stock exchange while specializing in the acquisition and operation of pawn shops.

"Within the next year, we are mandated to open new stores across Canada," company official David Frederiksen said from head office in Edmonton. "Cash Canada's objective was and is to consolidate this industry and integrate a modern corporate structure that is committed to a clean, bright environment providing excellent service and products to our customers."

Going public was something long overdue for the industry, says Mary Jackson of Texas-based Cash America International Inc., which first sold five million common shares in 1987. The payday loan company, which started out as one pawn shop in Irving, Texas., 23 years ago, now owns and operates nearly 470 outlets in 22 states.

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It seemed like Angela and Edward Johnson’s dream of owning their own home would only remain just that. A dream.

When the child care professional and retired mechanic went house-hunting with a real estate broker, he took one look at their poor credit and flatly predicted they’d never be approved for a home loan. He even suggested the Johnsons find someone else to apply for one on their behalf.

So when the Johnson’s finally moved into their new Suitland, Md., home just outside Washington, D.C. in May, Angela Johnson was downright giddy when they ran into the broker.

“I saw him. And you know I was so proud to tell him, ‘You know we bought a house and let me tell you what the interest rate is,’” she said.

She’s got a reason to beam with pride. The Johnsons beat the odds that are statistically stacked against low-income African-Americans, the Baltimore Times reports.

Research from the Brookings Institution shows that on average, lower income homeowners (defined as those making $30,000 or less) pay interest rates as high as nearly 7 percent, meanwhile people with incomes of $120,000 or more paid a rate of 5.5 percent. The Johnsons were able to secure 4 percent.

So how did they do it, and why haven't others?

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As Pennsylvania Banking Secretary, William Schenck, resigns, the Centre Times Daily thanks the appointee for two and a half years of hard work. The followig paraphrased editorial especially focuses on his efforts to curtail the instant payday loan industry …

Under Schenck's leadership, the state Banking Department went from "boring" (his words) to crusading, going after predatory loans and no fax payday loan lenders, and looking hard at the troubling foreclosure rates around the state.

The timing couldn't have been better: As the financial marketplace - especially companies that provide alternatives to established banks - has exploded, too many slimy operators have emerged who target those who need help most and who can least afford to get ripped off.

Although we disagreed with some of Schenck's strategies, we nonethleless are grateful for his tenure, particularly for elevating the consumer focus. We urge Governor Rendell to find someone who will continue to strenghten this mission. We will all be richer for [curbing payday cash advances in the state].

Cash Now Corporation, one of the largest instant payday loan players in the nation, announced plans to launch a specific check cashing software, for the casino industry, on August 28.

The payday loan company had successfully implemented and monitored the performance of its 1st BETA Casino check cashing software which it deployed in June of 2005.

Such software was deployed in a Northwestern USA Casino offering a resort type year-round gaming and resort paradise. The casino, with its non-stop gaming action, adds round-the-clock fun for every grownup visiting the establishment and has pushed the Cash Now retail capabilities to new heights.

Kevin Price, the Cash Now CEO, sees a huge growth and demand for the product, which should open up another vertical market for the Cash Now revenue stream aside from typical faxless payday loans.

"To the best of our knowledge and research, we are the only company that has successfully developed and deployed this industry specific solution. For the customer it represents convenience and for our client it means immediate conversion.

The company sees this solution as a is a win win situation for both the consumers and the Cash Now client."

In Oregon, a state law restriction the use of payday loans will take effect next year. But for some in Keizer, that wasn't good enough. They pushed for payday loan reform in the city now!

They didn't get it, however.

Town leaders have decided that a state law restricting cash loans is enough for their city, even though it won't go into effect until next summer.

The City Council voted 5-2 Monday against further discussion of a separate law with an earlier time frame, said Keizer City Councilor Charles Lee, who proposed the ordinance.

"I'm disappointed that we won't give citizens a chance to look at this in more depth," Lee said.

Similar ordinances are in effect in Bend, Oregon City, Silverton, Troutdale, Gresham and Portland.

"The (state) law is one of the most restrictive in the country," said councilor Troy Nichols, who voted against considering an ordinance for Keizer. "We only have three (instant payday loan lenders) in Keizer that offer those types of loans."

Therfore, the board didn't consider it worth its time to enact regulations for the local cash advance industry. Councilor Richard Walsh was the only other city councilor to vote in favor of taking a closer look.

"I think there's an issue there," he said. "Whether we needed to do more than what the Legislature has already done, I don't know, but I was in favor of looking into it."

In the end, despite growing concern over low fee payday loans in the area, it was decided to simply wait a year until all of Oregon was covered by new laws.

"To waste staff time to deal with this when an ordinance doing the same thing will go into effect in a few months is a tremendous waste of time," Nichols said.

At least one city in South Carolina has gone from trying to regulate payday loans to actually doing something about the cash advance issue.

Yesterday, the Greenville City Council barred pawnshops and day-labor businesses from locating near residential areas and restricted where short-term loan companies can operate.

The unanimous vote ended weeks of disagreement between some city residents who have described such firms as neighborhood "leeches" and officials from title loan, cash advance and instant payday loan companies who say they can't all be lumped in the same group.

Some residents, according to The Greenville News, said Monday night the measure doesn't go far enough, while attorneys and officials from payday advance companies defended their clients and said the city action amounts to "industry exclusion."

The payday loan battle certainly isn't over.

The City Council solved the problem of definitions by conditionally allowing some lending businesses in areas zoned for general commercial use as long as they keep 3,000 feet apart and are located in a grocery store or a shopping center of at least 30,000 square feet.

A report and a map from city staffers showed the space requirement would essentially limit new check-cashing companies, payday loanclenders and title loan firms to Haywood Road and parts of Laurens Road.

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As the battle over payday loans intensifies, an alliance of 70 consumer and veterans groups is supporting a congressional amendment to protect military personnel and their families from potential such predatory cash advances.

Based on an article in The Kansas City Star, the groups say the proposal by Sen. Jim Talent, a Missouri Republican, and Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, will guard military personnel against the military payday loans that can ensnare their families in piles of debt, while creating financial stress and reducing military readiness.

The amendment would cap interest rates on payday loans to military personnel at 36 percent a year. Some states, including Kansas, already place a similar cap on small, short-term cash loans. Even though consumer groups and veterans say payday advance lenders focus on young, low-paid and often financially naive service members by clustering around military bases, this isn't an easy issue.

It's become entangled in election year politics and controversy that hamper a solid first step toward reining in the growth of abusive personal loans.

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The nation's biggest payday lender, Advance America, will begin selling prepaid debit cards within the next few months, according to the chain's president, Ken Compton.

Based in Spartanburg, S.C., the company hopes to offer the prepaid debit card at 200 store locations by the end of September, and at as many as 2,000 stores by the end of the calendar year.

Critics of the company and the payday cash loan industry as a whole said the card is just another way to prey on consumers. Packaging high interest loans in the form of a debit card, rather than a post-dated check, the company can skirt laws recently enacted to limit exorbitant interest.

Advance American has been shut down or limited in many states, and is searching for new legal ways to make its payday loans, The Spartanburg Herald-Journal reports.

The company recently released its earnings for the second fiscal quarter, and while revenue increased overall, it took a hit in many of its big markets. Payday loans were banned in North Carolina altogether, and recent regulations in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Indiana have adversely impacted earnings.

With interest rate caps affecting the profitability of its loans, Advance America is reeling from declining stock price and looking to repackage its products to regain traction. It is sure to meet serious opposition from some consumer groups if it proceeds.