PLIWatch.org, an independent provider of payday loan and cash advance news similar to the Times, is seeking interviewees for its newest media feature — podcasts.

Short for Payday Loan Industry Watch, the site is looking for feedback from a broad spectrum of people involved in this controversial business. Its interviews, which will discuss a variety of topics related to the fast cash advance and payday loan industries, are conducted at no cost to those being interviewed.

Anyone involved with the business is invited to inquire about participating, including:

• Lead generation company staff members that serve the payday advance loan industry
• Affiliate marketing company staff members that specialize in relationships with companies offering pay day loans
• Payday loan company owners or designated representatives
• Consumer advocates with a strong position on the industry
• Industry spokespeople and lobbyistsIndividual customers
• Research groups
• Government officials and policymakers dealing with these controversial payday loan online issues on a legislative level

The podcast interviews will ensure that interviewees can speak freely and at length, rather than being restricted to short sound bytes. The site will do everything in its power to accommodate those being interviewed and will conducted them telephone, requiring less than an hour of time.

Editing may be performed to eliminate dead air and verbal stumbles, but all content in the payday cash loan interviews will be left unadulterated. PLIWatch.org will host and maintain the podcast.

Following the introduction of RSS feeds to its website, My Payday Loan is revamping its online presence to increase user-friendliness. Consumers looking to learn about the payday loan business or apply for the advances outright will benefit from new upgrades.

The site's new pages describe the application process, some of the benefits of pay day loans and the importance responsible lending.

“The My Payday Loan website has three key purposes for us as a business. The first is to inform customers so that they can make the right buying decisions when looking at lending products; the second to reassure them that the process is simple and transparent and that they are dealing with a responsible business; and the third is to provide them with a quick and convenient way to apply. Our feeling is that the new look is clearer and easier to navigate than before and that has to be good for the customer," Kerry Thomas, the firm's web manager, said.

The site uses the analogy of payday loans as a "Financial Taxi," taking a consumer on a quick, short-term journey to financial freedom in simpler, quicker fashion than longer-term loan providers offer.

Another important point is the company's approach to responsible lending. It states quite clearly that customers should think about what they can genuinely repay before getting themselves in over their heads with a personal loan.

"One key benefit of a payday loan is that customers can use it to bridge the gap between paydays but can also clear their debt in one simple repayment," Thomas said. "This means that customers borrow and pay for what they need rather than paying for years for a pizza they once bought on their credit card when money was tight!”

EZCorp Inc., a payday loan operator based in Austin, has raised its earnings guidance for the third quarter of fiscal 2006.

The company now expects quarterly earnings of 35 cents to 37 cents per share, compared with previous earnings guidance for the quarter being between 20 cents to 23 cents.

During this time period, the payday loan company realized stronger than expected sales profit - primarily due to higher gold values - and a lower than expected earnings drag from new store openings.

Nationwide, EZCorp opened 25 stores during the third quarter. 100 more openings are planned during this fiscal year, pushing much of the new store earnings drag into the fiscal fourth quarter.

Finally, the business has also raised its earnings guidance for fast cash advance firm will release earnings for its third fiscal quarter in full on July 25.

The debt situation in America isn't pretty. There's little wonder why payday loan use has been on the rise when you consider the following:
- As of April, consumer debt through commercial banks was increasing at an annual rate of 6 percent, according to the Federal Reserve.

- Credit card debt in the United States rose by about 70 percent in the last decade, according to the Center for American Progress.

- Household debt is at a record high (121.2 percent) as a percentage of disposable income.

- Families have cashed out more home equity than ever before, the center reported.

- From 2001 to 2004, the proportion of families carrying a credit card balance rose 1.8 percentage points, to 46.2 percent.

- From 2001 to 2004, the proportion of families that reported that they had saved in the preceding year fell 3 percentage points.

Financial problems continue to escalate. Some may think the use of no faxing payday loans would contribute to these difficulties, but others see them as a way out. 

Jefferies & Co., a full-service investment bank and securities firm which focuses on growing mid-sized companies and their investors, has initiated coverage of First Cash Financial Services, a provider of low-income consumer loans through pawn shops.

Jefferies analyst Daniel T. Fannon, who gave the quick cash loan company his all-important "Buy" rating, expects its earnings to grow at least 20 percent annually for the next two years.

"While a deteriorating economy could create some fluctuations in credit performance, we believe that it could also drive loan growth for pawn and payday services as subprime consumers seek new sources of credit," Fannon said. "Pawn and payday loans are an increasingly important alternative for customers with limited borrowing options."

He noted that First Cash is also the only U.S. pawn lender with operations focusing on Mexico, with 139 locations south of the border. The company is growing its domestic base as well. Fannon set a $23 price target, which is about 19 percent higher than the company's closing price Wednesday.

As military payday loan news and opinions swirl, one important fact remained unknown: just how many service men actually apply for these cash advances? 

That question has now been answered. The Consumer Credit Research Foundation released a study this week showing that fewer than 13% of military enlisted personnel have taken out a payday loan in the last year. Moreover, these individuals are more likely to repay the amount borrowed o on time than their civilian counterparts.

Given the relatively low overall default rate for these payday loans, the claims of some opponents of payday advance lending - that payday loans are a threat to military readiness - appear to be unsupported. Let's take a closer look at the survey results:

• 49% of military enlisted payday loan borrowers report that they have used a payday loan no more than twice in the last year (compared to 16% of the general population of payday borrowers)
• 79% said they had no more than four online cash loans in the last year (compared to 65% of the general population)
• Military enlisted payday loan borrowers choose to incur payday loan credit because of the simplicity and speed of the application process; in 87% of cases, the geographic convenience of the lender was not a factor in their choice
• Military enlisted personnel overwhelmingly (83%, vs. 44% of the general population) consider themselves to be financially secure

While it's still important to educate these heroes as far as military payday loans go, it appears as though the problem may not be as widespread as many tend to believe.

As military payday loans - and their detriments - remain in the news, a conference on the topic has been scheduled. 

It will be held tomorrow at 10 a.m. at The National Press Club's Lisagor Room, 529 14th St. NW, Washington, DC. The man in charge of this payday loan critique? Dr. Charles Cushman a West Point graduate and retired Army officer. He's also the Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University.

Dr. Cushman will lead a discussion on the results of a study sponsored by Consumer Credit Research Foundation to learn more about military awareness, attitudes and usage of short term payday loans.

Reason behind the payday loan conference: In recent months, military pay day loan new has dominated the news. Up until now information about military awareness, attitudes and usage of payday loan lending products has been limited to anecdotal findings.

This is the first systematic examination of how and why members of the armed forces use these products and how they compare to their civilian counterparts. The results provide empirical insights from members of the military into the following:

• Cash loan usage (frequency, usage, etc.)
• Awareness and knowledge of payday loans
• Attitudes about financial well being
• Types of debt and credit options

 
Mark Jacobsohn of Relayer Benefits Group, an insurance and consulting firm, is concerned. When it comes to the nation's debt problems, he points to the 77 million baby boomers who will retire in the next 15 years. They aren't saving enough money for retirement.

While Jacobsohn isn't recommending no faxing payday loans as any solution, he mentions the fact that the nation's savings rate is about what it was during the Great Depression.

"There's a feeling that something will be there to take care of them, such as Social Security or Medicaid," says Jacobsohn. "They don't realize they'll have to spend down their savings in order to qualify."

Jacobsohn, who speaks and presents on financial planning, says there are many ways to save money, including 401Ks, certain types of life insurance and, increasingly, insurance for disability and long-term care. But more and more individuals are turning to the quick fixes of payday loans no faxing.

"People are living much longer and, thanks to medical advances, are surviving things (cancer, heart attacks, strokes), that would have been fatal 10 years ago," says Jacobsohn. "What is life-enhancing for a person, however, can be catastrophic for a retirement plan."

It's an odd problem. Living longer is a good thing. But not planning ahead and, therefore, needing to rely on cash loans? Not as good.

We've covered past editorials that criticize the abundance of military payday loans in the country. The Roanoke Times has now presented us with a similar view. To wit:

I've been pondering the cover story in the June issue of Seapower magazine (pictured) about payday loan victims among military personnel - "particularly those in the lower ranks." And with last week's news fresh in my mind of two young American soldiers– private first classes - abducted and killed, possibly tortured, in Iraq, I am angry.

Low-level service people make up a particularly rich niche for the military payday loan industry, the magazine article informs me: "… They usually have a steady government paycheck with little to spare at an average of $1,200 a month for new recruits. Military families gearing up for deployment face extra expenses at home and abroad and are especially vulnerable to the promise of quick cash from payday lenders."

America's young volunteers are prime targets on any battlefield where the United States chooses to engage its armed forces, a risk the Iraq war makes brutally clear. Moreover, their service makes army personnel prime targets for the predatory fast cash loan industry back home. How shameful.

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A measure that could change the rules governing sales of life insurance policies and other products such as military payday loans to members of the U.S. armed forces won unanimous approval from the Senate Banking Committee.

The Senate military sales bill, S. 418, contains a stronger set of consumer protection provisions than a similar bill passed by the House in June 2005.

It is likely to face prompt Senate floor action, possibly before Congress adjourns for its July 4 recess.

If the bill passes, leaders will have to set up a conference committee to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions.

Supporters of the changes in the military sales rules hope a conference committee will set to work before Congress starts its month-long August recess. S. 418, also known as the Military Personnel Financial Services Protection Act, was introduced by Senators Michael Enzi, a Wyoming Republican, and Hillary Clinton, Democrat of New York State.

Advocates of the bill say it would make reforms that would help regulators on the state level and the U.S. Department of Defense police sales to the personnel on military bases and eliminate unfair and/or deceptive financial services to members of the armed forces.

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