On the week of this writing I attended a funeral for a distant relative. He was 22 years old. Both he and his 20-year-old girlfriend were victims of a violent death. The two of them had a 5-year-old son together.

I sympathize with the families for their loss. My heart goes out to the little boy. Can you imagine attending the funeral of your mother at 11 a.m. then returning to the same funeral home on the same day to attend the funeral of your father at 2 p.m.?

Sales seminar

MARCH 31—The Duquesne University Small Business Development Center will host “Break the Rules and Close More Deals” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at the university’s Rockwell Hall, Room 108, 600 Forbes Ave., Uptown. This is the first of three sessions in the Sales Series, Peak Performance Management will teach individuals about superior selling. Attendees will learn how to deal with lost opportunities, slipping margins, complacency and market share, among other topics. Registration is required and the cost is $45. Call 412-396-6233 or visit www.duq.edu/sbdc.

by Charlene Crowell

(NNPA)—At a time when many Americans are wondering how or when their household finances will improve, debt settlement, an emerging form of consumer debt-related services, is actually in a growth mode. And once again, communities of color are being preyed upon.

On urban radio stations across the country, commercials seek consumers who are “at least $10,000 in debt.” The pitch is that help is available to negotiate individual debts to a fraction of the amount owed.  What the commercials do not advise is that most debt settlement companies charge large up-front fees to establish an account and then assess customers monthly fees as well. These fees are either held by the debt settlement company or by an account controlled by the settlement company.

WASHINGTON (AP)—The U.S. needs major changes to its financial system so consumers are better protected, banks fortified and the economy safeguarded from sliding into another Depression, President Barack Obama said Saturday.

President Barack Obama at the Patriot Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., March 19.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama told Congress to act quickly and pass “common sense rules that will our allow markets to function fairly and freely while reining in the worst practices of the financial industry.”