Air Jamaica and Caribbean Airlines are sharing the jubilee spirit with customers by announcing special offers in celebration of Jamaica's 50th anniversary of independence.

"In celebration of Jamaica 50th Anniversary and in recognition of the continuous support over the years of our valuable customers, Air Jamaica and Caribbean Airlines offer a "Jamaica 50 Special Anniversary Fare" from as low as US$50 plus taxes and applicable fees one way," said Caribbean Airlines General Manager Clive Forbes.

Every day until the end of August, 50 seats will be offered at this special anniversary fare for passengers travelling to and from Jamaica and Fort Lauderdale from September 10, 2012 to November 16, 2012.

This special offer is for a limited time only and tickets must be purchased between August 6, 2012 and August 31, 2012.

Are you struggling with your mortgage payments? Have you been turned down for a mortgage loan modification? You're not alone. Recent polling shows that 22 percent of homeowners in the U.S. have difficulties paying their mortgage payments on time.

Miami-Dade Commissioner Jean Monestime has partnered with Vision to Victory Human Services Corporation (VVHSC) to provide much needed mortgage assistance at the upcoming Homeownership Community Event, on Saturday, June 16, at the VVHSC offices in Miami, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This free event allows homeowners to meet one-on-one with their mortgage company and a certified (Department of) Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing counselor to find additional funding options available. Based on their financial information, homeowner may also arrange a special home loan modification to reduce month payments.

Hacking into the IT systems of banks and retail businesses has become a major activity for organized crime, putting consumers' money and personal information at increasingly greater risk.

Verizon's just-released 2010 Data Breach Investigations Report, based on a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the U.S. Secret Service, details steps that can be and are being taken by companies to safeguard their customers' financial data and personal information. However, consumers also need to play a more active role in this process. They can do so by following some simple, precautionary steps.

Cybercrime and corporate data breaches are being honed by growing numbers of organized criminals around the globe, as detailed in Verizon's data breach reports, which looked at more than 900 corporate data breaches involving more than 900 million compromised records. Perhaps the most vulnerable are the records of customers of financial institutions, retailers and hospitality businesses, which is where the majority of data breaches occurred, according to the report.

Before the financial crisis heightened in 2007/08 creditors, including banks, mortgage companies and automobile dealers would consider offering credit at attractive interest rates with a FICO score averaging 650 t0 700. Today this average has risen to between 740 and 760, as creditors become more cautious in extending credit.