BARSTOW � A couple calls from the community, some follow-up detective work and a newspaper article led to the arrest of a suspected credit card thief and her accomplices. Sgt. Rob Ciolli and Lt. Don Riser from the Barstow Sheriff�s Station arrested Tammy Lynn Gollner, 42, on Friday for suspicion of burglary, theft and vandalism after finding a 32-inch flat screen television and pawn slip for a DVD player the sheriff�s department contends were purchased with a stolen credit card. �I had three people calling me right off that bat,� Ciolli said. �I�ve never dealt with her. I have never seen her, but obviously local business owners were familiar with her.� Friday�s Desert Dispatch included a photograph of Gollner obtained from a Wal-Mart surveillance camera and an accompanying article about a string of recent transactions made with a stolen credit card.

(AFX UK Focus) 2007-11-15 03:04 GMT: Hong Kong shares lower on profit-taking after Wall Street's decline - UPDATE

HONG KONG (Thomson Financial) - Hong Kong shares were lower in volatile trading Thursday as investors locked in gains after the key Hang Seng Index jumped more than 1,300 points in the previous session.

Wall Street's decline overnight sparked caution after HSBC Holdings and Bear Stearns disclosed further writedowns due to the credit market crisis.

The Hang Seng Index was last down 159.53 points or 0.6 percent at 29,006.48, off a low of 28,990.86.

"We see a short-term consolidation after the sharp rebound yesterday" with Wall Street's fall dampening sentiment in some blue chips, said Peter Lai, investment manager at DBS Vickers.

"But there are also other factors (affecting the market) including the Shanghai market which opened lower and due to worries over a likely interest rate hike soon," he said.

Friday at 10: A credit card consumer alert

Holiday shopping is just around the corner, which could mean more spending with credit cards instead of cash.

Housing slump forces builders to regroup

Home builders such as Centex and Pulte Homes are trying to survive an industrywide unraveling by selling houses at bargain prices, slashing jobs and scrapping growth plans.But as the housing downturn worsens, experts say at least a few major U.S. home builders could go bankrupt.Builders constructed 2 million housing units nationwide in 2005, the year the boom peaked. So far this year, housing starts have fallen to an annual rate of 1.2 million units through September, and economists expect the number to drop to an annual rate of 1 million by mid-2008.Some analysts foresee a shakeout similar to that of the early 1990s, when several builders went through bankruptcy, including NVR of Rest-on, Va., and U.S. Home of Houston, now part of Miami's Lennar. A consolidation of weaker builders could be on the horizon.The industry is "going to be a shadow of itself once we get through this downturn," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com, who predicts that home prices won't rebound until late 2009 or early 2010.

Guest column: Home equity loans should be used sparingly

The versatility of the home equity line of credit has many consumers tapping into their home's equity to pay for home improvement projects, college tuition, weddings, new vehicles and credit card consolidation.

Your home is usually your largest asset. If you choose to use your home for additional credit, be sure you have a plan and purpose for that credit, such as financing a home renovation to improve your asset and increase your home's value.