Think Fast! You're CEO of a Fortune 1000 Company;
Where Are Your Top 10 Places to Give a Speech?

According to PR Week Magazine and global communications firm Burson-Marsteller, CEOs at top U.S. companies say the "most-valued podiums" are at conferences staged by leading business publications, prestigious business schools, economic forums and trade shows.

The top-10 rank as follows:

1. World Economic Forum
2. The Wall Street Journal
3. Forbes
4. Fortune
5. World Business Forum
6. Detroit Economic Club
7. Economist Conferences
8. CFO Magazine
9. Consumer Electronics Show
10. Wharton Business School


These conferences, CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies say, draw the most-influential executives and are the place to be when delivering a speech on economic issues.

While CEOs may want to be at these venues, the places most consumers want to avoid today are gas station and grocery lines.

As gasoline prices seek new highs each day and food prices continue to spiral upward, more and more middleclass Americans are finding it harder to make ends meet. Home mortgage foreclosures are also setting new records in many states.

At the same time, payday loans ??" once the private domain of the underbanked consumer ??" are becoming increasing popular with middleclass homemakers.

According to Cypress Research Group, nearly 65 percent of payday loan users are women and most are married. Six out of 10 payday loan customers are homeowners and 65 percent have household incomes between $25,000 and $75,000 a year.

So why are these people turning to payday loans in a down economy?

Cypress Research says most are taking loans to help with unexpected expenses. And, no surprise, to avoid late charges on bills also ranks high along with avoiding bounced checks.

Not surprising considering that the fee on a typical two-week payday cash advance is $30, according to the Consumer Credit Research Foundation, while a single bounced check usually will cost you $45 ??" and we all know they come in bunches. As the consumer group also points out, credit card late fees can be the equivalent of 5,292 percent in interest.

ATM fees are another matter. ABC News reports that some banks are charging fees as high as $3 for non-customer transactions. Add to that your own bank's fee and on a $30 withdrawal you could be paying around 20 percent just to access your own money. Banks generate about $10 billion a year in these types of charges according to ABC News.

A payday advance is a small short-term loan without collateral usually repaid on the borrower's next payday. Typically, a customer uses a payday loan to cover small, unexpected expenses between paydays to avoid expensive fees on bounced checks, penalties on late bill payments, overdraft charges and other less desirable short-term credit options.

Industry analysts estimate that more than 22,000 payday advance locations across the United States extend about $40 billion in short-term credit to millions of middle-class households that experience cash-flow shortfalls between paydays.

Search sites dedicated to finding payday lenders allow people to find nearby brick-and-mortar locations so they can comparison shop for the best rates.

Faithful repayment of these cash-advance loans can help those with limited credit histories ??" like recent college graduates ??" establish their credit worthiness.