| Congress takes on the credit card industry
Even before the recent Senate subcommittee hearing that explored credit-card industry behavior, two major card issuers announced they were abandoning practices long criticized by consumer advocates.
The chief executive of Chase Card Services even apologized during the hearing over the treatment of an Ohio customer. The man charged $3,200 for wedding expenses in 2001, but ended up owing more than $10,000 as fees and interest piled up. Chase forgave his debt after he was asked to testify before the subcommittee.
If advocates could have their way, what one industry practice would they eliminate?
Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com, would kill off ''universal default.'' That is where a card issuer jacks up the interest rate on a card if a customer is late on a payment to another creditor.
Creditable Current Accounts With Credit Unions?
While basic bank accounts don't charge a monthly fee, a few of the new credit union current accounts will charge, on average, around £3 a month. But others, assuming you qualify to become a member, will be free to run. The main difference between a credit union bank account and a basic bank account is that you'll get a debit card with a credit union account, rather than a cash card that only allows you to use cash machines. That's a useful extra as long as you keep an eye on how you're spending your money when you shop. Personally, I don't like current accounts that charge a monthly fee and, worryingly, the very small credit unions seem to go down the pan with alarming frequency. But I am assured that the credit unions offering these new current accounts will come under the protection of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme , which means that, following a disaster, account holders will get most of their money back up to a limit of £35,000.
Fed opens the door to future rate cuts
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday and raised the possibility they could be cut in the months ahead, igniting a rally on Wall Street where investors are thirsting for a reduction. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his central bank colleagues left an important interest rate unchanged at 5.25 percent, the sixth straight meeting without budging the rate. The decision was unanimous. .
Mother convicted of murder seeks probation
A mother of three who was recently convicted in the 2004 Redlands murder of Keith Parks asked a judge Tuesday to give her probation instead of a state prison sentence. Facing 25 years to life in prison on a first-degree murder conviction in February, Linette Diane Luna said she wants to live with her mother or an aunt and raise her children, she testified at a hearing in San Bernardino Superior Court. An emotional Luna said Parks was not supposed to die when she and her shotgun-toting co-defendant, Mario "Stomper" Valderrama, tried to collect a $150 debt from Parks in July 2004. With tears streaming down her face, Luna said she spent a lot of time in jail and realized how she might feel if the victim had been her son. "I'm very sorry for your loss. I can't even imagine what you're going through," Luna said from the witness stand, speaking to Parks' mother.
Creative car loans may not pay
Would you take out a 30-year car loan? OK, you're probably thinking that sounds outrageous, so let me take it down a bit: How about a 10-year auto loan? If you're financing the purchase of a car with the equity in your home, that is exactly what you could be doing — paying for a car over 10 or even 30 years. The use of home equity loans, lines of credit and cash-out refinancing to purchase an automobile increased in the last decade as interest rates dropped and property values soared. It also has become popular as lenders hyped the fact that interest on a home loan is tax-deductible, unlike on a vehicle loan. In 2006, about 24 percent of homeowners used a home equity line of credit to purchase a car or truck, according to Synergistics Research Corp.
Extreme parenting: Spiralling out of control
A RECENT E-MAIL from Amazon.com made my heart start racing. My order had been shipped, it said, and Living Abroad in Costa Rica would arrive any day. I had never heard of this book. Had someone hacked into my computer? I thought of identity theft, credit card fraud and then of my 17-year-old son, who was deep into high school senioritis. He confessed to placing the order, defensively reminding me that I allow him to buy books with impunity as part of a mostly unsuccessful campaign to encourage him to read. He didnt seem to get that my concern had shifted from the $12.74 on my credit card to his college plans for next fall.
After shepherding three kids through demanding schools, countless extracurricular activities and then the Byzantine college admissions process, I feel like I could use a gap year in Costa Rica myself.
Railroad issues tracked by ACC
Some questions were answered and more questions were raised, but Arizona's Corporation Commissioners left Friday evening with a better understanding of the issues surrounding Union Pacific's plans to double track in Willcox.Safety issues -- such as blocked crossings when a train stops and train speed, and noise issues -- such as whether or not there should be a quiet zone in town -- dominated the public comment session that lasted nearly two and a half hours.Another prominent issue was how a proposed overpass on Rex Allen Drive would impact economic development in historic downtown. In 2005, Union Pacific Rail Road announced its plans to expand its Sunset Route, a 760-mile rail corridor that extends from El Paso to Los Angeles. The Sunset Route passes through or near several Arizona communities that stand to be affected by the expansion.The number of trains passing through Willcox daily could increase from the current 50 to as many as 120, though city officials who spoke with Union Pacific believe it will be more like 70 to 100.Commissioner Kristin Mayes said that the double-tracking project is causing "concern throughout the state of Arizona."Mayes then listed effected communities, such as Willcox, Cochise, Benson, Kino, Picacho, Tucson, Casa Grande, Maricopa, Gila Bend, Sentinel and Yuma."This is the first border-to-border railroad project in 50 years in the state of Arizona.
Sector Snap: Homebuilders Fall Again
Shares of homebuilders fell for the third straight day on Wednesday as a federal criminal probe into Beazer Homes USA joined a weak new-home sales report and a profit warning from one of the nation's largest builders to indicate the housing market's problems are far from over. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that rising troubles in the market for risky home loans haven't yet spread to the broader economy but that the situation needs to be watched closely. Beazer Homes USA Inc., based in Atlanta, is under investigation by the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Internal Revenue Service. The investigations appear to focus on the company's mortgage brokerage business. When Beazer sells a customer a home, the company often helps the customer find a mortgage loan.
Find tax relief for state's poor
Until Michigan's new earned income tax credit kicks in next year, this state remains among the harshest in the nation in the way it treats its working poor. According to an annual report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, only four other states in 2006 had a lower threshold than Michigan's at which families began paying income tax. The earned income tax credit, long a goal not just of many Democrats but also of social justice advocates, passed late last summer. In 2008, the refundable credit will equal 10% of the federal earned income tax credit; in 2009, the state credit rises to 20% of the federal credit. .
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