It’s a new day for credit cards.
As of today, many of the rules of the credit card game have changed. New consumer protections against surprise interest-rate hikes, over-limit fees and easy credit for young people have taken effect through the Credit CARD (Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure) Act of 2009.
Depending on your perspective, the law is a boon for American families who will save perhaps billions by avoiding unnecessary credit card interest payments and fees, or a bust for banks that will lose billions because they’ll no longer be so free to impose those charges.
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The biggest consumer benefit from the new law: If you have outstanding credit card balances, the interest rates on those amounts are protected from “any time, any reason” rate hikes. Cardholders and consumer groups complained the most about this longstanding card industry practice because interest-rate hikes could be applied retroactively to purchases made earlier.
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This past Thursday the Federal Reserve board raised the discount rate one quarter percent to 0.75 percent. The discount rate is the rate banks pay for emergency loans. A higher discount rate doesn’t mean we will see higher CD rates, savings account rates and mortgage rates.
The change is part of the Fed’s action to normalize the Fed’s lending facilities. Now that the financial crisis is over and things are getting back to normal the Fed is pulling back the extraordinary liquidity it provided to get us through financial crisis.
The Fed also said the action won’t lead to tighter financial conditions for households and businesses and doesn’t signal any change in the outlook for the economy or monetary policy. The action won’t directly affect borrowing costs for millions of Americans.
The Fed said the step taking shouldn’t be seen as a signal that it will soon boost interest rates for consumers and businesses. In the January FOM
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This month, Wired Magazine is running an interesting cover story entitled The Future of Money: It’s Flexible, Frictionless and (Almost) Free. The article was quite thought provoking, but the general focus of the article was pretty deftly summed up in the final paragraph:
A generation ago, when people made the choice to switch to plastic, credit cards did not just replicate cash; they fundamentally changed how we used money. The ease with which people could make purchases encouraged them to buy much more than they had in the past. Entrepreneurs suddenly had access to easy — though high-interest — loans, providing a spark to the economy. Now, while it may be hard to predict what innovations PayPal’s platform will enable, it’s safe to say that the payment industry is going to change dramatically. As money becomes completely digitized, infinitely transferable, and friction-free, it will again revolutionize how we think about our economy.
The technology discussed in this article is undeniably cool. It will m
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We respond to a recent question regarding returning a Toyota Camry to the dealer and the repercussions to your credit score and credit report.
A simple question
At Auto Credit Express, we recently received the following question from one of our readers:
“I have a Toyota Camry and with all the recalls I do not feel safe driving the car, even if they “fix” the problems. I went to try to trade it, and because it’s not a year old and has all the recalls, the car is worth $10,000 less than what I owe. Looking at my credit, I can finance a second car without trading. Someone told me that I should finance a new car and then turn in the Camry to Toyota. He said that it would lower my credit score by 100 points, but what else could happen in this case? He said that I could get a judgment on my credit, but I didn’t have to pay the judgment… is this true?
Thanks!”
Turning the tables
Here at Auto Credit Express, we normally deal with customers who are hoping to improve their credit scores, not the other way around, so this question took us a bit by surprise. After all, if
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I attended the February 23rd press conference held by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli where he announced that Wall Street bonuses tallied at least $20.3 billion in 2009 and industry profits could exceed $55 billion for the year – nearly three times the previous record. While a blogger or two from a major political website is occasionally included in such events, this may have been the first time a blogger for an investing/economics site was on the press invitation list.
The Wall Street bonuses revealed by the comptroller were literally that – compensation paid to employees working in New York City. All of these firms are international in scope so payments made to employees working elsewhere, and these could be considerable, were not included in the totals. Moreover, the bonus numbers were based on cash payments or recognized deferred compensation, options that were cashed in during 2009 for instance.
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The question “How to avoid foreclosure” has been disquieting homeowners day and night. Homeowners are losing their homes at an rising speed. Are you into the same shoes? Needing some help to prevent foreclosure? Well, in that case you need to attack the problem before it even starts. So the main question is How to stop foreclosure presents itself
At this moment, you must be in a dilemma “What will happen to my home
? Shall I lose it? What can I do to prevent this foreclosure?these are some of the doubts that may be disconcerting you all through the day.
So, what do you think the key would be? read this article to know How to avoid foreclosure and lead a peaceful life ahead.
Even today, lenders are a bit hesitant to help people with the Home mortgage modification process that best suits their refinancing needs as well as economic status.
Now the question is “How to prevent foreclosure before it even starts off?” well, your first step involves in consulting your lender and making him aware of the fact that you are having problems making your mortgage payments.
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