Credit Card Fight
December 5, 2007
Recently, the Congress of the United States has begun to re-examine the credit card industry and how they do business with consumers. One issue that is being carefully reviewed is the practice of increasing a consumer’s interest rate when that person’s credit score goes down. This practice takes place even if the consumer has paid his credit card bill on time.
Help For Subprime May Be on the Way
December 5, 2007
Henry Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, recently announced that an agreement was close at hand that would assist thousands of homeowners who are at risk of losing their homes due to foreclosure. The assistance would come in the form of an interest rate freeze.
Holiday Credit Card Shopping
December 4, 2007
Total sales for holiday shopping on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, increased a little over 8 percent to a dollar amount of $10.3 billion, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp. who monitored some 50,000 retailers.
Wells Fargo to Curb Credit
December 4, 2007
Another huge company takes a hit as Wells Fargo & Company announced it will have to tighten its home equity lending standards. The company will also take a special fourth quarter 2007 provision of $1.4 billion (pre-tax), this due in large part to higher losses that the company currently expects.
ARM’s to Reset
December 3, 2007
Homeowners who have mortgages that are in the adjustable rate mortgage category would do well to pay close attention to the details of their loan. Over the next year and half, many of these ARM’s are due to reset to higher rates, and many homeowners may be caught off guard.
Credit Slow Down May Hurt Economy
December 3, 2007
The US Federal Reserve has calculated numbers that show that many consumers are experiencing higher credit card balances than they had just one year ago. This comes right on the heels of the lower home values which result in less ability to take cash out via home equity loans. In the past, home equity loans and lines of credit were often used to pay down or pay off holiday spending. That may no longer be a choice for many consumers.