If you are unemployed and 60 days or more behind on your payments to CitiMortgage, help may soon be on the way, according to the Wall Street Journal. Citigroup is expected to announce a program today to temporarily decrease mortgage payments on loans of $417,500 or less to ~$500 a month for homeowners collecting unemployment. The program for those who have recently lost their job will also waive interest and penalties during the three month period of lower payments.

The program is a great idea, though I wonder about the execution and some of the exclusions. Why does this mortgage modification require 60 days of delinquency and exclude homeowners with jumbo mortgage loans?

Credit card companies have no doubt spent billions of dollars on advertising in order to get their credit card in a consumer’s wallet or purse. As a result, they have collected billions of dollars in payments from consumers on credit card balances and debt. Surprisingly, one credit card company decided to return some of that money to its cardholders this week. Only this time, rather than cash back rebates, frequent flier miles, or a no interest balance transfer to increase their use of plastic, they did so to get them to stop reaching for their credit card of choice.

Select American Express credit card holders will receive $300 to pay off the remaining balance on their American Express card by April 30th and close their account.

President Barack Obama escaped to Chicago for this past Valentine’s Day weekend. According to news reports, the President played a little basketball, got a haircut from his favorite barber, and took his wife out to Valentine’s Day dinner. Following Congressional passage of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan and with the auto bailout debate to look forward to this week, his need for a little vacation is understandable.

My burning question about his trip is this: Did he fly commercial?

Citigroup, which has received $45 billion in capital from the TARP program, issued a “First Quarterly Progress Report on Its Use of Tarp Capital” today, according to the press release on its website. I’m pretty much rolling on the floor laughing over that headline, because it has me eagerly awaiting the second progress report. [...]