One of the commonly accepted contributing factors of the Great Depression in the 1930s was the Smoot-Hawley tariff bill, which increased taxes on goods imported into the United States.  After retaliation by foreign governments, trade between countries shrunk dramatically. After a few days to think about what the Federal Reserve has done, I’m wondering if [...]

The credit card industry may face “a day of reckoning” on Thursday, according to one leading news agency.
The Federal Reserve is set to vote on the much anticipated new regulations for the the credit card industry on Thursday that resulted from the proposed regulations and public comment period that the Federal Reserve announced back in [...]

The USA Today has an article about the dangers of paying for debt counseling through unreputable agencies that have, apparently, proliferated on the internet.
American culture has grown up with Get Rich Quick! schemes, and now that society is facing a severe debt problem, some believe that the solution is the Get Out of Debt Free! [...]

The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights sponsored by Representative Carolyn Maloney moved out of the House Financial Services Committee on Friday by a vote of 39 to 27.  It will now be brought up for a vote in the full House.
Read More:

Washington Post - Credit Card Bill Passes One Hurdle
Reuters - House Panel Backs Curbs [...]

Monday is the last day that the Federal Reserve is accepting public comment on its proposed credit card and banking regulations.  More than 30,000 letters have been received already.  Have they got yours?

I thought that pop up ads went the way of the dinosaurs.  And even if they didn’t they were a relatively harmless, if simply annoying, cost of surfing the web.  But it turns out that some consumers are paying for clicking on a pop up ad.
The Press of Atlantic City reported that credit card numbers [...]

While Congress is examining the practices of credit card marketing toward college students, they should be examining the actions of the universities as well.
The Consumer Warning Network noted that Florida State University is profiting from the marketing of credit cards to its students, alumni, and supporters through an exclusive relationship between its athletic fundraisers and [...]

Congress held hearings last week examining marketing practices of credit card companies to college students in conjunction with its consideration of credit card reform.  Here are a few of the articles from the past week covering the issue:

Taking Charge - Student Credit Card Issuers Under Investigation.

Washington Post - Too Young to Handle Credit?

Center for American [...]

Here’s the start of a series from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and the Washington Post on how to complain to the organizations that love to charge you for anything and everything.

The Connecticut State Legislature passed legislation last week (my previous discussion is here) regarding gas station discounts for cash paying customers. Estimates have suggested that the difference between the price of gasoline for cash paying customers and credit/debit card customers may become as high as 10 cents per gallon. However, reports from gas stations in [...]