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 Democratic Convention is slated to begin this week in Denver and I’m already disappointed about Democratic Presidential Nominee Senator Barack Obama’s choice for his Vice Presidential Candidate - Senator Joseph (Joe) Biden from Delaware.
Delaware is the state of incorporation for most large corporations in the United States because of the perception (whether real or [...]

News articles on the House Financial Services Committee vote noted that alterations to the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights made it similar to the provisions under consideration by the Federal Reserve.  Proponents argued that the proposed Federal Reserve regulations could be weakened by the industry before they are adopted while opponents argued that the House [...]

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?

More than 9300 consumers and creditors have weighed in on the Federal Reserve’s proposals for change in the credit card industry, according to Marketwatch.  The deadlines for comment are July 18th and August 4th - so if you have anything to say, you had best say it now.  Instructions on how to comment are available [...]

Even though the decision of the Federal Reserve not to increase interest rates last week should mean that consumers are safe from credit card interest rate increases (read more at Taking Charge), Pioneer Press reports that “[n]ervous banks are raising interest rates for almost any reason.”

An Orlando Sentinel article tells consumers not to hold their breath for credit card reform from either the Federal Reserve or from Congress.  It’s an election year and the credit card industry is putting strong pressure on Congress and the Federal Reserve to weaken reforms.

Suze Orman weighed in this weekend on the proposed credit card reforms of Congress and the Federal Reserve, calling them “better late than never.” Orman explains some of the key measures in both the Federal Reserve protections and the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, as well as makes a few additional suggestions. [...]

A senior attorney from Consumers Union has a 4 minute interview/video segment online laying out the relevant details of credit card reform proposals.  I haven’t yet checked out the segment (available here), but I thought I would pass it on and bookmark it to view later.