If you haven’t checked your credit score in awhile, you could be in for a shock.
According to a report by the Associated Press, millions of U.S. borrowers have experienced significant declines in their FICO scores — the grading system most banks use in their lending decisions — amid high unemployment and limited access to credit. That scoring shift means many borrowers will find it increasingly difficult to qualify for affordable mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. “Millions more people will pay more over the next several years for credit,” says Gail Hillebrand, financial services campaign manager with nonprofit Consumers Union in San Francisco.
But credit scores aren’t only moving lower. The FICO data shows an increasing number of borrowers on the fringes of its scoring range, which runs from 300 to 850, with fewer borrowers in the middle of that range. Read more…
The new set of regulations has devastated many people. Many consumers have complained that their credit rates increased with no reason at all and the credit card companies do not inform them the reason why. Others point out that the new rules have loopholes in it and don’t really protect customers; rather it increases the chances for credit card issuers to obtain profits.
The Federal Reserve has just taken in the role of a consumer watchdog. The House Democrats has recently agreed to give the Fed the duty to supervise credit cards, mortgages, and other consumer financial products.
The new credit card regulation was supposed to protect the credit customers from unfair interest rates and disallow excessive fees charged to customers. Spe
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DALLAS, July 13 /PRNewswire/ — One Network Enterprises, a federated cloud computing platform for supply chain 2.0, business intelligence and sustainability, today announced the availability of the Community Procurement service. As the most complete procure to pay, many-to-many solution on the market today, Community Procurement enables a more demand driven supply chain by offering enhanced visibility, collaboration, and a unique single system for buyers and suppliers to conduct procurement transactions.
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“Companies are realizing the value of implementing real time information sharing and our Community Procurement solution can create opportunities to improve service and lower costs across the supply chain,” said Terry Turner, President, One Network Enterprises. “
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Banks and financial institutions have received warning from Reserve Bank of India regarding strict accordance of its guidelines on credit cards related to transparency and levying of interest rates and charges on them. RBI has warned of strict penalty if its guidelines are not followed by banks.
“All banks are once again advised to strictly adhere to the guidelines…
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I’m a city girl, born and raised in Houston. I have spent the past seven years in Austin, a smaller, but lively city where there is always some major event, festival or concert happening. Whenever I drive back home to Houston, I pass by dozens of tiny rural towns, and many homes along the highway clearly not part of any city. Some of the houses are many miles from a gas station or grocery store. To me, this is an absolutely foreign concept.
So I was stunned when I saw an article on CNN this week about an Alaskan couple living 150 miles above the Arctic Circle in an area I would consider inhospitable. In addition to enduring far-below-zero temperatures, the Korth family is utterly isolated — they live 60 miles from their nearest neighbor. They have lived this isolated life for 30 years. Even the reporters expressed shock that people could actually live there.
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A few days ago, a visitor of Smart Balance Transfers contacted me about an issue she had with a credit card check her fiance received in the mail. I have long cautioned against the use of balance transfer and cash advance checks, mainly because there is always a chance that these checks may bounce.
Below is Irina’s experience with a bouncing credit card check from Citibank. Fortunately, she did not incur great expense. However, anyone considering use of these credit card checks should think twice before using them.
From Irina:
1. My fiance has a credit card with Citibank. He is paying it off and has never incurred in default. His APR is about 7%.
2. At the beginning of June, he received an offer via mail. It was a set of 4 balance transfer checks with 0% APR til December, 2011 and 19.99% APR afterwards, with a 4% fee. In orde
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Credit card companies are being surprising generous these days. Not only have some extended 0% balance transfer deals to 18 months, but many are offering perhaps the best cash back credit card promotions in years.
Last week, Chase unveiled the Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back card, which gives consumers a $100 cash back bonus after they spend $799 within 3 months. This is by far the best cash back credit card deal on the market.
Discover, which had been offering a $50 cash back bonus to new cardholders after they spent $599 in three months recently improved its bonus cash back promotion. The
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LUFKIN, Texas, July 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Lufkin Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: LUFK) today announced its intention to construct a manufacturing facility near Ploiesti, Romania, just north of the capital, Bucharest. This facility is being designed with the objective of manufacturing products for both the Company’s Oilfield and Power Transmission Divisions with an initial focus on oilfield products.
This facility is being built on an 82 acre site with an estimated cost of US$126 million. The facility will initially employ just over 300 employees when completed in 2012. The Government of Romania, through the Ministry of Public Finance, has agreed to provide Lufkin with economic development incentives and financial assistance of 28 million Euros towards the construction costs, or approximately 30% of the plant cost.
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PULSE, the daughter company of Discover Financial Services, has conducted a new study which aims to show the current number of Americans who use of their debit cards in business transactions now that debit cards have stretched its capacity.
Before business establishments such as grocery stores and retail stalls have started to accept payments using debit cards, the use of these debit cards were not very much emphasized. However, now that business establishments have opened lines in accepting payments through debit card, the usage of these debit cards have increased and have remained very high.
Based on this research by PULSE, wherein they have commissioned global consulting firm Oliver Wyman to survey 64 leading debit card issuers, there was a ratio of 2 out of 3 debit card owners who use their debit cards on a regular basis.
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