| Quote of the Month:
"At its current growth rate, the total number of personal bankruptcies filed in the U.S. will eclipse 1 million petitions around mid-August, the earliest that milestone has been achieved in a calendar year."
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August 2003
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| Small Business Optimism Improves |
| Slow improvement sums up the trend in both small business optimism and their follow-up actions.... While optimism among members improved markedly from previous months (reaching its highest level since November 2002), most of the gain was in attitudes and expectations for economic conditions.
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| Personal Bankruptcies 10% Higher Than Last Year
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| At its current growth rate, the total number of personal bankruptcies filed in the U.S. will eclipse 1 million petitions around mid-August, the earliest that milestone has been achieved in a calendar year. |
| New Statistics on the Value of Uniform National Credit Reporting
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| As Congress debates the merits of uniform national credit reporting standards (see article in the Legislative Trends section of this issue), a new study from the Information Policy Institute attempts to quantify what some features of the Fair Credit Reporting Act have meant for risk assessment and competition in the U.S. |
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| 0% Rate for Life on Credit Cards |
With the lowest interest rates in 45 years, several issuers of credit cards are offering deals that are almost too good to be true. According to the article in the Wall Street Journal by Zachery Kouwe, Morgan Stanley's Discover card and J. P. Morgan Chase are offering customers with large balances and good credit ratings 0 percent financing for life on balances transferred from other card issuers.
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| Card Issuers Boost Late Fees |
| It will be more costly to be late on making monthly payments on your credit cards. In his excellent article in the Wall Street Journal, Zachery Kouwe summarizes the recent penalties for being late. |
| Points Awarded on Debit Cards |
| Currently, more debit cards are in circulation than credit cards. In addition, as Ron Lieber notes in his article in the Wall Street Journal "banks are scrambling to offer new rewards programs to keep users happy." |
| Credit Card Rewards for Charity |
| The next time that your wife (husband) buys a new pair of shoes, don't be surprised if she confesses that she did it for charity. Holders of credit cards that used to earn frequent-flier miles can now arrange to have the cash-equivalent of those benefits paid to the charities of their choice. |
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| Are Students Gaining Financial Literacy Skills from the Classroom? |
| In an environment that finds Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan appearing in a national public service announcement that highlights the importance of personal financial education to the economic well-being of consumers and their families, the results of a recent survey of high school seniors suggest that students are not receiving that education (from personal finance classes currently offered) in U.S. public schools. |
| Identity Theft |
| In her article in a recent issue of Banking, Amy Borrus provides an excellent overview of identity theft, its causes and cures. Consumer carelessness with personal financial information will always provide an opening for ID thieves. Some simple precautions can effectively minimize theft on that front. |
| Why Borrow When You Can Steal? |
| The slogan of the Commerce Bank of New Jersey is "America's Most Convenient Bank." The slogan is apt. The bank has had 14 robberies in Manhattan since January. |
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| House Committee Approves FCRA Bill |
| Shortly before adjourning for their August recess, the Financial Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives voted 61 to 3 to approve a bill that would block states from legislating in several core areas covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. States like California have been actively debating tougher privacy laws that govern the exchange and use of credit report information, in addition to other types of personal financial information. |
| Privacy Legislation in California and Congress |
| After three years of debate, a controversial privacy bill has again failed to advance in the California state legislature.... Among other provisions, the bill would have required financial institutions to get explicit permission from customers (i.e., "opt-in") prior to sharing their personal financial information with third parties. |
| Card Pricing Suit Reaches Supreme Court |
| The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving what a Federal Appeals Court has ruled to be a card issuer's error in failing to disclose overlimit fees as part of the finance charge. What makes the case unusual is that all parties agree that the issuer (Household Credit Services) followed the Truth-in-Lending disclosure rules as set forth by the Federal Reserve in Regulation Z. |
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