| MasterCard spent $1.8M lobbying
MasterCard International Inc. spent $1.8 million in 2007 to lobby on Internet-related issues and on fees merchants pay when customers use credit cards. The Purchase, N.Y.-based company spent $880,000 in the second half of 2007 to lobby Congress, according to a disclosure form posted online Feb. 13 by the Senate's public records office. It lobbied on gambling regulations and the use of credit cards to purchase illegal material on the Internet. The company spent $880,000 lobbying in the first half of the year on financial literacy, data security, microchip technology and fees banks pay to credit card networks. Congress is weighing tighter regulations on the credit card industry. The industry came under fire in December, when a Senate subcommitee issued a report denouncing practices that include raising interest rates for customers whose credit ratings decline, even if they make their card payments on time.
Brown lays down the law to Wendy: 'I'm in control of debate on ...
His views were made clear at a Downing Street summit last month on Alexander's constitutional reform plans, which took place without her being present. Alexander's Labour leadership is in serious trouble after she broke the law by accepting an illegal £950 donation from Jersey-based businessman Paul Green. The Paisley North MSP, who has endured two months of torment after the Sunday Herald broke the donations story, has tried to recapture the domestic agenda by backing a Constitutional Commission to increase Holyrood's powers. The idea has the backing of Labour, the Tories and the Liberal Democrats in the Scottish parliament, but is being resisted by Scottish Labour MPs at Westminster who believe Alexander is "doing the work" of the SNP. Now the Sunday Herald can reveal the prime minister's scepticism about a plan that Alexander has staked her political future on.
Annual “Lambs to the Slaughter” ritual has begun
It's that time of the year again. Holiday spending was up another 5% this year to …. get this….. $457.4 Billion. As reported By Parija B. Kavilanz, CNNMoney.com staff writer in the article found here. That's right, billion with a “B". And, once the credit card bills begin to get delivered…. the slaughter will begin. Many might be thinking that I'm going to drone on about the high cost of credit, how long it will take to pay off those credit cards, fees, penalties, etc… Not this time. The ritual that I'm referring to is mortgage refinancing. Every year thousands of homeowners find themselves in a little trouble with last years spending habits. And this year many people are going to get the old Double Whammy with roughly 12% of adjustable mortgages coming due. Scratching their heads trying to figure out how they will make ends meet, refinancing (or debt consolidation) begins to look appealing.
Drop in home prices accelerating
I could be "savvy" all day, but if I owe 400,000 dollars on a house that's now worth $300,000, how on God's green earth does "savvy" come into play??? ROFL! makes sense wrote on Feb 27, 2008 8:03 AM:that the drop should be fast. The rise was a lot faster than the run-up to the 90s recession. But do you suppose anyone will remember this after we hit bottom and the next rise starts again? It will be a realtor/buyer feeding frenzy all over again. Then in 15 years when the bubble bursts again people will sit there wondering why and how it all went wrong again. Those who fail to learn from history... Concerned-1 wrote on Feb 27, 2008 8:21 AM:There's been an anomoly in the market for the past six to eight months where new home prices are actually lower per square foot than existing homes.
Dowe failed to fulfill promise
It all began with such promise. In 2002, Alfred Dowe was a young, black man -- then 35 -- willing to step forward as a city leader. He was a hometown guy, a known entity; yet he was a relatively fresh face to Roanoke politics. He stood poised to make the leap from the planning commission, an appointed post, to elected office. About a week before the Roanoke City Council election, then-Roanoke Times' Editorial Page Editor Tommy Denton noted in a column that Dowe was among several who "pose the most abundant array of talented, capable and promising council contenders in many moons." Today, Dowe is an ex-councilman, a decent man forced out of office by his own poor judgment. The young man on whom the city, fairly or unfairly, hung its hopes six years ago had no choice but to resign Saturday.
Do-overs in Florida, Michigan?
Our columnists and bloggers are welcome to their opinions but readers should understand that their views do not necessarily reflect the editorial policies of this web site. Any registered reader of Capitol Hill Blue can have a blog. We also welcome comments on our stories, columns or blogs and we invite you to discuss stories and other issues in our popular ReaderRant discussion forum. We believe in civility at Capitol Hill Blue and must insist that commenters avoid attacks on other readers, obscenities or threats. We reserve the right to moderate or remove comments that we feel violate our rules. Posts that contain racism, homophobia, bigotry or Antisemitism will be removed and the posters banned. .
A mighty defender
I'm a goal defender, and in that position, you've got to stick hard to your opponent. But I'm a clean player. Fair but firm." When she is not on the netball court fighting it out for points, Bluett is waging a different kind of battle, around the negotiating table with the State Government, over teachers' pay and conditions. Over the past 25 years, she has overseen almost 20 teacher strikes and negotiated four enterprise bargaining deals. The latest, over which thousands of teachers walked off the job last week in pursuit of a 30% pay rise, is her fifth. But this one cuts deeper for teachers, says Bluett, not just because they're fed up with being the lowest paid in the country, but because Victorian Premier John Brumby used to be one of their own.
Theft devices found on ATMs in Bear Wawa
Two automated teller machines at a Bear convenience store were rigged to retain the card numbers and personal codes of every user, police said Monday, so that thieves using an increasingly popular identity-theft technique could pilfer their accounts. .
Winning the Credit Card Game
It seems the better people get at paying off their credit card balances each month, the nastier the companies get. Why? This is because the better you are at paying off your balance every month, the less profit for the company. Companies are responding by becoming more creative in finding ways to make money off of you. Thus, it is more important than ever to master the rules of the game. Rule 1: Don't be a revolver.
The first rule of credit cards is avoiding the evil "balance." Carrying a balance means paying far more than you should for everything you charge to your card. And it is one of the fastest ways to fall deep in debt. Are you what the credit card companies call a revolver -- someone who carries a balance -- or are you a freeloader, someone who pays off their balance every month? With any luck, you are a freeloader.
|
