| Credit card industry tries to hook young people
All major banking institutions pay big money to colleges and universities for on-campus recruiting rights, offering students low initial interest rates and/or other sweetheart deals if they accept a credit card. The rest of us get solicitations through our phone or the mails.Seductive sales campaigns focus on high school graduates and for all kinds of items that TV, movies or society has told them they want, need, should have because they deserve it and others have, so why don't they? Car dealers offer "one-time sales events" to first-time wage earners, high-end electronic stores give 90-day-same-as-cash deals and guarantee that no one will be turned down, furniture showrooms offer newlyweds "no payments 'til next year," cell phones, Internet providers, cable companies, satellite dish outfits all make it sound as if you can't have a decent life without their help.All this has given birth to an additional parasite - the debt-consolidation, paycheck-cashing, payday-loan, instant-refinancing-of-your-car (and you get to keep your car - 'til they come to take it away) industry.Public schools teach kids how to drive, play sports, fit a condom, take birth control pills, find an abortionist or fill out a job application at McDonald's.
Visa expects to raise up to $18.76 billion in public offering
NEW YORK (AP) — Visa said Monday it could raise almost $19 billion from an initial public offering, which would easily become the largest IPO in U.S. history. San Francisco-based Visa Inc. said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing it will offer 406 million shares at $37 to $42 per share. There will be an option for its underwriters to buy an extra 40.6 million shares to cover any excess demand. The filing also showed rival credit card companies MasterCard Inc. and American Express Co. trailing Visa in transactions in 2006. The Visa IPO, even at midpoint price, would surpass the $10.6 billion AT&T Wireless raised in 2000. It would be almost as big as the two largest past deals combined — AT&T's offering and Kraft Foods' $8.7 billion offer in 2001. Visa would follow Mastercard from being a privately held interest to a publicly traded company.
Dartmouth subpoenaed in loan investigation
HANOVER, N.H. (AP) _ New Hampshire's Dartmouth College has been subpoenaed as part of New York state's investigation of the student loan industry.
The subpoena, dated February 14 and recently made public, was brought by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
The subpoena addresses the college's arrangement with Bank of America that allows the bank to offer "affinity" credit cards to Dartmouth students and alumni. These cards allow individuals to give back to their alma mater or to another charitable cause as they spend.
Dartmouth is among over 80 colleges and universities that offer affinity cards to their students in conjunction with Bank of America, according to the bank's web site.
Cuomo has alleged that these card programs may represent a conflict of interest if they encourage colleges to promote the banks' lending programs.
Jackets edge Sens 3-2 in O/T
You think teams have picked up on something here? The Columbus Blue Jackets were in the interesting position of scoring four times to the stick side on Senators goaltender Ray Emery in a 3-2 win over the Senators at Scotiabank Place last night.
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Higher Credit Card Rates May Be Lurking in Your Mailbox
You'd think that an economic environment chock-full of interest rate cuts from the Fed would lead credit card issuers to gradually decrease the rates they charge us on our plastic. But no -- many cards have actually been raising their rates recently. Bill Hardekopf of LowCards.com, for example, has noted rates moving in directions other than down at cards from American Express (NYSE: AXP), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). What's going on? Well, there's been a bit of a financial crisis at many banks (you may have heard about it). It's related to their having issued a few regrettable mortgages to risky borrowers. So, perhaps feeling pressured, they're seeking out additional income from the likes of you and me, via the debt that we carry. We don't have to be their suckers, though.
Debt Management: Reduce Financial Worries, have Smooth Life
Summary: Debt management plans help you to reduce your debt and interest burden and live a smooth life. These plans merge your entire debts into a single low-interest and borrower-friendly loan plan. People who are struggling to pay multiple credit card bills or feel being caught in the debt trap should opt for immediate and effective financial solutions. These people should consider the loan plans available in the UK financial market to avoid paying accruing interest charges. Those who continue to struggle with mounting credit card debts are simply wasting their hard-earned money, if they continue to battle with unrealistic interest charges. A simple loan plan could take away the suffocating effects of using plastic money. The rescuing options for people in such situations are opting for consolidation plans and availing effective debt advices as offered by several financial institutions.
Porter County crimeTimes
CHESTERTON | A Chesterton man told police his beagle and his son's two Walker hounds, which look like large beagles, were stolen Wednesday from the son's property on Crocker Street.The victims are Thomas Walstra II, of Tower Street, and Thomas Walstra III, of Crocker Street. The beagle is worth $150 and the hounds are worth $1,200 total.Cops: Man stole golf cart and motorcyclePORTER | A Porter man has been charged with two counts of theft after Porter police Detective Mike Veal said an investigation showed the man stole a golf cart and a motorcycle in March.Trae Christenson, 21, of 204 Wagner Road, Porter, was charged with the theft of a $7,500 Chicago Cubs golf cart from Wagner Road resident David Ailes and a motorcycle from Michigami Trail resident Mary Lemons.Police said Christenson and another person took the items to Illinois to sell.Cops arrest man on 7 criminal chargesPORTAGE | A Portage man was arrested on seven criminal charges following a physical disturbance at 9 p.m.
Economy's slowdown could worsen, market watchers say
Specialist Charles Jenness rubs his head as he works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday morning, Jan. 22, 2008. An unusual emergency interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve gave Wall Street a partial rebound Tuesday from a precipitous early decline - and perhaps the first steps toward a long-term recovery. The Dow Jones industrial average, down 465 points shortly after trading began, bounced around throughout the session before closing with a milder drop of 128.11, or 1.06 percent, at 11,971.19. .
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