Cash, Credit, or Cell?

"Hey can you cover me I left my charger at work?"

This is how you will sucker your friend in to paying for your night out in a year or two.

Confused?

Yeah... you, Master Card, Visa, and American Express too.

How Credit Card Companies Make Money - What you may not know

If you are a consumer then chances are you have a credit card account, or at least have had a credit card account in the past.

Do you know how credit card companies make money? 


Do you know why credit card companies are so willing to lend via unsecured revolving accounts?


Most people would guess credit card companies such as Visa, Master Card, Discover, and American Express make their huge profits by charging consumer borrowers interest on the money they borrow via their credit card.

Most people are wrong.

Bank of America - Ruining a Good Thing at WaWa's

This is based on a personal experience and is a personal post. It is about both Bank of America and WaWa.

Consumer Credit Declines

Consumer credit is declining. The American consumer is able to buy less and less on credit with every passing month.

During the month of July consumer credit dropped by about 3 billion dollars. As of August the collective American consumer was able to buy 2.4 trillion dollars worth of merchandise via credit if we were to all max out every account we had.

America's Banks are Financially Baked - Crispy and Risky

Financially crispy, and unfortunately risky. That is the blunt truth regarding the US banking industry.

The unfortunate and scary reality of the matter is that out of the nearly 8,000 banks that are FDIC insured almost 830 of them are on the "oh crap" list that is kept by the FDIC.

That is a little more then 1 out of every 10 banks, or more specifically 11%.

Refinancing Consumer Craze - Low Mortgage Interest Rates

Low Mortgage Rates – Low Mortgage Origination –

Sky Rocketing Mortgage Refinance Origination Loans

Low Mortgage Rates Create High Demand for Mortgage Refinancing

Mortgage rates are low as they can be. I honestly do not know if we are ever going to see rates this low ever again. Though I should say that statements like that somehow always seem to turn out wrong.

Financial Reform Pushed Through By Democratic Majority and Three Republicans

A New Financial Industry Reform Bill Has Passed

Well 2,100 pages of potential American Policy and Law fixing to keep a tighter watch on the financial industries practices of marketing products to the American Consumer is on its way to Presidents Obama's Desk. Obama is expected to sign.

Goldman Sachs Settles with the SEC - Over Half a Billion Dollars - No Financial Biggie

Goldman Sachs who really caught some heat from the subprime mortgage securities it was selling as securities (imagine that) settled with the SEC for a little more then 500 million dollars.

Credit Unions or Banks? Are they the Same? Whats the Difference?

So I was out with a girl the other night. It is our second date. We were talking and some how the term bank and credit union came up. She didn't know the difference.

Know the difference between credit unions and banks. Please.

Well to save the very few others who don't know here is the scoop...

Big Banks Bet and Bank on Trading Profits - BoA and Chase Ride Trading Revenue to Profitability

Both JP Morgan and Chase and Bank of America reported profitable quarters this earnings season go around.

Though Chase has been in better shape over this economic down turn both banks profitable quarters relied on their investment banking activities.

Chase Bank reported 3.3 billion dollars for the first quarters profit. Bank of America came in right behind them with 3.2 billion dollars. 3/4's or 75% of Chase Bank profits came from trading and investment banking activities and 2/3 or about 65% of Bank of Americas profits came from their newly found investment banking operations. This profitable Merrill Lynch deal has beat the overall outside consensus and expectations. Just goes to show you that old Ken Lewis knew and still likely knows what he is talking about.

Reform or Refrain - What Will Become of the Push to Reform the Financial Markets

It is no secret that the financial markets have not performed at there best. The free market by default will always be on the move, sometimes up, and sometimes down.

The last few years has been a bit skewed if we go by the history of the financial markets. We have not seen performance this low since the Great Depression.

Should the government reform the financial markets and current regulatory practices?