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17 May 2010 10:36

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Biz: Don’t expect credit companies to give up the war on card fees

  • They plan to keep fighting for them. The interchange fees, which merchants often complain about as being too high for certain transactions, could put a big crimp in Visa and MasterCard’s bottom line if regulated as part of a broader financial reform package. “We lost this battle. It’s a big battle,” said MasterCard’s President for U.S. Markets Chris McWilton. “But the war wages on and we’ll be working really hard over the next week or so to stop this.” If you own a small business, watch this battle. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 May 2010 10:55

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Biz: Credit-card makers hit hard by the Senate’s debit-card changes

  • -8.5% decline in Visa’s stock since the Senate passed the changes last night
  • -7.5% decline in MasterCard’s stock; the amendment limits card fees source
  • » Other companies: Visa and MasterCard felt it the worst, but they weren’t alone. American Express and Capital One also fell sharply in trading this morning due to the amendment’s unexpected passage, which limits the fees card companies can charge merchants. It still needs to go through the House as part of the broader financial reform bill.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jan 2010 21:32

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Biz: Obama’s thinking of charging Wall Street service fees. Hm.

  • That’s one way to get our money back from the banks. A year after being handed one of the worst financial crises to ever hit the U.S., Obama’s considering his options for making something back on that $700 billion investment that George W. Bush made back in the day. The one that’s standing out? Charging fees to companies like AIG and Bank of America. The nature of that fee hasn’t been decided yet, but we bet taxpayers might enjoy the just desserts. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Oct 2009 22:30

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U.S.: That sound you hear is the the EPIC FAIL of health care’s dry run

  • The Senate couldn’t push through a Medicare payment bill. An attempt to prevent the 21% reduction of doctors’ Medicare fees couldn’t get through the Senate tonight, with both Republicans and centrist Democrats suggesting the $250 billion price tag was too much. They needed 60 votes to get the bill, supported by the American Medical Association, onto the Senate floor. They got 47. This may be a harbinger of things to come. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is suggesting that much. Have we called him a toolbag lately? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Sep 2009 21:18

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Biz: J. P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America stop leaning on overdrafts

  • Bank of America and Chase will limit the number of times you can get nicked by overdraft fees in a day. source
  • If you go under your limit by less than $5 (Chase) or $10 (Bank of America), you won’t get overdraft fees. source
  • Best of all for Chase customers, they will no longer charge overdrafts in order of cost, highest value first. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Aug 2009 21:41

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Sports: American Defenders no longer allowed to play baseball

  • No, really. The American Defenders didn’t pay rent. The mayor of Nashua, New Hampshire has decided to call out the minor league baseball team on its inability to pay rent by locking the doors of their home field and putting a freaking tractor on home plate so that they literally can’t play. The team, which received a notice of default on Friday, owes $45,000 in rent and fees for police and fire services. To prove that the city has no heart in a bad economy, we must point out that proceeds from last night’s game would have benefited the American Heart Association. How considerate of them. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jul 2009 11:38

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Biz: Why 7-Eleven is fighting against bank card interchange fees

  • $6
    bucks     The average consumer’s purchase for the kind of food you eat at 3 a.m. in the morning when you have an unexpected hunger for congealed cheese; it’s a very low-margin racket source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

29 May 2009 14:18

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Biz: Southwest, looking for revenue, stares hard at kids and pets

  • $50 charge for children traveling alone on an airplane, round-trip source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2009 10:41

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Biz: Credit cards will try to cash in on their good customers

  • $20 billion amount credit companies are supposed to make from fees – overlimit charges and such – on bad customers this year source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2009 21:37

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Biz, U.S.: The Senate puts their foot down when it comes to credit cards

  • 90-5 the Senate vote for credit card regulation. Whoa. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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