House passes credit-card curbs, debate moves to Senate

House passes credit-card curbs, debate moves to Senate

Economics pricecontrols pricing Regulation

From the WSJ.

Many Senate Democrats want stricter limits on card companies' ability to raise rates on consumers who are paying their credit-card bills on time. But most Senate Republicans want credit-card companies to have the right to establish a price for credit based on risk. That means adjusting terms if a consumer's credit quality has deteriorated -- even if that consumer hasn't been delinquent.

Industry officials say that is necessary to offer credit fairly to consumers. "If you cannot adjust for the behavior of a consumer or the risks that they pose, you're going to have to raise rates for everybody at the outset," said Kenneth Clayton, senior vice president of card policy at the American Bankers Association, an industry trade group. "That's unfair to consumers that have been playing by the rules because they're going to pay the price."

The House overwhelmingly passed legislation last week that would ban numerous practices, such as the retroactive interest-rate increases on existing balances, and require clearer disclosure and advance notice for changes to terms. Most of the House provisions mirror federal regulations, approved by the Federal Reserve in December, that take effect in July 2010. . . . .

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said companies are instituting "arbitrary credit-rate increases" -- with interest rates doubling or tripling "without any misconduct" by cardholders. "The companies are doing more of this now. And the feeling is they're doing more of it because they know your rules will go into effect" in more than a year, he told Mr. Bernanke.

Real gas prices now lower than when Bush took office

Real gas prices now lower than when Bush took office

Energy pricing

The Washington Times has the story here:

A once-popular bumper sticker says simply, "When Bush took office, gas was $1.46." It was meant to be a slam, but as the end of his eight years approaches, President Bush is seeing gas prices that, adjusted for inflation, are lower than when he was inaugurated.

Last week's $1.59 - the average for a gallon of regular on Dec. 29, according to the Energy Information Administration - works out to $1.33 in 2001 dollars, or 9 percent less than it was the day Mr. Bush took office. The tumble in prices, from a high of more than $4.05 in early July, has meant incredible savings. . . .

Weird pricing problem: Sell your old iPhones for as much as a new iPhone?

Weird pricing problem: Sell your old iPhones for as much as a new iPhone?

Economics pricing

The NY Times had this interesting blog piece:

I was walking by the lengthy iPhone line outside the Apple Store in Soho on Sunday when I heard someone call out: “Turn in your old iPhone and get the new one free!”

I turned around and saw a bearded guy handing out fliers (photo above). They were from FreeiPhoneSwap.com and offered payments equal to the cost of a new 3G iPhone to people who turned in the old ones. Our conversation went something like this.

Me: “So what happens to the old phones?”

Him: “Well, we break them down for parts, strip out the LCD screens, they’re recycled in an environmentally friendly manner…”

Me: “You can’t make that money back by taking them apart. You must be unlocking them and sending them overseas.”

Him: “They’re recycled in an environmentally friendly manner…”

I was unsatisfied, so I did a little research and found that the story isn’t quite so simple. . . .

Well, it turns out that they can sell the old iPhones as unlocked so that they can be used on other networks. You can't do that with the new ones because you have to activate them in the store when you buy them.