As prepaid cards' popularity rises, better be wary of fees

New types of prepaid cards are rolling out at a brisk clip, and plenty of people will sign up despite the fees.

In general, prepaid cards are gaining popularity. And some, like American Express, are going after young professionals, said Beverly Harzog, credit card expert for Credit.com.

The marketing push is to offer a piece of plastic that's an alternative to a traditional checking account — and plastic that generally can't be overdrawn.

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An insurer’s view on the proposed students’ loan scheme

Education anywhere, and particularly at the tertiary level comes at a price. For far too many, the cost is simply too dear. The joy of qualifying for and being granted a study course can be cut short when one is barred from sitting for semester examinations due to failure to honour fee payments.

The recently proposed Students’ Loan Scheme Bill, therefore, provides some relief to the anguish faced by many parents and students alike, but with it come certain concerns as well. Naturally, this Bill places further pressure on an already stressed tax base and, as potential contributors, you should have a say into its drafting.

In such cases, it doesn’t hurt to examine the statistics. With an annual growth rate of 3.2%, the number of Ugandan youth passing through the education system has been steadily on the rise. Unemployment figures do not make for happy reading with the national average at 3.5% and the alarming one affecting the youth at a staggering 32.2%!

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USA shopping heaven for Turkish Travelers

Turkish people shopping abroad last year spent most money in the United States via debit and credit cards, according to Turkey’s Interbank Card Center (BKM) data.

Turks’ spending abroad via debit and credit cards jumped 33 percent in 2011. England, Italy, France and Germany followed the United States as the top market.

The volume created using cards for transactions hit 546 billion Turkish Liras (1 US$ is around 1.75TL) last year, the data also showed. Expenditure via credit cards increased 24 percent, while the figure was 54 percent in debit cards.

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TEXT-S&P: SF Ratings Remain On CreditWatch Neg After U.S. Downgrade

(The following was released by the rating agency)

OVERVIEW

-- Since July 15, 2011, we have placed our ratings on 744 structured finance transactions on CreditWatch negative due to exposure to the sovereign credit risk of the U.S.

-- We lowered our long-term credit rating on the U.S. to AA+/negative outlook and removed it from CreditWatch negative on Aug. 5. We affirmed the short-term rating on the U.S. at 'A-1+' and removed it from CreditWatch negative. The transfer and convertibility assessment of the U.S. remains at 'AAA'.

-- We will review each structured finance transaction with ratings placed on CreditWatch negative, as well as any additional transactions we expect may be affected, and take rating actions as we deem appropriate. Pending completion of our review, we expect that our ratings on some of these transactions will remain on CreditWatch negative.

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S&P: Further US Credit Downgrade Possible

The U.S. government’s credit rating could be downgraded even further, according to the rating agency that removed the United States from a list of top-tier creditworthy nations.

Standard and Poor’s judgement

Days after Standard and Poor’s made headlines across the globe by saying the United States no longer merits its highest AAA credit rating, the firm’s managing director, John Chambers, says another downgrade cannot be ruled out if America’s worsening fiscal imbalances do not improve.

“If the fiscal position of the United States deteriorates further, or if the political gridlock becomes more entrenched, then that could lead to [another] downgrade.

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Financial markets: State of emergency

In 2007 the world financial system suffered a near death experience. You could have been forgiven for thinking that it was happening all over again

The conventional wisdom is that August is a sleepy month for markets, with politicians, policymakers and investors all at the beach rather than at their desks. The conventional wisdom is wrong. The credit crunch really kicked off on 9 August 2007, when the French bank BNP Paribas suspended three of its investment funds that had been dabbling in US sub-prime mortgages. Within a week, the Bank of England's Mervyn King was getting warnings that Northern Rock was in grave danger if the squeeze in money markets dragged on (not that it had any effect on Threadneedle Street's policies). Over the course of that month, the interest rate that banks charged each other for loans – the London inter-bank offered rate (Libor) – surged. Investors and commentators began talking about a credit crunch. Traders and fund managers who were catching some sun found themselves glued to their BlackBerrys and on the phone to their offices. These were the first steps that led to the collapse of Northern Rock in September, and ultimately to a near-death experience for the world financial system. And yesterday you could have been forgiven for thinking that it was happening all over again.

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China warns U.S. on managing its debt

HONG KONG — China's central bank governor called Wednesday for the U.S. to "take responsible policy measures to handle its debt," a day after the world's largest economy reached a bipartisan deal to reduce its deficit and lift its borrowing limit to avoid a default.

The comments from People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, posted on the central bank's website, signal China's lingering concern over America's financial health. China is the U.S.' largest foreign creditor, holding at least $1.16 trillion in Treasury securities.

Zhou also warned that stability is needed in the highly traded U.S. debt market, and said China plans to continue diversifying its currency reserves.

"Large fluctuations and uncertainties in (the Treasury) market would undermine the stability of the international financial system and hinder global recovery," he said.

China isn't the only one concerned with the U.S.' financial condition.

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When In Need of A bad Credit Car Loan

You badly need to get a car loan at this time but your credit score is way below average.  You are doing your best to improve your credit but waiting for another 6 months before applying for a car loan is not an option.  You wonder, can you get a car loan with bad credit?  And the answer is yes, you can!

While many lending companies prefer customers with exemplary credit history and credit score, you can also find lenders who offer special loan programs for people with bad credit.  These loans are also known as subprime loans or bad credit loans.  Due to the fact that a large number of customers in need of financing do not have perfect credit, lenders had to provide a way to cater to the bad credit market.

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