Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell this week lent some credence to predictions that banks will start tightening credit standards. On Wednesday, Powell called the country’s banking sector “sound and resilient.”But he added a cautionary note: “Events in the banking system over the past two weeks are likely to result in tighter credit conditions for households…
This article is reprinted by permission from NerdWallet. Last year, one of my family’s credit cards was used to rack up hundreds of dollars in bogus charges at Apple.com AAPL, +3.51%. Another card was compromised four times in a row, as thieves repeatedly charged merchandise and Uber UBER, +2.61% rides. We ultimately got our money back,…
Dear Quentin, I am now 70 years old and partially disabled. I am fully retired, living on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income. Obviously, I have limited income. I am financially stable. I have no debts of any kind. I own my home (a boat) free and clear, and have no payments on my automobile….
Lindsey and Tim McDermott married each other at a gas station in Spokane, Wash., this month for just under $1,000, receiving rave reviews from the 26 guests who witnessed their love. The Feb. 3 nuptials were perfect for the couple, who didn’t like the idea of having a big wedding and wanted something low-key, Lindsey,…
After a terrible battle with dementia, my grandmother died a few weeks ago. She did not leave much, but I will — along with my siblings — receive about $40,000 in life insurance. I am trying to figure out how to best handle it. I have some credit-card debt that was incurred during a period…
President Joe Biden is spotlighting new moves by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to cut excessive credit-card late fees that cost American families about $12 billion each year. The CFPB unveiled proposals that will potentially save Americans up to $9 billion a year by targeting late fees that are currently protected by an “expansive” immunity…
American Express Co. exceeded $50 billion in annual revenue last year for the first time, buoyed by continued strong spending levels among its customer base. While the card giant came up short of profit expectations for the fourth quarter, it delivered an upbeat earnings outlook for the full year ahead. American Express AXP, +10.54% also…
Dear Quentin, Over the last couple years I dug myself out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, and I am making good money. I never learned about stocks, investing, etc. I do not have a 401(k) at work. My lawyer uncle advised me to open a self managed Vanguard account with four different levels of stocks. I…
Restaurants are set to become the biggest winners of a holiday season that could turn out to be the most normalized since the onset of the pandemic. That’s according to a new Mastercard SpendingPulse survey released on Monday, which showed spending at dining establishments surging 15.1% over the 2021 holiday period. Total retail expenditures for…
Whether you’re looking to scoop up some beaten-down bargains or trying to play it safe, analysts see potential in the payments sector heading into the new year. With a potential recession on many investors’ minds, it’s worth noting that during the last big downturn, in 2009, fewer than a third of S&P 500 SPX, +1.49%…
The face-off Holiday shopping season is in full swing. Despite economic headwinds, there’s some evidence that consumers aren’t planning to curtail their spending on gifts and celebrations. While 37% of U.S. households say “their financial situation is worse than last year,” overall holiday spending is “expected to match 2021 levels, at $1,455 per consumer,” according…
Bank of America and RBC Capital Markets analysts recently laid out their top picks in payments for the new year, and Mastercard Inc. and Fiserv Inc. cracked both lists. Each analyst highlighted how Mastercard MA, -0.21% is battle-tested for bad times. The company saw 2% year-over-year growth in revenue during fiscal 2009, noted RBC Capital…
Credit-card balances saw their biggest annual increase in more than 20 years in the third quarter, rising 15% from a year ago to reach $930 billion as Americans tried to manage a higher cost of living, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released Tuesday. Total household debt also notched its…
Visa Inc. topped earnings expectations for its latest quarter Tuesday as the payments giant continued to call out strong consumer spending trends. Payments volume at Visa V, +1.92% grew 10% in the fiscal fourth quarter, while processed transactions increased 12%. Visa’s revenue rose to $7.79 billion from $6.56 billion and came in ahead of the…
Credit-card debt has surged 13% this past year — the largest increase in 20 years. If you find yourself with a growing amount of debt, you need to get yourself back on solid footing before it snowballs out of control. As I’ve learned from coaching thousands of people on how to shed credit-card debt and…
A decline in gasoline prices couldn’t mask the problem that spooked investors on Sept. 13: Core consumer prices resumed their rapid increase during August. Fear of the Federal Reserve’s ongoing tightening of monetary policy to fight inflation sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -3.94% down 1,276 points (or 3.9%) to 31,104, with all 30…
““There’s no obvious difference between high-end consumers and lower-end consumers. They may be buying different things, but nominal levels of spending have stayed quite stable, and that’s largely true around the world.”” — Visa CFO Vasant Prabhu Visa Inc. continues to see signals that consumer spending is holding up well despite economic pressures, its chief financial…
The Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark rate by 0.75 percentage points on Wednesday in an effort to temper the rising costs of consumer goods and services. While economists say raising the interest rate will help cool consumer demand and hopefully ease record-high inflation, it will also raise the cost of borrowing for everything from houses…
Credit-card companies look to be under a political microscope once again as senators announced a new bill that would target Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, and Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, introduced a bill Thursday that would seek to offer merchants alternate routing options when consumers pay with…
How rewarding are those credit card sign-up bonuses, really? A new survey suggests that some people trying to save money with travel rewards cards end up overspending so that they can collect the bonus offer. About one in three (32%) people who opened a credit card in 2022 with a sign-up bonus say they “spent…