Pawnshops as gun storage centers
December 21, 2009 | Colorado, alternatives, industry | Comments (0)America’s college students are apparently well armed AND in need of cheap storage for their guns. From the story:
At smaller, more rural campuses in Colorado — where space is tight — students must store their weapons at pawnshops or at local police departments.
Shows how important pawnshops are to local communities.
CFPA would tighten credit
December 21, 2009 | federal legislation, industry | Comments (0)Exactly. Finally some people are catching on to the essential problem with the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency. From BizJournals:
President Barack Obama, however, strongly supports the CFPA. At a Dec. 14 meeting at the White House, he personally urged the CEOs of the nation’s largest banks to stop lobbying against creation of the agency.
“If they wish to fight common-sense consumer protections, that’s a fight I’m more than willing to have,” Obama said after the meeting.
But David Hirschmann, president and CEO of the chamber’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, said the CFPA provisions were “written with far-too-broad definitions and vague regulatory standards, exposing businesses to excessive regulation and potential litigation.”
Edward Yingling, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, said the CFPA “could make it very difficult for banks to effectively serve their consumer and business customers.”
Credit cards harder to get
- Ron Glancz, a Washington, D.C., attorney who chairs law firm Venable’s financial services group, said the CFPA would increase regulatory costs for banks, and these costs would be passed down to borrowers.
“At the end of the day, it’s the customer who pays for it,” he said.
Praise for S.F.’s “alternative”
December 21, 2009 | California, alternatives, industry | Comments (0)Although we all know it’s not really an alternative because the terms are very different than a payday loan. From the LA times:
California, though, has largely stood by, even as the soaring number of payday lenders in the state has surpassed the number of McDonald’s. There were more than 11 million payday loan transactions in California in 2008, according to the California Department of Corporations.
San Francisco and the credit unions are taking an important first step to solve the problem. The new loans will set up cash-strapped consumers to succeed, not fail. You can borrow up to $500, and, crucially, you don’t need to pay it all back two weeks later. You can spread out your payments up to six months. And the interest rate is 18%.
A six-month loan is not a payday loan.
Jewelers are sources of cash
December 20, 2009 | alternatives, industry | Comments (0)From the Chicago Sun Times:
The impact of gold’s high prices shows up in the worldwide market: Though the supply of gold mined from the ground has fallen in the last five years and gold jewelry sales have declined, the amount of scrap supply is high because of all of the melted gold jewelry that comes from people selling off their discarded jewelry.
The impact is also felt at the retail-store level: Though the average price of gold jewelry has stayed level in the first six months of this year compared with the same period in 2008 — $80.28 this year vs. $79.08 last year — the numbers of pieces of gold jewelry sold is down substantially, to 71.9 million pieces nationwide in the first six months of this year from 83.2 million in the same period in 2008, according to the latest data compiled by Kenneth Gassman, president of the Jewelry Industry Research Institute based in Richmond, Va.
Off topic
December 20, 2009 | Uncategorized | Comments (0)But interesting. PDLindustry blog has a new post.
Comment of the Day
December 20, 2009 | Uncategorized | Comments (0)Wage and price controls plus overly complex and burdensome regulation, I should add, which discourages entrepreneurship.
More spin on the CFPA
December 20, 2009 | federal legislation, industry | Comments (0)From Elizabeth Warren in her latest Huffington Post piece:
There are a number of causes of the rising insecurity of the middle class, but one of the biggest problems right now is that the largely unregulated consumer credit industry has preyed on customers by burying tricks and traps in the fine print and concealing true costs. This is why I believe it is so important for Congress to act on the President’s proposal to create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. We need to make the market competitive again and to get rid of the tricks and traps. This will empower families to make good choices and will increase their economic security.
Payday loans have no tricks or traps.
Payday loan model must work
December 19, 2009 | Utah, alternatives, industry | Comments (0)Because it’s now helping Utah’s merchants get short-term loans. From the article:
Other Utah firms are turning to less traditional means of funding. Merchant cash advances, which are similar to consumer payday cash advances and business accounts receivables factoring, are loans made against future credit card transactions.
White Christmas
December 18, 2009 | Uncategorized | Comments (0)Can’t beat Bing Crosby’s original version. The Payday Pundit is inspired by the coming snowstorm.
New bank fees on the way
December 18, 2009 | alternatives, industry | Comments (2)Banks will make money one way or another. From the article:
Many banks are brainstorming ways to make money before a new federal law that limits overdraft fees goes into effect.
“Frankly what they’re going to do is they’re going to look at that law and they’re going to explore every opportunity they have to make more money,” said “Take Charge for America” financial counselor Mike Sullivan.
Sullivan said that includes hyping up credit card cash advance programs with 120 percent APRs and upfront fees.
