By Eva Norlyk Smith, Ph.D.
Consumers hoping for relief from credit card interest rate hikes will have to wait a few months longer. On Wednesday, Senate Republicans put a “hold” on a bill to freeze credit card interest rates immediately, in order to avoid further rate hikes before February 22, 2010 when the [...]

By Eva Norlyk Smith, Ph.D.
It is as certain as death, taxes, and Florida hurricanes in the fall: Come January, millions of consumers will be struggling with a bad case of holiday hangover as the pile of unpaid credit card bills begins to heap up.
For stores, credit cards and retailing is a match made in heaven. [...]

By Eva Norlyk Smith, Ph.D.
The latest data on credit card defaults and delinquencies show few signs of improvement. Several major U.S. credit card companies are still facing double-digit defaults, suggesting that the high rates of unemployment continue to weigh down consumers.
While credit card defaults came off their highs of the last few months, they remain [...]

Senator Christopher Dodd, the head of the Senate Banking Committee, on Tuesday introduced new legislation, which aims to strengthen consumer protections by creating an independent watchdog agency to oversee financial products, including credit cards and mortgages.

Credit card users are likely to face more headwinds ahead. According to a recent survey by the Fed, a majority of card issuers plan on further tightening lending practices in response to the new provisions in the Credit CARD Act.