Senator Charles Schumer stated today that he believes that federal credit card legislation set to become law in 2010 should be enacted earlier in order to prevent credit card companies from raising their rates in the present. The senator cited a Pew Charitable Trusts study that found that credit cards companies raised their rates by 20 percent in the first half of 2009 while federal interest rates dropped. Schumer has accused credit card companies of using the period of time before the new laws are enacted to gouge consumers with the same practices that will be banned in 2010 when the legislation is enacted. Instead of waiting for many of the elements outlined in the credit card legislation to come into effect in February or August of 2010,... [Read more]

A bitter battle between Disney and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has finally ended, with victory seemingly going to the CCFC for finally achieving their goal of getting Baby Einstein products off the market. Anyone who bought a Baby Einstein product between June 5, 2004 and September 4, 2009 will be able to get their money back, while consumers can also trade in their DVDs for other products or for future discounts. The CCFC, which is a group that has dedicated itself to fighting to “reclaim childhood for corporate marketers,” has been trying to get Baby Einstein products off the markets for years because of their allegations that the products do not do as they claim, and may actually be harmful to babies. The group... [Read more]

After taking billions of dollars of taxpayer money as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, Bank of America has now positioned itself to repay the money to the federal government as part of the agreement. However, Bank of America’s plans to repay the funds have been halted over a disagreement concerning how much additional capital the bank must raise to satisfy regulators. The timing of the disagreement is difficult for the bank, as President Obama’s so-called “pay czar” has just set a variety of restrictions on executive compensation that has lowered compensation for the top employees of Bank of America and six other large firms receiving government aid. Bank of America wishes to return $45 billion to the government,... [Read more]

Microsoft Corp. has posted an 18 percent decline in quarterly profits, results that are not desirable on their own but actually hint at the possibilit of a larger recovery in the ailing technology sector of the economy. While business spending for Microsoft products was weak in the last quarter, Microsoft saw increased demand for personal computers and videogames. Microsoft’s results have provided optimism to the rest of the technology sector that consumer demand may be on its way to making a full recovery, especially after the impact that the economic recession has had. Investors also took Microsoft’s results as a sign of positive change, a relatively good outcome for the company after two of its worst quarters in history, sending... [Read more]

Carl Icahn, the billionaire investor that has long been associated with Yahoo, has decided to step down from his position at Yahoo’s board, stating that the Internet search giant no longer has any need for an activist investor. Icahn’s legacy with Yahoo involves his ardent efforts to get Jerry Yang removed as the CEO of the company. According to Icahn, Yang acted in such a way that was against the best interests of shareholders, opting to replace Yang with Carol Bartz. Following the replacement, Icahn and the rest of the board guided Yahoo toward a search and advertising deal with Microsoft. Icahn has been praised by his fellow boardmembers and by the Chairman of the Board, Roy Bostock, for his active and relentless role in shaping... [Read more]