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, Schumer wants to have the laws effective by December 1 of this year.

Until then, Schumer urges consumers to complain to their credit card companies if they discover that they are being asked to pay what seems to be unfair fees. According to Schumer, credit card companies cannot just expect to disclose these unfair fees and have consumers look through contracts to see what they are paying.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Schumer: Credit Card Laws Urgently Needed

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 filed a complaint with the FTC concerning the alleged false advertising in 2006.

In response to the CCFC’s claims, Disney has finally decided to overhaul its Baby Einstein marketing materials to remove their claims concerning the product’s potential benefits. It has also removed the parent testimonials on its Baby Einstein website, moves that have made the FTC focus its attention elsewhere. The CCFC, though, is still not satisfied with the FTC’s stance on the product.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Disney to Offer Baby Einstein Refunds

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, which would entail the entire investment that the government made in the bank, stating that it has raised $40 billion in new equity since May and will be able to survive alone. However, federal officials have expressed concern over the bank’s ability to absorb losses and has sought to replace at least some of the money with new capital beyond the $40 billion.

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BofA Repayment Delayed Over Disagreement

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 Microsoft’s shares up 5.4 percent to $28.03.

Microsoft has also provided signs that consumer demand for its new Windows 7 operating system has been strong, even though the sales revenue from Windows 7 will be shifted into the next quarter. However, Microsoft’s revenue in the current quarter fell 39 percent to $2.62 billion from $4.28 billion.

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Microsoft Gives Hope to Tech Sector

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 the future of Yahoo. According to Bostock, Icahn has long been a significant member of the board of directors and has had a huge hand in guiding the company through several significant transitions.

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Carl Icahn Steps Down from Yahoo Board

While the situation is far from reaching 1992’s levels of bank closures, which topped 179 as the result of a savings-and-loan crisis, the fact that 106 banks have been closed spells a lot of trouble for the employees of the banks and the communities which the banks served. However, analysts stand by the fact that closing down failed banks is an important step in getting the economy back on its feet.

The financial crisis seems to have created a situation where smaller banks cannot win, as a surge of bad loans has caused many banks to lend less money and to try to find other ways to raise and maintain capital. However, banks that refuse to lend create trouble for small businesses and other institutions that rely on credit to operate.

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Post from: EveryJoe

U.S. Bank Failures Top 100 For Year

Netflix’s results managed to surpass analyst expectations for its profit, with the average analyst estimate coming in at 47 cents across twenty-two predictions. While much of Netflix’s competition has been forced to shrink operations due to weak demand, Netflix has seen its subscriber base grow from 8.67 million last year to 11.1 million this year as the company’s offerings continue to broaden.

However, Churn, which is an index of the company’s subscriber cancellation, grew 4.4 percent from 4.2 percent a year ago, which could signal competition brewing for Netflix. In most cases, customers that cancelled their subscriptions to Netflix instead opted to rent movies from Coinstar’s Redobx vending machines, but for the most part, Netflix has expressed confidence in its performance.

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Netflix Profit Up, More Subscribers

Air traffic controllers at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport lost contact with the Airbus A320 for more than an hour, the time period in which it is suspected that the pilot fell asleep in the cockpit and had the plane on autopilot. The plane eventually landed safely and without any injuries to the 147 passengers, albeit much later than expected.

Upon the landing of the plane, the FBI and airport police interviewed the pilots. According to the pilots, the source of the airport overshoot was the fact that the pilots got into a heated debate over airline policy and were unable to devote their attention to the flying of the plane. However, the timing of the incident, which comes as the FAA attempts to change the rules that determine how long pilots can fly, is curious.

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Airport Overshoot Prompts Investigation

The company also posted a 17 percent increase in sales of media, a figure that was surprisingly low in the second quarter because of disappointing video game sales. This result was strengthened by the release of several popular books, such as Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol.

Amazon’s strong third-quarter results come at a time when the company is preparing for an all-out brawl with brick-and-mortar retail supergiant Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has recently beefed up its online presence, engaging in a price-war with Amazon and other online retailers over books and introducing services that are reminiscent of the services already offered by many online retailers.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Amazon Posts Solid Gains

Currently, Nissan can produce 950,000 vehicles in the United States, but weak demand for its cars has led Nissan to only produce 360,000 vehicles in the same period. This means that Nissan has slowed its U.S. plants to 44 percent of their available production speed. Nissan has not commented on these numbers, but analysts have pointed out that Nissan expanded too quickly for demand that never came.

CEO Carlos Ghosn attempted to vigorously expand his company when times were good for the auto company, expanded the number of models offered by Nissan and opening a second U.S. plant in Canton, Mississippi. However, analysts point to Nissan’s attempts to grab market share that is firmly held by its Detroit rivals, such as vans and pickup trucks, as one of its main downfalls.

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Overexpanded Nissan May Run Into Trouble