| Frommer: Check bank charges before using credit card overseas
What credit cards should you use if you plan to travel abroad? The mathematics are fairly clear. You start with the fact that all the big banks issuing credit cards charge as much as 3 percent of the total when that card is used for a transaction in a foreign currency. And that expense is over and above the 1 percent charged by Visa and MasterCard for converting the foreign currency payment into U.S. dollars. Visa and MasterCard perform a service in return for their 1 percent charge. The largest credit-card issuers in America -- Bank of America, Citibank, Fifth Third Bank, JP Morgan Chase, Simmons First Bank and Wells Fargo -- all charge 3 percent for doing nothing. American Express charges 2 percent. Wachovia and Washington Mutual charge 1 percent.
MasterCard spent $1.8M lobbying
MasterCard International Inc. spent $1.8 million in 2007 to lobby on Internet-related issues and on fees merchants pay when customers use credit cards. The Purchase, N.Y.-based company spent $880,000 in the second half of 2007 to lobby Congress, according to a disclosure form posted online Feb. 13 by the Senate's public records office. It lobbied on gambling regulations and the use of credit cards to purchase illegal material on the Internet. The company spent $880,000 lobbying in the first half of the year on financial literacy, data security, microchip technology and fees banks pay to credit card networks. Congress is weighing tighter regulations on the credit card industry. The industry came under fire in December, when a Senate subcommitee issued a report denouncing practices that include raising interest rates for customers whose credit ratings decline, even if they make their card payments on time.
Visa plans IPO aimed at raising over $18 bln
Visa Inc, the world's biggest electronic payment processing company, announced on Monday that it was planning an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, saying it hoped to raise over 18 billion dollars. Visa, which processes payments for credit and debit cards, said it plans to offer just over 400,000 shares for public purchase. It expects its shares to be priced at between 37 and 42 dollars per share. The San Francisco-based company said in a statment that it plans to launch its IPO as soon as possible. Investors will be able to purchase shares in Visa from a pool of 447 million shares of Class A stock the company intends to sell. The company has hired a group of well-known investment banks to support its IPO, including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.
GM Exec Stands by Calling Global Warming a “Total Crock of Shit”
It is way past time for these corporate criminals to be brought down. At the beginning of WW2, the auto indsutry turned on a dime, and produced tanks and planes instead of autos witin a year. Now you tell me, even with all the computerization that they did not have in WW2, that the 'poor American auto industry' can't change so fast to better greener vehicles, and has to have way much time to ease into doing somthing different… or think of new ways to postpone any progress. It all has to do with profits funnelling upwards to this same bunch of greedy corporate criminals. Because of corporate types such as this jackass, and Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Skilling, et al, we cannot trust any corporate officers, and must take back the nation from them. Before they do even more damage.
IBD's Top 10 - Monday
1 Standard & Poor's (NYSE:MHP) affirmed ratings for Ambac Financial and MBIA, easing fears of a ripple effect through the financial system. The Dow climbed 1.5%, the S&P 500 1.4% and the Nasdaq 1%. The No.1-rated fertilizer group jumped 7%, as the agri-boom continues. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 9 basis points to 3.90% S&P Backs Ambac, MBIA Ratings 2 MBIA MBI jumped 20% after S&P removed the bond insurer from negative credit watch, while Ambac ABK shot up 16% after S&P affirmed its AAA rating, for now. Financial stocks also rallied. MBIA scrapped its dividend to save $175 mil. Ambac rallied 16% on Fri. on reports that a rescue plan was imminent. Also, Moody's said it would complete bond insurer reviews by Feb.'s end. Visa Plans Largest-Ever U.S.
POLICE BLOTTER, March 4
Kenneth H. Jackson, 32, of Charlotte Church, Va., was charged with careless driving at 12:17 p.m. Wednesday after the tractor trailer truck he was driving struck a traffic signal light, causing it to break off and land on top of the trailer, police said. Mr. Jackson’s vehicle struck the light after he turned too tightly from Alexander Street onto Faculty Road, police said. He then drove approximately 50 feet with the traffic light still on top of the trailer before it fell off onto Faculty Road, police said. No injuries were reported as a result of the incident. The Mercer County Department of Transportation and Public Service Electric & Gas Co. were called to the scene for repairs to the traffic light. Approximately $400 worth of property — including a credit card, perfume, change, sunglasses and mints — was stolen from five unlocked vehicles that were entered on Carnahan Place, Henry Avenue and Jefferson Road on Sunday, police said.
Arkansas Valley Ground Zero For Invasive Tamarisk
Unlike native cottonwood trees, the plants also spread to upland areas.Some stands of trees near John Martin Reservoir are up to 1.5 miles wide.The Tamarisk Coalition estimates water losses in the watershed from tamarisk, above and beyond what native vegetation would use, is 76,600 acre-feet per year, or about the same amount needed by Aurora each year.If the problem is not addressed, future water losses from "infilling" (no expansion from existing infested areas) alone are estimated to be 198,000 acre-feet per year, or enough for Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Aurora combined.The mapping and survey project estimated it would take $70 million to completely eradicate and restore the watershed."This goal is a daunting undertaking in itself for a watershed to accomplish," Van Pelt said. "The solution may lie in developing partnerships to achieve this gargantuan goal."There are several efforts in place to control tamarisk, including the statewide Tamarisk Coalition, which provides education and outreach on the threat.Pending state legislation proposes a Colorado Water Conservation Board grant program to provide $4 million over the next four years to cost share with federal, local and private funds for tamarisk restoration projects.Federal legislation was passed in October 2006 to assist in rectifying the tamarisk problem.In the Arkansas watershed, several groups have formed, including: Bent County Tamarisk Working Partners, Conservation Partners Conquer Tamarisk, Tackling Tamarisk on the Purgatoire, Upper Arkansas Regional Weed Management Cooperative, Bent's Fort Project and local landowner groups.The Southeastern district and Bent County have assembled a collaboration of partners to fund and develop the Arkansas River Watershed Invasive Plants Plan for the watershed.
ID theft inquiry after death of pedestrian
(Editor's Note: Northwest Airlines initially told the P-I last Friday that the suspect was not an employee of the company. It later confirmed that he was. Earlier versions of this article reflected the original, erroneous information.) Seattle police were investigating whether a driver suspected of killing a pedestrian in a Central Area intersection last month is an identity thief after several stolen credit cards and a list of credit card numbers were found in his vehicle, according to court documents. The 24-year-old man also may have stolen a Minnesota woman's credit cards to buy a $1,500 television, which was loaded in the back of his 2001 Jeep Cherokee, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in King County Superior Court. Police found the items, including the television, on Jan.
Understanding Your Rights When Debt Collectors Call
For 2005, collection agencies ranked No. 6 on the BBB's list -- with more complaints than banks, phone companies, credit card issuers and auto repair businesses. The matter has become so bad that on Oct. 10, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to end private collection of U.S. tax debts, citing the abusive tactics collectors sometimes use and the fact that government employees will be both cheaper and easier to rein in. According to the National Consumer Law Center, 97 percent to 98 percent of consumers pay bills on time. But those among the 2 percent to 3 percent who fall behind -- or people wrongly accused of owing payments -- can suffer from constant calls from debt collectors. Since 1977, the United States has enforced the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to protect consumers from shady debt collection tactics.
Cape Wide News
He will be arraigned for Armed Robbery in the Barnstable District Court in the near future. CWN weather advisory: Wind advisory from 4 p.m. Friday until 8 a.m. Saturday. Westerly winds behind a cold front will blow 25-35 MPH with gusts to 55 MPH possible. Scattered power outages are possible. .
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