Topic: Credit

A new survey from Bank of America shows that small business owners are more confident in their local economies than the national economy. And they’re looking for signs of growth in their local economies before they grow their business.   Read More

In this era of tight money, many small businesses feel that they've been hung out to dry by traditional lenders, a new survey shows. As a result, a growing number of companies are turning to alternative sources of funding, such as merchant cash advances.   Read More

Wal-Mart will offer its online shoppers a “pay with cash” option. The program plays to Wal-Mart’s key customer, a low-income consumer who may have little access to credit cards and banking options.    Read More

What if a college did not spend its resources on sports stadiums? What if it quit the competitive "arms race" and did not build climbing walls and multimillion dollar student unions? What if a college did not spend its students’ resources on top "name brand" researchers, who undergraduates rarely see? In fact, what if there was no faculty tenure at all?    Read More

The rampant inflation in the cost of U.S. higher education since 1980 makes gasoline and healthcare price hikes over the same period look like an Indy car racing a pair of old-school Volkswagen vans.   Read More

Parents and students have an array of options for financing education costs, including private loans from banks, tapping home equity credit lines and dipping into retirement accounts. However, the quest to provide a better life for their children can create a lager financial mess for the parents.    Read More

With all these frantic credit card merchants beseeching me these days, I feel as if I’m a tourist wandering the Marrakesh souk. “Joseph! Last chance to earn 35,000 bonus miles!” implores a new e-mail message from Delta Air Lines for its Gold Delta SkyMiles credit card from American Express. But which travel credit card is best?   Read More

Consumer credit surged 8.6 percent, the largest gain since 2004, mostly due to student loans from the federal government.   Read More

The American consumer appears to be levering-up again. But ahead of Wednesday's consumer credit report, the big debate among economists is whether borrowing signals economic growth or economic strain.   Read More

Given that title inflation has been with us since the 1980s, in everything from estate agents’ property descriptions to job titles for students in summer jobs frying hamburgers, we should not be surprised that “printing money” in the 21st century is referred to as “quantitative easing”.   Read More