Stocks moved sideways on light trading today.
The President signed the credit card billthis afternoon.
Remember the key provisions:
1) Takes effect in 9 months
2) Card companies can't raise interest rates until the balance is sixty days overdue
3) Increases in interest rates due to non-payment can be reversed after six consecutive months of on-time payments.
This is good news for consumers - but it will likely come at a cost. Most analysts agree that credit will likely be less widely available and come at a higher price.
Where else do you get to change the terms of the loan after you give the loan.
Next week, the key statistic will be new and existing home sales. The good news: affordability has been high due to lower prices and lower mortgage rates.
The bad news: traffic has been light.
If housing stats are weak, expect more pressure on the dollar, and the markets.
The other big story next week will be GM; the day of reckoning is upon us. Reports today indicate that a tentative deal has been reached with the UAW, but there are other reports that the bondholders will reject the company's offer of a 10 percent equity stake by a wide margin, which makes bankruptcy a certainty.
This is not unexpected, but the event will be treated as a watershed moment.
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