Credit Card Scams: Don’t Fall for ‘Free’ Apple iPad Offers

With the much-ballyhooed debut of Apple’s iPad days away, Internet security experts are warning social media users and others not to fall for ‘free iPad’ offers that even sound like they are authorized by Apple. They are not, and they simply will end up costing you a monthly expense on your credit card for something you didn’t ask for or want.

Home Price Reductions Slip to 19% of Listings, Trulia Says

The percentage of homes with a price reduction fell below 20 percent for the first time, according to Trulia’s nine-month-old measure of price discount activity. But the trend may reverse as the deadline for the homebuyer tax credit looms. Trulia, the real estate research site, said that 19 percent of listings currently on the market in the United States have at least one price cut as of March 1, 2010.

Ford Joins GM, Toyota in O% APR Financing Offers

After troubled Toyota announced last week its unusual move of offering zero-percent financing for up to 60 months on several models, General Motors followed with no-interest incentives of its own. Now comes word that Ford has expanded its incentive programs. Ford is offering zero-percent financing for 60 months on some models, including the Focus, Fusion, Milan, Edge, Escape and Mariner — or cash back options, the Detroit Free Press reported today.

Fed’s Credit Card Fee Rules Eye ‘Consumer Conduct’

The Federal Reserve’s newly announced rules restricting fees by credit card issuers focus on “consumer conduct” and what constitutes a reasonable penalty to cover an issuer’s costs. The rules, which includes prohibitions against so-called “inactivity fees,” will take effect August 22, and will mark the final phase of the sweeping set of reform laws known as the Credit CARD Act. The bulk of the legislation took effect Feb. 22.

Bank Failures on Pace This Year to Surpass 2009 Tally

Propelled by a still unfolding commercial real estate loan crisis, bank failures this year are on pace to surpass last year’s tally of 140, with 26 institutions seized so far this year by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Regulators shut or turned over to other institutions banks in Maryland, Illinois, Florida and Utah this week, pushing the number of U.S. failures to 26 for 2010. FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair has said she expects the number of bank failures in 2010 to exceed the 140 closures in 2009. That was the highest number in nearly two decades.

Blockbuster Movie Rental Chain Brings Back Late Fees

Be advised that the movie-rental store chain Blockbuster has reinstated a late fee structure, so your credit or debit card could see a charge if you’re late returning a DVD. The return of Blockbuster late fees started this week, but it’s still catching customers by surprise when in-store attendants mention the news or hand over extra-long receipts with the newly-stated policy.

Apple’s Double-Dip? iPhone Users Can’t Tether 3G to iPad

The news is spreading quickly today to disappointed iPhone users who were highly anticipating next month’s debut of iPad: You won’t be able to tether, or piggyback, your 3G data plan to the new tablet device. Did Apple Chief Steve Jobs make an official announcement? Not exactly. The question has been on the minds of millions of iPhone users, but one man in Sweden supposedly got the official word on the iPhone-iPad burning question – and the word was a very terse “No” that came via email. That’s it. Just “No.”

Credit Card Borrowing Falls for 16th Month, But Stabilizing

Credit card borrowing fell for the 16th consecutive month in January, but the decline was the smallest since July — and overall consumer credit with auto loans included managed the first increase in a year, the Federal Reserve reported today. The unexpected increase in combined revolving and non-revolving credit was a surprise to analysts who expected a 12th-month with a decrease, because of predominantly tight credit standards among lenders. The Fed reported this week that most of its 12 districts “indicated banks remained cautious about lending.”

Facebook, Twitter Use Soar on Smart Phones, So Do Risks

Social media giants Facebook and Twitter continue to dominate our tech society and here’s further proof: access to both soared by triple-digit percentages last year on mobile browsers. comScore, the provider of digital marketing research, released a study showing that 30.8 percent of smart phone users accessed social media sites in January of this year, up from 22.5 percent one year ago.

Homebuyer Tax Credits Fail to Spur Existing Home Sales

Winter storms had some impact, but a 7.6 percent drop in the pending home sales index for January from the National Association of Realtors indicates expanded and extended homebuyer tax credits are not bolstering the housing market. The NAR index is based on contracts signed in January. It fell to 90.4 from an upwardly revised 97.8 in December. But it is 12.3 percent higher than January 2009 when it was at 80.5.

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