The deregulation of usury ceilings, rise of easy credit, and increasing consumer debt.
I. INTRODUCTION Few laws regarding economic regulation have a longer history than usury laws. (1) Strong attempts to limit usury punctuate Western history. Within the last century, however, these attempts have quickly unraveled. A convergence of factors in the industrialized world has produced the groundbreaking phenomenon of...

Insurance Fraud Likely to Rise.
A slowing economy is likely to increase the potential for insurance fraud. This is the finding of a new survey by Hartford, Conn.-based Conning & Co. The drop in the stock market and record levels of personal debt are underlying conditions for a potential increase in insurance fraud. ...

Muddling through; Car pools, discount shopping commonplace in era of coping.
Byline: Lisa Eckelbecker Months into the nation's economic slowdown, a winter of discontent is fast approaching. Just about everything consumers need, especially food and fuel, is costing more. Yet it's tougher to raise money. Joblessness is up. Homes aren't worth as much, and many stock...

Credit card debt on college campuses: causes, consequences, and solutions.
Credit card debt is a burgeoning problem on campuses. Although most students handle credit well, a significant minority get into debt. Causes include beliefs about future earnings, debt attitudes and financial knowledge. Many students have not had financial training and, among those who have, classes do not necessarily cause...

Full Spectrum Lending Gives Grand Rapids Resident Independence from Debt; Contest Winner Receives a Year's Worth of Payments for Debt Relief.
PASADENA, Calif., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- What consumer doesn't dream of a helping hand to pay off or consolidate nagging debt? That dream just came true for one lucky Grand Rapids resident. Darrow Armstrong, who was born and raised in Battle Creek, Michigan, has struggled for years...

Debt be not proud: "odious debt" left over from rotten regimes cripples the developing world.
A NEIGHBORHOOD BULLY TAKES OVER YOUR HOME, TIES YOU up, locks you in your own basement, then runs off with your credit cards. He goes on a wild spending spree, buying luxury items for friends and family but also picks up a number of expensive goodies that will be...

Gone broke: sovereign debt, personal bankruptcy, and a comprehensive contractual solution.
To the extent that bankruptcy theory attempts to justify bankruptcy law from any point in time after a party becomes a creditor of a firm, it begins the inquiry in the wrong place. (1) Both sovereign debt and defaults have appeared frequently in the news over the...

Investor Optimism Plummets to All-Time Low, UBS PaineWebber Index Shows - Majority of Investors Say Tax Rebates Will Do Little to Spur the Economy -.
NEW YORK, July 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Investor optimism fell in July to the lowest level in history as investors expressed concerns about reaching their personal investing goals, as well as skepticism that upcoming tax rebates will stimulate the economy, according to the Index of Investor Optimism(R), a...

Financial literacy among Australian university students.
1 Introduction 'Astute savers are distinguished by the diversity of the assets to which they allocate their funds, and the dynamic manner in which they manage their investments': so Connelly (2001, p. 7) characterises people with investment literacy. Financial literacy, however, is a broader concept for which...

Website, Built by EnFORM Technology, Recognized With Golden Web Award For Design, Originality and Content.
DALLAS, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Association of Web Masters and Designers recently presented eCredit911.com (http://www.ecredit911.com) with a 2001-2002 Golden Web Award for its unique role in assisting consumers in the establishment and re-establishment of credit via the web. This easy to navigate, comprehensive site helps...