Wikileaks founder costs Bank of America nearly $4 billion, suddenly lands in jail

Am I the only one that finds it peculiar that Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, landed in jail suddenly after issuing threats to at least two major U.S. banks?

In a recent interview with Forbes, Mr. Assange talked about the imminent release of bank documents, saying "It will give a true and representative insight into how banks behave at the executive level in a way that will stimulate investigations and reforms, I presume.” He later says that the disclosure “could take down a bank or two."

Whoah!  It doesn’t get any bolder than that. I can only imagine how my battle with American Express would have come out differently if I had said on CNN that what I plan to reveal could take down the bank. 

Anyway, the moment Mr. Assange threatened major banks, one of which is rumored to be Bank of America, he suddenly ended up in jail.  His indictment of Bank of America cost shareholders nearly $4 billion, as spooked investors jettisoned the stock.  The timing of Mr. Assange’s arrest is no coincidence.  I image elite bankers, the Illuminati, making personal calls to government officials and lawyers: “We’ve got to fix this—and fast!”

What do you think?

Read more about this at The Street.

How credit cards with no spending limits can hurt your credit score

A great article recently published by The New York Times investigates how credit cards with no limits can hurt your credit score.  I highly recommend that you read it.

Also, be sure to read this article: “There is no such thing as a credit card with no limit”. It will help you better understand how some of these cards actually work.

Think twice before you ‘Like’: Social media are credit card companies’ newest weapon

Better risk management: That was the biggest and hardest lesson learned by credit card companies during the credit crunch, which started in fall of 2008.  Ever since that frightening period—some call it 'The Great Recession’—consumers and businesses alike have experienced tighter risk management through closed accounts, reduced credit lines, higher interest rates, and more stringent guidelines for credit applicants. 

In an unprecedented effort to minimize their risk, credit card companies and banks have sought every possible resource at their disposal to capture and to store more information about customers—and that includes using social media. While many consumers understand that companies have access to their transaction histories and credit reports, most overlook the tremendous metadata available via social media companies like Facebook.  With the help of such new media, credit card companies have almost a 360 degree look at their customers. 

Credit Card Max-and-Walk: Consumers Learn How to Game the Banks

I am mentioned today in an article published by the Huffington Post.  Possibly, my campaign, NewCreditRules.com, has empowered not only honorable consumers, but also the less scrupulous ones.

Read the article at HuffingtonPost.com.

Kim Kardashian offers prepaid card for kids

 
I’m going against the grain on this one, but I’m convinced that I’m right: MasterCard’s move to use Kim Kardashian, the ultimate shopaholic with recherché tastes, as a spokesperson for its new prepaid card product is brilliant—at least from a marketing standpoint. She has tremendous influence with her audience of teens.  With that said, however, I am more interested in how this partnership exposes the hypocrisy of some consumer advocates.

AmEx debuts new feature: Use reward points to pay taxes

For those who remember the $3.39 billion of TARP money that American Express desperately requested and received about a year ago, the irony of this headline is  unbearable.  I am reminded of the popular saying: He could sell ice to an Eskimo! Only in this case, He is American Express; the ice is our tax dollars; and we are the Eskimo.

I can imagine American Express executives in the board room back in January 2009.

“This new reward feature that allows Cardmembers to use reward points to pay taxes is going to have to wait.  Populist uproar against Wall Street banks is still prevalent.  More importantly, we still owe the government $3.39 billion for the TARP program.  Let’s wait until we pay back the money and give it some time. Ideally, we release the new feature right when customers can appreciate it the most: next tax season. Then, the urgent need will somewhat placate their anger.”

Here is an excerpt from American Express’ Jan. 11 press release announcing the feature: