Bank of America abruptly notified cardholders in good standing their rates would skyrocket if they didn’t opt out fast. Is BofA greedy or needy? ..
The major credit-card lender in mid-January sent letters notifying some responsible cardholders that it would more than double their rates to as high as 28%, without giving an explanation for the increase. ..
Bank of America appears to be taking an even more aggressive stance because, beyond credit scores, it is using internal criteria that aren’t available to consumers. That makes the reason for the rate increase even more opaque. “Congress has faulted credit-card companies for lack of transparency in raising rates,” says William Ryan, a financial industry analyst at Portales Partners, a New York-based research firm. “Bank of America is bringing it to a new level.” ..
Bank of America hasn’t made it easy for consumers to reject the new rates. The letters require that consumers write Bank of America to agree to no longer use the card and pay off the existing balance at the old rate—they can’t telephone to do so, nor does Bank of America provide a form or a return envelope. Moreover, consumers don’t have much time to respond. ..
“Either Bank of America has more financial troubles than it is willing to admit or it has a level of institutional arrogance that is unacceptable.”

You can sign a petition here to help:
~ http://proudtoliveinamerica.com/Forms/Main/Default.aspx?L=en-us&P=Petitions

Please sign, and forward the message onward.

I’ve read about this story for some time now, and they finally sent him
home, and only gave him $10k back, keeping the rest.

~ http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/27/immigrant.money/index.html

Some of the circumstances around this are confusing. Some are saying he
hadn’t paid taxes on this, some are saying he *did* pay taxes but didn’t
file his taxes correctly. Regardless, many conservatives calling for him
to be crucified as an example of the harm illegal aliens are doing to
America and the American economy. Thing is, I wonder just how many of
these screaming conservatives would take his place and wash dishes for
$5.50 an hour for 11 years. Here’s one such rant:

~ http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/28308.html

And comments on this article are even more shocking, suggesting things like the place he worked should be burned down:

~ http://www.theconservativevoice.com/forum/read.html?id=11424#comments

That amount of money doesn’t even buy a small piece of a smart bomb they
like to let loose daily in the middle east, but would make the world of
difference to that man and his family back home.

Bastards.

Scary info #2

Scary info #3

Journal Inquirer - Top Stories - 12/01/2005 - Federal Reserve money supply report is about to fall into the abyss
12/01/2005
Federal Reserve money supply report is about to fall into the abyss
By Harlan Levy

In a little-noticed decision a few weeks ago, the Federal Reserve Board said it would stop publishing its weekly M3 money supply number as of next March, although it will continue to publish M0, M1, and M2.
M0 is all coins and paper bills. M1 is M0 plus all checking accounts. M2 is M1 plus savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit of less than $100,000. M3 is M2 plus all deposits, euro dollars, and repurchase agreements that are $100,000 and larger.

(A repurchase agreement is a short-term sale and subsequent repurchase of securities by a bank or other financial institution.)

M3 is the broadest measure of how much money is circulating in the U.S. at any one time. Unlike M2, M3 is the big stuff, the super-size deposits.

“M3 shows intervention and big money movements,” Bill King says in The King Report says.

But why should you care?

(snip)

“They know what’s coming — massive amounts of dollar creation to fund the worsening trade and federal government budget deficits,” says James Turk in the Free Market Gold & Money Report.

“There is only one reason for the Fed to conceal important monetary component information,” The King Report says. It’s “to cover up the truth about what the Fed, central banks, and the really big money are doing.”

(snip)

A possible market crash is only one reason for secrecy, McHugh postulates. “Is the economy closer to the brink than anyone realizes? Or is it politically expedient to goose markets? Do the corporate elitists want the big payback for backing the powers that be and insist upon a rising market into year-end?” he asks. “Do they see a catastrophe coming that will require hyperinflation to bail the U.S. out? Maybe.”

I’m going to add to this post as I find related stories. Thing is, there are so many of them out there!

After some googling on this topic, turned up a number of references to the same bank you can buy “Certificates of Desposit” (CDs) in foreign currency, e.g. Euros).

Some threads (1, 2) on this topic. This story looks really good, and also references Everbank. The bank itself, link to products you can invest in. Seems to get lots of awards too, though need to research those a bit first.

2007-11-06 update
7 Countries Considering Abandoning the US Dollar (and what it means)

Billionaires secret philanthropy detailed - Give and Take - MSNBC.com

Where homes are affordable - Tonawanda, New York (3) - Money Magazine

Median family income: $51,819
Median home price (2006): $74,878

The town’s name means “Swift Running Water” not “Crazy Real Estate Bubble.” Tonawanda..

(more…)

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