The U.S. government prepares to pass and enforce a new consumer protection law as of February 2010. This law will limit the power of U.S. credit card companies and their flexible ability to raise interest rates in high percentages for their clients. In anticipation of the new law and current problem, the government sent letters out to some of the many major credit card companies requesting the freezing of the current interest rates for consumers. Of all these companies only Discover reports it will freeze the interest rates for current card-holders, very convenient prior to the holiday season. However, other companies are taking advantage of this period, hiking up interest rates in high percentages while they still have a rather easy ability to do so. The February consumer protection law will create more obstacles and inconvenience for companies trying to increase interest rates.
Therefore, this has very large affects on consumers. With these new actions taken by credit card companies–not including Discover–consumers are feeling restricted as well as betrayed. Many long-time consumers particularly feel betrayed from the increase in their interest rates. In ways of the economy, this will restrict consumers action on the market, especially at this time of the year, the beginning of a major shopping period. This could decrease consumer demand and may in return hurt the producers of products as well as services. Another possibility is that these credit-card holders may change their credit-card companies, again hurting another market (credit card companies).
This new law may help U.S. consumers come February, however, for the present this issue seems to be hurting consumers in a big way, and also hurting the economy as it approaches the holiday season.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/09/credit.card.outrage/index.html
As of September 28, 2009 Germany elected their chancellor to be Angela Merkel. This would be Merkel’s second term in the position and she remains a popular political figure despite the economic downfall endured by Germany as well as other countries in Europe and around the world. This election also leaves a mark on history as the SPD party has its lowest percentage of representation in the German Diet since World War II. Also with a coalition to be formed between the CDU/CSU (Merkel’s party) and the FDP, Merkel will have a very high representation in the legislature.
