European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 28, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse June 2007 stars and stripes Page 17 your Money expert sees need for a Fin print regulator Dicey mortgage offers targeted by Pamela Yip the Dallas morning news Dallas if a toaster or toy is found to be harmful to the consumer product safety commission issues a recall of the but who protects Consumers from dangerous financial such As Pollyann pitched subprime mortgages and credit cards with gobbledygook in their Legal disclosures in a recent article for democracy a journal of Elizabeth Warren proposes a Finan Cial product safety a professor at Harvard Law school and a nationally respected expert on bankruptcy and consume finance is calling for a new regulatory regime to review credit card of Home car Loans and a Host of other financial products for consumer safety is Why Are Consumers Safe when they Pur Chase tangible consumer products with but when they sign up for routine financial products like mortgages and credit they Are left at the mercy of their creditors Warren her financial product safety commission would establish guidelines for consumer disco collect and report data about the uses of different financial evaluate new products for and require modification of dangerous products before they can be marketed to the financial services companies already Are regulated by organizations such As the Federal re which sets Banks Reserve and the Federal Deposit insurance which insures Bank but reviewing of the actual consumer products is done in a Patchwork if at Warren for Congress has had to introduce legislation to prohibit credit card companies from engaging in practices that keep Consumers locked in the Federal Reserve Board has proposed amendments to truth lending Laws that would require card issuers to make disclosures More not the financial services Indus try says another regulator int we in the banking Industry have at least four five or six if you want to include state Bank regulators and the securities and Exchange commission for various securities prod says Wayne executive director for regulatory affairs at the american Bank ers these four Bank regulators have authorities and resources that Are Broad and adding one More layer would be More than and everyone knows More bureaucracy can make things worse instead of Consumers can be Hurt by As Well As says Michael a finance and economics professor at Southern methodist there is the possibility that the Agency is captured by the Industry it regulates and becomes More inter ested in protecting the established firms from Competition than in protecting Scott John Edwards Speaks at a forum sponsored by the american federation of county and municipal employees this month in washing the democratic presidential hopefuls platform includes proposals to make lenders and credit card issuers More responsive to customers wary of their business Warrens proposal would seem to have Little Chance of becoming but democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has picked up on some of her ideas and worked them into his Warren and Edwards Are tapping into the frustrations so Many americans feel when Deal ing with lenders and the credit reporting Indus whose practices often seem designed to manipulate Consumers for the Benefit of Corpora even As those practices Are defended by Industry lobbyists and some politicians As a Nat free of theres one thing that no regulator or government Agency can and that to protect us from our own poor financial Deci we still have to assume personal response the basis of the safety Standard Doest mean no one will get into financial Warren what its designed to do is make sure that no one gets in trouble because of tricks and traps that Are buried on Page 37 in language that no one first Home be impulse buy by Marshall Loeb Market watch new York owning a Home is a key to the american but with foreclosure rates at a 50year High in the it has never been More important to be a responsible Here Are four Steps firs time Home buyers should take before sinking their life savings into a House assess your in Gener the higher your fico the better your interest with a score of 650 or you should have no problem securing a if your score is 600 or you May want to consider improving it before applying for for a free credit visit determine How much to Bor Many firs time Home buyers make the mistake of borrowing As much As their Banks or credit unions Are willing to while most lenders Are comfortable is suing Loans Worth up to 33 per cent of your Gross Many financial planners believe 25 per cent is a More prudent Factor in ongoing be fore taking out a mortgage be sure to Factor in expenses like Home Basic maintenance and property save up to be sure to set aside enough Money for a Home inspection and these fees vary from Region to so ask your real estate agent How much you can expect to and dont forget about closing costs thursdays Market summary indexes 52 High Low name last net chg Ltd 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Fidelity invest Fidelity invest Fidelity spartan Putnam funds a Erlna Amer Century inv Fidelity invest Fidelity invest Fidelity invest aim investments a const Frnk a aim investments a Charta Fidelity advisor Fidelity advisor Putnam funds a Globe qty Fidelity advisor Putnam funds a gig a Exchange rates military rates euro costs june Dollar buys june British Pound june japanese yen june South korean won june commercial rates Bahrain British Canada China Denmark Egypt Hong Kong Hungary Israel Japan Kuwait Norway Philippines Poland saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey new military Exchange rates Are those available to customers at military Bank ing facilities in the country of issuance for South the Netherlands and the United for no local currency Exchange rates purchasing British pounds in Germa Check with your local military Bank ing commercial rates Are inter Bank rates provided for reference when buying All figures Are foreign currencies to one except for the British which is represented in and the which is precious metals new York merc close Gold Silver interest rates prime discount Federal funds Market rate 3month 30year sources the associated Bank of America and sensibility Money tip of the Day Blackberry not your Boss by Marshall Loeb Market watch new York Are you addicted to your Blackberry if you think you might ask your self the following questions when is the last time you postponed a facet face Conversa Tion with someone to Check an important email via wireless handheld have you Ever com posed an email while driving do you secretly think the world would come to a screeching halt if you Arent available 24 hours a Day if you answered yes to any of these its time for a re fresher course in Blackberry Eti Here Are four rules theres no such thing As an email to break yourself of the habit of obsessively checking your remember if someone really needed to get a hold of they pick up the the world does not revolve around chances Are youre just not that Busy and and insisting on checking your messages when in the company of family and colleagues is destined to make you even less stick to a decide on the times of Day that youre going to Check your emails and Voicemail via Blackberry and then Tell the relevant people what they some users pre Fer to do their Blackberry correspondence in the morning and while others keep theirs switched on Only during work whatever you the key is to draw respect Blackberry Black out even if you have the kind of Job that demands you be chained to your you should be aware that there Are times when its inappropriate even dangerous to use the most obvious examples Are while during inter views and in but you May also want to adopt a no interruptions policy when spending time with family and lets face no one likes the idea of playing second fiddle to a
