Word: cards
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...banks in 19 countries, which are not bound by the U.S. bylaws, in a drive to boost foreign business from 30% of the company's total to 50% within a decade. Such banks as Britain's NatWest and France's Credit Lyonnais now put their names on American Express cards. As a result, Golub says, the number of merchants that accept American Express plastic outside the U.S. "is coming up rapidly." That means the card will be even less exclusive than ever, but Amex has learned that it no longer pays to thumb its nose at the masses...
...consumers, the world of plastic is not looking so fantastic anymore. AT&T Corp.'s departure from the business--its Universal Card portfolio is being sold to Citibank for $3.5 million--is the latest buyout, as the industry consolidates in an attempt to get back on the gravy train it once rode. With fewer big competitors, the remaining card issuers are getting less generous. AT&T's initial no-fee offer inspired a wink of inducements from other issuers, each upping the ante with low initial rates and rebates. And consumers snapped them up, stuffing an average of seven cards...
...many in the industry, profits have melted under the costs of these incentives. They fell 24% in 1996--dropping 300% from the mid-1980s--and remained flat last year, pounded by a wave of delinquencies as consumers maxed out their debt. "The credit-card free-for-all has come back to haunt the industry," says Robert McKinley, president of RAM Research. To stanch the southern flow of profits, card issuers are seeking to edge up their income by retrenching on offers and charging penalties, new fees and higher rates...
...year). That means they already pay at least $1,000 a year in fees and interest. The average interest rate is 18.84%, up from 17.7% a year ago. Mellon Bank of Pittsburgh, Pa., assesses its cardholders $15 for not charging during a six-month period. If you cancel your card account with Advanta Bank of Wilmington, Del., it may impose a $25 fee as a parting gift. Warns McKinley: "There are going to be more costs associated with cards in the future." And that future...
...remote chance Kaczynski could someday go free. The court is still considering the issue of Kaczynski's competency, and if the Unabomber suspect were found mentally unfit, any plea bargain deal would go out of the window. That would not automatically give Kaczynski a get-out-of-jail-free card, but the possibility exists...