Word: credit-card
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This week the largest financial firms in the nation have been reporting how they did in the last three months of 2009. In two words: not good. Citigroup and Bank of America lost roughly $8 billion and $5 billion, respectively. The credit-card and mortgage businesses of JPMorgan Chase, which reported their earnings last week, were a disappointment. Wells Fargo posted a profit, but nonperforming loans and related charge-offs both jumped. Morgan Stanley turned a profit in the fourth quarter, but it was less than what analysts expected. Even earnings growth at Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs somewhat slowed...
With banks reluctant to loosen purse strings and credit-card companies aggressively slashing credit lines, a growing number of consumers are turning to the once murky world of pawnshops for quick cash. "Loans are up 20% to 25%," estimates David Crume, president of the National Pawnbrokers Association...
Although pawn loans are far pricier than credit-card and bank loans, they also are faster, don't require complicated paperwork and don't affect one's personal credit. Since the loan is backed by merchandise, if the loan isn't repaid, the person simply loses the pawned item - "whereas with other types of loans, I could lose my house or car," says Henry Coffey, a senior analyst at Sterne Agee & Leach...
...need to wait until you get home and turn on the computer. Simply enter a five- or six-digit code into your cell phone, along with a single word in the body of the text, such as "Haiti." You don't even need to plug in your credit-card info - the donation amount is simply added to your next phone bill. It's all so quick and convenient, you can give in the moment. There's no chance of you forgetting to do it later. (See pictures of the Haiti quake's aftermath...
...bath or steal mint-chip ice cream from the fridge - a "Goldilocks thing," one investigator says. Initially, Harris-Moore seemed to steal only what he needed for life in the woods. "He's a survivalist," says Archibald. The teenager allegedly used one homeowner's computer and credit-card information to order bear mace and a pair of $6,500 night-vision goggles. (See the top 10 gadgets...