Another Earthquake: Chile

Another Earthquake has struck, this time in Chile:

A massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake rocked Chile early Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, killing at least 147 people and triggering tsunami warnings for the entire Pacific basin.

I'll post if there is an update on the tsunami...Tragic though.

Scott Brown: Renegade Senator

Scott Brown is being vilified by his fellow republicans for voting for the Jobs Bill. Here's what one critic had to say:

"I've taken three votes," Brown said with exasperation. "And to say I've sold out any particular party or interest group, I think, is certainly unfair."

Brown has responded:

"I've taken three votes," Brown said with exasperation. "And to say I've sold out any particular party or interest group, I think, is certainly unfair."

He's getting skewered by conservatives for this, but I personally didn't expect him to continue to crusade on what he was elected on. He's making decisions based on what he promised; to help Massachusetts. I think he's doing a very good job right now.

ObamaCare Gaining Momentum

Someone watch this and explain it to me, I can't understand anything right now.

Rain Down: Floods in Madeira

The Island has been rocked by flash floods:

The Portuguese government meanwhile has declared three days of mourning after at least 42 people died in the floods.

Crews continues to try and clear things up:

Specialist army teams are working to get through to communities that remain cut off, with roads blocked and bridges collapsed.
Military personnel and civilian emergency teams have been clearing huge piles of rocks from roads and pumping mud and water out of shops and houses.

While people have been told to evacuate:

Dozens of people in Madeira have been ordered to evacuate their homes, amid fears of fresh landslides following deadly floods on the island.

It's not a very good situation on the Portuguese Island.

Credit Crunch

The new laws on credit go into effect on Monday. The Houston Chronicle highlights the changes.

Payment Timing:

Credit card companies must send you a statement at least 21 days before the payment due date. And under the newly effective portions of the law, when payments are for more than the minimum amount due, the additional money must be applied first to the highest-rate balance.

Payment Protection:

The new law requires credit card companies to process payments on the same day they are received. Therefore, payments are considered on time if they are received on the due date or the following day if the company was closed on the due date. This also extends to payments made on or before the due date at a local branch.

Double Billing:

It's no longer legal for credit card companies to charge interest twice on the same balance by collecting finance charges on current and previous balances.

Rate Increases:

redit card promotional rates must be for at least six months. In general, rates on existing balances cannot be raised unless your payment is more than 60 days late.

If you are more than 60 days late and your interest rate goes up as a result, you can get the original rate restored if you make six consecutive months of on-time payments.

Card issuers can raise rates on new balances, but they now must give you 45 days notice, an increase from 15 days.

If you decline to accept the rate hike, you will no longer be able to use the card to make new purchases. You will have to pay off the balance on the card at the old rate and apply for a new card when it's paid off.

Credit Limits:

Credit issuers can no longer automatically enroll you in over-the-limit protection programs that charge fees for letting you borrow more than you have been approved to borrow.

So when a purchase exceeds your credit limit, your card will be declined. As embarrassing as that may be while you are standing at a cash register, it might keep you from spending more with a credit card than you can afford to pay back.

Credit card issuers do have the option of letting you borrow more than your credit limit in exchange for a fee, but the new law only allows them to charge only one over-the-limit fee in a billing cycle.

If you choose to use this option, you need to know how much you'll have to pay for that service. It won't come cheap.

Seems like most of these are to protect the consumer.