| Consumer pain looms with banks to hike credit cost
Such sharp changes are worrying for Gordon Brown since economic management has been central to both his personal reputation and to Labour’s electoral success over the past decade. Rising credit card rates will add pressure to over-stretched households struggling to cope with increased mortgage payments and higher utility bills. British consumers have amassed a total credit debt of £65 billion, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Martin Lewis, of moneysavingexpert.com, the financial website, said: "Will credit card rates rise next year? Yes. People who then try to switch to another card company to avoid paying more face the possibility of being turned down." In addition to increasing interest rates, a growing number of banks are turning down credit-card applications in an effort to reduce their exposure to debt.
Maple Leafs turning to Cliff Fletcher?
Fletcher joined the Maple Leafs from Calgary in 1991 and had them in the Western Conference final two years later. Mats Sundin knows him and trusts him. This is a critical point. The upcoming Sundin trade – which the various factions understand must happen – needs to be done by a person who can convince the captain to waive his no-trade clause for the good of the franchise. It's nice that Sundin doesn't want to be seen as a rat leaving a sinking ship, but someone has to tell him that he's only hurting the franchise with his loyalty if the team cannot get something for its most valuable asset. Fletcher, who traded for the guy in 1994, is that man. Plus, if Sundin wants to come back as a free agent in the summer, Fletcher's assurance would mean something to him. Another reason Fletcher would be attractive to the Leafs' board is that he's available.
Wall St set to start higher
US STOCK index futures pointed to a higher market open as investors bet the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates. Shares of several big US banks, including Citigroup and Bank of America, rose in European trading. "The anticipation of a rate cut is putting in a floor under the financial stocks and moving many of them higher in Europe as rate cuts generally help the financial sector of the market," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont. Fed funds futures are pricing in a quarter point cut in the benchmark rate to 4.5 per cent. Markets were rattled on Tuesday, however, after the Wall Street Journal's Fed watcher wrote a cut was not a "sure thing." "Any surprises could quickly move things off centre," Mr Mendelsohn said.
Big Media Octopuses, Cutting Off Tentacles
The media octopuses have taken to cutting off their own limbs. But the current round of media deconsolidation isn't driven by politics, media "reformista" activism, or government regulation. It's all about business. In the long run, entrepreneurs tend to have a very hard time making media conglomeration pay off. E.W. Scripps Co. and Belo Corp. are among the most recent media conglomerates to spin themselves apart. Scripps announced plans in October to cleave itself into two publicly traded companies—a newspaper and television stations group and an outfit owning Scripps' cable channels and online shopping properties. In a similar move earlier in the month, Belo divorced its newspapers from its TV stations to create two new firms. Wall Street, which had urged the breakups, rewarded both companies with bumps in their stock prices.
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