In an article titled "Credit Line Cuts Could Boomerang", Maria Aspan writes for the American Banker about the various actions now being taken by credit card issuers to reign in credit risk "could soon start causing their customers to do something many homeowners did this year: walk away from their obligations." Aspan cites former credit card industry executives who say that cards with little or no purchasing power left (because of credit line cuts) rank low in terms of consumer's propensity to pay.

After falling to its lowest measurement ever in November, economic confidence among small business owners rose slightly in December. The Discover Small Business Watch rose to 72.8 in December, up 5.3 points from November. The index was buoyed by increased optimism that their own business prospects are improving and an indication that more will increase spending on business development in the next six months. READ MORE »

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