Matt Wade reports for tomorrow morning's Sydney Morning Herald on a new analysis performed by Network Economics and sponsored by Visa that shows that the changes introduced in credit card interchange fees in 2003 by the Reserve Bank of Australia "had either a negligible or, more likely, a slightly negative effect on consumer welfare."   » Continue Reading

Gayle Keck and R. Paul Herman report for the Washington Post on dynamic currency conversion -- where purchases are rung up in US dollars at merchants abroad.

It could be a bad deal. If the transaction is run in dollars, cardholders can get socked with a dismal exchange rate, compared with charges that are processed in the local currency (euros, for example) and converted at or near the interbank clearing rate by Visa or MasterCard.

TheDeal.com reports on Oracle's interest in potentially acquiring a controlling interest in India's i-Flex Solutions Ltd.