Odysseas Papadimitriou is the CEO of Card Hub, an online marketplace for secured and unsecured credit cards, prepaid cards and gift cards.
I share this article only if you PROMISE to pay your credit card in full after Christmas. Please do not go into debt by paying the usary finance charges of the credit card companies in purchasing things you can't afford.
Best Credit Cards for Holiday Shopping-From Investopedia.com
Have you ever thought about how Santa pays for Christmas? I'm sure you didn't as a kid, but adulthood evokes financial realities, and while you could rely on a bit of North Pole magic, you could also take advantage of the many attractive offers that currently exist in the credit card space, which have the potential to save you hundreds of dollars.
A sliver of silver lining from the Great Recession is the effect it has had on the consumer recruitment efforts undertaken by credit card companies. More specifically, the body blows the financial downturn administered to the portfolios of major credit card companies in the form of high delinquency and default rates emphasized the importance of garnering a financially stable customer base. So, like NCAA rule breakers, credit card companies are offering gifts to recruits with high credit scores in return for opening new cards. Given that these gifts typically come in the form of lucrative initial rewards bonuses and/or lengthy 0% introductory rates, they can be quite helpful during the busy holiday shopping season.
The best of the bunch are the following:
- Initial rewards bonus: The Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card offers 50,000 bonus points for spending $3,000 in the first three months after account opening, and does not charge an annual fee during the first year. The bonus points are worth either $625 in travel accommodations or $500 in the form of a check or statement credit.
- Zero percent on purchases: Roughly 29% of U.S. adults will need a few months to pay off holiday gift purchases this year, according to an American Express survey. A 0% credit card, like the Citi Dividend World MasterCard, would prove useful to members of this group, given its 15-month 0% purchase APR, $100 initial rewards bonus and 5% cash back on purchases made at numerous stores through the end of the year.
- Zero percent on transfers: Around 14 million U.S. consumers are still saddled with debt from the holidays last year, according to a Consumer Reports survey. Opening a 0% balance transfer credit card, like the Citi Platinum Select MasterCard, which does not charge interest on transferred debt for 21 months, could help you pay off debt faster and thereby make this year's holiday season easier to handle, both financially and mentally.
Are These Cards Right for Everyone?
There are two types of people for whom the aforementioned cards are not a good fit. These cards are not a good fit for those with average or below-average credit, or those that will need the best possible credit score in the next six months because of an important loan application.The reasons for this are simple. You will not get approved for any of the cards mentioned above without excellent credit (typically a FICO score above 720) and your credit score may take a short-term hit when you open a new loan or line of credit.
For the latter reason, some consumers may be hesitant to open a new credit card just to save on holiday expenses, even if they don't have any looming credit decisions. If you fit this description, you want a credit card that will prove financially helpful not only during the holiday season, but also throughout the rest of the year and beyond.
The Capital One Venture Card is the "most rewarding card if you crave free airline flights," according to Money Magazine. It offers two miles for each dollar that you spend, which amounts to 2% cash back as long as you redeem miles for charges related to travel. It also provides a $100 initial rewards bonus for spending $1,000 in the first three months and, like all Capital One credit cards, does not assess foreign transaction fees, meaning it is a good tool for overseas travel.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, whichever card you settle on, if any, I hope that your holidays are happy and free of financial concern.
2) In the Markets today:
U.S. stocks ended the week with a whimper, as continued jitters surrounding Europe's debt crisis weighed on investor sentiment.
Stocks close higher signs of improving U.S. economy-From USA Today
Stocks closed up Friday after shooting up at the open and then giving up most of the gains the rest of the trading session. Good news on the state of the U.S. economy and spending cuts by Italy lifted traders' hopes about Europe's progress toward taming its debt crisis. A flat reading on U.S. inflation helped send bond yields lower.
Italy's lower house of parliament approved an austerity package in hopes of lowering the country's escalating borrowing costs.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.42 points to 11,866.39 as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 3.91 points to 1,219.66. The Nasdaq composite index rose 14.32 points, or 0.6%, to 2,555.33.
The gains were broad and had been much stronger earlier in the trading day. All 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 index rose, led by industrial and materials companies. U.S. factories in some regions have seen shipments and orders rise this month, according to two surveys released Wednesday. Materials companies are benefiting from soaring commodity prices.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Boeing (BA) led the Dow higher. Both were up 2.3% at one point and had given up most of those gains as the close approached.
Some analysts believe nervousness about Europe this fall and winter have pushed stock prices lower than their fair value. Investment adviser Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners, expects stocks to rise into next year because of the growing likelihood that economic news and European headlines will remain positive.
"The odds are, the news is going to be better than the market is discounting," Landesman said. He said the market is near the low end of its recent trading range, and a dose of positive news could set off a mini-rally. Any market moves next week could be sharp as trading volume thins out before the Christmas holiday, Landesman said.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note plunged to 1.84% Friday from 1.91% Thursday after the government said consumer prices were unchanged in November, suggesting that inflation remains low. Low inflation makes bonds more attractive because it doesn't diminish the buying power of the fixed return a bond provides over time.
This week's U.S. Treasury's auctions of government notes were blockbuster sales because of copious foreign buying. European banks are under pressure to shore up their balance sheets to meet new regulatory requirements. With European government bonds declining in value, the banks have no choice but to bulk up by buying what is currently viewed as the safest asset: U.S. Treasuries.
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIMM) plunged 11% after it said late Thursday that new phones seen as critical to the company's future will be delayed until late next year. The company also is taking a big loss on unsold tablet computers and predicted that BlackBerry sales will fall sharply during the holiday sales season.
If stocks hold their gains, it will be only their second rise this week. Indexes gained Thursday after positive economic news brought relief to choppy markets. The Dow rose 45 points after separate reports showed sharply fewer layoffs and better business conditions for factories on the Eastern seaboard.
Italy's austerity measures are seen as a crucial step toward soothing fears about Europe. The nations' borrowing costs have risen in recent weeks to levels at which other nations, such as Greece and Portugal, were forced to take bailouts.
The cuts are aimed at persuading bond traders that Italy can emerge from the widening crisis without defaulting on its debts. The nation still sits on a $2.5 trillion powder keg of debt that could cause a global economic recession if it defaults.
Stocks were mixed in Europe, giving up earlier gains.
Among U.S. companies making big moves:
— Online game developer Zynga (ZNGA) ended the day down 50 cents at $9.50 after plunging nearly 7% during its first day of trading on the Nasdaq. Zynga's initial public offering was priced late Thursday at $10 per share, to raise $1 billion. That means the San Francisco company, which specializes in Facebook games, can boast the biggest Internet IPO since Google (GOOG) first offered shares in 2004.
— New York-area cable TV provider Cablevision Systems (CVC) plunged 8.5% and was down as much as 15% in morning trading, the most in the S&P 500, following the sudden departure of its chief operating officer, Tom Rutledge.
— Adobe Systems (ADBE) rose 6.6% and had traded nearly 7.5% higher earlier in the session, the most in the S&P 500, after the software maker reported earnings and revenues that were far better than what analysts had expected. Analyst Walter Pritchard at Citigroup said the quarter was a "blow-out when most expected weakness."
More ramifications from the financial collapse of 2008
Rattner: Taxpayers will lose $14B on auto bailouts-From The Detroit Free Press
Taxpayers will lose about $14 billion on the $82 billion investment to restructure General Motors, Chrysler and Ally Financial, former auto czar Steven Rattner said Thursday.
"It's unambiguous that it was a success," Rattner told the Detroit Economic Club, acknowledging his inherent bias because he led the effort.
He said at the time there were no private sources of capital to finance in a bankruptcy for either GM or Chrysler. Fast action was essential. And at least 500,000 jobs were at stake when suppliers, dealerships and other vendors were included, he said.
Whether the $14 billion loss is accurate will depend on when and at what price the U.S. Treasury sells the approximately 25% stake it still holds in GM. GM stock (GM) is trading around $20.30, well below the $33 at which the company went public in November 2010.
In addition, Rattner acknowledged in a recently published epilogue to his 2010 book, "Overhaul," that about $19.4 billion the government put into GM before the 2009 bankruptcy is "lost money."
Asked what he would have done differently, Rattner at first said, "amazingly little," but then after a brief reflection he added, "We put more cash into GM than we now, in hindsight, probably needed to."
Rattner, who is now a cable television pundit and manager of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's personal fortune, said the auto bailout was unfair to certain groups of people.
Salaried retirees from Delphi, GM's largest supplier, had their pension plan terminated with benefit cuts for some retirees of up to 70%, while the bankruptcies of GM and Delphi provided government money to bolster the pensions of UAW retirees.
"While the Delphi salaried retirees did get the short end of the stick, the GM salaried retirees took a fairly significant haircut on their medical benefits," Rattner said.
Chrysler and GM ended franchise agreements of hundreds of dealers, many of whom had received sterling evaluations for sales and customer service.
Rattner said dozens of industry leaders, consultants, economists and dealers told the Obama administration's Auto Task Force that having too many dealers was a competitive disadvantage for both Detroit automakers. But he said his team did not choose which dealers were terminated.
He also said the fact that the task force did not need congressional approval enabled it to act quickly.
Both GM's and Chrysler's bankruptcies were completed in about 40 days.
"I'm convinced if we had to go through Congress for any approval, at least one of these companies would have had to liquidate," Rattner said.
One questioner asked why the Obama administration has been ineffective in reviving the housing market or convincing lenders to do more to revise existing mortgages.
"We the government didn't extract a big enough price from the banks for what was spent to rescue them," Rattner said. "They got a lot of capital at really cheap prices and almost no one lost their job at the senior level."
4) Quote of the Day from Dave Ramsey.com:
It's really easy to complain. If you're not careful you end up complaining about your whole life. Concentrating on the good things is really good. Catch people doing good. — Lisa Williams
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