MortgageQuestions.com, therefore, seeks to answer and provide solution to mortgage concerns, remember that when it comes to buying a home, it all boils down to individual taste. According to research, areas where a large faction of homeowners are of low income then the property value is significantly low when compared to homes in the metropolitan area. In light of the above, potential homeowners who are experiencing financing problems with their mortgages should be able to find the relevant help at mortgagequestions.com.

How to register on MortgageQuestions.com

To register for an online mortgagequestions.com account, a user must first access the mortgage questions website and then click on the link Register for Online Access. They will then be presented with prompts that will require for them to give up their personal details, such as their full social security number, their last name, and a valid email address among other important details. Users should also remember to have with them their loan number, which is characteristic of 10 digits.

Another important step is to find a secure username and password then proceed to confirm the password and then select the next step. A user will then be required to select three security questions that they can easily remember, fill in the correct answers, save, and then proceed to log in. To log in to mortgagequestions, a user must now return to the mortgagequestions.com home page and use their username and password to log in.

How to log in to your MortgageQuestions.com online account

If you are a first-time user and want to log in to mortgagequestions, ensure that you have the following information, the official mortgagequestions login web address, a valid username and password, an Email address, and a social security number.

In your browser, you will then type www.mortgagequestions.com, the official mortgagequestions login site, and then proceed to select the mortgagequestion.com sign in link provided, for users who have a username and password. Proceed to fill in the empty fields, and then select the login option to gain access to your account.

How to pay your MortgageQuestions account

When it comes to mortgagequestions make a payment, the process might eat up a small amount of your time but it is as easy as ABC. If you have an account at mortgagequestions then simply log in, and find the area in the interface that reads mortgage payments. Select the option and then input the figure that you are willing to pay, complete with the date of payment. Counter check to ensure that the banking information that you have entered is without errors that could lead to late payment and then send in your payment, but be sure to check the price confirmation, before logging out.

MortgageQuestions – make a payment by phone

Individuals who have successfully registered and have the mortgagequestions account can use an alternative and faster means as regards the mortgagequestions make a payment, and by completing the fund’s transfer process through the phone. The mortgagequestions.com published digits are 1-800-449-8767; assistance will be available only from 9.00 am to 8.00 pm Eastern Time, Monday to Friday.

The payments can also be made, through mailing, and the General mail details, are PHH Mortgage services, P.O. Box 94087 Palatine, IL 60094-4087. The above are for the Mortage accounts, but if you wish to use the general mail, then the details are PHH mortgage services, P.O. Box 5452, Mount Laurel, NJ 08054-5452.

MortgageQuestions Username Recovery

While most of us are used to forgetting only our passwords, there are certain times that we tend to forget both the username and the password or only the username or password. So in case you are unable to log in to your mortgagequestions account because you forgot your username, just swing by the mortgagequestions, website, and at the bottom of the page, select the forgot username option.

You will then be asked to provide your SSN, and your Email Address, and proceed to click on the recover button; after which, you will be provided with instructions that will help complete the username recovery process.

MortgageQuestions Password Reset

If you can’t remember your mortgagequestions account password, then move to their official website, www.mortgagequestions.com and find the forgot password link then click on it. A user will then be required to enter, their personal details such as their SSN, their email Username, and email address in the relevant fields. The provided recover button should take you to the next step where you will be provided with instructions to recover the forgotten password.

We know that at the back of your mind, you are thinking of the security of your credit cards and wondering if it is possible for MyCCPAY, to offer the required security given the incessant cybercrime cases. So, this is what you must know as concerns the security protocols implemented by MyCCpay, the connection portal features a 128bit secure socket layer encryption which is used to encrypt and decrypt data, among other information transmitted, in between the computer and the server over the internet.

Concerning the cardholder’s information stored in the MyCCpay login portal, it might interest you to know that the official server is secured behind a firewall obliterating any chances of third parties from gaining access to the cardholder’s data.

How to register for a myccpay account

To become a member of myccpay a user will first visit the institution’s official website, www.myccpay.com , then select register at the bottom of the page, which is highlighted in blue, just before the forgot your password and username features. Users will then be presented with a form, where they will be required to input, their account and security details.

The relevant information that they will have to give up are such as the last digits, of their SSN, their postal code, their email address, and their username. Individuals must also derive a password via the provided criteria and must ensure that it has either 8 or 17 characters, and then click on the register button at the bottom of the form.

How to activate myccpay account

MyCCpay account activation process can be done at the official website, www.myccpay.com, after the successful registration of your account; an individual will then sign in to the myccpay account, with the relevant login credentials, and then proceed to click on activate the account feature.  Users must however ensure to go through the provided set of rules and regulations before they select activate.

How to log in to myccpay account

For security purposes, myccpay account holders should ensure that they access their accounts via the institution’s official website, in this case, it will be www.myccpay.com login. Once into the website, myccpay customer will be presented with a myccpay account login form, located at the center of the page, they will then provide their user ID/username, then their newly created password, and click the login button highlighted in blue.

How to reset your myccpayaccount login password

Password reset can be done easily, through the www.myccpay.com link, then proceed to select the forgot password feature, and then input the 16 digit account number in the correct order, followed by the last 4digits of the users social security number, then the postal code and proceed to click on the submit button.

Account-holders will then receive a temporary password that they will use to access their accounts and which they must later change once they have successfully gained access to their accounts.

Total visa Login

The MyCCpay website can accommodate a variety of cards, ranging from the Access MasterCard, the Emblem master card, and a couple of visa cards with the most common one being the Total visa credit card. The latter is the best option for users who have experienced difficulties, in getting credit in the past, the total visa login is easy in the myccpay portal, however, users must not expect a high credit limit with this particular card; the same goes for the First Access visa credit card.

MyCCpay Benefits

Given that we have already highlighted the watertight security features that myccpay has put in place, there are other more welcoming features configured to afford users seamless interaction with their accounts, as they manage the various credit cards. Account-holders will, therefore, be presented with an intuitive portal and from which they can save their login credentials for the different cards.

The portal allows users to track their transaction details, they can also check their balances and due dates, make the necessary payments and even receive the statements of the different cards at the same portal. And if you would like to narrow it down to mini statements of a particular period then myccpay is well capable of providing you with the information.

To access the portal, all a user needs is the internet, a laptop and they can log in from any location. MyCCpay comes highly recommended for users who have more than one credit card from different banks and are having a hard time managing them separately. So through myccpay portal they can get information about the different credit cards from the same portal.

Many people are always concerned with the safety of their cash with the different types of banks, a fact that puts Td bank on the spot light, is the bank trustworthy. Td bank has an average of 26 million clients worldwide, and has been around since 1855, meaning that it has been serving people for over 160 years; what’s more, is that the bank offers a variety of checking and savings accounts effectively catering to the different categories of clients.

How to Register for the TD credit service

When it comes to registering for TD credit card services, the process is successfully done through the TD bank website, important to note is that TD offers up to 4 different accounts that their potential clients can register. Their clients can, therefore, register for a personal account, a commercial account, a small business account, or an investing account.

Cardholders will, therefore, go to the Easy Web Registration and click on the register link, input their personal details, which are the access card number, their first and last names, and the date of birth. The last field is the postal code, after which they will have to confirm their identity, create a username and password; cardholders can also input their email and confirm then create a password and confirm then complete the process.

TD card services activation

The TD credit card can be activated through the bank’s published toll-free phone number. The phone activation process is, therefore, completed by calling 1 (800) 983-8472 then the cardholder will follow the online prompts, to complete the activation process and use their credit cards. Most importantly is that cardholders should ensure to have their new credit cards with them when they opt for the phone activation process.

TD bank visa login

Once you have logged into the TD application through their official website www.tdcardservices.com login, you will input your username or the access card number, the second step will be to set up the two-step verification. Account owners will then be required to input and verify their phone number, then enter their email address. They will then confirm their security code login options, and proceed to choose their new password

How to pay your TD credit card bill?

TD allows its clients to set up the Pre-authorized payments, more especially on the recurring bill payments. The above is a favorable option because it frees up time for other important activities, and ensures timely payment of bills.

The overall process of clearing up your TD credit card bill is pretty simple, so after login on the easy web, the cardholder will select the payments from the left menu or in the accounts tab. The next step is to select pay Canadian bills, and then they will proceed to click on the Add Payee feature, but still on the pay Canadians Bills page.

The last step is to enter the payee name, then the type of credit card, and then proceed to click on search.

How to reset your TD credit card password

Resetting your TD credit card password follows two processes the traditional and the conventional online processes that only require the cardholder to input their details. So, for the traditional option, the cardholder will have to visit their local TD bank store, with the relevant card in hand, complete with the proper identification documents. The TD bank representative will then re-code the card and the new PIN will be activated on the spot.

Cardholders who wish to change or reset their card password, will first log in to the bank’s official website, then select the “forgot username or password” option. From where they will select “Forgot Password,” they will then enter the username or the access card number then through the two-step verification, they will verify their identity.

Back to the create password page, and the cardholder will enter their new password, in the new password field, and then they will retype it to confirm the new password.

Benefits of the TD Credit card

TD Bank has simplified account management and given its clients access to the most sensitive and relevant information concerning their account operations. Cardholders can, therefore, monitor their credit score, redeem their rewards, and view their recent activities through the TD card services app.

What’s more is that through the proper setup, cardholders will be provided with the account alerts, and they can also turn on their electronic statements.

Farm machinery equipments are quite costly, and that is why most users prefer to take them on credit and slowly finance the debt. If you have, therefore, been wishing to go down this road, and have no idea how, then you are lucky because we will walk you through the basics of Kubota Credit USA to help you effectively manage your Kubota credit USA.

Kubota credit USA registration process

While registering on Kubota credit USA remains the same as with other websites, individuals must realize that the company always provides its clients with a unique user id, which they will use during the registration process. Lack of the unique user id will deny any individual the permission to register, in the Kubota credit USA.

So, we did mention the registration process is conventional as you will see below. Users must, therefore, have a smart device, or a laptop. They have to ensure that their internet connectivity is not only stable but reliable; individuals must also have a user id that has been assigned by Kubota and the official URL address of the Kubota credit USA login.

The registration process is a bit lengthy but the fields don’t have anything out of the ordinary. So, on Google Chrome assuming that is the web browser that you will be using, you will input the official URL address of Kubota, www.kubotacreditusa.com. Selecting the above feature will take the potential client directly to the company’s website, and here users will first search for the login feature, and beneath it click on the register now option.

The latter will redirect you to Kubota’s Credit USA registration web page, and here you will input the details of your Kubota credit USA account, complete with the registration ID that had been assigned to you by Kubota. The next step is to enter the government savings number, then confirm that all the details entered are correct and press the submit button.

Kubota Credit login

All you need to login to your Kubota credit USA account is your user id and password. Now back to your favorite browser, you will key in the companies official login website, www.kubotacreditusa.com and by selecting the above website, users will be redirected to the official website which will then present them with the option of login at the top right corner. They will therefore input their user id and password.

By Keying in the correct information the Kubota credit USA account owners, will be presented with a dashboard from where they can run a myriad of activities, and access some of the useful features.

How to pay your Kubota Credit USA

Paying your debt to Kubota credit corporation has been simplified through the many avenues provided for people to submit their installments. Users will, therefore, have to choose from the online payments, there is also the installment payment form that individuals can use. Submission of the form to Kubota is by fax.

Payments can also be made through the mail, payments submitted through the mail come from clients who are in far away locations.

How to reset your Kubota Credit USA

In case you have forgotten your Kubota Credit USA password, no need to fret because the recovery process is simple and takes less time. So the first step would be to enter the official URL of Kubota Credit USA. And upon clicking the URL, users will be taken to the official web page and where they will be presented with the “Forgot User ID” option.

Selecting the above option, users will be taken to another page, where they will have to type the user ID associated with their Kubota Credit USA login account to confirm their identity and then click to proceed to the next option.

Kubota Credit USA customer service contact details

Individuals who want to reach out to Kubota for payments can use the following service phone numbers, 1-888-Go-Kubota, (888) 465-8268. And for the individuals who are looking to familiarize themselves with the Kubota farm equipments, they can visit www.kubotausa.com.

Benefits of using Kubota Credit USA

The benefits of using Kubota credit USA  are inexhaustible, users will, therefore, be provided with reminders of their pending debts, ten days to due date. They will also be provided with relevant information concerning the companies, the latest offers, and news. And if by any chance, the users are interested in particular offers, then all they have to do is like it and they will receive more notifications of the same.

What’s more is that users will be able to benefit from the company’s programs such as instant credit approvals, and the knowledgeable and expert specialists.

The bureaus will, therefore, collect personal financial information from Celtic Bank, which they will use to calculate an individual’s credit score. Information collected includes the amount of debt an individual has, compared to their credit limit; they will also dig into the bill payment history, and the length of the credit history, which will be used to provide information on the spending habits. There is also the credit mix, which is used to determine a person’s ability to manage various accounts.

How to Register My Indigo Card

To successfully register your Indigo Card, you will first have to visit the company’s official website, www. MyIndigoCard.com, and at the right upper side of the home screen, you will be presented with up to four options, but from which you will click on register. You will then be redirected to a new page, where you will be presented with a registration form.

Input your account number, which is the code that appears on your My Indigo Card; you will also be required to provide your date of birth in the correct sequence; then input your social security number, which usually comes with your card. Once all the fields have been correctly filled you will press the next option to complete the process and start managing all your financial activities online.

Individuals who otherwise feel that the above process is hectic can easily activate their Indigo Mastercard, by reaching out to customer service, through their telephone number 1-866-946-9545.

My Indigo Card Activate

Activation of myIndigo card can be done in two simple processes; the first one is by visiting www.”myindigocard”.com to activate, the site purely deals with card activation or through the mobile phone.

MyIndigocard/activate can be done easily through a users smart phone and all they have to do is dial the customer service number on their website, 1-866-946-9545. And while this option runs a couple of services, the user will press #, to speak to the company’s executive agent, for assistance with myindigocard activate process.

Indigo Card, Online activation process

So, for you to use your new MyIndigocard,, it first has to be activated, the second activation procedure is pretty simple done online, thus save the users time and money. Users will, therefore, be required to visit the “indigo.myfinanceservices.com,” website

On the website, you will be provided with a home page, where you will log in and tap on the card activate feature. You will then proceed to enter your log-in details, (Username and Password), which will ensure that you have successfully logged into your account. You will then have to input your card details, but for the card that you wish to activate; users will also have to settle with a strong pin code, and then proceed to press on the activation tab. To know that your card is working, you will be provided with a notification that your card has been activated.

How to Login to your Indigo Platinum Card?

To access the features and services of the Indigo Platinum Card, a user must first log in to their account; so the first step will be to visit myindigocard login official site, then input the login credentials (Username and Password). The last step will be to click on the log-in button in my indigo card com login and the card holder will be directed to their Indigo platinum master card.

If you are visiting the website for the first time, then you might want to take some time and learn how to interact with the various features, for effective utilization.

How to pay My Indigo Card bill?

Settling your Indigo platinum credit card bill, should not stress you out, because it is a simple 4 step process, however, you must ensure that you make the payments before 5 pm, for it to reflect the very same day. You will, therefore, first sign into your account, move the cursor to the “bill pay” tab, from where you will enter the routing and your bank account number. You will then proceed to choose the amount that you want to pay complete with the respective date of payment.

How to reset your Indigo Platinum card password

For a successful password reset process, you will go to Indigo’s official website, “indigo. myfinanceservice.com. Then click the Forgot Your Username and Password Tab; you will then be provided with an empty username field where you will input your username, ensure to input the correct user ID, then input the last 4 digits of your account number.

Proceed to enter your social security number in the relevant space, your date of birth then click on the submit option.

If you were, therefore, looking for an easy way of managing your accounts, then myaccountaccess offers the most reliable services and users will, therefore, be able to track and monitor their spending and saving patterns, and even better is that they will be kept on the loop through the alerts, which inform them of their account activities.

My account access, allows users to carry out cashless transactions, without incurring high extra costs, and they can even deposit their checks online through the web-enabled devices.

How to Register for Elan credit card Account Access

My Account Access accommodates different types of credit cards, so it really doesn’t matter whether you hold a Visa Card, Master Card, or the American Express, you can sign up and manage your financial transaction from a single secure online portal. What’s more, is that My Account Access can help users manage both their consumer and business cards.

Registering for My Account Access is somehow a lengthy standard process, and for successful registration, users must ensure that they are using a secured browser and device, because they will have to give up personal information. The Official website page is MyAccountaccess, from where users will enroll, and be redirected to the page where they will provide their personal information.

Information required on the provided fields are the credit card account number, the relevant security code, the last 4 digits of an individual’s social security number, their personal ID, password, and email address. After providing the above, the new account holders will click on the submit option follow the due process, and await an email confirmation message.

How to activate the credit card 

While in the process of activating your credit card it is important that you also enroll for the online statements, the auto-pay, and alert messages. Elan financial services, furthermore allows their business customers to activate up to 50 cards but only for their authorized employees.

The card activation process under myaccountaccess is the simplest, more especially for users who already have an account. Cardholders will, therefore, log in to the official website, then select the services option, and lastly the Card Activation feature. Elan financial services has also provided its users with the online card activation option.

So, for the users who will prefer to access their accounts through the various networking online portals, they will first have to enroll in Account Access, so that the activation process can be seamless. When successfully enrolled, and logged into their accounts, they will proceed to select the services option and lastly the Card Activation feature.

How to login- My Account Access

The best feature of the Elan credit cards is that they are not restricted by geographical boundaries. And as a rule of thumb, MyAccount Access users need to ensure that they use a secure connection when performing their online transactions. So to Login into My Account Access, users will have to access the myaccountaccess.com login official website, and fill in their ID.

They will then input their account and password, from where they will be redirected to a new page and be logged in. Once the above process is complete, users will have an easy time managing their credit card financial transactions.

My Account Access credit card bill

Credit cards have become the safest way to settle recurring bills, besides people don’t like the annoying notifications of their pending bills. So, when it comes to My Account Access, users have been provided with a potentially reliable option of settling their recurring bills.

So the first step would be to sign up with the various merchants but be sure to find out the ones that offer bill payment, either through direct contact or by going through their website. The second step would be to give out, your credit card information to the service providers; users have the option of choosing either a one time or a recurring bill payment

For the latter, My Account Access users must note that a good number of the billers would want them to settle with a date on when they will be billed and then set a limit on the amount that can be billed. As mentioned earlier, myaccountaccess allows users to autonomously manage their accounts; therefore, if you have just gotten your new card, the website will provide you with a safer and easy way of updating the recurring payments

And you can also verify the merchants who are to receive the recurring payments; a good example would be the cell phone service providers, the cable bills, the Gym memberships, and the car and homeowner insurances among others.

If you, therefore, decide to settle with the Mercury cards, you can forget about the annual fees, and which by extension means that you can autonomously use a small or a higher amount of money. The biggest advantage of investing in the Mercury Master card is that users are not faced with geographical boundaries, and can, therefore; use them anywhere around the world.

What’s more, is that the Mercury cardholders are protected if the card either gets lost or is stolen. Reporting the card stolen, works for the benefit of the cardholder because, it frees them from fraud liability; so in case of any fraudulent purchases, the lender takes full responsibility, and will, therefore, close the older card and provide the user with a new one.

How to Register your Mercury Master Card

Having trouble accessing Mercurycards.com, below is a simple process to ensure that you utilize all the relevant services. Cardholders will first have to go to mercurycards.com, from where they will click the prompt register for online access. They will then have to provide up to 3 relevant and personal information; the first one being the card or account number, then the 4 digits of their SSN, and lastly their birth month and year.

How to Activate your Mercury Card

The Mercury card remains a useless piece of plastic until it is activated making it easy for users to easily access the relevant services. The activation process is pretty effortless, and users will, therefore, visit Mercury Card’s official website  www.mercury.com, where they will be presented with a menu, then proceed to select the “Activate my card” option.

They will then input their details on the relevant fields, after which they will enter their new card number; the next step would be to input the last 4 digits of their SSN, then their birth year and month. Clicking on the proceed button will allow the cardholders to access the various services such as bill payment and shopping from the virtual stores.

Mercury Credit card login

In your browser, you will go to Mercury cards.com, and on the presented page you will search for the Manage My Credit Card Option. Then proceed to sign in with your username and password and then click on the sign-in option and you will be logged into your credit card account.

How to pay your Mercury credit card bill?

Clearing your Mercury credit card bill can be done in three distinct ways, beginning with the simplest method, which is through the phone. For the latter, you will use the automated call service over your phone, through the numbers, 866-686-2158 and you will be directed on how you will complete the payment.

The second equally simple method of clearing your Mercury credit card bill is through their online platform, and which you must do through the service provider’s official website, www.mercury.com. . After gaining access to the mentioned website, you will be directed to a homepage and it is from here that you will click the payment feature.

You will then proceed to enter the birth month and the birth year, then the credit card number, and lastly the social security number.  First Bank and Trust seek to embrace all categories of credit card users and have also, provided them with the option of paying their Mercury credit card bill by mail.

Cardholders will, therefore, send the relevant funds complete with their full names and the last four digits of their card number to

Card Services

P.O BOX 70168

Philadelphia, PA 19176-0168

Customer Service contact details

Provision of reliable customer service contact details in a way builds confidence with clients or the cardholders because they know that their queries will be addressed on time. The most convenient contact details being the direct phone numbers for quick resolution of urgent card issues or emailing, for users who are not in a hurry.

Below are some of the most reliable customer service numbers; For cardholders who want to make their Mercury credit card payment through the phone, the relevant contact details are (844) 303-5355.

Individuals who want to process their mercury card contact information can access the merchant services through 800-846-4472 ext1801. Voice authorization service contact details are 800-944-1111, and to reach out to technical support, the provided contact details are 800-846-4472 ext 1818. And for the emergency technical support contact details, cardholders can use theedge@mercury pay.com.

Users have also been provided with up to two payment mailing addresses the card services that we have discussed above and the overnight express mail through the

Lockbox services,

Box # 70168,

400 White Clay Center Dr

Newark, DE 19711.

For the above, cardholders must be sure to include their full names and the last four digits of their card number.

Watchdogs Cry Foul on the Use of Bailout Funds

Elizabeth Warren is the Harvard law professor and consumer advocate who was appointed the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP), an official watchdog group for the $700 billion TARP bailout program, only a small portion of the bailout directly authorized by Congress. In 2009, Warren’s group produced two block-buster reports.

In February 2009, COP reviewed the original top ten TARP bailouts given to the largest financial institutions in October 2008. COP learned that every time Treasury invested $100 in one of the banks, it took back assets (stock options called “warrants”) that were worth, on average, $66. This equals a $78 billion shortfall for the $254 billion spent on these deals! That was only the first ten warrant purchases. By now taxpayers are even deeper in the hole. Read the report here.

Later in the year, many of the banks wanted to give back the bailout funds because they wanted to evade limitation on CEO pay in the pipeline. In July 2009, COP reviewed the government’s performance in selling back the taxpayer-owned warrants to the banks. They discovered that the government was under-charging the banks by as much as 66%! COP concludes that taxpayers could lose out on $2.7 billion or more. Read the report here.

Also in July 2009, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo released a report focusing on the bank bonuses paid out by the bailed out banks in 2008. The report notes that in many instances, bank bonuses exceeded bank profits. In other words, the money borrowed from the TARP allowed them to pay these bonuses. And, if they are unable to repay the government, then our tax dollars effectively went to support the living standards of top bank executives. Read the report here.

We are talking billions and billions of taxpayer dollars being squandered here. How much are we potentially in the hole for? Two good sources have put the bailout allocation at $10-12 trillion with $3 trillion having been accessed as of September 2009. The SIGTARP, the Independent Inspector General for the TARP bailout program, tells us that if you add up all the federal bailout plans and government guarantees – the American people have extended a $23 trillion line of credit to the Banksters. $23 trillion! That is double the size of our economy! We won’t spend $23 trillion and we will get some of our money back, but these astonishing numbers illustrate the lengths that the government will go to take care of friends on Wall Street. Read the report here.

While money that hasn’t even been printed yet is being thrown at the banks, nothing meaningful has been done to help families facing foreclosure. As of September 2009, 88% of Adjustable Rate Mortgages have not even reset to their higher rates, a ticking foreclosure time bomb. We definitely have Mortgage Questions, and so should you!

Let’s Take it Back!

It’s simple justice, we want our money back!

The best way to do it? Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, Dean Baker, Robert Pollin and others are calling for a teeny tiny Bankster tax, 0.25 %, on the sale or purchase of a share of stock, bond or derivatives would allow us to recoup our losses and put the money to work rebuilding America. The idea was even touted in 1989 by President Obama’s chief economic adviser Larry Summers.

The idea is called a “financial transaction tax,” but we prefer to call it a FAT CAT Tax (Financial Accountability Tax on Corporate Agents and Traders).

Dean Baker, the economist who predicted that the housing bubble would explode with disastrous consequences years before the crisis, explains how it could work to generate funds while taming some of the worst abuses on Wall Street:

Just like that perfect sweater, a financial transactions tax (FTT) would look just great on those Wall Street bankers and financiers. A modest tax, which would be too small for normal investors to even notice, could easily raise more than $100 billion a year. That’s real money even in the land of AIG and Citigroup bailouts. Citigroup is also mentioned in our CitiCards.com Login article.

The Wall Street boys and the politicians they support just hate it when people talk about an FTT. They start huffing and puffing and get out their best indigent voices to quickly dismiss such naïve notions by those not initiated in the ways of finance. These arrogant dismissals are usually sufficient to scare reporters away from writing about the idea and to keep most interest groups and politicians from seriously pressing the idea.

But for those not easily intimidated by blowhard bankers and their hired flacks (which include many economists), an FTT makes a huge amount of sense.

A small increase in trading costs would be a very manageable burden for those who are using financial markets to support productive economic activity. However, it would impose serious costs on those who see the financial markets as a casino in which they place their bets by the day, hour, or minute. Speculators who hope to jump into the market at 2:00 and pocket their gains by 3:00 would be subject to much greater risk if they had to pay even a modest financial transaction tax.

 

When we withdraw 30 or 40 bucks of our own money from certain ATM machines, we are charged a fee of about 9%. But we aren’t as greedy as the Banksters. We only want to charge them a tiny fraction of this amount, 0.25%.

And for the Banksters that say it is not possible, it would make them uncompetitive, it can’t be enforced etc., we remind them that there is a 0.5 percent stamp tax imposed on each trade on the London stock exchange – one of the largest stock exchanges in the world. This tax raises more 4 billion pounds annually, the equivalent of almost $40 billion in the U.S. economy. Fortunately, some in Congress are not listening to the Banksters and are moving forward with the idea in an effort to literally rebuild America.

DeFazio Bill Goes After Some of the Worst Banksters of All – Oil Speculators

Congressman Pete DeFazio (D-OR) has introduced a modest transaction tax on the worst of the worst – Wall Street gamblers who needlessly jack up the price of oil and gas on average Americans. DeFazio wants a transaction tax on crude oil speculators as a way of paying for the Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009, which would boost the economy by creating much needed jobs in transportation and infrastructure.

DeFazio’s idea is to place a transaction tax on crude oil at 0.02% on futures contracts (a contract to buy crude oil at a previously set price on a future date) and 0.5% on the option for a futures contract (the premium paid to have the option to buy a futures contract).

He makes the case: “Taxing these derivatives of crude oil will reduce the price and volatility of the market. The tax is simple; it imposes a small burden that penalizes short-term traders for speculating on the price of oil. The CFTC distinguishes between end users and legitimate hedgers, like airlines and railroads, and short-term speculators. This proposal would rebate all transaction taxes paid by legitimate hedgers. Since the tax is on speculation only, it deters speculation and undermines much of the crude oil price bubble.”

FAT CAT TAX = SIMPLE JUSTICE

Talk about a “win-win.” A FAT CAT tax would reign-in stock market speculators while protecting small investors and providing much needed funds to rebuild our Bankster-shattered economy. As Joseph Stiglitz puts it: “The financial sector polluted the global economy with toxic assets and now they ought to clean it out.”

The House-Senate banking conference committee is underway in Washington, D.C. If you are a nut like me, you will want to watch on C-Span. But even if you are not, you can still have boatloads of Bankster fun by helping us whip the conferees! We are making progress, Fed Presidents across the land are supporting Lincoln, along with top economists, the New York Times editorial board and even Paul Volcker, who apparently changed his mind. With your help we can win this!

Background

Reckless swaps and derivatives trading played a critical role in the financial crisis, inflating the domestic housing bubble and turning it into a global economic catastrophe. As the House and Senate conference committee begins final work on the financial services reform bill it is critically important to preserve the strong language cracking down on those “financial weapons of mass destruction” contained in the Senate bill. Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz makes the case for Senate derivatives chapter plainly” “If [Congress] fails to pass strict oversight of dangerous over-the-counter derivatives and swaps the U.S. economy will continue to be vulnerable to significant financial risk.”

Casino Banking

Currently the five largest banks in the United States have an anti-competitive strangle-hold on 90 percent of the U.S. swaps and derivatives market worth some $300 trillion. The five banks are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase (see our Chase Debit Card writeup), Citigroup (see CitiCards.com Login) and Bank of America. These five bank-dealers can fund their swaps trading units with FDIC-insured deposits. They have access to the Federal Reserve’s discount window, which allows them to borrow money for gambling in swaps at near-zero percent interest rates. But these government supports were created to reassure the public that their deposits are safe, and to protect banks from runs on their deposits –- not to help banks finance their own casinos.

Play with Your Own Money, Not Ours

Sec. 716 of the Senate bill contains a ban on federal government assistance to any swap entity. In effect, Sec. 716 will require the five largest banks/swaps dealers to spin off their swaps desks into a separately capitalized affiliate – in other words to Wall off the casino from old fashioned banking. The measure is geared entirely towards preventing a situation in which taxpayers would once again be liable for the bad bets of big banks. Sec. 716 would ensure that private sector institutions alone are responsible for these risky trades.

Don’t Believe Bank Spin

This fight is winnable! Politico reports that the banks are downright “queasy” as the final reform deal nears. It is also important to note that contrary to big bank spin, the banks would be able to serve their customers as they always have. Their affiliated swaps desks would be able to sell a full range of financial products and they would be able to hedge their own risk. But they would no longer be gambling with taxpayer money.

Proposal Under Threat

While the Senate derivatives chapter is supported by leading economists and reform advocates including Jospeh Stigliz, Nouriel Roubini, Simon Johnson, Robert Johnson, Dean Baker, advocates like Americans for Financial Reform, small American banks and even a large number of international bank analysts, it is not supported by the Obama administration or Congressional leaders. It is also the top target of the 2,500 bank lobbyists swarming Capitol Hill. Since these powerful provisions are already in the bill, thanks to the efforts of Senate Agriculture Committee chair Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), they will have to be stripped out with a public vote. Democratic leaders like Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.) are in the awkward position of needing to gut the reform package that they are touting as the strongest since the New Deal era. They are hoping to do this gracefully and are working on a bad compromise to buy off critics.

Disgraceful not Graceful, Whip the Conferees!

It’s time to tell Dodd and Frank that we need to preserve Sec. 716. Tell them it is disgraceful that they are talking about weakening the financial reform package behind the scenes, while touting the bill as a powerful crack down on Wall Street in front of the cameras. Below you will find the whip list of Senate conferees. See if any of them are in your state and call them first, then put in a jingle to Dodd and Frank. Tell them we have their number and we are demanding real reform.
1) The Congressional switchboard can link you up to any member of Congress (202)224-3121
2) Script: “Can you tell me what conferee X’s position is on Senator Lincoln’s derivatives language? As a taxpayer, I am calling to tell Senator X that I do not want to pay for Wall Street’s reckless gambling. Keep Senator Lincoln’s strong language that will crack down on financial weapons of mass destruction in the final reform bill. We also need Senator Cantwell’s amendment to make sure that these rules are properly enforced. Congress’ focus should be the stability of the financial system not the profitability of big banks.”
3) Tell us what they said! You can post comments to this blog or you can email Tiffiniy at tycheng@gmail.com.

The short story is that Greece and a number of other European Union (EU) countries are in debt, deep in debt. EU rules say member countries cannot have budget deficits that exceed three percent of GDP. Greece’s debt is closer to 12 percent.

They have been hiding it for years, in part relying on major U.S. banks and so-called “cross-currency swaps,” complex financial instruments that allow governments to hide their debts and push their liabilities into the future. The German magazine Der Spiegel broke the story that Greece did a billion-dollar swap with Goldman Sachs in 2002 that did not show up on the nation’s books as debt.

Now the bill is coming due. Greece is in trouble and EU leaders are failing to take decisive action, roiling the markets. The Euro is trading near an eight-month low against the dollar and some are predicting another major shock to the global financial system.

Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) economist, Simon Johnson, sounded the alarm and slammed European and U.S. leaders for not taking the crisis seriously: “They seem to show no awareness at all that much of Europe is facing a serious crisis and it’s not limited to Spain, Greece and Portugal, it’s also going to include Ireland. I think Italy is also very much in the line of fire. There’s a very serious crisis inside the Eurozone.”

What does this have to do with U.S.? While Geithner and others are predicting blue skies, we still don’t know how enmeshed U.S. banks are in the crisis. Moreover, U.S. banks are weak and undercapitalized and may not be able to take too many more shocks. According to Johnson: “As the international situation deteriorates — or even if it remains at this level of volatility — banks will hunker down and credit conditions will tighten around the U.S. And if the European situation spins seriously out of control, as it may well do early next week, the likelihood of a double-dip recession (or significant slowdown in the second half of 2010) increases dramatically.”

For Better, or Worse?

Will the rich nations of the EU live up to their vows and come to the rescue of troubled Greece? Will the EU allow a new suitor, the IMF, to come to the rescue? Will the Greeks default and be divorced? Stay tuned, as this marriage is on the brink, and the consequences for the rest of us may be dire.