Capital One hikes customers' interest rates across the board

Capital One recently made a "business decision due to the current economy," raising their interest rates for each and every one of their customers. Put yourself in the shoes of a consumer with a high FICO score (say for example, 790) who has never missed a payment on their account, or any account with a creditor. If you were this customer, how would you react to a notice in the mail that your interest rate would be increasing from 8.9% APR to 17.9 APR (nearly double) - to say that you wouldn't be all that happy would be an understatement. From the view of any consumer, I can't see how Capital One thinks that this won't lead to a serious backlash, not only during the current recession, but down the road when the economy has regained its former health - it certainly doesn't create good will.

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Capital One Interest Rate Hikes Anger Customers

"I might be broke, but at least I look good"

Despite the dreary condition of today's economy, some consumers seem to want to still look good, as evidenced by the $1.6 billion rise in sales during 2008 of anti-aging skincare products. In a way, this makes sense - people often feel better when they look better, and there are plenty of reason's for consumers in today's economy not to feel to great. The article cited below states that for women (obviously) and baby boomers in general, looking good isn't something these consumers are willing to sacrifice, no matter how tight their budgets may be.

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Anti-Aging Become Top Facial Skincare Seller in 2008

"Mr. Stevens, I can't come to work today....my fridge is on fire"

Can you actually see your boss believing this one? Well, as big of a whopper as this may sound like, Maytag recently issued a recall of 1.6 million refrigerators due to fire hazard concerns. According to the article cited below, this has actually been a problem with many different brands of refrigerators for years, yet as a consumer myself, I was not aware of this whatsoever. Again, as a consumer myself, I might think twice about buying a Maytag brand fridge now that I know that over a million and a half of these fridges have been recalled for this reason.

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Maytag Recalls 1.6 Million Fire-Prone Refrigerators

Honda's Hybrid now less than $20,000

As gas efficient and environmentally friendly as hybrids are, the one knock on them has always been the relatively high price - until now. Honda has just announced that its Insight hybrid will now retail for $19,800 - not a bad price for a car that gets 40 miles per gallon and has a cruising range of up to 400 miles.

Furthermore, this turn of events can only mean that other car makers will soon be pressured into featuring their own comparably priced hybrids. As more and more consumers are becoming environmentally conscious, a hybrid selling for under $20,000 can only mean good things for the future of the hybrid vehicle market.

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Honda To Sell Hybrid For Under $20,000

FTC Cracking Down on Rebate Fraud

Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged an Atlanta-based telecommunications company with 'deceptive marketing', alleging that the company knowingly misled its customers with the promise of receiving mail-in rebates within eight weeks of submitting the forms. In reality, some customers had to wait a year or more to receive their rebates - pretty ridiculous, right?

Well, it's definitely good to know that the FTC is cracking down on this type of thing. Personally, I have worked for AT&T Wireless on and off for the past three years, and have had plenty a customer come to me to complain about the long wait time to receive their rebate. I can only hope that companies like AT&T will take notice of the FTC's actions in this regard, and make a better effort to ensure that their customers receive their rebates in a timely manner.


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FTC Settles With Atlanta Company Over Untimely Rebates

Nokia In Trouble

We all knew that consumer spending today is bleak, but the credit crisis has limited Nokia's ability to maintain handset inventories. Although a foreign company, Nokia is still effected by the US econcomic crisis, and even the foreign suppliers of parts for its handset devices will experience trickle-down effects as a result. This would also appear to be a big sign of caution toward any investors in the telecommunications industry.

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Nokia Paints Bleak Picture

Last Sunday, the American people saw the coming and going of what turned out to be a spectacularly thrilling Super Bowl. While I utterly loathe the Pittsburgh Steelers with every fiber of my being, I can still appreciate that seemingly impossible touchdown reception by Santonio Holmes inside the last two minutes to decide the game.

But I digress. By definition, the Super Bowl isn't quite like any other football game of the year - it's the culmination of an entire season in one final championship game. But that's not the only reason that millions of viewers tune in each year, not by far. For many people, Super Bowl commercials are a major part of the attraction to watch the game. Especially popular are the many new beer commercials shown, and just about anyone would agree that it wouldn't quite be the same without them.

During these trying economic times, a beer company like Anheuser-Bush may have had every fiscal reason to scale back its ads during the Super Bowl - however, fortunately for viewers, this year was as cram packed with Budweiser ads as ever.

The logic behind going as all out as ever was two fold. First, marketers knew that associating Anheuser-Bush products with enjoyment and fun times with family and friends was especially important during these gloomy economic times. Second, as I alluded to before, marketers felt the need to remind people that despite our country's economic trouble, the things people love and have grown accustomed to (in this case beer commercials during the Super Bowl) still remain as much a part of our lives as ever.


The New York Times, "Is Star Power Enough to Sell Beer in Hard Times? Two Brewers Hope So."