The US Postal Service delivers about half of the mail in the world but drops in the volume of mail are of concern. In a six month time period, the US Postal Service reported a 6.3% drop in mail from the same time frame last year, with the service averaging 88.1 billion pieces of mail during that time.

The US Postal Service representatives feel that the decline of customers sending first-class mail is going to continue on the decline. First-class is the most profitable class of mail for the service. They are seeking support in the change of laws and regulations to regain their financial stability.

Another factor in the low numbers is the agency’s funding of retiree health benefits which hit $3.8 billion at the mid-year mark. Pay schedule restructuring for the benefits and a change to the regular delivery schedule by cutting out Saturday deliveries are two of the largest proposed regulatory chances the US Postal Service have proposed, both of which would require the approval of Congress before they can be passed.

So far, Congress has lowered the amount of money the US Postal Service is required to pay to prefund benefits as of last year but the same may not be true for 2010. Congress has concerns about the changes and cuts in regular service but the Postmaster General, John Potter, is adamant that big changes are necessary for instituting money-saving measures for the agency to the tune of more than $8.5 billion.

For the first half of the year, the US Postal Service has cut employee work hours, frozen salaries, and changed routes among other cost-cutting methods that are within its own authority and has reduced overall expenses by approximately $1.4 billion, which is about 3.8% below the total for expenses during this time period last year.

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The National Bankruptcy Research Center conducted the study that does not include the month of December 2009 in the statistics. The group’s study shows that 2009 filings has surpassed the year-to-date totals for all previous years since the bankruptcy reform bill in 2005. The statistics also show that there was a dramatic increase in Chapter 7 filings, which went up 42% since the previous year. Joint filings also increased to 36%, presumably because many households are seeking protection and relief at all levels. Chapter 13 filings also went up but by a smaller margin at 12%.

The state with the highest filing rates was Nevada where filings were 2.5 times the national average. Nevada was followed by Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Indiana, all of which had rates 1.5 or more times the national average. The statistics show that more than one of every six bankruptcy filed in 2009 happened in one of those states. The state with the lowest bankruptcy filing rate in 2009 was Alaska. Other states will less than half the national average filings were District of Columbia, North and South Dakota, and South Carolina. Arizona was the state with the largest increase in bankruptcy filings. There was a significant 80% rise in filings from the previous year. California, Wyoming, and Utah also had dramatic increases in filings at 60%. States with the lowest filing increases were Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Tennessee, and South Carolina.

The findings were especially interesting because the 2005 bankruptcy reform bill had Congress pushing for more Chapter 13 bankruptcies than Chapter 7. Nationally, only 28% of the filings were Chapter 13 and most of those were done to protect homeowners that were experiencing mortgage payment problems. The states with the highest percentage of Chapter 13 filings were mostly in the South with Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee leading the numbers. New Mexico, Iowa, and West Virginia have the least amount of Chapter 13 filings.

Critics of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 perceive that Congress’s revisions were not very effective and statistics may show this to be true. The measure was taken to change the bankruptcy laws, essentially to make it more difficult for consumers and businesses to file for bankruptcy protection.

Bankruptcy Cases Up at the End of 2009 was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The fees and penalties may have become a standard part of the gift card industry, but many consumers were clueless about the extent of rules with gift cards. They assume that by buying a card at face value, nothing besides an actual purchase could take away the value amount. However, for many consumers who set cards aside after the holidays and found them during the next holiday season, there was dismay when the monthly charges and penalties were discovered without ever having used the card.

The new rules are coming into play as the Federal Reserve was increasingly criticized for not protecting consumers when it came to the unfair practices of gift cards. The new rules proposed include  limiting fees for not using the card and allowing gift cards to remain active and not expire for at least a 5 year period after purchase. These rules would also apply to gift certificates, retailer gift cards, and prepaid credit cards. Regulations would require that dormancy fees be clearly explained and applied only after at least one year from the date of purchase and only at the rate of one time per month.

The measure is based on the credit card legislation already approved by Congress and requires that the Federal Government make an approval on the gift cards by February 2010 with the rules becoming effective in mid-August 2010. Any gift card sold before the August date would not have to adhere to the new rules.

As consumers regularly purchase gift cards as gifts for others, it is important for both the giver and the receiver have an understanding of what, if any, fees would be part of a gift card purchase. As a buyer, double check with the card issuer to be that you understand the fee structure and any expiration dates associated with the card. In many cases, the cards or accompanying paperwork does not clarify these points. When you do exchange a gift card that has limits or fees, be sure the receiver has a full understanding of those issues as well. Encourage them to use the card as soon as possible to avoid losing monetary value due to charges and penalties.

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Bank of America was the first company to agree to the rate freeze and Discover just recently agreed to do the same. However, not all companies are jumping on board. Several companies have been rushing in before the new consumer law goes into effect. Those companies that are not in agreement with the freeze cite the changes are due to the economic climate and are only interested in getting back the money owed to them. Consumers with good credit and no record of a missed payment on their account have reported that their monthly payment amount has doubled. The credit card company Chase changed the minimum payment amount for more than one million cardholders as recently as the month of August, seeking more money being paid toward the owed principal. These changes in the industry have made many credit cards unaffordable to consumer and have resulted in a number of bankruptcies. Chase does not have any plans to put a rate freeze into effect before the new law changes. Other banks, like Wells Fargo, also plan to hike the interest rate on credit cards.

Many critics say that credit card companies are out to get as much money as possible before the new law makes it too difficult to make changes. However, those in the industry contend that missed payments and spending over the credit limit by consumers have left them in a bind. There is also concern that if Congress should vote to move the date for the new law to go into effect in December of this year instead of February, there would not be sufficient time to update computers and be sure they are in compliance with the new laws.

Lawmakers have asked the Federal Reserve to start collecting information on current credit card practices so they could effectively monitor the changes after the new law takes place and be sure all are in compliance. Basic information such as credit card terms, the actual cost of credit for the consumer, and how much credit is available has never before been collected in a systematic way.

Consumers who have a credit card outside of Discover and Bank of America are encouraged to stay on top of their monthly statements and continue to analyze them for any changes that are being made. Budgeting for a higher credit card payment may be a good idea even if an increase does not go into effect in order to pay the card off faster. Even consumers who have an excellent credit and payment history with a card company may be subjected to rate hikes, penalties, and doubled monthly minimum payments.

Credit Card Companies Hiking Rates Before 2010 Changes was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

The new bill would require traded in vehicles get not better than 18 miles per gallon in fuel, be a model that is at least 1984 or newer, and have been both registered and insured in the last 12 months. The last requirement is designed to keep those looking for quick cash from abusing the program with vehicles from used car lots. The government would initially subsidizes the purchase of up to the first million vehicles and the program would end once the money ran out.

The bill is intended to boost the sales of US autos and reduce American dependency on foreign oil. It also aims to improve the quality of the air. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that the bill will result in selling 150,000 new cars. Auto industry analysts feel the plan, once implemented, could see vehicle sales go up as early as August of this year. Additionally, it is noted that many so-called “clunkers” are in the truck category, which would be a higher sales generation for the truck-specific industry.

The critics fear that the program cost too much and only accomplish a small portion of what it set out to do. Even environmental groups fear that the program can backfire, resulting in the government subsidizing the purchases of SUV’s and other non-fuel efficient. The senate feels that the program will help give a push to the auto industry which is currently struggling to survive, as well as the manufacturers, suppliers, and other auto-related services in the industry. The bill is also being supported by the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM). The group feels that since other programs around the world have produced positive results in their efforts, the program stand the chance, if successfully implemented, to help bring some recovery to the United States economy. Since the US relies on the automobile industry significantly, the program can help get the economy back on track in the US.

The bill was initially introduced due to the growing concern that after all of the federal bailout money that has been used to keep the auto industry going, consumers will make the decision to stick with the cars they currently use instead of spending money on a new one. The program’s incentive hopes to steer more American’s into buying new.

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