Thanks to the zero liability policy offered by most credit card issuers, if your credit card is stolen you're typically only liable for a very small portion of the unauthorized purchases- if any. Even if a thief charges thousands of dollars on your credit card, a zero liability policy means you don't pay for it.

Markets can be fickle things, but the real pros know which trends to look for, which ones to ignore, and which ones to worry about. PricewaterhouseCoopers just released some of their predictions for the credit card industry in 2008 - and some of their predictions are a bit troubling for card holders.

On Monday, January 22nd, American Express reported that they saw a 4th quarter increase in profits of close to 12 percent. American Express is ranked the number four credit card issuer in the United States.

Credit card and financial company experts say that cashless vending machines, allowing consumers to pay for convenient snacks using a major credit card, will soon be on their way to America.

For the third time this year, yet another major credit card company has decided to reduce or trade in some of the best perks of its Membership Reward Programs, which previously lured thousands of current credit card holders to its reigns who boasted time and time again about their year-end savings.

When Bank of America purchases U.S. Trust for $3.3 billion (in cash!), they will move from the second largest management firm of private wealth to the single largest in the United States, based on financial reports from private US banks on September 30, 2006. Once the banks are combined under Bank of America in March 2007, they'll be managing a total of $261 billion in assets.

Higher gasoline prices are not only a source of constant frustration for consumer wallets, but convenience stores selling gasoline are also finding the higher gasoline prices a major challenge. Increased gasoline prices do not necessarily mean higher profits for retailers as one might think- instead, the higher gas prices result in higher costs that actually reduce profit margins for gasoline retailers- particularly due to the increase in the amount of credit card fees paid.

On Saturday, September 9, 2006, an era in American shopping history came to an end as Federated Department Stores Incorporated completes the last step in its purchase of May Department Stores, with the roll out of the bright red star at many old Hecht's stores in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.

While credit card debt is unsecured debt and you can be sure that no one will knock on your door to foreclose on or repossess your property, there are still consequences of ignoring your debt.

During a time when it seems like banks are all merging and buying out smaller banks, Capital One continues to grow. Capital One is going to be buying out North Fork Bank for approximately $14.6 billion in cash and company stock. This buyout deal will rank Capital One as one of the top 10 banks in the country.