May 2014

The National Insurance Crime Bureau came up with a unique method of combating car insurance fraud in southern California.  Partnering with the Los Angeles Police Department, the NICB created a series of videos reenacting deliberately caused “accidents” to scam insurance claims.

Since declaring bankruptcy last year, the revitalization for Detroit has been a long road for residents, businesses, and even the federal government.  Detroit households accumulated significant credit card debts, along with many residents facing foreclosure on their homes due to default mortgages.

JP Morgan Chase, one of the largest banks in the country, announced a special $100 million investment to support Detroit’s recovery.  The money will be divided into low cost loans within the community, primarily for infrastructure projects and community development.

In the wake of last week’s eBay data breach, Visa and Mastercard have raised their voices to push for the adoption of chip technology credit cards in the United States. According to the card processing companies, it’s time that U.S. consumers are offered the same credit card protection that’s been offered for years in Canada, Mexico and most of Western Europe.

A shift away from the dated magnetic strip cards would be tantamount in eliminating a huge amount of credit card fraud in the country, argue Visa and Mastercard.

Defying nearly every expert prediction, mortgage rates continued to fall this week, hitting their lowest level in six months. A Freddie Mac survey found 30-year mortgage rates averaged 4.14 percent for the week ended May 22, down from 4.20 percent last week. It’s the lowest average mortgage rate since November 2013.

Falling mortgage rates are largely the result of a drop in bond yields over the past four weeks, as leading indicators point to weakness in the economy.