Discuss the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on credit and debit cards, consumer loans, credit scores, and residential mortgages
What will be an ideal response?
Credit and Debit Cards: The act includes a provision at reducing "interchange fees." These are fees that banks charge retailers when consumers pay with debit cards. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed) will determine what constitutes a "reasonable and proportional" fee for debit card transactions, which usually run about 1 percent of the transaction, and are passed on to the consumer. If they are lowered, prices to consumers may be lowered. Retailers are allowed to require a minimum purchase before they accept a debit or credit card. Banks have indicated that they may have to eliminate debit card reward programs and increase other fees to make up for lost revenue. Consumer Loans: The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will regulate mortgage, credit cards, some payday lenders and check cashing companies, and lenders that provide private student loans. Auto dealers' financing and insurance arms are exempt from the bureau's jurisdiction, after extensive lobbying. Credit Scores: Consumers who are turned down for a loan are entitled to receive a copy of the credit score the lender used to make the decision. Consumers are entitled to a free score if they were offered a loan at a rate higher than the one provided to borrowers with excellent credit. Consumers can obtain a free credit score if the score results in an "adverse action" such as loss of a job applied for or a higher insurance rate or other matters that depend on such scores. Residential Mortgages: Lenders are no longer allowed to pay mortgage brokers a commission based on the interest rate for a home loan. The Dodd-Frank Act would prevent borrowers from paying a portion of the closing cost up front and rolling the rest into the loan in the form of a higher interest rate. Prepayment penalties would be limited or prohibited depending on the type of loan, and lenders would be required to determine whether the borrower could afford the monthly mortgage/payments, combined with insurance and assessments.
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In which of the following stages is there an explosion of choices in terms of products and services?
A. Introduction stage B. Maturity stage C. Decline stage D. Growth stage
Making plans for your future
a. is a way to escape reality. b. is better than dwelling on the past. c. creates a false impression of you. d. is not as important as living for the moment.
Which of the following statements best describes a whistle-blower?
A. A salesperson for a company finds out that a member of his softball team, who works for another firm, took some paper clips from that firm to use for his personal use and wants to report him. B. An employee criticizes his employer's finance personnel to his fellow co-workers for picking the wrong stocks in his retirement fund; they lost value last year due to a downturn in the stock market. C. An employee tells the Consumer Product Safety Commission his company falsified safety reports on a child's car seat. D. An employee is unhappy because his company is downsizing. E. An employee spends the afternoon at work studying for her test rather than counting inventory as she was supposed to be doing.
Kohler Manufacturing typically achieves one of three production levels in any given year: 8 million
pounds of steel, 10 million pounds of steel, or 16 million pounds of steel. In tracking some of its costs, Kohler's controller discovered one cost that was $10 per pound at a production level of 8 million pounds, $8 per pound at a production level of 10 million pounds, and $5 per pound at a production level of 16 million pounds. This is an example of a A) fixed cost. B) semifixed cost. C) semivariable cost. D) variable cost.