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As I detailed here in February in "Dick Durbin Is Stealing Your Free Checking," thanks to price controls on debit card transactions from the Durbin Amendment of the 2010 Dodd-Frank "financial reform" law, free checking is going the way of the dodo bird. The Durbin price controls on interchange fees -- the so-called "swipe fees" that retailers pay to bank and credit unions that process debit card transactions, go into effect this Saturday, October 1, and are already showing more dire effects than originally predicted. Not only is free checking disappearing at a rapid pace -- a new Bankrate.com survey...

U.S. Set To Sue Big Banks Over Bad Mortgages Agency says B of A, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, others misrepresented securities By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ The federal agency that oversees the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to file suits against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold at the height of the housing bubble, and seeking billions of dollars in compensation. The Federal Housing Finance Agency suits, which are expected to be filed in the coming days in federal court, are aimed at Bank...

Highway Patrol and LAPD in Los Angeles chasing a DUI suspect all over Los Angeles. Live feed.

Bank's mistake leads to financial troubles for Florida womanA central Florida woman says she having numerous financial troubles because of a bank error. Chase Bank USA declared her dead last November. Wrenella Pierre has filed a lawsuit and Chase officials said Monday they're investigating how the mistake happened. When Pierre and her husband, Curtis, built their Oviedo home in 2007, they got two mortgages through Chase. According to the lawsuit, the bank notified credit-reporting agencies last year that Pierre had died. They sent a letter of condolence to the family, saying someone from the bank would be in touch about...

AUBURN, Wash. - Buying his own home was a big accomplishment for construction worker, Ikenna Njoku, of Auburn. He’s only 28 years old. “I was really excited. For the first time, I actually got to buy a lawn mower, mow my lawn and everything,” said Njoku. Njoku qualified for the first time home buyer rebate on his tax return. "It was really important, I had a vehicle I was looking on paying off," said. Njoku. And it wasn’t just any vehicle. “It was a 2001 Infinity I-30, silver…just like my favorite car, “he said. Njoku signed up to have the...

Bank of America and Morgan Stanley have agreed to pay more than $22 million combined to settle federal civil charges on improperly foreclosing on military personnel, The Associated Press reports. The latest home or commercial real estate news Sample Between 2006 and 2009, the mortgage lenders foreclosed on 178 military members in 22 states without getting court approval. The military members affected will each receive $125,562, on average. The banks will also continue to investigate whether improper foreclosures occurred in 2009 through 2010.

Due to the growing list of brands disclosing that they have been compromised as a result of this breach, I’m going to go ahead and tag this as a massive breach. And I only expect it to get bigger as more announcements come out from Epsilon customers. Last night we reported on a breach at marketing services provider, Epsilon, the world’s largest permission-based email marketing provider. Initially we wrote that the breach had affected Kroger, the nation's largest traditional grocery retailer. There is a list of companies at the link (but I don't know if that is going to be...

SIERRA VISTA — A pursuit of a vehicle suspected to be loaded with illegal immigrants was called off after speeds reached upwards of 100 mph on Highway 90, police said. Officers responding to a report of a “load” vehicle spotted the Chevrolet Impala as it traveled south near the Sierra Vista Municipal Airport around 2:23 p.m. Thursday, said Tracy Grady, public information officer for the Sierra Vista Police Department. As many as seven people were inside the car during the pursuit, which was called off for safety reasons, Grady said. Officers continued to follow the vehicle, however, and it was...

This did not make the news, but it fits in with other stories that at least were barely reported on. I will tell it as I was told it. I was at my local branch of Chase today making some transactions. I have a number of accounts, and therefore know a few of the folks there. I asked the teller in passing if they had heard the news about SEIU’s Stephen Lerner’s plan for an orchestrated union and community organizer action against Chase in May, with the hopes of precipitating a financial meltdown and national anarchy. Several other tellers also...

From The Blaze: Revealed The Left's Economic Terrorism Playbook: The Chase Campaign for a Coalition of Unions, Community Groups, Lawmakers and Students to Take Down US Capitalism and Redistribute Wealth & Power

March 22nd, 2011 (1 of 5)

Revealed The Left’s Economic Terrorism Playbook: The Chase Campaign for a Coalition of Unions, Community Groups, Lawmakers and Students to Take Down US Capitalism and Redistribute Wealth & Power

.....Your debit card may soon be denied for purchases greater than $100 -- or even as little as $50. JPMorgan Chase, one of the nation's largest banks, is considering capping debit card transactions at either $50 or $100, according to a source with knowledge of the proposal. Why? Because of a tricky thing called interchange fees. Right now, every time you swipe your debit card, your bank charges the retailer an average fee of 44 cents, which it shares with its partners. .... And consumers would end up feeling the pain when Bank of America is forced to recoup costs...

JPMorgan Chase on Tuesday announced new programs geared toward military customers and veterans, and apologized for overcharging thousands of active-duty service members on mortgages and improperly foreclosing on more than a dozen. The steps include a program making certain military personnel eligible for reduced-rate mortgages; enhancing a mortgage modification program for personnel who are having trouble making payments; and a pledge not to foreclose on any active personnel while they're deployed. JPMorgan Chase [JPM Loading... () ] Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said those programs and other initiatives "are a start, but in no way a finish" to the bank's...

Earlier today, the White House released a budget proposal that included trimming the mortgage interest deduction for taxpayers in the top income tax brackets. This is the first step in eliminating what many economists view as an expensive and inefficient housing subsidy. Unfortunately, many of the critics of the mortgage interest deduction focus on its immediate costs. If it were eliminated, it might bring in more than $2 trillion of new revenue for the government or—as I proposed this morning—allow up to $2 trillion of new tax cuts for the American people. Actually, I think getting rid of the housing...

A suspected armed car jacking in Baker County led to a crumpled convertible and a banged up police cruiser on Jacksonville's Southside Thursday night. Sean Nicholas Owens, 22, of Jacksonville is being held at the Duval County jail after taking police on a nearly 30 minute high-speed chase that at times reached over 100 miles-per-hour. Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-02-10/story/police-name-man-charged-high-speed-chase#ixzz1Dcgs2xuW

The overseer trying to recover funds for Bernie Madoff's victims slapped J.P. Morgan Chase with a $6.4 billion suit Thursday, claiming the bank turned a blind eye to the mega-fraudster's swindling. Trustee Irving Picard says officials at J.P. Morgan, Madoff's longtime banker, should have spotted red flags alerting them to the Ponzi scheme. "Just as in the children's fable, they knew the 'Emperor had no clothes,' but looked the other way, allowing the fraud to continue," Picard's lawyer, Deborah Renner, said Thursday. The bank "admitted in the months before Madoff's arrest that ... returns were too good - especially in...

Chase Bank On North Main Street In Pearland Robbed Friday PEARLAND, Texas -- Two armed men are holding people hostage in a bank robbery, police said. Pearland police said the men held up the Chase Bank in the 1900 block of Main Street on Friday morning. Investigators said the bank's manager was injured, but have not released the extent of his injuries. An unknown number of hostages are being held inside the bank, police said. Residents in the area said parts of state Highway 35 were being blocked off. For more information on this breaking story, stay tuned to KPRC...

A working group of attorneys general and banking officials from all 50 states has gathered evidence in its probe of potentially improper or illegal lending and servicing practices. The group met with representatives of five top mortgage lenders and servicers — GMAC/Ally, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo and Bank of America. "We are having ongoing discussions with these institutions. We have also met with groups of investors and a number of consumers … We are well under way with that process." The investigation came together quickly in the fall, after complaints arose about lenders and servicers using "robo-signing" practices...

JP Morgan Chase quickly became known as the scrooge of the banking industry when it ordered a Christmas tree removed from the lobby of the Chase bank in Southlake, TX (see article: JPMorgan Chase says Christmas tree offensive) but it appears that someone in corporate has had a change of heart regarding the removal of this holiday icon. The Christmas tree was a gift from local businessman Antonio Morales because, as he told CBS 11 news: "I want the bank that I bank at to always have a beautiful tree." After corporate caught wind of the structure, and claimed people...