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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    As Interest Rates Tumble, Credit Card Rates Climb

    Interest rates for the US Treasury, business firms and home-buyers are going down but, despite new regulations, the rates for credit card borrowing are going up. New laws limit banks’ ability to increase rates on people who get behind on their credit cards. Credit card companies have responded by increasing rates on everybody.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    Interest rates for the US Treasury, business firms and home-buyers are going down but, despite new regulations, the rates for credit card borrowing are going up. New laws limit banks’ ability to increase rates on people who get behind on their credit cards. Credit card companies have responded by increasing rates on everybody. Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal reports that rates are at their highest level in nine years. Kelli Grant is senior consumer reporter for SmartMoney.com.

    The full episode

    3 of 3
    The Economy after the Great Recession
    1. 0:00Scientists Decry Ruling Halting Embryonic Stem Cell Research
    2. 7:30What Comes after the Great Recession?
    3. 44:01As Interest Rates Tumble, Credit Card Rates ClimbYou’re reading this
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • Sonya Geis with wavy brown hair wearing a black dress with red accents and decorative earrings against a white background.

      Sonya Geis

      Senior Managing Editor

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Darrell Satzman

      Producer

    • KCRW placeholder

      Karen Radziner

      Managing Producer, To the Point & Which Way LA?

    • KCRW placeholder

      Kelli Grant

      Senior Consumer Reporter, SmartMoney.com

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    3 of 3
    The Economy after the Great Recession
    1. 0:00Scientists Decry Ruling Halting Embryonic Stem Cell Research
    2. 7:30What Comes after the Great Recession?
    3. 44:01As Interest Rates Tumble, Credit Card Rates ClimbYou’re reading this
    Back to To the Point