Research, regulation, industry reports

Who knew someone with trouble moving her jaw could do jaw-dropping comedy?

An online video clip featuring reality-TV star Heidi Montag has already received more than 1 million views and is burning up the celebrity blogosphere since its posting on Tuesday. But Montag, famous for her stint on MTV's "The Hills," (and more recently for her numerous plastic surgeries) isn't peddling a new reality show or designer clothing line. Rather, the clip shows Montag, decked out in diamonds and a skin-tight dress, pushing for consumer protection.

What could bring together an all-star cast of "Saturday Night Live" presidential doppelgangers?

The issue of consumer protection.

Seven stars and ex-stars of the long-running NBC comedy got together for an unusual, and sometimes side-splitting, political effort in a special video made for the Web site Funny or Die.

In the video Obama, played by Fred Armisen, emerges from a smoke-filled bathroom to engage in a bedside chat with the First Lady Michelle Obama (Maya Rudolph) to have a bedtime chat about -- what else? -- financial institutions, deregulation and consumer protection.

"These banks and the credit card companies are ripping off the people with almost no regulations," Obama complains. "I'm trying to make a consumer agency to protect families and the lobbyists and Senator Shelby acts like I'm trying to change the national anthem to 'I Got 99 Problems and the B**** Ain't One of Them.'"

Yes, it does get raunchy, but in a PG-13, maybe a mild R sort of way.

As he and Michelle settle back in bed, the string of ex-presidents parade into the bedroom, all exhorting him to find a way to pass the consumer protection law.

The segment, directed by Ron Howard, brings back Dana Carvey as George H.W. Bush, Dan Ackroyd as Jimmy Carter with a few extra peanuts stuffed in him, Chevy Chase as the ever bumbling Gerald Ford, Darrell Hammond as the ever ribald Bill Clinton, Jim Carrey as Ronald Reagan and Will Ferrell -- co-founder of Funny or Die -- as George W. Bush.

Credit card issuers get special satirical attention.

"When I put the Iraq war on my credit card, I never dreamed I'd be paying 28 percent in interest rates. It's astronomical," whines Ferrell/Bush.

It was my friend Brian's first time applying for a credit card. He was 19, and his parents thought it would be a good

idea for him to start building his credit score. As Brian and his parents discussed his application with the banker, they were both surprised to learn that he already had a credit card - five, in fact. There were also surprised to learn that he never paid his bills and had an affinity for expensive jewelry.

Brian, of course, was a victim of identity theft. Several years later, and despite professional help, he still hasn't

managed to clear his name. He's not alone. Identity theft is a growing problem, rising 12 percent in 2008, and it is a crime that can affect any person at any age. However, the virtual lifestyle of most young people places them at an increased risk, and they must take extra precautions to avoid becoming victims.

One of the many ways I annoy my co-workers is to break out one of my favorite books, "Chase's Calendar of Events," and regale them with the random events that happened to have taken place on this particular day in history. For example, I will say, "Did you know that today is .. " and as their eyes reflexively begin rolling back in their heads, I'll continue, "... National Pig Day?"

So when we got the chance to host this, the 246th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance, and it happened to fall on March 1, I knew I could spread my for random, obscure facts. March is noted for many things, according to Chase's. Among them: March is International Ideas Month. It's National Clean Up Your IRS Act Month. It's International Mirth Month, too. International Expect Success Month is in March, as well. And don't forget, March is also Spiritual Awareness Month. Finally, cheer up, because it's also Optimism Month.

So enjoy this week's best of personal finance blogs in this carnival, sorted into the events they most closely resemble.

Taking Charge, this group blog by the editorial staff at CreditCards.com, is pleased to be the host of next week's Carnival of Personal Finance. Personal finance bloggers, please take a moment to submit your entries.

Of all the commentary I've read on the new credit card law I think this cartoon by Joe Heller of the Green Bay Press-Gazette is my favorite.

Could Republican Scott Brown's election to fill Ted Kennedy's Democratic U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts derail pending Wall Street financial reforms? Although much of the attention about Brown's election has focused on the fate of the health care bill, there's...

Carnival of Money Stories2 picks up blog about Chris Dodd's departure from the U.S. Senate.

Fate of consumer financial protection watchdog agency less certain with pending shake-up in U.S. Senate banking committee.

On Nov. 24, Frontline's "The Card Game" let lose a flurry of information about the credit card industry. The CreditCards.com editorial team, along with some friends, were right there to absorb and comment on it during our first ever Twitter-periment.

The Federal Reserve releases new credit card tips in movie theaters across the country -- just in time for holiday shopping season.

Those sneaks -- they fooled even a Web-savvy guy like me into signing up for a "service" I didn't want. Thankfully, the U.S. Senate agrees with me that this is just plain wrong.

The Pew Charitable Trusts published a pretty damning report Wednesday about how credit card issuers continue to be "unfair or deceptive" with their products -- despite legislation set to curtail these practices in 2010.

Swine flu? Meh. Paying your bills? No big deal. When it comes to striking fear in the hearts of Americans, nothing does it like ID theft.

Holiday sales will be down this year, according to the leading retail trade association, with lackluster spending by consumers unlikely to get a boost from Christmas presents put on credit cards.

Some analysts predict that U.S. banks could find themselves in court -- forced to justify income earned from penalty fees.

Consumer confidence and consumer spending had generally walked hand in hand over the past 30 years -- sometimes rising, sometimes falling, but rarely straying too far from one another. That all changed somewhere in the middle of this decade, according to a new essay from economists with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Here's what Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech today looks like in a tag cloud. Financial is BIG! Help is tiny.

The coverage of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's meaty speech yesterday rightly focused on his remarks about the overall economy. But he did give some insight into the Fed's actions regarding credit cards, and since we're CreditCards.com, I figured it would be worth presenting those remarks in depth here.

Legislative proposals in New Jersey and Illinois might restrict those pesky credit card offers plaguing students on college campuses. It also might force issuers to teach students about the risks of signing up. Will they pass?

When I learned last week about what may have been the world's largest data breach, I knew there were going to be potentially millions of victims. What I didn't expect is that I may be one of them.

In honor of this weekend's Super Bowl game, we've assembled a team drawn from dozens of the best players in the personal finance arena for the football-themed 189th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance.

The Federal Reserve's periodic report on the economy shows continued problems.

Take a gander at the tag cloud made from the speech by one of the bailout program honchos.

While credit card charge-offs have gone up in the thrift industry, the increase is nowhere near the rate of increase from other types of loans.