CREDIT » Credit Scores & Reports

Global consumers are willing to share their personal information in greater detail than ever before, says a new study released on Monday. Despite the threats online sharing presents, including identity theft, shoppers feel very comfortable disclosing information to retailers in an effort to personalize their own shopping experience.

Personal Information for a Personalized Shopping Experience

By Casey Bond

A lot of people are chasing New Year’s resolutions this month, but unfortunately, almost just as many will ultimately fail at accomplishing them. You too may be loosing steam toward reaching your new year goals by now.

By Jennifer Calonia

Whether you’re applying for a new credit card or have your fingers crossed for a mortgage loan toward your first home, understanding credit scores is an essential part of the process.

However, with so many credit score models in existence, it can be difficult to diffuse the fog and truly determine

The increase in the amount of U.S. consumer credit taken on by Americans in Nov. 2011 was the highest in 10 years, according to a new government report. Experts say the jump in credit use could be a positive signal for the economy if people are borrowing because they’re more willing to spend freely as opposed to needing the money to buy necessities.

Consumer Credit Rises Due to Credit Cards and Student Loans

Free credit score company, Credit Karma, has announced its plans to offer a free credit monitoring service to its customers with seemingly no strings attached. The only disclaimer is the monitoring service will only track the activity of customers’ TransUnion credit files–not bad, right? Well, there may be one slight hitch in this latest offer.

Credit Monitoring Service Matches Your Profile with its Partners

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During this holiday season, is it better to give or receive? Scrooge may have learned his lesson, but for identity thieves, it’s neither–they prefer to take, and their latest winter wonderland for victims is Facebook.

Having surpassed 800 million users worldwide, there are plenty of potential targets on Facebook for crooks to go after. Knowing how they go about their schemes will help you be more informed about protecting yourself from Facebook identity theft and similar fraud on other social media websites.

Fitch Ratings announced on Thursday it had made credit downgrades on eight of the world’s largest banks, including Bank of America Corp., The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley. The ratings agency explained that the downgrades were the result of increased challenges facing the banking sector, due to weak economic growth and heightened regulation.

Bank of America and More Face Credit Downgrades

Standard & Poor's Managing Director of Sovereign Ratings, John Chambers

By Jeff Bartlett

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services issued five more North American banking credit rating downgrades in December. This may not sound like interesting news, but it could affect your wallet and your job.

The White House announced on Wednesday that it seeks to simplify the credit card agreements customers are issued from credit card companies. Through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the plan is to release new forms that will standardize the agreements, making interest rates and fees easier to understand.

Prototype Credit Card Agreements to Simplify Language

You are not your credit score. It’s true that banks and other businesses place a lot of emphasis on your three-digit score when they’re deciding whether or not to take you on as a customer, but that’s not all they consider.

Your credit score doesn’t tell the whole story–it only predicts the likelihood that you will pay your bills based on how you’ve paid in the past. And as evidenced by the mortgage meltdown, placing more emphasis on credit scores than ability to repay is bad for everyone involved.