The Bush administration’s plan will offer loan companies two things - low-interest lines of credit and the ability to sell their loans to the government at a rate exceeding their face value. The administration and congress came up with the plan to head off the possibility that a combination of federal subsidy reductions and economic troubles might leave some students unable to find willing lenders.

Before this announcement, nearly 90 student-loan lenders had announced their withdrawal, either in part or in full, from the federal program. Even before the day was over, nonprofit lender NorthStar Education Finance had announced that it would be returning to the program.

In addition to Northstar, both Brazos Group and Graduate Leverage have come back on-line as well. “We’ve definitely changed our mind,” Daniel Thibeault, president of Graduate Leverage told the Chronicle of Higher Education. “In my mind, 90 percent of the lending community couldn’t lend two weeks ago. Now, I don’t see how a significant player could say, ‘I don’t want to lend.’ It’s going to be exciting.”

The Fed has approved a proposal that would generally prohibit credit card issuers from increasing the annual percentage rate (APR) on a card holder’s outstanding balance. It would also prevent companies from going back to prior billing cycles when calculating the amount of interest charges on the current cycle, a practice known in the industry as double-cycle billing.

The U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision along with the National Credit Union Administration have already approved the proposal. All three regulators said that they hope to put the finishing touches on the rule by the end of this year.

In the U.S., the biggest issuers of Visa and MasterCard credit cards are Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Capital One, and Discover Financial Services.

“The proposed rules are intended to establish a new baseline for fairness in how credit card plans operate,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said at a meeting to approve the proposal. “Consumers relying on credit cards should be better able to predict how their decisions and actions will affect their costs.”

The banking industry has fought bills before, both in the Senate and the House of Representatives that aim to limit similar practices.

The new plan would also prohibit banks, and credit unions from charging a fee for paying an overdraft on a checking account, debit card purchase or ATM withdrawal unless they give consumers the ability to opt out of overdraft payments.

The proposal will also take steps to stop the practice of raising interest rates on a balance when a cardholder fails to make payments on a totally unrelated bill. Democrats in Congress have said the proposals appear to tackle some practices, but more can be done but they are still an improvement from the current practices.

In recent months, a number of U.S. politicians have criticized credit card billing and marketing policies that they say surprise unsuspecting cardholders who then become trapped in a cycle of exorbitant fees.

While homeowners are dealing with the plummeting value of their houses, renters throughout the western part of the United States are writing larger checks to pay for their leases, according to a report released today by the research firm RealFacts.

The average apartment rent rose in March from the previous year in all 19 major Western markets surveyed. Meanwhile, home prices have plunged 10 percent to 30 percent, depending on the particular market.

Analysts have a theory that landlords have been able to raise rents as more people lose their homes to foreclosures and must find somewhere else to live in a hurry.

According to the survey, San Jose is now the most expensive rental market in the West, with the average apartment renting for $1,660 per month, up 9.1% from the same time last year.

However, the cost of renting a Silicon Valley apartment is still well below the peak of $1,959 per month reached in early 2001 at the tail end of the dot-com boom.

California apartment rent averages are also above $1,500 per month in Los Angeles and Orange counties, Ventura County and San Francisco/Oakland.

Outside of California, the West’s most expensive rental market is in Seattle, where the average apartment lease climbed 8.5% to $1,090 per month.

Where are the least expensive apartments in the west? Tucson, Arizona, with rents creeping up only 2% to $668 per month.

Around 4% of people in a survey said that their credit limit has recently been reduced by their card provider as financial services companies impose stricter lending criteria.

Young people are found to be at a greater risk of having their spending limit lowered, with 6% of 25 to 34-year-olds saying their provider had recently cut their limit, according to reasearch by MoneyExpert.com.

Customers typically had their credit limits reduced by £500 ($1000) or less, with 47% of people receiving reductions of up to £1,000 ($2000).

In a high-profile case of credit limit reduction,  internet bank Egg notified over 160,000 customers in February and told them that their credit cards would cease to work in 35 days. Egg claimed that these customers had a “higher than acceptable risk profile”.

The new research suggests Egg is not the only bank reviewing the risk profiles of customers. New data from the Bank of England shows borrowing through credit cards, overdrafts and loans has soared to its highest level in more than five years.

Unsecured debt increased during the month, prompting speculation that consumers have become overstretched, and were relying on credit to meet their daily living costs.

Demand for this kind of debt seems to be waning. Warning signs range from South Korea’s national pension fund declaring that it will shy away from U.S. Treasuries to major fixed income players beginning to favor riskier forms of credit again.

Various bond issues by Japan, Germany and the United States have drawn lackluster responses at recent auctions. Announcements from Britain that it needs to issue more debt to address the consequences of the credit crisis are also weighing heavily on investors.

Much of the reason is price, although the dollar’s weakness is also a factor.

Many bonds have become very costly, with yields falling as the credit turmoil and economic worries have driven demand for safe investments.

A report released yesterday, commissioned by Bank of Montreal, suggests that a majority of Canadian homeowners classify themselves as “smart spenders”.

That description comes even though more than 75% of those surveyed carried some type of non-mortgage debt that, on average, tops $28,000.

Many reported feeling comfortable with their debt load, because most use it for value-added investments such as home renovations or retirement savings.

The report showed “smart spending” was commonly defined as spending within a budget and getting the most value for your money.

Credit Counseling
All debtors will must get credit counseling before they will be able to file for a bankruptcy case — additional counseling for budgeting and debt management issues will be required before their debts can be wiped out.

Before one can file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, theymust complete credit counseling courses with an agency approved by the United States Trustee’s office.

The purpose for this credit counseling is to give the potential filer an idea of whether they need to file for bankruptcy or whether another informal solution such as a repayment plan would get them back on a more stabe economic footing.

Eligibility for Chapter 7 Restricted
Some bankruptcy filers with high incomes will not be permitted to use Chapter 7, but will instead will be required to repay at least some of their debt under Chapter 13.

Under the new law, the first step in figuring out whether one can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy is to measure their “current monthly income” against the median income for a family of the same size in the same state. Their “current monthly income” is not the income at the time of the filing, it is the average income over the last six months before the filing.

If ncome is less than or equal to the state median, Chapter 7 bankruptcy is permitted. If it is more than the median, they must pass a “means test” — another requirement of the new law — in order to file for Chapter 7.

The purpose of this means test is to figure out whether a potential filer has enough disposable income - after subtracting certain allowed expenses and required debt payments -to make payments under a Chapter 13 plan.

FInding a Bankruptcy Lawyer
Because the law imposes new requirements on all bankruptcy lawyers, it may be tougher to find an attorney to represent your bankruptcy case.

The new rules add complicated requirements to the bankruptcy field . This is going to make it much more expensive for lawyers to represent clients in bankruptcy cases, simply because of the increased time it will take to handle these cases. In short, this means attorney fees will be going up.

Credit Counseling
Credit counseling is available in all states. Counselors will help analyze your credit report and educate you on how to best repair your credit. Counselors work with creditors to lower or eliminate interest charges, payments and late fees on credit cards and to put an end to harassing collections processes. Consumer credit counseling is often available multiple ways: online, by phone or in person.

Money Management
A consumer credit counseling representative can help you with your money management issues. They will help you develop a realistic budget that shows you the way to live within your means and achieve your goal of debt management and elimination. Money management through a credit counselor can teach you how to reduce credit card debt and gain overall debt relief.

Bankruptcy
Filing for bankruptcy is sometimes a valid option when dealing with a debt problem. However, it is important to note that bankruptcy laws have recently changed, and it is much more difficult now to file for bankruptcy than it used to be.

Get all your debt in order and facilitate a lower interest rate and/or lower monthly payments on your debt load.

Some of the more popular credit counseling services are below.

American Consumer Credit Counseling
(800) 769-3571

American Family Credit Counseling
(602) 944-3849

Christian Debt Consolidation
(800) 983-0888

Consolidated Credit Counseling Services
(800) 320-9929

Consumer Credit Counseling Services
(800) 873-2227

Family Credit Counseling Service
(800) 994-3328

Kimberly Credit Counseling
(888) 546-4909

Money Management International
(866) 889-9347

National Foundation for Credit Counseling
(800) 388-2227

Visual Credit Counseling
(877) 606-6144