Wednesday, Jul. 09, 2008

Dollars & Sense

Cattle at risk of TB put down in Fresno

More than 1,000 cattle at risk of contracting bovine tuberculosis are being slaughtered in Fresno County, where the contagious lung disease has been found at three dairies. Federal officials have quarantined more than 12,000 cattle there to protect the country's largest milk-producing region from economic hardship. U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary of Agriculture Bruce Knight is on the scene, and the agency has begun drawing up new regulations for California cattle shipped out of state. The state's last outbreak occurred in 2003 in Kings and Tulare counties. Until January, California had been TB-free since 2005.

Consumer credit rises by 3.6 percent

Consumers boosted their borrowing in May, mostly reflecting heavy credit card use to finance their purchases. The Federal Reserve reported Tuesday that consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 3.6 percent in May, roughly the same pace as the prior month. The pickup pushed consumer debt up by $7.8 billion to $2.57 trillion. That was a bit more brisk than the $7 billion over-the-month increase economists were expecting.

Fed Reserve issuing new lending rules

The Federal Reserve will issue new rules next week aimed at protecting future homebuyers from dubious lending practices. To prevent a repeat of the current mortgage mess, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke Bernanke said Tuesday that it will adopt rules cracking down on a range of shady lending practices that have burned many of the nation's riskiest "subprime" borrowers -- those with spotty credit or low incomes -- who were hit hardest by the housing and credit debacles. Under the proposal unveiled in December, the rules would restrict lenders from penalizing risky borrowers who pay off loans early, require lenders to make sure these borrowers set aside money to pay for taxes and insurance and bar lenders from making loans without proof of a borrower's income. It also would prohibit lenders from engaging in a pattern or practice of lending without considering a borrower's ability to repay a home loan from sources other than the home's value.