Freezing in NH

I saw an article in the NYTimes that said credit cards have reduced their direct mail.  This is a loss for folks who do a lot of 0% chasing and also I suppose for the Post Office, but a win for the rest of us.  I have opted out of unsolicited credit card offers (directions on how can be found here) but I still get a lot of junk from my existing companies.  A reduction in that will save me the gas I use when my recycling boxes get full.  For people still getting unsolicited offers, a reduction will reduce the chances of someone stealing one and applying in their name.  And for folks who have trouble with willpower, it will reduce the temptation.

Mintel found that fewer pieces had gone out in February, the last month for which figures were available, than in any month since April 2004.

There is day-to-day news that we’re bordering on recession, said Lisa Hronek, an analyst at Mintel. “They may be scaling back in response to their target audience just not being there any more, or not as willing to take on new debt.”

Also, they may just be getting picky, since I suspect that there will be a rise in bankruptcies to follow the rise in foreclosures.  People used to be able to pay off credit card debt with a home equity loan, but those are hard to get now and existing lines of credit are being capped by nervous lenders.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 8:34 am and is filed under Uncategorized, articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.