Personal Finance Daily: Debit-card fees? Maybe not, banks say

Personal Finance Daily OCTOBER 28, 2011 Debit-card fees? Maybe not, banks say By MarketWatch Don't miss these top stories: Try these unlikely places to boost your yield Where to find help to avoid foreclosure 7 tips to cut steep heating costs this winter Gen Y will drive rents higher, seek smaller homes It's getting tough to keep up with the world of bank fees. There was of course a big outcry when Bank of America Corp. (BAC) announced it would charge a $5 monthly fee for debit-card use. But today, a news report by Reuters suggests the bank is planning to scale back that plan. (You can read the Reuters report here.) Maybe B. of A. is taking a cue from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM), which said it would not proceed with its proposal to levy similar fees, after testing the idea for months. Read commentary on how Bank of America leads, but no one follows. Meanwhile, my bank — Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) — didn't exactly levy a new fee on my checking account, but it did recently tell customers that it was removing one means of waiving the monthly fee. Before, automatically transferring money from checking to savings worked to waive the monthly checking-account fee, but the bank decided to end that practice. (I won't owe a monthly fee because I have a number of other accounts linked to mine, but presumably a fair number of people now are facing a $15 monthly hit.) It's a good reminder to check up on your bank costs. Certainly, all the fee news has prompted plenty of consumers to switch banks. Maybe it's time for you to assess whether you should do the same. Read our piece about J.P. Morgan Chase's decision; plus, don't miss Jennifer Waters's Consumer Confidential on how to keep your heating costs down. That's news you can use given that heating costs are set to rise steeply this winter. Also, did you take our financial literacy quiz yet? Click on this link to Bob Powell's column, and then scroll down to see the quiz. — Andrea Coombes , Personal Finance editor 7 tips to cut steep heating costs this winter Home-heating costs are on the rise, so take action now to keep bills in check. Read more: 7 tips to cut steep heating costs this winter. Where to find help to avoid foreclosure Looking to modify your mortgage to avoid a foreclosure? Here's a list of resources and programs aimed at helping borrowers who are having trouble paying their mortgages. Read more: Where to find help to avoid foreclosure. Try these unlikely places to boost your yield For U.S. investors looking for dividend yield in the current low interest-rate environment, emerging-market stocks promise lucrative income but carry significant risks. Read more: Try these unlikely places to boost your yield. Gen Y will drive rents higher, seek smaller homes Generation Y will change housing demand, and the strained finances of many Americans will lead to more multigenerational households, according to a new report from the Urban Land Institute. Read more: Gen Y will drive rents higher, seek smaller homes. Bank of America leads, but no one follows Bank of America finds itself under tremendous pressure from customers upset with the company's plan for $5-a-month fees to use debit cards. Now, rivals are taking the opportunity to steal some of them away, writes David Weidner. Read more: Bank of America leads, but no one follows. ECONOMY & POLITICS How post-recession recoveries compare Decent third-quarter GDP growth of 2.5% belies just how tepid this post-recession recovery has been. See the charts. See charts: How post-recession recoveries compare. Consumer sentiment rises in October: survey With improved views on the economy, consumer sentiment rose in October, reaching the highest level since July, while remaining at relatively low levels, according to data released Friday by the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters. Read more: Consumer sentiment rises in October. Consumers spend more, save less in September Spending growth outpaces wage growth, leaving consumers dipping deeper into their savings, U.S. data show. Read more: Consumers spend more, save less in September. Get the latest news on our mobile site: http://www.marketwatch.com/m MarketWatch has sent you this newsletter because you signed up to receive it. To ensure you receive this newsletter in the future, please add marketwatchmail.com to your list of approved senders. Sent to: kumaresan.selva.blogger@gmail.com Unsubscribe | Subscribe Copyright 2011 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, and BigCharts are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (updated 6/26/07). MarketWatch - Attn: Customer Service, 201 California St., San Francisco, CA 94111