The sub-prime hurricane that hit the US in 2007 has left a trail of destruction in its wake around the world.  Banks are now the only 100% safe place for Australians to keep their money, the share market has plunged more than 25%, finance is harder to get at every level, the rate of “mortgages [...]

On Friday, ANZ announced that it will now only lend up to 90% of the value of properties for all new business effective from Nov 17th. ANZ had been lending up to 95%, as had most lenders.
In announcing the decision, ANZ said:
” Although ANZ’s mortgage portfolio credit quality remains sound and customers are managing repayments [...]

As fall out from the credit crisis continues, tens of thousands of Americans have received letters advising them that their credit card limits have been reduced by the card provider.
In many cases, the new limits are lower than the outstanding balance on the card (i.e. the card holder has a card with a $20,000 limit [...]

I received 2 letters from credit card providers this week advising that I have been pre-approved for a new credit card with them. You can imagine my excitement.  So much for a credit crisis in Oz. 
But I quickly discovered that all was not as it seemed.  To get the card I still needed to [...]