Could a cap on debit card purchases be in the works? Customers at Chase would only be able to make purchases of up to $50 or $100 per transaction on their debit cards under a very preliminary plan being considered by the bank. The idea is one of many being floated internally in response to a proposed regulation that would sharply limit the fees banks collect from stores whenever customers swipe their debit cards. Chase estimates the proposal could slash its revenue by $1.3 billion a year. The New York-based bank isn’t alone. The industry says that debit card fees help underwrite the costs of providing consumers with free or low-cost checking. By limiting merchant fees, banks warn, they’ll need to charge consumers.
New iPad sparks lines of buyers for Apple
The updated version of Apple Inc.’s iPad tablet computer went on sale Friday afternoon, and was greeted by the now-familiar lines of buyers outside Apple stores. The Cupertino, Calif., company opened online sales of the iPad 2 at 4 a.m. Eastern time, well before they became available in East Coast stores at 5 p.m. They were set to go on sale nationwide at the same hour, local time. When the original version of the iPad went on sale in April, Apple said it sold more than 300,000 in the first day. It ended up selling more than 15 million in the first nine months, including 7.3 million to holiday shoppers in the October-December quarter. The new iPad model comes with several improvements over the original version but the same price tag — $499 to $829, depending on storage space and whether they can connect to the Internet over a cellular network.
Job openings fall in U.S. in January
There were 2.76 million job openings at the end of January, the Labor Department said Friday. That’s down by 161,000, or 5.5 percent, from December’s revised total. Half of the decline was the result of fewer state and local government positions. Those job openings dropped by 80,000, to 239,000 — the lowest level of state and local openings since last September. Openings at the federal, state and local levels fell by 115,000, a 27 percent decline for that sector. The monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey also showed that available jobs in the private sector declined 1.8 percent, to 2.45 million. Professional and business services, which include accountants, lawyers and temporary jobs, reported a sharp drop. Openings dipped in education and health care. Still, manufacturers, retailers, hotels and restaurants reported more openings.
Fidelity profits rise 17 percent last year
Fidelity Investments says its operating profit rose 17 percent last year, while revenue rose nearly 7 percent. Both numbers are stronger year-over-year improvements than Fidelity reported a year ago. The nation’s second-largest mutual fund company is privately held, and reports limited financial data on its performance once a year.
From Herald news services
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