To our valued readers at the Credit Blog, Whiskey or What and I are passing the torch to a new blogging team here at the Credit Blog. Eric in Vegas will be joining us as the primary blogger, and will certainly bring new friends and a fresh team to the blog.

What ever happened to the purchasing and approval process? According to CNN, in today's news, and according to a Government Accountability Office study released Wednesday, Federal employees charged millions of dollars to government credit and debit cards. The fraudulent charges included Internet dating services, iPods, expensive clothing, a $13,500 dinner and lingerie to be worn during jungle training in Ecuador. The audit also found that the agencies responsible for the cards could not account for nearly $2 million worth of items, which included computer servers, laptop computers, iPods and digital cameras. Shockingly, almost half of all the transactions made in the 2006 fiscal year with government credit or debit "purchase cards" were, according to the GAO, improper. The purchases were either not authorized or did not meet purchase use requirements. Read the story.

After meeting and listening to Marc Farber and his friends, I am beginning to wonder about the advisability of investing in the US at all... Compare US investing to the phenominal double digit rates of return in Russian and former "Eastern Block" real estate. Ouch! Check it out. According to Swiss investment guru Dr Marc Faber you should never buy a former boom asset class in an immediate correction. The next boom is almost always in another asset class and it can take many years for former glory to be restored, if it at all. If you really want to feel depressed in the face of recession, check out Marc's GloomBoomDoom Report.

According to the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire Blog, Sen. Barack Obama met with two dozen college students at the University of Texas-Pan American this past Friday. He discussed his proposal to offer a $4,000 college tuition tax credit with students and warned them “Just be careful about those credit cards, all right? Don’t eat out as much..." After the foreclosure crisis, he warned, “the credit cards are next in line.” In reaction to one student who talked about late-night television advertisements that promise easy loans, Obama responded, “I’ve seen those... Those ads are terrible! They’re all like, ‘Hey, this is fun! No problem!’". Read the whole story here.

According to an article in CNN.com/Living, Americans put $2.2 trillion in debt on their credit cards last year. In fact, the percentage of those who pay late was the highest in three years. While some companies will lower your interest rates if you ask, experts say we should use no more than 10 percent of our available credit in today's credit environment. Details here.

In other news, watch out for your neigbors! According to according to the Sarasota Highlands Today, a Sebring woman was arrested Wednesday and charged with 41 fraud and larceny counts for allegedly stealing her neighbors' mail and using their credit cards and checks. Gory credit card details here.

In still more news, the American Chronicle reports on options for consumers with bad credit. Bad credit applicants know that getting a credit card is not an easy task when your credit report shows delinquencies and write offs. The Chronicle recommends that when seeking a new credit card, bad credit applicants should seek alternatives. See Cardpick's section on credit cards for people with bad credit.

Also recommended for monitoring your credit please try our affiliate, FreeCreditReport.com.

CreditCards.com announced that it was selected by LendingTree to power the credit card channels on LendingTree.com and its sister site, GetSmart.com. Now owned by an Austin TX based group, CreditCards.com was once owned by a small domainer company in Boston that launched about 20 first level domains as businesses in industry parterships and with start-up management teams. When the creditcards.com site was owned by that Boston group, the business team was turned down on a similar LendingTree proposal. One member of the original team was quoted as saying, "Why they are even using one of the logos which certain members of the team rejected even though it was the best one!" Too bad those guys short sold that site... Read more here.

According to MarketWatch, the underlying rate of U.S. inflation accelerated in January. MarketWatch, reporting on statistics released by the US Department of Labor said that the consumer price index increased 0.4% in January, driven by 0.7% gains in both energy and food prices. The core CPI (Consumer Price Index), which excludes food and energy costs, was also up 0.3% in January. MarketWatch reported that this was the largest gain since June 2006. Economists were expecting the CPI to rise 0.3% in January after a 0.4% gain in December. The core rate was expected to rise 0.2% after rising 0.2% in the previous month. What does this rise in inflation mean for you? In the short term, rising prices may continue to stimulate the Federal Reserve to control interest rates downward. So you can expect your credit card interest to at least stay where it is or go a little later for the moment.

In the credit card news

It's mostly bad news this time of year, after the dust settles on Christmas, and only a little spending anxiety remains as St. Valentine's Day looms on the nearly forgotten horizon. So now it's time to knuckle down and work and pay, and work and pay.

In an article in the Times Online today, the publication blames the slowdown in the housing market for a recent downturn in the use of credit by consumers. The article also sites a change in the use habits of people using gift cards to make purchases. Seems they are spending on household necessities, like groceries, instead of the usual type of spending spree for gifts or furniture or new dishes... It also seems that credit-card delinquencies and not making minimum monthly payments are growing. Read more here. Tough times ahead?

In other news, DelawareOnline warns today that we better pay our bills quickly now as credit card companies are shrinking the window of time consumers have to pay off their credit card balances, i.e. increasing the minimum payment. The report also notes that late fees are increasing. Get the full story here. Are we depressed yet?

In the UK times are toughening too. In a story today in the Financial Times, there are warnings that lenders are scrutinizing and accessing increasing amounts of personal data when deciding on credit cards and loans. Lapses in good credit behavior that would have had little effect on a credit rating a year ago are being used to deny credit. Get the full story here. Are we immune?

Anyway, there is nothing we can do but work our way through. Now let's get to work. :-