Obama steps up push for consumer protection agency
The Associated Press via Newsvine
President Barack Obama fought to keep his proposed banking overhaul on track, casting the political struggle ahead as one between big financial interests and average Americans victimized by complex or unscrupulous financial transactions. The president illustrated his call for a consumer finance agency by showcasing five unwitting borrowers and bank customers whose troubles ranged from massive overdraft fees to unwanted interest-only mortgages.More

Goolsbee on consumer financial protection
CNBC

President Obama is stepping up his campaign for an agency to protect consumers. Austan Goolsbee, a member of the Council of Economic Advisors, discusses the initiative.More

Recession fills pawnshop shelves
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The back room of the Cash in a Flash pawnshop in Covington, Ohio, is stocked to the ceiling. On sturdy wooden shelf units, divided by a center aisle like a church, hundreds of people's valuables - guitars, electronics, tools, jewelry - are held as collateral for short-term loans typically no more than $60 or $80. Flat-screen televisions rest on the floor, their screens faced away from foot traffic. The recession, though not necessarily a boon to the pawn business, has made pawnshops busier.More

The 'democratization of credit' is over -- Now it's payback time
The Wall Street Journal (Subscription)
The recession has forced a financial reckoning for Americans across the income spectrum. The pressure is especially acute for the low-income Americans who relied on borrowing for daily expenses or to gain the trappings of middle-class life. Shifting credit practices over several decades had enabled them to live beyond their means by borrowing nearly as readily as the more affluent.More

Pawnshop offers variety of products, services
The Desert Sun
A small gas station in Palm Springs, Calif., has become a complex and a comfort zone for the economically and emotionally disadvantaged. Haki Dervishi and his wife Linda Sue have owned the One Stop Pawn Shoppe since 1988. It includes a gas station and convenience store, a small taco shop and a free health clinic.More

Gold prices show no sign of slowing, hit new high
The Associated Press via Google News
Gold continued its record-setting climb, rallying to a fresh high as the dollar weakened. Gold rose to as high as $1,062.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange before settling at $1,056.30, up $11.90, or 1.1 percent. Gold had plowed past its previous record, and has posted new highs each day since then. More

Shotgun used in deadly 1934 gunbattle recovered from pawnshop
Tulsa Daily World
A family heirloom — a 10-gauge shotgun used by a former police chief in 1934 in a deadly gunbattle — has been recovered from a pawnshop in Sapulpa, Okla., authorities said.  The 10-gauge shotgun belonged to Tom Brumley, who had it with him when he was killed in the gunfight 75 years ago, Jo Brumley said. Tom Brumley and Sapulpa Police Officer Charles Lloyd were killed Feb. 3, 1934, after they cornered three notorious bank robbers. More

Pawnbrokers
Online Magazine
Pawnbrokers are perhaps one of the most ingenious businesses ever to be created. They offer a means to obtain items that someone with a limited income could never afford. Many of the pawnshops today do not hold with the older traditions. They hold with the traditions of the past where the customer is always right and the service is always excellent. More

Rochester, N.Y.,-area pawnshops flush in gold-rush fever
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
On a daily basis, people go into secondhand stores, jewelry stores and pawnshops around the Rochester, N.Y., region with their belongings and walk out with cash in hand. And while economic downturn has wreaked havoc on the livelihoods of millions, it has done gangbusters for the resale industry.More

Study: Worst of the U.S. recession over
Reuters
The worst U.S. recession since the Great Depression has ended, but weak household spending as the labor market struggles to create jobs will slow the pace of the economy's recovery, according to new study. The survey of 44 professional forecasters released by the National Association of Business Economists found that 80 percent of the respondents believed the economy was growing again after four straight quarters of declines.More

Rising price of gold has led to a rush at coin store in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The sign outside American Coin & Jewelry Exchange in Fort Worth, Texas, is faded, but inside the wares are gleaming — and moving. Although the price of gold reached an all-time peak on world markets, more customers are buying than selling.More

Now's the time to unload your old gold
WSYR-TV

Gold prices reached an all-time high -- bad news if you're in the market for some new gold jewelry, but great news if you're looking to unload some of your old or broken gold. WSYR reporters hit some pawnshops to find out how much consumers can make with just a handful of stuff you don't wear anymore.More