No Love in this Card..No Bang in this Ben..

American Express Co. is paying some cardholders $300 each to close accounts so the lender can reduce the risk of defaults as the recession deepens. People who got the offer to "simplify" their finances must pay off their entire credit card balance by April 30, according to New York-based American Express.

NYT reports...While the United States economy is likely to worsen significantly over the next year, the Federal Reserve is “committed to using all available tools” to stanch the financial crisis and unfreeze credit markets, the Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, told the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. But he added that the economy was suffering through a “severe contraction” and could get even worse than recent forecasts.
***What is this guy saying? He has been holding back ammunition just in case the situation gets worse? Ben, you should have used all tools available already...***
The article goes on to say that "The Fed has taken some extraordinary steps in recent months in the hopes of increasing the flow of credit to businesses and households. In December, the Federal Open Market Committee lowered its key interest rate to virtually zero, its floor. The Fed has been buying mortgage-backed securities — considered the leading cause of the meltdown after the housing bubble burst — that have been guaranteed by the federal government. It has also begun unprecedented programs as a lender. It has expanded the Term Auction Facility, which loans to banks. It has also introduced the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, which finances consumer loans, and which the Fed recently announced it would expand in both size and scope; and the Commercial Paper Funding Facility, which provides loans in exchange for short-term business i.o.u.’s. Mr. Bernanke said these actions had contributed to improvements in short-term funding markets and the commercial paper market, and declines in the conforming fixed mortgage rate and the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), the rate on which borrowing costs for consumers and businesses are often based. The Fed has also been working in partnership with the Treasury Department, headed by Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, to coordinate intervention in the financial markets. On Monday, the Treasury, the Fed and federal bank regulatory agencies issued a joint statement announcing that the government might demand direct ownership in major banks after they undergo a “stress test” to determine their viability going forward. The test, which will be applied to the 20 biggest banks, will be used to measure whether banks have enough capital to survive a worsening downturn. Monday’s statement stopped short of announcing a plan to “nationalize” any banks officially. But it indicated that banks deemed to be inadequately capitalized under a scenario in which the economy gets significantly worse would be forced to accept additional private and public capital. Officials have also announced measures intended to help prevent “unnecessary foreclosures.” "