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A N.C. Superior Court judge has ordered an Arizona company to stop contacting consumers in North Carolina and offering them credit cards.

N.C. judge puts restraining order on credit-card company

N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper's office says Premier Nationwide Corp. of Scottsdale, Ariz., has previously contacted consumers by mail and phone, offering them pre-approved credit cards with high credit lines and low interest. Those who agreed to the deal were asked to pay an upfront processing fee of $379 and then told to contact a bank to get their credit cards. But when they did so, they were often told to fill out a credit-card application -- which was usually denied, Cooper's office says. The office received complaints that Premier Savings refused to refund the processing fee.

Cooper's office says a judge placed a temporary restraining owner on the company, preventing it from contacting North Carolinians. The office is seeking a court order that would require Premier Savings to repay consumers and pay fines to the state.

"With tough economic times, the last thing consumers need is to pay for help they don't receive," Cooper says in a statement. "We'll keep working to hold companies to their promises."

Wachovia stated that it would raise $7 billion in capital by issuing common and preferred stock. The company has hemorrhaged cash since the ill fated purchase of California mortgage lender Golden West at the height of the real estate bubble in 2006.

Obviously the purchase of Golden West was a mistake, one which Wachovia must live with for some time. The unfortunate matter is that the current bear market combined with deteriorating credit conditions mean that the company must float more stock in order to cover costs. This is extremely unfortunate for shareholders as it both dilutes their holdings in addition to battering the share price.

Wachovia Sinks on Loss, Plans to Raise $7B

Wachovia shares sank as much as 11% Monday, after the bank said it was raising $7 billion through a stock offering and cutting its dividend, while swinging to a big first-quarter loss.

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Wachovia said the proceeds from the sale of common and preferred stock would be used for general corporate purposes. The bank said the money will increase capital ratios and provide flexibility. CEO Ken Thompson said in a company press release that he was "extremely pleased" with the level of interest from investors so far.

A shrinking economy is the least of the lumber industry's worries. According to the U.S. Forest Service demand for wood products is expected to continue its decline as furniture manufacturing continues to move abroad and residential construction contracts. The trend is a long time in the making and in more recent years the decreasing demand from the furniture industry was masked by the booming housing market.

The lumber industry, like any other, experiences cycles and by some measure the current downturn is the worst in 20 years. Still that doesn't mean that the long term outlook for wood products shares a similar fate. In many ways the industry is like agriculture only with a very distant time horizon. The difficult task for those that manage forests is not the culling and raising of grade A stock but of speculating as to future demand trends and planting the appropriate type of trees many years in advance. This means that inevitably there will be winners and losers in the timber industry at any given time despite the state of the broader economy. On the other hand facilities that process the raw lumber are more vulnerable as they operate in a more cyclical space which is concerned primarily with the total demand for wood products and not the availability of raw materials.

An inevitable tide of bankruptcies follows the rise in petroleum prices and belt tightening of consumers fearful of recession. The third in a string of low cost regional air carriers has filed for Chapter 11 citing mainly the rising cost of fuel. Skybus followed ATA and Aloha Airlines by canceling flight and laying off employees leaving passengers stranded.

Low-cost carrier Skybus calls it quits

Low-cost carrier Skybus Airlines said Friday that it was ceasing operations on Saturday, calling itself a victim of rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment.

The Columbus-based company said in a statement Friday night that it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday.