All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

Have you ever felt like David when going up against the Goliath that is most major banks?

Well, some customers fed up with high banking fees and interest rate hikes are taking to the internet to rail against their banks.

Ann Minch of California posted this YouTube video after Bank of American raised the interest rate on her credit card from 13 percent to 30 percent.

She vowed not to pay them one more cent until they changed her rate back.

More than 250,000 people viewed her video and many posted their own complaints against their banks.

Bank of America called her and changed her rate back.

How’s that for results? Watch the CBS Evening News tonight and we will show you how consumers are being heard and how two major banks are lowering fees because of it.

A new report (PDF) today from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo revealed that big banks – including the recipients of billions in taxpayer-funded bailouts – paid their employees massive bonuses regardless of how the banks performed.

Correspondent Kelly Wallace is covering the story for tonight's "CBS Evening News". Earlier today, she discussed the report and previewed tonight's story in a conversation with CBSNews.com editor-in-chief Dan Farber.

Katie is on assignment.

It's been a stressful day for some of the nation's biggest banks. Government stress tests show some, like Bank of America and Wells Fargo, are low on cash.

The tests set up a "what if" scenario.

What would happen if unemployment were to jump to 10.3 percent and home prices were to plunge another 22 percent?

The results show some big banks wouldn't survive, even after billions in bailout money.

Banks with failing grades will have six months to raise the funds, possibly by issuing stock or bonds, or from the government as a last resort, but Washington insists it won't let them fold.

For customers, it will be business as usual.

Your money is protected by the FDIC, although analysts warn banks scrambling to boost revenue may just keep raising those annoying fees - putting a bigger dent in your wallet. That could send you to the doctor - for your own stress test.

"I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking."

That was the first sentence of FDR's first fireside chat.

It was 1933.

There was widespread panic about the economy and millions of Americans were removing their cash from banks. They needed someone to explain in plain English what was going on.

Banking, like everything else since 1933, has gotten increasingly complicated. Derivatives, hedge funds, subprime -- the words make your eyes glaze over.

As Anna Quindlen wrote in Newsweek, "the great unspoken issue is that Americans don't understand the basics of the economy."

That's where the panic comes from -- a lack of understanding exacerbates a lack of confidence.

Today's hearth might be the TV, or a Web site, but President Obama should think about reviving FDR's tradition and become Professor Obama.

We could all use a little Finance 101. Maybe if we understood the problem, we could understand the solution.

That's a page from my notebook.

When you swipe your credit card, your account displays your debt ... but who's really picking up the tab? In case you missed the Evening News last night, check out the Fast Draw piece below. In brief: Mitch Butler and Josh Landis examine the crisis facing credit card companies, who have faced recent difficulty trying to sell off consumer debt to investors.

And remember to check back on their blog for the latest Fast Draws.

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Sharyl Attkisson is an investigative correspondent for CBS News.

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It took a full month for many in Congress and the American public to realize that billions in bailout funds were not going to be used the way they thought.

Instead of purchasing failed mortgage assets, the Treasury Department used the taxpayer money to buy preferred shares of stock in select banks. It was not only weak banks in need of assistance, but also banks supposedly deemed to be "strong" by federal regulators; the idea apparently to help shore up the economy by ensuring strong banks take over weaker ones (although nobody from the Treasury Department has responded to our repeated requests for information).

Sources tell CBS News the bank strategy was not discussed in advance with important members of Congress who were "sold" on the bailout. Sources also say the strategy was not mentioned to top members who spoke directly with Treasury Secretary Paulson. But in the first weeks of the bailout, select banks become in-the-know quickly. Several of them have said it was "federal regulators" who approached them and urged them to apply for bailout money ... even before the public or Congress were aware this would be its use ...

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The heads of the nation's biggest banks sat down with Bush administration officials at the Treasury Department today to talk about how to implement the $700 billion rescue plan.

One thing on the agenda is giving the government an ownership stake in some failing banks. In exchange for handing over taxpayer money, Washington would receive stock in the banks, which could be sold for a profit if it goes up in value.

Supporters say it could be a good deal for taxpayers and may be the only way for some banks to stay in business. But critics argue the government has already spent too much bailing out Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG.

It's worth noting this is being done under a Republican administration. Republicans usually want less government, not more. But this credit crisis is our most serious economic challenge in 75 years. The usual remedies haven't been working this time.

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Wondering what to give this holiday season? How about ... food? The shelves of some of the nation's food banks are looking like those in Mother Hubbard's cupboard: bare.

Click the monitor on the left to hear more and find out how to help the needy.

Randall Pinkston is a CBS News correspondent based in New York.

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Waverly Taliaferro, 70, of New York, testified last week before the Senate Finance Committee about a financial foul-up that threatened the health and well-being of himself and his wife. His story, unfortunately, is not unique.

He retired in 2001. In 2003, his wife lost her job, leaving the two of them totally dependent on his monthly Social Security check. Soon, they fell behind paying their credit card bills.

In 2006, Taliaferro’s creditors obtained a judgment and froze his Citibank account. What’s the problem? Well, the account was not supposed to be frozen. Federal law exempts specifically exempts Social Security, veteran’s benefits and similar "safety net" payments from garnishment.

Taliaferro found out his funds were frozen when he tried to withdraw money from the ATM to buy groceries. The next day, he found an attorney with South Brooklyn Legal Services who wrote a letter to the bank, explaining that the sole source of Taliaferro’s funds came from Social Security.

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