The Federal Trade Commission filed an injunction in federal court Monday charging that a web of defendants - including AMG Services Inc., several Internet-based lending companies and race car driver Scott Tucker - violated federal laws by deceiving consumers when providing and collecting on payday loans.

Surveys show that what Americans want most is a good job, no surprise there. Over the last few decades, the best jobs have been in the public sector and those requiring a college degree. But the productivity of a growing public sector already suffers from rising costs and diminishing returns that impede economic growth, as in Greece where public sector employment doubled in the last decade or in Spain, where youth unemployment is 50%.

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Until a few months ago, it was thought that 2012 might turn out to be a disaster year for loan production, one in which refinancings finally withered and home purchases continued to be anemic. But not anymore.

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Hudson Valley Holding Corp. (HVB) has completed the sale of $474 million in loans after it was required to reduce its concentrations in commercial real estate and classified loans.

American Express says it hired a new technology executive for the team that handles its digital wallet, Serve.

Celebrity-endorsed prepaid cards have become formidable rivals to banks, and it's not just because of their star power. Behind every big celeb is a seasoned banker.

Independent Bank Corp. (INDB) in Rockland, Mass,, has named Donna L. Abelli chairman of the company and its commercial banking unit, Rockland Trust Co.

Global Payments was considered PCI-compliant until hackers stole 1.5 million account numbers from it. So were two other breached processors. Banks may have to assume no third party is secure.

Regulators have entered into a consent order with the banking subsidiary of Community Bank of South Florida that requires the Homestead, Fla., bank to raise capital ratios.

Heartland Payment Systems (HPY) is launching three smartphone applications for college campus cards.

Bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc. has sued JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and a former Bear Stearns Cos. mortgage unit over alleged misrepresentations regarding the quality of mortgages backing hundreds of securities it insured.

The individual responsible for "enterprise growth" at American Express was recently quoted in this newspaper, saying about mobile that the "data is more valuable than the payment transaction." We're told this preference for data contradicts Amex "tradition." No, it contradicts Amex experience.

Two years after the federal government became a direct lender to students, the time might be right for small banks to start making private student loans. Still, there are plenty of potential legislative and regulatory headwinds.

First Savings Bank Northwest in Renton, Wash., has been released from a formal enforcement order with its regulators after substantially reducing its problem loans and demonstrating that it can earn money on a consistent basis.

A survey of 1,527 mobile banking consumers uncovers a need for technical support and a strong interest in paying people by phone.