Financial service firms hawking their wares are getting the cold shoulder from some retirees and pre-retirees who are opting for traditional solutions and managing their income on their own, a new study revealed.

Credit unions with assets of more than $10 billion would be subject to examination and enforcement by the new consumer financial products agency housed inside the Federal Reserve.

Call it Babylon Revisited for the 21st century. A unemployed, homeless and bankrupt man in Orange County, Calif., is living off the rewards points he accumulated while traveling on business in more prosperous times.

Fiserv Inc. said its ACCEL/Exchange debit payments network set a new annual record with nearly 960 million transactions processed in 2009, a nearly 40% increase over 2008.