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DETROIT — The carnage in the ever-shrinking U.S. auto industry continues.

Chrysler LLC on Thursday announced it would cut 1,825 factory jobs. And General Motors Corp. trimmed some benefits and said it would make further white-collar cuts.

As the slumping U.S. economy speeds the industry’s slide, and tight credit cuts into sales, Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler said the jobs will be eliminated at the end of the year when it closes a Newark, Del., sport utility vehicle plant ahead of schedule and eliminates a shift at a Toledo, Ohio, Jeep plant.

At GM, senior managers sent a memo to executives Wednesday saying early retirement and buyout offers to white-collar workers had been well-received but that the company still would have to make involuntary layoffs.

More job cuts are likely if the U.S. auto sales volume continues to decline into 2009, said Laurie Harbour-Felax, president of the Harbour-Felax Group, a Detroit-area auto industry consulting company.

"If volume continues to fall through the tank as we go into 2009, then they’re going to be left with a whole bunch more people," she said.

If recent talk about a potential acquisition of Chrysler by GM comes true, even more job losses are likely, she said.

"The whole thing becomes somewhat scary of a concept to think about, more job losses, especially in Michigan," she said.

Chrysler’s job cuts Thursday amount to about 6 percent of its U.S. hourly work force. They include the indefinite layoff of about 825 workers at the Toledo North Assembly Plant, where the company makes the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro.

The Newark Assembly plant, where 1,000 people make Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen SUVs, originally was expected to shut down at the end of 2009, and its hastened closure puts in doubt whether the company will keep making the large truck-based SUVs.

Chrysler spokesmen wouldn’t say if production would be sent to another factory. They said, however, that a plant in Detroit was being retooled to make several sport utility vehicles.

The company said it would work with the United Auto Workers union to handle the layoffs in a "socially responsible manner." In the past, it has offered buyout and early retirement programs to workers affected by plant slowdowns and closures free credit report online.

Chrysler said in a statement that the changes will adjust inventory to better match consumer demand. Through the first nine months of the year, the company’s U.S. sales have fallen 25 percent from the same period last year, the largest decline of any major automaker. U.S. sales industrywide are down 13 percent from a year earlier.

The sales slump showed up on Daimler AG’s bottom line Thursday. Daimler’s third-quarter earnings release showed a $154.5 million operating loss for its 19.9 percent share of Chrysler, indicating that Chrysler lost about $772.5 million in the second quarter as its U.S. sales slumped.

Chrysler is privately owned and does not have to report its earnings, but issued a statement saying its second-quarter loss totaled $660 million when taking into account the differences between international and U.S. accounting standards.

Chrysler’s majority owner, New York private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, has been talking to GM, the combined Nissan Motor Co.-Renault SA and others about a possible sale or merger, or Chrysler could be sold in pieces to other companies, according to people briefed on the talks. The people have asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

Meanwhile, Cerberus has said it’s in talks with Daimler to buy the German company’s stake in the struggling U.S. automaker. On a conference call Thursday, Daimler Chief Financial Officer Bodo Uebber said those negotiations continue.

At GM, the company decided it will temporarily stop matching salaried employees’ 401(k) contributions as of Nov. 1, and it will suspend tuition reimbursement and adoption assistance programs at the end of this year.

Spokesman Tom Wilkinson would not say how many white-collar workers had accepted offers to leave, nor would he say if the company has a goal for reducing their ranks.

GM has reported losing $57.5 billion in the last 20 months, including a $15.5 billion loss in the second quarter. Its vehicle sales declined 18 percent in the first nine months of this year, and it is burning through $1 billion in cash per month.

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PepsiAmericas Inc. said Wednesday third-quarter profit rose 2% as the bottler of Pepsi beverages raised prices and sales climbed in Eastern and Central Europe.

Profit rose to $73.1 million, or 58 cents per share, from $71.5 million, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier. Results in the most recent quarter included 11 cents in charges.

Sales rose 12% to $1.33 billion from $1.18 billion, helped by acquisitions, currency benefits and higher pricing to help cover higher raw material costs. A lower tax rate also boosted results.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who usually exclude one-time items from their estimates, expected profit of 62 cents per share and sales of $1.30 billion.

"We successfully navigated what continues to be a challenging U advance america cash advance.S. environment through disciplined pricing, strong marketplace execution and effective productivity initiatives," Chairman and Chief Executive Robert C. Pohlad said.

Total U.S. pricing rose 3.2% to help cover higher raw material costs. Average net pricing rose 18.4% internationally, boosted by exchange rates, PepsiAmericas (PAS) said.

Total volume, or the number of cases sold either directly or indirectly to consumers, rose almost 8%.

For the full-year, the company expects adjusted earnings per share between $1.92 and $1.96. Analysts expect $1.93 for the year. 

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Speculation continued to swirl Monday that a deal for General Motors Corp. to buy Chrysler LLC from New York private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP could come soon.

Both sides have been talking for months, but the pace recently has increased. A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press Friday that officials were trying to work out a deal by the end of the month.

Cerberus wants out of the auto business. And as the credit markets have dried up, GM (GM, Fortune 500), worried about running too low on cash before the U.S. auto market rebounds, wants Chrysler’s currency stockpile.

The person said that the talks have advanced to the point where top executives of both companies have looked at a deal and asked for refinements. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are secret.

In August, Chrysler said it had accumulated $11.7 billion in cash and marketable securities as of June 30. That figure remains around $11 billion, the person said, despite the Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker’s U.S. sales being down 25% in the year through September, the largest decline of any major automaker.

Detroit-based GM is burning up more than $1 billion per month, with several analysts predicting it will reach its minimum operating cash level of $14 billion sometime next year. GM’s sales are down 18%, and the company has lost $57.5 billion in the past 18 months, although much of that comes from noncash tax accounting changes.

Chrysler’s money pile would help solve GM’s cash problem if credit remains unavailable 24 hour payday advances.

Both automakers have had to deny bankruptcy rumors in recent weeks, saying consumers won’t buy cars from a company that looks like it could go out of business.

According to the person familiar with the negotiations, the deal being discussed calls for Cerberus to hand over Chrysler in exchange for GM’s 49% stake in GMAC Financial Services. GM sold a 51% stake in its finance arm to Cerberus in 2006.

Cerberus also would get an equity stake in GM, hoping to get a good return should GM recover when U.S. auto sales bounce back from a serious slump.

Other automakers, including the allied companies of Renault SA (RNO) and Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY), also are in discussions about Chrysler, the person said. Simultaneously, Cerberus, which bought 80.1% of Chrysler from Daimler AG (DAI) in a $7.4 billion deal last year, is negotiating to acquire Daimler’s 19.9% stake.

GM and Cerberus are still a long way from a deal, according to the person, and GM’s board reportedly is cool to the idea.

All that GM, Chrysler and Cerberus have said about the negotiations is that automakers meet all the time. Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said Thursday the auto sales drop has created an environment that favors consolidation. 

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But the changes are only temporary, intended to restore confidence and help ease the credit crunch.

On Tuesday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. offered to insure all bank deposits in non-interest-bearing deposit transaction accounts through Dec. 31, 2009 (banks would have to pay a fee to offer the insurance, intended primarily for payment-processing accounts used by small businesses). Also, back on Oct. 3, Congress raised the basic FDIC coverage on all bank accounts from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor per institution.

But — nobody who has written to me seemed to realize it — this $250,000 insurance limit reverts to $100,000 after Dec. 31, 2009.

"This is even the case for customers who set up long-term certificates of deposit," explained David Barr, an FDIC spokesman. Opening a 15-month or longer CD for more than $100,000 today won’t extend the insurance limit beyond $100,000 after year-end 2009.
Similarly, the basic insurance limit on National Credit Union Administration protection was raised to $250,000 but goes back to $100,000 after Dec. 31, 2009.

With FDIC and NCUA coverage, you can combine account registration categories (such as single and joint accounts, retirement and trust accounts) to protect well in excess of $250,000. For specific rules, the latest information (which can change quickly), and to make sure your bank or credit union is insured, check with the FDIC at 1-877-275-3342 or at www.fdic.gov, or with the NCUA at 1-800-755-1030 or www.ncua.gov. Both FDIC and NCUA are government agencies backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

The FDIC also insures "brokered CDs," which are certificates of deposit issued by member banks but sold through brokerage houses. When buying a brokered CD, "make sure you know from which bank it is, whether the bank is FDIC insured and whether you already have existing deposits with that bank" that may push you beyond the insurance limit, said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate fast cash advance loan.com.

With the higher $250,000 limit, "an investor needs to buy only from four banks to get $1 million of FDIC insured money," said Tom Ricketts, CEO of Incapital, a global investment banking firm (but remember the higher limit is good only through Dec. 31, 2009).

Also, when calculating your insurance limit, you must total all identically registered accounts you own in the same bank, cautioned Lewis Altfest, a certified financial planner in New York City. Some readers believed incorrectly they could open an unlimited number of accounts at one bank as long as each account had a different account number and was under the insurance limit.

Another temporary protection is the government backing of money market mutual funds. The U.S. Treasury is guaranteeing the $1-dollar-a share price of any publicly offered eligible money market mutual fund that pays a fee to participate in the guarantee program.

All major money market funds, including those from fund giants Fidelity, Vanguard and T. Rowe Price, are participating. Investors cannot choose or decline to participate. Coverage is limited to the number of shares an investor owned as of the market close on Sept. 19.

The program will run until Dec. 18. The Secretary of the Treasury has the authority to renew it up through Sept. 18, 2009. For additional information, check the Treasury’s website, www.ustreas.gov, particularly the frequently asked questions at www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp1163.htm.

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Qwest Communications International Inc. said Saturday it has reached a tentative agreement for a four-year contract with a union representing about 20,000 employees.

Members of the Communications Workers of America last month rejected a tentative three-year agreement with Denver-based Qwest (Q, Fortune 500), after the previous contract expired Aug. 16.

Results of a ratification vote on the new agreement by union members are expected by Oct. 31.

The new deal calls for a 12 http://payday-advance-i.com.5% raise over the course of the contract and a pension increase of 3% for those who are eligible and retire from the company after Oct. 12.

The CWA represents Qwest workers in 13 states.

Qwest shares closed Friday at $2.18, down 10 cents. 

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Free trade, a strong Canadian dollar, the weak U.S. economy and a disinvestment on the part of the federal government have all been blamed for the demise of Ontario’s manufacturing sector.

But what solutions, if any, could reverse the sector’s misfortunes?

Politicians from all major parties have varying proposals to stop the sector from dying. But does its survival lie in government help? And whose plan is best suited to stop the 250,000 manufacturing job losses some economists expect in the next five years?

The answers remain unclear, but most agree the province needs a new, green and technologically advanced manufacturing sector to remain productive.

"The traditional manufacturing sector, it is a declining number," says Carol Wilding, president and CEO of the Toronto Board of Trade, adding that the province’s promotion of innovation is a step in the right direction.

"I don’t think there’s any one particular answer to these problems. Injecting cash and funds isn’t going to do it. Governments need to make incentives for innovative ideas to be produced here. That’s the new manufacturing sector. That’s the new economy."

John Cartwright, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, says that while shifting to green manufactured goods and environmentally friendly innovation will create a strong, new green economy, the government must not forget about the existing manufacturing sector.

"We need strong policies that protect existing manufacturers, that include reversing unequal trade policies" that are allowing cheap imports to erode the Canadian manufacturers’ share of the Canadian market.

"Secondly, we’ve got to invest in the new economy, and there are all kinds of examples of how that can result in hundreds of thousands of jobs in the new economy," he says.

For example, if buildings were required to have stricter energy-efficiency standards, and alternative energy sources were developed, Ontario could build a manufacturing economy around that shift. Local companies could build solar energy and geothermal systems, and develop an array of new technology such as intelligent lighting systems, heat-recovery systems, "green" building materials and fuel cells. There’s no reason Ontario couldn’t mass-produce electric vehicles and the battery packs that power them.

To be sure, "we’re always going to need smokestacks in Ontario," Cartwright says. "It’s important to protect the existing manufacturers. People need furniture. People need mattresses. People need all kinds of materials that are still made here."

Meanwhile Chris Piper, associate professor at the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business, says the onus is on the manufacturers themselves to assure their own competitiveness.

"It has become commonplace for manufacturers these past few years to throw up their hands and say that they just can’t find a way to compete," he says.

"But while we may lament those many factory shutterings, we would do well to wonder what at least some of those manufacturers could have done to forestall the inevitable, or even to reverse their fortunes."

He says Canadian manufacturers need to do a better job of finding niche markets where labour costs aren’t an issue.

While many manufacturers, especially those exporting their goods abroad, have been citing the high dollar as the nail being driven through their heads, TD economist Derek Burleton says it’s foolhardy to view the loonie’s recent plunge as the remedy to the manufacturing sector’s woes.

"It’s hard to get too excited about the declining Canadian dollar when it reflects global economic turmoil," he says. "The softness of the loonie will likely be temporary."

Jim Stanford, vice-chair of the Ontario Manufacturing Council, says the solution lies in a systematic strategy to address the manufacturing trade deficit that exists between the number of manufactured goods coming into Canada vs. the number leaving Canada.

"We’ve allowed resources to dictate our whole economic direction. That was a terrible approach. We need to diversify these manufacturing industries and nurture them for the future."

Last week, Premier Dalton McGuinty was criticized by political opponents for admitting he didn’t think Ontario’s lost manufacturing jobs would ever come back.

Opposition parties said this was the government’s acceptance of the loss of more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs in Ontario over the past five years.

But McGuinty’s finance minister, Dwight Duncan, says the government is trying to confront the "decline in our manufacturing sector" with a five-point plan that includes the government’s $500 million Advanced Manufacturing Investment Strategy, which provides repayable loans interest-free for up to five years to encourage companies to invest in leading-edge technologies and processes. The government has also enacted a $500 million Ontario Automotive Investment Strategy fund to try to curb the decline of the automotive sector by giving incentives to manufacture green automobiles in Ontario plants.

McGuinty and all the major federal parties seem to recognize the province’s shift away from traditional manufacturing jobs in furniture construction, textile production and assembly line work, and have each put forward plans to adjust the provincial infrastructure to be more innovation friendly.

In short, politicians see local innovators such as Research In Motion, the Waterloo-based manufacturer of the BlackBerry, as replacing factories like Gibbard Furniture – the soon-to-be-defunct Napanee-based manufacturer of Canada’s finest furniture – in the next generation of Ontario’s manufacturing sector.

The Ontario government has even set up the Ministry of Research and Innovation to help bring new, innovative manufacturers to the province.

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Pressure built on Morgan Stanley on Friday, with investors unconvinced about its deal with Mitsubishi UFJ and two analyst reports citing concerns about the bank’s earnings outlook.

The reports, one by brokerage Ladenburg Thalman, the other by ratings agency Moody’s, come at an extremely delicate time for the bank, with its stock falling 26 percent on Thursday and getting close to single digits.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan’s largest bank, said it has no plans to pull out of a planned $9 billion investment in Morgan Stanley

Mitsubishi UFJ has said it expects the deal to take a 21 percent stake in Morgan Stanley will close by next week, but that has failed to calm investors.

Shares of Morgan Stanley have lost nearly half their value in the last three days, on concern Mitsubishi UFJ may back out of injecting the much-needed capital faxless payday loan online.

“We have seen this movie before,” Richard Bove, Ladenburg Thalman’s veteran Wall Street analyst said on Friday after cutting Morgan Stanley’s price target. “One must hold one’s breath at the moment and hope that this is a different movie.

Bove said the pressures on the company is “enormous” and that one of the concerns is that Morgan is believed to be counterparty to “numbers” of Lehman Brothers transactions. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy last month.

Separately, Moody’s on Friday warned it might cut the long-term debt ratings of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, which would increase their cost of borrowing. 

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Easing monetary policy in Asia will support what is now the only source of growth for the world economy, but oversold regional stocks and short-maturity bonds will only get a lift when central banks globally follow suit.

Such moves could provide the trigger for many investors that have switched into cash or money-market mutual funds not only to avoid spikes in volatility but also so they are ready to pounce on attractive investments when the time is right.

Total assets in money market mutual funds have soared this year, data from the Investment Company Institute (ICI) shows, suggesting many investors are staying on the sidelines as valuations of stocks relative to long-maturity bonds get increasingly attractive.

“Coordinated central bank action including Asian central banks would be a powerful signal to global financial markets. I wouldn’t rule it out but international coordination is very difficult to achieve,” said Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia (pay day loans).

A big 1 percentage-point rate cut by Australia’s central bank provided investors with a taster on Tuesday. Markets jumped immediately, providing relief from a credit crisis that JPMorgan economists say is driving the world economy into recession.

The economists say developing Asia-ex Japan will be spared recession and grow 7.1 percent this year, although China, Taiwan and Hong Kong have sought some insurance by cutting policy rates in the wake of Lehman Brothers’ collapse last month.

Bond markets globally are starting to price in the risk of coordinated rate cuts among the world’s major central banks, which would be an about turn for many policy makers, who until recently were largely focused on keeping monetary policy tight to combat inflation.

But time is of the essence. 

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It took two tumultuous weeks of moral and fiscal debate, but Congress and the Bush administration on Friday finally put a capstone on the $700 billion bailout of the financial system.

President Bush signed the bill less than two hours after the plan, which had been amended and passed by the Senate on Wednesday, was approved by the House.

The changes the Senate made include the addition of a host of tax break extensions and some new provisions intended to help individuals and businesses.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the economic rescue plan’s main provisions:

Attacking credit crisis: The core of the plan the House voted on is the same as what it rejected on Monday: the Treasury’s proposal to let financial institutions sell to the government their troubled assets, mostly mortgage-related. It will allow the Treasury access to the $700 billion in stages, with $250 billion being made available immediately.

Protecting taxpayers: The final law is also similar to the original House bill in that it includes a number of provisions that supporters say will protect taxpayers. One will direct the president to propose a bill requiring the financial industry to reimburse taxpayers for any net losses from the program after five years. And the Treasury will be allowed to take ownership stakes in participating companies.

In addition, over time, supporters say, taxpayers are likely to make back much if not all of the money the Treasury uses because it will be investing in assets with underlying value.

The law includes a stipulation that the Treasury set up an insurance program - to be funded with risk-based premiums paid by the industry - to guarantee companies’ troubled assets, including mortgage-backed securities, purchased before March 14, 2008.

Curbing executive pay: The law will place curbs on executive pay for companies selling assets or buying insurance from Uncle Sam. For example, any bonus or incentive paid to a senior executive officer for targets met will have to be repaid if it’s later proven that earnings or profit statements were inaccurate.

Oversight: The rescue plan will set up two oversight committees.

A Financial Stability Board will include the Federal Reserve chairman, the Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, the Federal Home Finance Agency director, the Housing and Urban Development secretary and the Treasury secretary.

A congressional oversight panel, to which the Financial Stability Board will report, will have five members appointed by House and Senate leadership from both parties.

Tax breaks: The Senate-version of the bill that the House passed on Friday included three key tax elements designed to attract House Republican votes.

It extends a number of renewable energy tax breaks for individuals and businesses, including a deduction for the purchase of solar panels.

The law also continues a host of other expiring tax breaks (cash loans). Among them: the research and development credit for businesses and the credit that allows individuals to deduct state and local sales taxes on their federal returns.

In addition, the law includes relief for another year from the Alternative Minimum Tax, without which millions of Americans would have to pay the so-called "income tax for the wealthy."

New accounting rules: The bailout plan underlines the Securities and Exchange Commission’s power to change accounting rules on how banks and Wall Street firms value securities, and directs the agency to study the issue.

Some observers argue that tight accounting rules are a major reason for the credit crisis in the first place. Others contend that changing the so-called mark-to-market rules will just bury problems lurking beneath the surface and could further shake investor confidence in the already battered financial sector. (More about the rules.)

Shielding bank deposits: The law temporarily raises the FDIC insurance cap to $250,000 from $100,000. It allows the FDIC to borrow from the Treasury to cover any losses that might occur as a result of the higher insurance limit.

Federal bank regulators, who first floated the idea to Congress late Tuesday, said that bumping up the insurance limits will help improve liquidity at banks across the country. It may also provide a much-needed dose of confidence for consumers who may be worried about the health of their bank. (More about FDIC rules.)

The plan will also temporarily increase the level of federal insurance for credit union savings to $250,000.

Mitigating foreclosures: The new law calls on federal agencies to encourage loan servicers to modify mortgages by a number of means - including reducing the principal or interest rate. It also extends a temporary provision that exempts from federal income tax any debt forgiven by a bank to a borrower in a foreclosure.

Cost: The law’s tax provisions - the bulk of which come from the addition of tax breaks from other legislation - may reduce federal tax revenue by $110 billion over 10 years, according to estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation. More than half of that is due to the one-year extension of AMT relief.

The Congressional Budget Office said it cannot estimate the net budget effects of the troubled asset program because of the many unknowns about that piece of the bill. However, the agency noted in a letter to lawmakers on Wednesday, it expects the program "would entail some net budget cost" but that it would be "substantially smaller than $700 billion."

Overall, the CBO said, "the bill as a whole would increase the budget deficit over the next decade." 

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Last Sunday, I reviewed the major credit cards that give you cash rebates once a year, linked to your spending.

Readers were quick to suggest some great deals I missed.

The no-fee Citi Enrich MasterCard provides 1 per cent cash back on all your spending. The maximum rebate is $250 a year.

With a no-fee Canadian Tire Cash Advantage MasterCard, you also get 1 per cent cash back on all spending. But on all purchases at Canadian Tire stores and gas bars and Mark’s Work Wearhouse, you get a rebate of 2 per cent.

This week, I want to talk about credit cards that give you discounts on life’s essentials – such as groceries, gas and new cars.

When it comes to groceries, the no-fee President’s Choice Financial MasterCard provides 10 points for each dollar spent on the card.

Once you get 20,000 points, you can redeem them for $20 in free groceries at participating supermarkets where PC products are sold. That’s a 1 per cent rebate on all your spending.

Laurentian Bank has a no-fee Visa Black Reward Me card. You get one point for each dollar spent, which you can redeem for gift cheques at 30 participating merchants. For example, with 2,600 points (or $2,600 in spending), you can get a $20 Starbucks card. With 3,250 points (or $3,250 in spending), you can get a $25 card for M&M Meat Shops.

Gasoline discounts are a big draw ever since prices hit $1 a litre. With Laurentian Bank’s Visa Black Reward Me, you can get a $25 Esso card with $3,250 in spending.

Canadian Tire has a no-fee Gas Advantage MasterCard, which gives a discount of 10 cents a litre at company gas bars if you spend $2,000 or more in a billing cycle.

That 10-cent-a-litre gas discount used to be available with more than $1,000 in monthly spending until July 1, 2008. That’s when the rules were changed.

Now you get eight cents a litre off gas if you charge more than $1,000 (and less than $2,000) to your card in a billing cycle, five cents a litre with $500+ monthly purchases and two cents a litre with purchases of up to $500 (instant pay day loan).

To save money on a new car — specifically, a GM vehicle – check out the no-fee GM Visa card offered by TD Bank.

This card gives you 3 per cent in earnings. For example, if you spend $2,000 each month, you will contribute $60 a month toward the purchase price or lease down payment on a GM car or truck, up to $720 a year.

The no-fee Citi Driver’s Edge Platinum MasterCard has a lower benefit level, but more flexibility. You get 2 per cent cash rebates on any new or used car, truck, motorcycle, motor home or all-terrain vehicle you buy or lease in Canada up to $5,000.

You may be confused about which credit card to get. How do you compare rewards, interest rates, annual fees and insurance benefits (such as trip interruption coverage or collision damage waivers on rented vehicles)?

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has an online Credit Card Interactive Tool at www.moneytools.ca, a good place to go to start your comparisons. (There are also links to the credit card companies’ websites.)

Next week, we’ll check out a product marketed heavily by many card issuers. Is credit balance insurance worth buying?

Clarification: BMO’s Premium Cashback Reward option on its Mosaik MasterCard provides a 3 per cent rebate at Shell gas stations (not 2 per cent, as I wrote last week).

Ellen Roseman’s column appears Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. eroseman@thestar.ca

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