Advanta

A deep recession isn't a great time to be in the business of lending to entrepreneurs. First CIT Group had to seek bankruptcy protection last month when it failed to strike a deal with bondholders to rework its debt. And now Advanta (ADVNB), a credit-card company specializing in lending to...

"Cause marketing" is a current buzzword in corporate circles. It stands for a simple idea: that you can convince more people to buy your products if you promise to give some of the proceeds to a social or environmental cause.Consumers get to buy something they like and do good at the same time....