Are 'bad times good for debt collectors,' as BusinessWeek reported this week? Well, sometimes. The industry refrain has long been that bad times mean more debt, but consumers have less money to repay it.

The recent purchase of Outsourcing Solutions by NCO Group may also be a case of pros and cons. This month's guest commentator notes that the purchase makes NCO a dominant player in the government collections sector but OSI comes with some baggage.

We also offer our regular round up of the top stories from insideARM on collection agencies and debt purchasers. NCO made news with its quarterly results and plans to expand in the Philippines; the ARM industry is investing in lobbying on Capitol Hill; M&A was active early this year; and N.Y. prosecutors charged two scamsters that pretended to be collectors.