The escalating value of Visa and MasterCard shares has tongues wagging on Wall Street. This might seem an unlikely scenario in light of the current credit crunch, but the Wall Street Journal says:

“The credit-card giants are a rare pair among financial-services firms — because they don’t take on credit risk as other credit-card issuers such as American Express Inc., they’re protected somewhat from the credit crunch.”

The value of MasterCard shares showed a 10% yy increase in 2008, as of April 28, while Visa showed a 33% gain since it’s initial public offering at around $50 earlier this year. Granted, the entry point could be better, as the WSJ points out. After all, Visa closed at $80.88 today and MasterCard closed at a staggering $273.98.

Nevertheless, analysts’ expectations are high and trading activity around these stocks reflects optimism. Considering many homeowners are paying their credit cards before their mortgages, Visa and MasterCard seem like stable investments. Would that I had significant money to invest in the stock market. Do you? You might want to consider getting while the getting’s good.