News

2009

January

07

• A rush to refinance homes. The economic turmoil of 2008 has left few bright spots, but here's one: Mortgage rates have plummeted. Rates on 30-year, fixed loans are hovering around 5 percent - the lowest level since Freddie Mac began…

• IRS changes offer relief to delinquent taxpayers. The IRS unveiled a series of initiatives Tuesday aimed at helping people who can't pay their taxes because they're unemployed or experiencing other financial hardships. As the economic downturn worsens, the IRS expects to see…

06

• Free heating oil program suspended. Citgo has suspended its free heating oil program for low-income residents, Citizens Energy Chairman Joseph Kennedy announced Monday. Kennedy said the Venezuelan government's Texas-based oil subsidiary cited falling oil prices and the world economic crisis…

• Bankruptcy filings jump one-third in 2008. U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings jumped nearly 33% in 2008 amid a recession that's expected to keep filings rising into the new year. Overall consumer filings reached 1,064,927 last year, up from 801,840 in 2007, according…

05

• Pawn shops see surge in well-to-do clients. PHILADELPHIA - At Society Hill Loan, a pawnshop in a middle-class neighborhood here, a steady rain fell outside as a fashionably dressed young man parked his Cadillac Escalade outside. Looking around warily, he came in…

04

• A voice for the consumer. The time has come to give the American consumer a much stronger voice in Washington. President-elect Barack Obama has already named what amounts to an energy and environmental czar in the White House, and America’s…

• Time to drop 'consumer' label?. One of my New Year's resolutions is to stop referring to myself as a consumer. The idea for the resolution actually came from reader Tom Krohn, who suggested that it's not just the country's spending…

03

• Jumbo mortgage rates aren't falling. Borrowers looking to take advantage of record-low interest rates may be out of luck if they need a home loan that exceeds $625,500. The average rate on these jumbo mortgages hit 7 percent this week…

2008

December

31

• Consumer Action wished you a Happy New Year!. Happy New Year! The Consumer Action staff has the day off today. News posting will resume tomorrow and will include notable stories published on Jan. 1.

• October home prices fall across USA. Home prices in several major cities plummeted at the fastest annual rate on record as mounting unemployment and a rapid pace of foreclosures hampered a turnaround in the beleaguered housing market. Fourteen out of 20…

28

• Tips for finding a credit counselor. Debt. Banks have it, big time, as a result of bad investments, but they're getting a helping hand from the federal government. If you have overwhelming debt - also from bad investments, or maybe a…

• Don't risk your home to pay for college. Dear Liz: We owe $127,000 on a home that's currently worth more than $300,000. We have a daughter entering college in fall 2010. Her first year will be paid through an education account, her second…

• Advocates hope watchdog agencies get more bite. You'll be safer in 2009. At least that's the expectation of consumer watchdogs who believe the changing of the guard at the White House in a few weeks will mark the beginning of a new…

27

• Read the fine print on mortgage rates. With mortgage rates at historic lows - 4.75 percent from several lenders in mid-December - a new legal settlement from the Federal Trade Commission offers a cautionary note for consumers, especially if they are members…

26

• Fading housing hope. PASSED BY Congress in July and put into effect on Oct. 1, the federal government's Hope for Homeowners program was billed as strong medicine for the twin ills of rampant foreclosures and sagging home prices.…

• Firms charge thousands to modify mortgages. A growing industry has emerged to take advantage of the unprecedented wave of foreclosures, charging distressed homeowners for help negotiating better loan terms -- a service provided for free or for a nominal fee by…

25

• Consumer Action wishes you Happy Holidays!. The Consumer Action staff has the day off. News posting will resume Dec. 26.

24

• Forecasters economic predictions for 2009. It may come as a surprise, given all the bad news of late, but the U.S. economy is expected to emerge from the recession sometime around mid-2009. Until that happens, the economy will remain mired…

• Recession propels skid in housing sales, prices. The housing market weakened dramatically in November, with prices taking their deepest dive in at least 40 years as buyers refused to wade back in during a growing recession, according to data released yesterday. The…

23

• Lenders cite gains on loan relief. A government-backed alliance of mortgage lenders yesterday said it kept 2.2 million homeowners out of foreclosure this year, even as a separate report showed that many of those people likely fell back into trouble. The…