Headline News Archive

2010

January

10

• Bizarre year for the estate tax. Death and taxes, the adage goes, are the only certainties in life. But when it comes to the combination of the two, the estate tax,

07

• Wells Fargo predatory lending suit dismissed. A federal court judge on Wednesday dismissed Baltimore's landmark lawsuit against Wells Fargo & Co., saying it was "not plausible" that the mortgage giant triggered millions

• Conflicted on mortgage-buying program. Some Federal Reserve policymakers last month were conflicted over whether to expand or cut back a program intended to drive down mortgage rates and bolster

04

• Lax oversight caused crisis. Regulatory failure, not low interest rates, was responsible for the housing bubble and subsequent financial crisis of the last decade, Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal

• Aumentan las quejas por las bajas tasaciones de viviendas. No era la primera vez que Katherine Scheri le arruinaba el día a un agente de bienes raíces al tasar por lo bajo

03

• Money resolutions to make in 2010. With the economy still in the dumper and many of us feeling poorer, it's no surprise that many Americans have resolved to clean up their

• Investors foil other home buyers. Investors have reemerged with brute force in the Washington region's real estate market over the past few months, triggering bidding wars in some neighborhoods teeming

02

• Some see loan efforts as adding to housing woes. The Obama administration’s $75 billion program to protect homeowners from foreclosure has been widely pronounced a disappointment, and some economists and real estate experts now

• Shedding light on potential reverse mortgage pitfalls. If you, your relatives or your friends are contemplating applying for a reverse mortgage in 2010, check out the new guidelines proposed in December by federal

01

• Happy New Year!. The staff and board of Consumer Action wish you a happy and prosperous New Year.

2009

December

31

• U.S. mortgage aid funds moving slowly. The foreclosure crisis might be fast-moving, but the wheels of government - not so much. A year and a half after Congress earmarked $3.9 billion to

• Renters win as vacancy rate climbs. Christmas will stretch into 2010 for apartment renters, who are benefiting from an epic collapse in the rental market and generous concessions. Landlords are offering tenants

29

• Why American consumers can't add. When I published "Gotcha Capitalism" two years ago, I was in for a big surprise. As I talked about systemic hidden fee fraud all around

• Financial sector ups lobbying effort. Wall Street, commercial banks and an array of other business interests are undertaking an all-out lobbying effort to shape legislation that imposes sweeping government oversight

27

• What to do with a cash windfall. The overwhelming generosity of our family and friends on our wedding day, while greatly appreciated, left me and my husband, Dave, with an enviable problem:

• A year of progress on consumer issues. This year was a total drag for consumers. Many of us lost our jobs, homes were foreclosed upon, medical bills piled up, recession-weary families scraped

25

• Happy holidays from Consumer Action. The staff and board of Consumer Action hope that you and your family have a Happy Holidays and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

24

• Bailout's big mistake:Small bank loans. The last of the big banks have returned their bailout funds, but uncorking the champagne would be premature: taxpayers still have a lot of skin

23

• Obama asks community banks to free up business lending. President Obama sought to demonstrate his concern about a shortage of small-business loans Tuesday, meeting with a carefully selected group of community bankers to discuss

• Home sales surge on tax credit. Federal programs designed to jump start the housing market helped boost sales of previously owned homes to their highest level since February 2007 and whittle down

• Nice home but where's the rest of it?. The author of the Craigslist posting in Las Vegas made no effort to disguise his or her intentions. “Stripping House — Before Foreclosure,” the ad declared,

22

• Borrowers with modified loans in trouble. One of the biggest challenges to ending the foreclosure crisis is this: A surprising number of homeowners who get their monthly payments reduced fall behind

• More bailed-out community banks fail to pay. A growing number of community banks that got federal bailouts are failing to pay quarterly dividends they owe to the government, including two banks that

20

• Eliminating 'he said, she said' on loan mods. When it comes to home mortgage modifications, everyone seems to have a complaint. Borrowers accuse mortgage servicers, which process the paperwork, of often losing important

• Minimize your taxes for 2009. The days of 2009 may be dwindling to a precious few, but there is still time for taxpayers to check over this year's finances and possibly