Headline News Archive

2009

January

22

• By switching charters, banks skirt supervision. At least 30 banks since 2000 have escaped federal regulatory action by walking away from their federal regulators and moving under state supervision, taking advantage of a

21

• La crisis agudiza la brecha social. Los hispanos de Nueva Jersey, los padres solteros de California y los ancianos de Rhode Island que compraron viviendas tienen todos algo en común:

• Inauguration party doesn't reach Wall Street. He called them "gathering clouds and raging storms," "icy currents" in a "winter of our hardship." But as Barack Obama spoke to the country for

• Stimulus projects may come too late. Less than half the money dedicated to highways, school construction and other infrastructure projects in a massive economic stimulus package unveiled by House Democrats is

18

• Preparing your budget for disaster. Those of us prone to financial daydreaming spend a lot of time on the lotto fantasy. We create elaborate Excel spreadsheets in our head sorting

• Win the power struggle. You can go broke going green. Solar panels cost tens of thousands of dollars. And who's got the money to buy all new appliances? Don't

• Tax filing online is free for all. You know the saying that there's no free lunch? Well, the Internal Revenue Service is trying to prove you can get something free when filing

• Banks consider bad asset quarantine. A housing bubble bursting, banks faltering toward failure, a nation plunging into recession. The year was 1991, and the Swedish government responded with a dramatic plan:

17

• FTC tries to close door on foreclosure scams. You've probably seen the incessant TV and Internet pitches - "We can stop your foreclosure!" - offering hope to millions of homeowners who are behind

15

• Credit scores may be offered more widely. Consumers may soon be able to get free credit scores through their bank or credit union. Fair Isaac Corp., maker of the FICO credit score,

• Foreclosures more than doubled in '08. More than 2.3 million American homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings last year, an 81 percent increase from 2007, with the worst yet to come as consumers grapple with layoffs,

13

• Minorities hit hardest by home loan inequities. Adding empirical evidence to what many community and housing activists already know anecdotally, a new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston documents how

• Obama promises a better bailout. Reporting from Washington -- In formally asking Monday for the release of the second half of the $700-billion financial bailout fund, President-elect Barack Obama is

11

• Gentler tax laws sought. Congress should ease certain tax laws governing defaults on mortgages, credit cards and other consumer debt to help Americans who are struggling in the economic

10

• Housing appraisals in upheaval. When you apply for a mortgage to buy or refinance a house, should you be concerned that your appraiser is being paid much less than

08

• New structure proposed for Fannie & Freddie. In his final speech scheduled as Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr. yesterday proposed replacing mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with highly regulated

• Congress should resolve to fix tax code. It's the most exasperating time of the year. Yes, folks, it's tax time. While President-elect Barack Obama and Congress debate what could be $300 billion in

• $1,000 homes available in awful market. The real estate market is so awful that buyers are now scooping up homes for as little as $1,000. There are 18 listings in Flint, Mich., for

• Pagos de salud se retrasan. La crisis económica ha provocado un aumento del 73% en las cuentas sin pagar por parte de los pacientes en los hospitales de California, en

07

• Citgo revierte decisión sobre donación de combustible. La compañía estatal venezolana CITGO anunció este miércoles que continuará con el subsidio del combustible para calefacción de los pobres en Estados

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

• 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

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

04

• 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

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