News

2007

September

27

• Clash over Internet access tax heats up. A monthly phone bill of $50 now includes as much as $10 in taxes. And some in Congress warn that consumers soon could be hit with similar assessments for high-speed Internet access. For nearly a…

• Walking proof of insurance crisis. Tapan Chowdhury works in a shop at Hollywood and Vine, selling cheap plastic Oscar statuettes to tourists. Despite full-time employment, he's one of the 47 million Americans who doesn't have health insurance. "It's very, very…

• A cell phone without borders. It’s amazing the way the Internet keeps toppling traditional businesses. Telegrams have gone away. Music CD sales are tanking. Newspapers are hurting. One especially lucrative business, however, has somehow escaped the Internet’s notice so far:…

• Can't say it's a 'mortgage meltdown'. The term "mortgage meltdown" has become so common - on TV, in headlines and in casual conversations - that you might assume that this is a tough time to get a mortgage. But the reality…

26

• Experian 'negligent,' judges say. In a rare victory for a consumer fighting to protect his credit score, a three-judge federal appeals panel in Pasadena slammed Experian on Tuesday for such carelessness that it refused to send the case back…

• House passes kid's insurance bill. A major expansion of government health insurance to nearly 4 million children passed the House of Representatives Tuesday, but without enough Republican support to overcome President Bush's promised veto. The vote was 265-159, with 45…

• Venta de casas, en plena caída. El mercado de la vivienda en Estados Unidos continúa mostrando serios signos de agotamiento y, arrastrado por la crisis hipotecaria, no aparece en el horizonte la posibilidad de una pronta recuperación, según los últimos datos…

24

• Children's health insurance: How much?. The view of Midtown Manhattan rising majestically above the Hudson River doesn't get much better than from here. And the cost of living doesn't get much higher. It's little wonder, then, that Anna Velazquez says…

• RevolutionCard hypes new kind of credit card. U.S. consumers on Monday can begin signing up for the RevolutionCard, a new kind of "plastic" designed to be unlike any other card. Among its features: a line of credit, the ability to store up…

• Broker of stolen credit cards gets indicted. The head of a major website that trafficked in stolen credit card numbers has been arrested and indicted after a 16-month investigation. Max Ray Butler ran CardersMarket, an online forum for people who steal, share…

• Consejos para quienes quieren vender su casa. En un mercado de bienes raíces donde la competencia para vender la propiedad se torna más agresiva, es necesario usar medidas creativas. Hay algunas medidas que usted puede poner en práctica para atraer a potenciales…

23

• Talk radio: Brought to you by.... Turn the radio dial these days and hear show host Troy Duran talking up buying opportunities in stocks of little-known companies that mine gold, uranium and more obscure minerals like molybdenum. Or hear Bob and…

• High appraisals signal change. What's going on with appraisals? In some parts of the country, mortgage lenders -- and appraisers themselves -- say they're increasingly coming in with valuations higher than the contract prices agreed to by sellers and…

22

• Group aims to protect Hispanic borrowers. Buying a house can be intimidating for anyone. But it's especially difficult for Latino buyers, according to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. The group this week announced a set of ethical principles,…

21

• 'Toxic' mortgages are the best?. A new study from professors at Columbia and NYU finds that the "optimal" mortgage in a perfect world is an option ARM If you had to name the most toxic, dangerous, foolhardy kind of mortgage…

• Consumers score the right to freeze credit. In a major reversal, TransUnion, one of the Big Three credit bureaus, says it will allow individuals in all 50 states to freeze their credit histories. The service, which goes into effect Oct. 15, is…

• Soaring fees fatten banks' bottom line. News that Bank of America was jacking up its ATM fee for noncustomers to $3 from $2 prompted the usual muttering about money-grubbing financial institutions that nickel-and-dime people to death. But BofA's reaching deeper into…

• Strapped borrowers urged to act. Borrowers at risk of falling behind on their mortgages should engage their lenders early to try to avoid major problems, three top government officials said yesterday. Many homeowners encountering financial problems duck calls from their…

• Cozy campus bank card deal. When The University of Minnesota's 52,000 students arrived in early September, they received new "U Cards," a multi-purpose ID that doubles as a library and security card. But the new IDs also have debit and…

20

• Why are credit card rates still out of control?. It has been more than six months since Congress began looking into what Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., called the “unfair or abusive” practices of the credit card industry. In March, bank executives were called to…