Headline News Archive

2008

October

15

• Smaller banks resist federal cash infusions. Community banking executives around the country responded with anger yesterday to the Bush administration's strategy of investing $250 billion in financial firms, saying they don't…

14

• Credit cards at the tipping point. Dire times are coming for consumers who hold credit cards and the banks that issue them, according to a report released Tuesday. The report by…

• Large, new stimulus package considered. With fears rising that the nation stands on the precipice of a prolonged recession, House Democrats are contemplating a huge infusion of public cash --…

• Both sides of the aisle see more regulation. For 30 years, the nation’s political system has been tilted in favor of business deregulation and against new rules. But that is about to change,…

• $250 billion bank investment plan. President George Bush said this morning that the administration's "unprecedented and aggressive" plan to partly nationalize nine major banks was an "essential short term measure…

13

• Angst is rising, but therapy costs too much. In the latest sign of the deepening economic crisis, more people are considering cutting back on their mental-health therapy, even as they become more stressed.…

• Poll finds financial anxiety is growing. Americans' confidence in their own financial security has tumbled alongside dizzying declines in stock prices and home values, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News…

• Heavy debts lead some to commit insurance fraud. Burdened by debt and driving home from a night of gambling in West Virginia, Sergio Lopez launched a scheme that at the time must have…

• Many cancer patients forgo care because of cost. At a time when they're already fighting for their lives, more cancer patients are now struggling to pay for their medicines. One in eight people…

• Consigue una modificación del préstamo. Addie Polk no quiso abrirle la puerta a la policía que venía a desalojarla. Hacía meses que no podía pagar la hipoteca que había financiado…

• Todo el dinero perdido ¿a dónde fue?. Billones de dólares en el valor de las acciones han desaparecido. Billones de dólares en inversiones de ahorro se han esfumado. Una gran proporción del…

12

• Financial salvation? Why, it's in the mail!. One of the truly delirious joys I get out of this job is receiving mail from readers - especially the ones who send me those…

• Bailout has tax breaks for us. The mega-bailout package for Wall Street also contains about $150 billion in tax breaks for the rest of us. Some are new, but many are…

• CRA blame game gets nasty when it targets poor. I was raised by a grandmother who had to assign blame when anything went wrong. For Big Mama, there were never any accidents. When I…

11

• Consignment sales rise as economy falters. Patricia Ohlemiller packed up her Edmund Scientific Astroscan telescope last week and headed to the Gaithersburg iSold It eBay drop-off center. She hoped to recoup…

10

• Tidal wave of foreclosures and bankruptcy reform. A wave of foreclosures will crest next year, forcing the new Congress to take up bankruptcy reform in 2009. At issue is a provision that…

• Investors, bankers have lost confidence. With its alphabet soup of CDO and CDS and TAF and TARP, the current financial crisis can seem hopelessly complex. But it really boils down…

• Mixed signals for mortgage giants. Reading the latest report from the federal regulator running mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could give you whiplash. Fannie Mae and Freddie…

• Law equalizes coverage for mental care. An estimated 113 million Americans, including hundreds of thousands in the Washington region, will receive better insurance coverage for their mental health and substance abuse…

09

• The Next meltdown: credit-card debt. The troubles sound familiar. Borrowers falling behind on their payments. Defaults rising. Huge swaths of loans souring. Investors getting burned. But forget the now-familiar tales…

• How the Fed interest-rate cut may affect you. The Federal Reserve's cut in its benchmark interest rate Wednesday could put more money in your pocket -- or take some out. Or both. Figuring…

08

• 10 solutions to a personal credit crisis. Yes, the country is in a financial crisis, and the government has provided a $700 billion Band-Aid to help stop the bleeding. But what kind…

• Fed orders emergency rate cut to 1.5 %. The Federal Reserve and a consortium of European central banks today announced a half a point cut in a key interest rate, a coordinated effort…

07

• Europe prepares consumer rights plan. The European Commission will release a proposal on Wednesday to guarantee consumer rights across the 27-nation bloc, a move that is expected to help spur…

• AmEx rates credit risk by where you live, shop. As the global credit crunch reaches from Wall Street to Main Street, guilt by association has become a tool for evaluating the creditworthiness of American…