Managing Money

News Archive

2008

July

07
  • Groups press Congress for more DTV notice. Consumer advocates will gather on Capitol Hill this week to lobby for more money to publicize the big change in television next February, when people who have analog TVs will no longer get any picture…
  • Doctors press Senate to undo Medicare cuts. Congress returns to work this week with Medicare high on the agenda and Senate Republicans under pressure after a barrage of radio and television advertisements blamed them for a 10.6 percent cut in payments to…
  • Coupon interest rises in tight economy. With her household budget tightening, Michelle Fox treats couponing like getting a part-time job to help make ends meet. In her case, it's a job that pays about $20 an hour. "Every little bit helps.…
  • A way to save on flights. You've shopped around and bought your flight at the lowest fare you could find. But would waiting have yielded a better deal? If this worries you, consider Yapta.com. Open an account with Yapta - free…
  • Small firms struggle to pay credit card debt. When Andrew Uribe started building his salsa-making venture, he turned to plastic for start-up money. But the business didn't take off as quickly as he had hoped. Now the entrepreneur in Ellicott City, Md., has…
06
  • Mortgage brokers as naysayers in NY. New York's borrowers could notice a different tone in their discussions with mortgage brokers in coming months, as brokers adjust to a new state law that seeks to stem foreclosures. The legislation, which was passed…
  • You can raise credit scores. If you can improve your credit scores, you will probably spend less money, perhaps hundreds or thousands of dollars less each year. Here is how to raise your scores, so you can receive the best…
  • A lesson on credit cards. Recently, a subcommittee of the House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing on the marketing tactics companies use to pitch credit cards to college students. It is not the first time the issue has…
  • Home equity door slams shut. Some 122,000 borrowers with Countrywide home-equity lines of credit, or HELOCs, received letters in January informing them that they could no longer withdraw funds from their lines. A few months later, thousands of customers of…
  • Dividends start to crumble. The credit crisis and economic slowdown have become so grave that many companies are chopping dividend payments to their shareholders. Financial institutions, reeling from the rise in foreclosures and ensuing credit crunch, are making the…
05
  • Help for homeowners hangs in the balance. Congress left town for the July 4 recess with a half-baked cake in its legislative oven -- one that has huge potential significance for the housing and mortgage markets. The relief package left unfinished is…
  • Credit card overhaul seems likely. Consumer advocates say regulation of the credit card industry has long been without teeth. But as card holders struggle under the weight of big balances, high interest rates and fees, their pleas to lawmakers for…
03
  • New ways to save on drugs. We've reached a dubious health milestone: More than half of insured Americans are now taking at least one "maintenance" drug for a chronic condition, according to a recent health industry report. Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500),…
  • Home equity credit line delinquencies hit high. The troubled economy is leaving consumers with increasingly tough decisions about which debts to pay first, and in some cases, which to pay at all. In the latest indication of these pressures, late payments on…
02
  • Visa rescinds debit card rule. Consumers can now use Visa debit cards for smaller purchases without entering a personal identification number, the same way they can skip signing receipts. Visa said Tuesday it is no longer requiring merchants to treat…
01
  • Student loan changes good for borrowers. Like your driver's license and your high school diploma, your first student-loan payment is one of those milestones that mark the journey from youth to adulthood. But if you graduated with lots of debt, this…
  • E-prescription networks merge. The nation's two electronic prescription networks plan to announce today that they are merging in an effort to encourage the adoption of their technology by doctors and patients. Alexandria-based SureScripts and St. Paul, Minn.-based RxHub…
  • Wachovia quits offering risky mortgage option. Wachovia said it will quit offering a mortgage payment option that allows borrowers to pay less each month than the bank charges in interest. The choice to pay less was one of the options of…
  • Trampas para cobrarte más. El aumento en los precios de la comida sigue acelerando. Los grandes fabricantes de comida y los supermercados están pagando mucho más para abastecernos a nosotros los consumidores y no pueden simplemente subir los precios…
 
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