Mary Tomkins is a freelance writer located in Spartanburg, SC, with emphasis on economic news and research on the financial industry.
Bank of America announced last week that it would repay the entire $45 billion received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Paying back the funds would allow the North Carolina-based bank to break free…
Getting your first credit card is a major stepping stone to financial independence. It’s nice to be able to cover surprise expenses or emergencies without having to borrow money from relatives. You will have the…
I received an automated call a couple of months ago. After listening to the message from the other end, I thought it sounded strangely like my credit card company was calling me to give me…
Existing home sales in October surged 10.1% as the first-time home buyer credit continues to drive sales, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported today. Existing homes sales last month were at a seasonally-adjusted annual…
Consumers have until December 7, 2009 to make a comment on the recently issued proposal to amend the “Free Credit Report Rule” (formally the Free Annual File Disclosures Rule), the The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)…
Delinquencies for loans on one to four-unit homes rose to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 9.64% of all outstanding mortgages in the U.S. for the third quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported today. Non-adjusted, the…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency against fraudulent, deceptive, and abusive business practices, has issued a warning to consumers to not fall prey to various money transfer scams that crooks have…
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes remained unchanged at a low level in November, according to a report released on Tuesday by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The NAHB/Wells Fargo…
On Monday, as part of its effort to increase consumer protections, the Federal Reserve Board announced proposed new rules that would restrict the fees and expiration dates that may eat up the value of gift…
New jobless claims for the week ending November 7 was 502,000, seasonally-adjusted, which is down 12,000 from the previous week’s revised figure 514,00, the Department of Labor (DOL) reported on Thursday. The four-week moving average,…