Finance Globe Blog

You have probably seen in the news lately, the discussions of proposed tariffs with many countries including China and Europe. While I will not discuss the political aspects of tariffs, I wanted to share a summary of what exactly a tariff is and how they could impact your wallet. A tariff is bascially a tax that the government places on imported goods. The tariff proceeds go to the government and a tariff is used to...

No matter where you turn to on the internet, you see articles and articles on Cryptocurrency. Even friends and family are likely pushing you to “invest” in cryptocurrency. However, given the incredibly fast rise of cryptocurrency, do many people even know what cryptocurrency really is? I decided to try to summarize what cryptocurrency is and offer you some additional high level details. What is Cryptocurrency? A cryptocurrency is a digital / virtual currency designed to...

The new tax bill was signed by President Donald Trump on Friday, December 22, 2017. The tax bill will take affect starting in the 2018 tax year. The final bill is over 500 pages, and while the summary below is not fully exhaustive, below is some highlights of the major changes. It is recommended you speak with a tax expert on how the tax bill will ultimately affect you. Tax Brackets : The bill keeps...

Equifax, one of the world’s largest suppliers of credit information and related services, recently announced a data breach that may have affected as many as 143 million consumers in the United States. The company went on to explain that “criminals exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files.” At this point, Equifax believes that the access occurred from the middle of May 2017 through July 2017. The information accessed by the...

The federal government on Tuesday ordered Citibank and its subsidiaries to pay back consumers approximately $700 million harmed by the bank's illegal practices conducted from 2003 through 2012. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said that roughly 7 million of the bank's customers were affected by Citibank and its vendor's deceptive marketing, unfair billing practices, and administration of debt protection and credit monitoring services. Citibank's debt protection services "AccountCare," "Balance Protector," "Credit Protection," "Credit Protector," and...

Millions of consumers who used a credit or debit card in Target during the data breach period – November 27 to December 15, 2013 – have received a replacement card in the mail sometime in the past several weeks. If you haven’t received a new card already, don’t be surprised if you open an envelope one day and discover you too have received a replacement card from your bank or credit card issuer. Why Are Banks...

Federal agencies on Tuesday warned to consumers of a new computer malware that can take hold of personal files and literally hold them for ransom. The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said that the malware, “Cryptolocker,” encrypts your personal documents, photos, and other files. You can’t get it back unless you pay a fee of about $300 and the clock is ticking until it’s gone for good. And there’s no other way...

Green home building is projected to continue to climb in the next few years as Americans increasingly search out energy-efficient and environmentally responsible homes, industry experts reported this week. McGraw Hill Construction reported that last year, the green home-building industry accounted for 23% of residential construction and is projected to grow to between 26% to 33% by 2016. This increase would more than double the value of the industry, growing from $36 billion in 2013 to...

Consumers who feel taken advantage of by one of the most infamously predatory businesses – payday lenders – now have a place to send their complaints. In early November, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it would begin taking complaints on payday loan businesses via its complaint form found at ConsumerFinance.gov/complaint or by phone to 1-855-411-2372. Some of the potentially illegal practices you can complain about include: unexpected fees or interest, unauthorized charges to you bank...

Americans should be on alert for scammers posing as government workers, the Better Business Bureau advises. The purpose of the scam is to fool you into sharing your personal information, which can then be used to commit identity theft. The scam starts with a phone call from the con artists who claims that you have been selected to receive insurance cards through the Affordable Care Act - also known as “Obamacare.” In order to receive your...