Finance Globe

Rescuing private companies with taxpayer money; here we go again. The Federal Reserve announced on Tuesday to give an $85 billion emergency loan to the New York-based insurance company, American International Group, also known as AIG. The U.S. government gets a 79.9% stake in the company in exchange for the two-year loan, as well as the right to veto dividends on common and preferred stock in the company. AIG has 116,000 employees in 130 countries around...

Two more pillars of Wall Street fell over the weekend, shaking any last bit of investors' confidence in the integrity of the global financial system. Stock markets around the world tumbled in response to the failures of the massive companies. And, another pillar is in deep trouble. Lehman Bothers goes bankrupt. Lehman Brothers, the nation's fourth largest investment bank, announced on Monday that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The decision for the 158 year-old...

The Fed's Sunday announcement of the takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may possibly become the largest government rescue in U.S. history. The cost is high; up to $200 billion of taxpayer money could be used to fund the rescue. But the cost of taking no action and letting the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) fail would have been much higher; their failure would result in the inability for many to gain access to...

Building wealth isn't just something rich people do. And those who are wealthy don't always stay that way. We've all heard of the countless millionaire celebrities who've filed for bankrupcty. A Bankrate.com article tells the woes of lottery jackpot winners who are back to broke after a couple of years. Some may wonder, "How can someone with that much money lose everything?" The answer is simple - poor planning and spending too much money. But don't...

Is it a good idea to prepay your mortgage? Mortgage prepayment is a topic that financial experts often don't agree on. Many financial advisors say that you can get a better return on your money if you invested the extra cash, rather than use it to pay additional to principal. Some money gurus argue that it's better to pay off a mortgage for the security of a sure thing and a guaranteed return on your money....

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced on Sunday that the government will take charge of the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), commonly know as Freddie Mac. The two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) are responsible for buying or backing about half of all U.S. mortgages, and are vital to the housing market. Referring to the Treasury's earlier plans, in July, to lend additional funds to the...

The years of unsolicited junk-mail you've received from credit card issuers and loan companies may have finally paid off. Millions of American consumers could be awarded free credit monitoring services from TransUnion, one of the three major credit reporting agencies in the U.S. A class-action lawsuit accuses TransUnion of selling personal and financial consumer information to third parties for targeted marketing. TransUnion discontinued the practice in 2001 and does not admit to wrongdoing or breaking the...

More relief for drivers in the U.S., gas prices are dipping lower for the 7th week in a row. The average price for gas in the U.S. is $3.67 a gallon for regular unleaded. Crude oil prices are down 25%, now at a five-month low. It reached its all-time high of $147.27 in July. Analysts predicted in May that crude oil may top $200 a barrel, but the current price of $109 a barrel tells a...

A Lesson Learned Overdrafts and bounced checks can be extremely costly, severely punishing a consumer for a simple mistake in record-keeping. I clearly remember the first time I bounced a check, and it ended up costing me so much that I've never forgotten that lesson. I was a teenager with a part-time job, so my checking account balance was never for more than a few hundred dollars at any given time. Low balances make it especially...

Record numbers of foreclosures in the U.S. have presented scam artists with an opportunity to take advantage of desperate homeowners when they're already down. The Federal Trade Commission issued a warning to consumers about crooks promising to help troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure. These scams can be very elaborate and seem legitimate to the unsuspecting homeowners. Then the crooks disappear with the homeowner's much-needed cash by the time they realize that the scam artist has done nothing...