Finance Globe

The FTC Fights Prepaid Calling Card ScamThe Federal Trade Commission, the nation's consumer protection agency, is going after shady prepaid calling card companies who misrepresent the value of their product to consumers. The FTC "works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them."“In the fall of 2007, the FTC established a joint federal-state task force concerning deceptive marketing practices in the prepaid calling...

The Federal Reserve Board announced on Thursday a plan to inject $180 billion into the global economy in an effort to ease the pain of the credit crisis and calm the fears of nervous investors. The Fed is working in a united effort with five central banks: the Swiss National Bank, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of Japan, and the Bank of England.The central banks said in a statement, "These measures,...

U.S. Government considering a broad rescue. There's talk of a historic move by the federal government to control the ensuing credit crisis by rescuing financial institutions from their bad investment decisions. Though details of the plan have not been finalized, the government is considering forming a government entity to absorb the bad loans that are responsible for the failures of huge companies and the uncertainty of the economy. This move is reported to be similar to...

President Bush made a brief statement on September 18th stating that he shared the concerns of the American people regarding the financial markets and the state of the economy. The President has cancelled today's GOP-fundraising travel plans in order to stay in Washington to meet with economic advisors and to keep an eye on the situation in the financial markets. He briefly talked with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson this morning and plans to meet again later...

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 the world,...

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 bank to...

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 mortgage...

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.Homeowners who've...

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 GSEs,...