Stay updated on financial news, market trends, and economic changes that affect your money. From interest rate hikes to government policy shifts, we break down what’s happening now—and what it means for your finances.
As the new school year kicks off, most parents consider their student’s basic needs such as book bags, clothes, and writing supplies to be just another of the many expenses in raising kids. But teenagers and parents generally have different ideas about exactly how much money parents are going to spend on these supplies, according … Read more
Capital One Bank announced on Wednesday that it has plans to acquire HSBC’s $30 billion domestic credit card business. The McLean, VA-based bank will pay a premium of 8.75% over the value of the loans, which was estimated to be approximately $2.6 billion at the end of June 2011. Capital One expects to realize cost … Read more
Credit reporting agency Standard & Poor’s announced on Friday that because Congress didn’t do enough to fix the country’s debt problem, they dropped the stellar AAA credit rating of the U.S. down by one notch to AA+ with a negative outlook. S&P had warned in April that a downgrade was likely if Congress didn’t deal … Read more
Overall employment changed little in July as the nation added jobs in health care, retail trade, manufacturing, and mining – but lost jobs in government employment, according to a release by a government agency on Friday. Employment rose by 117,000 last month and the unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 9.1% after a 0.1 … Read more
Home builder sentiment remains at low levels in June, falling 3 points to a reading of 13 on the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, the National Association of Home Builders reported on Wednesday. The last time the index was this low was in September of 2010. “Builders are being squeezed by the continuing weakness in … Read more
Retail sales fell for the first time in 11 months, mostly pulled down by a sharp decrease in auto sales, according to a government report released on Tuesday. The Commerce Department reported that total retail sales slipped .2 percent in May – better than analysts’ expectations of a .4 percent decline. Excluding vehicles and auto … Read more
After reviewing the performance of the ten largest mortgage servicers participating in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), government officials have decided to halt payments to three top U.S. banks that are not doing enough to prevent foreclosures, the Treasury said in a report on Thursday. Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, and J.P. Morgan … Read more
The U.S. economy continued to grow in May – but at a slower pace due to higher food and energy costs and bad weather in some areas, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Federal Reserve. The Fed’s Beige Book summarized, “Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicated that economic activity generally … Read more
As if overburdened taxpayers and underemployed consumers aren’t already paying enough for decisions made by big business – the head of one bailed-out company thinks Americans should pay even more, according to a report by The Detroit News. General Motors CEO Dan Akerson told the paper in an interview that he wants to see the … Read more
Consumers have been busy reducing their credit card debt and delinquencies have fallen to the lowest level in nearly fifteen years, according to a report released by a national credit reporting agency. Delinquencies fell in the first quarter of 2011 to 0.74 percent of credit card accounts, TransUnion reported on Monday. This figure is down … Read more
