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.
Consumers continue to get a better grip on their credit card and other debt in the second quarter of 2010, the American Bankers Association reported on Wednesday. Delinquencies in bank credit cards decreased to the lowest level since the first quarter of 2001 at 3.62% of all accounts. Also, non-card revolving loans – which have … Read more
A new turnkey program will help community banks offer prepaid credit cards to their customers, the American Bankers Association reported on Wednesday. Business Solutions, a subsidiary of the ABA, will offer a variety of Prepaid MasterCard products, including general purpose reloadable, payroll, and gift cards. TransCard, a leader in prepaid credit card processing, and Business … Read more
A “tax relief” operation based in Beverly Hills has been halted from doing business by a federal judge at the request of the Federal Trade Commission, the agency reported on Tuesday. The FTC accuses American Tax Relief, LLC of ripping off financially distressed consumers – to the tune of $60 million – by fraudulently promising … Read more
The unemployment rate in August was lower than it was a year ago for 182 out of 372 metropolitan areas tracked by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the agency reported on Wednesday. The BLS also said that the unemployment rate was higher than it was a year ago in 169 areas and … Read more
The Federal Trade Commission has halted an operation that’s fraudulently taken millions of dollars from consumers by placing bogus charges on their phone bills, the agency reported on Thursday. Inc21 has been ordered by a U.S. District court to pay back almost $38 million to consumers as a result of the FTC’s effort to halt … Read more
The Federal Trade Commission announced on Wednesday that they will be mailing 360 consumer redress checks to customers of Briggs & Baker, a company that advertised it could “drastically” reduce consumers’ credit card debt. The FTC alleged that the company’s ads were false and misleading, and says that customers who signed up for their debt … Read more
Well, the recession that began in December 2007 was technically over in June 2009, officials at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) said this past week. The experts use all kinds of macroeconomic data to determine that a “trough” occurred in business activity in the summer of 2009, such as real GDP, real income, … Read more
Existing home sales in August rose 7.6% after a big correction in July, but are still 19% lower than the sales pace from a year ago, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported on Thursday. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said existing home sales still remain subpar. “The housing market is trying to recover on … Read more
New jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week to 465,000, up 12,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 453,000, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. The four week moving average, which smooths out weekly volatility, was 463,250 – a decrease of 3,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 466,500. The national insured unemployment rate … Read more
The poverty rate in the U.S. rose to 14.3% in 2009 – its highest level in fifteen years, the Census Bureau reported on Thursday. Up from 13.2% in 2008, this was the second statistically significant increase in the country’s poverty rate since 2004. Defined as an income level of $21,954 or less for a family … Read more
