CASH for CRISIS

How To Pick The Right Financial Planner

References, tough questions and personal chemistry are the key.

Row Over Riches

Clive Palmer and his mining compatriots can claim credit for stymieing Aussie Labourites.

Americans are reducing debts but need to monitor spending better

Here's some news from the silver-lining department: A new poll shows that the recession has made Americans more aware of their spending habits and instilled in us a desire -- if not necessarily the funds -- to pay down our debts.

According to a poll of 3,201 Americans recently conducted by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling , slightly more than half of all respondents said the recession has inspired them to take steps to pay down their debt.

"Consumers have apparently become uncomfortable carrying debt, realizing how detrimental it can be to their overall financial well-being, and have gotten serious about doing what it takes to pay it off," Gail Cunningham, vice president of public relations for the NFCC, said in a statement that accompanied the poll.

Continue reading Americans are reducing debts but need to monitor spending better

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The ‘Obama debt relief’ scam

New regulations will soon crack down on shady debt settlement companies. Until then, don't let desperation guide your decisions. Plus: What to ask before signing on.

Is that rental car really insured?

The last thing you want on vacation is a costly surprise. Here are 3 ways to ensure you've got coverage.

FDIC says 829 U.S. banks remain at risk for failure

Filed under: Banks, Credit, In the News

More than one-tenth of U.S. banks continue to be at risk of failure even as some sectors, such as credit quality, are showing some signs of recovery.

Around 829 of the country's 7,800 banks were on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s "problem list" at the end of June, up from 775 at the end of the first three months of the year, the Wall Street Journal reported. Already this year 118 banks have failed, well ahead of last year when 140 went under.

It's still difficult to get a loan; total loan and lease balances fell 1.3 percent from April through the end of June. Total banking assets fell 1% to $13.2 trillion during the quarter.

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair says banks are starting to ease lending standards in some cases but warned that "lending will not pick up until businesses and consumers gain the confidence they need to hire and spend."

The FDIC also says there were 104 fewer banks in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, and for the first time in the last 38 years, no new banks were added.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Renting gets a new lease on life

Millions of Americans going through foreclosure will become renters by necessity. Many others will rent by choice. Should the government keep subsidizing owners?

Bernanke Out Of Bullets But Not Bombs

Federal Reserve's ability to buy assets and spark inflation is unlimited.

Five More True Tales From A Tax Lawyer

Tilting at windmills and convincing the IRS that a client's ex-girlfriend deep-sixed his paperwork.

How To Stop The IRS Machine

IRS computers grind out lots of incorrect notices demanding more tax. Here's how to fight the IRS computer matching machine.

Credit cards with the best rewards

Whether you want travel perks, cash back or a discount on gasoline, there's a card that caters to you.

Will housing or your credit heal first?

If you give up your 'underwater' house, your credit might recover faster than your home value ever would have. But here's why it could be worth sticking it out.