News

2010

May

18

• Senate votes for a clear credit score. Anyone rejected for a credit card, car loan or department store charge account has most likely discovered a frustrating aspect of the government-mandated, free credit reports: the glaring absence of the numerical credit score that

• Senate gets ready to act on financial regulations. Democratic leaders gave notice late Monday that they intend to wind down the weeks-long debate over new financial regulations, even as lawmakers continued to churn through proposed changes to the massive bill. "This cannot be

17

• Shoppers check out of stores via cell phone. At the Rochester, Ind., Dairy Queen, more than 350 customers can wave special stickers fixed to the backs of their cell phones at a scanner in the store, thereby banking loyalty points and qualifying for free

• Insurers try to shape details of health-care reform. Quick quiz: If you were a regulator interpreting the new requirement that health insurers use at least 80 or 85 percent of their premium dollars to pay medical bills or otherwise improve consumers' health, which of the

• Financial overhaul plans remain mostly intact. The Senate this week could hand President Obama his second major legislative victory of the year, both on administration priorities that seemed in doubt not long ago. Passage of a 1,400-page bill to overhaul the

11

• Fixing Social Security: The 'low hanging fruit'. Reforming Social Security is still a hot-button issue. But relative to other measures needed to stabilize U.S. debt, it should be a snap. "They could begin with Social Security, which oddly enough has gone

10

• Health care law helps companies insure early retirees. The White House unveiled details last week of a $5 billion program to provide financial relief to companies that offer health coverage to early retirees. Officials say the effort, mandated by the new health care overhaul

06

• Financial overhaul bill gets bipartisan push. In a rare show of bipartisanship, the Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the financial regulatory bill aimed at ensuring that taxpayers never again be on the hook for bailing out collapsed banks

02

• Quiz: How close are you to the financial edge?. April was financial literacy month. Did you learn anything? The anecdotal evidence doesn't look good. Americans are falling deeper into debt, and they are increasingly waiting too long to seek help, said David Jones, president

• Iceland volcano boosts awareness of travel insurance. Visions of the Iceland volcano spewing ash into the air and weary, grounded travelers waiting it out at airports are causing more people to consider travel insurance. Insurers and agents say queries about policies to

April

29

• Financial reform debate begins in full Senate. Ending three straight days of solid opposition, Senate Republicans agreed Wednesday to start a full-scale debate on the most far-reaching proposals to toughen regulation of financial institutions since the Great Depression. The Republicans' decision cleared

19

• 8 money missteps that can really hurt you. The road to financial hell is paved with alluring options: credit cards, payday loans, reverse mortgages, 401(k) raids and more. And even though parts of the economy are starting to look stronger, the unemployment rate

18

• These financial blogs are worth your time. After spending the bulk of my career writing solely for newspapers, I stepped into the blogosphere a year ago and discovered a whole new world of financial advice. The World Wide Web is host to

• Buying a credit score?. Everyone's got your number — a credit score, that is — and as a savvy consumer, you might want to find out exactly what they've got. This three-digit number tries to predict whether you're a credit risk

13

• Financial overhaul remains a pr battle. For the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the proposed financial regulations headed to the Senate floor would create sleepless nights and a lack of credit for the nation's small-business owners. For the Obama administration and

12

• Jobless benefits bill faces Senate showdown. Congress is poised for another partisan showdown over extending unemployment insurance, as concerns about the growing budget deficit have complicated the path forward for an otherwise popular program. On its first day back in session

11

• Test your knowledge of credit scores. Here's a quiz to test your knowledge of credit scores, that all-important number on which mortgage lenders and most other creditors base their decisions not only to grant you a loan but also how much

10

• Working financial literacy with the 3 Rs. Most Americans aren’t fluent in the language of money. Yet we’re expected to make big financial decisions as early as our teens — Should I take on thousands of dollars of student debt? Should

08

• Stealing your identity for liposuction. Sierra Morgan, a 31-year-old respiratory therapist from Modesto, Calif., was billed $12,000 on her health-care credit card in November for liposuction, a procedure she never requested or had. "It's depressing to know that someone used my

• Long-term-care policies: Pouring money down a hole?. The saddest lesson of recent years for the American middle class is that those who "do the right thing" are first in line to get hammered. You devote a lifetime to a single employer, only