News

2010

April

07

• Free credit report no longer. The credit report you get from freecreditreport.com is no longer free, no matter what that Web address promises. In the face of a legislative and regulatory crackdown, Experian, the credit data company that owns

06

• Plastic pipe maker extends warranty amid claims of defects. M Eagle, fighting a whistle-blower's claim that it delivered defective PVC pipes to government utilities across the nation, said Monday that it would extend one-year warranties on its products to 50 years, retroactively. The Los Angeles

• Toyota faces fine for waiting to warn. Federal regulators are seeking to fine Toyota $16.4 million for waiting four months or more before notifying safety officials about vehicles with a "sticky pedal" defect. If it stands, the sanction would represent the largest financial

05

• Health insurance reform profiles. Though debate raged for a year over the potential benefits and the estimated costs of the nation's health care overhaul, there is wide agreement that the new law will affect many if not most Americans

04

• Health law preserves COBRA plan. If you’ve recently joined the ranks of the unemployed or are worried that you soon will, you may be wondering if the sweeping new health law will help you. Will you, for instance, still

01

• Can't afford health care? Wait 'til June. For millions of uninsured or underinsured Americans, health reform legislation will soon remove some of the barriers preventing them from getting the coverage they need. The most immediate changes affecting those who don't have health

March

29

• Auto black boxes help recreate car crashes. When it comes to "black boxes" in cars, there's one thing everyone from regulators to automakers agrees upon: These onboard crash-data recorders have their limitations. Even so, in alleged unintended-acceleration incidents, there may be no

28

• Coverage now for sick children? Check fine print. Just days after President Obama signed the new health care law, insurance companies are already arguing that, at least for now, they do not have to provide one of the benefits that the president calls

• The health-care law: Frequently asked questions. The health-care bill is more than 2,000 pages long -- with hundreds more to come from regulators filling in the details. It will take years before all the details are set and people can see how

• Four scenarios under health reform. With the most significant changes to the nation's health-care policy in decades having finally come to fruition, the question I have, as I'm sure so many others do as well, is how the new law

25

• Financial tuneup: In a few hours unlock some cash. To be a modern American consumer is to be plagued by a never-ending, guilt-inducing stream of undone tasks. There’s the nagging feeling that you don’t have the most cost-effective plan with the cable

• Retain documents no longer than you must. I’ve long been a pack rat when it comes to saving financial documents. I have a file cabinet full of old cellphone and credit card bills, brokerage firm and bank account statements and health

• Time for an insurance checkup?. Few things in our financial lives could be as tedious yet as important as reviewing the policies that insure what we own. Hours spent poring over pages written in arcane language can seem totally wasted.

23

• First wave of health-care changes target insurers. In affixing his signature Tuesday to comprehensive health-care legislation, President Obama will set in motion a fundamental shift across a sprawling industry, from insurers who will face an expanding list of restrictions to hospitals and

22

• House votes Yes on health insurance overhaul. Congress completed action Sunday night on the major portion of President Obama's top priority, a historic restructuring of the nation's health care system that has eluded his predecessors for more than a century. The 219-212

18

• Elizabeth Warren's fight for financial reform. Elizabeth Warren, who came to Washington in 2008 with the task of keeping tabs on the financial bailout, today faces the unthinkable: business as usual for the Wall Street firms whose dealings plunged the country into

• U.S. carmakers show gains in quality. Two new reports are pointing to a rapidly changing auto world where American and South Korean brands are equaling the quality of the top manufacturers and making large gains in market share. The data show

16

• About 1 in 4 in California lack health insurance. Nearly 1 in 4 Californians under age 65 had no health insurance last year, according to a new report, as soaring unemployment propelled vast numbers of once-covered workers into the ranks of the uninsured. The state's uninsured population

• 2nd shot at financial reform still leaves loopholes. Trying to fix the broken U.S. financial system is no way to win a popularity contest. Standing by himself, Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, on Monday announced his second attempt to

15

• The rental car squeeze. Tried renting a car lately? In some cases, travelers say, the final bill is double or even triple the amount they thought they had agreed to. The charges include roadside assistance or collision insurance packages