News

2009

February

16

• Online health data in remission. The $19 billion prescribed in Congress's economic stimulus package to bring America's health-care records into the electronic age is a welcome opportunity for information technology firms seeking to build market share in a still-young industry. Although

12

• Employers fight unemployment benefits. It's hard enough to lose a job. But for a growing proportion of U.S. workers, the troubles really set in when they apply for unemployment benefits. More than a quarter of people applying for

10

• Screwed by the fine print. Despite the new Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, corporations can still get away with employment discrimination and other harmful action through binding mandatory arbitration agreements in which Americans sign away their right to resolve disputes in

• Clash over digital health data. The Senate and House appear headed for a clash over competing visions of how to protect the privacy of patients' electronic medical records, with the House favoring strict protections advocated by consumer groups while the

08

• Laid-off workers can't afford health insurance. Most low-income people who lose their jobs are also without health insurance, a report released Friday concludes. A study by the advocacy group Families USA says 54% of the nation's unemployed cannot afford private insurance and

• Faulting firms on fixing credit errors. Many consumers are unaware what their credit score is until it’s time to apply for a home mortgage, but by then it is often too late to fix any mistakes that they might uncover

• Health care spending accounts' long shelf life. Question: I'm going to have Lasik eye surgery soon. Because it's so early in the year, I wonder how much money from my flexible spending account I can use to pay for the operation. Is

06

• Experian will no longer offer FICO scores. Borrowers have less than 10 days to see their FICO credit scores calculated by Experian Group Ltd., one of the three biggest personal credit-rating bureaus. Experian notified Fair Isaac Corp., the Minneapolis-based credit-rating company, in January

05

• Cobertura médica para millones de niños. El presidente Barack Obama firmó ayer un proyecto de ley para ampliar la cobertura médica a cuatro millones de menores, una bienvenida victoria lograda un día después que el nuevo gobierno sufrió

• Obama signs children's health insurance bill. President Barack Obama signed a bill today extending health coverage to 4 million uninsured children, a much-needed win a day after he lost his nominee to lead his drive for sweeping health care reform. "This is

04

• Cómo ahorrar dinero en tus seguros. En una época de crisis como la actual necesitas las mejores armas para luchar contra la economía tambaleante. Y para eso el Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) recomienda a los consumidores, como una

03

• Battle over re-regulating the money business. Lost amid last week's bad economic news, an unexpectedly partisan vote on the stimulus and President Obama's saber-rattling over Wall Street bonuses were the opening shots of a battle over how far Washington should go

02

• Give bankruptcy judges a chance to fix home loan. You know you're in a tight spot when Bankruptcy Court begins to look like the least bad solution to a pressing economic problem. But the housing foreclosure situation is pretty ugly, so there we are.

• Economic fears have families on verge of unraveling. Signs abound that the battered economy is causing serious damage to the mental health and family lives of a growing number of Americans. Requests for therapists have soared, Americans say they're stressed out, and domestic-violence

01

• Make the most of flexible spending accounts. Use it or lose it. Spurred by that impulse, employees and their dependents around the country are rushing to get check-ups and stock up on saline solution before the middle of March. Otherwise, they’ll

January

31

• New credit-rating model is coming. Fair Isaac Corp. said Thursday that TransUnion LLC, one of the three major credit bureaus, will offer the credit-rating company's new model for evaluating borrowers' ability to repay lenders. The FICO 08 score, introduced by Fair

30

• Consumer victory: National wreck registry is a reality. The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) will allow consumers to learn if a used car has been seriously damaged or stolen, based on information tied to the car’s vehicle identification number (VIN).

• A used-car promise finally delivered. On Friday morning, consumers will be able to receive something the federal government promised in 1992: A way to minimize the chance of buying a used vehicle that is dangerous. That long-ago promise was for the

• Obama, Congress seek deal on economic stimulus. Republicans in the U.S. Senate accepted on Thursday President Barack Obama's offer to search for a compromise on an economic stimulus bill that could end up costing around $900 billion, as long as tax cuts

29

• U.S. aid now goes to credit unions. The federal government yesterday expanded its bailout to another vulnerable sector, saying it will inject $1 billion into a nonprofit company that provides banking services to the credit union industry. The government also will guarantee tens