Headline News Archive

2009

December

22

• Health-care bill passes another hurdle. The Senate cleared the second of three key procedural hurdles on President Obama's health-care legislation early Tuesday with another party-line vote, continuing the effort to

21

• Health care bill moves closer to passage. Despite fierce Republican opposition and the lingering effects of a major Northeast snowstorm, Senate Democrats cleared a critical vote on a 10-year, $871 billion health care

20

• Minimize your taxes for 2009. The days of 2009 may be dwindling to a precious few, but there is still time for taxpayers to check over this year's finances and possibly

17

• Senate Republicans vow to delay health-care vote. Senate Republicans vowed Wednesday to use every available tactic to delay voting on the health-care bill as Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) scrambled to

15

• Medicare buy-in now unlikely. Senate Democratic leaders appeared poised Monday night to abandon efforts to create a government-run insurance safety net in their push for health-care reform, as they

14

• States push e-filing taxes to save money, paper. A growing number of states are cutting back on distributing printed income tax forms in an effort to save money and encourage electronic filing. Verenda

13

• 8 popular myths about your credit score. By now, you're probably aware of the wide use of credit scores, and how this three-digit number can determine whether you get credit and under

10

• States junk car safety inspections. While budget-strapped governments are hunting down any expendable "fat" in their budgets, some car-safety experts worry that one local government's cutback could trigger a trend

• If 'public option' is no longer an option, then what?. While confusion reigned on Capitol Hill on Wednesday over the prospects and details of a Senate deal to replace a government-run insurance plan with other

• Mortgage agency's growth fuels risky lenders. The trouble signs surrounding Lend America had been building for years. A top executive was convicted of mortgage fraud but still helped run the company.

06

• An attempt to open banks' doors to all. Millions of Americans -- 60 million, in fact -- conduct their day-to-day financial business outside the banking system, leaving many to be preyed upon by payday-loan

03

• A subsidy for those most in need. Here's a government gift that should keep on giving. Unless Congress and the president act soon, many unemployed workers and their dependents may lose their

01

• Jobless face expiration of health benefit. An auto parts employee laid off from his job last year has been able to hang onto his health insurance because the federal government has

• Senate health bill gets a boost. As the Senate opened debate Monday on a landmark plan to overhaul the nation's health-care system, congressional budget analysts said the measure would leave premiums

November

26

• Consumer Action wishes you a great Thanksgiving. No news headlines will be posted today and Friday, Nov. 27. The staff and board of Consumer Action hope you enjoy your holiday.

24

• Chinese drywall linked to corrosion in homes. Federal investigators reported on Monday that a “strong association” exists between chemicals in Chinese drywall installed in thousands of homes during the housing boom and

23

• Public option at center of debate. Democrats had little time to savor their weekend Senate health-care victory, as two of the lawmakers who voted to move the debate forward Saturday night

22

• Financial advice from the divorce trenches. Nobody can relate to the raw, visceral experience of ending a marriage better than someone who has gone through it. So it only seemed right

19

• Comparing House and Senate health care proposals. Senate Democrats unveiled sweeping legislation Wednesday to overhaul the nation’s health care system. Earlier this month the House passed its own version. The proposals

• Ambitious bills could remake financial landscape. As lawmakers on Capitol Hill inch closer toward overhauling the nation's fractured financial regulatory system, each hour of debate, each tweak of legal language, each

17

• Deep divisions linger on health care. As the Senate prepares to take up legislation aimed at overhauling the nation's health-care system, President Obama and the Democrats are still struggling to win

16

• Healthcare bills could jeopardize state health mandates. Healthcare overhaul bills working their way through Congress could jeopardize laws in California and other states that require insurers to pay for treatments such as

15

• Financial decisions to make as you divorce. Divorce may be one of the most damaging financial events in the lives of those who go through it, but that isn’t always immediately

12

• 5 ways to kill your credit scores. One of the questions I'm asked most often about credit scores is exactly how much certain actions affect people's scores. What good is a good

• Drug industry presses FDA on ads online. As federal regulators take their first tentative steps toward policing the wild west of medical information online, pharmaceutical companies are pressing their case to market