News

2012

January

13

• Credit score zealots pursue fool’s errand over 800. eff Rose, a 33-year-old financial planner, is trying to improve his credit score even though it’s 780, which is 69 points above the median score. Rose, who lives in Carbondale, Illinois, said he opened up…

• California imposes energy-efficiency standards on battery chargers. California's cellphones, tablet computers, power tools and hundreds of other portable electronic devices will be required to have energy-stingy battery chargers beginning next year. The California Energy Commission on a 3-0 vote Thursday approved first-in-the-nation…

• Consumer bureau chief looks into Buy Here Pay Here auto dealers. The new head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is looking into the practices of Buy Here Pay Here auto dealers and the rapid growth of the industry. Buy Here Pay Here dealers often target…

• Few options available to help pay off private student loans. Last October, President Obama announced a broad initiative to provide relief for college graduates struggling to repay student loans. In a speech at the University of Colorado in Denver, Obama said the plan will lower…

12

• 'Hactivists' decried as new breed of censor. Global affairs website Stratfor relaunched Wednesday, three weeks after hacktivists put it in the dark. The Statfor caper serves notice about a troublesome new strain of unpredictable censorship arising on the Internet, Stratfor CEO George…

11

• January airfares at cheapest levels in 12 months. Need to recover from the holidays? With airfare at its lowest point in a year, now is the best time to get away. Even though airfares hit the roof over the holidays, lackluster demand in…

10

• Suze Orman’s new prepaid card makes questionable claims. Renowned financial advisor and author Suze Orman is the latest in a long line of celebrities to release a branded prepaid debit card. The “Approved Card” from Suze Orman aims to be different from all…

• Free tax prep out of Walmart. Ugh, taxes again? Yeah, unfortunately it’s time the tax talks start happening. For those who want to get the tax preparation process out of the way should consider heading to the closest Walmart for some…

• E-payments rapidly phasing out paper checks. Even in this fast-paced, high-tech electronic age, some of us prefer letters to e-mails, phone calls to texts, and one-on-one conversations — ideally, over a cup of tea — to Skype. Your Money Increasingly, though,…

• Some doctors charge your credit card number upfront. After a year abroad, my daughter came home last summer, unusually fatigued and with more severe asthma symptoms than when she left. After a thorough checkup, her new doctor, a family practice physician, referred us…

07

• Weekend Money Watch: How to secure steady retirement income. Q: What is the best vehicle for a steady income stream in retirement? A: The best vehicle for the creation of an income stream in retirement will depend on your retirement source, tolerance for risk,…

• Resolutions: Use these three steps to set up a budget. One of the most popular New Year's resolutions is to get on a budget and stay there. Yet many people don't accomplish even the first step. Just 58 percent of Americans track their spending against…

06

• Gasoline prices start the year at a high — and rising. Not only are we worrying about the end of the world in 2012 — thanks, Maya calendar makers — but this also may be the year of the gas-pocalypse, analysts warn. That's because gasoline prices…

05

• Harder for Americans to rise from lower rungs. Benjamin Franklin did it. Henry Ford did it. And American life is built on the faith that others can do it, too: rise from humble origins to economic heights. “Movin’ on up,” George Jefferson-style, is…

• Obama appoints Cordray to head consumer watchdog bureau. In a bold act of political defiance, President Obama installed Richard Cordray as head of a new consumer watchdog agency Wednesday, bypassing Republican opposition in the Senate that derailed his nomination last month. Obama cast…

04

• Free credit information that's positively 100 percent free. Most offers for “free” financial information come with strings attached. Usually that means automatic enrollment in some sort of ongoing service. That’s why they want your credit card number. This disclaimer is normally tucked in…

• Retirement in 2012: Don't panic. Despite anticipated market swings in 2012, sticking with your investment strategy is the best way to grow your nest egg.

• Plan ahead now for next season's holiday shopping. Who among us didn't make at least a couple of holiday spending and shopping mistakes? Whether it's forgetting what you already bought — and buying more — being generous beyond your means or paying more…

03

• BofA severing some small-business credit lines. Bank of America Corp. under pressure to raise capital and cut risks, is severing lines of credit to some small-business owners who have used them to stay afloat. The Charlotte, N.C., bank is demanding that…

• Airfare ads must include taxes, fees. Fly from Albuquerque to Tucson on Southwest Airlines for $59. Jet from Asheville, N.C., to Orlando, Fla., on Allegiant Air for $49. Fly from Boston to Chicago on Spirit Airlines for only $9. If these…