News

2007

October

03

• EBay warns against selling recalled items. EBay said Tuesday that it is sending notices to sellers hawking recalled items, warning that they could be kicked off the website and may have to forfeit their fees. The San Jose-based company, which listed…

02

• HUD sued over down-payment rule. Two nonprofit organizations have sued the Department of Housing and Urban Development in an attempt to overturn an agency decision that bans seller-financed down-payment assistance to some low- and moderate-income home buyers. Gaithersburg's AmeriDream and…

• Self-employed face difficulty finding mortgages. David Brannan, 44, of Monroe, N.C., is co-founder of a software company that's been in business since 1989. He and his wife have owned their home for 18 years and are in the process of…

01

• Don't leave reality out of budget. If we spend $500 for groceries each month and can't possibly lower the total, then it's foolish to budget $450. Budgets must be based on reality, which is why I recommend keeping track of all…

• Insurance for the next Big One. There is impeccable logic to the argument that taxpayers should not be made to pay for the risks incurred by people who choose to live along a hurricane-prone coast or atop a major geological fault.…

• Last but not least: lost baggage. After the crammed parking lot, the amusement-park-length check-in lines, security procedures that require all but a striptease, flights that are jampacked, if they're not delayed or canceled - after all that comes baggage claim, where…

September

30

• Free software tools for managing finances. It started with blogs and a few people willing to reveal all about their financial lives. Now, however, several Web sites, including Geezeo.com, Wesabe.com and Mint.com, are making it easier to discuss personal finances online.…

29

• Buy a home now, lose money?. It takes a bit of courage to buy a home in a weak real estate market. But buying can still be a reasonable, financially sound choice for anyone with the traditional reasons for settling down:…

28

• Binding arbitration a loser for consumer. Just about everyone who has a credit card, a cell phone or a job has likely agreed to take grievances to binding mandatory arbitration. But how often do consumers win when they go up against…

• Latino families scramble to save homes. Araceli Flores was so happy to buy a three-bedroom house that she didn’t ask many questions about the mortgage. The person who helped her didn’t speak Spanish, so Flores flipped through the contract and signed…

• Los 5 nuncas de la banca en Internet. El realizar las transacciones bancarias por Internet tiene muchas ventajas, porque toma menos tiempo que ir a la sucursal y tiene menos riesgos para la integridad física del cuenta habiente. Sin embargo, en la red…

• Wal-Mart amplía su plan $4. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. está expandiendo su programa nacional de medicamentos de cuatro dólares en cerca del 10%, agregando medicinas para nuevas condiciones. El mayor minorista del mundo dijo ayer que ha agregando medicamentos para cubrir…

27

• America's worst airlines. As air travelers' summer of hell draws to a close, stories of canceled flights, lost luggage and late arrivals abound. But while it might seem that the whole system is a mess, which carriers are…

• Clash over Internet access tax heats up. A monthly phone bill of $50 now includes as much as $10 in taxes. And some in Congress warn that consumers soon could be hit with similar assessments for high-speed Internet access. For nearly a…

• Walking proof of insurance crisis. Tapan Chowdhury works in a shop at Hollywood and Vine, selling cheap plastic Oscar statuettes to tourists. Despite full-time employment, he's one of the 47 million Americans who doesn't have health insurance. "It's very, very…

• A cell phone without borders. It’s amazing the way the Internet keeps toppling traditional businesses. Telegrams have gone away. Music CD sales are tanking. Newspapers are hurting. One especially lucrative business, however, has somehow escaped the Internet’s notice so far:…

• Can't say it's a 'mortgage meltdown'. The term "mortgage meltdown" has become so common - on TV, in headlines and in casual conversations - that you might assume that this is a tough time to get a mortgage. But the reality…

26

• Experian 'negligent,' judges say. In a rare victory for a consumer fighting to protect his credit score, a three-judge federal appeals panel in Pasadena slammed Experian on Tuesday for such carelessness that it refused to send the case back…

• House passes kid's insurance bill. A major expansion of government health insurance to nearly 4 million children passed the House of Representatives Tuesday, but without enough Republican support to overcome President Bush's promised veto. The vote was 265-159, with 45…

• Más costos de salud recaerán en los trabajadores. Las primas de cuidado de salud de los empleadores y sus trabajadores subieron más del doble del índice de inflación en 2007 y se espera que el aumento en el costo se acelere el próximo…