Headline News Archive

2012

May

22

• Credit card perks could cut vacation costs. There are lots of ways to save money on your summer vacation. Go for one week instead of two. Drive instead of fly. Stay in…

• Five proposals to solve college loan crisis. A college degree is supposed to pave the way to a better life. It didn't work out that way for Judith Tuck. Tuck graduated from…

21

• More men enter fields dominated by women. After years of economic pain, Americans remain an optimistic lot, though they define the American dream not in terms of mansions and luxury cars but…

19

• Facebook's lackluster debut hurts other social media stocks. Wall Street didn't get the Facebook effect it was hoping for. In a sign that the social networking giant may have already become a bellwether…

• The number of those working past 65 is at a record high. The retirement dream seems further away for a lot of baby boomers, and they appear to be responding to that by holding on to their…

18

• Paying companies to hire the unemployed. Would you donate $6,000 to subsidize someone else's job? The WorkPlace, a Connecticut non-profit agency, believes the best way to get the long-term unemployed back…

17

• Millennials use alternative financial services. Payday loans, check cashing and prepaid debit cards have found a new customer in the cash-strapped twentysomething. Under-banked Millennials are using alternative financial services such…

16

• Child care cost hikes derailing women's careers. Clarissa Doutherd, 30, was able to lift herself out of poverty and climb the ladder of success at a nonprofit, rising from part-time bookkeeping assistant…

• Stay-at-home mom fights new credit card rule. After nearly five years managing her family's finances, Holly McCall, a 34-year old stay-at-home mother of two from Vienna, Va., never thought she would have…

15

• Taxpayers fund high pay collectors chasing student loans. Joshua Mandelman made $454,000 in a single year as a student-loan debt collector -- more than twice the pay of the U.S. secretary of education.…

• What the student loan rate hike means to you. For student borrowers, that pricey college education is going to cost a bit more next year. If Congress does not act, interest rates on federal…

• New online tool to estimate Social Security benefits. On May 1, Social Security launched a feature on its website, www.socialsecurity.gov, that allows workers to view an online version of their Social Security earnings…

13

• Prepaid card market heats up — and the fees are plentiful. Prepaid debit cards are everywhere these days — and so are their fees. The cards allow you to load cash onto them and are accepted…

11

• Gay or straight, marriage gets pricier. President Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage this week propelled the controversial social issue back into the national spotlight, just six months before the November elections.…

• Bye bye unemployment benefits. More than 200,000 long-term jobless Americans will lose their unemployment checks this week, when eight states roll off the federal extended benefits program. Nearly half…

• Battle over debit card swipe fees goes on. When gas prices edged above $4 a gallon earlier this spring, the Merchants Payments Coalition, a group that represents retailers, said "hidden fees" charged by…

10

• Bill to crack down on nasty overdraft fees. Rep. Carolyn Maloney doesn’t want you to unwittingly fork over $35 for a cup of coffee. Maloney, D-N.Y., Wednesday introduced the "Overdraft Protection Act," a…

09

• Employee perks good for employers, too, study suggests. Companies that provide employees with generous benefits, including contributing more to retirement funds and absorbing health insurance hikes, are often financially healthier because of it.…

08

• Prepaid cards: Don't be misled. Issuers of prepaid debit cards are taking heat over high fees and how they market to consumers. Prepaid cards give consumers an alternative to traditional…

• How to raise a financial wizard. Though only a third of 2012 has passed, Zac Bissonnette is already a strong contender for the cheekiest author of the year award. His new…

• Squeezing out higher interest rates from savings. When the Federal Reserve pushed interest rates higher in the late 1970s to bring down inflation, angry farmers drove their tractors to Washington, D.C., and…

05

• The 20 best internships. Summer internships are often competitive, stressful and less than lucrative. But in the rarefied realm of the most superior of internships, there’s free meals, social…

04

• The right way to buy Facebook. Facebook’s initial public offering is slated for May 18, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Between now and then, management will go on its “roadshow”…

• Best deals on shopping. Why pay retail? Pay less. Here are five strategies to never have to pay full price again.

03

• Companies target potential customers with free gift cards. Using personal data from social networks or banks, companies including Wrapp and FreeMonee help retailers target desired customers to offer them pre-loaded virtual gift cards,…