Headline News Archive

2007

May

24

• Fed calls for more card fee disclosure. The government wants to make it easier for you to know when your credit card company is about to pull a fast one, or to…

• House passes gasoline gouging bill. Congress is desperate to show it feels your pain at the pump. The House today voted, 284-141, to pass a bill that would make gasoline…

• Tax collection tactics under scrutiny. The battle over the IRS' use of private collection firms to dun delinquent taxpayers escalated Wednesday as a congressional panel debated the companies' tactics and…

• Fed releases new credit card disclosure proposals. redit card companies would have to disclose interest rates and fees in clearer, easier-to-understand language under proposed new consumer-protection rules that could take effect by…

22

• Bankers groups back certain mortgage reforms. Banking industry trade groups endorsed mortgage reform principles Monday as the troubled market for high-risk home loans worsens and Congress ponders whether to intervene. The…

• Reverse mortgages: Some drawbacks exist. If you're still watching your favorite nature programs on a 25-year-old RCA console, perhaps you've considered buying one of those snazzy high-definition TVs that let…

• Doctors, lawmakers resist drugmakers' prying. Seattle pediatrician Rupin Thakkar's first inkling that the pharmaceutical industry was peering over his shoulder and into his prescription pad came in a letter from…

21

• Bankers oppose credit card fee, rate limits. In Britain, this past week was Credit Awareness Week, during which the banking industry and financial-services firms tried to educate consumers about how they can…

20

• Bilking seniors, with help. The thieves operated from small offices in Toronto and hangar-size rooms in India. Every night, working from lists of names and phone numbers, they called…

19

• Discriminating lenders—or discrimination?. When mortgage lenders refuse to write loans on central-city rowhouses, does that violate federal fair-housing rules? What about refusing to write mortgages on houses in…

18

• Six ways to kill your credit score. Lenders, insurers, landlords and others will charge you more or flat-out reject you if you show up with a low FICO score. Here's how you…

• A la carte foes have cable links. Rep. Hilda Solis, a Southern California Democrat, had an interesting opinion piece in these pages the other day. She made the case that paying only…

• Credit card rewards go green. redit card rewards are taking on a greener hue. A rising number of card issuers let environmentally minded people use points for such options as…

• Don't fall for first rewards card you see. So many rewards credit cards are in use today — around 490 million, give or take, separated into countless flavors — that it can leave…

• Internet click fraud persists. Deceptive clicks on Internet advertising links distributed by Google, Yahoo and other online marketing vehicles are probably occurring far more frequently than the network operators…

17

• Top 10 take-your-money scams. If you like keeping lists, there's one you need to clip and post on your refrigerator door. It's the top 10 ways people get involved…

16

• Senate bill would cut credit card costs. Federal legislation proposed Tuesday would outlaw some credit-card billing and interest-rate practices that critics say confuse consumers and can push them deeper into debt. If…

• Shrinking social security blanket. Since few of us actually like to save, here's some incentive: a new study says Social Security will replace much less of your pre-retirement income…

14

• Size and shape key to new postal rates. The postal rate increase that kicks in Monday is shaping up to be a big headache for many businesses. Many companies say they are confused…

• Poverty business: profiting from the working poor. Roxanne Tsosie decided in late 2005 to pull her life together. She was 28 years old and still lived in her mother's two-room apartment in…

• Fee-free mortgage: for real?. Home loan industry competitors are searching for hidden gimmicks, but Bank of America insists that its "no-fee mortgage plus" plan announced this week delivers exactly…

• Test the waters before choosing retirement locale. You'd think Warren Bland would have had a smooth transition to retirement. After all, he spent three years researching 60 places in the USA and…

11

• Things to know about spouse's finances. Over the years most couples cobble together some sort of arrangement for sharing financial information. But beyond the everyday bill paying and budgeting, the following…

• Blue Cross makes about-face on cancellations. Blue Cross of California agreed Thursday to stop canceling individual health coverage unless it can show policyholder deception — a major shift by the state's…

10

• Minorities pay more for auto loans. It's probably fair to say that most car buyers know they don't have to pay the manufacturer's suggested retail price on a new car. We…