News

2010

September

02

• US Treasury to offer low-cost bank accounts. Some U.S. taxpayers will soon be able to have their tax refunds directly deposited into a low-cost bank account, under a new pilot program the Treasury Department announced Thursday. The initiative is one of several…

01

• Target to sell Facebook Credits gift cards. Facebook is coming to a Target (TGT) store near you. The social-network giant is getting into the gift card business, starting Sunday, with Facebook Credits cards. The new Facebook gift cards will be available in…

• Tax cuts that make a difference. It’s time to start talking about a tax cut. The economy is struggling mightily. Some 15 million people remain unemployed. The Federal Reserve has been slow to act and still is not doing much. The…

August

31

• Be skeptical of health-care credit cards. These days, you may leave your dentist's office with more than a toothbrush and dental floss in your bag. Thousands of dentists are offering patients health-care credit cards to cover the work that needs to…

29

• New rules slash card fees. Don't look now but a funny thing is happening to the plastic in your wallet: It's getting safer and easier to understand and use — at least if you're the right type of customer. The…

27

• For a 'free gift card,' simply give away your personal information. You've probably heard it a thousand times: There's no free lunch. But sometimes it helps to get a little reminder. And so we turn our attention to e-mails making the rounds from something called BestShoppingRewards.

• Back-to-schoolers who put off shopping rewarded with deals. Many folks back-burnered this year's back-to-school shopping until they could almost hear the clang of the first school bell. Now comes their payoff: deals. This weekend, shoppers can get Elmer's Glue for a quarter at…

• Credit card reform has companies treading lightly on campus. Credit card reform came too late for 20-year-old Tamaira Shaw. The junior at the University of the District of Columbia got a preapproved credit card from Bank of America in the mail her freshman year…

26

• Quest for the perfect credit score. A major league pitcher dreams of throwing a perfect game. High schoolers eyeing the Ivy League study furiously in hopes of earning 2400 on the SAT. Meanwhile, Chris Peplinski is pursuing his own brand of…

• U.S. credit card debt drops to 8 year low. The amount consumers owed on their credit cards in this year's second quarter dropped to the lowest level in more than eight years as cardholders continued to pay off balances in the uncertain economy. The…

25

• The best cash-back card around. Do you pay off your credit card balances in full every month? Do you like tax-free income? Then I have a deal for you: the best cash-back credit card out there. But maybe this story…

• 100-plus tax breaks on the line. When it comes to putting off assignments, college students have nothing on Congress. Case in point: Lawmakers have yet to decide the fate of more than 100 tax breaks that either already expired at the…

24

• The customer always comes last. The credit card industry is working hard to subvert the Credit Card Act of 2009, which banned many of the industry’s most predatory practices. The Federal Reserve Board, which oversees and coddles this industry, needs…

• Cable companies make comparison shopping ridiculously tough. Santa Monica resident Dan Sanders was interested in a fully monogamous relationship with Verizon Communications. He already received phone and Internet service from the company. Now he wanted to add TV to the mix. Sanders,…

• State tax hikes could go too far. Some U.S. states facing steep budget gaps have resorted to tax policies that could be harmful over the long term, a non-profit research group said Monday. In a review of 2010 changes in state tax…

• New credit card rules can help, but don't get complacent. In the past, making a late credit card payment was like forgetting your mother's birthday. Repairing the damage could take months. Sometimes, years. Now, though, the repercussions of a tardy credit card payment may not…

23

• Basic lessons for students and credit cards. To open a credit card account if you are under 21, you will need to show that you have the income to make required payments or get a co-signer 21 or older who has the…

• 'Cash for clunkers' car dealers investigated. WASHINGTON — The government is investigating at least 20 car dealerships it claims violated the rules of last year's cash-for-clunkers program. Government auditors say up to $94 million in rebates may be ineligible because they…

22

• Hardship 401(k) withdrawals set record in second quarter. In the wake of news about a spike in new applications for unemployment benefits comes another potentially troubling sign: A record number of workers made hardship withdrawals from their retirement accounts in the second quarter.…

• Final phase of credit card law begins. he final phase of the landmark federal legislation that placed new restrictions on credit card interest rates and fees takes effect Sunday. Though the bulk of the law's provisions were enacted earlier this year, there…