Just as America is often divided between red and blue and rich and poor, a new study shows a similar gap between Americans who give more generously to charity and those who don’t. But the study says almost as much about …
The Economy
Bernanke: Kids Will be Better Off Than Parents, But…
Speaking at a Fed town hall meeting with educators, Chairman Ben Bernanke said kids today will have it better than their parents. But they’ll also need to be financially astute, and Bernanke said every student should be exposed …
Social Security Now Takes More Than it Gives
Social Security has reached another critical threshold: For the first time, a typical husband and wife retiring today can expect to collect less in benefits than it paid in payroll tax over the course of their life.
Post Office to Default on $5.5 Billion Pre-Retiree Health Payment
Today the U.S. Postal Service will fail to make a $5.5 billion Congressionally mandated payment to cover health care costs for future retirees. At post offices around the country, everything will function normally. Postal trucks …
Why Kids Will Feel the Pinch on Back-to-School Duds
If any good came of the recession it was that individuals refocused their values and that families started discussing debt and what they could and could not truly afford. Psychologists predict it’s just a matter of time before …
Driver Consensus: It’s Silly to Upgrade Cars Every Couple of Years
Today’s car buyers are in it for the long haul. Earlier this year, a report indicated that drivers could be expected to hang onto a new car for an average of six years after purchase, up from four years not long ago. According to …
401(k) Loan Defaults Soar, Stirring Call for Insurance
Billions of dollars are leaking out of 401(k) plans as workers lose their jobs and cannot repay loans from their plans. This has stirred some to call for insurance policies that would restore 401(k) money lost through loans that …
Are Dividend Stocks the Next Bubble?
Dividend stocks are leading the market and some pundits believe the rally is a bubble about to end badly. But they may be underestimating the flood of income-starved retiree money heading this direction in a record low-yield environment.
Lobster Prices Are at Record Lows, But Only in New England
An unseasonably mild winter has created a glut of lobsters along the Northeast that is pushing prices to record lows. Lobstermen across the region are trying to figure out how to boost demand. But don’t rejoice over cheap …
Don’t Expect Gas Prices to Keep Getting Cheaper
The declining gas price party appears to be over. After soaring through early 2012, gas prices dipped in roller coaster fashion during spring and early summer, plummeting by 50¢ per gallon within a few months in much of the …
Thanks to Heat Wave, Grocery Prices Are Likely to Spike by the Fall
The heat wave that scorched much of the U.S. for the last month was brutal. But there’s more pain to come, this time in the form of higher food prices.
Steadiest, Fastest-Growing Jobs: Service Gigs That Pay Poorly
In a tough job market, the industries that are growing the quickest and have been hiring like crazy are offering jobs with meager wages and duties that many workers find beneath them.
