Sony Corp. announced grim projections for the fiscal year on Thursday in Tokyo, reporting $1.2 billion in operating losses for the third quarter and a projected $2.9 billion loss for the year. The bleak figures highlight the …
$2.5 Million FTC Settlement Targets Collection of Expired Debt
One of the biggest debt collection companies in the country recently agreed to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty in a settlement with the FTC — part of an escalating effort by the agency to keep tabs on and, when necessary, rein …
Woman Gets Nearly $10K Suing Honda For Misleading About Civic Hybrid’s MPG
Fifty miles per gallon? That’s what Honda claimed. But Heather Peters’ 2006 Civic Hybrid never did better than 41, maybe 42 mpg. And when Honda “fixed” her battery, the car dropped below 30 mpg. Instead of agreeing to take part …
A Radical Idea To Combat the Rising Cost of College
A group of students at the University of California has an unexpected proposal for how to combat the skyrocketing cost of tuition: don’t pay anything — until after graduation.
Why We’re Now Paying More For Generic Groceries
When the economy hit the skids a few years ago, we responded with tactics that have gotten us through previous recessions: We stopped eating out and traveling as much, curbed our discretionary spending and chose generic items for …
Study: If Would-Be Home Buyers Have to Put 20% Down, 60% of Them Ain’t Buying
To prevent a repeat of the housing debacle of 2007-2010, when some 5 million homes were lost to foreclosure, federal agencies are considering a mandate that would require borrowers to put 20% down before being OK’d for certain …
A Look Inside President Obama’s New Housing Proposals
President Obama held a rally yesterday in Falls Church, Virginia, where he provided more details concerning his plan, mentioned briefly in his state of the union speech, to stabilize the housing market. The centerpiece of the plan is a new program that would expand HARP to many homeowners whose loans are not backed by government-owned …
Are Young People Too Afraid of Debt?
Following the Great Recession many young people have become not merely respectful of debt, as we would wish; but fearful of it, which could set them back.
Why Facebook’s IPO Matters
Facebook’s initial public offering later this spring will create a billion-dollar windfall for its founders and early investors, so it’s easy to be cynical and view the IPO as another example of insiders cashing in on the latest …
Social Windfall: Facebook IPO’s Winners
Social networking giant Facebook filed IPO documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. Although the company said it aims to raise $5 billion, that number could rise as high as $10 billion, depending on …
Kill the Dollar Coin — Long Live the Dollar Coin!
The U.S. government has a love/hate relationship with the $1 coin. At the same time as the U.S. Mint is scaling down production of the largely unwanted presidential dollar coins, two U.S. senators are introducing legislation that …
Facebook by the Numbers: IPO Filing Highlights
Facebook’s S-1 IPO filling with the Securities and Exchange Commission is the first step toward becoming a public company — and the first time that public market investors have been able to scrutinize the company’s books. …