After a couple years of austerity, we’re again racking up credit card debt at an alarming clip.
Is Bank of America a Zombie?
Early on in the financial crisis, economists warned that the biggest danger of the bailouts was that we would end up with zombie banks – institutions kept alive by government bailouts, but essentially doomed to rot away. Recent news about Bank of America raises the question as to whether B of A has turned into a classic zombie. On
…
4 Home Buying Lessons We Should Never Forget Again
Reasonably enough, Americans hate almost everything about the real estate recession. Underwater owners hate that they can neither sell nor refinance, distressed homeowners and consumer advocates hate robo-signing, and just about
…
Are Companies Betting Against the Middle Class?
You know the economy is in a bind when consumers stop spending. But consumer retrenchment can ultimately be a good thing if it allows indebted households to rebuild their wealth. Unfortunately, that’s not how things are playing out for this country’s middle class. The personal savings rate has jumped from near-zero in years past to …
U.S. Poverty Rate at its Highest Since 1993
The fragile economy pushed more Americans into poverty last year, according to the Census Bureau, as median household income fell from the year before.
Half-Priced Food! First-Ever Nationwide Daily Deal on Groceries
Daily deal site LivingSocial is teaming up with Whole Foods for a very special, first-of-its-kind promotion: Today only (Tuesday, September 13), $10 buys a voucher worth $20 of merchandise at the supermarket chain. LivingSocial …
The Christmas Shopping Season Now Starts … in September?
It doesn’t seem to matter that September is closer to Christmas in July than actual Christmas, or that back-to-school shopping has barely ended, or that Halloween and Thanksgiving shopping have barely begun. With retailers’ quest …
Downgrading the American Dream
The American Dream has been downgraded, too.
Now People Are Stealing Human Hair?
Here’s a crime trend that’s as equally bizarre as the rise in dog kidnappings, though not as heart-wrenching: Thieves have increasingly been targeting salons and beauty supply stores around the country to steal wigs and weaves …
The 20 Colleges With the Most (and Least) Student Debt
Each year, U.S. News & World Report releases a list of the nation’s best colleges. In the 2012 edition, they also included a ranking based on the amount of debt the class of 2010 had upon graduation. These are the 10 schools that …
Is Bernanke the Most Inflationary Fed Chair?
Republican presidential candidates want his head. Inflation hawks on the Federal Reserve board think his policies go too far, and advocates for the unemployed think they stop too short. Fed chair Ben Bernanke seems to be ticking off economy-watchers at every turn. But while some of Bernanke’s policies have certainly been …
How Should You Pay for Post-Hurricane Home Repairs?
Homeowners who have to repair damage to their houses or were displaced in the wake of Hurricane Irene may face the financially difficult prospect of restoring their homes to pre-storm conditions on their own dime.