Financial related news.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Attorney Santiago Mari sighed as he punched numbers into his calculator and saw the result. The value of his retirement account has dropped 75 percent due to the collapse in Puerto Rican bonds that make up much of his personal portfolio, he said. He’s long abandoned plans for an [...]
The Olympics spark hope in many a child of going for the gold. But in financially supporting those dreams, some parents are going for broke. For his 15-year old son’s travel hockey team, Tim Richmeier was spending about $5,000 a season: using his tax refunds, halting contributions to his 401(k), and putting travel expenses on [...]
Building wealth has gotten harder for most people in recent years. But the habits that can make you rich haven’t changed. It boils down to this: putting aside money, regularly and consistently, that can be invested for your future. You have to leave that money alone to grow, which means you also need an emergency [...]
CHICAGO — Raising kids costs a lot of money, so when they finally strike out on their own it stands to reason that parents would have more money to spend, save or invest. How they spend that money can have large consequences for their retirement security. A report by Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research [...]
SEATTLE — Laura Jordan came home from work one day to find herself locked out. She had missed two mortgage payments, and the company servicing her loan had changed the locks without warning. In a ruling this month, the Washington Supreme Court found that action illegal — a decision that clears the way for a [...]
A pair of Cleveland-area state legislators introduced last week legislation that seeks to set up a toll-free hotline for the purposes of Ohio workers to report anonymously allegations of wage discrimination. Democrats Kent Smith of Euclid and Janine Boyd of Cleveland Heights jointly sponsored House Bill 586, which proposes the Pay Equity Hotline to be [...]
Fifth Third Mortgage recently announced a new payment assistance program aimed at helping consumers purchase homes specifically in low-income areas. “No homebuyer wants to pay more than they need to, yet each year, thousands of homebuyers miss out on down payment and closing cost assistance,” a release from the Cincinnati-based bank states. “We want to [...]
CHICAGO — During their working years, women tend to earn less than men, and when they retire, they’re more likely to live in poverty. These are women who raised children and cared for sick and elderly family members, often taking what savings and income they do have and spending it on things besides their own [...]
NEW YORK (AP) — The lenders who advance poor people money on their paychecks charge exorbitant interest rates that often snare the most vulnerable customers in a cycle of debt, the industry’s critics have long said. Yet even consumer advocates who loathe the industry admit it fulfills a need: Providing small amounts of cash quickly [...]
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Dozens of FedEx jets queue up for takeoff at the airport here. Beale Street, the heart of the music district, hums with tourists. Yet the empty storefronts in Memphis’ moribund downtown and the cash-advance shops strewn near its highways tell another story. It’s a tale of two cities, all in one place. [...]