The Latest Debt & Finance Blog

Jumping off the fiscal cliff

C’mon, America! Let’s Take a Dive Off the Fiscal Cliff

By Bill Fay | December 20, 2012

Are you ready to take a dive off the fiscal cliff? I am. I have read, written and regurgitated enough information about the economic doom that awaits all of America…

Obama, GOP at odds over fiscal cliff

12 Days to Fiscal Cliff: Obama, Republicans at Odds Again

By Bill Fay | December 19, 2012

The sword-fighting between Democrats and Republicans could get nasty in the next few days as the battle heats up over how to avoid the fiscal cliff. Republican House Speaker John…

Facebook IPO

Morgan Stanley Fined $5M; Fallout from Facebook IPO Continues

By Bill Fay | December 19, 2012

Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter for the Facebook initial public offering (IPO), was fined $5 million for creating an uneven playing field among investors, Massachusetts’s top securities regulator said this…

Progress on fiscal cliff

Boehner’s ‘Plan B’ for Fiscal Crisis Gets Panned By Congress

By Bill Fay | December 18, 2012

The momentum Republican House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama built Monday toward a resolution of the fiscal cliff crisis lasted less than 24 hours. It ended when Boehner chose…

Iceland economy heats up

Iceland’s Economy Heats Up Faster than Most

By Bill Fay | December 18, 2012

Four years after the crash, the United States is still limping along in what can best be described as an anemic recovery — better off than some nations, but not…

Alternative Minimum Tax

Taxpayers Beware: Alternative Minimum Tax Could Mean Huge Hit

By Bill Fay | December 17, 2012

If you’re a taxpayer worried about Congress not extending the Bush tax cuts by Jan. 1, brace yourself: An even bigger hit – the Alternative Minimum Tax – might be…

Fix-and-flip houses

FHA Extends Program that Allows Quick ‘Flips’ of Properties

By Bill Fay | December 17, 2012

As the nation continues to wrestle with high unemployment rates and a recuperating real estate market, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) decided to continue one of its popular programs. The…

Fiscal cliff

17 Days to Fiscal Cliff: Lawmakers Head Home for the Weekend

By Bill Fay | December 14, 2012

The fiscal cliff debate will be going on some place this weekend, but Capitol Hill isn’t one of them. With a little more than two weeks remaining before mandatory spending…

Interest rates to remain low

Bernanke: Interest Rates to Remain Low for Up to Three Years

By Bill Fay | December 13, 2012

The Federal Reserve vowed this week to keep interest rates near zero until national unemployment falls to the pre-recession levels, which could take up to three years. The main interest…

War on Labor Unions

The War on Labor Unions – Part 2

By Bill Fay | December 13, 2012

In Part 1, the War on Labor Unions was exposed as a premeditated political attack on middle-class working men and women, cynically camouflaged as some sort of protection of the…