The Latest Debt & Finance Blog

GOP debt ceiling strategy

With Polls Favoring Dems, GOP Launches New Debt Ceiling Strategy

By Bill Fay | January 22, 2013

Republican leaders will deliver a new strategy this week in the budding battle with Democrats over who gets the blame if the U.S. government has to default on its $16.4…

Walmart offers to hire veterans

Is Walmart Hiring Veterans a Patriotic Play or Corporate Ploy?

By Bill Fay | January 22, 2013

With $444 billion in annual revenue, Walmart could be a country. And if it were, it would rank among the largest economies in the world. But Walmart, admittedly the planet’s…

Young woman with credit card

Young Americans Incur More Debt, Pay It Off More Slowly, Study Says

By Katherine Pilnick | January 21, 2013

Young Americans take on more credit card debt than previous generations did and are slower to repay it, according to research released last week.   New evidence suggests that those…

Debt ceiling is another fiscal cliff

Inaction on Debt Ceiling a Drag on Business and Unemployment

By Bill Fay | January 18, 2013

The legislation that kept the United States from going over the fiscal cliff was fool’s gold for anyone who thought it would help American businesses and the 12 million people…

Americans drain 401(k) accounts

American Workers Draining Their 401(k)s Should Rethink Retirement Accounts

By Bill Fay | January 17, 2013

More than 30 years ago, Congress created 401(k) plans as a way for employers to encourage their workforce to save for retirement. Since then, 401(k) and other employer-funded, defined contribution…

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase

Despite Botched Investments, Bank Profits Soar

By Bill Fay | January 16, 2013

Earnings reports from the two of the nation’s largest banking institutions indicate they made plenty of money last year, though JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon’s paycheck won’t reflect that. Chase…

Students Graduating College

Can a College Degree Buy You a Better Future?

By Katherine Pilnick | January 15, 2013

Is college worth it? This is the question countless high schoolers ask themselves each year — especially as they apply to college this time of year — and the answer…

Payroll tax hike affects everyone

Payroll Tax Hike Could Throw Economy into Reverse

By Bill Fay | January 14, 2013

The government is taking a bigger bite of American workers’ paychecks this year, which could mean another slowdown of the U.S. economy. American workers are paying 2 percentage points more…

New mortgage rules

New Lending Rules Protect Consumers from Predatory Lenders and from Themselves

By Bill Fay | January 14, 2013

It may be too late for a pound of cure, but half a dozen years after the bursting of the housing bubble helped precipitate the Great Recession, the U.S. Consumer…

New mortgage rules protect consumers

New Rules Protect Consumers from Overzealous Mortgage Lenders

By Bill Fay | January 11, 2013

A new federal regulation puts the onus on lenders to take meaningful steps to ensure a person can afford a home loan, before they actually give them one. The “ability-to-repay”…

Sources:

  1. Dutton, S., De Pinto, J., Salvanto, A. Backus, F. and Condon, S. (2013, January 18). Poll: Americans want compromise over debt ceiling. CBS News.Com. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57564797/poll-americans-want-compromise-over-debt-ceiling/
  2. elderman, R. (2013, January 20). Despite inaugural respite, more fights lay ahead for Obama and Congress. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/despite-inaugural-respite-more-fights-lay-ahead-for-obama-and-congress/2013/01/20/6ef7f882-5ffd-11e2-9940-6fc488f3fecd_story_1.html
  3. Camia, C. (2013, January 18). House GOP ready to raise debt limit for three months. USAToday.com. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/01/18/house-republicans-debt-ceiling-budget/1845439/
  4. Berman, R. (2013, January 18). House Republicans to vote next week on three-month increase to debt limit. Thehill.com. Retrieved from http://thehill.com/homenews/house/278007-house-gop-aims-to-tie-senate-action-on-budget-to-debt-limit-increase