Finance Globe

The Federal Trade Commission announced yesterday that almost $28 million was returned to about 86,000 consumers as part of a settlement with the Bear Sterns Companies, LLC and EMC Mortgage Corporation.The September 2008 settlement was in response to charges that the companies engaged in illegal practices in servicing consumer mortgage loans - by misrepresenting the amounts the borrowers owed, using unlawful and abusive payment collection tactics, and charging unauthorized fees such as late fees, property inspection...

As a whole, American consumers have become much more educated in the past few years about the threat of ID theft. We've really stepped it up to protect ourselves from this widespread crime - a crime that violates our privacy and can lead to serious financial problems through no real fault of our own. Smart consumers know to protect themselves from identity theft by carefully guarding all private identifying information, being careful of who they disclose...

Today at noon eastern standard time Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th President of the United States of America. The inauguration of America's first black President brought huge crowds to Washington, estimated at about 1.4 million to 2 million.Countless others who skipped going to Washington to witness the historic event in person tuned in to watch on the web or on television. Outgoing president George W. Bush and his wife Laura left the Capitol by helicopter...

The Taxpayer's Government Bailout For any of you who may have or are thinking about helping to rescue the real estate market by buying your first house, be aware of the interest-free loan that you may be eligible for from the IRS - in the form of the first-time homebuyer's credit.In general, a credit is much more beneficial than deduction because a credit reduces your tax bill or increases your refund dollar-for-dollar - unlike a deduction,...

The Internal Revenue Service announced yesterday that the e-file program will open on January 16, 2009, with new features that expand access to electronic filing to help taxpayers get their refunds quicker.E-filed tax returns are safe - all tax information is protected through encryption. Plus, the tax preparation software used to e-file helps prevent many of the mathematical errors that can delay an expected refund."IRS e-file meets the needs of nearly all taxpayers, no matter how...

Housing downturn sees no end as majority of new loan applications are for refinance.The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported today that mortgage loan application volume was up 15.8% from the previous week, on a seasonally adjusted basis.This measure of the Market Composite Index was for the week ending January 9, 2009. On an unadjusted basis, the index rose 95.7% from the previous week. But while the number of mortgage applications rose, the vast majority - over...

Since December 11, 2008, Wachovia Bank began mailing restitution checks totaling more than $150 million to victims of telemarketing fraud.The checks are reimbursement for payments taken from Wachovia Bank customer's accounts, authorized without the customer's approval or knowledge, by fraudulent telemarketers and their payment processors.This restitution is part of a settlement for allegations that the bank, headquartered in North Carolina, allowed the unauthorized withdrawals from customers' bank accounts even though they knew or should have known...

The nation's economic troubles are taking its toll on consumers carrying too much debt - delinquencies are rising among many types of consumer credit accounts, as reported by the American Bankers Association (ABA) for the third quarter of 2008. Delinquencies are counted as accounts that are over thirty days past the payment due date. The ABA tracks eight types of non-revolving, closed-end installment loans - home-equity line-of-credit (HELOC), property improvement loans, direct and indirect auto loans,...

In his weekly radio and YouTube address, President-elect Barack Obama reiterated the importance of moving quickly to stem the rising unemployment rate. He said, "It’s not too late to change course – but only if we take immediate and dramatic action. Our first job is to put people back to work and get our economy working again. This is an extraordinary challenge, which is working – even before I take office – with my economic team...

The government reported today that U.S. economy lost 524,000 jobs in the month of December, bringing the unemployment rate up to 7.2% from November's 6.8% unemployment rate. This is the highest unemployment rate in sixteen years. Over just the last four months of 2008, almost 2 million jobs have been lost. The job losses were spread far and wide across most industries and over 11 million Americans are now out of work. Since the start of...