Finance Globe

Consumers should be very skeptical about offers from companies who claim they can reduce credit card interest rates, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned on Friday.The FTC, the nation's consumer protection agency, said that consumers are being flooded with robocalls - automated sales calls - from companies who offer to negotiate a lower interest rate. Of course, these companies charge a fee for their "services" but the FTC said that many of these claims are fraudulent.The...

As the deep recession brought about severe job losses among workers, families have been struggling to manage on less income and cut costs in every way possible. And many Americans have dealt with a tough situation by reducing the biggest expense for any family - maintaining a separate household.According to a study released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), 1.2 million households were lost during the period from 2005 to 2008 even though the population increased...

Despite widespread unemployment, consumers in the last half of 2009 have been working hard to pay their debts on time. According to the American Bankers Association (ABA) Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin, consumer loan delinquencies in the fourth quarter of 2009 fell in eight out of eleven loan categories. This was the second quarter in a row for a broad-based improvement in consumer delinquencies, which the ABA defines as late payments that are 30 days or more...

The deadline to file your income tax return is just around the corner - it really comes up fast for those who aren't ready. But don't panic. If you don't see being able to complete your tax return before the deadline, just file for an extension by April 15th and you'll automatically be granted another six months to complete your tax return.To be timely for your extension, follow the same rules as if you were filing...

The nation's unemployment rate hit 10% last year, and a long, two year global recession has threatened the financial security of families around the world.It comes as no surprise that state governments are the next to feel the painful effects of a shaky economy; less money being earned and less money being spent across the nation has resulted in a severe drop in state income. State governments reported that tax collections decreased $67 billion in fiscal...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) testified today to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit of the Committee on Financial Services that the agency has completed most of the consumer credit protection projects required by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction (FACT) Act of 2003, also known as FACTA.The FACT Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush as an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Since 2004, this legislation...

New claims for jobless benefits showed slight improvement for the week ending March 13, the Department of Labor reported on Thursday in its weekly report.There were 457,000 new claims last week, down 5,000 from the previous week after a drop of 6,000 in the week prior. The four-week moving average, which smooths out weekly volatility, fell by 4,250 to 471,250. These numbers show very little change from February and are well above the readings in January.Continuing...

Vacations are time to bond, have fun with your family and friends, see new sites, and take a breather from real life. But the financial woes of the past couple of years have really got consumers thinking about more cost effective ways to get the same result in various aspects of their lives, and the family vacation is one area where we can easily spend a lot of money if we're not careful. The majority of...

This article is the second in a two-part series. Camping is a great alternative for the budget-conscious family vacation! Other benefits to camping compared to traditional flying/lodging/dining vacations: You travel with your own stuff, instead of renting a bed someone else slept in. There's nothing worse on vacation than reserving high-priced lodging because it seems nice on the website, only to get there and find that it doesn't look or smell clean - if you're travelling...

The U.S. Census Bureau announced on Friday that advanced estimates of February retail trade sales were $355.5 billion. This is an increase of .3% from the previous month after a .1% rebound in January, and is 3.9% above February 2009. This beat analysts' projections, who as a group expected a decline of .3%. It was expected that February's winter storms that hit much of the Mid-Atlantic could have negatively affected retail sales figures. February's numbers look...