Finance Globe

If you have a mortgage, you may have received a letter from a company offering to "help" you pay your home off faster by enrolling you in a bi-weekly mortgage program. Their pitch may sound very convincing and probably seems to make a lot of sense.Here's how it works: On the traditional payment schedule you make one payment a month, equalling twelve payments a year. On the bi-weekly schedule, you make a half payment every two...

The IRS announced today that e-file, the electronic tax return delivery service, is open for business January 15. The most popular method of filing taxes, e-file debuted 20 years ago, delivering 4.2 million tax returns. Last year, IRS e-file delivered 95 million tax returns and is used by two-thirds of the nation's taxpayers."Electronic filing is more and more popular every year, and most taxpayers now e-file. IRS e-file means faster refunds. It means the option to...

This article is a continuation of credit card Rules Part 1. Here's a look at key changes you can expect when the new credit card rules take effect February 22, 2010. Rules about once-common practices that penalize cardholders who pay their bill on timeCard issuers will be prohibited from charging interest on debt that is paid on time. The "double-cycle billing" practice penalizes cardholders for carrying a balance in past months even if they paid off...

New credit card rules take effect February 22, 2010, and information will be covered in two articles. Let's take a look at how key points in the new law will affect you, the consumer. New rules on terms and interest rates Card issuers must give you 45 days notice before they can: raise the card's interest rate.make changes to certain fees (such as annual fees, cash advance fees, and late fees)make other significant changes to the...

The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday approved a final rule amending Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to protect consumers who use credit cards from a number of costly practices. credit card issuers must comply with most aspects of the rule beginning on February 22, 2010."This rule marks an important milestone in the Federal Reserve's efforts to ensure that consumers who rely on credit cards are treated fairly," said Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth A. Duke. "The rule...

Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 1,000 to 434,000 for the week ending January 2, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. The four-week moving average, which smooths out weekly volatility, was 450,250, a decrease of 10,250 from the previous week's average of 460,500.Seasonally adjusted, the insured unemployment rate was 3.6% for the week ending December 26, down .2% from the previous week's figure of 3.8%. Unadjusted, the advance national insured unemployment rate for the same...

Saving a buck or two here and there can add up to a significant savings over time. And for food and beverages, certain habits can drastically reduce your expenses over the long term. Here’s a few suggestions for saving money on these necessities:Brew your coffee at home instead of going to the cafe. Whether you buy the convenience store coffee for $2 a cup or the $5 a cup gourmet coffee, brewing it yourself for pennies...

President Obama announced on Friday awards of $2.3 billion in Recovery Act funds to go towards new clean energy manufacturing across the U.S."Building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future," said Obama. "The Recovery Act awards I am announcing today will help close the clean energy gap that has grown between America and other nations while creating good jobs, reducing our carbon emissions and increasing our energy security."The...

Consumer delinquencies in nearly all loan categories declined in the third quarter of 2009, according to a report released today by the American Bankers Association (ABA). This is the first time since 2007 that so many loan categories experienced a decline in delinquencies, which the ABA defines as a late payment that is 30 or more days overdue.The ABA's composite ratio, which tracks eight closed-end installment loan categories, fell 12 basis points to 3.23% of all...

Pending home sales fell sharply in November but remained "comfortably" above the level of activity from a year ago, the National Association of Realtors reported today. The index used to measure contracts signed in November fell 16% to 96.0 from an upwardly revised 114.3 in October, but is 15.5% higher than November 2008 when it was 83.1.The slide in pending contracts comes after a strong surge in previous months when buyers scrambled to beat the original...