Finance Globe

The Federal Trade Commission - the nation's consumer protection agency against fraud - reported on Thursday that identity theft was the number one consumer complaint for the ninth year in a row.Of the 1,223,370 complaints in 2008 to the FTC, the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other agencies, 313,982 - or 26% - were related to identity theft.The next most frequent complaints were debt collection practices at 9%, fraud relating to shop...

It's apparent that many factors contributed to the economic crisis, but one of the biggest problems "was that our economy was left exposed regulations that were out of date and regulators who weren't minding the store."On Wednesday, President Obama laid out seven key principles for transforming the nation's regulatory system:Enforce strict oversight of financial institutions that pose systemic risksStrengthen markets so they can withstand both system-wide stress and the failure of one or more large institutionsEncourage...

The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009, signed into law last week by President Obama, provided $13.61 billion for projects and programs administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD announced on Wednesday that nearly 75% of those funds - $10.1 billion - has already been allocated to create green jobs, to revive housing markets with a high rate of foreclosure, and curb homelessness. "I am pleased to announce that we...

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 - A breakdown of the stimulus package spendingThe $787 billion stimulus package signed into law by President Obama last week:Tax relief: $288 billion total, including $15 billion for infrastructure and science, $61 billion for protecting the vulnerable, $25 billion for education and training, and $22 billion for energy. State and local fiscal relief: $144 billion to prevent state and local cuts to health and education programs and state and local...

In his weekly address this morning, President Obama said that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will start to impact families "as soon as a few weeks from now" through the quickest and broadest tax cut in history. He said that 95% of working families will receive a tax cut that amounts to about $65 or more each month. The Treasury Department has been instructing employers to reduce the amount of tax withholding from paychecks, and...

The continuing slide on Wall Street reflects growing concerns that Obama's $787 billion stimulus package, a $75 billion foreclosure prevention plan, and up to $2 trillion to stabilizing banks and to support lending just won't be enough to stop the downward economic spiral.The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped on Friday, closing at a six-year low as investors weighed rumors that Bank of America and Citibank could end up becoming nationalized. The Dow has been beaten down...

As students and their families search for ways to pay for the ever-increasing cost of college, they'll find that there are plenty of legitimate sources of funding to help them pay for education costs. And there are legitimate companies that can help with some of the legwork in finding those funding sources. Unfortunately, the Federal Trade Commission reports that many of these families are falling prey to unscrupulous companies that guarantee or promise scholarships, grants, or...

Beat the Winter Blues, Forget the Financial Troubles (at least for a day), and Go Have Some FunIt's that time of year where every one gets a little anxious for winter to be over. We're tired of the cold, wet weather and we're ready to get out and go do something. And this winter's just a bit more dreary than many previous winters. The financial crisis is on every body's mind, and many of us have...

President Obama has said that it will take a three-legged stool to fix the nation's economic troubles. Last week, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled the Financial Stability Plan - a measure to prop up the nation's banking system and get credit flowing again so that businesses and consumers can begin spending normally again to support the economy. The economic stimulus package known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 was signed by Obama on Tuesday...

The Securities and Exchange Commission reported Tuesday that it has charged Robert Allen Stanford from Texas and three of his companies for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme centering on an $8 billion CD program. The affiliate companies within Stanford Financial Group that are alleged to be involved in the fraud include Antiguan-based Stanford International Bank, Houston-based broker-dealer and investment adviser Stanford Group Company, and investment adviser Stanford Capital Management. The SEC also charged Stanford International Bank chief...