Archive for December, 2008
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Americans making less than $75,000 annually should expect to see a slightly larger paycheck every two weeks when Barack Obama takes the presidential office on January 20. While he was once believed to be re-thinking the plan he touted during the election, the President-elect is in fact expected to implement ...
Posted in budgeting, economy, finances, income, money, taxes | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
Homes prices across the country dropped again between September and October, marking the 27th month in a row that the S&P Case-Shiller Index has posted losses. The mean price of homes saw a 2.2% drop, bringing prices back down to where they sat in March of 2004. Altogether, home prices ...
Posted in economy, finances, mortgage, real estate | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
Financially, 2008 was a year defined by the plummeting stock market, but Forbes Magazine still thought that no company was more impressive over the four quarters than market mogul NASDAQ OMX. The financial magazine’s Daniel Fisher praised the New York-headquartered company for adapting to recently introduced methods of new business ...
Posted in economy, finances, investments, money, stocks | 1 Comment »
Monday, December 29th, 2008
Described by industry analysts as one of the worst holiday season sales periods on record, December’s retail sales figures plummeted 4% from last year’s numbers. Retailers are finally coming to grips with the fact that the American public has gone into a full-on savings mode that wasn’t the norm in ...
Posted in finances, money, retail | 2 Comments »
Friday, December 19th, 2008
The debate of whether to bail out the auto industry seems to be coming to a close. President Bush announced this morning that he intends to enact a rescue plan for General Motors and Chrysler LLC that will make $13.4 billion in federal loans available to the two struggling automotive ...
Posted in economy, money | 3 Comments »
Thursday, December 18th, 2008
On December 8, the United States Conference of Mayors met and drew up an 803-page report outlining how their respective cities would use the money President-elect Barack Obama intends to spend on infrastructure projects aimed at improving America’s economic situation by giving the country a face lift. Altogether, the 427 ...
Posted in economy, energy costs, finances | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
In New York this week, Governor David Patterson announced the state would begin charging a digital retail tax for online purchases. The tax will go into action along with similar plans from Paterson to raise taxes on movie tickets, soft drinks, sweets and snacks, and luxury clothing items among other ...
Posted in economy, finances, income, money, taxes | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
As unemployment rates rise nationally, individual states are now facing the challenge of generating enough funds to pay for jobless benefits. The National Association of State Workforce Agency reported this week there are thirty states across the country turning to the federal government for federal aid to solve a crisis ...
Posted in budgeting, debt, economy, income, lending | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
Longtime Wall Street investor Bernard Madoff confessed last week to running a years-long Ponzi scheme that’s believed to have swindled up to $50 billion in investments from more than thirty high profile individuals and organizations. The New York City based Madoff first told his children that he was deeply involved ...
Posted in finances, financial fraud, financial records, investments, money | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
The Federal Reserve decided this afternoon to cut a key short-term interest rate to historic lows, making things clear that it will “employ all available tools” in its effort to save the country from its current economic crisis.
The Fed announced that it would pull back its target for the federal ...
Posted in credit cards, economy, finances, lending, money | 2 Comments »