|
Mortgage Tornado Warning, Unheeded
|
Inspired by a personal experience, a businessman began delving into the practices of the mortgage industry, including Fannie Mae. His findings have been prescient.
|
|
Fair Game: An Investment Wipeout That Didn’t Have to Happen
|
An investor won an arbitration case over money lost in a complex security. But he’s still angry at financial institutions.
|
|
Strategies: I.P.O. Euphoria, Without Much Memory — Strategies
|
Amid the Wall Street excitement over Facebook’s planned initial public offering, it may be a good time to take a look at I.P.O. history.
|
|
Your Money: Want Better Car Insurance Rates? You Have to Make the Call - Your Money
|
A retiree qualified for lower car insurance premiums, but found that out only after a chance piece of mail prodded him to call his insurer.
|
|
Wealth Matters: Advantages and Risks of Gingrich’s S Corporation
|
Newt Gingrich set up his speaking and consulting business as an S corporation, which exempted this portion of his income from Medicare taxes, an unusual move for a business based on services.
|
|
Strategies: How Long Can the Stock Market Forget About the Pain?
|
Despite buoyant returns for stocks so far this year, it’s hardly time for investors to whistle, “Don’t worry, be happy.” Big problems linger from 2011.
|
|
New Treasury Rules Ease Purchase of Annuity With 401(k)
|
New regulations are intended to make it easier for retirees to transfer money from their 401(k)s into an annuity that would guarantee payments until they die.
|
|
Economic View: Higher Taxes Help the Richest, Too - Economic View
|
Letting tax cuts expire would have little effect on the wealthiest Americans’ ability to spend, but would ultimately give them better roads and cleaner air.
|
|
Fair Game: Mortgage Task Force Has Fancy Name, but Will It Get Tough?
|
President Obama’s new task force has much to tackle in the mortgage mess — and soon, if it wants to allay suspicions that the authorities have given powerful institutions a pass.
|
|
Mortgages: Mortgages - On Troubleshooting
|
As of this month borrowers have another place to vent: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
|
|
Your Money: In Search of an App to Monitor Average Bank Balances
|
Many banks have built free-checking scoreboards for people who want to avoid fees, but they’re not putting the numbers up until the end of the month, when a fee has already been assessed.
|
|
Wealth Matters: Low Bond Yields Make Building a Portfolio Harder
|
At one time, Treasuries and other highly rated bonds were a safe way for older investors to generate income. But today’s low bond yields call for a new strategy.
|
|
Shortcuts: Putting a Price on Your Work - Shortcuts
|
Charge too little and you feel cheated; charge too much and you risk pricing yourself out of the market.
|
|
Economic View: Four Keys to a Better Tax System — Economic View
|
William E. Simon, the former Treasury secretary, said “the nation should have a tax system that looks like someone designed it on purpose.” Here are four principles that most economists would endorse.
|
|
Fundamentally: Credit Downgrades Can Be Poor Predictors — Fundamentally
|
If you’re trying to decide whether to invest in Europe, various market factors may offer better gauges than the lowering of countries’ debt ratings.
|
|
Fair Game: Hazard Insurance With Its Own Perils - Fair Game
|
A costly type of coverage, imposed on home buyers who have let insurance lapse, is the subject of a widening investigation in New York State.
|
|
Mortgages: Mortgages - A Reprieve for Unemployed Borrowers
|
An extension of forbearance programs by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac gives short-term aid to unemployed homeowners, but housing counselors warn of drawbacks.
|
|
Blacks Face Bias in Bankruptcy, Study Suggests
|
A new survey found that lawyers were more likely to steer whites to Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code and blacks to the more expensive Chapter 13.
|
|
Your Money: Financial Advice for Those With Hummingbird Nest Eggs
|
Although the class snobbery among brokerage firms is fading, people of modest means still find it hard to receive reasonably priced financial advice.
|
|
Wealth Matters: Deciding Who’s Rich (or Smart) Enough for High-Risk Investments
|
The government’s current criteria for investing in private placements equate wealth with investment expertise, but one does not necessarily go hand in hand with the other.
|
|
Bucks Blog: Chase Agrees to Settle Lawsuit on Overdraft Fees
|
Chase has agreed to settle a lawsuit over the way it charges fees to customers who overspend their accounts.
|
|
Bucks Blog: Credit Builder Loans Can Help Burnish Your Credit Score
|
Credit builder loans, offered by credit unions and other institutions, help credit-starved borrowers rebuild or establish a credit history.
|
|
Bucks Blog: Your Mistaken Belief in Financial Willpower
|
No matter how much discipline you think you have, automating good financial behavior will probably lead to more success than sheer willpower.
|
|
Bucks Blog: Monday Reading: Just How Safe Is Your Cruise Ship?
|
Evaluating cruise ship safety, traveling solo in the Caribbean, how massage heals sore muscles and other consumer-focused news from The New York Times.
|
|
Economic View: Consumer Spending as an American Virtue
|
In the United States, more than in other countries, there is a sense that spending rather than saving is patriotic, a new book argues.
|
|
Strategies: A Starbucks Price Increase, to a Not-So-Round Final Number
|
In Manhattan, a “tall” cup of Starbucks coffee now costs $2.01, with tax, and an executive of the chain said the pricing wasn’t an accident.
|
|
Mortgages: Mortgages - Shopping for the Best Rates
|
Consumers who want to try for the lowest rates available need to consider these basic factors.
|
|
Your Money: Suze Orman to Offer Her Own Prepaid Debit Card
|
Suze Orman, who offers guidance on personal finance through her books and CNBC show, is bringing out her own prepaid debit card, promising low fees and access to credit reports.
|
|
Fundamentally: Dividend-Paying Stocks Have Become More Expensive
|
Fund investors are rediscovering stocks in dividend-rich sectors, but the popularity of these shares is also making them expensive. So advisers suggest doing some research before buying.
|
|
Fair Game: Mortgage Servicing Horror Stories - Fair Game
|
There is still no nationwide settlement over practices at mortgage servicing companies. But a couple of state attorneys general have been taking matters into their own hands.
|
|
Mortgages: Mortgages — A Good Rental History Can Help Borrowers
|
Experian added a section to millions of credit reports showing on-time rent payments; two other credit-reporting companies plan to follow suit.
|
|
Strategies: An Election Too Close to Call, as Seen in an Economic Lens
|
Ray Fair has studied the economy’s effect on American elections for decades. His projections show the president with a slight lead, but that might change.
|
|
The Haggler: At Nello, a Case of Restaurant Bill Shock — the Haggler
|
Bill shock is usually rare in restaurants, but the Haggler finds that it may be a recurring phenomenon at a spot in Manhattan.
|
|
Your Money: Laid Off, With Retirement Almost in Sight
|
Many older unemployed people — nearly two million over age 55 — must make tough decisions about how to make up for lost income.
|
|
New Year’s Resolutions, Recycled, Are a Boon for Business
|
The self-improvement industry thrives on New Year’s resolutions gone awry. After all, if you don’t lose those pounds or stop smoking this year, you’ll probably try again in 2013.
|
|
Fundamentally: Dividend-Paying Stocks May Save the Day for Investors
|
Investors’ faith in the corporate profit picture is starting to wane, and for good reason. But dividend-paying stocks could offer some hope for market bulls.
|
|
Mortgages: Mortgages — How to Get a Rock-Bottom Rate
|
Rates are just about as low as they’ve ever been. But you still need to have all your ducks in a row to take full advantage.
|
|
Fair Game: 2011, a Year of Me-Firsts in Business — Fair Game
|
Make taxpayers — or your investors — pay for your mistakes. Kick the deficit can down the road. The last year offered these and other examples of the world’s financial follies.
|
|
Shortcuts: For Readers, the Neighbors Touch a Nerve - Shortcuts
|
Of all the Shortcuts columns in the last year, two about neighbors — helping them or enduring them — were among those that inspired the most comment.
|
|
Wealth Matters: Analysts and Advisers Review 2011 Investment Predictions - Wealth Matters
|
Prognosticators who were interviewed each quarter of 2011 reviewed their successes and missteps.
|
|
Verizon Wireless Abandons $2 Fee After Consumer Outcry
|
Verizon Wireless bowed to consumer anger on Friday, reversing a day-old plan to impose a bill-paying fee that would have applied to only some customers.
|
|
Your Money: Financial Tips for the Year Ahead - Your Money
|
A column that catches up with people who faced financial turning points in 2011.
|
|
Mortgages: Mortgages | Getting Back in the Black
|
There are steps you can take to keep your home if you find yourself falling behind on your mortgage payments.
|
|
The Bay Citizen: Seismic Retrofits Offer Shaky Assurance in California
|
Seismic retrofits are supposed to offer homeowners confidence that their house can withstand an earthquake, but there is no state code governing contractors’ work.
|
|
For Law Schools, a Price to Play the A.B.A.’s Way
|
A law school in Tennessee reflects the problems many such schools face: meeting stringent, and costly, American Bar Association rules, while also trying to be affordable to students.
|
|
Strategies: In Economic Forecast Season, It’s Wise to Slow Down
|
The consensus view of the economy has improved. But remember that the consensus has been wrong in the recent past.
|
|
Mortgages: Expanding a Federal Refinancing Program
|
Some limits have been eased on a federal program to move people who owe more than their home is worth into less risky and lower-rate mortgages.
|
|
Your Money: Taking a Chance on the Larry Portfolio
|
Named for an investment executive, the portfolio tracks indexes that nearly match the return of the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, doing so with less than a third of its money in stocks.
|
|
Wealth Matters: Debating Financial Strategies for the New Year
|
Should investors stand pat or develop a new plan for 2012? Several experts were asked to consider practical and theoretical solutions.
|
|
Wealth Matters: In a Time of Giving, Learning When to Say No
|
With so many financially stressed this year, the year-end expectations for gifts or donations require new calculations. Here’s what experts say about the ethics of giving (and refusing).
|
|
Shortcuts: At Babyplays.com, Toys for Rent - Shortcuts
|
Hear “rental” and think “car” or maybe “tuxedo”? The industry is much broader. You can rent toys, tools, designer handbags and even Christmas trees.
|
|
Your Money: Fund-Raising Taken to a New Level - Your Money
|
Research on your fund-raising habits is now commonly used by organizations trying to entice you to donate or to give more.
|
|
Strategies: Why Investors Should Look Beyond Europe — Strategies
|
In one banker’s view, developments in the world’s fast-growth markets will prove much more important to investors than the issues of the euro zone.
|
|
The Haggler: Korean Air and the Canceled Ticket - The Haggler
|
When Korean Air canceled a reader’s round-trip tickets to the South Pacific two months after he bought them, he asked the Haggler for help.
|
|
Digital Domain: Consumer Reports, Going Strong at 75 — Digital Domain
|
Consumer Reports, now 75 years old, has started generating more revenue from digital subscriptions than from print — a rarity among publications.
|
|
Your Money: Why Drivers May Get More Commuter Tax Benefits Than Bus Riders
|
The pretax commuter benefit has taken different forms over the years, and the 2012 version will benefit car drivers more than bus and train riders.
|
|
Wealth Matters: Get a Grip on Taxes Before the Storm Hits
|
As 2011 winds down, taxpayers should produce a checklist for everything from money-losing securities to taking advantage of annual gift allowances.
|
|
Common Sense: An Unthinkable Risk at a Brokerage Firm
|
MF Global had internal controls and a chief compliance officer, so how did it lose $1.2 billion of customer funds that were, by law, untouchable?
|
|
Mortgages: Mortgages — Loans for Multifamily Homes
|
Borrowers should be prepared to fill out a lot more paperwork, and the interest rate and down payment will most likely be higher.
|
|
Obama Fights for Confirmation of New Consumer Agency Chief
|
President Obama is trying to sway enough Republican Senators to allow a vote on the nomination of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
|
|
Fundamentally: Currency Hedging Has Many Ifs for Investors
|
Amid worries about Europe’s debt crisis, should American investors use currency hedging? The answer may depend on whether you’re holding stocks or bonds.
|
|
Mortgages: Mortgages - Help With a Down Payment
|
The biggest barrier to buying a home these days is saving for the down payment, according to a recent survey published by Trulia.
|
|
Jumbo Loan Limits Changed, Again
|
Under new guidelines, the F.H.A. would be able to back loans up to $729,750 in the nation’s most expensive real estate markets, including New York.
|
|
Your Money: CoreLogic’s New Credit Score Exposes Even More of Your Financial Life
|
The new measure includes data well beyond the scope of the big three credit bureaus, like your rent payments and track record on child support or alimony payments.
|
|
Wealth Matters: Latin America, the Land of Opportunity and Caution
|
Investing in South American’s growth economies can be profitable as long as inflation stays in check.
|
|
Shortcuts: When Loved Ones Miss a Milestone Celebration - Shortcuts
|
There can be emotional and financial costs associated when extended family or close friends can’t make a major event you’re holding.
|
|
Why Business Owners Routinely Bet the House, and Why It’s Getting Harder to Do
|
As home values have plunged, entrepreneurs have found it very difficult to get loans using their residences as collateral. Sometimes, they even lose their business.
|
|
U.S. Mortgage Relief Program Widens Its Scope
|
The two-year-old Home Affordable Refinance Program would double in size to assist about 900,000 more homeowners.
|
|
A Special Section | Your Money: Introducing a Special Section
|
From college to retirement and everything between, planning smoothes the journey.
|
|
Money Through the Ages: Balancing Debt Against the Perfect College Choice
|
How much should families sacrifice to pay for a high-quality liberal arts college, when a good community college is nearby?
|
|
Money Through the Ages: Out of College, Not on Her Own
|
A recent graduate grappling with loans and credit card bills tries to get a better grip on where her money goes.
|
|
Money Through the Ages: Too Busy for Finances, but a Baby Changes That
|
A pair of young Ph.D.’s in microbiology are now boring into their finances. The cultural sea change for people their age is eliminating credit card debt: this couple has $35,000.
|
|
Money Through the Ages: Setting Up a Plan to Get the Family Finances Back on Track
|
Mark and Amy Flake had a tough time during the recession, but now have a plan to pay off debt, set up an emergency fund and start saving for retirement.
|
|
Money Through the Ages: Reaching Retirement Goals After Long-Term Neglect
|
Faced with the prospect of caring for her 89-year-old mother, Marina Sturm, a 55-year-old clarinetist, had to overhaul her retirement finances after a long period of neglect.
|
|
Money Through the Ages: On the Eve of Retirement, Pondering Risks
|
As they approach their mid 60s, the Langerfelds of Tampa, Fla., ask whether they can afford to retire.
|
|
Money Through the Ages: Disabled Vet’s Challenge Is to Navigate the Benefits Maze
|
John Sanders’s major financial concerns include understanding his disability benefits and budgeting for unpredictable and high insurance costs in Florida.
|
|
Money Through the Ages: Finances That C.E.O.’s May Not Be Watching: Their Own
|
Reginald Brack did very well during his years as chairman and chief of Time Inc. Now that he is retired, he is facing investment and philanthropic choices.
|
|
Steps to Prevent Identity Theft, and What to Do if It Happens
|
Quick action is needed if an unusual charge shows up on a credit card statement or a thief opens an account in your name.
|
|
A Primer on Buying Life and Disability Insurance
|
What sort of insurance you need in the event of untimely death or disability depends on what your objectives are.
|
|
Health Insurance: What You Need to Know
|
With Americans spending an ever increasing amount on medical costs, it’s more important than ever to have insurance that fits your health care needs.
|
|
401(k)’s: What You Need to Know
|
For many people, saving for retirement means squirreling away as much as possible through employer-provided plans, the most popular being the 401(k).
|
|
About Financial Planners: What You Need to Know
|
If you’ve landed here, it means you’ve realized that you might need some professional advice in handling your financial affairs.
|
|
Annuities: What You Need to Know
|
Annuities are a basic staple of modern portfolios, the financial equivalent of a backstop to guarantee a minimum of income in retirement.
|
|
Credit Scores: What You Need to Know
|
You may not have checked your credit score lately, but there’s a good chance someone else has.
|
|
Your Money Special Section: Which Way Home?: First-Time Homeownership is Still Beyond Reach
|
Despite the fall of prices nationwide, the cost of buying a home in some parts of the country can still be beyond reach for a young, working couple.
|
|
Mutual Funds Report: Fourth Quarter
|
You wouldn’t know it from all the fretting about the domestic economy and the European currency and financial system, but the last three months of 2011 produced the best quarter for American stocks in more than two years.
|
|
BUSINESS: Talking Money With Elmo
|
In the wake of the financial crisis, "Sesame Street" is teaching children financial literacy. Ron Lieber talks to Elmo about saving and sharing.
|
|
Special Section: Wealth
|
Wealthy investors are chasing opportunities in the midst of upheaval. This, and more articles on investing and taxes.
|
|
I.H.T. Special Report: Net Worth: With Apps, Wealth Management Goes Mobile
|
Private banks, which have been slow to embrace mobile technologies, expect to interact more with their clients through social media and smartphone apps.
|
|
I.H.T. Special Report: Net Worth: In Nervous Market, Gold Gains Respectability
|
While some investors see pitfalls — sudden drops, lack of dividends or interest — others see a kind of insurance as countries remove value from their currencies.
|
|
I.H.T. Special Report: Net Worth: In Asia, a Generation Gap With the Rest of the World
|
Private bankers say their Asian clients are younger and more risk-tolerant than clients in Europe or the United States — and that leads to different conversations.
|
|
I.H.T. Special Report: Net Worth: Keeping a Wary Eye on the Euro Zone
|
James Millard, chief investment officer at the Skandia Investment Group, speaks about how investors should approach the market in the current environment.
|
|
Retirement
|
Many people approaching retirement age are thinking not just about where to live, but about what activities they will do — and whom they want nearby.
|
|
Is It Better to Buy or Rent?
|
Compare the cost of renting and buying equivalent homes.
|
|
Calculate Your Financial Comeback
|
See how long it could take for your portfolio to return to its peak value.
|
