For the second time in five years, 156-year-old grocery store operator Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P) filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, laying out plans to sell off or close many of its stores. [More]
assets
Sorting Out Tax Consequences Of Asset Sales
By 10.16.10
If you sell something for a profit, you can expect the government to take its cut. [More]
Fighting About Money Frequently Increases Risk Of Divorce
By 5.25.10
You already know that it’s not healthy to fight about money all the time, but it might be a bigger risk factor for divorce than you think. A 2009 University of Virginia study found that couples who argue about finances every a week are 30% more likely to divorce than those who argue less frequently. In addition, a couple that marries with no assets are 70% more likely to divorce in three years than a couple bringing $10k in assets into the union. [More]
Credit Unions Ask Customers To Leave
By 3.16.10
Credit unions might be attractive alternatives to big commercial banks, but they’re not crisis-proof. OregonLive says about a fifth of the nation’s credit unions are having financial troubles right now. To get in better financial health, they’re introducing fees for services that have long been free, and even asking members to move their deposits to other institutions. [More]
Federal Judge Shuts Down Car Warranty Robocallers
By 5.16.09
“Oh hell no!” Federal District Judge John F. Grady told a marauding group of car warranty robocallers who managed to annoy pretty much everyone over the past few months. The judge slapped two Florida companies with an immediate restraining order and froze their assets, which should be enough to finally end those maddening robocalls.
Banks Seeking To Value Assets Higher Than Market Value
By 3.27.09
Banks are pushing for a change to banking rules that would allow them to ignore mark to market accounting for assets in markets that they deem “inactive.” In other words, if a bank is loaded with worthless assets but decides that the market for those assets is frozen, they can value those assets higher than the market would. Or to simplify it even more, they can create value out of toxic assets. And it looks like now the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which so far has been against this rule change, is caving in.
Don't Let Divorce Affect Your Credit Score
By 8.1.07
Divorce can break your heart, and ruin your credit. Before parting ways, divorcing couples must untangle any assets acquired during the marriage. Ask The Advisor put together a useful guide for any couple unwilling to wait until death to do them part:
Haven't Checked Your Safe Deposit Box In 3 Years? California May Have Seized Your Stuff
By 7.2.07
Years ago, Carla Ruff stored her grandmother’s jewelry and a file of personal documents in a safe-deposit box at her bank in San Francisco’s Noe Valley, thinking they would always be there when she wanted them.
The Software Banks Use To Flag Ordinary Customers As Terrorists
By 4.24.07
The Electronic Payments Network, a private-sector automated clearing house, has an online demo showing how an institution can scan transactions for possible terrorists based on those free, public, and error-ridden text files.
How Banks Flag Ordinary Customers As Terrorists
By 4.10.07
The Washington Post has an article, “Ordinary Customers Flagged as Terrorists,” describing how the Office of Foreign Asset Control maintains a list of potential terrorist suspects, and how everyday citizens can wind up on it.
How Banks Freeze Terrorist Founds With A Free, Public, .TXT
By 1.13.07
A text file. That’s what banks use to freeze the assets of terrorists, drug traffickers, and nuclear weapons dealers. A dot txt downloadable from the U.S. Treasury website.
