A 59-year-old man recently walked into a bank in Gastonia, NC, intent on robbing one dollar — no more or less — from the financial institution. Was it because he was aiming low for his first foray into bank robbery? No, he says it was because he needs medical care and the only way he could think to afford it was by going to prison. [More]
recession watch
Cable Companies Finally Realizing They Might Have Priced Themselves Into A Corner
By 6.15.11
What has cable company executives losing sleep at night? It’s certainly not thoughts on how to improve customer service or billing. But it’s also not Netflix, Hulu, BitTorrent or any other obvious customer siphon. No, cable suits confess, it’s actually the fact that a growing number of Americans find themselves too poor to pay to watch TV. [More]
Millions Of Homeowners Have Not Made Mortgage Payments In Years
By 6.9.11
It now takes an average of 565 days from a homeowner’s first missed payment until a lender ultimately forecloses on a property. It takes significantly longer — 807 days on average — in Florida, a state with a large number of underwater mortgages. And then there are all the people who won’t necessarily go into foreclosure but who have been advised not to make payments in order to qualify for a loan modification. This all adds up to millions of Americans who have gone at least one year without making a single payment. [More]
Obama: Personal Finances And The Nation's Finances Aren't So Different
By 6.8.11
Earlier today, President Obama popped into the White House Personal Finance Online Summit, where our own Meg Marco was in attendance. Speaking to the small group of writers, the president offered up his advice on personal finance. [More]
More People Using 401(K) Funds As Piggy Banks
By 6.7.11
Even though the economy has begun to demonstrate occasional signs of life, many Americans are still feeling the sting of those darkest days. Millions of homeowners are struggling to pay mortgages they can’t afford and those that have walked away from underwater loans now have battle-scarred credit reports. So in order to stay afloat, more consumers are taking loans from their own retirement savings. [More]
This Rotting Mansion Kind Of Represents The American Dream
By 6.2.11
In a rural area in Maryland, reader MrStinkhead came across something that’s not so unusual: a mansion in the middle of a swath of farmland. What makes it unusual is that construction stopped partway through, sometime in 2010, and the building has been left exposed to the elements since. We don’t have any more details than that, which makes it nicely mysterious. [More]
Just Because You Defaulted On Your Mortgage Doesn't Mean You Can't Get A Loan These Days
By 6.1.11
As we reported last month, U.S. banks are finally getting back into the business of making loans to consumers. And a new report says that it’s not just those with pristine credit histories that are able to borrow. [More]
Home Prices Continue To Fall Everywhere Except Seattle & DC
By 5.31.11
The folks behind the all-important Case-Shiller Home Price Index have released their numbers for March 2011 and for the eighth month in a row, the average price of a home in the U.S. has declined. Only two of the 20 cities in the index — Seattle and Washington, D.C. — experienced even a slight uptick from the previous month, while a dozen cities are at or near four-year low points. [More]
NY Attorney General Investigating Pre-Bust Hijinks At Bank Of America, Goldman Sachs & Morgan Stanley
By 5.17.11
Just when you think the beleaguered bankers of the world can finally stop dealing with pesky investigations into their roles in the recent financial ugliness (some would call it a global economic meltdown), some Columbo-like snoop has to say, “Just one more thing” and open up all new cans of worms. The latest can-opener is New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has reportedly begun a broad investigation of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. [More]
Home Buyers And Sellers Turning To The Supernatural For Help Because… Why Not?
By 5.12.11
The news about the economy — and more precisely the real estate market — is full of shrugs and dart-throwing guesswork about exactly where prices and interest rates will go in the coming year. So, reports the Boston Globe, a growing number of home buyers are looking to the spirit world for guidance and assistance. [More]
Banks Back In Business Of Lending Money, People Back To Borrowing
By 5.9.11
The New York Federal Reserve just issued its latest quarterly Household Debt & Credit report — which looks at the state of mortgages, home equity borrowing, auto loans and credit cars — and, for the first time in a few years, there are a number of not-so-bad things to say about things. [More]
Mortgage Rates Hit 4-Month Low
By 5.5.11
For those potential home-buyers with enough money for a down payment, it looks like you may want to start scanning the real estate listings. According to Freddie Mac, the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages has hit a four-month low. [More]
Walmart CEO: Our Customers Are Running Out Of Cash
By 4.29.11
Walmart CEO Mike Duke says the company is continuing to slash prices, but the chain’s quest to remain the cheapest big-box store may not matter to many of its customers, who are running out of money faster than usual, thanks to higher gas prices and the sluggish economy. [More]
Around One Out Of Every 10 Mall Stores Now Vacant
By 4.7.11
The malls of America have seen better days. In the wake of the still-lingering economic downturn, vacancy rates at shopping centers — of both the “classic mall” and “strip mall” varieties — are at their highest levels since the twentieth century. [More]
Would You Turn Your House Into A Billboard If The Advertiser Paid Your Mortgage?
By 4.6.11
Having trouble making your mortgage payment? Think the paint job on your house could use some splash, color and branding? Then there’s an ad agency you might want to talk to. [More]
Foreclosure Filings Hit 3-Year Low In February, But Don't Get Too Excited Yet
By 3.10.11
The latest report from RealtyTrac on foreclosures shows a precipitous drop in the number of foreclosure filings between January and February, and that the total number of foreclosures in February was the lowest since February 2008. If you only want to hear the good news, stop reading now. [More]
Is Target Now Cheaper Than Walmart?
By 3.9.11
Whatever problems many customers might have with Walmart’s business practices, the retail behemoth’s low prices continue to draw shoppers. But new price-comparison reports say that Target may now be the place for frugal consumers. [More]
Bank Of America Admits It Shouldn't Have Put Customer In Default After She Paid Mortgage Off
By 3.1.11
Here’s a happy update to the story of the Illinois woman who got trapped in the Bank of America labyrinth after deciding to pay off her mortgage more than two decades early. [More]
