Consumer Ally
FTC Warns Hotel Chains to Stop Hidden 'Resort Fees,' 'Drip Pricing'
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Frequent travelers know that extra airline fees have become the norm. But resorts and hotels make it even harder to figure out what your final bill is going to add up to. Now, the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection is fighting back on our behalf.
Continue reading »Commodities
Double Your Money Selling Old Pennies by the Pound
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Benjamin Franklin once said that a penny saved is a penny earned, but if the pennies are older, they can be worth more. At current copper prices, the melt value of older pennies is well over two cents, and you don't even need to melt them down to extract that extra value.
Continue reading »Retirement
Retirees: Don't Miss Deadline for Required IRA, 401(k) Distributions
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Smart retirees have done everything they could lately to stretch their retirement accounts, but taking too little out of them will get you into big trouble with the IRS. Fail to withdraw your full required minimum distribution, and the penalty you pay to the tax man will be severe.
Continue reading »Economy
Worker Productivity Growth Revised Upward to 2.9 Percent
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U.S. workers were more productive this summer than initially thought, while costing their companies less. The Labor Department says productivity grew at an annual rate of 2.9 percent from July through September. That's the fastest pace in two years.
Continue reading »Banking
U.S. Bank Earnings Up 6.6%, Most in 6 Years
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U.S. banks earned more from July through September than in any other quarter over the past six years. The increase is further evidence that the industry is strengthening four years after the 2008 financial crisis.
Continue reading »Shopping
Never Buy Gift Cards at Full Price: 7 Places to Find Them Cheaper
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As the holiday shopping season speeds toward its finale, millions of shoppers will give up on finding "perfect gifts" and instead buy gift cards. That's actually a great idea: Lots of people love gift cards. What is not a good idea is paying face value for them when discounts can be found all over.
Continue reading »Economy
Home Prices Rise in October by 6.3%, the Most in 6 Years
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U.S. home prices rose 6.3 percent in October compared with a year ago, the largest yearly gain since July 2006. The jump adds to signs of a comeback in the housing market. But month-over-month, prices fell 0.2 percent in October from September, reflecting the end of the summer home-buying season.
Continue reading »Autos
Hurricane Sandy Boosts Car Sales in November
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The auto industry wins the silver lining award from the affects of Hurricane Sandy: November car sales jumped 15 percent on strong demand from people replacing cars destroyed by the storm, Americans feeling more confident in the economy, and an easier access to credit.
Continue reading »Government
Elizabeth Warren Likely Headed to Senate Banking Panel
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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants Massachusetts Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren to join the Banking Committee. A Senate Democratic official confirmed Tuesday that Warren's appointment was likely, but cautioned nothing was final until the Democratic caucus approves the move.
Continue reading »Taxes
"Hey Guys - This Is Barack": Obama Holds Chillaxed Fiscal Cliff Twitter Q&A
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The world's most powerful man went to Twitter to promote his plan to avoid the so-called 'fiscal cliff' of impending tax hikes. So, make like your commander in chief, relax, and check out some of the best moments of tax policy in 140 characters or less.
Continue reading »Media
Disney to Pay $319 Million After Losing 'Millionaire' Appeal
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A federal appeals court has upheld a $319 million verdict over profits from the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and rejected Disney's request for a new trial. A jury decided in 2010 that Disney hid the show's profits from its creators, London-based Celador International.
Continue reading »Government
Defense Cuts Could Be Inevitable, Says Rep. Randy Forbes
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Rep. Randy Forbes, who chairs the readiness panel of the House Armed Services Committee, has a fairly blunt view on the near future of the fiscal cliff talks: "I am fully expecting to see sequestration in some form beginning in January," he told AOL Defense in an exclusive interview. Here's what he thinks that will mean for the U.S. military.
Continue reading »Books
Life After a Ponzi Scheme: Victim Turns Huge Loss into Literature
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In 2008, R.P. McCabe saw a $1 million investment in real estate disappear, not due to the recession, but a Ponzi scheme that robbed around 700 investors of $100 million. First he got mad. Then he got depressed. Next, he got curious. And then he wrote a novel based on the experiences of his fellow victims: "Betrayed."
Continue reading »Jobs
Top Request on Workers' 2012 Christmas List: More Money, Please
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What do American workers want for Christmas from their employers this year? Glassdoor knows. The online "jobs and career community" had American workers surveyed, and unsurprisingly, discovered that "cash" tops the list.
Continue reading »Government
GOP Issues New 'Fiscal Cliff' Offer to Obama
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House Republicans on Monday proposed a new 10-year, $2.2 trillion blueprint to President Barack Obama that calls for increasing the eligibility age for Medicare and lowering cost-of-living hikes for Social Security benefits.
Continue reading »Saving Money
Are You a Budget-Savvy Traveler, or Just a Cheapskate?
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Nowhere is the old adage "A penny saved is a penny earned" more true than when on the road. But some travelers take it too far. But according to your fellow fliers and hotel guests, there are worse travel offenses.
Continue reading »Government
Could Same-Day Delivery Save the Post Office?
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By 2015, the U.S. Postal Service is expected to be losing money at a rate of $20 billion a year. But the Post Office has a plan intended to help stop the bleeding -- or at least slow it down. Next week, it will begin testing a new same-day delivery service called "Metro Post."
Continue reading »Economy
Happy Fifth Anniversary, Great Recession!
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According to the National Bureau of Economic Records, December 2007 is the when the Great Recession began. Five years later, the economy still hasn't recovered. DailyFinance takes a look back.
Continue reading »Banking
UBS Near $450 Million Settlement with U.S., U.K. Over Libor
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Swiss bank UBS AG is expected to pay more than $450 million to U.S. and British authorities to settle claims some of its employees submitted false Libor rates, the New York Times reported.
Continue reading »Investing
How to Be a Real Estate Investment Mogul -- but With Less Risk
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Want to be a real estate mogul but without the hassle of directly owning property? Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs, offer a simpler -- and safer -- way to reap the benefits of a diversified real estate ...
Continue reading »Earnings
5 Things You Should Watch in the Stock Market This Week
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Internet radio giant Pandora and giant discounter Big Lots report their earnings; in entertainment, Disney is opening a huge new expansion, while Nintendo is thinking small; and some companies just can give money away fast enough -- as dividends.
Continue reading »Technology
How Patent Madness Is Killing Innovation and Costing Us Billions
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Big creative companies like Apple are taking out patents on everything they can think of -- lest they develop an idea only to discover someone else claimed it first. That may sound sensible on the surface -- but the rules of the patent game are actually doing more harm than good.
Continue reading »Retirement
Younger Workers' Biggest Worry for Retirement: All of the Above
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What has young and middle-aged workers most worried about their retirement prospects? Essentially, everything -- from health care costs to tax rates to being able to afford to pay for a roof overhead -- according to a recent survey from T. Rowe Price and Harris Interactive.
Continue reading »Crime
Couple Convicted of Stealing Hybrid Car Trade Secrets from GM
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A former General Motors engineer and her husband were found guilty on Friday of conspiring to steal hybrid technology trade secrets for possible use by Chinese carmaker Chery Automobile. Shanshan Du and her husband, Yu Qin, will be sentenced in February.
Continue reading »Features
Missouri Powerball Winners Are Mechanic and Wife
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A 52-year-old Missouri mechanic and his wife claimed their share Friday of the record $588 million Powerball jackpot. Mike and Cindy Hill are taking the lump sum option, which means that after taxes, they will receive about $136.5 million.
Continue reading »Retirement
401(k) Fees: You'll Pay Now or Pay Later, But You Will Pay
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In some ways, a 401(k) is almost an ideal investment. The only problem is the costs. 401(k) plans are not cheap to manage, and that means fees your employer will probably pass on to you, cutting into your investment returns. But how your company passes those fees on can make a big difference.
Continue reading »Retail
Holiday Shopping Calendar: Your List of the Best Days to Buy
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Black Friday has been around for decades, but in the last several years, the holiday shopping season has gained a number of additional "special" shopping days. So if you're looking for the right days for deals, (or when to avoid the crowds) here's a run-down of all the retail deal days worth knowing.
Continue reading »Money and Politics
Fiscal Cliff Pop Quiz: Fun Facts from the Economic Apocalypse
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On Jan. 1, 2013, the United States will fall over off the fiscal cliff -- unless Congress and the president ink a deal to avert the crisis. If you think you know all about the forthcoming economic apocalypse -- or if you're just wondering what all the fuss is about -- check out our quiz and see.
Continue reading »Jobs
Retailer So Hard Up for N.D. Staff, It's Flying Them From Wisconsin
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Home improvement retailer Menard says it will hire 50 workers from its home base in Wisconsin and fly them to North Dakota to staff a store in Minot, which is near the state's booming oil patch, a region that has more jobs than takers.
Continue reading »Investing
Women Investors: Smarter Than the Men in Every Way?
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Financial services companies have a habit of publishing "special reports on women and investing," and their conclusions tend to describe women in less-than-flattering terms. But a new TD Ameritrade study once again shows why such stereotypes totally miss the mark.
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When renting a car, you always have the option to pay for insurance, but how can you make sure that you're not getting taken for a ride? Here, our experts explain how to get the best deal on coverage. Watch Video