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After used-vehicle prices reached a 16-year high last June, values for used cars have dropped by an average of 10%. Prices for fuel-efficient used automobiles, which were especially in demand while gas prices soared, have dipped by a whopping 20% since the cost of filling up at the pump declined. Based on seasonal trends and [...]
A new survey drives home some critical points about the recession’s impact on retirement planning. We fear the stock market even in the long run and probably should be taught more about money in school.
Electronics are on the top of the shopping list for many consumers this holiday season: Nearly 4 in 10 shoppers purchased electronics over Black Friday weekend, contributing to the whopping $52 billion total spent at stores. Among the hottest electronics are the latest tablets and e-readers from the likes of Apple and Amazon, and the [...]
The financial industry was stunned last summer when the Federal Reserve handed down a rule that effectively halved the amount banks could charge stores every time one of their customers swiped a debit card at a checkout terminal. So why is a trade group representing retail merchants now suing the Fed for its decision?
From e-mail to broadcast TV programming, search engines to roadside billboards, consumers are accustomed to being inundated with advertisements at every turn. Typically, the tradeoff for being subjected to ads is that consumers get some sort of free or subsidized service. Could this business model also work for ATM transactions, thereby eliminating annoying $3 fees [...]
The seeming economic success of this year’s Black Friday-But-Really-Thursday got us wondering what we as a country have gained in terms of what psychologists often term well-being, i.e., happiness.
Shoppers blew away even the most optimistic projections of retail analysts by dropping just over $52 billion on Black Friday weekend, according to the National Retail Federation. It’s a bonanza for merchants, but it comes with a dark flip side: Numerous surveys indicate that Americans are using their credit cards to fuel this buying binge.
Just weeks before one of the busiest travel times of the year, American Airlines’ parent company filed for bankruptcy protection. But don’t worry: Your plans to head home for the holidays aren’t likely to be interrupted.
September housing prices, as measured by the S&P/Case-Shiller Housing Index, are out, and they’re down 3.6% year-over-year. This continues a trend that we’ve seen since the summer: Housing prices continue to fall, but more slowly than before.
A new study suggests that investing your retirement money half in bonds and half in stocks will produce 5% annual returns like clockwork, despite bumps in the economy. But is this a smart strategy for everyone? No.
Shoppers have dropped tens of billions of dollars in stores and online over the last five days. What does such an impressive outpouring tell us about today’s consumer mentality, and the state of the economy as a whole?
