Some people think the United States should cap the interest rates credit card companies are allowed to charge, but the prospect of maximum APRs doesn’t sit well with some lawmakers, not to mention the financial services industry. But banks here might want to take note: The United Arab Emirates, a place infamous for its sky-high interest rates that could hit 50% on an annualized basis, finally took action to curb its runaway APRs by capping them.
Following the Great Recession many young people have become not merely respectful of debt, as we would wish; but fearful of it, which could set them back.
At the same time as the U.S. Mint is scaling down production of the largely unwanted presidential dollar coins, two U.S. senators are introducing legislation that would kill off the dollar bill completely and replace it with … you guessed it: $1 coins.
You don’t need to hire somebody to get your creditors to settle for less than what you owe. You can do it yourself, but there are some things you should know. Here are the “secrets” debt-settlement companies don’t want you to know.
If you graduated college last spring, chances are over the winter holidays the government delivered a nice present to your door: your first student loan bill.
As Wall Street’s biggest banks prepare to report fourth quarter earnings for 2011, many analysts expect the results to cap off a horrible year — at least by their formerly high-flying pre-recession standards. As a result, bonuses, which are tied to performance and typically represent the bulk of bankers’ compensation, are expected to be sharply [...]
Are you stashing the credit card bills under the junk mail because you’re afraid to see how much you spent over the holidays? Surveys from USA Today and Consumer Reports reveal that we were on track to charge roughly 7% more on credit cards this holiday season. That might not sound like a big increase, [...]
Day to day, the stock market may feel like a roller-coaster, but in fact the U.S. is experiencing stagnation with a very, very faint upward trend.
A new year, a new batch of resolutions. Alas, these promises to ourselves, undoubtedly heartfelt, rarely produce long-lasting results. Worse, failed resolutions could be harmful if they lead to depression, self-loathing or what we might call “boomerang behavior.” With this in mind, we assembled five pieces of advice, gleaned from behavioral economics and related fields, that might help you make this year’s resolutions a little stickier.
A highly volatile stock market may have given you whiplash in 2011. But as the year draws to a close, the final numbers don’t look so dramatic: the S&P 500 is poised to end the year almost exactly where it began, and about as many Fortune 500 companies’ shares rose as fell.
Treasury bond prices will likely suffer a major decline in the next few years. Here are eight high-yielding stocks that are a smarter alternative for the income part of your portfolio.
