Citibank

Impressed by the speed and accuracy with which Watson churned out answers (or rather, "questions") in its winning performance in the Jeopardy! Challenge last year? Citigroup was, too -- so much so that it has hired the supercomputer to assist its human financial professionals.

Citibank recently sent recipients of a special frequent flier mile promotion an unwelcome surprise: a 1099 tax form indicating those miles are taxable income. Wondering if your other credit card rewards might be taxable too? Well, stop worrying.

It's tax season, which means the annual deluge of W-2s, 1099s and other financial forms. But thousands of Citibank customers will have an extra surprise in their mailboxes: 1099 forms reporting their frequent flier miles as income.

Credit card rewards are the new social currency. Citibank customers can now use Facebook to pool their rewards points online. The bank on Tuesday launched a Facebook application that lets users team up to use their points, whether it's for charity, a group gift or a personal goal. Citi says it's the first bank to offer such a feature.

Big banks risk losing as much as $185 billion in the next 12 months as account holders say no to being nickeled and dimed, according to a new report

On Saturday, tens of thousands will march, protest and move their money out of big banks. But plenty of Americans haven't waited for Bank Transfer Day. For Frank Sheldon of Seattle, his journey to a credit union started in 2008 when his old bank was absorbed by J.P. Morgan Chase.

The financial world's fee fever may have abated -- for now. Several big and medium-sized banks say they're not implementing fees for debit card use anytime soon. But with bank revenues slipping, they do need to act, and more are considering cost cuts to repair their bottom lines.

Bank of America's announcement this week that it would start charging a monthly $5 fee for using a debit card to make purchases is the latest in banking industry upcharges. As fee-free options for banking dwindle, the bottom line is that consumers are paying more to use their own money.

Shoppers at New York's Oscar de la Renta spend more per visit than at any other retail site in the country -- more than $3,000, according to consumer finance website Bundle's "most expensive stores" list. But what pushed that Madison Avenue store above and beyond its high-fashion rivals?

Citigroup announced Monday its new no-fee, no-penalty Simplicity credit card, designed for the very creditworthy person who might once in a while forget to make a payment on time. No gotchas in your credit card bill sounds like a great idea, right? Well ... maybe.