Lending

By PALLAVI GOGOI, AP Business Writer Since the credit crisis of 2008, everyone has been waiting for the banks to start lending money again. It's finally happening, but there's a catch: Businesses are afraid to spend it. Bank loans to businesses grew 10% last year after dropping 19% in 2009 and 9%...

Lending money to friends and family ranks among the most pernicious of relationship stressors. It's not just the cash -- it's the emotions we all carry about it. But with a little planning, you can help someone out of a financial bind without putting your friendship in the red.

The Federal Reserve is finally admitting that not all the big banks are healthy: Bank of America won't get to pay increased dividends. But none of those financial giants should be allowed to, and a logical look at the reasons they say they want to dole out the cash makes it totally clear why.

You get what you pay for, or so the saying goes. But consumer advocates have long bemoaned that the opposite is true in the world of mortgages. Consumers choose between getting their loans through a mortgage broker, who can shop around with lots of lenders, or directly from the lenders themselves....

Forget the Consumer Index and those ubiquitous spending reports. There are some very simple homespun ways to know when the economy is improving. And based on our methodology, which is at least understandable to laymen, if not scientifically accurate, here are the signs to look for: 1. When the Gym...

The Fed recently reported that Americans lost over 60% of their home equity between 2007 and 2009. So it's no surprise that millions of homeowners also lost the ability to borrow against the home equity they once had. In the states hardest hit by the foreclosure tsunami, like California, Nevada and...

Whether it was a fresh startup or a fresh start, fewer Americans seemed willing to take career risks last year, according to a new report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The percentage of job-seekers starting their own businesses or relocating for new positions fell to historic lows in 2010.

Imagine the scene if the Catholic Church tried to get rid of the Vatican, the enterprise that some say efficiently administers a worldwide organization but others call artificial, archaic and corrupt. In a 32-page white paper it released this morning, the White House proposed a similar remodel of...

JPMorgan Chase may come to regret buying Bear Stearns. Suits by Wells Fargo and bond insurer Ambac claim that Bear entirely disregarded loan quality to appease its trading desk's ever-growing demand for mortgages to securitize. Now, those parties are suing to get their money back, and they might get it.

If you've been rejected for a car loan due to poor credit, you might want to apply again. The automotive credit industry increased the share of new car loans going to credit-challenged borrowers by 12.7% in the third quarter, a sign that lenders are loosening their credit criteria.