In a year saturated with big financial headlines, identifying the fiscal heroes and villains is bound to be an exercise in oversimplification. But DailyFinance is going to try: Herewith, we present our picks for the best and the worst of 2011.
Despite the din from the Occupy Wall Street crowd, not everybody dislikes financial institutions -- at least, not their own. A new poll shows a much higher approval rating for our banks than we give to the folks in Washington.
In a last-ditch effort to save itself from bankruptcy, the Postal Service is forging ahead with plans to close half of its 500 mail processing centers and roughly 3,700 of its post offices. The result: Deliveries will take longer.
They say good things come to those who wait. They also say he who hesitates is lost. But when it comes to half a dozen juicy tax breaks, it's the second "they" you should listen to, because he who waits until Jan. 1, 2012, to take advantage of them will be out of luck.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has grand plans to cut through the partisan noise and remind our country's politicians of their problem-solving duties: On Tuesday, he's hosting a gigantic, public telephone town hall, and asking all "concerned Americans" to join his movement and participate.
Last week, Warren Buffett wrote an incredible opinion piece in The New York Times asking the government to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, himself included. "My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress," he argued, and he's not alone in that view.
You practically have to be an accountant to manage your family's health care these days. The good news is, some lawmakers seem to recognize this and are working toward changes to one program that should be well received by employers, employees and doctors alike.
As the debt ceiling insanity in Washington goes on, all that's certain is that the government is rapidly running low on cash to pay the bills. The amount left is now roughly $73.8 billion -- which sounds like a lot, until you realize that Apple's cash reserves are $2 billion more than that.
Think you can do better than Congress in coming up with a balanced U.S. budget? Several smartphone apps let you play along with all the fiscal fun happening in Washington. Raise taxes on market speculators? Cut spending on social services? You decide, and these apps will show you the results.
It looks like Apple stock is one of the places skittish investors are moving money ahead of a potential U.S. debt default -- at least based on its share price. Apple's shares have risen 2% in the last week as the S&P has lost nearly 3% of its value.
More than 1 million of America's poorest college students may have to take out bigger loans, find another way to pay tuition, or drop out in 2012, if Republican budget cuts are passed that shrink the government's Pell grant program. But supporters are mobilizing in an online rally Monday for "Save Pell Day."
Described as a "fear tactic" by critics, the White House warned Tuesday that if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling soon, come August, millions of Social Security recipients may find themselves without a check. The comments were met with a firestorm of criticism by seniors and their advocates.
Bank of America will soon finalize an $8.5 billion agreement to settle investor claims that Countrywide sold them lousy mortgage-backed securities before the housing bust. Meanwhile, private regulator FINRA is angling to take over the watchdog role for registered investment advisers.
Getting even a tentative handle on the multi-trillion dollar federal budget is no easy matter. Still, as the debate surrounding U.S. spending, taxes and the looming debt ceiling continues, it's worth asking: Exactly how does America spend all that cash, and what do the choices being debated really mean?
For the nearly 14 million Americans who want to work and can't find jobs, unemployment insurance is a vital lifeline. But how much help that lifeline is varies widely from state to state. We crunched the numbers to see which states are the best -- and worst -- places to be unemployed.
Unless lawmakers can agree on budget legislation to keep the federal government running, a shutdown at midnight Friday looms. If it happens, there will be a few clear winners, some who break even and a whole lot of losers.
The U.S. Senate is schedule to vote Tuesday on a bill that would repeal an unpopular tax-reporting requirement enacted as part of last year's health-care law. The House of Representatives approved the bill last month.
Approximately 60% of first-year U.S. senators and 40% of House of Representatives freshmen are worth at least $1 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That makes them far richer than most of the Americans they represent: Just 1% of the country's population has reached the $1 million mark.
Vaccine makers such as Pfizer are breathing easier now that the Supreme Court has ruled they can't be sued for defective vaccine designs. The majority opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia was unequivocal: Congress has barred lawsuits over the rare but unavoidable side effects of vital vaccines.
A parade of Republicans immediately lined up to attack the president's proposed budget this week, claiming the plan falls short of making a real difference. They're right. And that's good, because really deep reductions are the last thing the economy needs right now.
The administration's proposed revamp of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is actually an offering of multiple policy options, essentially passing the political hot potato to the Republicans. Problem is, any fix is sure to make mortgages costlier, with potential harm to the housing market.
Members of Congress sharply questioned Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Wednesday over whether the Fed's policies are raising the risk of higher inflation in the months ahead.
Approval ratings for both President Barack Obama and Congress have reached their highest levels in more than a year, according to a Harris Interactive poll released Monday.
Without a doubt, this country's debt overhang needs to be chopped considerably. But does a large national debt doom a nation to economic ruin? Only if you believe that countries like Germany, France, and Japan are economic basket cases, too.
Debt and government spending are firmly at the top of the new Congress's agenda. And just the threat that the U.S. wouldn't pay its bills has traders worried and wondering if the U.S. could end up on the same chaotic economic path taken by Greece or Spain.
The Federal Reserve on Thursday proposed a new rule that would dramatically cut the swipe fees that banks charge merchants when customers use debit cards. The move, which stems from a provision in the financial overhaul bill in July, could benefit stores. But banks say it could harm consumers.
