The Federal Reserve under Ben Bernanke has gone further than ever to explain its policies to the public. It's ready to go further still. A Fed policy meeting Tuesday will likely focus in part on an evolving plan to reveal the direction of interest rates more explicitly.
Even though last year's financial reform was supposed to make credit cards more transparent, consumers are still complaining about interest rates, billing disputes and confusing credit card terms.
A few years ago, with $1 million invested in CDs, you could have lived off your interest, but with rates at historic lows, now your returns would barely cover a few mortgage payments. This is forcing retirees to find new, fairly safe ways to get those returns. The experts' pick? Dividend stocks.
Google's ex-CIO has moved from the world of Web searches to the world of high-interest, short-term lending. He says ZestCash.com offers an innovative way to help the poorest borrowers avoid financial emergencies. But is this just a slick veneer putting a shine on the classic payday lending business?
Borrowers looking to capitalize on historically low interest rates to refinance or buy homes are discovering those rates are often out of reach -- and not necessarily because of their credit scores. Understaffed banks, rigid rules, and low-ball appraisals are costing customers the best deals.
Filmmaker and political gadfly Michael Moore has joined the Occupy Wall Street movement, and his tirades against corporate greed, bailouts for bankers, unemployment are all mostly accurate and on point -- but when he says "the 99%" should stay out of the markets, he's giving terrible financial advice.
Between the outcry over Bank of America's new fees and the approach of "Bank Transfer Day," low-profile credit unions have been receiving a lot of attention. But the publicity has exposed a number of commonly held false beliefs about credit unions. Let's debunk a few of the most common.
Boo! It's the season of ghosts and goblins, when we like to scare ourselves and each other. But while Halloween frights are generally lighthearted and short-lived, there are some truly scary facts out there regarding our finances -- ones we'd do well to know about and beware of.
While rolling your credit card debt onto a new card that offers 0% interest for a period of time is usually a smart money move, there are some people who shouldn't do it. This reader is one of them. DailyFinance's Laura Rowley explains why.
It doesn't look like the housing market will come roaring back anytime soon, but with historically low interest rates, now's a good time to buy. The hard part is that banks in the post-bubble era are notoriously stingy with that cheap money, so figuring out how to get a smile out of a mortgage lender is task No. 1.
It's no secret that now seems like a good time to buy a home: Affordability is high and interest rates are low. But those positives aren't translating into sales. Why? Mortgage issues and down payments remain choke points for buyers.
After Ben Bernanke pulled a trick from the 1960s Fed handbook to twist down long-term interest rates, experts are mixed on how it will affect the U.S. economy. Wall Street reacted negatively to the news. The Dow fell 284 points.
With the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage down to 4.09%, -- another record low -- it's a great time to refinance. But before you go running off to your lender to catch the best rates since 1951, avoid making these major mistakes that can cost you dearly.
For many households, it's a personal fiance dilemma: Should they try to pay down debt first, or build up savings? In the aftermath of the Great Recession, opinions have clearly tipped toward the ditch-your-debt side. But that's not always the right answer.
The death of the American Dream has been greatly exaggerated -- just ask Sofiya Cherni. Since she arrived in North Dakota from the Ukraine 14 years ago, the 28-year-old has earned a college degree, found a good job, and bought and then paid off her first home -- by working hard, spending wisely, and keeping a sharp eye on the numbers.