north carolina

8 States Making Tax Changes: Some Painful, Some Pleasant

As you prepare your tax returns for 2012, be warned: A number of states have made or are considering big changes to their state income taxes. With some of those changes already having taken effect, you need to know whether you're in the line of fire -- or in line for a tax break.

Save Your Thanksgiving from Bad Weather, Bad Food, Big Business

Thanksgiving might not feel like the most appetizing time to start thinking about the safety and health of the food supply. But maybe out harvest festival is the perfect time to consider it -- and to consider what it would cost to give your family a kinder, healthier Thanksgiving Day feast.

Stock Futures Edge Up After Year's Biggest Sell-Off

U.S. stock futures are recovering a day after the largest drop on the Dow Jones industrial average this year. Trading is light ahead of the Labor Department's report on claims for unemployment benefits.

Election Day Roadmap: Watching the Results En Route to 270

Here's your hour-by-hour election night guide: when the polls close in the key swing states, and how the results will unfold. Word to the wise: Beware of early exit polls. They got it wrong in both 2000 and 2004, so be patient and wait for the actual votes to be counted.

Are Swing States Doing Better at Retirement Savings Than the Rest?

When it comes to the economy, we tend to focus on our personal financial health -- things like how well our retirement savings are doing. Investment advisory firm FutureAdvisor's state-by-state breakdown sheds some interesting light on where people are getting ahead, and where they're falling behind.

Unemployment Rates Fall in 7 Swing States

Unemployment rates fell or held steady last month in nine key swing states at the center of this year's presidential election. Rates dropped in Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada and North Carolina. They were unchanged in New Hampshire and Virginia.

Is American Manufacturing on Track for a Comeback?

Detroit's Big Three are in hiring mode again, and Japanese automakers are building cars in the U.S. to export to Asia. And they aren't the only ones ramping up U.S. production. Is America at the beginning of a new industrial age? The answer lies in China.

Is It Smart to Tap Retirement Funds to Buy a Home?

A 53-year-old woman got divorced in May, and now, she wants to relocate to a new city and buy a little bungalow for herself and her 100-pound dog. But with her low income, she's wondering whether her best bet to get that home is deplete her retirement savings and buy it with cash. Our experts weigh in.

Online Pawn Shop Polishes Up an Old Lending Idea

Two-year-old Pawngo bills itself as a more upscale pawnshop for the digital age, catering to a new breed of pawn customer -- not desperate, just temporarily cash-strapped. The company wants to dispel the stereotype of sketchy storefronts dealing in fenced goods -- and so far, it has had a fair amount of success.

Jackpot! States With Biggest Lottery Payouts

Lotteries are big businesses in most states, and they can provide windfalls for both the winning ticket-holders and state coffers. But which states give the most back to ticket-holders and through government services?

20 Metro Areas With the Worst Credit Card Debt

Equifax has ranked the U.S. metropolitan areas that are still suffering the most from high credit card debt, and found the majority of the areas with the highest debt-to-income ratios are located in six states. But the six might not be the ones you'd guess.