The Wall Street Journal
By Robin Sidel
April 30, 2009
Brad Sagara uses a debit card to buy everything from groceries to climbing gear to bottled water. He barely uses his two credit cards anymore, and is trying to pay off a combined balance of $4,000.
PR Web
April 30, 2009
With unemployment rates soaring, many Americans are looking enviously at their friends or family members who boast a savings account that can carry them through a rainy day and beyond. Yet, according to Bills.com president Ethan Ewing, just about anyone can save a little something for the future.
The Washington Post
By Nancy Trejos
April 30, 2009
The Obama administration yesterday called for an end to unfair credit card industry practices such as retroactive interest rate increases for any reason, late-fee traps that penalize borrowers with weekend or middle-of-the-day deadlines and teaser rates that last less than six months.
The Gainesville Sun (Florida)
By Harriet Daniels
April 30, 2009
Saving for car repairs or to purchase another vehicle is priority No. 1 for Jan Robinson, who wants to make sure she's covered should anything go wrong with her 1997 Subaru station wagon.
The Grand Forks Herald (North Dakota)
By Andrea Olson
April 30, 2009
The North Dakota Legislature recently passed SB2260, which is an amazing victory for the people of this state.
San Angelo Standard-Times (Texas)
By David Erickson
April 27, 2009
Even with the current economic downturn and tight credit situation, local lenders tell us they are making small business loans, though some of their lending requirements, such as the amount of collateral and equity and credit score have increased a bit.
The New York Times
By Sam Dillon
April 29, 2009
Between 2004 and last year, scores for young minority students increased, but so did those of white students, leaving the achievement gap stubbornly wide, despite President George W. Bush's frequent assertions that the No Child law was having a dramatic effect.
The New York Times
By Edmund L. Andrews
April 29, 2009
The Obama administration sought to expand its $50 billion plan to reduce home foreclosures, announcing a new program on Tuesday to help troubled homeowners modify second mortgages or piggyback loans.
New American Contract
By James K. Galbraith
April 17, 2009
Let me first congratulate Dimitri Papadimitriou and the Levy Economics Institute. Clearly the Minsky conference is the go-to event on these issues at this important moment.
PR Newswire
April 28, 2009
As the first 100 days of the new administration come to a close, the Annie E. Casey Foundation commends national leaders for policy decisions that will positively impact the well-being of children, families, and communities.
The Lexington Herald Leader (Kentucky)
By Beth Musgrave
April 26, 2009
Julie Neace thought about leaving her husband several times.
But when the stay-at-home mom did the math, she was convinced that she and her son wouldn't be able to make it on their own.
The Washington Post
By Lori Montgomery and V. Dion Haynes
April 27, 2009
Gail Johnson doesn't think of herself as wealthy. The former pediatric nurse has spent 20 years building a chain of preschools and after-school programs that accommodate sick children so working parents can keep their jobs.
The New York Times
By Sarah Rimer
April 10, 2009
Quinn Rallins, 23, graduated magna cum laude last year from Morehouse College with a dual major in international studies and Spanish. This spring, Mr. Rallins is finishing his master's degree in comparative social policy at Oxford.
The New York Times
By Thomas L. Friedman
April 21, 2009
Speaking of financial crises and how they can expose weak companies and weak countries, Warren Buffett once famously quipped that "only when the tide goes out do you find out who is not wearing a bathing suit."
The Wall Street Journal
By Justin Lahart
April 25, 2009
Emmanuel Saez, a leading researcher on the causes of wealth and income inequality, has won the John Bates Clark medal, awarded to the nation's most promising economist under 40 by the American Economic Association.
The Wall Street Journal
By Michael Corkery
April 25, 2009
California's hard-hit home builders say they're pouring more foundations and hiring more workers this spring, partly because of a state tax credit of as much as $10,000 for buyers of new homes.
YubaNet.com
By McKinsey & Company
April 23, 2009
McKinsey's report, The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America's Schools, examines the dimensions and economic impact of the education achievement gap.
Moberly Monitor-Index (Missouri)
April 23, 2009
Wendy Orbin of Moberly completed the not-for-profit North East Community Action Corporation (NECAC) Missourians Building Asset (MBA) program April 8 and received a check for $6,000. The check was the result of Orbin's over two-year effort in practicing saving money, receiving an economic education and in building assets.
The Wall Street Journal
By Jilian Mincer and Shelly Banjo
April 24, 2009
Your insurance company may give you a break if you go green.
USA TODAY
By Haya El Nasser
April 23, 2009
The housing crisis has dramatically eroded Americans' ability to move, driving the custom of relocating for better opportunities to its lowest level since the Census Bureau began tracking it in 1948, data released Wednesday show.
The University of Vermont News
By John C. Reidel
April 22, 2009
Helping communities help themselves is the foundation of research conducted by students in a course led by Dan Baker, a professor in the Community Development and Applied Economics program. Here, two students go door to door as part of Baker's Mobile Home Project.
The Wall Street Journal
By Jane J. Kim
April 23, 2009
The economic downturn is highlighting some serious flaws in 529 college-savings plans, according to a new report that selects the best and worst plans.
The Wall Street Journal
By Shelly Banjo
April 23, 2009
With fewer donations and declining investments, nonprofits are thinking creatively about cutting costs and raising revenue
Let's lower the costs of being poor
By Jeff Gerritt
April 21, 2009
It costs plenty to be poor. If you don't believe it, go to the hood, where it's easier to buy a 40-ounce beer than a bunch of bananas and the only convenient shopping center is the liquor and lottery store. Check out the food prices, like $5 for a box of cereal. And don't get me going on urban insurance rates, which run thousands of dollars a year, even for a hoopty.
Mayor Bloomberg Announces Major Progress for New York City Anti-Poverty Strategy Under Center for Economic Opportunity
April 21, 2009 Tuesday
The following information was released by the office of the mayor of New York:
Mayor Delivers Speech at the Center for American Progress and Meets with White House Officials to Advocate for a Federal Urban Innovation Fund to Fight Poverty Based on New York City Model
Family Charities Shift Assets to Donor Funds
Givers Gain Cost, Tax Benefits But Sacrifice Some Control; Leaving Paperwork to Others
By Mike Spector
April 22, 2009
Robert Morris started his own private foundation in the early 1990s to funnel money to private schools, churches and hospitals. But as the years went on, running it became a hassle.
The Wall Street Journal
By Ianthe Jeanne Dugan
April 20, 2009
The U.S. unemployment system is an uneven field of haves, have-nots and borderline cases, all found among the laid-off workers of a Maine company that makes wood products such as rolling pins and levers for reclining chairs.
Buffalo News (New York)
By Jonathan D. Epstein
April 19, 2009
Soe Than has set his sights on owning his first home and settling down. But he's not your average first-time homebuyer in Buffalo.
Business Wire
Awards $10 Million to Help First-Time Homebuyers
April 20, 2009
The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco has awarded $10 million in matching grants to help lower-income families and individuals become first time homebuyers in Arizona, California, Nevada, and other areas served by the Bank's member financial institutions.
The New York Times
By Nancy Folbre
April 20, 2009
What a difference two letters can make.
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) is our country's only direct cash assistance program -- the family welfare program that conservatives most love to hate. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is the cash assistance program for failing banks put in place by the Bush administration and augmented by the Obama administration -- a financial welfare program that nobody fully understands.
The New York Times
By Peter Baker
April 21, 2009
When it came time for President Obama to pick a human rights chief, many around him thought Tom Malinowski was the obvious choice.
The New York Times
By Ron Lieber
April 14, 2009
Hey, at least you have 18 years to plan. Parents footing the bill for tuition this fall are facing down a perfect storm of ugliness. Unemployment is rising, while bonuses and commissions aren't what they once were for those who still have jobs. Others have no equity left in their homes thanks to declining housing prices. Those who do may have trouble finding a bank willing to hand out home equity loans that they can use to pay for college.
The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware)
By Emily Riley
April 18, 2009
Marcia Washington recently celebrated the purchase of a new town house, an investment she made with a little help from Congress.
The Washington Post
By Kathleen Parker
April 19, 2009
Racial and ethnic diversity is the key to happiness, success in the global marketplace and, not least, an interesting life.
The Register Guard (Eugene, Oregon)
By Sherri Buri McDonald
April 19, 2009
Some of the smallest of the small businesses in Oregon are starting up and taking root with a little help from eDev, a nonprofit microenterprise development program based in Eugene.
The Wall Street Journal
By Amy Schatz
April 19, 2009
President Barack Obama will soon turn his attention to high credit-card rates, giving a potential boost to congressional efforts to put limits on the industry.
The Washington Post
By Michael A. Fletcher
April 17, 2009
Vice President Biden today convened a meeting of the Middle Class Task Force, where he highlighted for an audience of students, parents and educators the Obama administration's initiatives aimed at making college more affordable.
Chillicothe Gazette
April 17, 2009
Some projects in southern Ohio have been approved for financing through the Housing Investment Fund of the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.
The Spokesman-Review
By Darryl Reber and Cindy Algeo
April 17, 2009
Gail Smith was frustrated that she could only afford to live in substandard housing. Gail desperately wanted to be a better provider and mom to her two children. Every week she called Spokane Catholic Charities' Summit View Apartments to see if they had a place for her.
USA TODAY
By Sue Kirchhoff
April 16, 2009
The Community First Fund has spent 17 years proving that lending to poor people is good business. It may soon get millions of dollars in fresh capital to help press its case.
San Jose Mercury News
By Mike Cassidy
April 16, 2009
With the economy crashing down around us, and bailout billions being handed out like cocktails at a casino, talk about the prudence of squirreling away a dollar here or there might seem mundane.
The New York Times
By Bob Driehaus
April 15, 2009
An Ohio law intended to cap interest rates on payday loans at 28 percent has been thwarted by lenders who have found ways to charge up to 680 percent interest, according to lawmakers who are preparing a second round of legislation.
The Wall Street Journal
By Kelly Spors
April 15, 2009
Kelly Spors answers questions from readers about entrepreneurship
Q: I'm hearing a lot about energy-related tax incentives for homeowners in the stimulus package. Can you tell me what's available for small businesses?
The Wall Street Journal
By Jonathan Weisman and John D. McKinnon
April 16, 2009
President Barack Obama used Wednesday's tax-filing deadline to promise a simplification of the "monstrous tax code." One proposal under White House consideration is a plan to free as many as 40% of U.S. taxpayers from having to file returns.
The Washington Post
By Lori Montgomery
April 16, 2009
As thousands of anti-tax protesters rallied across the nation yesterday and the president promised tax cuts for most, new data showed that the federal income tax burden is already hovering near its lowest level in three decades for all but the wealthiest Americans.
TIME
By Nancy Gibbs
April 15, 2009
Sometimes we change because we want to: lose weight, go vegan, find God, get sober. But sometimes we change because we have no choice, and since this violates our manifest destiny to do as we please, it may take a while before we notice that those are often the changes we need to make most. We ran a good long road test of the premise that more is better: we built houses that could hold all our stuff but were too big to heat; we bought cars that could ferry a soccer team but were too big to park; we thought we were embracing the simple life by squeezing in a yoga class between working and shopping and took an extra job to pay for it all.
The Washington Post
By Frank Ahrens
April 15, 2009
American minorities need to "strengthen their financial literacy," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told students and faculty at Atlanta's historically black Morehouse College yesterday.
The New York Times
By Sam Dillon
April 15, 2009
President Obama and his team have alternated praise for the goals of President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind law with criticism of its weaknesses, all the while keeping their own plans for the law a bit of a mystery.
The Wall Street Journal
By Sue Shellenbarger
April 15, 2009
Lexie Oliver, 16, has been trying for weeks to get a summer job, to earn spending money and to feel productive. But the search has proven "really difficult," says the Gainesville, Fla., high-school sophomore.
The Boston Globe
By Beth Healy
April 15, 2009
Calling itself and other minority-owned banks a ``rare beacon of hope'' in their neighborhoods, last fall made an emotional plea to the US Treasury for help with millions of dollars in soured investments.
The Daily News of Los Angeles
April 14, 2009
As California's housing prices neared their peak in 2006, nearly 75 percent of the typical family's net worth was tied up in its home, said a study released Friday.
Washington Independent
By Mike Lillis
April 13, 2009
As Washington policymakers screamed bloody murder last month over bonus payments for a few hundred AIG (NYSE:AIG) employees, another much larger scandal flew virtually unnoticed on Capitol Hill: The divide between the wealth of blacks and whites " already gaping " grew again. Now, as Congress prepares to consider a series of consumer-friendly finance reforms, some minority advocates, researchers and lawmakers are pointing to that startling trend as another reason the reforms are urgently needed.
KOAM-TV (Missouri)
By Andrew Housser
April 14, 2009
The stock market plummeted in 2008, and many of the nation's retirement investments fell dramatically. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), the average 401(k) account balance fell nearly 20 percent for those closest to retirement, workers over age 55.
The Washington Post
By Amit R. Paley
April 14, 2009
With the Obama administration proposing to overhaul the programs a majority of American students use to finance their college education, the student loan industry is fighting back.
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
By Ronette King
April 12, 2009
This might sound like a crazy idea, considering all that is going on in the financial world, but here goes: 2009 is a good time to consider buying a house.
The Star-Ledger (New Jersey)
Editorial
April 11, 2009
Several local nonprofit groups, including HANDS and Newark Now, are offering help for people suffering during the recession.
The New York Times
By Edward L. Glaeser
April 14, 2009
Edward L. Glaeser is an economics professor at Harvard.
A number of recent newspaper stories have suggested that this recession is taking a surprisingly heavy toll among more formerly successful Americans. The appeal of these stories is obvious. After all, reversals of fortune among educated elites have a nice counterintuitive ring to them, and well-educated readers find stories about people like themselves far more interesting than more tales of suffering migrant farm workers. After all, John Steinbeck already covered that.
Eight Cities Selected to Promote Financial Stability Through Bank On Cities Campaign
April 12, 2009
WASHINGTON, April 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At a time when local economies are struggling and many families are finding it difficult to make ends meet, the National League of Cities' (NLC) Institute for Youth, Education and Families (YEF Institute) has selected eight cities to participate in itsBank On Cities Campaign.The Campaign assists cities in helping residents build and protect assets by promoting connections to the financial mainstream and helping them avoid predatory fringe financial services.
As our financial system crumbles, financial advocates say we need to learn to do the math
By Nicole Garrison-Sprenger
April 11, 2009
Howard Quinlan isn't afraid to talk to his kids about money.
Former residents of Ryder Park buy site of their own
By Brian McCread
April 11, 2009
Apr. 11--MILFORD -- It's official.
Eleven years after being evicted from their mobile home park on Boston Post Road, former Ryder Park residents ensured they can never be kicked out again.
Economic View: Restore Order and Win a Financial War
By Alan Blinder
April 12, 2009
MANY Americans are bewildered, aggrieved and even angry about the financial shenanigans that led to the current mess -- and about the seemingly unending stream of government bailouts. They should be.
States Slashing Social Programs For Vulnerable
By Erik Eckholm
April 12, 2009
Battered by the recession and the deepest and most widespread budget deficits in several decades, a large majority of states are slicing into their social safety nets -- often crippling preventive efforts that officials say would save money over time.
Capital One Financial Corporation Press Release
Capital One and Consumer Action Grants Help Make Communities MoneyWi$e
Capital One Financial Corporation
3/31/09
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) and national consumer advocacy group Consumer Action announced that their joint MoneyWi$e financial literacy program will award 18 stipends totaling $53,000 to community groups to help support and supplement local financial literacy programs in several states.
Majority of Young Adults Care More About Financial Fitness, Than Physical Fitness, According to Schwab Survey
By Charles Schwab Corporation
3/31/09
The majority (52 percent) of young adults between the ages of 23 and 28 consider making better choices about managing money the single most important issue for individual Americans to act on today, outweighing the need to strengthen family relationships (18 percent), protect the environment (11 percent) and improve personal nutrition and health (9 percent). Moreover, almost two-thirds of young adults (64 percent) say financial fitness is more important than physical fitness, and the majority (51 percent) believe that financial education in school, grades K-12, is more important than both physical education (31 percent) and sex education (18 percent) combined. These are among the key findings of the latest annual survey on the topic of families and money released by Charles Schwab (see also Charles Schwab Corporation).
In down economy, trailer parks are given second glance
By Lisa Rose
April 05, 2009
Driving east though Lodi on Route 46, New York is visible across the Hudson, a swath of buildings that gleam like Emerald City.
The Boston Globe
Good News from the Tax Man
Boston Globe editorial
4/10/09
Of all the government plans aimed at protecting lower-income citizens from the worst recession in decades, perhaps the simplest and most direct was created during the Ford administration: the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Forbes.com
By Maurna Desmond
April 9, 2009
New HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan is a ''malignant optimist.'' Good thing.
Shaun Donovan has the worst job in Washington and doesn't seem to know it.
The New York Times
By Eric Dash
April 9, 2009
For the last eight weeks, nearly 200 federal examiners have labored inside some of the nation's biggest banks to determine how those institutions would hold up if the recession deepened.
The Washington Post
By Brady Dennis
April 9, 2009
The chairman of the House Committee on Small Business yesterday urged the new head of the Small Business Administration to try to jump-start lending by using provisions in the economic stimulus bill that so far have sat idle.
The Washington Post
By Michelle Singletary
April 9, 2009
In an effort to push people away from foreclosure scams, the Federal Reserve has commissioned a 30-second commercial to be shown in the nine states with the highest incidence of home foreclosures.
AsianWeek
By Lian Qiu
April 7, 2009
Students in Ludon Lee's business and technology program, which teaches youth entrepreneurship by using technology.
Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York)
By Jeffrey G. Aaron
April 5, 2009
Sandra Trimble always wanted her own hair salon, and with help from the Small Business Administration's Microloan program, she is now cutting and styling in San's Beauty Solutions in Elmira.
San Francisco Chronicle
By Anne Stuhldreher
April 8, 2009
A whopping 44 percent of Mission District residents don't have low credit scores. They have NO credit scores. Without them, the only loans they can get are the loans no one wants - those with pricey interest rates and harsh terms. And if doors to affordable credit seemed closed to these consumers before the financial meltdown, they're slammed shut now.
CQ Congressional
By Deborah M. Markley
April 2, 2009
Statement of Deborah M. Markley Managing Director and Director of Research, RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship
The Wall Street Journal
By Jilian Mincer
April 7, 2009
It's more important than ever for parents to talk with their children about money. In fact, for many families, it's a topic that can't be avoided.
The Seattle Times
By Jon Talton
April 6, 2009
Top of the News: The emperor's new clothes failed to charm fashion critic, er, banking analyst Mike Mayo, formerly of Deutsche Bank and now with CLSA. This morning he issued a report saying the banking crisis is far from over and loan losses will exceed those of the Great Depression.
American Banker
By Will Hernandez
April 7, 2009
Denarii Payments Inc. of Atlanta has developed a mobile phone-linked prepaid product called SizzleMoney that is initially targeting Hispanic immigrants.
The Associated Press
By Alan Zibel and Christopher S. Rugaber
April 7, 2009
Federal and state officials are cracking down on mortgage modification scams, accusing "criminal actors" of preying on desperate borrowers caught up in the nation's housing crisis.
The Washington Post
By Michelle Singletary
April 5, 2009
Beware parents, your children are under attack.
The predators -- advertisers, credit card issuers, retailers -- are waging a war, and if they can get to your child early enough, they can do a lot of harm.
The New York Times
By David M. Herszenhorn
April 4, 2009
Among the audacious proposals in President Obama's budget was a plan to save more than $9.7 billion over a decade by putting strict limits on farm subsidies that are disbursed regardless of market conditions or even whether the land is actively farmed.
The Wall Street Journal
By Kelly Evans
April 6, 2009
With their jobs less secure, their houses worth less and their stock-market portfolios shrunken, Americans are saving more now. But will they still be thrifty when the recession ends?
The Wall Street Journal
By Mary Anastasia O'Grady
April 6, 2009
We have sunk to such a depth that the restatement of the obvious has become the first duty of intelligent men.
-- George Orwell, 1939
The Washington Post
By Renae Merle
April 4, 2009
Mortgage lenders have boosted their foreclosure-prevention efforts, but homeowners nonetheless are increasingly falling into delinquency even after receiving help on their loans, according to a government report issued yesterday.
Los Angeles Times
By Nathan Olivarez-Giles
April 3, 2009
A local Latino business group launched Thursday, calling itself "the go-to organization" for companies wanting to tap into the Obama administration's stimulus package.
The Washington Post
By Anthony Faiola and Mary Jordan
April 3, 2009
The $1.1 trillion pledged by world leaders to combat the worst economic crisis since World War II effectively amounts to a rescue package for both poor and rich countries, potentially including the United States.
The New York Times
By Damien Cave
April 3, 2009
While her friends ran up credit card debt and bought show homes beyond their means, Taina Goldman saved for a down payment. She moved back in with her parents, sharing a room with her young daughter, ate in and worked two jobs.
BusinessWeek
By Christopher Palmeri, Mara Der Hovanesian and Prashant Gopal
April 3, 2009
Last year the Cape Coral area of Florida had the highest foreclosure rate in the country. Banks moved to seize more than 1 in 10 residential properties in the Gulf Coast community of 165,000. The reverberations are still being felt. Newly built McMansions sit vacant, dusty monuments to the great real estate boom. Smaller homes have been ransacked. Apartment buildings have been boarded up. Former owners are stripping whatever items they can from their homes before the locks get changed, says Kirsten Prizzi, a local real estate agent at AC Global Realty. "Knobs, appliances. Someone was selling windows."
The Washington Post
By Lori Montgomery
April 3, 2009
Congressional Democrats overwhelmingly embraced President Obama's ambitious and expensive agenda for the nation yesterday, endorsing a $3.5 trillion spending plan that sets the stage for the president to pursue his most far-reaching priorities.
Christian Science Monitor
By Jamie Zimmerman
April 1, 2009
This week's G-20 summit is essentially an echo chamber for the world's wealthy to talk macrofinance. The world economy might rebound more quickly if they listen to what the poor have to say about microfinance.
The Wall Street Journal
By Robert Toshmo
April 2, 2009
The U.S. Department of Education will require states to provide data demonstrating progress on student achievement and teacher quality in order to qualify for a substantial portion of the $100 billion of federal stimulus money the department will distribute in coming months.
The Washington Post
By Jay Matthews
March 29, 2009
Like most principals, Dave Levin believed that parental support was essential to a school's success. So when many families pulled their kids out of his struggling South Bronx charter school after its first year, he thought he was in trouble.
The New York Times
By David E. Sanger and Mark Landler
April 2, 2009
In his first full day in Europe, President Obama conceded Wednesday that the United States had "some accounting to do" for failures that led to the world's financial crisis, even as he tried to brush past heavy pressure from Germany and France to accept global financial regulations that could reach well inside American borders.
The Wall Street Journal
By Miriam Jordan
April 1, 2009
For years, interpreter Yu Ching ended many calls by saying, "Congratulations. You have been approved," as she helped credit-card companies and mortgage lenders reach a growing share of the Mandarin-speaking market in the U.S.
WTOL 11 (Toledo, Ohio)
By Lauren Lowrey
March 31, 2009
Until a year-and-a-half ago, Sandy Hendrix had no credit and barely any belongings. Now she's giving a tour of the first home she has ever owned.
Santa Barbara Independent
By Joey Kay Wauters
March 31, 2009
Soon I reluctantly will leave Santa Barbara, but I cannot depart without revealing my secret to buying low-cost luxury housing in this pricey paradise. If any newcomers to our area read this, maybe they won't waste years looking for a habitable home on a middle-class budget as my husband and I did.
Forbes.com
By John Zogby
April 1, 2009
It's no secret that Americans have become addicted to credit in order to maintain an artificially high standard of living. According to a recent CardTrak.com survey of 55,000 consumers, 13% of Americans have credit card balances of more than $25,000.
