Personal Finance - baltimoresun.com

FTC says it settled with debt collector that posed as Ed McMahon

Eileen Ambrose — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:43:00 GMT

The Federal Trade Commission has been cracking down on businesses that try to collect debts from consumers that they don’t even owe.

New Md. law aims to halt financial abuse of the elderly

By Eileen Ambrose , The Baltimore Sun — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:23:00 GMT

Financial institutions will be required to report suspicions of fraud against older Marylanders

Maryland banks and credit unions are likely to be among the first to notice that an elderly customer is being financially exploited by a con artist or an unscrupulous relative.

Hot weather could offset winter energy savings

By Scott Dance — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:26:00 GMT

The mild winter meant a dearth of heating degree days. Early in the cooling degree days season, the warm trend is having the opposite result.

FTI Consulting's stock falls on first-quarter earnings miss

By Jamie Smith Hopkins , The Baltimore Sun — Wed, 09 May 2012 22:59:00 GMT

Baltimore business services company produces 18 cents a share less than expected

FTI Consulting Inc.'s stock price hit a 12-month low Wednesday after the business services company fell short of financial analysts' expectations for first-quarter earnings.

T. Rowe Price managers met with Facebook execs

By Hanah Cho , The Baltimore Sun — Wed, 09 May 2012 22:13:00 GMT

Facebook is on roadshow in advance of May 19 IPO

As part of its public offering roadshow, Facebook executives met with managers of T. Rowe Price, whose stake in the social media company could be worth as much as $637 million in the public market.

Walmart beats Target in online shopping satisfaction

By Lorraine Mirabella — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:43:00 GMT

Online shoppers prefer Walmart to Target.

Home renovations are a lot of work — and require due diligence

By Eileen Ambrose , The Baltimore Sun — Mon, 07 May 2012 23:54:00 GMT

What consumers should do before hiring a builder or contractor

About a year ago, Matt Venditto hired a builder to construct a house in Westminster. It wasn't long before buyer's remorse set in.

Banks and credit unions to offer cash prizes under new law

By Eileen Ambrose , The Baltimore Sun — Sun, 06 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Another effort to get us to save

The thrill of potentially winning big bucks gets people to spend millions of dollars regularly on lottery tickets. Can this same concept excite Marylanders to become better savers?

Students, need a summer job? Here's help

Eileen Ambrose — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:04:00 GMT

The White House, Department of Labor and others have announced an update on a program to get companies, cities and federal agencies to commit to youths for the summer.

Consuming Interests: Best credit cards for graduates

Eileen Ambrose — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:00:00 GMT

CardHub.com, the credit card comparison site, gave these cards top marks for new college and high school graduates:

T. Rowe closes its high-yield bond funds to new investors

By Hanah Cho , The Baltimore Sun — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:21:00 GMT

Price's High Yield Fund and Institutional High Yield Fund affected

T. Rowe Price Group closed its high-yield bond funds to new investors as of Monday, the Baltimore money manager announced Tuesday.

New savings bonds earning a rate of 2.2 percent

Eileen Ambrose — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:54:00 GMT

The Bureau of Public Debt announced the new rates on savings bonds.

Consuming Interests: Thieves target the dead for ID theft

Eileen Ambrose — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:04:00 GMT

You can be dead and still be a victim in this world. A new report by ID Analytics find that thieves target the dead, using their Social Security numbers to get credit cards, cellphones and other services.

Regulators pressure life insurers to help beneficiaries collect their due

By Eileen Ambrose , The Baltimore Sun — Tue, 01 May 2012 00:13:00 GMT

Potentially $2 billion in benefits left to be recovered, regulator says

Regulators nationwide are pushing life insurers to do a better job of tracking when policyholders die and locating the beneficiaries — an effort that could reap billions of dollars for consumers.

State regulators take over two Maryland banks

By Hanah Cho , The Baltimore Sun — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:33:00 GMT

Bank of Eastern Shore in Cambridge and HarVest Bank in Gaithersburg are state's first bank failures since 2010

State banking regulators closed two Maryland banks Friday, the first two bank failures in the state since 2010.

Are men better with credit cards than women in Maryland?

Eileen Ambrose — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:00:00 GMT

Alas, sisters, a study by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation finds that men are better users of credit cards.

Susan Reimer: Student loan debt traps parents, too

Susan Reimer — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:20:00 GMT

Many are buying more college than they can afford

Just as parents and their high school seniors are about to sign those college acceptance letters, there is news that unless Congress acts by July 1, the interest rate on federal student loans will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.

Consuming Interests: Jobs with low unemployment rates

Eileen Ambrose — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:00:00 GMT

If you’re looking for job security, how about becoming a lawyer or financial analyst?

Without reforms, U.S. retirees to face dwindling funds

Rachelle Younglai and Glenn Somerville — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:28:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Aging baby boomers got some jolting news on Monday when the U.S. government said the Social Security retirement program is on track to go bankrupt three years earlier than expected if reforms are not made.

Consumers stand to make a few gains from legislative session

By Eileen Ambrose , The Baltimore Sun — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:14:00 GMT

Maryland set to become first state with tool to prevent children's identity theft

Let's turn to baseball to sum up the Maryland legislative session's impact on consumers: It had a few singles but no home runs.

Marylanders pay more taxes than the average American

Eileen Ambrose — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:00:00 GMT

Today — April 23 rd — is Tax Freedom Day for Marylanders, according to a survey by the Tax Foundation. That means we’ve earned enough money to pay this year’s federal, state and local taxes.

T. Rowe Price could restart its expansion plans next year

By Hanah Cho , The Baltimore Sun — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:18:00 GMT

Company might open two new buildings at Owings Mills campus

T. Rowe Price will likely occupy two new buildings at its Owings Mills campus next year, more than three years after the Baltimore money manager put its expansion plans on hold during the recession, the company's chief executive said Tuesday.

Local thrift officer accused in stock fraud by SEC

By Hanah Cho , The Baltimore Sun — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:05:47 GMT

Federal regulator alleges Baltimore man conducted 'naked' short selling worth billions of dollars

Federal securities regulators allege an executive at Eastern Savings Bank in Hunt Valley participated in a fraudulent short-selling scheme involving his personal brokerage firm, according to a complaint filed Monday.

Q+A: The "Buffett Rule," a minimum tax on the rich

Kim Dixon and Patrick Temple-West — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:04:03 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are laying a political trap for Republicans to be sprung on Monday when the U.S. Senate is slated to vote on the proposed "Buffett Rule," which would slap a minimum tax on the highest-income Americans.

Eileen Ambrose: New law allows entrepreneurs to sell securities via crowdfunding

By Eileen Ambrose , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 23:45:00 GMT

Consumer advocates fear crowdfleecing

Could crowdfunding work for entrepreneurs who need capital for their private startup and are willing to sell a stake in it to the masses? Congress seems to think so.