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We'll help identify the areas you're getting beaten-up the worst, and how to stop the abuse!
Hidden fees and surcharges that drive up the cost of everything from phone service to concert tickets are spreading like wildfire, creating a nuisance for U.S. consumers and making truth in billing little more than a hollow promise.
Some hotels impose automatic towel, bellman and grounds-keeping fees. Airlines charge up to $25 to check an extra bag. Want to terminate your cell phone service? Don't be surprised by a $200 cancellation fee. Knowing how and where they're sticking it to you is the first step in stopping this B.S. Read more here...
Some people think this is the direction our currency is heading: The dollar slid to a record low beyond $1.50 versus the euro on  Wednesday as weak U.S. data reinforced the view that U.S. interest rates have further to fall, driving up oil and gold. Gold futures surged to their highest level ever Wednesday after the dollar plunged to a record low and crude oil spiked above $102 -- inflationary signs that fed buying of precious metals as alternative investments. Wanna know more? Here ya go...
Does buying gold as a hedge make sense? It's worth reading about at least...
Financially stretched workers are increasingly breaking into their retirement accounts to get cash: Over the past couple of decades, the 401(k)  account and its brethren have become the main retirement savings vehicles for millions of Americans. But as the credit crunch and declining home values limit many types of consumer loans, a growing number of workers are tapping into these accounts as if they were piggy banks.
It's a sucker's game...read why it's becoming the norm.
The Dallas FBI office is warning of the latest Nigerian scam, this time using their letterhead! Those whacky Nigerian scamps  are at it again, and this time they're using a new tactic to trick folks out of their money: Our pals at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Or at least the FBI's official-looking letterhead, featuring the Dallas bureau's address on One Justice Way in downtown Dallas. The real FBI warned Internet surfers Wednesday to be on the watch for slick-looking letters and e-mails with FBI letterhead.
What a buncha dopes...read the rest of the story here.
More evidence that the housing bubble is bursting everywhere! In many parts of the U.S., foreclosures top all housing sales: Mortgage foreclosure notices are going out so fast that in some states the number of new foreclosure proceedings each month is greater than the  number of homes sold that month.
Worries about foreclosures have led to a variety of legislative proposals in Washington and in state capitals, as well as to a voluntary plan organized by the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., that seeks to delay foreclosures while homeowners and lenders try to work out agreements. But so far, no consensus has emerged on legislation, and the volume of foreclosure notices continues to rise.
Read the rest of the story here...
New antidepressant about to be released just in time as the real estate crisis begins to accelerate! Faced with the looming loss of patent protection for its top-selling drug, the antidepressant Effexor XR, Wyeth received federal approval on Friday for a successor drug, Pristiq,  which the company hopes will also become a blockbuster.
Pristiq is similar to Effexor, which faces competition soon: With the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Pristiq, Wyeth said the company planned a big sales effort to introduce the product to psychiatrists and primary care doctors. Wyeth needs a product that will replace some of the revenue expected to be lost to generic competitors of Effexor XR, whose patent protection expires in 2010. Sales of Effexor XR last year were $3.8 billion.
Read the rest of the story before you call your shrink...
Confused about the upcoming economic stimulus-motivated rebate check you’re hoping to receive in the mail? Or course  you are...especially when the IRS is ever involved!
Get in line: You’re not alone…so check out the rules of the game so you’ll be able to help save the U.S. economy this Spring.
It's new rules from the world of loss modeling: As home prices plummet, growing numbers of borrowers are winding up owing more on their homes than the homes are worth, raising concerns that a new group of homeowners -- those who can afford to pay their mor tgages but have decided not to -- are starting to walk away from their homes.
Typically borrowers who turn in their keys are those who have run into financial trouble or need to relocate but can't sell their homes. But mortgage-industry executives and consumer counselors say they are starting to see people who aren't in dire financial straits defaulting on their mortgages because they don't want to pay for properties that have negative equity.
If you're facing a similar situation, don't feel bad. You're not alone...read more...
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