Topic: Credit Services and Intermediation
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Secured credit cards: Get beyond these Top 5 myths
Often derided as tools for consumers with horrible credit, secured credit cards can be a great credit-building tool. Here are five myths debunked to help you understand how to use secured credit cards to maximum advantage.
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Credit card offers: five mysteries explained
Credit-card companies often say you are "pre-approved," "pre-screened," "pre-qualified," or "pre-selected" to receive their credit card. Here is a guide to sorting through credit-card offers:
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Three best ways (and three worst ways) to finance holiday shopping
Consumers tend to rack up a lot of credit card debt during the fourth quarter, largely due to holiday expenses. This year, by one estimate, the average holiday shopper is on track to spend around $800. For many, that means financing, which remains a double-edged sword despite historically low interest rates and an array of new consumer protections. It can either save you a lot of money in interest and fees or trip you up with caveats buried in fine print that drastically inflate your expenses. Here are three of the best and three of the worst financing offers for holiday shoppers in 2012:
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The Paul Ryan budget: your guide to what's in it
Rep. Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's running mate, is best known for drawing up a series of spending-and-tax plans meant to challenge the Obama administration's policies from the right. But it's been some time since his latest budget, which Mr. Ryan terms a "path to prosperity," was released. Here's a primer on what's in it.
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Top 10 cities where house prices are rising
House prices continue to fall nationwide, but here and there they’ve begun to turn up as Americans return to the housing market. Which 10 metropolitan areas have seen the biggest increase in the past year? The winners, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), include a state capital, a furniture-making center, and a resort that was once America’s foreclosure capital. Can you guess who they are?
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The new deficiency market
As foreclosed home values plummet, lenders seek to recoup their losses through lawsuits
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Mortgage rates now lowest in 60 years
Mortgage rates for a fixed 30-year home loan average fall to 4.09 percent. But few homeowners taking advantage of historically low mortgage rates.
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Stocks fall as Europe's debt worries deepen
The Dow fell 110.96 points to 11,139.30 in its worst start to September since 2002
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Opinion: Payday lenders prey on the poor, costing Americans billions. Will Washington act?
The minimally regulated, fast growing payday lending industry strips Americans of billions annually. It's time for the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to implement regulations to curb predatory lending so that a $400 loan doesn't put a borrower thousands of dollars in debt.
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Faulty mortgage loans catch up with 17 big banks
Faulty mortgage loans were a major contributor to the recession and now a US regulator is suing 17 big banks for their role in those faulty loans.
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US sues biggest banks over risky mortgages
Government lawsuit claims 17 banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup, and JP Morgan, misrepresented the value of $196 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities when it sold them to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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Are higher house prices good or bad?
It is generally assumed that higher house prices are good and lower house prices are bad, but that isn't always the case
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Fannie Mae reports decrease in delinquent loans
The percentage of overall total serious single family delinquency was 4.08 percent in June 2011. Though in decline, single family delinquency remains at distressed levels.
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Steve Jobs: One of the greatest business leaders?
Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs saw the company through its infancy, its early tremors of doubt, and its wild bouts of success. Among his more significant lessons was this: Being best is more important than being first. How does Jobs, who passed away Oct. 5, 2011, stack up against America's great business leaders when tested by his own rule? Here's a look at how he compares with five of the greats:
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Fixed-rate mortgages edge up, but still low
Fixed-rate mortgages now average 4.22 percent for 30-year loan; 3.44 percent for 15-year loan. But fixed-rate mortgages still near 40-year lows.
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Bank of America stock surges on Buffett buy
Bank of America stock has been snapped up by Warren Buffett. News of his $5 billion investment sent Bank of America stock soaring.
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Loans: Delinquencies edge up on mortgages
Loans in process of foreclosure are on the wane, a good sign. But home loans where owners have missed a payment are on the rise.
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Credit rating: S&P is not the first to downgrade the US
Credit rating agencies, other than S&P, have downgraded the US already. One credit rating agency even rated the US just one notch above junk.
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Rating falls, markets plunge, critics rage. But tea party isn't blinking.
Tea party lawmakers say the S&P's downgrade of the US credit rating and the markets' convulsive reaction on Monday is merely confirmation that they had been right all along.
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Foreclosures in New York City near 2,000. Are banks keeping up the buildings?
Foreclosures come into the spotlight in New York after a fire at one of those foreclosures claims three victims. State senator says banks that own properties aren't maintaining them.
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US debt deal kicks spending problems down the ... cul-de-sac
Debt deal includes no meaningful spending reductions, which signals beginning of the end for US as the world's sole economic superpower.
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Banks bulldoze houses, despite millions being homeless
Bank of America and others plan to raze repossessed, vacant homes in some cities. Is demolition really an ethical solution?
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US debt downgrade is possible, not inevitable
Deven Sharma, president of Standard & Poor's, told a House subcommittee Wednesday that if lawmakers can work out a 'grand bargain' with $4 trillion in deficit cuts over the next decade, the US may yet keep its AAA rating.
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Debt ceiling crisis: another day without resolution as the clock ticks
The political dance over the US debt ceiling crisis continued Sunday with the possibility that top lawmakers could be summoned to the White House, although no meeting had been scheduled.
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Credit cards see more profits, less late payments
Credit cards in the US are being paid off in full more often this year, leading to healthy gains by the credit card companies.
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Top 5 credit cards for world travel
Is world travel on your horizon this year? Bringing the right credit card is as fundamental as packing the right wardrobe. While there are great benefits to using plastic abroad – such as travel assistance and fraud protection – the cards’ foreign transaction fees can eat into your travel budget. And traditional magnetic strip credit cards aren't universally accepted overseas anymore. Picking the right card for a foreign trip depends on the perks you’re looking for, the fees you’re willing to pay, and the kind of credit you have. Here are Credit Karma’s Top 5 credit cards for world travel:
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Stanley Cup Game 7: Is a ticket worth $3,000?
Stanley Cup Game 7 will be especially hard to see in person because tickets in Vancouver are in short supply. Instead of 2,500 tickets available for Game 6 in Boston, one outlet reports having only about 500 tickets for the decisive Stanley Cup Game 7.
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Fixed mortgage rates drop for 8th straight week
Fixed mortgage rates fall, but even so, the housing market isn't improving. Fixed mortgage rates for 30-year loans fell to 4.49 percent and the average rate for a 15-year loan fell to 3.68 percent.
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Tim Pawlenty's plan to revive the US economy: the 'Google Test'
Pawlenty offered a new spin on the classic spending-cuts idea: If Google can identify a private-sector provider of any good or service, the government should get out of that business. By invoking Google, he hopes to snatch media attention from the antics of Trump, Palin, and Weiner.
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EBay sues Google over stolen secrets, poached employees
EBay sues Google over mobile payment technology: PayPal's parent company, eBay, is suing Google after Google allegedly poached eBay executives in an effort to better understand PayPal's mobile payment strategy.
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