Personal Finance News

The stock market is heading lower in early trading, putting it on track for its first weekly loss in a month.

This week's turbulence in Tokyo markets exposes a key risk of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's all-in strategy to revive Japan's economy - if investor confidence falters, the government and the Bank of Japan may be left with few options to turn the tide.

Ally Financial Inc. has agreed to pay $2.1 billion as part of a settlement plan to resolve potential financial claims stemming from its mortgage division, Residential Capital LLC, which is in bankruptcy proceedings.

Mike Buckley has worked 10-hour days seven days a week to prepare his four beach properties for the summer rental season, but with Memorial Day approaching, he has a sinking feeling that many of his tenants are migrating south.

Total U.S. money market mutual fund assets rose $19.53 billion to $2.601 trillion for the week that ended Wednesday, according to the Investment Company Institute.

The run-up in stock prices this year could tempt even the most hands-off investor to wade into their 401 and make some changes.

RATES RISE: Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages rose this week to their highest levels since mid-March. Even with the gains, they remained close to historic lows.

Former World War II Army squad leader and Medal of Honor recipient Vernon McGarity has died at age 91, a funeral home said Thursday.

U.S. sales of new homes rose in April and nearly matched the fastest pace in five years, driving the median price to a record high.

Remember that Obama campaign ad featuring Mitt Romney singing "America the Beautiful" to scenes of Caribbean islands where the GOP nominee had invested some of his considerable wealth? So do Republican senators who plan to question Commerce Secretary nominee Penny Pritzker about her own off-shore assets at a confirmation hearing today, a ... (more)

New home sales edged slightly higher once again in April as the housing market continues to give a lift to the U.S. economy.

Average rates on fixed mortgage rose for the third straight week, hitting their highest levels since mid-March. Still, mortgage rates remained close to historic lows, a trend that should help sustain the housing recovery.

Seven million college students are on track to see their federal loan rates double this year unless Congress acts ahead of a July 1 deadline when subsidized Stafford loan rates will increase from 3.4% to 6.8%. The U.S. House will vote Thursday on a Republican plan to head off the increase inspired by an unlikely source: President Obama.

* A board member at Italy's troubled lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena is being investigated over allegations of breaking insider trading rules and has been suspended, a judicial source said on Wednesday.

While most people realize that their personal creditworthiness is tracked on something called a credit report, few know much about it or their scoring system.

Canada's housing market is slowing dramatically in terms of both sales and construction, dragging down economic growth and putting some 150,000 jobs at risk in coming years, a mortgage industry association warns in its spring report.

Wynn Resorts kept a suite open all year at its tony Las Vegas hotel and casino for founder and CEO Steve Wynn, at a cost of nearly $452,000. Former IBM CEO Samuel Palmisano was guaranteed an administrative assistant and furnished office for life as a retirement gift -- plus a $1 million office renovation.

Stocks fell in afternoon trading Wednesday on news that several Federal Reserve policymakers in a meeting earlier this month favored cutting back on stimulus programs as early as June if the economy continued to improve.

Mark O'Donnell usually books his family's summer vacation in January. For the last dozen years, that meant reserving an oceanfront house for a week in Long Beach Island, a quiet cluster of beach towns on the New Jersey shore.

For a talented, creative few, there's David Letterman. For most, there's a labyrinth of paperwork, hard decisions and painful sacrifices that could have dramatic repercussions on their financial health decades from now.