In 2009, the global economy appeared to be recovering quite nicely from the ’08 Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis.  By March of 2009, the recession seemed to bottom out—equity markets began to rally, unemployment began to fall, and economic growth resumed.  It appeared that the global economy had weathered the worst of the Crisis.  Investor sentiment was [...]

Recessions are a normal and even essential part of our modern economic system.  They tend to occur every 5-7 years as a normal function of the business cycle, and they are believed to purge waste from the economic system.  But the recession that came out of the 2008 Global Credit Crisis has not been a [...]

The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dipped this week to 4.78%, the lowest levels we’ve seen since December 2009 and only slightly above that record low number of 4.71%.
The average rate on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage also dropped to 4.21%, which is the lowest 15-year fixed rate since the late 1980’s.
The [...]

BP has been working on something called a ‘Top Kill’ technique in order to try and stop the more than 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) per day of oil that has been spewing out of the open well left when the Deepwater Horizon exploded more than a month ago.
The significance of the ‘Top Kill’ technique is [...]

I’ve been hearing quite a bit lately about the recovering U.S. economy, but questions still remain as to whether the changes we’re seeing are only short term fluctuations or actual improvements in the economy.
According to a recent article on MarketWatch, James O’Sullivan, an economist with MF Global, apparently feels that we’re seeing real economic recovery [...]

I’m a regular listener of This American Life, a weekly radio show hosted by Ira Hayes from Public Radio International. Each week they offer incredibly interesting stories about…well…pretty much anything. The thing that ties all their stories together is their uncanny ability to draw you into the situation and make you understand what’s happening; even [...]

The senate on Thursday confirmed Ben Bernanke for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. The vote came after quite a bit of fuss about “bank bailouts” and one attempted filibuster and represents the closest confirmation vote ever for a Federal Reserve chairman.
Americans are upset about what they feel was a bailout of [...]

You’ve heard the news. In fact, you may be living the news. Since the summer of 2008, almost everybody who owns a home has seen its value dramatically decrease. Some have lost more than half of the value of their home and because of that, the nation and the world has seen the overall economy [...]

Thinking back to my childhood, one of my not-so-fond memories was the one that many kids have. It was my first bike. The training wheels were nice but it became time to man-up, as my father said, and go to two wheels. My father and I made plans. “This coming Saturday, we’re taking them off”, [...]

“It’s a traders market”
It may be the new normal. The advent of computer or electronic based trading has allowed for millions of stock transactions per second and with the 24 hour fast paced news cycle available to us in many different formats, the stock market has changed in two important ways.

If you watch the financial news channels or read the business section of your local newspaper, you may have noticed something that is important to you as you make financial decisions: nearly all of the business news that you will read, view, or hear is sensationalized.
Don’t take my word for it. As I write this [...]

What is the meaning of discipline? You can look it up in the dictionary, you can ask twenty of your best friends, and you can find it on every school age athlete that wears his football t-shirt from last year. The word is thrown around everywhere you go and, at least in my experience, we [...]

I remember my first computer. My father brought it home from work. It was from some company named IBM. I had never heard of them and for that matter, I had never heard of a home computer. I saw pictures of computers that were the size of small homes and I was excited at the [...]

It’s about that time of year again. A fresh crop of high school graduates and their parents are heading to the discount stores to buy all of the college dorm room essentials. Food, bedding, electronics, office supplies, and a retro looking lava lamp are only a few of the must-haves for every college student.
Maybe you’re [...]

I love a good ball game. Here in town, we have a local baseball team. It’s not a professional team but the games are always sold out. Even season tickets aren’t available. There’s a waiting list that reportedly stretches years in to the future, so I’m told.
Still, I can normally get my hands on a [...]

Millions of people around the world have felt the pinch of the economic downturn. As unemployment rises, more and more people find themselves without a job. Many of those people find also their financial health quickly deteriorating.
This economic cycle has played out many times throughout our history. Unfortunately, the economy often improves faster than the [...]

If you’ve ever signed for a mortgage, or any other loan for that matter, you may be familiar with the 3-Day Right of Rescission. It’s a right granted to all borrowers to change their minds after the loan papers have been signed. There are limits of course, but the goal is to give the borrower [...]

The refinance boom of the early 2000’s saw the rise of a number of non-conventional mortgage options for homeowners. For most borrowers these mortgages are not the best option. However, depending on your situation, you may benefit from one of these non-conventional loans. One of the simplest, but most often misunderstood is the balloon mortgage.

Below are links to some of the major laws that govern financial institutions and protect individuals in their financial dealings. You can find more information at http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/complaints/complain2.htm.

The following is consumer information provided by the Federal Reserve Board at http://www.federalreserve.gov/consumers.htm, or by clicking the specific topic links below: