Monthly Archives: October 2009

The Obama administration on Thursday lashed out at a prominent critic of its Cash for Clunkers program, arguing that the popular trade-in initiative helped give the auto industry and the economy a much needed boost in the past few months.

The Labor Department fined oil giant BP a record $87 million for failing to fix safety problems at a refinery in Texas.

Question: I’m 36 and have saved only about $20,000 for retirement. How much per year should I try to save for the next 30 years to assure I’ll have a reasonable retirement? –Beth, Grove City, Ohio

Last autumn I took time off to go back to school. The timing turned out to be just right: My American economic history course at the University of California at Berkeley got to the Great Depression in early October, around … Continue reading →

As credit card companies continue raising rates and fees, lawmakers are considering bills to stop such hikes until new credit card laws take effect.

Nearly half of U.S. workers who left their job last year cashed out their 401(k) accounts, according to a study released Wednesday, despite ongoing efforts to dissuade Americans from doing so.

The economy is forecast to have grown by the largest amount since summer 2007, but there are signs that things are still getting worse.

U.S. stocks looked set for a positive open Thursday, although sentiment could change after the reading on gross domestic product growth due out later in the morning.

A total of 690,000 new vehicles were sold under the Cash for Clunkers program last summer, but only 125,000 of those were vehicles that would not have been sold anyway, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the automotive Web … Continue reading →

Nearly half of U.S. workers who left their job last year cashed out their 401(k) accounts, according to a study released Wednesday, despite ongoing efforts to dissuade Americans from doing so.