Consumer spending rose in March by the largest amount in five months but the gains were financed out of savings, which fell to the lowest level in 18 months. A slight rise in incomes added to concerns that the recovery could weaken unless income growth increases more rapidly. The Commerce Department...
Citigroup earns $4.4B in 1Q as trading reboundsCitigroup Inc. provided more evidence that the nation’s big banks may have turned a corner. The bank reported a surprise first-quarter profit Monday as trading revenue offset losses from failed loans. Citigroup said it earned $4.4 billion after payment of preferred dividends, compared with a loss...
Ex-Fannie Mae executives to face special panelTwo former top executives of Fannie Mae will face questions Friday about the government-created mortgage titan’s role in fomenting the housing boom and its eventual bust. Daniel Mudd, Fannie Mae’s chief executive during the housing boom, and Robert Levin, the company’s former chief...
Woman faces $555,000 in student debtWhen Michelle Bisutti, a 41-year-old family practitioner in Columbus, Ohio, finished medical school in 2003, her student-loan debt amounted to roughly $250,000. Since then, it has ballooned to $555,000. It is the result of her deferring loan payments while she completed her residency, default charges...
Tax credits, medicare fix in Senate jobs billHighway funding and tax breaks for hiring workers figure prominently in a jobs-creation bill that Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate hope will attract rare joint support in an election year, lawmakers said on Tuesday. The bill, likely to be less costly and more bipartisan than the one passed...
More last-minute holiday shopping this yearHoliday shoppers are procrastinating this season more than they have in the past five years, and are looking for discounts as Christmas nears, according to a retail group’s survey released Wednesday. On average, people had checked off 46.7% of their holiday shopping lists by the second week of...
Mortgage demand falls despite lower ratesU.S. mortgage applications fell last week despite the lowest loan rates in four months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday, in another sign that housing will likely recover slowly from its three-year plunge. Home loan applications fell a seasonally adjusted 2.8 percent in the September...
Consumer confidence unexpectedly falls in SeptemberU.S. consumer confidence fell unexpectedly in September as the worst job prospects in 26 years fueled worries over personal finances, according to a report released on Tuesday. The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 53.1 in September from a revised 54.5...
Madoff’s NY beach home sells for more than $8.75MIt boasts ocean views, an infamous former owner — and now a buyer willing to pay more than $8.75 million. An unidentified buyer or buyers snapped up Bernard Madoff’s Long Island beach house within days after the U.S. Marshals Service put the seized property up for sale, a spokeswoman for the...
Washington, D.C. favorite area for wealthy youngWashington, D.C. has become the favorite area for wealthy young adults, with the nation’s highest percentage of 25-34 year-olds making more than $100,000 a year, according to a new analysis. Sixteen of the top 50 counties in the United States with the highest share of wealthy young people are in...