DailyFinance Wire
Sooner or later, your kids will come home with something that lands them in bed, sick. For parents, caring for a child's aches and pains often leads to household financial distress. Working parents face the additional challenge of finding a substitute caregiver while they're away. Here are five ways to get prepared before the common cold comes calling.
You might think that less wealthy households would be more active coupon users than their affluent counterparts, but you'd be wrong. The folks at Coupons.org recently released some startling data on trends in coupon usage in America. Here's what they found.
No Video Streaming Service Will Ever Fit All
3:00PM 2/22/12
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Fool
Media, Google , Netflix, Comcast, Amazon.com
It's getting pretty crowded in the streaming space. Comcast is the latest company to throw its hat into the digital ring: It will offer existing cable subscribers access to streaming TV shows and movies through a new service called Streampix. And other streaming services, from Netflix to YouTube, are offering original content.
If Amazon.com wants a price war, Barnes & Noble is ready to play. The struggling real-world bookseller announced this week that it's offering an 8-gigabyte version of its Nook tablet for the same $199 price point as Amazon's Kindle Fire. Meanwhile, Apple is widely expected to unveil the iPad 3 early next month.
The Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, is only as effective as the assumptions it makes -- in this case, about what you buy. If you spend more on certain things than most people, then the CPI will do a terrible job of reflecting the prices you actually pay. In particular, retirees often don't fit the CPI profile well at all.
Wondering what looks and styles will transfer from the Fashion Week runways to the mall this autumn? We got the inside scoop from fashion directors at Macy's, J.C. Penney, Banana Republic and Forever 21.
The energy situation is looking pretty grim for much of the world. But here in North America? We're sitting pretty. Thanks to a boom in natural gas production from shale, and oil production from Canada's tar sands, North America will become an energy exporter over the coming decades.
There's a popular tax break out there that paid more than 26 million workers a total of nearly $59 billion last year. Yet as many as 1 in 4 of those who qualify for this tax credit failed to claim it, missing out on hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars. That break is the earned income tax credit.
Dow Breaks 13,000 for First Time Since '08 Crisis
4:20PM 2/21/12
The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 13,000 on Tuesday for the first time since May 2008, when the Lehman Brothers investment bank was solvent, unemployment a healthy 5.4 percent and the worst of the Great Recession months ahead. The milestone came about two hours into the trading day. The stock market got the final push from strong corporate earnings reports and a Greek bailout deal intended to prevent the next financial crisis.
Taking note of the Dow's progress, The Wall Street Journal recently called its performance "eerie ... calm ... too quiet." Indeed, if things keep going at the rate they have been going so far, we're on track for the stock markets to gain more than 50% this year. Dow 18,000, anyone?
3 Reasons Why You're Not Buying an Electric Car
1:20PM 2/21/12
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Fool
Technology, Ford Motor Co, Toyota, General Motors, Autos, Tesla Motors, Chevron
The electric car has arrived, but odds are that there isn't one in your driveway. Several factors have gotten in the way of the eco-friendly automotive revolution, but at least now we can ask conspiracy theorists -- who argue that oil companies and the government are blocking plug-in cars from the road -- to leave the room and take their tinfoil hats with them. The electric car is here; drivers simply don't want them yet.
What to Watch This Week: Games, Stores, IPOs, and Nike Fuel
11:45AM 2/21/12
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Fool
Company News, Earnings, Macy's, Wal-Mart Stores, Target Corp, Saks, Nintendo
There's never a dull moment on Wall Street, especially now that the market's climbing as nicely as Jeremy Lin's stock over the past two weeks. Let's go over some of the items that will help shape the week that lies ahead.
Savings Experiment: Cell Phone Bills
10:00AM 2/21/12
Have you ever opened your cell phone bill and had the urge to, well, call for help? Between extra features, fees and overages, your monthly bill can skyrocket, but luckily, many of those charges are avoidable.
In honor of Black History month, DailyFinance asked three prominent African Americans to share their thoughts about what economic empowerment means to them, and illuminate what it takes to achieve it -- no matter who you are.
Afraid of an IRS Audit? It's Not As Bad As You Think
7:10AM 2/20/12
No one is claiming that an IRS audit is a cakewalk. But a tax audit is probably less likely -- and less gruesome -- than most people fear. And the IRS isn't allowed to swoop down upon you just any old time: Their clock is ticking.
The Hidden $1,000 Bonus Obama Put in Your Paycheck
7:00AM 2/18/12
While many Americans are hoping the fellows running for president will give them a tax cut, President Obama has already given all of us one that saves the average family about $1,000 extra a year. So how can you put that bonus to the best use?
Coffee Costs: 5 Ways to Save Money on K-Cups
7:00AM 2/18/12
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Fool
Starbucks, Target Corp, Amazon.com, Saving Money, Food & Drink
The convenience of single-cup coffeemakers is undeniable: They're simple. They're fast. They're clean. What they aren't, unless you're comparing them to a Starbucks habit, is cheap. Think $50-a-pound coffee. But it's possible reduce the cost of your K-cup caffeine hit.
Should You Take That Big Retail Discount ... and the Credit Card That Comes With It?
6:30AM 2/18/12
By Tim Beyers, The Motley Fool
JP Morgan Chase, American Express, Target Corp, Amazon.com, Credit Cards
Chances are you've been pitched a retail card more than once. Usually it goes something like this: "Will you be saving 10% using your [name of store] card today?" The hope is you'll find the prospect of a discount alluring enough to sign up. But should you?
"Retirement" used to mean the end of one chapter of life and the beginning of something new, time spent with family and friends, traveling or focusing on hobbies. Yet for many of today's mature workers, the picture of retirement looks very different: A new CareerBuilder study has found that 57 percent of workers age 60 and over surveyed said they would look for a new job after retiring from their current company.
Money and Power: The Richest and Poorest U.S. Presidents
1:15PM 2/17/12
Being a U.S. president is a well-paying gig -- but it didn't pay off for all of them. Turns out, getting your face on our nation's currency doesn't always mean that much currency flowed your way. Here's our look at the White House's biggest fiscal winners ... and losers.
Consumer prices rose modestly in January on higher costs for food, gas, rent and clothing. But economists downplayed the increase, saying inflation will likely ease in the coming months as prices for raw materials level off. The consumer price index increased 0.2 percent last month, after a flat reading in December, the Labor Department said Friday.
The cost of an education has never been higher. But by taking advantage of some tax benefits, you can at least put a small dent in some of those bills. Which of that complicated menu of tax benefits applies to you? DailyFinance breaks it down.
GM Posts Record Earnings: Is It Ready to Repay Bailout?
9:30AM 2/17/12
2011 was the most profitable year in General Motors' history. Thanks in large part to the $50 billion government-assisted restructuring it received, GM's U.S. operation is in good shape. So is it ready to fully pay back Washington now? Well, that depends on Europe.
Will Discount Deal Lovers Pay Extra to be Groupon VIPs?
7:00AM 2/17/12
Active Groupon users now have a way to sweeten their relationships with the daily deals leader -- but it's going to cost them. Groupon is rolling out Groupon VIP, a program where deal chasers pay $29.99 a year for enhanced benefits on the site.
Allen Iverson Is Broke: What His Sinking Fortunes Can Teach Us
6:30AM 2/17/12
Former NBA superstar Allen Iverson earned $154 million from his Sixers salary alone during his career. Now, he owes more than he can pay. How did it happen, and what lessons can his fiscal foul-ups teach to the rest of us. The answers are distressingly simple.
Newswire
- FDA panel backs previously rejected obesity...
- Asia stocks fall amid Greek debt deal doubts
- Stocks lower a day after Dow's blip above...
- Calif. pledges better mobile privacy...
- Rising sales point to better year for housing
- Obama seeks corporate tax rate cut, loophole...
- W.Va. mine boss charged with fraud in deadly...
- Judge: BP liable for civil penalties for oil...
- Consumer bureau targets overdraft fees
- Home prices at lowest point in more than 10...
- More Americans plan to save their tax refund
- Fighting back in a tough economy
- Fannie, Freddie legal fees: $110 million and...
- Can I use my IRA to buy an apartment building?
- Help for the uninsured: Local currencies
- Consumer bureau targets fine print
- America’s Most Successful Retailers
- Solar Energy to Light up Africa?
- VIVUS Scores FDA Backing For Qnexa Against Obesity (VVUS, OREX, ARNA)
- Very Mixed H-P Earnings Data (HPQ)
- 24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AAPL, DELL, MOS, GILD, DNDN, BAS, CYH, LOPE, RRC, CETV, CHS, DLTR, GRMN, NG, RRD, TOL, HSTM, FIRE, THLD, NFX, CELL)
- Opposition Mounts to Verizon Spectrum Acquisition (VZ, VOD, CMCSA, TWC, S, PCS, DTV, DTEGY)
- Dividend Investors: Future Tax Realities In 2012 Presidential Election
- Trying To Find Growth Potential in Solar Stocks (AMAT, FSLR, WFR, GTAT, SPWR, STP, TSL, LDK, JASO)
Follow Us
