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 Don't look now, but "tax season" is just around the corner. That's right, the annual stretch that begins in December with year-end planning, continues in January when your W-2 arrives and culminates with a frenzied rush to the April 15 finish line will soon be upon us.
Fortunately, you've been hanging on our every word all year. ... Read More
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 Black Friday "doorbuster deals" sometimes sound too good to be true. And in many cases, they are, according to a recent article by Parija Kavilanz at CNNMoney.com.
As Kavilanz explains, a close look at the fine print that appears next to advertised deals in circulars reveals phrases such as "while supplies last," "minimum 2 per store," "no rainchecks" or "all items are available in limited quantities." ... Read More
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 Now that our faith in efficient and rational markets is largely discredited, new studies are sketching in the multiplicity of ways in which investors make decisions -- irrational decisions. This is all part of a new generation of behavioral economists and psychologists working together to replace the simplistic ideas of the economic orthodoxy that helped bring about our recent economic collapse. ... Read More
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 It has been 81 years since Mickey Mouse was first unveiled to the public in "Steamboat Willie" at the Colony Theatre in New York City. Since then, he has undergone only slight cosmetic changes.
But now, in late 2009, the idea of a Mickey makeover is actually being entertained. The Walt Disney Co., after years of keeping Mickey in a timeless, changeless capsule, is re-imagining him for the future, according to Brooks Barnes' New York Times article. ... Read More
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 Congress has extended the $8,000 first-time home-buyer tax credit, so anyone who has been waffling about becoming a homeowner has six more months to contemplate taking the plunge. Here's essential, introductory advice for every novice shopper. ... Read More
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 Earlier this week, we shared a list of the best Black Friday sites. These online hubs reveal the latest deals, discounts and even "unconfirmed" rumors of what "might possibly" be available.
We suppose we were on to something… Today, one of the sites on our list actually leaked Target's Black Friday ad. ... Read More
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 Where you live can certainly influence your day-to-day happiness, and according to a recent survey by the Gallup Organization, some states are happier than others.
What do the front-runners share? Gallup found that states with higher levels of wealth, education and tolerance are happier on average. More specifically, states with higher gross regional product (GRP) per capita (which measures a state's level of productivity and standard of living), income levels and median housing values took the lead. ... Read More
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 When Congress brought long-sought credit-card relief to American consumers through the passage of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act earlier this year, we provided a rundown of the new rules. We also offered a couple of big warnings: ... Read More
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 Scour the web for Black Friday resources and you'll find your fair share of "The Official Black Friday" sites. Indeed, many of these offer similar variations of a collection of holiday circulars from popular retail stores.
But how do you know which ones you can trust? Read on to find 10 sites you can rely on for timely advice and savvy shopping tips. Find one -- or a few -- that best suit your style, and continue to check back with them (and of course Comcast.net Finance) to stay in-the-know about the latest deals between now and November 27. ... Read More
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 If you don't currently own an iPhone, forget everything you've heard about how wonderful it is. Well, maybe not everything. But according to CNET UK's Flora Graham, the iPhone has a collection of dirty little secrets that tend to get overshadowed in the mainstream media and the high-school cafeteria (probably because you look 10 times cooler if you're holding one regardless). ... Read More
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 Over the next few weeks, we will share some of the best Black Friday deals and will offer tips on how to truly take advantage of in-store and online bargains. But first, we must recognize the latest trend of the 2009 holiday shopping season. Hint: Black Friday, the ceremonial, shop-till-you-drop kick-off to the holiday shopping season, no longer applies to just one day a year. In fact, in some cases, Black Friday is already here, perhaps just miles away at a nearby store. ... Read More
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 Do you have an account that you haven't checked up on in a while? If so, it's probably a good idea to look into that… and fast.
That's because escheat laws, which have been implemented to collect unclaimed property, allow each state to deposit abandoned funds into a giant "lost and found." While this is nothing new, some states have been taking the process a step further by emptying this lost and found into their general funds to cover budget shortfalls, according to a Bankrate.com article by Claes Bell. ... Read More
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 Perhaps the underlying problem with banks that are too big to fail is that they are also too big to succeed. Unable to be managed effectively, they will almost inevitably stumble and fail. Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal's Julian Birkinshaw and Suzanne Heywood offered some tips on the problem ("Too Big to Manage"). But in the typical upbeat style of business journalism, the Journal underestimated and oversimplified the problem. ... Read More
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 Perhaps you just celebrated your birthday and collected some extra cash as gifts. Or maybe you stumbled on a wad of $20 bills that you'd forgotten about in your desk drawer. Or your $100 product rebate has finally arrived. Regardless, you're just a little bit richer, and the opportunities are endless.
We know it's tempting, but don't run off to your favorite department store or restaurant just yet. Where's the novelty in that? First, consider these ways to stretch your dollars even farther, especially in these challenging economic times. ... Read More
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 Some defects in our financial system are easy to grasp. Paying excessive salaries and bonuses to those who made disastrous mistakes is something the public understands very well. Being deemed "too big to fail" is also pretty obvious, as it entitles some firms to unearned insurance at taxpayer expense. But how to cure the excesses that produced our financial meltdown... that's another matter. ... Read More
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 It's that time of year again. We're not referring to World Series time... or even ladybug season. Though, technically, we could be.
Rather, as the calendar moves toward November, we're coming up on the time Americans go through the annual ritual of making their health-care and other benefits choices for the upcoming year. ... Read More
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 Recently, the IRS has turned our attention to the onslaught of fraud that the first-time home-buyer credit program has unintentionally invited. Some 78,799 claims, totaling $504 million, were granted to individuals who did not appear to qualify for the credit, according to the IRS. The issue deepened when the Treasury inspector general discovered that children as young as 4 years old received the credit. ... Read More
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 We took a look at 10 of our favorite classic, nostalgic brands over the years. For many of us, these brands have helped define our favorite foods, games and pastimes. Some of these products have disappeared, and others have staged a welcome comeback. A few have remained strong and steady over the decades. Read on to see where some of the classics are today. ... Read More
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 Something is off about the news of our economic "recovery" -- and I don't just mean the fact that unemployment reaches 10 percent just as the Dow climbs over 10,000. That's troubling, but it's not hidden.
In Monday's New York Times, Paul Krugman put his finger on part of the problem: ... Read More
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 Time may not be running out after all for buyers seeking to take advantage of the $8,000 first-time home-buyer tax credit. The incentive is set to expire on Nov. 30, 2009. But persuading Congress to extend the incentive into 2010, raise the tax credit's upper limit to $15,000 and loosen some of the income limits are the top agenda items for the legislative arm (aka the lobbyists) of the Mortgage Bankers Association. ... Read More
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 Jon & Kate Plus 8 have a natural talent for sustaining their life drama. And so it came as little surprise that Jon Gosselin recently "cleaned out" their joint checking account, leaving Kate with a paltry $1,000… or so Kate claimed.
This situation, however, reveals more than their unwavering aptitude for keeping themselves in the spotlight. It depicts the obvious: For couples enduring divorce, joint checking accounts can be quite a nightmare. And even some of the happiest couples have qualms about joining their finances to become one. ... Read More
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 If you've ever watched "Oz" or "Law & Order," chances are you've learned a thing or two about prison life. Rule No. 1 for new blood behind bars, at least according to most Hollywood portrayals of life in the slammer: Beat someone up early on... just to show your fellow inmates they shouldn't mess with you.
Apparently disgraced Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff has seen his fair share of crime-and-punishment TV dramas. ... Read More
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 With unemployment reaching 9.8 percent this past September, many Americans are simply happy to have a job these days. But lagging job market or not, Money magazine and Payscale.com teamed up and marched ahead to publish the annual list of the best jobs in America. ... Read More
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 In our world almost anything can become a commodity. Still it came as something of a shock to read in last Sunday's New York Times how Simmons Bedding Co., a producer of some of our most comfortable commodities, was turned into a commodity itself and sliced, diced and mangled in the process. ... Read More
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 Keep up with the stories that are moving the markets, compliments of one of the biggest name in finance news. Follow Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" here every day. ... Read More
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 Real-estate agents never know what's lurking inside a home the first time they see it. This is true for houses at every price point. But at the very high end of the market, the amenities can get interesting, to say the least. Are "two of everything" kitchens, dog spas and elaborate master suites still common amenities, even as the U.S. economy crawls its way out of recession? Read on to find out. ... Read More
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 This year's Halloween already began with a scare, when farmers declared a possible pumpkin shortage. But that's only the start of what's spooking out the projected $4.75 billion industry, down 18 percent from $5.77 billion just a year ago. A recent survey by the National Retail Federation showed that 88 percent of Americans plan to cut back on their Halloween spending this year. And about 38 percent of respondents will opt out of the holiday, up from 35.5 percent last year. Translation: Fewer parties, not as many elaborate costumes… and even less candy. ... Read More
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 News reports say Bank of America Corp.'s board was "blindsided" by CEO Kenneth D. Lewis' sudden resignation. No one is ready to take over. And yet it was no surprise that Lewis was in trouble. His payout of Merrill Lynch & Co. bonuses has been severely criticized by a federal judge, he is being investigated by the New York Attorney General, his testimony in Congress was dismal, the bank continues to under-perform, and his compensation by virtually any measure was excessive. Who couldn't see his departure coming? ... Read More
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 Will exchange-traded funds push traditional mutual funds to the sidelines? Are emerging markets poised for a surge? Chartered Financial Analyst Peter C. Zeuli of Philadelphia Investment Partners joined us recently to answer these questions and address other hot financial topics, just as many experts suggest the economy might be poised to turn the corner. ... Read More
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 Forbes' annual wealthiest citizens report shed light on something we were already well aware of: The rich are getting poorer. But perhaps we didn't know the magnitude of just how much they've lost. As Forbes revealed, the collective net worth of its Top 400 list of the wealthiest Americans plunged $300 billion over the past year, from $1.57 trillion to $1.27 trillion. ... Read More
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