Finance Globe

The number people who filed for first-time unemployment benefits fell by 10,000 last week, according to a government report released on Thursday.The advance number for new claims was 382,000 for the week ending April 2, and the insured unemployment rate was unchanged from the previous week’s rate at 3%, the Labor Department reported.States reported that just over 3.5 million Americans were claiming Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) in mid-March, down from nearly 5.6 million at the same...

Kohl’s announced on Tuesday that the transfer of its private-label credit card portfolio to Capital One has been completed as of April 1, 2011. Capital One will service new and existing Kohl’s charge accounts for a seven year contract. Through the partnership, Capital One acquired more than 20 million existing Kohl’s charge accounts - which accounted for 50% of the department store’s sales last year."Kohl's has an exceptional brand and offers a great experience to their...

Have you ever though about exactly how many days out of the year you have to work in order to pay your tax bill? Well, the Tax Foundation in Washington figures that for this tax year, you’ll work over a hundred days to pay your taxes - about 28% of your income. Using government figures on income and taxes, the organization calculated that if the average taxpayer were to begin the year working and all income...

Credit cards are wonderfully convenient and safer than carrying around a wallet-full of cash. Keep these points in mind to make your credit card use as safe as possible: Manage the risk of lossTo reduce the hassle involved in reporting missing credit cards in case of loss or theft, keep a list of all your credit card accounts and card issuer’s phone numbers issuers in a safe place at home. Consider leaving most of your credit...

New claims for uninsured benefits fell slightly last week, down by 6,000 to 388,000, the Labor Department reported today.But the (seasonally-adjusted) four week moving average, which smooths out weekly volatility and gives a better idea of the overall trend, actually moved upwards 394,250 - an increase of 3,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 391,000.The insured unemployment rate for the second week of March was 3%, and the official national unemployment rate was 8.9% in...

Getting fit can cost a fortune, at least if you attempt to follow in the steps of the rich and famous.You may not be able to afford a personal trainer and diet counselor, and even the cost of a gym membership may be pushing it. Home gym equipment can also be expensive - and may become another piece of clutter to collect dust if you get bored with it.But it isn’t hard to get fit without...

The Internal revenue Service made an announcement today that there are processing issues that may cause a delay in some taxpayers receiving their refunds. The delay is primarily affecting a small percentage of taxpayers who bought a home in 2008 and qualified for the First Time Homebuyer Credit, the IRS said.The credit was actually an interest-free loan for 10% of the home’s purchase price, up to a maximum of $8000. The credit is to be repaid,...

The pace of existing home sales fell last month after increasing for three months in a row, the National Association of Realtors reported today.February’s sales of single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops dropped to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 4.88 million home sales per year - a decrease of 9.6% from the previous month, and a decrease of 2.8% from the same month a year ago.Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, continues to express that the housing recovery will...

Imposter scams are growing in popularity among crooks.For the first time, these scams made the top ten list of consumer complaints, according to the 2010 annual report released by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC warns consumers to be alert to scammers posing as people or organization they know and trust. They may use phone calls, emails, letters, faxes or even text messages in their attempt to trick you out of your money.To avoid falling victim,...

Despite all the education on the importance of protecting our sensitive personal information - identity theft must to be paying off for crooks because the crime remains at the top of the list of consumer complaints for 2010. Identity theft continues to be the most reported complaint for the 11th year in a row, according to an annual report released by the Federal Trade Commission. Out of the over 1.3 million complaints received by the FTC...