Finance Globe

Overall employment changed little in July as the nation added jobs in health care, retail trade, manufacturing, and mining - but lost jobs in government employment, according to a release by a government agency on Friday.Employment rose by 117,000 last month and the unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 9.1% after a 0.1 percentage point increase in the month before, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its monthly report. The unemployment rate was...

Though microchip-embedded smart cards are issued and accepted in 130 countries around the world, the U.S. has been slow to adapt. Americans traveling overseas have been frustrated and annoyed when it comes to using their old-fashioned credit card with a magnetic stripe, also called a mag-stripe.Magnetic stripes on credit cards have been around since the 1960’s, and at the time were a big security improvement over manual imprints of the number on the card face. But...

Home builder sentiment remains at low levels in June, falling 3 points to a reading of 13 on the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, the National Association of Home Builders reported on Wednesday. The last time the index was this low was in September of 2010. "Builders are being squeezed by the continuing weakness in existing-home prices – against which they must compete -- as well as rising material costs," said NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a...

Retail sales fell for the first time in 11 months, mostly pulled down by a sharp decrease in auto sales, according to a government report released on Tuesday. The Commerce Department reported that total retail sales slipped .2 percent in May - better than analysts’ expectations of a .4 percent decline. Excluding vehicles and auto parts sales, retail sales increased .3 percent. The stock market responded positively to the report and had its best day so...

After reviewing the performance of the ten largest mortgage servicers participating in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), government officials have decided to halt payments to three top U.S. banks that are not doing enough to prevent foreclosures, the Treasury said in a report on Thursday.Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, and J.P. Morgan Chase were identified as needing “substantial improvement” in their handling of home loan modifications for last quarter and will lose out on...

The U.S. economy continued to grow in May - but at a slower pace due to higher food and energy costs and bad weather in some areas, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Federal Reserve.The Fed’s Beige Book summarized, “Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicated that economic activity generally continued to expand since the last report, though a few districts indicated some deceleration.” Information in the latest Beige Book release was...

As if overburdened taxpayers and underemployed consumers aren’t already paying enough for decisions made by big business - the head of one bailed-out company thinks Americans should pay even more, according to a report by The Detroit News.General Motors CEO Dan Akerson told the paper in an interview that he wants to see the federal gas tax raised by as much as one dollar a gallon to steer consumers towards buying more fuel-efficient vehicles - rather...

Consumers have been busy reducing their credit card debt and delinquencies have fallen to the lowest level in nearly fifteen years, according to a report released by a national credit reporting agency. Delinquencies fell in the first quarter of 2011 to 0.74 percent of credit card accounts, TransUnion reported on Monday. This figure is down 10 percent from the previous quarter and down nearly 33 percent from the same quarter last year. The last time delinquencies...

Over half of college graduates are worried about paying back their student loans but are missing key ways to build a strong financial foundation, according to a study sponsored and released by Capital One Bank. According to FinAid.org and Fastweb.com., the average student loan for this year’s graduate is almost $23,000 - quite a hefty debt for someone just starting out in their career. For college seniors and recent graduates, the survey found that of the...

A Canadian-based online operation accused of scamming more than $450 million from consumers has been charged by the Federal Trade Commission, the agency reported on Tuesday. Consumers in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand were lured in by “free” offers, only to have recurring charges racked up on their credit or debit card, the FTC complaint states. The offers were for a wide variety of products and services, including acai berry weight-loss pills, teeth whiteners,...