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Census to offer Internet option for government surveys
WASHINGTON — For the first time, the Census Bureau is giving U.S. households a chance to respond to government surveys over the Internet, part of a bid to save costs and boost sagging response rates in a digital age. The new online option will supplement the traditional census mail-out operation. It is a major shift […]
Letters to the Editor – 9/28/12
There’s been a lot of focus on the throngs of consumers lining up to buy the new iPhone 5 (“iPhone 5 launch draws Apple fans worldwide,” 9/21).
Late payments on mortgages hit 3-year low in 2Q
LOS ANGELES — U.S. homeowners are getting better about keeping up with their mortgage payments, driving the percentage of borrowers who have fallen behind to a three-year low, according to a new report. Still, the rate of decline remains slow, credit reporting agency TransUnion said Wednesday. The percentage of mortgages going unpaid is unlikely to […]
Economy adds 163K jobs, unemployment rate rises to 8.3 pct.
WASHINGTON — The addition of 163,000 jobs in July follows three months of sluggish hiring and shows that the U.S. economy is likely resilient enough to keep growing at a modest pace. Employers have added an average of 151,000 jobs a month this year, although that’s not been enough to drive down the unemployment rate, […]
Bank of America bad-loan provisions at 2007 level
NEW YORK — Bank of America said Thursday that it set aside less money to cover bad loans in the first three months of the year than it has since before the 2008 financial crisis. Because Bank of America serves about half the nation’s households, the results could be seen as a statement about the […]
California, New York considering foreclosure-abuse deal
WASHINGTON — California and New York were considering Monday whether to join most other states in backing a long-awaited settlement with banks over foreclosure abuses. The deal would require the five largest mortgage lenders to reduce loans for about 1 million households. State attorneys general have set a deadline of the end of Monday for […]
Spending and incomes show weak November gains
WASHINGTON — Consumers spent at a lackluster rate in November as their incomes barely grew, suggesting that Americans may struggle to keep spending more into 2012. Consumer spending rose just 0.1 percent in November, matching the modest October increase, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Incomes also rose 0.1 percent. That was the weakest showing since a […]
Supreme Court: Calif. can’t ban violent video game sales
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court says California cannot ban the rental or sale of violent video games to children. The high court agreed Monday with a federal court’s decision to throw out California’s ban on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Sacramento said […]
Same-sex couples finding a home in Delaware
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — In some Lewes and Rehoboth Beach neighborhoods, same-sex couples like Keith and John Riley-Spillane make up nearly one out of every 10 households. And, like the Riley-Spillanes, many of those couples are raising children, according to figures being released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Riley-Spillanes — they combined their […]
Up to 10 pct of Virginia households use high-cost loans
RICHMOND, Va. — Nearly 10 percent of Virginia households have used short-term, high-interest payday, pawnshop and auto-title loans to make ends meet. A study by the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service released Tuesday shows that more than 275,000 financially struggling families in Virginia have turned to alternative financial-service providers to pay […]
Consumers borrowed more for 7th straight month
WASHINGTON — Americans borrowed more money in April for the seventh straight month, but they cut back on using their credit cards. The Federal Reserve says consumer borrowing rose by nearly $7.2 billion, fueled by greater demand for school and auto loans. A category that measures credit card use fell for the second time in […]
Fewer homeowners underwater in the third quarter
NEW YORK — The number of homeowners who owe more than their houses are worth fell for the third straight quarter this summer. About 10.8 million households, or 22.5 percent of all mortgaged homes, were underwater in the July-September quarter, housing data firm CoreLogic said Monday. That’s down from 23 percent, or 11 million households, […]
