Copyright (c) 2010 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. http://news.yahoo.com/business/personal-finance business Personal Finance News en-us Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:06:29 GMT 5 142 18 http://news.yahoo.com/business/personal-finance http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/nws/th/main_142c.gif http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_bi_ge/ks_xgr_kansas_taxes ap/20100209/ks_xgr_kansas_taxes AP business Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:06:29 GMT AP - A Kansas House committee considered a proposal Tuesday that would eliminate some seldom-used income tax credits and improve efficiency within the Department of Revenue. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100209/bs_nm/us_metlife nm/20100209/us_metlife Reuters business Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:49:44 GMT Reuters - MetLife Inc plans to pay American International Group Inc in stock and cash for American Life Insurance Co (Alico), as the two sides negotiate what could be a roughly $15 billion deal, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/fool/20100209/bs_fool_fool/rx42619 fool/20100209/rx42619 The Motley Fool business Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:47:59 GMT The Motley Fool - In the mood for a money talk? Yeah, we know. It's hardly on the top of anyone's list. But the task does fall somewhere between teaching the kids the birds 'n' bees and remembering to give the dog its heartworm pill. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/fool/20100209/bs_fool_fool/rx42613 fool/20100209/rx42613 The Motley Fool business Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:34:20 GMT The Motley Fool - When disaster hits your home, it pays to know whose side your insurance company is on. If insurance companies are to be believed, "you're in good hands" -- they'll treat you "like a good neighbor." http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bank_of_america_lobbying ap/20100209/us_bank_of_america_lobbying AP business Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:49:29 GMT AP - Bank of America Corp., the nation's largest lender, spent $1.18 million in the fourth quarter to lobby the federal government on issues such as executive compensation, credit cards and mortgage lending practices, according to a recent disclosure report. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20100208/ts_usnews/forgetthemortgageimpayingmycreditcardbill usnews/20100208/forgetthemortgageimpayingmycreditcardbill U.S. News & World Report business Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:04:33 GMT U.S. News & World Report - Amid high unemployment and sliding home prices, a growing number of struggling consumers are doing what was once considered unthinkable: paying their credit card bills instead of their mortgages. A recent study developed by TransUnion found the percentage of Americans who were current on their credit cards but behind on their mortgage increased to 6.6 percent in the third quarter of 2009, up from 4.3 percent in the first quarter of 2008. Meanwhile, the share of consumers making mortgage payments on time but behind on their credit cards moved in the opposite direction, sliding from 4. ... http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100208/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_american_capital_agency ap/20100208/us_earns_american_capital_agency AP business Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:25:24 GMT AP - American Capital Agency Corp. reported sharply higher earnings for the fourth quarter of 2009 Monday as the government-backed mortgage securities it holds gained value. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100208/ap_on_bi_ge/us_hanmi_financial_advisor ap/20100208/us_hanmi_financial_advisor AP business Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:43:20 GMT AP - Hanmi Financial said Monday that it has retained Cappello Capital Corp. as a financial adviser while the company pursues strategic alternatives. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100207/bs_nm/us_goldman_aig_bailout nm/20100207/us_goldman_aig_bailout Reuters business Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:12:47 GMT Reuters - U.S. regulators are investigating whether the mortgage insurance market was improperly distressed in 2008 because of payment demands that Goldman Sachs Group Inc and other banks made on American International Group Inc , The New York Times reported on Sunday. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_consumer_credit ap/20100205/us_consumer_credit AP business Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:47:28 GMT AP - Americans borrowed less for an 11th consecutive month in December, paying off credit cards while increasing borrowing for cars and other products. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100205/bs_nm/us_economy_credit nm/20100205/us_economy_credit Reuters business Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:24:00 GMT Reuters - A weak job market and tight credit conditions caused consumer credit to fall $1.73 billion in December, the eleventh straight monthly decline, a report from the Federal Reserve showed on Friday. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_bi_ge/us_visteon_bankruptcy ap/20100205/us_visteon_bankruptcy AP business Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:58:37 GMT AP - Attorneys for retired Visteon workers are appealing a bankruptcy judge's order allowing the auto parts supplier to terminate their health and life insurance benefits. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20100205/bs_bw/1007b4166069331755 bw/20100205/1007b4166069331755 BusinessWeek business Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:08:42 GMT BusinessWeek - Financial planners can advise, books can inform, worksheets can approximate. But they'll never replace the advice you can get from folks who have ventured before you into that great unknown: retirement. To help you avoid dead ends and pitfalls, we asked retirees to look back over their time outside the working world and talk about their smartest financial moves, biggest surprises, and worst mistakes. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_bi_ge/us_mortgage_mess_investors ap/20100204/us_mortgage_mess_investors AP business Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:22:53 GMT AP - The financial wizards who concocted the complicated mortgage-linked investments that nearly brought down the world economy are trying to come back from the dead. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_bi_ge/us_mortgage_rates ap/20100204/us_mortgage_rates AP business Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:54:25 GMT AP - Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages rose slightly this week, inching above 5 percent, Freddie Mac said Thursday. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/fool/20100204/bs_fool_fool/rx42115 fool/20100204/rx42115 The Motley Fool business Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:31:15 GMT The Motley Fool - Stop over-thinking your portfolio. Take a mental "time out" and try some deep-breathing exercises. Do whatever it takes to rein in your caveman brain, because right now, your mind is one of your biggest liabilities -- emotionally and financially. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/fool/20100204/bs_fool_fool/rx42107 fool/20100204/rx42107 The Motley Fool business Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:59:23 GMT The Motley Fool - To put it simply, life insurance protects those who depend on your paycheck. If you die prematurely, life insurance provides your dependents with ongoing income to replace yours, until (or unless) they can live comfortably without it. It can also provide a timely emergency fund for medical, legal, and funeral costs, should family savings not be adequate to cover them. (After all, that golf-inspired Fairway to Heaven casket ain't cheap.) http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_gmac ap/20100204/us_earns_gmac AP business Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:35:00 GMT <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_gmac"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100204/capt.f9f038accbd745aa8dd32474a1ceb97e.earns_gmac_nybz127.jpg?x=130&y=58&q=85&sig=5dWz8VYvsStTGqa2E6c8VA--" align="left" height="58" width="130" alt="File - In this file photo taken Thursday, April 30, 2009, a GMAC sign is shown at a GM/Chrysler dealership in Oakland, Calif. G Home and auto lender GMAC Financial Services said Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010, it lost $5 billion in the last three months of the year, as losses from its mortgage operations kept the company in the red for another quarter. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)" border="0" /></a>AP - Home and auto lender GMAC Financial Services said Thursday it lost $5 billion in the last three months of 2009, as losses from its mortgage operations kept the company in the red for another quarter.</p><br clear="all"/> <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_gmac"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100204/capt.f9f038accbd745aa8dd32474a1ceb97e.earns_gmac_nybz127.jpg?x=130&y=58&q=85&sig=5dWz8VYvsStTGqa2E6c8VA--" align="left" height="58" width="130" alt="photo" title="File - In this file photo taken Thursday, April 30, 2009, a GMAC sign is shown at a GM/Chrysler dealership in Oakland, Calif. G Home and auto lender GMAC Financial Services said Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010, it lost $5 billion in the last three months of the year, as losses from its mortgage operations kept the company in the red for another quarter. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)" border="0"/></a></p><br clear="all"/> (AP) http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100204/bs_nm/us_gmac nm/20100204/us_gmac Reuters business Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:08:56 GMT Reuters - GMAC Financial Services, a lender that is majority-owned by the U.S. government after multiple bailouts, said it lost $5 billion in the fourth quarter after writing down bad mortgage assets. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/fool/20100203/bs_fool_fool/rx41972 fool/20100203/rx41972 The Motley Fool business Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:15:01 GMT The Motley Fool - I have a frequent and pleasant daydream in which the Virginia lottery board calls and says, "Congratulations! You've won the highest jackpot ever! Would you like to take that in a lump sum or divided up over 30 years?" This is truly the stuff of fantasy, though, particularly because I don't buy lottery tickets. Much more realistic for my family is what to do in the face of too many important financial goals and too little money to fund them all.