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Stories for January 2010
Stories for Friday, January 29
Websites/phone numbers mentioned:
Insure.com - Comparison shop for life insurance QuikBook.com - Discount hotel reservations ClarkHoward.com - Tips on using Hotwire and Priceline for reservations ClarkHoward.com - See if your loan is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac NAPFA.org - Find a fee-only financial planner
More teens waiting to get their licenses
The car market in the United States has really shrunk over the last few years. Historically, we've sold 17 million new cars annually. Now we're down to 10 million each year. Last year, Clark talked about how the Japanese were losing their romance with cars and downsizing. Some families were ...
Hotel business ailing means deals for travelers
The hard deals you can drive with hoteliers right now are simply unreal. Why? The hotel business is hurting because there's a tremendous oversupply of rooms. The hotels are in a unique and unenviable position. Airlines can park planes when demand drops. Rental car companies can downsize their fleets. But ...
Maryland county trying to ban fast food
The food police are at it again, this time in the state of Maryland. State senator David Harrington is trying to ban new fast-food restaurants from obtaining licenses. This is a movie we've all seen before in parts of Los Angeles and other localities throughout the United States. Harrington is ...
Consumer confidence starting to look up
CLARKONOMICS: New findings from pointy-headed organizations like the Conference Board and McKinsey Global Institute both suggest some of the most positive indicators about consumer attitudes toward economic growth that we've seen in quite awhile. The Conference Board is considered to be among the most accurate attitudinal readings. Their index of ...
Stories for Thursday, January 28
Time to get out of money-market funds?
Money-market funds have long been considered just about the safest place to stash cash, with the price of a share traditionally set at $1. During the nearly 30 years of their existence, no one had ever lost a single penny in a money-market fund. But then in the summer of ...
Websites/phone numbers mentioned:
BankRate.com - Search for the best CD rates online
Oregon approves ballot initiative to soak the rich
The voters of the state of Oregon have decided to raise taxes on companies and individuals who have higher salaries. Clark understands perfectly well that right now it's very popular to soak the rich and get them to pay more tax...but that does not make it a good idea for ...
Scammers prey on early tax filers with familiar e-mail ploys
RIP-OFF ALERT: Like clockwork, the scammers are coming out of the woodwork to prey on early tax filers. The IRS has released a warning about a very legitimate looking e-mail in circulation that purports to be an official IRS communication. The e-mail says you are owed a refund that will ...
Clark responds to the State of the Union address
Did you see the State of the Union address last night? Most State of the Union addresses are just Christmas trees with ornaments during which the President throws out bones to everybody. Then you always have predictable responses from the opposing party about the shortcomings of the speech. Clark wants ...
Stories for Wednesday, January 27
California chain of Midas shops ripping customers off
The state of California has reached a nearly $2 million settlement with the owner of 22 Midas repair shops over promises of cheap brake jobs that turned out to be bait-and-switch rip-offs. Maurice Glad's franchises "regularly advertised $79 to $99 brake specials...to draw in customers and then often charged another ...
Apple unveils its highly anticipated iPad
Apple's announcement of the iPad today was widely anticipated by techies and non-techies alike. When Steve Jobs makes an announcement, people listen because the elegance of his products is renowned. The iPad is designed for e-delivery of books, TV, music and more. One blogger calls it "an iPod Touch that's ...
Toyota's acceleration issue raises keyless ignition concerns
Continuing acceleration problems in some Toyota models has raised an important question: How do you turn your car off when you have keyless ignition? Most automakers are introducing keyless ignition across many price points. The real challenge here is that every manufacturer uses a different system to turn the engine ...
Washington D.C. enacts five-cent plastic bag tax
How much do you value a nickel? Washington D.C. is the latest community to adopt a five-cent tax on all plastic bags for environmental reasons. Washington is an extremely affluent town. So how has the tax affected plastic bag use? The Washington Post reports use is down by about half. ...
Websites/phone numbers mentioned:
IBRInfo.org - Info on income-based repayment plans Ooma.com - Cheap VoIP option NFCC.org - Free or low-cost credit counseling
Stories for Tuesday, January 26
Truckers and bus drivers banned from sending text messages
The federal government has issued an immediate order banning truckers and bus drivers from sending text messages. Surprisingly, Clark hasn't seen any wording in the order specifically banning them from reading texts. But the general dangers of texting in a big rig have been stated previously on the show. A ...
IRS releases rules on $6,500 tax credit for repeat homebuyers
The IRS has released new information for existing homeowners who bought a new home and wish to claim the $6,500 tax credit. Read the accompanying press release. The relevant form you'll need to file is Form 5405. (Editor's note: This is a pdf file.) Be aware that you must show ...
Websites/phone numbers mentioned:
Form 5405 - File for the first-time homebuyer tax credit ($8,000) or the repeat homebuyer credit ($6,500)
Big spread in gas prices make shopping around a necessity
When gas prices at wholesale drop significantly in just a few weeks, as they've recently done, you'll probably notice there will be big differences in the price of a gallon from station to station in most metro areas. The consumer champ took an informal poll of his staffers who had ...
President getting serious about reining in the giant banks
President Obama has finally gotten serious about reining in the nation's giant banks after their grave missteps that harmed our nation's financial standing. The four largest banks have control of over 40 percent of the country's deposit dollars. It's absolutely crazy that the thousands of smaller community banks and credit ...
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