Your $tock Mom

Beginning July 1, the 401(k) providers must begin disclosing fees; plus, there are some new proposals “coming out from the treasury department that may have an even greater effect for retirees who want a secure income stream for life.”
“New 401K options and greater transparency over fees are designed to give workers and retirees more control over their retirement savings.”
CNBC’s Sharon Epperson reports.
(video 3:03)

The New York State Attorney General and newly-appointed head of the new financial crimes unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorneys general, Eric Schneiderman, is suing Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo for deceptive mortgage foreclosure practices and the fraudulent use of MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems).
The lawsuit charges that the MERS system eliminates the ability to track property transfers.
Schneiderman discusses with Rachel Maddow the processes, resources, and agencies – federal and state – now involved and empowered to investigate and criminally prosecute the people responsible for …

New rules take effect today that are meant to avoid sticker shock when booking flights online. Airlines are now required to compensate customers who are bumped, promptly notify passengers of delays or cancelations, and give customers 24 hours to cancel a reservation without penalty.
Tom Costello reports on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. – January 26, 2012
 
(video 2:10)

Supply and demand drive price, right? Or is the price of oil, and consequently gasoline, being driven by politics?
Could it be that we are merely at the mercy of the social upheaval plaguing the oil-rich states; are we simply financing their bloated budgets created from their record-level spending on subsidies and the pumping of money into the salaries of their citizenry “to suppress any popular discontent”?
CNN’s Fareed Zakaria examines why oil prices remain high. The reasons, and the facts, might surprise you.
“What in the world – The politics of …

Private equity firms want to go out and buy up foreclosed properties, REOs (real-estate owned or bank-owned) properties. There are millions of foreclosed properties that need to be resolved, and investors want to buy them in bulk and rent them. The government is talking about selling them in bulk; although no plan is out yet, the talk is that it’s coming.
Investors want to come in and buy these homes nationwide, rent them, and manage them.
“We look at managing it through sort of a distributed apartment-building model; and we’ve built …

From that cup o’ joe or spot o’ tea,
To the gas in your car and any import fee,
The prices we pay are a result, you see,
Of the global economic interactivity.
– $tock Mom
You might be tempted to dismiss this information thinking it remote and unimportant to directly affect your personal finances, but that line of thought can be very costly.
Europe, China, Japan, Russia, Brazil, India, Israel, Egypt, Iran, Syria, North Korea all depend on the same economic resources that we depend on. How well we all get along together and share …

“The housing market has become less bad than it was,” says Barry Habib, RPM Mortgage chief strategy officer; but is this really the case? This is one man’s viewpoint, and it is our responsibility to draw our own conclusions. The following two videos offer some current information and insight into the status of the housing market plus some predictions of what the housing situation might be in the year(s) ahead. Remember, predictions are merely forecasts, not any guarantee!
(video 10:22)

(video 1:48)

“Virtually, you can do anything with LED technology, because it’s computer controllable.” Depending on how many hours the light bulb product is actually in use, it will last 25 years in your home – 25,000 to 30,000 hours.  “When we talk about LED technology … the one I have right here in my hand … uses the same exact technology as the [Times Square] ball behind me, uses 80% less energy than the incandescent bulb it replaces; so it actually saves you money.” – Ed Crawford, CEO of Philips Lamps, …