Online Features
Money & Finance
6KJR_17834410_web.jpg
Extend your car's longevity with these spring cleaning tips
(BPT) - The open road lies in front of millions of drivers who are ready to lower the windows and feel the warm breeze. Nothing curbs the excitement of a spring drive more than car issues that could have been avoided by simple maintenance to combat the lasting effects of driving through winter. Many people consider spr...
full story
2013 tax season tips
(BPT) - It’s tax season and, as always, there are many new rules that can create traps for the unwary. But with a few tips and tricks, you can help minimize your taxes and maximize your overall long-term financial position. Consider the following five tax tips from Robert Fishbein, vice president and corporate counsel, Prudential Financial , who has more than 25 years of experience in tax law. 1. Last minute retirement funding - You can still make a $5,000 2012 contribution to your tradit...
full story
AYR9_17829104_web.jpg
Top three reasons to find your banking bliss
(BPT) - What would you do with an extra hour this week? Maybe you would sit down to watch your favorite TV program, jump back into that book you’ve been dying to finish, or pick up the phone to catch up with an old friend. Gaining an hour this week may be as simple as having a good relationship with your bank. “A recen...
full story
HGD0_1757242_web.jpg
Five common credit report errors to watch out for
(BPT) - Everyone makes money mistakes. Some are harmless – like writing last year’s date on checks or buying a big-screen TV the day before they go on sale. Others can be downright harmful, especially when they could mean the difference between getting a good interest rate and paying thousands more in interest over the ...
full story
CJJ7_1594057_web.jpg
A strong financial education makes good 'cents'
(BPT) - Millennials, also known as Generation Y or those born between 1978 and 1994, are money movers. They’re wielding more purchasing power, spending $200 billion annually, and are expected to outspend the baby boomer generation by 2017, according to Kelton Research. At the same time, they face an increasingly complex...
full story
8FUF_1772880_web.jpg
A bright idea: Tips to save money, energy with LED light bulbs
(BPT) - What could you do in 23 years? A lot, apparently – you could trip your way to an Oscar win like Jennifer Lawrence. Better yet, what about banking billions by 23 like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg? You could have a baby, send them to college and buy them their first (legal) libation … all before having to change a...
full story
EJVF_17678916_web.jpg
Relax while planning your wedding with these financial and budgeting tips
(BPT) - Planning and organizing a large and complex special event can quickly overwhelm a bride and groom-to-be, especially if the couple has no previous experience or training in large event organization. In addition to all the details of the invite list, the location for all activities for the big day and the special ...
full story
6QZL_17571548_web.jpg
Taking the intimidation out of saving for retirement
(BPT) - Saving for retirement is a scary prospect for many Americans. In fact, just 14 percent feel confident they will have enough money to live on when they retire, according to the 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute . And 60 percent say they have less than $25,000 saved for ...
full story
3AXD_17810432_web.jpg
How to take advantage of home improvement tax rebates before time runs out
(BPT) - When U.S. lawmakers made a deal to keep the country from going off the “fiscal cliff” at the end of 2012, they reinstated a tax break of up to $500 to help homeowners earn money back for energy efficient home improvements. The tax credit included in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 is the first home impr...
full story
How to manage money when you're between jobs
(BPT) - Though the U.S. economy has been gradually improving, job changes - both involuntary and voluntary - remain a fact of American working life. “It's also a fact that bills need to be paid whether you're employed or not,” says J.J. Montanaro, a certified financial planner with USAA . To help you cover expenses and protect your finances as you transition from one job to the next, Montanaro offers these tips. 1. Decide how to collect your final pay If leaving your job wasn't your ide...
full story
35V5_17718539_web.jpg
Money and marriage: Tips to achieve financial happiness
(BPT) - Fights over finances are a commonly known cause of stress and divorce, and a new survey indicates that while the average couple fights over money five times a year, they discuss finances reasonably fewer than two times a month. Every couple knows there are some topics you just don’t bring up – his mother’s dre...
full story
1GGN_17514665_web.jpg
Making money health more manageable
(BPT) - When you stray from your fitness goals with a fast-food meal or by skipping a few days at the gym, it’s important to not use those moments as an excuse to stop trying. Financial fitness is the same. When you miss a month of paying into your savings, or allow a credit card balance to roll over to the next month, ...
full story
national news
Hunt for Jimmy Hoffa's body brings investigators to Michigan field

Yellow crime tape surrounds a field for Hoffa investigation, in suburban DetroitBy Joseph Lichterman OAKLAND TOWNSHIP, Michigan (Reuters) - The search for former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa, missing since 1975 and thought to have been murdered by members of organized crime, brought investigators with shovels on Monday to an overgrown field in suburban Detroit, not far from where Hoffa was last seen alive. A backhoe was driven onto the property, and video recorded from a helicopter by Detroit television station WDIV showed agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation digging for the union leader's remains. ...


2013-06-17 19:49:41 -0500
Lawyer Cliff Sloan faces tough assignment: Closing Guantanamo

The interior of an unoccupied communal cellblock is seen at Camp VI, a prison used to house detainees at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo BayBy Steve Holland and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cliff Sloan has represented Jon Bon Jovi's band in legal matters and argued cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, he has perhaps his toughest assignment: Helping to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Washington attorney was named on Monday as the State Department's Guantanamo Bay envoy, a central player in President Barack Obama's renewed push to make good on a 2008 campaign promise to shut the installation where the United States holds terrorism suspects. ...


2013-06-17 20:09:29 -0500
Accused California killer tells jurors, 'I'm not the monster'
By Ronnie Cohen SAN RAFAEL, California (Reuters) - An elderly California photographer charged with the slayings of four prostitutes dating back to the 1970s opened his own defense at his serial-murder trial on Monday, declaring to jurors, "I'm not the monster that killed these women." Joseph Naso, 79, who has admitted a penchant for taking erotic pictures of women and displayed dozens of such photos in court on Monday, stood stoop-shouldered in a blue suit and tie, his hands crossed behind his back, as he politely greeted the 12 men and women who will decide his fate. ...
2013-06-17 22:33:19 -0500
Snowden: U.S. ‘not going to be able to cover this up by jailing or murdering me’
Edward Snowden, America's most-wanted whistle-blower, says the truth about the government spying program he revealed will eventually come out, regardless of what happens to him. "All I can say right now is the US Government is not going to be able to cover this up by jailing or murdering me," Snowden wrote in a live [...]
2013-06-17 09:42:20 -0500