Online Features
Money & Finance
Stretching your summer entertaining dollars
(BPT) - Warm weather is “special occasion” season. Whatever your event – a wedding, graduation party, family reunion or July 4th fete – summer celebrations have one important thing in common. Everyone wants to get the most bang for their buck. Fortunately, from renting tables and chairs and other needed items, to do-...
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Celebrate the grads in your life with financial gifts
(BPT) - Do you have a child in your life who will be graduating this spring? Whether it’s from kindergarten or college, graduation marks the completion of one chapter in a young person’s life and the start of a new adventure. Honor your grad’s achievement by helping him or her save for the future with a digital U.S. Sa...
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Financial planning insights for the LGBT community
(BPT) - Over the last decade, many companies have paid increasing attention to the buying power and consumer habits of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) market. But until recently, little attention has been focused on the financial experience of LGBT individuals. The groundbreaking “LGBT Financial Experience 2012-2013 Research Study” by Prudential Financial takes an in-depth look at the financial challenges and concerns of LGBT Americans, and provides eye-opening insights fo...
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Is it time for a financial checkup?
(BPT) - For most of us, checkups are a regular part of life. Dental visits, auto maintenance appointments and even glances in the bathroom mirror all help us catch potential problems and assure that all is – or will be – well. What’s true of teeth, engines and grooming is also true of finances: regular checkups are reco...
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Select the right insurance for your home-based business
(BPT) - Home-based businesses are booming. About 36.6 million businesses operate from U.S. households, according to the Home Based Business Institute. And the Small Business Administration notes that 53 percent of all small businesses located in the U.S. are home-based, with those numbers expected to grow substantially...
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Free birth control gives women more choice
(BPT) - Thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as “Obama Care,” an estimated 47 million women are gaining access to all FDA-approved methods of birth control free of charge. This new law provides access to birth control methods that may have been too expensive for many women with private health insurance p...
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Boomers: Your credit profiles matter more now than ever
(BPT) - Maintaining a good credit profile is important at all stages of life, even for baby boomers who may have paid off their mortgages and don’t anticipate the need for more big-ticket loans. But it’s important to remember credit scores are used for more than just borrowing money, and you never know when an opportuni...
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Tips on how to use Craigslist safely and responsibly
(BPT) - Need a bike to start getting into shape? Looking for a new job? Interested in renting a condo for that long-desired trip? Every day, millions of Americans turn to Craigslist.org to buy and sell items, find jobs, meet other people or find a vacation property to rent. More than 60 million people use the website ...
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What you should know about life insurance [infographic]
Life insurance is a big deal. For many people, it’s among the most important purchases they will ever make. A well-chosen life insurance policy can protect families from hard financial times after a loved one passes. It can help families cover the costs of a funeral, major remaining debts and higher education for children, and replace lost income from the deceased. Still, many people don’t understand life insurance and what it can mean to them and their families. They either don’t think it ...
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Advice for choosing a financial advisor
(BPT) - Saving for retirement is an essential task, but one that can be complex and demand a lot of attention. With the arrival of April – Financial Literacy Month – focusing on your existing saving strategies should be a priority. It’s also an ideal time to talk to a financial professional who can help you shoulder the...
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Where your tax refund will go [Infographic]
More Americans will use their 2013 tax refund just to pay basic necessities. This tax season, nearly two-thirds of Americans report paying bills as the highest priority for spending their refunds, according to a recent Cricket Wireless survey, a sharp increase from 2012 (50 percent).
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It's all in the details - how to accessorize your home exterior
(BPT) - When considering exterior home improvements during spring and summer, many homeowners go for updates such as the replacement of siding or windows. These projects can make the home look great while boosting energy efficiency, but no matter how much homeowners invest in siding or windows, it will only look as good...
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By Carey Gillam and Ian Simpson MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Emergency workers pulled more than 100 survivors from the rubble of homes, schools and a hospital in an Oklahoma town hit by a powerful tornado, and officials on Tuesday sharply lowered the number of deaths caused by the storm. The 2-mile (3-km) wide tornado tore through Moore outside Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon, trapping victims beneath the rubble. Seven children died at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which took a direct hit, but many more survived unhurt. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the U.S. government had properly classified more than 50 images of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden taken after his death, and that the government did not need to release them. The unanimous ruling by three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a request for the images by a conservative nonprofit watchdog group. (Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
By Tabassum Zakaria and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's administration has decided to give the Pentagon control of some drone operations against terrorism suspects overseas that are currently run by the CIA, several U.S. government sources said on Monday. Obama has pledged more transparency on controversial counterterrorism programs, and giving the Pentagon the responsibility for part of the drone program could open it to greater congressional oversight. ...