Online Features
Money & Finance
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Life insurance: a safety net for your family
Fallout from the long economic downturn has made it more important than ever for families to insulate themselves against financial shock. And yet, ownership of individual life insurance stands at a 50-year low, according to the industry group LIMRA. That represents a big risk to financial security in a lot of American ho...
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One size doesn't fit all life insurance needs
Life is full of phases and milestones, and each one could change your life insurance needs. Whether you're starting a new job or retiring, single or just married, deployed by the military or leaving the service, buying a home or having a baby, each transition in your unique circumstances merits a financial re-examination.
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This back-to-school season, stock up on college funding advice
Back-to-school shopping season means big sales for retailers selling pencils, backpacks, clothes and tech gadgets. Young parents know that as children get older, their back-to-school list grows with them. Eventually for many, that list will grow to include dorm necessities, textbooks and yes, college tuition. Parents, if...
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Private investors not the only ones adding gold to portfolios
Since the onset of the recession when many investment portfolios took a hit, there has been a lot of talk about the value of investing in gold as one way for investors to protect against market volatility and preserve wealth. Now, as policy makers both here and in Europe take steps to stimulate economic growth, there is ...
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Growing families looking for larger homes
More and more households have extended family living together under one roof, and the tight fit has some families in the market for a larger home. For the "Sandwich Generation," a generation of people who are caring for their aging parents while supporting their own children, there are advantages to having children and grandparents under one roof such as sharing of household responsibilities and finances and increased focus on family time together. With these advantages, however, there may be...
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Turn health into wealth
Health care today is expensive, but there are ways that you can give your wallet a break. One of the best ways to make health care more affordable is to avoid the need for medical care in the first place. More than 75 percent of health care costs are attributed to chronic illness, most of which are controllable, if not p...
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Safeguard the big day: How to protect the wedding of your dreams
Planning a wedding has many important components, with decisions to make on everything from finding the perfect flowers to choosing the right location. For brides- and grooms-to-be, one important choice that shouldn't be overlooked is the idea of purchasing wedding insurance. Because no matter how carefully a couple plan...
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Social Security recipients embrace electronic payments, give high marks to Treasury-recommended prepaid card
If you receive one of the 6 million paper checks for your monthly Social Security or other federal benefit, the time has come to switch to the safety and convenience of electronic payments.
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Disability insurance: protecting your future
There is a common misperception that most disabilities are caused by accidents. In reality, the majority of disabilities are caused by illness. You might think it won't happen to you. And perhaps it won't. But in 2009, more than 15 million Americans experienced a disability that prevented them from working.
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Eight reasons to review your life insurance
Life insurance might not be as common as you think. Did you know that 30 percent of American households have no form of life insurance whatsoever, leaving millions to struggle to cover day-to-day expenses if a main breadwinner were to pass away? Even if you already have life insurance, financial and insurance professiona...
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Renting: a financially smart option for small business
Starting a business is a huge endeavor for entrepreneurs, especially when larger expense items are on the required equipment list. During a business's first few years of operation, renting equipment, rather than purchasing it outright, can allow the company to save money and invest toward becoming established.
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For today's teens, the time to plan for college expenses is now
When it comes to planning for college, most parents are sure of just two things: They want their child to get a college degree, and they'll need a smart savings plan in place to ensure college expenses are covered.
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national news

Candidates hold U.S. flags during a naturalization ceremony to become new U.S. Citizens at Convention Center in Los AngelesBy Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supporters of U.S. immigration reform are hoping that the smooth and drama-free passage of their legislation through a Senate committee - a departure from almost everything that has happened in Congress over the past four years - will boost the likelihood of the bill winning full Senate approval. Even Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee who voted against the immigration bill on Tuesday, told Reuters TV that the "very fair" debate by the panel "does improve its chances. ...


Wed May 22 17:29:42 UTC 2013

Charles Taber opens the two-week old storm shelter that saved his life in the May 20 tornado in Oklahoma CityBy Carey Gillam and Ian Simpson MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Tornado survivors thanked God, sturdy closets and luck in explaining how they lived through the colossal twister that devastated an Oklahoma town and killed 24 people, an astonishingly low toll given the extent of destruction. At least one family took refuge in a bathtub and some people shut themselves in underground shelters built into their houses on Monday when the powerful storm tore through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore. ...


Wed May 22 19:58:05 UTC 2013

Hagel takes part in a news conference on efforts to eliminate VA claims backlogs, at the U.S. Capitol in WashingtonBy Jane Sutton MIAMI (Reuters) - Military and civilian lawyers for prisoners at the Guantanamo naval base urged U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to improve conditions for detainees, putting more pressure on the Obama administration to make good its promise to close the camp. The plea from 18 lawyers representing "high-value" prisoners came before a speech by President Barack Obama on Thursday when he will address counterterrorism measures such as drone strikes and closing Guantanamo. ...


Wed May 22 21:30:47 UTC 2013
The horrific attack that left a U.K. soldier dead on the streets of London could have been worse, were it not for the actions of a 48-year-old single mom, the U.K.'s Telegraph reports. Ingrid Loyau-Kennett spoke with the Telegraph about speaking directly with the suspected killers in the attack's immediate aftermath. In a photograph, Loyau-Kennett [...]
Wed May 22 18:53:08 UTC 2013