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Money & Finance
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Making summer fun to teach your kids life lessons
(BPT) - Ah, the hot days of summer when a neighborhood lemonade stand is the perfect place to buy – or sell – a cold, refreshing drink. While a lemonade stand is a classic summer activity for kids and their parents, it’s also a great way to help teach children about earning money, building community and expressing creat...
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Expert advice for smart investing strategies
(BPT) - After five years of market volatility, recession and uncertainty, markets in the U.S. are showing signs of life. Leading indexes are now approaching all-time highs, and many individuals are taking a fresh look at their investment plans. But with the sting of recent losses and swings still fresh in mind, now is a...
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How to avoid a big tax bill or fine-tune your refund
(BPT) - Think back to your last income tax return. Did you owe Uncle Sam a lot of money, or did he give you a big refund? Whatever your situation, you can influence next year’s outcome by adjusting your payroll withholding. Remember the IRS Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, your employer asked you...
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100 percent live like they mean it, 61 percent invest like they do [Infographic]
Charles Schwab surveyed 1,000 Americans who express a significant degree of personal ownership in their everyday lives, and found that a majority are also highly engaged in investing: nearly two-thirds (61 percent) are actively involved in their portfolios.  Though a majority of those surveyed also grab hold of the wheel when it comes to investing, a sizeable number of go-getters in life say they are not actively involved in their investment portfolio, revealing a dichotomy between how they...
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Get smart about buying insurance
(BPT) - For most Americans, insurance coverage is a necessity. While coverage can be confusing and expensive to obtain, its solace is undeniable in the event of a car crash, emergency surgery or if your home has been damaged in a storm. From home and health to auto, life, disability and more, it’s important to be smart...
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New baby checklist: Tips to start securing your child's future
(BPT) - Your new bundle of joy has just arrived. In addition to midnight feedings and changing diapers, new parents need to take important steps to set up their children for success in the years to come. According to FindLaw.com , the nation’s leading website for free legal information, the first and most important st...
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Fraud alert: Grandparent scam continues to trick people out of money
(BPT) - Imagine being woken by a phone call in the middle of the night. It’s your crying grandchild, who is asking for money because of an accident. Of course you want to help your loved one, so you do whatever you can in this emergency situation. You open your wallet without hesitation. Unfortunately you’ve just becom...
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Making a career move? Consider the insurance field
(BPT) - Looking to start your career – or change your current one? As you contemplate your next career move, there’s one industry that might not be on your radar: insurance. “The insurance industry usually isn’t what people think of when they’re planning their careers or considering totally different jobs,” says Charle...
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Six simple steps to financial success
(BPT) - After watching the stock market soar to record highs over the first four months of the year, many investors are wondering if they should make changes to their investment portfolios. Perhaps - but not because of what the stock market has done. Investment decisions based on short-term market moves are often short-...
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Choosing the right financial products for all stages of life
(BPT) - No matter where you are in your life, you have a lot of decisions to make. When to buy your first house? What school to attend? Is it the right time for a job change? As things change in life, those changes influence your financial decisions, too. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has put together a high-level o...
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Got student debt? How your credit affects more than just borrowing power
(BPT) - If you’re a recent college graduate, chances are you left school with more than just a diploma. You’re probably carrying debt, as well. You may already know how debt affects your future borrowing power, but it’s important to also understand how credit impacts other areas of your financial life, as well – such as...
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Americans concerned about outliving their money
(BPT) - What concerns Americans the most as they look ahead toward the retirement years? One of their biggest worries is outliving their money, according to a recent survey by Prudential Retirement. A substantial 71 percent of survey respondents fear they may not have enough retirement income to last a lifetime. Only on...
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national news
Accused Cleveland kidnapper to appear at pre-trial hearing

Ariel Castro appears in court with public defender Kathleen DeMetz in ClevelandBy Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A former Cleveland school-bus driver accused of holding three women captive in his home and torturing them for a decade is scheduled to appear in court for a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday. Ariel Castro, 52, pleaded not guilty last week to more than 300 charges and was scheduled for an initial hearing before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Michael Russo. He is being held in a county jail on an $8 million bail. ...


2013-06-19 05:03:26 -0500
Tesla recalls some Model S cars due to seat-mount defect

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk speaks during the Model S Beta Event held at the Tesla factory in Fremont(Reuters) - Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc said it is recalling 1,228 of its 2013 Model S cars manufactured between May 10 and June 8 due to a defect in the mounting bracket of the rear seat. "This reduces our confidence that the left hand seat back will be properly retained in the event of a crash," Tesla founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk said in a statement on Wednesday posted on the company's website. The recall blemishes a clean public record for the Model S, which received a near-perfect score from the influential Consumer Reports magazine. ...


2013-06-19 07:53:08 -0500
After court rules, California gay marriage fight may go on

A man carries flags at a rally in support of same-sex marriage at the State of California Supreme Court in San FranciscoBy Peter Henderson SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The fight over legalizing gay marriage in the most populous U.S. state may go back to the ballot box in 2014 with California voters asked once again to settle the matter even after the Supreme Court's expected ruling this month on the issue. Experts believe the top court is unlikely to proclaim a national right to same-sex marriage in its decisions. The court is set to rule on a challenge to California's ban on same-sex marriage and on a provision of federal law denying certain benefits for married same-sex couples. ...


2013-06-19 00:11:14 -0500
Journalist Michael Hastings dies in car crash at 33
Michael Hastings, the award-winning journalist whose explosive 2010 Rolling Stone profile of U.S. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal ("The Runaway General") led to McChrystal's resignation, died Tuesday in an early morning car accident in Los Angeles, the magazine said. He was 33. "Hard-charging, unabashedly opinionated, Hastings was original and at times abrasive," Rolling Stone, where he [...]
2013-06-18 19:23:00 -0500