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Personal finance

Should lottery winners' names be kept secret?
When two winning tickets for a record $588 million Powerball jackpot were claimed from the Nov. 28 drawing, the world focused on the winners.
New tax law packed with breaks for businesses
Tucked into the "fiscal cliff" tax package approved by Congress are billions of dollars in tax breaks that should make the new year a lot happier for ...
Fiscal-cliff deal no recipe for a robust economy
Housing is rebounding. Families are shrinking debts. Europe has avoided a financial crackup. And the fiscal cliff deal has removed the most urgent ...
Swiss bank to pay $57.8M in US tax evasion plea
Switzerland's oldest bank became the first foreign bank to plead guilty in the United States to tax charges when it admitted Thursday that it helped ...
Red states, too, get health care nod from Obama
Injecting a rare shot of bipartisanship in the nation's contentious health care overhaul, the Obama administration Thursday cleared four ...
Retailers report higher December sales
A last-minute surge in spending saved the holiday shopping season. Major retailers including Costco, Gap and Nordstrom on Thursday reported ...
US rate on 30-year mortgage slips to 3.34 pct.
Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages moved closer to their record lows this week, a trend that has made home buying more affordable and helped ...
Review: Nintendo's TVii tops button-laden remotes
Nintendo's TV-watching tool for the new Wii U game console beats my regular remote control hands down. Called TVii, the service transforms how you ...
Cities chart course through pension morass
In Philadelphia, pension costs doubled in a single decade. Cities in Rhode Island dimmed streetlights, raised taxes and put off road repairs.
Taxes rising for most people despite fiscal deal
While the tax package that Congress passed New Year's Day will protect 99 percent of Americans from an income tax increase, most of them will still ...
Details of legislation averting 'fiscal cliff'
Highlights of a bill Congress passed Tuesday aimed at averting wide tax increases and budget cuts scheduled to take effect with the new year.
Details of Senate bill averting 'fiscal cliff'
Highlights of a bill Congress passed Tuesday aimed at averting wide tax increases and budget cuts scheduled to take effect with the new year.
Details of tentative deal averting 'fiscal cliff'
Highlights of a tentative agreement Monday between the White House and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., aimed at averting wide tax ...
Over the fiscal cliff: Soft or hard landing?
Efforts to save the nation from going over a year-end "fiscal cliff" were still in disarray as lawmakers returned to the Capitol to confront the ...
Illinois dragging its feet on huge pension problem
Illinois, a state with a reputation for political wheeling and dealing, backroom handshakes and 11th-hour bargains, is dragging its feet on the one ...
Last-minute fiscal cliff talks in Senate
Senate leaders groped for a last-minute compromise Saturday to avoid middle-class tax increases and possibly prevent deep spending cuts at the dawn ...
Budget battle sends mixed signals on health care
Confused about the federal budget struggle? So are doctors, hospital administrators and other medical professionals who serve the 100 million ...
AP IMPACT: Ordinary folks losing faith in stocks
Andrew Neitlich is the last person you'd expect to be rattled by the stock market. He once worked as a financial analyst picking stocks for a mutual ...
Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money
The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: ...
Stores look to week after Christmas for sales
Bargain-hungry Americans will need to go on a post-Christmas spending binge to salvage this holiday shopping season. Despite the huge discounts and ...
Cuba has much to lose as ally Chavez fights cancer
Cubans who were tuned in to the nightly soap opera on a recent Saturday received a sudden burst of bad news, from the other side of the Caribbean.
Shoppers disappoint retailers this holiday season
U.S. holiday sales so far this year have been the weakest since 2008, when the nation was in a deep recession. That puts pressure on stores that now ...
US economy could handle short fall over 'cliff'
The economic threat that's kept many Americans on edge for months is nearing reality — unless the White House and Republicans cut a budget deal by New ...
Over the fiscal cliff: What kind of landing?
Efforts to save the nation from going over a year-end "fiscal cliff" were in disarray as lawmakers fled the Capitol for their Christmas break.