News

2012

February

02

• Sen. Feinstein backs health insurance rate controls. A high-stakes ballot measure to give state regulators the power to approve health insurance rates in California has landed a heavyweight supporter: U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. One of California's most respected politicians, Feinstein has come…

• Obama announces home refinancing plan. President Obama on Wednesday made his latest pitch to lift the nation’s beleaguered housing market, unveiling a series of proposals to help struggling borrowers reduce their monthly payments and to stem the continuing slide in…

January

31

• Japanese auto parts makers admit to price-fixing scheme. For more than a decade, executives at several major Japanese auto parts makers met in secret, sometimes speaking in code, to fix prices on wiring harnesses and other crucial components. The global conspiracy, which stretched…

27

• Healthcare system woes clearly seen in cataract patient's case. Karen Fairbank has cataracts and is scheduled for surgery in March at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute. With her high-deductible Blue Shield of California policy, she was facing about $3,000 in out-of-pocket expenses. But with…

26

• To shop smart, patients need to know price of care. Over the past few years, the growth in health-care costs has quietly been slowing down. Naturally, we’d like to make this trend last. That means we’ll need to avoid betting big on just one strategy.…

• Obama initiatives to address foreclosure crisis face hurdles. Two new initiatives from President Obama to address the foreclosure crisis — more help for struggling homeowners and aggressive investigations of financial firms — face significant hurdles as the nation's real estate troubles linger in…

25

• Californians call for strong clean car standards. The California Air Resources Board will vote on updates to its Advanced Clean Cars Program. A coalition of groups including Consumer Action speaks out in favor of strong clean car standards.

23

• All 2011 unemployment insurance benefits taxable. The jobless rate is dipping, but millions of people are still out of work. And that could have implications when they file their income tax returns. Collecting unemployment insurance benefits? All that you received in…

21

• Coping with high-priced insurance that lenders make you buy. Force-placed insurance. Most homeowners never hear about it until their mortgage lender sends them a letter saying that they must have flood or some other kind of insurance and that if they don’t act quickly,…

20

• Lack of dental coverage sends patients to ER for pain. When a man recently visited an emergency room here with a toothache, consulting physician Alan Sorkey quickly diagnosed the dental infection was serious and even potentially fatal. The patient was on more than 25 medications…

19

• Mortgage settlement deal "very close". The federal government is "very close" to a settlement with mortgage servicers that could help a million homeowners by reducing what they owe on their mortgages, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan told a meeting of the…

• NHTSA ill-equipped to assess cars' high-tech systems. The nation's top auto safety regulator is ill-equipped to detect problems with high-tech electronics that are increasingly commonplace in today's cars, a new government study has concluded. Calling such shortcomings "troubling," the report called on…

13

• Credit score zealots pursue fool’s errand over 800. eff Rose, a 33-year-old financial planner, is trying to improve his credit score even though it’s 780, which is 69 points above the median score. Rose, who lives in Carbondale, Illinois, said he opened up…

• Foreclosure reviews to take longer than expected. Reviews of hundreds of thousands of foreclosure cases ordered by regulators last year will take months longer to complete than first expected, according to documents filed with federal banking regulators. The delays could postpone compensation…

11

• Big banks face inquiry over home insurance. A New York State financial services agency is investigating several large banks to see whether they fraudulently steered homeowners into overpriced insurance policies. The investigation centers on so-called force-placed insurance that has become increasingly common…

10

• Obama needs to find his backbone on healthcare reform. It's wrong to call the president of the United States a weenie. So I'll just say instead that perhaps President Obama could show a little more spine when it comes to healthcare reform. Sure, he…

• Bill would regulate Buy Here Pay Here used-car lots. Used-car dealers known as Buy Here Pay Here lots would be regulated by the state as lenders under new legislation aimed at curbing what some critics say are abusive and predatory lending practices. The bill,…

• Some doctors charge your credit card number upfront. After a year abroad, my daughter came home last summer, unusually fatigued and with more severe asthma symptoms than when she left. After a thorough checkup, her new doctor, a family practice physician, referred us…

06

• Collaborating reduces costs of health care. Peter Cady, who works 12-hour shifts on his feet at Intel's plant here, occasionally suffers severe lower back spasms. But he nearly gave up seeking medical help because in the weeks it took to get…

05

• Protect your money: How to research a broker. Q: How can one research the reputation of a brokerage firm using online tools? Please use Edward Jones as an example. A: Gone are the days investors would just get a suggestion for an brokerage…