From the monthly archives:

March 2009

Return of the Uptick Rule

March 10, 2009

According to U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, the Securities and Exchange Commission could restore the uptick rule within a month. The uptick rule prevents a short seller from initiating a sale until a stocks last move was upward. The uptick rule had been in place since the 1930′s, but [...]

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Dave Barry On Income Tax Season

March 6, 2009

“It’s income tax time again, Americans: time to gather up those receipts, get out those tax forms, sharpen up that pencil, and stab yourself in the aorta.” — Dave Barry

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Details on the New Foreclosure Prevention Program

March 5, 2009

The Obama administration announced details of its new foreclosure prevention program yesterday. Interest rates on loans could drop to as low as 2% for some borrowers. The cost to tax payers is expected to be approximately $75 billion. Under previous programs by the Bush administration, lenders were urged to voluntarily modify mortgages. Even though a [...]

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5,433 Bankruptcies Per Day in February 2009

March 5, 2009

Creditslips.org reports that there were over 103,000 bankruptcies filed in February 2009. Spread over the 19 business days of February, the filing rate is 5,433 filings per day. The figure is a 22.0% jump over the January 2009 filing rate, although the better comparison is to the November 2008 filing rate because bankruptcy rates typically [...]

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Watch Out For Economic Stimulus Scams

March 4, 2009

If you use Facebook, or many other high-traffic sites, you may have noticed advertisements for “grant kits” which promise to give you the inside track on getting money from the government. The scam is this: you purchase the kit for the cost of shipping, then if you don’t return it within 14 days; you start [...]

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