High rates for credit cards
While interest rates on mortgages and other debt have declined to new lows, credit card rates have spiked to their highest level since 2001, with an average interest rate of 14.7 percent.
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Early withdrawals at Fidelity
Some 62,000 participants in 401(k) plans administered by Fidelity Investments made early withdrawals from their accounts in 2009, compared with 45,000 in 2008. Most withdrawals and loans were made to avoid foreclosure or eviction, pay college tuition, or buy a house.
CNNmoney.com
Good times for the Vice Fund
The wages of sin are powering one of this year’s top-performing mutual funds. The aptly named Vice Fund, which invests in tobacco, alcohol, gaming, and defense stocks, is up 4.5 percent this year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 is down 1.9 percent.
Associated Press
Ad sales up for cable-TV networks
Leading cable-TV networks are enjoying a strong rebound in ad sales, as free-spending automotive and financial advertisers return to the airwaves. Turner Broadcasting’s TNT and TBS networks and NBC Universal’s USA and Discovery networks have sold between 93 percent and 99 percent of their inventory of ad slots.
New York Post
A new option for coach passengers
American Airlines will charge passengers $19 to $39 for first dibs on the forward rows in coach. Through the Express Seats program, coach passengers can pay to move to the front of the “General Boarding” line and claim prime seating and overhead storage space.
USA Today
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The bottom linefeature Fewer jobs, bigger paychecks on Wall Street; Home as the primary workplace; Revenue up in the music industry; The success of community college graduates; Millennials mind their debt
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feature Cattle prices hit a record high; The top 1 percent's new tax rate; The rising cost of college textbooks; Carbon emissions fall; Which microwave would you buy?
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feature Americans prefer bonds; The high cost of patent lawsuits; The price of gas in California; India's stock market takes a beating; The IMF issues a warning
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The bottom line
feature Real estate near good public schools; Travel agents make a comeback; Amazon takes on Home Depot and Staples; People receiving disability benefits at record high; How important are high-paying careers?
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feature China's wealthy lawmakers; Google's move into TV; Fastenal tops Apple and Microsoft; Sheldon Adelson's big bets; Housing prices in Detroit move up
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feature Sales of digital music surpass album sales; The business savvy of immigrants; The Kate Middleton Effect; China's luxury car market; A poor market for architecture majors
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The bottom line
feature JPMorgan Chase surpasses BofA; Are the protestors right?; A weak market for music; Italy's debt; Residence visas for wealthy foreigners
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The bottom line
feature AIG repays last of $85 billion loan; Fewer Americans own homes; Credit-card interest rates peak; Consumers hoard the incandescent; Lenders return to commerical property