Your Money

How The Heck Do You Pay Off Your College Loans?

2:12pm December 18, 2015

by Eric Westervelt

It's easy for parents and students to get lost in the college loan and debt jungle. Yet another plan aimed at helping students reduce debt burden takes effect this month. Will it help?

Yes, this is a story about the budget â read on.

Winners And Losers Tucked Inside The Spending And Taxing Bills

5:59pm December 17, 2015

by Marilyn Geewax

Conservatives don't like the price tag and liberals don't like the priorities. Still, Congress is making quick progress on a massive legislative push affecting government spending and business taxes.

Federal Reserve Bank Chair Janet Yellen holds a news conference after the central bank announced its first rate increase in more than 9 years.

Federal Reserve Announces Hike In Short-Term Interest Rates

5:54pm December 16, 2015

by Marilyn Geewax

After holding rates near zero for seven years, the Fed approved a small increase Wednesday. While that step seems minor, the impact could be huge in 2016 as borrowing costs head up.

Why Is The Fed Chair So Difficult To Understand? Here's A Translation

5:41pm December 16, 2015

Have you ever heard an announcement from the Federal Reserve and felt like you are way under qualified to understand a word of it? That's no accident.

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Graphic showing U.S. economic indicators

These Seven Charts Can Help You See What The Fed Is Doing

8:13pm December 15, 2015

The Federal Reserve's thinking about interest rates may seem a bit mysterious. But here are some graphs that should help you see where we've been, and why the central bank may be ready to raise rates.

De Desharnais, a homebuilder and real estate agent in Nashua, N.H., stands in front of a house her company is constructing. She says her company had 32 employees at the height of the housing boom, and now only has six despite the industry's gradual recove

Will A Fed Interest Rate Hike Slow The Housing Recovery?

1:54pm December 15, 2015

by Chris Arnold

Many construction companies are still recovering from the housing crash, and while buyers don't seem pressured by a looming Federal Reserve decision, higher rates would make mortgages less affordable.

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Federal Reserve Expected To Raise Interest Rates For First Time In 7 Years

1:54pm December 15, 2015

by John Ydstie

The Federal Reserve has held interest rates at super low levels for years in an effort to bolster the economy, but it is expected to raise rates for the first time in seven years this week.

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A computer screen displays the homepage of Twitter on April 3, 2009.

For Millennials, Rising Interest Rates Sound Like Olden Tales

4:59pm December 14, 2015

by Marilyn Geewax

The last time Fed policymakers raised rates, young Americans' lives were different. They couldn't share the news or comment via Twitter on iPhones and iPads because those things didn't exist.

Less Than Half Of Adults Now Middle Class

The Tipping Point: Most Americans No Longer Are Middle Class

5:03pm December 09, 2015

by Marilyn Geewax

In the post-World War II economy, most Americans lived in middle-income homes. But that has been shifting for decades. Today, middle-income families make up less than 50 percent of all households.

AIDS activists poured cat litter on an image of Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli during an October protest in New York.

Senate Questions 'Egregious' Price Hikes For Specialty Medicines

4:27pm December 09, 2015

by Alison Kodjak

Some companies have bought the patents for old drugs, then abruptly upped the prices — from $13 per pill to $750 in one case. Irate senators call it price gouging.