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Your Money

Wednesday

Report: Your Salary Data May Be For Sale

Fill out an application for a loan, and your wage history may go places you didn't expect. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Two-Way

Report: Your Salary Data May Be For Sale

NBC News reports that the Equifax credit reporting agency has collected wage records on about one-third of American adults. Some has then been sold to "debt collectors, financial service companies and other entities." It's all legal, but is viewed by some as a huge breach of privacy.

Study: Nearly Half In U.S. Lack Financial Safety Net

Nearly 44 percent of Americans don't have enough savings or other liquid assets to stay out of poverty for more than three months if they lose their income, according to the Corporation for Enterprise Development. Atanas Bezov/iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Atanas Bezov/iStockphoto.com

Economy

Study: Nearly Half In U.S. Lack Financial Safety Net

In his inaugural address, President Obama envisioned a nation where even "the poorest child knows she has the same chance to succeed as anyone else." But a new report finds that 44 percent of Americans do not have the savings to cover basic expenses for three months if they lose their income.

Study: Nearly Half In U.S. Lack Financial Safety Net

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Tuesday

Money Coach

Retirement Accounts: Don't Rob Peter To Pay Paul!

A significant number of American workers are dipping into their retirement accounts to help pay for everyday expenses, despite warnings that it could seriously compromise their financial health. Host Michel Martin speaks with Washington Post reporter Michael Fletcher about the consequences of tapping retirement funds early.

Retirement Accounts: Don't Rob Peter To Pay Paul!

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Sunday

The GOP And Taxes: In The States, It Can Get Complicated

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature in Indianapolis on Tuesday. Darron Cummings/AP hide caption

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Darron Cummings/AP

It's All Politics

The GOP And Taxes: In The States, It Can Get Complicated

Republican Mike Pence just began his term as Indiana governor with a plan to cut the state income tax rate, joining Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, Wisconsin's Scott Walker, Nebraska's Dave Heineman and other GOP governors in pushing for similar plans. But some Republican state legislators aren't convinced.

Friday

A Thought That's Worth More Than A Penny (Or A Nickel)

It costs more than a penny to make a penny, and more than a dime to make a nickel. Would it make better business sense to simply round up? iStockphoto.com hide caption

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iStockphoto.com

Opinion

Simon Says

A Thought That's Worth More Than A Penny (Or A Nickel)

With candy bars or a pack of gum costing a dollar or more these days, perhaps it's time to get rid of pennies and nickels altogether. The problem, NPR's Scott Simon says, is picking which historic profiles should get the boot.

A Thought That's Worth More Than A Penny (Or A Nickel)

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Wednesday

Whole Foods Founder John Mackey On Fascism And 'Conscious Capitalism'

Whole Foods has more than 300 stores and continues to expand. Harry Cabluck/AP hide caption

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Harry Cabluck/AP

The Salt

Whole Foods Founder John Mackey On Fascism And 'Conscious Capitalism'

The outspoken Whole Foods founder tells us why he hates "Obamacare" and why we have trouble cutting the sugar, fat and salt out of our diets. But now he's told CBS he used a poor choice of words when referring to the health law as fascism.

Whole Foods Founder John Mackey On Fascism And 'Conscious Capitalism'

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Tuesday

Money Coach

Buy Shoes On Wednesday To Save Money

Spending less and saving more are usually at the top of peoples' New Year's resolutions. For Tell Me More's 'Money Coach' series, host Michel Martin talks with Mark Di Vincenzo, author of 'Buy Shoes On Wednesday and Tweet at Four.' He says the trick to getting a good deal is knowing when to shop.

Buy Shoes On Wednesday To Save Money

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Saturday

The 'Second Disaster': Making Well-Intentioned Donations Useful

Thousands of food and clothing items are organized by Occupy Sandy volunteers in a school gymnasium in Rockaway Park, Queens, after Superstorm Sandy in November. Craig Ruttle/AP hide caption

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Craig Ruttle/AP

National

The 'Second Disaster': Making Well-Intentioned Donations Useful

After a crisis, not all of the help that's given is necessary: People send stuffed animals when they should be sending diapers. New ways of managing donations are now getting the appropriate help.

The 'Second Disaster': Making Well-Intentioned Donations Useful

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Thursday

Three New 'Cliffs' Threaten The Economy

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Jan. 2. Financial market participants will be keeping a close eye on upcoming deadlines affecting the U.S. debt ceiling, scheduled automatic budget cuts and federal funding. AFP/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Economy

Three New 'Cliffs' Threaten The Economy

Three more fiscal cliff-type deadlines are fast approaching. They involve: 1) raising the debt ceiling 2) imposing automatic spending cuts and 3) funding the federal government to avert a partial shutdown.

Crisis In The Housing Market

New Mortgage Rules Would Limit Risky Lending

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new rules that are scheduled to be released Thursday come at a time when regulators and banks are trying to find a middle ground between overly lax and overly tight lending standards. The rules will go into effect next January.

New Mortgage Rules Would Limit Risky Lending

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Wednesday

Business

Target Ratchets Up Retail Price War

Target says it will match the online prices of Amazon.com and others. Target knows that increasingly consumers are using mobile devices to check prices online as they cruise the aisles. And if the price is better somewhere else, that's where they'll buy it.

Target Ratchets Up Retail Price War

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Tuesday

Havens Are Turning Hellish For Tax Avoiders

A man enters a UBS bank in Hong Kong last month. The Swiss banking giant agreed in 2009 to identify the names of its U.S. account holders, part of a push by banking regulators to make it harder to hide income. Dale de la Rey/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Dale de la Rey/AFP/Getty Images

Havens Are Turning Hellish For Tax Avoiders

The U.S. and other countries are cracking down on banks that are known to help clients hide their assets, and the international push is beginning to have a major effect.

Money Coach

What You Can Gain From Investing $1,000

Investing your money can be a hair-pulling ordeal, but some investments aren't complicated and may have big returns, even beyond the financial ones. Host Michel Martin talks about different ways of investing $1,000 with Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine.

What You Can Gain From Investing $1,000

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Business

Settlements Underscore Damage Done In Housing Crash

Some of the biggest banks in the country have agreed to pay more than $18 billion to settle allegations of wrongdoing in their mortgage lending. And in a separate settlement, 10 banks agreed to pay more than $8 billion to settle claims they made errors in foreclosing on people's homes.

Settlements Underscore Damage Done In Housing Crash

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