Ending Federal Subsidies for Mortgages
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Could the government stop subsidizing mortgages altogether? Probably not in real life. But that is where the debate over reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as righting the public-private sector balance in housing, should begin.

A new year brings a new chance to reach your financial goals
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What are your financial goals? How will you achieve them? Without this blueprint, you'll be chasing your tail, worrying about which stock or mutual fund to invest in. Having no real plan could result in higher risk than you need, scattered and duplicate investments, and high fees.

Slow and Steady Saving Still Pays
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The path toward having enough money to enjoy a comfortable retirement is a long one. And as the recent decade in the U.S. stock market shows, it's one where patience pays off.

Kentucky tax credit ends for homebuyers
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About 2,400 Kentuckians have been approved to claim $5,000 off their state income tax bill for buying a newly constructed home in the last year and a half.

A Little-Known Strategy for Cutting Mortgage Payments
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Homeowners looking to lower their monthly mortgage payments and also save some on interest may be able to do so without all the hefty fees and daunting credit requirements of refinancing. A little-known strategy, called “recasting,” or “re-amortization,” is available through some mortgage lenders and servicers.

Deciding Whether to Buy or Rent
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IN today’s market, with uncertainty the sole certainty up ahead, the age-old question — rent or buy? — becomes increasingly perplexing.

SUSTAINABLE MONEY: Why a Budget Is Like a Diet — Ineffective
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What would you do if your wallet became harder to open as your spending approached or exceeded your budget? Would you think twice about where your money was going?

OFF THE SHELF: Prosperity, Real or Imagined
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The author sees a conflict at the heart of Americans’ attitudes toward money and debt. We tend to view ourselves “as reasonably prudent and sober people,” he writes, while “the choices we make at the ballot box seem to be at odds with that self-image.”

Real Estate Developers Prosper Despite Defaults
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Hedge funds and private equity funds are still offering backing for deals, believing that the real estate market will warm up again this year. There are also new investors looking to get into real estate, including funds based in China, and Norwegian pension funds.

Ailing housing market hits former Treasury chief where he lives
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Few know better than former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. how the struggling U.S. economy has battered home prices. As former President George W. Bush's top economic adviser, Paulson played a lead role battling the U.S. housing downturn and deep financial crisis it sparked. But last week it got personal.

States Try to Force Mortgage Workouts
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A few states are forcing banks to sit down with borrowers facing foreclosure and attempt to hammer out a settlement face to face rather than going to court.

Career Shift Often Means Drop in Living Standards
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Even the lucky ones are not so lucky, it seems. A new study of American workers displaced by the recession sheds light on the sacrifices a large number have made to find work. Many, it turns out, had to switch careers and significantly reduce their living standards.

America Is Waiting for the Economic Ripple Effect
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Fewer than 800,000 new housing units were built in 2009, and the number should be roughly the same this year. That’s the slowest pace by far in four decades. The glut should largely be history given such a glacial pace of construction. Yet rental and homeowner vacancies remain at elevated levels.

U.S. Unveils Plan to Sell Stake in Ally, Once GMAC
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The federal government said on Thursday that it was planning a complex transaction that would temporarily increase its ownership position in the former lending arm of General Motors to nearly three-fourths of the company while also paving the way to cash out its stake.

Major Banks Need Midsize Ones
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If big banks start failing again, what will replace them? In the United States and Europe, that is a question with unsatisfactory answers in the aftermath of the financial crisis.