Boston Globe - Personal Finance

The state will begin sending unemployment checks tomorrow to residents whose benefits were cut off during the long congressional stalemate over whether to continue federal extensions through November.



Unemployment - United States - Business - Employment - Government

Renters threatened with eviction from foreclosed properties and homeowners struggling to keep their homes would gain new protections from a law passed by the state Legislature late Wednesday and expected to be signed by Governor Deval Patrick.



Law - Foreclosure - United States - Michigan Legislature - Government

Companies that promise to reduce or eliminate credit card balances and other debt for customers will no longer be allowed to charge an upfront fee.



Federal Trade Commission - Credit card - Debt - Business - Debt settlement

The owners of Park Lane Seaport, a 465-unit apartment complex on the South Boston Waterfront, are putting the high-rises up for sale.



Apartment - South Boston - United States - Massachusetts - Greater Boston

I’ve met too many people stuck in a hellish payday loan cycle, rolling one loan into another until the fees and outstanding balance crush them.



Loan - Payday loan - Business - Financial Services - Payday Advance Services

New applications for unemployment benefits fell last week for the third time in four weeks, a sign layoffs may be slowing. But jobless benefit claims remain above 450,000, an elevated level that also indicates companies aren't hiring large numbers of new workers.



Unemployment - Unemployment benefits - Jobless claims - Business - Layoff

New jobless claims fell last week for the third time in four weeks but remain elevated. The decline is a sign that the economy likely added jobs in July, although not enough to lower the nation's high unemployment rate.



Unemployment - Jobless claims - Business - Insurance - Employment

One year after staging its biggest loss ever, the Massachusetts public pension fund rebounded strongly with a nearly 13 percent gain last fiscal year.



Massachusetts - Fiscal year - United States - Business and Economy - Investing

We don’t have to wait six months, despite what Congress did. We don’t have to wait at all to make sure those who give us financial advice put our interests first.



United States Congress - Financial adviser - Business - Financial services - Congress

Think of it as one more reason not to write checks. Hackers believed to be operating out of Russia have figured out a high-tech way to carry out the decidedly low-tech crime of check fraud, a computer security company says, writing at least $9 million in fakes against more than 1,200 legitimate accounts.



Crime - High tech - Computer security - Business - Russia

Motivated by the looming expiration of a federal tax credit, Massachusetts buyers snapped up 5,726 single-family homes in June, the highest number of monthly sales in four years, according to new data released yesterday.



Tax credit - Single-family detached home - United States - Business - Taxation

A funeral is one of the steepest expenses we’ll face, but many important decisions are made emotionally, rather than with a close eye on costs.



Death - Death Care - Funeral Services - United States - Planning

If you bought a home in San Francisco in the past year, it might feel like the housing slump is over. Bay area home prices have shot up 18 percent in the past year.



San Francisco - United States - California - Metro Areas - San Francisco Bay Area

WASHINGTON — Sales of new homes jumped last month, but it was the second-weakest month on record. The lackluster economy has made potential buyers skittish about shopping for homes.



Business - Construction and Maintenance - United States - Residential Housing - Business and Economy

One of the state’s largest building projects will finally get underway at the shuttered South Weymouth Naval Air Station, providing an economic jolt to the region after a prolonged building slump that has devastated the construction sector.



Construction - South Weymouth Naval Air Station - United States - Government - Business

Measures to give independent auto mechanics access to the same repair data as dealerships stalled in New Jersey and never gained traction in several other states, while an effort to get a national “Right to Repair’’ law passed has dragged on for nearly a decade.



New Jersey - United States - Massachusetts - Auto mechanic - Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act

Sales of new homes jumped last month, but it was the second-weakest month on record. The lackluster economy has made potential buyers skittish about shopping for homes.



Business - Construction and Maintenance - United States - Residential Housing - Business and Economy

Instead of focusing on the politics behind the firing and subsequent redemption of Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod, we should consider what she was trying to tell us when she addressed the NAACP.



National Association for the Advancement of Colored People - Speech Technology - Politics - Research - Economic

Q. Our connecting flight was pulled out of service midway (smoke/wiring issue) and no connecting flight to Albuquerque or other options were available to get us there for two days.



Albuquerque New Mexico - Travel insurance - Business and Economy - Insurance - Financial Services