Our Business News

Dear Bankruptcy Adviser, I understand that if I file bankruptcy, the creditors do not care about small, valuable items, such as cheap and old DVD players, computers, TVs, etc. Is this true? — Jim Dear Jim, That’s a fair assessment in the vast majority of cases. Your creditors do not want your old, used personal property. In most states, the court and creditors are not set up to repossess, store and then sell personal items. There are a few major exceptions, but because I don’t practice in all 50 states, you will need to confirm whether your state is one [...]

Apparently, money can’t buy happiness, and if you are using a credit card, that’s not the only thing your money won’t be able to buy. Despite the belief credit cards can take you ‘everywhere you want to be’ – as the old Visa slogan went – the reality is there some places where your plastic won’t be gladly accepted. Here are ten items for which you might need to pocket the card and pull out the cash or checkbook. 1. Lottery tickets If you dream of winning millions through your state’s lottery program, you’ll probably have to have some cash [...]

You’re relaxing on a beach in the Caribbean or sitting at an important business meeting far from home. You’re still daydreaming about your vacation or how well your presentation went at the conference when you arrive home to disaster. Perhaps a pipe has burst and flooded your home, or a burglar has broken in and stolen your laptop and new flat-screen TV, or birds have flown down the chimney and wreaked havoc on your furniture. Whatever your misfortune involves, you should begin by photographing the damage and contacting your homeowners insurance company, says Joanna Moore, senior vice president of claims [...]

Texas Instruments (TI) said it will shift its wireless investment focus from products like smartphones to a broader market including industrial clients like carmakers where it is hoping for a more profitable and stable business. But TI’s shares fell more than 3 percent as investors worried about its revenue prospects because the chipmaker did not go into detail about how the change would affect its financial results at an investor meeting on Tuesday. Dallas, Texas-based TI has been under pressure in wireless, where it has lost ground to rival Qualcomm Inc and the world’s biggest smartphone makers Apple Inc and [...]

Dear Dr. Don, In 2005, we bought a town house in a northern suburb of Chicago with a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM. I think that back then, the interest rate was 5.5%. Anyhow, it took only 5 ½ years to lose 50% of the house’s original value.The five-year interest rate lock expired, and the ARM reset at 3%. The next year, it reset even lower to 2.8%. It went up slightly last year, back to an even 3%. We have since moved out of the home and have it rented. At this rate, what is now our rental property [...]

App helps track missing pets Start-up, app aim to revamp the car wash

Dear Dr. Don, I have around 70% of my retirement money in stocks, or about $ 1.1 million. I am in the hole on 70% of my picks. My savings are earning an average yield of about 2.75%. Should I take my losses and put more into my savings? I will soon turn 62, and I’ve been thinking about the R-word. Thank you, — Rodney Retiring Dear Rodney, Is the R-word retirement or rebalancing? That is, rebalancing your investment portfolio. Have you ever thought you should stop blaming the stock market and start blaming your stock-picking skills? Active investors try [...]

Ten days after Best Buy (BBY) founder Richard Schulze offered to take the ailing consumer electronics retailer private, the former chairman is demanding that the board OK his request to form a group to conduct due diligence, a necessary step as part of a potential takeover. Schulze, who stepped down earlier this year from his position as chairman after failing to disclose an alleged affair between ex-CEO Brian Dunn and a female subordinate, offered to buy Best Buy earlier this month for $ 24 to $ 26 a share. The proposal had represented a premium of 36% to 47% to [...]

OREGON – Western price product sales supposed inside of December, removing indignant behind again by Dec losses, nonetheless outrageous merchants claimed a latest fifthly thirty days per diminution profit. Final month’s all turn price product sales supposed 25% from your time earlier, typically a Ministry per Financial complement Switch as good as Business claimed Friday, even yet product sales upon large-scale large box stores lowered 04%. Throughout November, all turn product sales mislaid his change 22%, even yet outrageous merchants did find a 25% shed. Stocks of huge merchants have been incorporated following upon from a data, by regulating M Entrance [...]