Our Business News

NEW YORK Two former clients of Bernard Madoff urged an appeals court to revive their claims against the estate of a Florida businessman who had been one of the money manager’s biggest clients, in a battle with a trustee over recoveries from the Ponzi scheme. The case before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan centered on the authority of trustee Irving Picard, who is liquidating Madoff’s firm, to reach settlements that let victims recover some of their money. At a hearing on Thursday, lawyers for Adele Fox and Susan Marshall asked the 2nd Circuit to undo an [...]

As the economy slowly recovers the housing market is mending and short sales have become more frequent as homeowners scramble to avoid a foreclosure. In the second quarter of last year, short sales made up 12% of nationwide home sales, according to RealtyTrac, and Bank of America (BAC), the county’s largest servicer of home mortgages, said it expects to process more than 100,000 short sales this year. California has one of the highest rates of short sales in the nation and more than a quarter of all homes sold in the state in spring 2011 were through this process. A [...]

Dear Debt Adviser, This one’s a doozy: Back in 2009, during the recession, I lost my job, my vehicle was repossessed, and it sold for more than the loan amount. The repo is now on my credit report, and my score is in the mid-500s. This makes it 10 times harder to get back on my feet. I can’t get approved for credit cards or even another vehicle loan. What is the best way to handle this situation and get out on top again? — Clyde Dear Clyde, You are luckier than most people who have had a vehicle repossessed. [...]

Yahoo! gets Google exec. as new CEO But as Google struggles to compete with Facebook, Twitter and the iPhone, the Web no longer seems to be where the action is. True enough, when we’re using our smartphones we’re much less likely to be thumbing through a tiny browser than to be engaging with people and information through individual apps like Yelp or Instagram. The whole notion of “places” online has given way to streams and flows of information that follow us (sometimes even through GPS) wherever we happen to be.Opinion: What signal is Marissa Mayer giving to Yahoo employees?So it’s [...]

Retro Cars: Auto Industry’s Greatest Hits Some automotive Rip Van Winkle who fell asleep years ago could wake up today and find a lot of familiar nameplates: the Chevy Camaro, the Dodge Dart, the Mini Cooper and the Volkswagen Beetle. However, he wouldn’t believe his eyes when he saw what kind of mileage and horsepower today’s cars get, assuming he could accept that Americans even cared about gas mileage. Some of today’s retro cars, such as the recently announced revival of the Dodge Dart, bear no resemblance to their ancestors. The new Dodge Dart looks like a sexy Italian sports [...]