If you absolutely must buy a Zhu Zhu Pet for the holidays, what's the cheapest way to find this impossible to find item? Read more!.

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More than 2 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs recalled

Julie Tilsner Nov 23rd 2009 @ 8:01PM EST Filed Under: Recalls

More than 2.1 million drop-side cribs are being voluntarily recalled by their manufacturer, Stork Craft Manufacturing, Inc., after four incidents in which infants were trapped and suffocated, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The recall includes about 147,000 cribs with the popular Fisher-Price logo.

The recall is the largest involving cribs by the CPSC.

Although Stork Craft is based in British Columbia, the cribs were manufactured in China and Indonesia, as well as in Canada. They have been sold since 1993 under a variety of brand names, including Fisher-Price, at outlets including Wal-Mart Stores, Kmart and Sears, inc.

Drop-side cribs are popular with parents because the mechanism makes it easier to lift baby out of the crib without having to hunch over the sides.

According to its press release, CPSC urges parents and caregivers to immediately stop using the recalled cribs, wait for the free repair kit, and do not attempt to fix the cribs without the kit. They should find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby. Consumers should contact Stork Craft to receive a free repair kit that converts the drop-side on these cribs to a fixed side.

The recall does not include cribs that are not drop-sided, according to the CPSC.

For additional information, contact Stork Craft toll-free at (877) 274-0277 at any time to order the free repair kit, or log on to www.storkcraft.com.

Deal of a lifetime: Bargain shopper proposes on deal Web site

Josh Smith Nov 23rd 2009 @ 6:00PM EST Filed Under: Bargains

On Saturday morning an amazing deal popped up on the Dealnews.com Web site -- a free engagement ring. But, like all great deals this one came with a catch, it was only good for Stefanie Setlock of Atlanta, GA.

The deal, set up by groom to be Brian Chernick, required a coupon code of, "I DO" and came complete with "free on-one-knee delivery." All this added up to, what Dealnews called, "the lowest total price we've seen for any marriage proposal, excluding refurbs."

Included in the deal is a lifetime of, "having and holding, for better or worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, and till death do you part," but there is no warranty provided!

Continue reading Deal of a lifetime: Bargain shopper proposes on deal Web site

Low interest rates good for borrowers, bad for savers

Martha C. White Nov 23rd 2009 @ 5:30PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Banking-savings-account

Americans are saving more of their earnings than they have in years, and that's a good thing. But unfortunately, we're not being rewarded for it the way we were in flusher years.

By now, everyone has heard about the government's unprecedented actions to drop interest rates to historic lows so cash-strapped individuals, businesses and banks can borrow on more forgiving terms. The down side of this is that bank account holders are now getting rock-bottom interest returns on their money.

Currently, we're saving around 3% of our collective income. That's not really an achievement to be proud of -- not yet, anyway --- but it's still a great step up from where we were a couple of years ago when the U.S. had a negative savings rate, meaning that we as a nation were literally spending more than we made.

Continue reading Low interest rates good for borrowers, bad for savers

"Blade" files appeal in Atlanta

Kelly Phillips Erb Nov 23rd 2009 @ 5:00PM EST Filed Under: Tax, Celebs & Money

The Wesley Snipes show was back in federal court in Atlanta, Georgia. The actor, however, was noticeably absent as his attorneys did the talking.

Snipes, who was sentenced to a maximum three years in federal prison for his convictions on tax evasion charges in April 2008, had vowed to appeal and on November 20 his attorneys made oral arguments in appellate court. The appeal focused on two issues: that the three year sentence was "unreasonable" and that the actor should have been granted a pre-trial hearing to decide whether his trial should have been in New York instead of Florida.

Continue reading "Blade" files appeal in Atlanta

Switching Careers: Being your own boss

Lan N. Nguyen Nov 23rd 2009 @ 4:45PM EST Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Career, Recession

The job picture has not brightened much since fall 2008, when Wall Street's troubles hit Main Street. But there's been one unexpected silver lining: people are trying their hand at being their own bosses, according to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

In 2008, 0.32% of the adult population or 320 out of 100,000 adults started a new business each month, compared to 0.30% in 2007.

Tony Wong of New York was one of the many to make a go at being a small business owner. He and Rhianna Burroughs of Denver tell WalletPop how they put a new spin on their careers.

Continue reading Switching Careers: Being your own boss

If you can't afford mortgage, don't borrow to send kid to college

Zac Bissonnette Nov 23rd 2009 @ 4:30PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Borrowing, College

When I can't think of anything else to write about, I sometimes like to pick up a copy of US News & World Report's America's Best Colleges, and spend about 30 seconds flipping through to find one piece of really, really, really horrible advice.

And so here it is, from an article by Kim Clark:

The federally backed parent PLUS loan can cover the student's entire cost of college (less any other financial aid). But PLUS loans can cost as much as 8.5 percent a year plus a fee of 4 percent of the loan amount, for a total annual percentage rate of as much as 9.4 percent. Shoppers can find discounts, however. Those who borrow directly from the federal government and make automatic electronic payments are charged just 7.65 percent in interest. (After fees, the APR totals 8.55 percent.) And the eligibility criteria are comparatively forgiving, even for parents who are a little behind on their mortgages.

Continue reading If you can't afford mortgage, don't borrow to send kid to college

Chase becomes first bank to drop arbitration clause

Lita Epstein Nov 23rd 2009 @ 4:15PM EST Filed Under: Credit, Debt, Credit cards

JP Morgan Chase became the first bank to drop its arbitration clause from its credit card contracts, so Chase credit card holders will have the right to go to court to dispute a problem with its credit card decisions.

This decision was part of a settlement of an antitrust lawsuit filed by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson that involved the largest arbitration company, the National Arbitration Forum, in July. The Forum is no longer part of the process of consumer-debt arbitration, but the banks have not yet settled the suit. This move by Chase will likely encourage other banks to do the same thing.

While Bank of America became the first one to announce that it would no longer require credit card, bank account and auto loan customers to sign away their right to sue and force arbitration, it has not yet settled the existing lawsuit. Capital One Financial, HSBC Holdings and Discover Financial are among the other financial institutions named in the suit.

Continue reading Chase becomes first bank to drop arbitration clause

Renters have rights when owners lose building to foreclosure

Charles Feldman Nov 23rd 2009 @ 4:00PM EST Filed Under: Home, Real Estate, Mortgages

If you're a fan of disaster movies (and who isn't?) you already know that being in front of an oncoming tsunami wave is never a good thing. And, yet, for many renters around the U.S., this is exactly the position they are now in.

"We're at the front end of that wave...Are we concerned? Absolutely," Raphael Bostic, of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, tells the Washington Post.

By one recent estimate, as many as 75 percent of multifamily buildings could have problems refinancing, says the paper. Already, the number of foreclosures against multifamily rental and co-op homes is up in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and other large urban settings, and also in smaller cities and towns such as Des Moines, Iowa and Lexington, North Carolina.

Continue reading Renters have rights when owners lose building to foreclosure

New survey shows how we're spending for the holidays ... or not

Geoff Williams Nov 23rd 2009 @ 3:46PM EST Filed Under: Debt, Shopping

The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) have come out today with their tenth annual holiday spending survey, and here's what they have found: Consumers aren't going to be spending as much on their holiday gifts as in previous years.

Could there be any news that's less surprising?

Not to knock them for getting this information -- it's always good to have the data on spending, if you're a retail store owner or, I guess, a personal finance journalist. But this isn't exactly a shock.

Continue reading New survey shows how we're spending for the holidays ... or not

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