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This year’s Thanksgiving dinner on average will cost 13 percent more than it did in 2010. The price of the traditional holiday meal for 10 people will average $49.20, an increase from $43.47 in 2010, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).  That’s the biggest increase since 1990, as the cost of sweet potatoes, […]

Whoops!  Someone has a red face.  France’s credit ratings have not been downgraded by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and apparently resulted from an accidental transmission of a message that it had downgraded the nation’s credit. S&P’s error roiled global equity, bond, currency and commodity markets when it sent and then corrected the erroneous message. “As […]

Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving notable for its power shopping – just got longer as several leading national retailers announced plans to open at midnight. Instead of sleeping off that turkey coma, throngs of shoppers will be waiting in line at Macy’s and Target, both of which will open four hours earlier than […]

Standard & Poor’s slashed Spain’s credit rating to AA-, three steps beneath the highly desirable AAA, underscoring the challenges facing Europe’s major powers as they meet G20 counterparts over the eurozone debt crisis.  S&P, whose move mirrored that by fellow ratings agency Fitch, cited high unemployment, tightening credit and high private-sector debt.  Spanish 10-year government […]

Pennsylvania’s capital city, Harrisburg,  filed for a rare Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, listing debts of $500 million and assets of $100 million, according to an attorney for the city council.  Mark D. Schwartz said he filed the documents by fax to a federal bankruptcy court.  Such a filing could not be confirmed with the U.S. […]

Is a 20 percent downpayment on a house or condominium on the horizon?  If some federal regulators get their way, buyers may have to put down $60,000 on a $300,000 house to get the best possible mortgage interest rate.  Although this sets the bar high, regulators believe it will prevent the risky lending practices that […]

Recent college graduates can expect to earn 10 percent less than they did as long ago as 2000.  In fact, one of the longest-lasting legacies of the great recession may be its negative impact on the lifetime careers of young graduates.  The current high unemployment rate will leave many of them a step behind throughout […]

Are Americans shopping until they drop again? It could be, judging by the latest government report showing that consumer spending rose by a surprisingly vigorous 0.6 percent in September, even as personal incomes barely grew.  Adjusting for inflation, after-tax income declined slightly by 0.1 percent, according to the Department of Commerce.  The bottom line is […]

Whether it’s the polar bear or the petite house sparrow, many of Earth’s species seem to be shrinking in size, a new study reports; its authors believe that is likely a result of global warming.  Other experts disagree, noting that the conclusion goes too far, and that global warming should not be blamed for what […]

The midnight oil burned in Brussels as European finance ministers, heads of state, bankers and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) try to reach an agreement to restructure Greek debt.  In the deal, private banks and insurers would accept 50 percent losses on their Greek debt holdings in the latest bid to reduce Athens’ immense debt […]