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Scam artists across the country are stealing billions of dollars in tax refunds through a shameless form of fraud that takes advantage of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) fast online returns.  Thanks to laptops and free Wi-Fi connections, these thieves steal identities and use the names of genuine taxpayers to file fraudulent online returns.  They’ve […]

February retail sales climbed the fastest in five months. Even rising gas prices didn’t dampen demand for cars, clothing and other goods.  According to the Commerce Department, retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent to $407.8 billion in February; January retail sales were revised upwards to show a 0.6 percent rise instead of the […]

Want more control over electrical use in your home?  The Green Button Initiative might be the answer. “Imagine being able to shrink your utility bill, or knowing the optimal size and cost-effectiveness of solar panels for your home, or verifying that energy-efficiency retrofit investments have successfully paid for themselves over time” said Aneesh Chopra, Chief […]

The “Kony 2012” film, made by an organization called Invisible Children, Inc., (IC) is a prime example of how social media can push out a video and people react to it without time to get context and background to make an informed judgment. Joseph Kony, who is believed to be in his early 50s, is […]

Foreclosure filings declined eight percent in February, the smallest year-over-year decrease since October 2010, as lenders began working through a backlog of seized properties, according to RealtyTrac Inc. A total of 206,900 homes received notices of default, auction or repossession last month, down two percent from January, according to the data firm, which noted that […]

The Great Lakes winter ice cover has dropped dramatically over the past 40 years, according to a new report. On average, peak ice has fallen by 71 percent; Lake Michigan’s ice cover has shrunk even more than that. Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) compared satellite photos dating to 1973.  Jia Wang, […]

In an attempt to dig itself out of a deepening hole, Fannie Mae has requested $4.6 billion in additional federal aid. “We think that we have reserved for and recognized substantially all of the credit losses associated with the legacy book,” Chief Financial Officer Susan McFarland said.  “We’re very focused on returning to profitability so […]

American public transportation ridership rose 2.3 percent last year as gas prices rose to their highest-ever annual average, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).  The 10.4 billion trips recorded last year was the highest since 2008, when gas prices hit more than $4 a gallon nationwide for seven weeks in the summer. APTA […]

The landmark 102-story Empire State Building in midtown Manhattan could raise as much as $1 billion in a share sale and become a real estate investment trust (REIT), if the company that controls that iconic structure if its plans pan out.  According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Empire State Realty Trust, Inc., intends […]

Linsanity has infected New York City. The economic impact of Jeremy Lin, the 23-year-old basketball phenomenon for the New York Knicks in just one week is hard to grasp. According to Times’ Brad Tuttle, “The phenomenon of undrafted Harvard grad and previous NBA benchwarmer Jeremy Lin is translating into serious money, as Knicks’ ticket prices […]