CORRESPONDENTS
Tony Pugh
With jump in minimum wage comes debate over its worth, timing
More than 2 million low-wage workers will get a small raise on Thursday when the federal minimum wage jumps 12 percent, from $5.85 to $6.55 an hour. And depending on whom you talk to, it's either the best of times or the worst of times for the nation's base wage to rise. | 07/23/08 17:02:00 By - Tony Pugh
Commercial bankruptcies soar, reflecting widening economic woes
Driven by a sour economy and skittish consumers, U.S. business bankruptcies saw their sharpest quarterly rise in two years, jumping 17 percent in the second quarter of 2008, according to an analysis by McClatchy. | 07/18/08 16:19:00 By - Tony Pugh
A gloomy day for the economy, except at the White House (7/15/08)
President Bush tried Tuesday to reassure consumers that the economy was still growing, but his words had little effect. The Dow closed the day at its lowest level in two years, the government reported that prices had jumped at their sharpest pace in 27 years, and the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board warned that "significant challenges" lie ahead. | 07/15/08 13:36:00 By - David Lightman and Tony Pugh
Feds order new mortgage rules to end deceptive practices
The new rules will protect home buyers from deceptive, unfair and abusive lending, establish new advertising standards and require lenders to provide clearer disclosures of loan terms earlier in transactions. But they won't kick in until Oct. 1, 2009, and will cover only future loans, not current ones. | 07/14/08 18:15:00 By - Tony Pugh
As gas prices skyrocket, mass transport looks sweeter
America's days as an automobile nation are far from over. But the specter of high gas prices becoming permanent has forced the nation to reassess its "Yeah, right" attitude toward public transportation and to reconsider how Americans get from point A to point B. Transportation experts say that the current gasoline crisis, which is driven by price, is far different from those of the '70s, which were crises of availability. | 07/03/08 15:43:00 By - Tony Pugh
Credit ripoff: How a $100 purchase turns into a $1,000 debt
Subprime credit cards might be the worst consumer credit product ever marketed. Their high interest rates, costly penalties and high, hidden fees can eat up nearly all the credit available from the cards and, over time, turn a $100 purchase into more than a thousand dollars of debt. Wendy Adams, of Las Vegas, is living that nightmare. | 06/29/08 06:00:00 By - Tony Pugh
Helping the jobless falls victim to partisan politics in Congress
When Democrats in Congress pitched the idea of extending unemployment benefits for thousands of Americans this week, they found enough support among Republicans, including presumptive GOP presidential nominee, to hint at a bipartisan solution. | 06/12/08 18:57:00 By - David Lightman and Tony Pugh
McCain, Obama offer vastly different health care plans
McCain's plan to encourage the uninsured to buy insurance through tax credits is considered radical, and the number of people it would cover is debatable. Obama's builds on the current system and would likely cover more people, but its potential cost worries many health economists. | 06/10/08 18:26:00 By - Tony Pugh
Credit card nightmares prompt long-awaited crackdown
What prompted a slew of new federal proposals to combat abusive practices in the credit card industry depends on whom you talk to in Washington. But even the most jaded political observers now agree that, after years of complaints, relief is finally on the way for cardholders who feel victimized by their plastic. | 05/09/08 15:12:00 By - Tony Pugh
As economy worsens, coping becomes a way of life
In one form or another, Americans from coast to coast are finding ways to cut costsf — fewer restaurant visits, shorter road trips or skipping a haircut here and there. Americans now have less disposable income than they've ever had — just 43 cents of every dollar. The rest goes for core essentials — gasoline, food and housing. | 05/03/08 21:00:00 By - Tony Pugh and Kevin G. Hall
Foreclosure filings double, striking 46 of 50 states
U.S. home foreclosure filings continued to climb in the first quarter, jumping 23 percent over the previous quarter and more than doubling when compared to the first quarter of 2007. It was the seventh consecutive quarter that foreclosure activity increased. | 04/29/08 18:27:00 By - Tony Pugh
Globalization, trade and recession take a toll on Martinsville, Virginia
For nearly 100 years, the furniture industry powered the economy in Martinsville, a struggling town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Now it's dying. | 04/10/08 13:47:00 By - Tony Pugh
For less-educated workers, good jobs will be harder to find
The steady loss of "good jobs" by less-educated workers has left them more vulnerable to recession than at any time in nearly 30 years, and signs are mounting that a recession is either already here or coming soon. | 03/23/08 06:00:00 By - Tony Pugh
Consumers fight rising use of hidden fees
Hidden fees and surcharges that drive up the cost of everything from phone service to concert tickets are spreading like wildfire, creating a nuisance for U.S. consumers and making truth in billing little more than a hollow promise. | 02/27/08 06:00:00 By - Tony Pugh
Americans give up lattes, vacations as economy sours
With the economy in a nosedive, Americans are shedding unnecessary expenses, saving their cash and voting "no" to discretionary spending. That means later for lattes, farewell to fashion and goodbye to family vacations at Disney World. | 02/07/08 17:20:00 By - Tony Pugh
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