Untangling the meltdown of the home loan industry could take years, but a clue lies in the way banks handed money to people like David William Earley. Earley owes more than $377,000 in child support and claimed poverty in court. His ex-wife has been trying to collect for 19 years on behalf of the couple's four children. His current wife said he hasn't worked in years. But none of that got in the way of a $125,000 home loan Earley and his wife Christina obtained in November 2006, or the $189,000 refinancing they secured in June 2007. ...more

February 11, 2009

It began with high energy costs. Soon thereafter, the housing industry - particularly in Hernando County - came to a screeching halt. ...more

January 31, 2009

Summoned to remove a fish bone agonizingly stuck in a rich man's throat, British surgeon Joseph Lister did so. When the grateful patient asked the charge for this service, Lister replied: "Suppose we settle for half of what you would be willing to give me if the bone were still lodged in your throat." The point - that the price one will pay depends on the urgency of the purchase - is pertinent to the president's "stimulus" proposal. ...more

January 30, 2009

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Insulated from the harshest effects of the housing bust - and buoyed by an abundance of energy and agriculture - five contiguous rural states have the lowest unemployment rates in the land. ...more

January 11, 2009

President-elect Barack Obama has increased his employment goal with the nation's economic outlook worsening, seeking to create or save 3 million jobs in the next two years instead of the 2.5 million he proposed last month. ...more

December 20, 2008

As some head home for the holidays, families facing a financial crisis and foreclosure are hoping they will have a home - their home - for the holiday season. ...more

November 27, 2008

Gov. Charlie Crist says he plans to announce some kind of moratorium on foreclosures early next week to give Florida families relief during the holidays. ...more

November 26, 2008

Fretting about the economy and wondering how to make ends meet, some parents think they should protect their children from the bad news. ...more

November 23, 2008

A whopping 29 percent of Florida's homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. And 1.4 million others in the state may soon join them if property values keep falling, according to a report from First American CoreLogic, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based company that analyzes loan data for lenders. ...more

November 4, 2008

With Congress considering a new spending package to get the economy moving, think tanks and lawmakers are tossing out stimulus proposals faster than their aides can pump out news releases. Here are some outside-the-Beltway ideas to supercharge the nation's economy. ...more

November 4, 2008