Wall Street has turned the clock back to 1997. Investors unable to extinguish their worries about a recession that has no end in sight dumped stocks again Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 251 points to its lowest close since Oct. 28, 1997, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index logged its lowest finish since April 11, 1997. All the major indexes slid more than 3 percent. The Dow is just over 100 points from 7,000. ...more

February 24, 2009

ZEPHYRHILLS - Kathy Lovelace lost her job and was about to lose her house, too. But then she made a seemingly simple request of the bank: Show me the original mortgage paperwork. And just like that, the foreclosure proceedings came to a standstill. ...more

February 18, 2009

Mad at disgraced investor Bernard Madoff? There's a toy just for you. One of the vendors at this week's Toy Fair is offering the "Smash-Me Bernie," a $99.95 Madoff lookalike doll that wears a devil-red suit and carries a pitchfork. It comes with its own hammer — so you can pulverize it. ...more

February 16, 2009

As many homeowners face foreclosure, they are frequently finding that their original lender is not the mortgagee seeking to foreclose. In many cases, homeowners are being sued by banks acting as trustees for something called a "pooling agreement." The trustee frequently is represented by a law firm that is handling foreclosures in bulk quantity; and it may be impossible to get an attorney speak with you in an attempt to resolve the matter. What can the homeowner do? ...more

February 13, 2009

Three years ago, most real estate agents didn't know what a "short sale" was, said Steve Moran, an agent and partner with Keller Williams Realty in Valrico. ...more

February 11, 2009

Home prices in Pasco and Hernando counties have dropped nearly 40 percent since the peak of the housing boom, according to a report released this morning. ...more

February 10, 2009

With seven restaurants already open in Hillsborough County, the local franchisee of Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries is expanding his burger empire to Houston and Columbus, Ohio. ...more

January 27, 2009

A lawyer for Zsa Zsa Gabor says the 91-year-old actress may have lost as much as $10 million invested with accused swindler Bernard Madoff. ...more

January 26, 2009

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit in federal court against missing Sarasota hedge fund manager Arthur Nadel and his business entities, accusing Nadel of committing fraud by deceiving investors and funneling their money into secret bank accounts. ...more

January 21, 2009

Apple Inc. co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs said Wednesday he is taking a medical leave of absence until the end of June - just a week after the pancreatic cancer survivor tried to assure investors and employees his recent weight loss was simply caused by a treatable hormone deficiency. ...more

January 15, 2009