Teenage drivers are more likely to speed or tailgate if there are male teenagers along for the ride. A new study shows that both male and female teenage drivers take more risks if there is a teenage male passenger in the front seat, but female passengers may have a soothing …
Read More »Wal-Mart Sales at High End of Forecasts
BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) estimated that July sales will be near the high end of its estimate. Shares of Wal-Mart rose 16 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $49.51 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange (search), after the world’s largest retailer said Saturday that same-store sales would …
Read More »Audit Shows Misreporting by DeLay PAC
WASHINGTON – A federal audit of a fundraising committee founded by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (search) found that it failed to report more than $300,000 in debts and incorrectly paid for committee activities with money from another DeLay-connected group. The Federal Election Commission’s report didn’t indicate whether it would …
Read More »Ex-Klansman Killen Released From Jail
PHILADELPHIA, Miss. – Edgar Ray Killen (search) was released from a Mississippi jail Friday after posting $600,000 bond while he appeals his manslaughter convictions in the 1964 killings of three civil rights workers. The 80-year-old one-time Ku Klux Klansman, wearing street clothes, sandals and a felt cowboy hat, appeared to …
Read More »Scientist: Brazil Mulled An Atom Bomb
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Brazil’s (search) military continued work on an atomic bomb after it was ordered to scrap the program in 1985 and by 1990 had nearly finished building one, a leading nuclear scientist said. Jose Luiz Santana (search), the former president of Brazil’s nuclear energy commission, known …
Read More »Staggering Loads
Which fund charges the highest load? QUESTION: Which fund charges the highest load? Do they actually go up to 9% as per the criteria in the SmartMoney.com Fund Finder? ANSWER: That’s no typo — some funds really do charge investors exorbitant sales charges. Fortunately, however, such burdensome loads are the …
Read More »Rep. Thomas Wins Big for Hometown
WASHINGTON – Bakersfield easily outstripped every other California municipality in special projects in Congress’ new transportation bill. Then last week, the military base closing commission moved some 2,000 Navy workers from the Southern California coast to the inland desert region of Kern County east of Bakersfield. Winners and losers in …
Read More »Europe or Bust?
For years I’ve held a European-stock fund as a way to diversify my portfolio. But does it really offer the diversification I seek? QUESTION: It used to be said that holding a small part of your mutual-fund portfolio in foreign funds made good sense as a way to balance out …
Read More »10 Things Your Contractor Won't Tell You
Dreaming about a new sunroom in your home? Pick the wrong contractor and you could end up with a big headache — and a gaping hole in your house — instead. 1. “My license is worthless.” When you hire a general contractor to come build an addition onto your house, …
Read More »10 Things Your Accountant Won't Tell You
It’s tax time. Do you know how qualified your accountant is? 1. “I don’t need some silly old certificate to set up shop.” As you search for an accountant to sort through your capital gains or make the most of your itemized deductions, you’ll find no shortage of candidates. The …
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