economy

Discussing salaries is taboo in many workplaces, but maybe it shouldn't be. New research suggests that knowing how your pay compares to your colleagues' pay may make workers more productive.

In an attempt to go toe-to-toe with retail giant Amazon, Best Buy has announced plans to implement a new price-matching system to combat the ever-growing trend of online shopping.

Recipients of Social Security benefits will see a slightly less than 2 percent cost-of-living increase next year, according to an estimate by the American Institute for Economic Research.

The cost of higher education is getting, um, higher. Campus Grotto recently released its annual list of the most expensive colleges in America and according to their statistics, the cost of attending just one year at the most expensive college hit a record high tuition this year at over $60,000.

While taxes are a way of life not all tax systems have been developed equally, according to the 2013 State Business Tax Climate Index by the Tax Foundation. The Foundation’s latest report was released today, ranking the states most and least friendly to do business in based on factors like individual income tax, sales tax, corporate income tax, property tax and unemployment insurance tax. Read Mor

They say the best time to look for a new job is when you already have one. Turns out there might actually be something to this phenomenon: New research suggests that the longer you're out of work, the harder it gets to find a new job.

The dream of many college graduates—to earn a good-enough starting salary to pay off student loans without being rendered homeless or forced into starvation—comes easier or harder depending on where they graduate. With that in mind, which American colleges offer the worst possible opportunity for a earning a decent entry-level salary, and which offer the best?

In an attempt to be a forethought on the shopping lists of parents this holiday season, Toys R Us has announced plans to match the prices of their competition. The company’s new “price-match guarantee” will be extended to all products from Toys R Us and Babies R Us retail outlets.

These days more credit card customers are paying their bills on time than they have over the course of the last decade. A report released earlier today by the American Bankers Association indicates that delinquencies on credit cards are currently at an 11-year low, with only 2.93 percent of credit accounts reported past due by 30 days or more. These figures come in substantially under the 3.91 per

If you want to buy something but don't currently have enough money, one option is to use layaway. Under that plan, the customer makes payments in installments and doesn't receive the item from the store until they have paid the full price. Those who want to buy their holiday gifts this way probably have to start thinking about doing so soon. So how many holiday shoppers are planning on using layaw

Call it the "baby bust." For the fourth straight year, birth rates in the United States have declined. Slightly fewer than four million babies were born in the U.S. in 2011, the lowest total since 1998. However, the 1 percent drop in the birth rate was less than it had been in the previous three years. This suggests that the economic pressure experts believe is depressing the birth rate

Have an American Express card that you never leave home without? You can expect a refund. According to a report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, American Express will be refunding $85 million to some 250,000 customers due to what officials are calling deceptive practices that include the charging of illegal late fees and discrimination against applicants 35 years old and up. For nearly

For recent college graduates, the economic downturn and very, very slow recovery of the past few years have been brutal. But things may be looking up. According to the Job Outlook 2013 survey, employers are on track to hire 13 percent more graduates from the class of 2013 than they did for those who walked away with their degrees in 2012.

Consumer error appears to be greatly benefiting the financial industry, as a new banking report finds that charges to checking accounts caused by insufficient funds generated $31.5 billion last year. That is up from $30.8 million the year before, marking roughly an overall 2 percent increase.

Do you have a Discover card? If so, you can expect to receive a refund.

There is some relief coming for stay-at-home parents who are often starved of credit access because of lacking personal finances.