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Easier home-office deduction?

Michelle Singletary: The Internal Revenue Service recently announced a streamlined option for claiming a home-office deduction. You have a chance to comment on this new option, and your suggestions could help improve the change for tax year 2014 and later, the IRS says.

Financial crisis leaves 401(k)s vulnerable

A growing number of Americans are dipping into their 401(k)s and other defined contribution plans to pay for more immediate needs such as tuition, overdue bills, credit cards and mortgages.

Study: Nearly half of American households lack savings for emergencies

Nearly 44 percent of American households are one emergency away from financial ruin.

App assists, so your taxes aren't too taxing

Apptitude: Great news: The Internal Revenue Service began accepting tax returns this week. OK, maybe that's not so great. But smartphone applications are here to help with the chore, though they need improvement.

Wife has bright idea to pay off credit cards

DEAR HARRY: I negotiated with my bank to let me pay the balance due on my mortgage for a $15,000 discount. My wife told me that she heard that I could use that same "paid in full" statement to pay off some credit-card debts.

FILE - This file photo taken Nov. 18, 2009, a pile of MasterCard and VISA credit cards are displayed in Frankfurt, Germany. A sweater you buy for Christmas goes on sale for half price the next day. You might be able to get the difference back if you paid with a credit card.(AP Photo/Jochen Krause, File)

Credit card fees can be charged at checkout

Stores can now ask consumers using credit cards to pay a surcharge or "swipe fee," as a result of a proposed legal settlement.

A UIT is not the same as a mutual fund

Motley Fool: Q: What's the difference between unit-investment trusts and mutual funds?

In this Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012 photo people use a Bank of America ATM in Boston. Banks including JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bancorp and Bank of America seized on government payments for unemployment compensation as a business opportunity and pitched card programs to many states. However to cover the costs of the programs, banks have hit all card users with a plethora of new fees. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Report: States force jobless to pay needless fees

Jobless Americans are paying millions in unnecessary fees to collect unemployment benefits because of state policies encouraging them to get the money through bank-issued payment cards, according to a new report from a consumer group.

Futures retreat after Dow close above 14,000

Stock futures are in retreat on the first day of trading after the Dow Jones industrial average struck a new post-meltdown high.

UK Treasury chief announces bank breakup powers

Britain's treasury chief warned the country's banks Monday that they face being broken up if they fail to protect their retail operations from their riskier investment arms.

Commerzbank reports massive Q4 loss

Germany's Commerzbank says it expects bigger than expected losses for the final quarter of 2012 as large one-off charges wiped out earnings.

Oil falls to below $97 after weeks of strong gains

Oil prices fell below $97 a barrel Monday amid some optimism over possible direct negotiations between the United States and Iran on nuclear issues and as traders booked some recent profits.

FILE - In this Wednesday, April 19, 2006 file photo, journalists taste wine at a winery in the Georgian city of Telavi, some 200 km (125 miles) northeast of Tbilisi, Georgia. Russia on Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, held talks on whether to resume Georgian wine imports after a seven-year ban, the first tentative step toward repairing the ruptured ties between the two ex-Soviet neighbors. Russia banned the imports of Georgian wine, mineral water, fruits and vegetables in 2006 amid rising political tensions in the run-up to a 2008 war. (AP Photo/ Shakh Aivazov, file)<br />

Russia mulls resumption of Georgian wine imports

A Russian official said Monday that Moscow may soon resume imports of Georgian wine, mineral water and fruit after a seven-year ban, the first tentative step toward repairing the ruptured ties between the two ex-Soviet neighbors.

FAA mandates safety checks for older Piper planes

The Federal Aviation Administration is requiring inspections on tens of thousands of older model Piper airplanes to check cables that control tail surfaces.

AP Exclusive: 787 grounded, but batteries can fly

At the same time the government certified Boeing's 787 Dreamliners as safe, federal rules barred the type of batteries used to power the airliner's electrical systems from being carried as cargo on passenger planes because of the fire risk.

FOR STORY LITHUANIA HEATING BLUES - In this photo made Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, Vytas Ratkevicius, a resident of Vilnius, Lithuania, prepares to light his wood stove to heat his apartment as air temperatures dropped to around minus 20 Celsius. Gas prices have risen about 450 percent over the past seven years, forcing many Lithuanians to shut off their central heating and replace it with firewood burners to save money. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)<br />

Lithuania shivers as Russia ramps up heating costs

To save money during the harsh Baltic winter, Romanas Ziabkinas did something unremarkable: He turned off his central heating and installed a cheaper electric heater. Now he finds himself neck-deep in legal woes.

Qatar's Qtel increases share in Iraq's Asiacell

Qatar Telecom says it has increased its share in the Iraqi phone service provider Asiacell from 53.9 percent to 64.06 percent after a successful public offering for a quarter of the Iraqi company's shares.

Credit-reporting companies know more than they tell you

Jeff Gelles: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You can barely function in today's world without them - not if you want a home loan, credit card, job, or apartment. But to them, you're primarily a product - the name atop a valuable credit file - rather than a customer.