The biggest stories this week revolve around the Federal Reserve’s decision to go all-in on QE3 and the release of the new iPhone 5 by Apple.
Fed Launches Big Stimulus, to Buy Bonds Until Jobs Rebound
The Federal Reserve announced Thursday a plan to buy $40 billion in mortgage-related debt each month until the unemployment situation improves.
The move, which signaled a significant departure from previous Fed monetary policy, has no end date and will be implemented concurrent with the Fed’s Operation Twist program.
Som economists were skeptical of the growth that this economic stimulus, which is being called QE3, would spur since lending rates are already at low levels.
The Most Outrageous Tax of the Year
Credit.com’s Co-Founder and Chairman Adam Levin wrote about what will surely be one of the biggest tax issues of the year — discharged debts.
In 2007, Congress enacted the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, which prevents homeowners from paying taxes when their mortgage debt is forgiven due to a decline in the owner’s financial life or a drop in the home’s value. The law applies to homeowners who participate in the National Mortgage Settlement who receive up to $2 million in reduced principal and interest charges. It is scheduled to expire at the end of 2012.
So instead of having that debt forgiven out right, the government could send those homeowners a 1099-C and a hefty tax bill.
IPhone 5: How to Keep It Secure
Apple announced the release of the iPhone 5 and iOS 6 this week, and although the phone doesn’t come with the highly-anticipated Near Field Communication (NFC) technology that would enhance mobile payment capabilities, we did share some tips for readers on how to keep their iPhone secure.
The first of the tips stressed the importance of passwords. If that seems basic, it’s because it is.
“Your phone is the key to unlocking a large trove of information about you,” says Ondrej Krehel, information security officer at IdentityTheft911.com. “A password is the first step in securing all of it.”
For more tips, read the article here.
Housing Crisis Turns Some Ex-Homeowners Into Lifelong Renters
In a troubling story from AOL Real Estate, some former homeowners who were burned once by the housing market slide during the recession are now swearing off home ownership for life.
One former homeowner featured in the article said that he built his own home for more than $500,000, but had to do a short sale for $260,000 to get out from under the debt and he doesn’t plan on trying it again. Home ownership levels, as the story reports, are at their lowest level in 15 years, according to the Census Bureau.
Image: NS Newsflash, via Flickr
Kali Geldis Kali Geldis is Credit.com's Deputy Managing Editor. She writes about a wide range of personal finance and credit topics. She previously ran MainStreet.com, the personal finance website powered by TheStreet. She has also worked for The Wall Street Journal as a Dow Jones Newspaper Fund intern and at The Huntington Herald-Dispatch as a reporter.
Follow Us
