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Talking on a hands-free phone while you drive is just as distracting and therefore dangerous as dialing or holding a phone, according to a new study. Researchers at the University [...]

A bill now before Congress would let you cut your taxes by sheltering some gains on mutual funds. Under current law, you have to pay tax on a fund's capital [...]

If you're looking for guidance on finding undervalued companies to invest in, check out Morningstar's new stock ratings. The investment research firm, which is known for rating mutual funds, now [...]

Financial Web sites provide more consistent answers than do financial planners when it comes to simple questions such as how much life insurance to buy or whether to convert a [...]

Stock analysts will have to declare up front whether they or their brokerage have a financial interest in stocks they are boosting, under rules proposed by the National Association of [...]

Car buyers should be wary of the 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Limited because it tipped severely on two wheels during tests of emergency maneuvers, says Consumer Reports. Consumers Union, the nonprofit [...]

Home prices rose 16 percent from 1993 to 2000, when adjusted for inflation, and the biggest increase was in Denver, where prices soared more than 50 percent, according to a [...]

You'll soon be able to go online while flying. So far, 10 airlines have signed on with two services that plan to roll out airborne Internet service next year. You'll [...]

Mortgage shoppers often have trouble comparing loans because no uniform labels exist for fees. A lender might advertise that it doesn't charge application fees, but then tack on a commitment [...]

You would have been better off last year doing the opposite of what Wall Street analysts recommended. Stocks that they favored in 2000 fared poorly, while those that they reviewed [...]

Investigators looking for advice at Internal Revenue Service walk-in centers got insufficient or wrong answers nearly three-quarters of the time, says the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Auditors paid [...]

You can now be alerted about delays at 39 airports nationwide via a home computer, PDA, pager, or cell phone capable of receioving e-mail. Register at www.fly.faa.gov, select the airports [...]

Car thieves apparently love the Acura Integra, which tops the moststolen list for all 1998 to 2000 model passenger vehicles, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute. The theft frequency [...]

The ranks of millionaires grew 3 percent from 1999 to 2000, to 7.2 million people worldwide, according to a report by Merrill Lynch and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Their [...]

The US Tax Court has held that profits generated by nonshareholder physicians, but paid only to the shareholders of a C corporation, may be taxable to the PC. A six-doctor [...]

A new program can alert to the presence of "Web bugs," the devices that Web sites and their advertisers use to track your online travels. The Privacy Foundation, a consumer [...]

Before you head for the beach this summer, check out the Clean Beaches Council Web site for a list of certified beaches. About 60 around the nation have been certified [...]

Tucked away in the new tax law is the first federal subsidy for private school. The law will let you use proceeds from education IRAs for private elementary or secondary [...]

The number of mutual funds that penalize shareholders for selling their holdings too soon has jumped 82 percent from December 1999 to March 2001. Some 585 funds now carry redemption [...]

Online car-pricing sites miss the mark by an average of $630, according to CNW Marketing/Research, an automotive research firm in Bandon, OR. The firm checked the manufacturer's suggested retail and [...]

Complaints against stockbrokers have increased 15 percent since last year, says the National Association of Securities Dealers. Claims of unauthorized trading, misrepresentation, and incompetence are on the rise, as investors [...]

More than 500,000 taxpayers overpaid their 1998 taxes by about $610 each, for a total of $311 million, according to a new General Accounting Office study. The GAO found that [...]

How you can buy tickets to even the hottest blockbuster movie without leaving home. Just log on to Moviefone.com or MovieTickets.com, which offer online access to more than 85 percent [...]

Camera enforcement of traffic laws can significantly reduce car accidents, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Accidents involving injuries dipped 30 percent in Oxnard, CA, [...]

Watch out for marketers of fraudulent trusts, who often target high-income taxpayers and charge up to $70,000 for their services. In a typical scam, you'd be advised to create an [...]

Operating costs and past performance are the strongest predictors of which bond mutual funds will reap healthy returns and which are likely to tank, suggest researchers for Schwab Center for [...]

Tightening the rules on who can get relief from debt should hold down the costs of borrowing for everyone else, the banking and credit card industry claims. Those changes appear [...]

Several stock funds that shut their doors when eager investors swelled their coffers are reopening now that the market has cooled. Rising redemption rates have prompted eight funds so far [...]

The price tag for tuition and board at Princeton University this fall will be $34,000, but students won't have to take out loans to help pay for their education. The [...]

Phoenix is the newest hot spot for auto thefts, followed by Miami and Detroit, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Also in the top 10 cities for car thieves: [...]

Buying stock on margin can be risky, so the US Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an online calculator to help investors understand the dangers. When you buy stocks on [...]

The Department of Transportation plans to re-examine its regulations about bumping passengers, which haven't changed since 1978. Under current rules, if an airline can't convince enough volunteers to get off [...]

Boise, ID, is one of the new hot spots for vacation homes; so is Nags Head, NC. That's because buyers often want to be near skiing or golf areas, according [...]

With the airline industry antagonizing so many travelers these days, the performance of travel agents seems to have largely escaped scrutiny. But vacation disappointments are hardly uncommon. So, what to [...]

Most college students don't realize how much debt they're assuming when they take out loans to pay for their education. Nearly 80 percent of undergraduates surveyed by the State Public [...]

When you hang up the stethoscope, do you plan to kick back? According to a survey by Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and the University of Connecticut, only [...]

Most states do little to make sure that children are adequately protected in the family car, and got either a D or an F in a nation-wide survey of child-occupant [...]

Market volatility has chilled the enthusiasm of some online investors, but most plan to keep trading stocks on the Web. While investors who use online brokers have declined by about [...]

Next time you're tempted by one of the low-interest-rate credit card offers that flood your mailbox, read the fine print. Most credit card marketing is deceptive, and the deals are [...]

Smaller domestic airlines trumped the nationwide heavyweights in a recent survey by Zagat, which tallied opinions and gripes of air travelers. For premium-class service, top marks went to Hawaiian Airlines, [...]

All that coaching for college admission tests may not be worth the price. A new study has found that commercial test preparation courses and private tutoring have only a slight [...]

U.S. automakers take notice: Consumer Reports has released its top picks in cars and trucks for 2001, and all of them are foreign models. The vehicles were rated on their [...]

You probably don't realize it, but the way your broker processes orders affects your cost of buying and selling stocks. Starting July 2, therefore, the US Securities and Exchange Commission [...]

A new federal law designed to protect your financial privacy gives you the opportunity to cut down on telemarketers' calls and junk mail--but you'll have to take action. Banks and [...]

Most millionaires don't think they're wealthy. Of more than 1,200 people with a net worth of at least $1 million interviewed for a recent survey, about half said they wouldn't [...]

For mutual fund investors, tax time can be truly maddening. It's bad enough that equity funds lost an average of 4.5 percent last year, according to Lipper, the fund-tracking firm. [...]

If you bought shares in the Acme Utilities Fund, would it bother you to know that it was loaded with technology stocks? The Securities and Exchange Commission thinks so, and [...]

College graduates will head into the world of work with some heavy debt on their shoulders. The typical college student has three credit cards and owes $2,700, according to a [...]

Most people who've bought cars with high-tech built-in navigational systems like them so much that they wouldn't buy another vehicle without one. The upscale devices help drivers find their way [...]