New-Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low

Sales of new homes plunged 9 percent in November.

Town may pay seniors to work off taxes

A New York town is pushing a program that would let seniors work part-time, for $7 an hour, to help pay off some of their property taxes.

Taxman giveth this holiday season

Just in time for Christmas, Oregon taxpayers have gotten some extra spending money from an unlikely Santa Claus: their state government.

Ron Paul Does Not Accept Evolution

What has happened to our society when some of the most well educated people in our country do not accept this most basic and obvious of scientific theories?

Fisticuffs, Delays, Sex: Weird Year in Travel

In 2007, flights marred by mid-air brawls, grumpy pilot, mile-high-club bid.

Bill Kristol rewarded for being “wrong” on everything:

Bill Kristol could not be more wrong on most issues. I guess this gets you kicked upstairs to a N.Y. Time job. What a joke.

Studios: Writers Lost More Striking Than Sought in Contract

The studios say the writers have lost $151 million in the eight-week-strike.

CIA Jet Carrying 4 Tons of Cocaine also made trips to Gitmo

Perhaps the reason why the CIA’s well-documented role in the global drug trade is never really acknowledged is because it never really ended.

Kucinich 'Comes Closest to Embodying the Ideals' of Nation

The influential publication The Nation has named Kucinich the candidate who most matches its ideals.

Time to Fix or Trash Your Appliances?

Elisabeth Leamy's tips about what to do with your aging appliances.

10 Reasons Gift Certificates Make Horrible Gifts

For those of you who can’t think of what to buy your miserly Aunt Josie who doesn’t seem to enjoy any material possessions or your nephew, John, who is involved in the next cult-like fad of card-collecting, baggy clothes or earsplitting music, avoid the temptation to get a gift certificate. Here’s why..

Mike Huckabee: If you vote for me you live, if you don't....

Mike Huckabee removes all doubt about his worthiness of the presidency in one fowl swoop...

Operation Falcon and the Looming Police State

Operation Falcon is the clearest indication yet that the Bush administration is fine-tuning its shock-troops so it can roll up tens of thousands of people at a moment’s notice and toss them into the newly-built Halliburton detention centers. This should be a red flag for anyone who cares at all about human rights.

Tax Refunds Delayed For Millions

IRS says more than 3 million could have to wait until February to get refund.

Don't Get Drunk, Get a Raise!

Holiday office parties are a great place to get a new job.

The 15 Richest Fictional Characters

Number 4: The future's wealthiest woman, Mom is known to her adoring public as the matronly CEO of MomCorp, a far-flung conglomerate with divisions ranging from Mom's Friendly Robot Co. to Mom's Friendly Advanced Weapon & Munition Co.

Money and relationships: Take our survey

Is money destroying your relationship? Or do you always agree with your partner on financial issues? ?Take our exclusive Money, Sex and Love survey.

Baby For Sale!

A couple tries to sell a baby at a car wash for $30.

Shoppers Rush to Stores Before Christmas

Holiday Shoppers Crowd Stores on Last Weekend Before Christmas, As Stores Remain on Edge

Forget Weather, Airlines Cause Own Delays

Pilot shortages, long refuelings and mechanical breakdowns are root of delays.

Who gets help from Bush foreclosure fix?

Last week’s White House plan to freeze some adjustable mortgages has raised as many reader questions as it answered. The Answer Desk by msnbc.com's John W. Schoen.

When Cops Trick Innocent Kids into False Confessions

Convicted of killing his wealthy parents after confessing 19 years ago, Martin Tankleff moved closer to freedom Friday when an appeals court said there's enough new evidence to convince a jury he's innocent.

Smart ways to trim your year-end tax bill

Although Uncle Sam might not usually be included in your holiday plans, wrapping up a few simple financial tasks before the end of the year can help carry the joy of the season all the way through April 15. ?Financial Editor Jean Chatzky shares practical advice on how to prepare your accounts for the new year.

What does ‘core’ inflation mean anyway?

Last week's reports on a strong uptick in prices have readers wondering how worried they should be about inflation.? The Answer Desk by msnbc.com's John W. Schoen.

Tech sector leads Wall Street rally (FT.com)

FT.com - Wall Street stocks rose on Friday after strong results from Research (NASDAQ:RIMM) In Motion provided a boost to the technology sector and on reports that Merrill Lynch may get a multi-billion dollar capital infusion from Singapore.

RSS Feed: Send News to Your Computer

Get the latest business headlines from ABC News.

Clinton donors overlap. How to Legally Buy a President

Last year, contributions reached $135 million, a 70 percent increase over the previous year. Two-thirds came from just 11 donors.... For weeks, Clinton Foundation officials had suggested that the $31.3 million contribution listed on its tax return did not come from a single donor. They then said it came from a single source, but declined to identif

Auto Insurance … for Your Pet?

One insurer is offering up to $500 if a dog or cat is hurt or dies in a car cras

Study: Finances bigger concern than health

After record mortgage foreclosures and slumping home prices, Americans are more determined to shape up their flabby finances in 2008 than their bodies, according to a study.

Holiday gratuity questions? Here are some tips

With the holiday season fast approaching, many families are starting to think about who to tip for services ranging from hair cuts to house cleaning and dog walking — and how much to tip.

Johnson Matthey leads FTSE gainers (FT.com)

FT.com - Johnson Matthey led the gainers in London on Thursday amid reports that the platinum specialist could be a target for a US chemical group.

Occupation's Toll: 5 Million Iraqi Children Orphaned

It is said that Iraq is the world's best-known conflict but the least well-known humanitarian crisis.

Mortgage Crisis Forces Big Cuts at WaMu

Mortgage Woes Force WaMu to Close Offices, Slash Over 3,100 Jobs and Drop Subprime Loans

Police Arrest CBC Journalist, Take Camera for Filming Them

Errm... is Blackwater training the cops in Winnipeg? "CBC reporters were in the area following a different story. When police began arriving, the cameraman began rolling. Police instructed him to turn off the camera, then moved in, said CBC reporter Gosia Sawicka... the cameraman was formally charged with obstructing a peace officer."

Red Hot Deal: $10.1B Climate Control Mega Merger

Ingersoll-Rand Acquire Trane, Creating Climate Control Behemoth in $10.1B Deal

Money tips for cash-strapped retirees

More and more retirees are struggling to make ends meet in their golden years, in large part because they’re being walloped by the effects of inflation.

Credit jitters spread to student loan market

Credit-market tremors — like the ones linked to the housing crisis — are beginning to show up in the $85 billion student-loan market.

3 Members of Congress call for impeachment, ignored by media

Three Members of Congress, all on the Judiciary Committee, call outright for impeachment hearings, and no one reports it?

Tax Tactics front page

With Americans living longer, a growing number of people are embarking on entrepreneurial second careers ?well into their 80s. For many, running a company has become the new retirement.

Reid Bows to Buch/Cheney on Telecom Amnesty -- Act Today!

Reid is doing everything possible to enable the Bush/Cheney FISA agenda on telecom amnesty and surveillance powers, and doing everything possible, yet again, to ensure that Senate Democrats stand up to nobody except their voters and their base who put them in power. TODAY: Pressure Reid, ask presidential candidates to support Dodd's filibuster.

Impeachment hearings on Dick Cheney move forward

Congressman Robert Wexler [D]FL and others have pushed for hearings of impeachment against VP Richard Cheney. More information can be found @ www.wexlerwantshearings.com. The request has been approved by John Conyers [D]MI.

If you're happy and you know it ... spend

Those with rosy outlook more likely to make prudent financial decisions, but extreme optimists make riskier investments a study finds.

Lower your medical bills over the long haul

Regardless of your status – healthy or sick, insured or uninsured – these ounce-of-prevention-type tips may help you feel at least a little bit better for just pennies a day.

Carolyn Washburn controls the Iowa Debate, excludes Kucinich

Many voters may not have heard of Carolyn Washburn, but she's familiar, and critically important, to the presidential candidates in town this week for back-to-back debates. You can email to complain at cwashburn@dmreg.com or call 800-247-5346 and ask for Carolyn Washburn.

Lazy Man’s Way to Building a Great PowerPoint Presentation

Delivering a breathtaking presentation that wows the audience isn’t easy. Here is a kick ass PowerPoint template to take some of the stress off your speaking experience.

Is work too good to give up?

In our workaholic society, many people’s lives revolve around their jobs. So retirees can be unprepared for what life is really like once they punch that final time card.

How does U.S. TV cover Venezuela?

Claiming that the proposal that would have abolished presidential term limits, allowing for Chavez to stand for reelection, would have let Chavez "stay in power for life," US President George W. Bush said today at a rare unscripted White House press conference that the Venezuelan people "rejected one man rule... they voted for democracy."

Credit Card Debt...Young and Old

It doesn't seem to matter how old you are. Credit has no biases. It will help or hurt anyone, no matter what their age. I'm not saying credit is an all encompassing screw job, but what I am saying is...it could be! It still amazes me that our government allows these financial institutions to get away with this financial pornography. Hopefully, the people in power will open there eyes (and close their wallets) and put a stop to this legal racketeering. Not even the mafia could get away with such a scam. Meanwhile, while we all suffer and pile up debt endlessly, read Credit Card Debt Young People and hopefully we can start to clean up our act.

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'12 Days of Christmas' Gets Costly

The price of gifts listed in 'Twelve Days of Christmas' Carol Hits $78,100.

Father killed daughter for not wearing hijab

In yet another example of the Muslim "honor killings" that are becoming more common in the West, a father in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga has strangled to death his sixteen-year-old daughter, because she did not want to conform to Muslim requirements by wearing a headscarf.

Huckabee Wants To 'Take Back This Nation For Christ'

In 1998, then-Arkansas gov. Mike Huckabee spoke at the National Pastors’ Conference, explaining why he entered into politics: "I got into politics because I knew government didn’t have the real answers, that the real answers lie in accepting Jesus Christ into our lives. … I hope we answer the alarm clock and take this nation back for Christ."