Complaints on banks soar, even under new laws
Complaints against banks are soaring, suggesting that new laws and regulations put in place since the financial crisis two years ago aren't dampening Americans' anger over overdraft fees and foreclosure practices.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency estimates that complaints from customers of the 1,500 banks it regulates will hit 80,000 this year. That would be the highest level in the 15 years it has recorded them and more than double the 2008 total. The Better Business Bureau and state attorneys general also report big increases.
Americans' wealth grew 2.2 percent in last quarter
After declining in the spring, Americans' wealth grew 2.2 percent in the July-September quarter as a rebound on Wall Street boosted stock portfolios.
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Household net worth rose to nearly $55 trillion, even though the value of real estate holdings sank 3.7 percent, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.
That's far above the bottom hit during the recession: $49 trillion in the first quarter of 2009. Yet net worth would have to rise an additional 20 percent to regain its pre-recession peak of $66 trillion - a reminder of Americans' vast loss of wealth over the past three years.
Jobless claims plummet, nearly match year's low
WASHINGTON - Applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the second-lowest level this year, fresh evidence that companies are cutting fewer jobs.
First-time claims for jobless aid fell by 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 421,000 in the week ending Dec. 4, the Labor Department said Thursday.
The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure, dropped for the fifth straight week to 427,500. That's the lowest since August 2008, just before the financial crisis intensified with the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Facebook's CEO, others pledge to give away wealth
NEW YORK - Another 17 of America's richest people, including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, junk bond pioneer Michael Milken and AOL co-founder Steve Case, have promised to give away most of their wealth.
At 26, Zuckerberg is one of the world's youngest billionaires. Now, he's in the company of media titans Carl Icahn, 74, Barry Diller, 68, and others who have joined Giving Pledge, an effort led by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett to commit the country's wealthiest people to step up their charitable donations.
Dell close to acquiring storage firm Compellent
Dell Inc. has a tentative deal to acquire data storage provider Compellent Technologies Inc. for about $876 million, the computer maker said Thursday.
Dell, like its competitors, is eyeing cloud computing, a massive shift just under way in data-center technology, as the next area of rapid growth and sweeter profits.
The Associated Press