Get ready for a smaller paycheck.

At least that’s what could happen if Congress doesn’t approve President Obama’s proposal to extend the Making Work Pay tax credit soon.

The credit, introduced last year as part of the government’s stimulus package, boosts paychecks by up to $400 for single filers and up to $800 for joint filers, by reducing the amount of tax withheld from each paycheck.

And that extra $15 bump you’re used to getting each bi-weekly pay period is slated to expire at the end of the year unless Congress votes to extend the credit, much like the Bush tax cuts.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/27/pf/taxes/making_work_pay_tax_credit/index.htm

It looks like there is one price hike that consumers may yet get to avoid next year. The U.S. Postal Service’s plans to raise prices on stamps to 46 cents from 44 cents in January — a 4.5% increase — could be in doubt.

In an unprecedented move today, a coalition of 700 mailers acting as the Affordable Mail Alliance followed through on its threat to join together to oppose the rate hike, filing a petition with the Postal Rate Commission and joining some Capitol Hill critics of the rate hike. The commission needs to approve the rate hike for it to take effect Jan. 2.

United Technologies will cut another 1,500 this year and next on top of the 900 positions it has already eliminated in 2010, the company said Monday.

The industrial conglomerate last week posted almost a 14 percent increase in second-quarter net income, citing a “relentless focus on cost.” It cut deeply into its payroll during the worst of the recession, cutting 11,600 jobs last year.

These most recent job cuts come, however, with the company posting its first increase in revenue in about two years as aerospace and refrigerated transportation orders rebound. The company also raised its profit expectations.

FULL STORY: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/United-Technologies-to-cut-apf-1557758016.html?x=0

Retail gasoline prices are expected to increase as much as a nickel a gallon in the next few days on the heels of a jump in wholesale gasoline and crude oil prices.

The biggest increases will be in the Great Plains, the Southeast and other areas connected to Gulf coast supplies, said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service.

“They’re going to go higher here in the next few days because essentially wholesale prices had a very strong week,” said Kloza. “They’ve rallied in anticipation of the possibility of tropical weather in the Gulf.”

FULL STORY: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2010-07-23-gas-prices_N.htm

LA- The number of foreclosures this year is on track to top one million.

The head of a firm that follows foreclosures says that would be

unprecedented — breaking last year’s level of more than 900,000.

RealtyTrac Inc. says almost 528,000 homes were taken over by

lenders during the first six months. By contrast, lenders

historically have seized about 100,000 homes a year.

Experts say the prospect of lenders taking over more than a

million homes in 2010 is likely to push housing values down.

A new wave of foreclosures could be coming in the months ahead,

especially if the unemployment rate remains high,

mortgage-assistance programs fail, and the economy doesn’t improve

fast enough to lift home sales.

$8.95 if the customer uses serivces of teller or recieves paper statements

Bank of America Corp plans to offer an online bank account that charges an $8.95 monthly fee for paper statements and using tellers, as it looks for ways to make up for income lost because of new regulations.

As part of the new account, Bank of America customers would be steered toward using automated teller machines and online banking for basic services like making deposits and withdrawals.

New U.S. banking rules implemented July 1 cap overdraft fees, among others, spurring some analysts to speculate that free checking accounts may be doomed to extinction.

FULL STORY: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38251149/ns/business-us_business/

After seeing lukewarm results in June, retailers can take heart: Back-to-school spending is headed back to pre-recession levels. But it’s too early to celebrate since consumers still feel pressured financially and remain very cautious about spending in general.

A new survey from the National Retail Federation found American households will spend $55.1 billion shopping for back-to-school needs this year, including $21.4 billion for children in kindergarten through high school and $33.8 billion on college students.

Parents of school-age children will shell out $606.40 per household, an increase over the $548.72 per household spent last year and the $594.24 in 2008, shortly before the stock market freefall brought consumer spending to a halt. It’s even better than the $563.49 spent in 2007, before the recession took hold.

Want to send granny a card? It might cost you a bit more next year.

The U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday proposed a 2-cent increase in the price of a first-class stamp, bringing the cost to 46 cents. The change, if approved, will go into effect on Jan. 2.

The Postal Service is trying to dig itself out of a deep financial hole. It projects a $7 billion deficit next fiscal year.

The agency’s revenue has been crushed. Last year, the amount of mail sent declined 12.7%. Businesses hit by the recession have cut back on mailings and more people continue to turn to the web to send their messages.

FULL STORY: http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/06/news/economy/postal_rate_increase/index.htm

FULL LIST OF CLOSINGS: http://www.walletpop.com/article/retail-stores-closing-doors/968054

Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club chain is teaming up with a lender to offer loans of up to $25,000 to its small business members.

The program is one of several moves the retail giant has made to offer bank-like financial services to customers, in part to help them spend. It also comes as the retailer tries to improve profitability at its warehouse-club chain.

The division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which is based in Bentonville, Ark., is testing a program with Superior Financial Group, one of 13 federally licensed nonbank lenders, and will offer $5,000 to $25,000 loans to members who qualify. They don’t have to spend the money at Sam’s Club.

Sam’s Club says 15 percent of its business members reported they were denied a loan in a November survey. That’s up from 12 percent in April 2009.

Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club chain is teaming up with a lender to offer loans of up to $25,000 to its small business members.

The program is one of several moves the retail giant has made to offer bank-like financial services to customers, in part to help them spend. It also comes as the retailer tries to improve profitability at its warehouse-club chain.

The division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which is based in Bentonville, Ark., is testing a program with Superior Financial Group, one of 13 federally licensed nonbank lenders, and will offer $5,000 to $25,000 loans to members who qualify. They don’t have to spend the money at Sam’s Club.

Sam’s Club says 15 percent of its business members reported they were denied a loan in a November survey. That’s up from 12 percent in April 2009.

FULL STORY: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38103657/ns/business-us_business/