Tracy Davidson

Gas prices fell 11 cents over the past two weeks, part of a downward slide likely to continue in the coming weeks, the publisher of a new survey said Sunday. The Lundberg Survey found the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline is $3.63. That’s down 37 cents since prices peaked on May [...]

A trio of con artists will pay $18.8 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they and their company swindled homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments. Sean Zausner, David Zausner, David J. Feingold and First Universal Lending LLC were accused by the FTC of preying upon destitute homeowners with lies about their ability [...]

Whether the economic recovery in the U.S. can continue could depend on a single factor: consumer confidence. Confidence is important because consumers who are upbeat about prospects tend to spend more, driving corporate profits and job growth. Companies hire more employees, boosting spending, growth and confidence. Such self-reinforcing loops are the stuff that recoveries are [...]

The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers to be on guard for a rising tide of scams involving Green Dot MoneyPaks, reloadable debit cards that are widely available nationwide at more than 50,000 locations. Moneypaks can be used for funding PayPal accounts and to pay phone, cable or credit card bills. But the BBB of [...]

The FedEx Corporation’s quarterly profit and outlook beat forecasts on Wednesday as higher shipping rates and tight cost controls more than offset a slowing economic recovery and high fuel prices. The company said it would spend more on technology and fuel-efficient aircraft, helping to increase revenue per package. “Our actions to improve yields continue to [...]

Last week, Wells Fargo (WFC), the biggest name in the nation’s reverse mortgage market, announced that it was getting out of the business, citing concerns that housing prices could continue to erode further. That move followed in the footsteps of No. 2 reverse mortgage player Bank of America (BAC), which exited the business earlier this [...]

President Barack Obama hailed small-business owners in May, calling them the backbone of the nation’s economy. Statistics vary, but according to the federal Small Business Administration, small firms represent 99 percent of all private employers; employ just over half of all private sector employees; and pay 44 percent of America’s private payroll. The New Jersey [...]

Metro economies struggling the most to recover from the Great Recession typically lost government jobs, a new Brookings Institution report found. Twelve of the 20 weakest-performing metro areas in the first quarter shed public sector jobs since the recession ended, according to the report, published Wednesday. 1 These areas include: Allentown, Pa.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Chicago; [...]

Folks who turned to the sky Saturday evening looking for Harold Camping’s Rapture prediction to come true were prepared to travel light. A number of them had no jobs and no belongings: They were ready to be swept up into Heaven. Trouble is, Camping’s prediction was a bust, and his loyal followers who gave up [...]

State officials are trying to collect nearly $8 million owed by drivers who fail to pay tolls on Route 1 and I-95.   State officials say the worst 400 violators make up almost $600,000 of the total owed to the state.  Those drivers have been sent notices that the state is coming for what they [...]