WASHINGTON - The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved changes that make it easier for shareholders to nominate directors of public companies. The 3-2 vote allows groups that own at least 3 percent of a company’s stock to put their nominees for board seats on the annual proxy ballot sent [ Read More → ]

WASHINGTON - More than 3 million seniors may have to switch their Medicare prescription plan next year, even if they’re perfectly happy with it, thanks to an attempt by the government to simplify their lives. The policy change could turn into a hassle for seniors who hadn’t intended to switch plans [ Read More → ]

According to new research from Child Trust Fund provider, Family Investments, the monthly cost of being a student has risen 28% since 2004. Full time students now face total living costs of £718 up from £561 in 2004. If the cost of living continues to rise at current rates, those students [ Read More → ]

If you’re planning on going to warmer climbs this summer, take note – new guidance from Direct Line suggests that paying for medical care abroad is becoming more expensive, meaning that cutting back on insurance cover could turn out to be a false economy. The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), formally [ Read More → ]

Yorkshire Building Society has cut mortgage rates for those with a 15% deposit, offering a three-year fixed rate deal at 4.59% with a £495 fee. Other highlights in the newly priced range include: - Two-year fixed rate at 3.99% with a £995 fee - Three-year tracker at 3.49% with a £495 fee (Bank [ Read More → ]

BELFAST, Northern (AP) — The British government and the Roman Catholic church colluded to cover up the suspected involvement of a priest in a 1972 bombing that killed nine people and injured 30, a new report said Tuesday. The Northern Ireland police ombudsman’s report determined that Father James Chesney was [ Read More → ]

The New Zealand economy feels a lot like a ‘Zombie Nation’ that wants to keep extending the loans and pretending that eventually everything will eventually go back to normal. Parts of our financial system and many property owners have been in a zombie-like state for much of the last two years, [ Read More → ]

Allied Farmers, the embattled financier and rural services provider, will renegotiate the terms of its bank facility in the fall-out of its subsidiary, Allied Nationwide’s, receivership. The company, which took on the troubled Hanover finance company loan book at the end of last year, is in discussions with its lender Westpac [ Read More → ]

Both those who took out loans before 1998 and those whose loans date from after that period will now pay interest on their balances, after a period where those with older loans were effectively paid to keep hold of them, and those with newer loans paid zero interest. The Student Loans Company confirmed that [ Read More → ]

While Ottawa makes noises about boosting financial literacy, it’s curious that this country’s 289,000 financial advisors seldom talk about debt. The industry thinks it’s OK that 40% of Canadians now retire with some debt, with many going deeper into hock once they stop working. Little wonder that a thousand or [ Read More → ]