NEW YORK—That old saying “cash is king” certainly rings true these days. Investors can’t seem to get enough of it, which ultimately could be bad news for the stock market and the economy. In the past, investors would cling to cash until the market’s prospects brightened and then money would pour [ Read More → ]

A state program that started Wednesday promises to advance up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers. But the program has plenty of roadblocks ahead. The cash isn’t there to make loans to home buyers, procedures to implement the program are not in place and purchasers may have [ Read More → ]

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Just a couple of years ago, “financial planner’’ was on lists of the best jobs. It paid well and was satisfying work. But that was pre-Madoff, and pre-meltdown. Now those same advisers are having a lot less fun, working harder than ever trying to prove their integrity - and justify [ Read More → ]

WASHINGTON - An array of government-created insurance agencies - which have long charged bargain-rate premiums to banks, credit unions, and brokerages - are seeking to make up for massive shortfalls in their insurance funds by raising fees and premiums, many of which are likely to be passed [ Read More → ]

Time for some California dreaming: Will the state plug its budget gap, and are its bonds worth a gamble? Matt Fabian, of Municipal Market Advisors in Concord, says yes. Interest rates on California’s tax-free bonds have jumped. Residents can get yields of 6.2 percent on long-term bonds. Nonresidents will find the [ Read More → ]

WASHINGTON - Like many unemployed older workers, 64-year old Allan Kellum fears his age has made it harder to find a new job. At a recent job fair, Kellum expressed interest in a supervisory role coordinating an international health assistance program. A recruiter set him straight: “The people applying for [ Read More → ]

CHICAGO (AP) - Researching warm-weather retirement destinations has been a mission for Catherine Keller and her sisters in recent years. Besides a shared desire to leave shoveling and shivering behind after too many northern winters, the natives of Long Island, N.Y., are focused on how to keep their tax burdens as [ Read More → ]

People seeking tax-friendly places to live in retirement face a hodgepodge of state tax laws to comb through. While experts recommend looking at total potential tax obligations, not just income or property taxes, here are some lists of states falling into tax categories of interest: STATES WITH NO PERSONAL INCOME TAX [ Read More → ]

The minimum cost of living, as perceived by members of the public, is rising at twice the rate of inflation, according to a new report published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. According to the report, the minimum income standard for Britain in 2009, which represents the income needed to afford a [ Read More → ]