KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The latest form of identity theft doesn’t depend on stealing your Social Security number. Now thieves are targeting your kid’s number long before the little one even has a bank account. Hundreds of online businesses are using computers to find dormant Social Security numbers — usually those assigned to [ Read More → ]

Every politician worthy of the name knows that the easiest policy changes to put over are those that don’t kick in until well into the future. The idea, of course, is that by the time their dire ramifications become evident, they’ll be someone else’s problem. That must be why it has [ Read More → ]

The Associated PressTrader Edward Curran, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, July 28 NEW YORK (AP) — Investors cashed in some of their recent gains Wednesday after the Federal Reserve gave them more confirmation that the economic recovery is slowing. The Dow Jones industrial average [ Read More → ]

Households are paying £84 a year in ‘hidden taxes’ on their energy bills to help meet the cost of combating climate change. But mounting pressure could see these taxes more than double to £176 a year within the next decade, warns uSwitch.com. Households currently spend an average £1,194 a year on [ Read More → ]

WASHINGTON - Government-sponsored mortgage purchaser Fannie Mae is trying to encourage distressed homeowners to find alternatives to foreclosure by banning those who walk away from getting new loans for seven years. Troubled borrowers who do not try in good faith to work out a deal, but have the capacity to pay, [ Read More → ]

It would be the height of foolishness to load up on debt now, right?Just look at the news these days. Homeowners are being foreclosed on at a record clip. Governments around the world are lurching toward insolvency. Job growth in the U.S. remains feeble at best. And at the center [ Read More → ]

 Port of Portland commissioners brushed aside an accusation of unfairness Wednesday and unanimously approved a deal with a Philippine company that aims to double Portland’s shipping-container volume within five years. Managers from International Container Terminal Services Inc., of Manila, predicted after a public hearing that they would attract more steamship [ Read More → ]

 Michael LLoyd, The OregonianGregory McMurray squeezes out of his electric Tesla roadster next to a much-larger sport utility vehicle Friday in Washington Park. A high-performance sports car - with a sticker price to prove it - the Tesla is capable of traveling more than 200 miles between charges.Automakers are racing [ Read More → ]

Scientists suggested a short walk, cycle, run or even gardening in green spaces can boost well-being. The research by Dr Jo Barton and Professor Jules Pretty at Essex University showed that exercising in wilderness areas or near water tended to have the biggest impact on mental state. Other [ Read More → ]

Michael LLoyd, The OregonianDavid Orkney ( from left) began hanging around his father’s G.I. Joe’s store as a kid and grew up with many employees including B.G. Eilertson, Ron Menconi and Ed Ariniello. The men, who all held senior executive positions with the company before the retailer went bankrupt last [ Read More → ]