NEWS
October 9, 2007
Highways are often regarded as the ultimate example of user-financed government. Motorists pay a variety of fees, from state and federal taxes on fuel to titling and registration fees on vehicles, to pay for their construction and maintenance. But are roads truly self-sustaining? A new study says absolutely not. Researcher Mark A. Delucchi of the University of California, Davis' Institute of Transportation Studies recently looked at the nation's total expenditures on roads and compared the result with the total collected in highway-related taxes and fees.
BUSINESS
By EILEEN AMBROSE | April 3, 2007
Maybe you've been on the fence about investing in a 529 college savings plan. You heard about high fees and how the tax benefits were going to disappear in a few years. And there are so many plans. Who has the time and know-how to choose one? It may be time to get off that fence. Fees have generally come down. Congress made the college plans' tax breaks permanent. And families now have a new tool designed to take the guesswork out of selecting a plan. With a college savings plan, you invest money in mutual funds where the cash grows tax-deferred.
BUSINESS
By David Colker | June 24, 2007
If you vacation outside the country this summer, you might come home to find your checking account smaller than expected. Who raided it? It might have been your bank. The fees charged by banks as well as other financial institutions to use foreign automated teller machines can deplete cash faster than lunch in London. Some U.S. banks charge as much as $5, plus a percentage, every time a debit card they issued is used at a foreign ATM. Not that you would know it at the time. Unlike in the U.S., where you receive an on-screen warning if additional fees are to be collected for a machine withdrawal, these charges can be invisible until you receive your bank statement back home.
BUSINESS
By Jamie Smith Hopkins | March 30, 2007
A mortgage-lending bill passed unanimously by state delegates last week and expected to come before the Senate today is being decried by fair-lending advocates, who fear homeowners would be hurt by the proposed increase in fees that brokers could charge for certain refinancing loans. Mortgage brokers, who link customers with lenders, account for nearly 70 percent of the home-loan business. They charge finder's fees that are a percentage of a loan's value, up to a state maximum of 8 percent.
BUSINESS
By Bloomberg News | February 24, 2007
DES MOINES, Iowa -- AT&T Inc. and Qwest Communications International Inc. say several Web companies and Iowa telephone carriers have bilked them of millions in a scheme that lets people throughout the United States call other countries for free. Web sites offering free chat rooms, podcasts and adult content also are involved, instructing consumers to dial Iowa phone numbers that let them access the services, Qwest said in a complaint filed Feb. 20 against 13 companies. That followed a Jan. 29 complaint from AT&T against eight of the companies.
NEWS
By Lynn Anderson | April 26, 2007
A bill that could drastically increase the number of video poker games, pool tables and other amusement devices in Baltimore bars and convenience stores has been sent back to committee for amendments. City Councilman Robert W. Curran asked that the legislation be remanded to the Land Use and Transportation Committee on Monday. In a memo obtained by The Sun, Curran said he wanted the committee to add amendments that would increase licensing fees for the games. The bill was amended once before to increase such fees from $180 to $350.
BUSINESS
By MarketWatch | June 17, 2007
NEW YORK -- You'd never consider donating $300 of your annual income to a bank, would you? If you're withdrawing cash from an ATM twice a week that could be just what you're doing. Cash machines are convenient, but the fees they charge cost Americans more than $4 billion a year, reports Bankrate.com. You pay an average $1.64 per transaction every time you withdraw money from an ATM owned by a bank where you don't hold an account. Tack on the average $1.25 your own bank charges for each withdrawal and you're looking at fees of about $300 a year.
BUSINESS
By KEN HARNEY | March 2, 2007
A class action lawsuit is focusing fresh attention on a long-festering consumer issue in real estate: alleged steering of homebuyers to affiliated title, settlement and mortgage companies by large realty brokers - sometimes costing consumers hundreds of dollars compared with fees and services offered by nonaffiliated competitors. Two buyers in Minnesota filed suit Feb. 21 against Coldwell Banker Burnet Realty Inc, one of the largest realty firms in the state, charging that it breached its fiduciary duties under state law when it steered the buyers to its own title and settlement affiliate, Burnet Title, despite knowing that the affiliate's fees were significantly higher than those available from nonaffiliated firms.
SPORTS
By CANDUS THOMSON | March 25, 2007
TOKYO -- I almost packed a fishing rod. But the thought of making the local newspapers for illegally taking carp from the Imperial Ponds gave me pause. It's tough to recall what day it is here at the World Figure Skating Championships, where Bel Air's Kimmie Meissner was defending her title. If you want to try something different, try keeping skaters and stripers straight. Can't wait to get back and do some fishing. Right now, the only fish I'm seeing is sushi, and that's nothing but fancy bait.
NEWS
By ANDREW GREEN | March 25, 2007
The House of Delegates approved new fees on development yesterday to pay for the Chesapeake Bay cleanup, a proposal advocates say would also help reduce urban sprawl. The measure would charge developers based on the creation of "impervious surfaces" such as rooftops, driveways and parking lots that cannot be penetrated by stormwater, thus contributing to runoff into the bay. Development outside designated growth areas would be assessed at a higher rate, and builders could mitigate the fees by using environmentally friendly construction techniques.