Feds bust five local scammers in Van Nuys.
They’ve been offering consumers help in repairing bad credit, landing new jobs, starting lucrative work-at-home businesses and obtaining government money to pay off bills. These scams — which are surging along with the jobless rate — are touted on websites and infomercials, and have bilked consumers out of [...]

“Success is never final. But failure can be,” Bill Parcels, the former NFL coach, once observed. Investors in real estate investment rusts (REITs) might want to pay particular attention to this truism.
REITs, as the name suggests, invest in real estate of various types. But what the name does not suggest is that REITs usually utilize [...]

Since first-time buyers are getting thousands of dollars in tax credits from the federal government to stimulate the economy, why shouldn’t all home buyers get equal treatment? What about refinancers — couldn’t they make good use of a tax credit to help defray closing costs and loan fees?
Whatever your thoughts on these questions, there is [...]

In better economic times, Santa Clarita mortgage broker Fred Arnold relied on a home equity line of credit if his cash flow was uneven and he needed to cover payroll.
But when home sales crumbled last fall, there was no such backstop for the business. His home was still worth more than the mortgage, but his [...]