Ensure savings are adequate before paying off debt with windfall

Dear Liz: I am closing a business deal that will net me just under $1 million. I have an interest-only loan on my home, two car loans and...

'Passion & Purpose' gives insight into today's business students

"Passion & Purpose: Stories from the Best and Brightest Young Business Leaders" is a new book from Harvard Business Review Press that draws on a...

How to seek a reduction on your home's property tax

If you believe you're paying too much property tax because the county has overestimated the value of your home, you can seek a reduction. Here are...

Latest HARP program for underwater mortgages ramping up

The most ambitious federal mortgage program to date aimed at millions of underwater homeowners is poised to take off in the coming two weeks, yet some...

Attorney-client privilege doesn't extend to property manager

Question: I am a recently elected association board director. The other directors have told me that our property manager is the "authority" and...

Can last month's rent be withheld in lieu of paying repair bills?

Question: For more than five years, I have lived in a rental house. Throughout this time, I have been forced to go into my own pocket to pay...

Coin-grading firm helped bring order to a free-for-all industry

Mike Faraone bent over his desk, peering at a 1929 $2.50 Indian-head gold piece glowing in the lamplight.

Wal-Mart making big push into Southern California grocery market

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has launched a big push into the highly competitive Southern California grocery business, which could spell further trouble for...

Shares of ratings website Yelp surge 64% in IPO

Yelp Inc. got a glowing review from the stock market as shares of the popular ratings website surged in the company's initial public offering.

Program to aid unemployed homeowners provides little relief

A $7.6-billion federal program to help unemployed homeowners stave off foreclosure has provided little relief two years after being unveiled, with...

Wealthy home buyers demand bathrooms — lots of bathrooms

Here's another way the rich are different: They have more bathrooms.

Dimension Films seeking a comeback

For years, Dimension Films was a juggernaut. The genre label minted money with the "Scream," "Scary Movie" and "Spy Kids" franchises. It also was...

China hedging its bets on U.S. government debt, data show

China's massive holdings of U.S. government debt have bolstered the American economy by keeping interest rates low. Now signs are emerging that...

Google responds to reader questions about privacy changes

To the dismay of many privacy advocates, Google implemented changes to its privacy policy that will allow the world's largest Internet company to...

GM to pause Chevy Volt production for 5 weeks

Auto giant General Motors Co. is pausing production of its Chevrolet Volt and temporarily laying off about 1,300 employees because of slow sales of...

INgrooves buys Fontana Distribution from Universal Music Group

INgrooves, a San Francisco digital music distribution company, has purchased Fontana Distribution in Los Angeles from Universal Music Group for an...

Richard Parsons to step down as chairman of Citigroup

Richard Parsons, who was named chairman of Citigroup in 2009 just after the bank accepted $45 billion in federal bailouts, will step down from the...

Companies mixed on use of personal gadgets for work

Like many employees these days, Kim Gibbons uses her own smartphone and tablet for her job at Cisco Systems in San Jose. That way, no matter where she...

Facebook pledges to help advertisers by making ads more prominent

Facebook Inc. has begun pitching itself to Madison Avenue with a splashy campaign worthy of fictional adman Don Draper.