Debt Relief

The time is limited for homeowners who want to ensure they aren't hit with a big tax bill because they had to walk away from a mortgage obligation. At the height of the housing crisis, when foreclosures across the country began a troubling increase, Congress passed the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, designed to provide at least some consolation to folks who had lost their homes. But it gets complicated. If you borrow money and the lender then cancels or forgives the debt, you generally have to include the canceled amount as...

The state of Massachusetts is trying a novel tactic to protect consumers from online scam websites -- setting up its own phony websites, which will link unsuspecting consumers to informational websites that will tell them how they narrowly escaped being cheated. "You need to find a way to reach people where the scam artists are reaching them," said Barbara Anthony, undersecretary of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. The state's fake websites advertise free trips, work-at-home deals, immediate weight loss, debt relief, and other popular scam...

WASHINGTON -- Concluding two days of talks, finance officials from the leading economic powers pressed ahead yesterday with efforts to wipe out poor nations' debts and hoped to complete a deal later this year. Officials insisted they were making progress. But international aid groups, disappointed by the failure to finalize an agreement over the weekend, accused the major industrialized countries of dragging their feet and said further delay could worsen the plight of the world's poorest people.

After more than two years of financial crisis, international bailouts, a huge debt writedown and Europe's harshest austerity program, Greek voters have been given a chance to hit back at the parties that got them into this mess. This Sunday, an electorate fuming at repeated income cuts, tax hikes and rapidly rising unemployment is to vote in parliamentary elections. It's expected to abandon old political loyalties and give no party an outright majority. But this could well leave Greece without a government at the time when it needs it the most — and jeopardize the program of...

Greece's prime minister will resume talks on Friday with representatives of private creditors in the hope of reaching a debt reduction deal essential to avoid a disastrous bankruptcy. Lucas Papademos will meet for a second day with Charles Dallara, head of the Institute of International Finance banking lobby, and Jean Lemierre, senior adviser to the chairman of French bank BNP Paribas, the prime minister's office said. A senior Greek government official said Thursday that, despite delays in concluding the negotiations, Athens is still aiming to submit its formal offer for the bond-swap deal to...

The state of Massachusetts is trying a novel tactic to protect consumers from online scam websites -- setting up its own phony websites, which will link unsuspecting consumers to informational websites that will tell them how they narrowly escaped being cheated. "You need to find a way to reach people where the scam artists are reaching them," said Barbara Anthony, undersecretary of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. The state's fake websites advertise free trips, work-at-home deals, immediate weight loss, debt relief, and...

BRUSSELS - The finance ministers of the 16 other eurozone countries agreed in principle yesterday to give Greece a first batch of bailout money to finance a massive debt relief deal with private investors. However, the final green light for as much as $125.69 billion - which Greece needs to implement the debt swap - will come next week. After a meeting in Brussels, the ministers said the payout can go ahead once Athens has passed "a few pending implementing acts" for promised austerity measures and the ministers know how many banks and funds will participate in the bond swap.

Pro-austerity Germany is not the flavor of the month in debt-crippled Greece. Sentiments ranging from anger to downright hatred dominate Greeks' view of their country's biggest international creditor, according to a poll in Thursday's Epikaira magazine. Asked to identify their main feelings on Germany, 41 percent of respondents named anger, indignation or fury. An additional 30 percent ranged from disappointment and fear to revulsion. Total positive sentiments were just 8.6 percent.

BRUSSELS - After more than 12 hours of talks, the countries that use the euro reached an agreement early today to hand Greece $170 billion in additional bailout loans to save it from a potentially disastrous default next month, a European Union diplomat said. The euro surged as the news broke, climbing 0.7 percent to $1.328 within minutes. While much depended on the details of the deal, a final agreement on the bailout for Greece will take some pressure off the 17-country currency union, which has been battling a serious debt crisis for two years.

WASHINGTON -- The United States yesterday forgave $4.1 billion Iraq owed it and urged other nations not part of an international debt relief agreement to follow suit. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Treasury Secretary John Snow hailed the move as an important contribution to the future of Iraq and its people. Snow, Powell, and Iraq's finance minister, Adil Abdul al-Mahdi, signed the agreement at the State Department. Mahdi thanked the US government and its people, describing debt relief as Iraq's "second liberation after the overthrow of Saddam...

ATHENS - Greece's prime minister called Wednesday for a general election May 6, after his coalition government pushed through landmark financial relief deals that rescued the country from the threat of bankruptcy but condemned his recession-burdened countrymen to greater hardship. Lucas Papademos, a former vice president of the European Central Bank, was appointed premier in November and spent five months pushing through harsh austerity measures in order to secure a vital international bailout and a major debt relief deal with banks.

Greece's Prime Minister Lucas Papademos is to meet with the crisis-hit country's president Wednesday to request an early general election. Papademos has scheduled a meeting with President Karolos Papoulias at 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) to formally request elections, 18 months before parliament's current term expires. Ahead of the widely anticipated announcement, several government officials said this week that the election will be held on May 6 — 18 months before the parliament's four-year term expires.

Asian stock markets were mostly lower Monday after China's trade figures underlined a slowdown in the world's No. 2 economy. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.4 percent to 21,001.87 and South Korea's Kospi lost 0.7 percent to 2,004.24. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3 percent to 4,199.80. Benchmarks in Shanghai, Taipei and Manila were also lower but Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3 percent to 9,960.79. On Saturday, China reported its biggest monthly trade deficit in at least a decade in February as imports rebounded after a Lunar New Year holiday slowdown in January,...

ATHENS - Greece's private creditors agreed Friday to take cents on the euro in the biggest debt writedown in history, paving the way for an enormous second bailout for the country to keep Europe's economy from being dragged further into chaos. Greece would have risked defaulting on its debt in two weeks without the agreement, sparking turmoil in the markets and sending shock waves through the other 16 countries that use the euro. Prime Minister Lucas Papademos called the deal, which shaves some $138 billion off Greece's $487 billion debt load, an important...

Asian stocks rebounded Thursday on signs that a debt relief deal for Greece will go through and as an upbeat report on U.S. payrolls added to optimism about the world's biggest economy. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.3 percent to 9,697.99. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.7 percent to 20,765.51 and South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.4 percent to 1,989.46. Growing investor participation in a massive Greek debt relief deal bolstered the mood in stock markets. By Wednesday night, investors owning around half of Greece's privately held debt had...

Asian stock markets slid Tuesday over worries about slower economic growth in China and a possible snag in the deal for Greece to get its bailout money. Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.4 percent to 9,656.08 and South Korea's Kospi shed 0.7 percent to 2,002.02. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.3 percent to 20,991.67 and mainland China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1 percent to 2,419.46. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 retreated 1 percent to 4,221.20. Benchmarks in Taiwan and Singapore also fell.

Treasurys edged higher Wednesday as Greece scrambled to implement emergency budget laws required for the country to receive its latest financial rescue package. Greece's coalition government is pushing through legislation that will further cut incomes and state spending. The changes were demanded by other European countries in return for a second bailout and debt relief for Greece. Investors worry that Greece might still default, and send shock waves through markets, despite a comprehensive debt relief plan announced Tuesday.

Hard times are prime time for scammers. Con artists and business owners utilizing shady practices know that desperate people will use up all their resources and even go into debt if they think it will help them out of a financial jam. So the scammers devise plans that promise jobs, access to government grants, debt relief, medical discounts, or work-at-home opportunities. The worst of the schemes involve false promises to help homeowners modify their mortgages. The Federal Trade Commission calls these practices "last-dollar frauds"...

A dozen banks, insurers and investment funds holding Greece's bonds will participate in a massive debt relief plan for the country, the group representing the private creditors said Monday as the deadline for the deal draws near. The statement from the Institute of International Finance comes amid concern that not enough investors will voluntarily swap their Greek government bonds for new ones with a much lower face value, longer repayment deadlines and lower interest rates. Without the debt relief, Greece won't get a second, euro130 billion ($172 billion)

BRUSSELS - The finance ministers of the 16 other eurozone countries agreed in principle yesterday to give Greece a first batch of bailout money to finance a massive debt relief deal with private investors. However, the final green light for as much as $125.69 billion - which Greece needs to implement the debt swap - will come next week. After a meeting in Brussels, the ministers said the payout can go ahead once Athens has passed "a few pending implementing acts" for promised austerity measures and the ministers know how many banks and funds...