FIRE

In “Consider cost of deregulation” (October 5), Barbara Ann Radnofsky argues that efforts by Texas legislators to deregulate certain businesses were responsible for many of the difficulties facing Texas today.

Critics of payday lending have managed to convince voters in Ohio and Arizona to force payday lenders out of their states.

Insurers face increasing competition from financial institutions for products the insurers alone once provided.

Voters will soon be able to decide whether or not the Ohio legislature will be allowed to cut off one of the few financing options that remain for many families, payday lending.

In a recent development in Florida’s chaotic property and casualty insurance market, more than 110,000 policies were moved through the state’s “takeout program” from Citizens into six new “private” companies, many

It is more difficult to get a loan today than at any time in recent memory.

One of the great tragedies affecting higher education today is the overpricing of an education that carries less and less value.

Providing wind coverage in coastal areas is essentially a no-win situation for insurers, and as a result the majority of wind policies have shifted to state-run insurers of last resort.

While U.S. banks have not yet reached a full-blown panic mode, there is plenty to be worried about with respect to the FDIC. Florida is not alone with its concern about the stability of its banks: Banks are failing at a rate unheard of in recent decades.

It is a melancholy object to those who read our nation’s newspapers or listen to our news broadcasts, when they see our nation’s political and finance leaders importuning every reader and listener for an alms.

The financial crisis exists mostly because of government mistakes, particularly the Federal Reserve’s easy-money policy, the corrupt system of subsidies from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and various “affordable-housing” initiatives that

As I write this, I have already lost more than $7,000 in my retirement accounts and $5,000 in my children’s education accounts due to the financial meltdown.

Many pro-market economists have been explaining for years that the FDIC banking system creates an intolerable risk for banks and the economy.

Assume you are considering investing $700,000 and that this is a large sum for you. Experts give you the names of two reputable investment houses of long standing. When you visit the first of these, Benjamin Company, Inc.

The national debate over how to address the crisis in the U.S. financial markets has created sharp divisions that cross political and philosophical lines.

In a time of a mortgage crisis, temptations abound to create new rules to "fix" the market and prevent future catastrophe.

"Summer 2008 could be considered a perilous time to be making recommendations on housing policy for the 21st Century," admits William Higginson, author of a new report on affordable housing in the U.S.

Maybe the American people will luck out and the Senate's foreclosure prevention attempt will go the way of comprehensive immigration reform.

(CHICAGO, Illinois - June 6, 2008) In an effort to entice insurers to provide coverage to consumers in high-risk coastal areas, legislators in Florida and Louisiana have launched incentive programs that provide capital assistance to small insurers who

Insurers face increasing competition from financial institutions for products the insurers alone once provided. The 50-state regulatory model has put the insurance industry at a decided disadvantage. Rep.

(Chicago, Illinois - April 1, 2008) The Bush administration's new blueprint for financial reform includes a call for insurance companies to be given the option of federal instead of state regulation, along with the creation of a powerful national

A new state-by-state analysis reveals how some states' heavy-handed regulation of insurance markets makes homeowners' insurance less available, less useful, and more expensive.

Several states are considering severe limits or even bans on certain types of short-term loans, often called “payday loans.

A year has passed since Gov. Charlie Crist and a nearly unanimous Legislature hailed the arrival of a new era for Florida’s property insurance system. They promised lower rates, greater availability of insurance, and a more vibrant insurance market.