Biz.PeanutButterNews.com

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON – An overwhelming majority of Americans wants Wall Street subjected to tougher regulation in the aftermath of the bank bailout and the bonus scandals that have rocked the U.S. financial sector, according to a Harris poll released on Thursday.

The findings suggest that 82 percent of Americans want the government to clamp down more strongly on Wall Street excesses, with a particular emphasis on bonus schemes that have rewarded employees at loss-making companies such as American International Group.

Full Story at msnbc.com

Millions of Americans have been forced to rely on unemployment payments for extended periods as the nation struggles through its longest period of high joblessness in a generation, and critics are taking aim, saying that the Depression-era program created as a temporary bridge for laid-off workers is turning into an expensive entitlement.

About 11.4 million out-of-work people now collect unemployment compensation, at a cost of $10 billion a month. Half of them have been receiving payments for more than six months, the usual insurance limit.

Full Story at msnbc.com

NEW YORK – In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave.

This latest program, which will allow owners to sell for less than they owe and will give them a little cash to speed them on their way, is one of the administration’s most aggressive attempts to grapple with a problem that has defied solutions.

Full Story at msnbc.com

The Great Recession cleared the country’s roads, but a recovering economy and stimulus-fed construction projects will lead to worse delays.

Got satellite radio in your car? Now might be a good time to think about installing it, as you’re likely to be spending more time in traffic as the economy recovers.

Although high gas prices and lost jobs during the 2007-2009 recession led to a decrease in the number of Americans on the road, congestion is poised to increase as workers return to the nation’s highways and stimulus-funded construction projects create bottlenecks.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON – The post office is renewing its drive to drop Saturday delivery — and plans a rate increase — in an effort to fend off a projected $7 billion loss this year.

Without drastic action the agency could face a cumulative loss of $238 billion over 10 years, Postmaster General John Potter said in releasing a series of consultant reports on agency operations and its outlook.

“The projections going forward are not bright,” Potter told reporters in a briefing. But, he added, “all is not lost … we can right this ship.”

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — A wave of disappointing economic reports has revived fears that the recovery is unsustainable, upping the ante for this week’s batch of economic news, including the big February jobs report Friday.

A strong rally in the last nine months of 2009 was fueled by a copious amount of fiscal and monetary stimulus, but also on bets that 2010 was a big recovery year. So far, the results have been so-so, and that’s left markets vulnerable and volatile.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — California’s high speed rail plan is eye candy for anyone who likes big, fast shiny things.

If built, it would connect Los Angles to San Francisco via one of the fastest trains in the world. Traveling along its own separate track, proponents say the bullet train would hit speeds exceeding 220 miles per hour, stopping periodically to pick up passengers in a network of sparkling steel and glass stations.

Full Story atmoney.cnn.com

(CNNMoney.com) — When Jim Ball ran a traditional call center in Golden, Colo., in the late 1990s, employee turnover was rampant. Often, Ball was forced to hire just about anyone who walked in the door because few people were willing to commute to the call center and sit in a sterile cubicle for minimum wage.

When Ball and his partner Steve Rockwood sold the call center in 1997, they decided the next business would be radically different: Customer service agents would work from home.

Full Story atmoney.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Banks and other credit card issuers are nervously awaiting the new credit card law set to go into effect on Monday. Many are anxious to determine just how big of a profit hit they stand to suffer as a result of the CARD Act.

Judging by early estimates, it could be quite costly.

Full Story atmoney.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Worried about a tax audit? Maybe you should be. More Americans than ever may be subject to unwanted attention from the Internal Revenue Service this season as the government pumps billions of dollars into tax collection.

More than 1.4 million Americans were audited last year, the most in a decade. Even more audits are expected as the Obama administration plans to spend $8.2 billion in tax enforcement initiatives in 2011, a nearly 10% increase over last year.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Sick of sending big checks to the IRS? For some business owners, this tax season will bring a rare reversal: A stimulus-fueled tax change is putting cash back into the pockets of qualifying entrepreneurs.

Bill Hewitt, who owns several real estate ventures in Denver, recently collected a $150,000 refund check from the IRS thanks to the new tax rules. “Without that money, I probably would have gone under,” he says. “When you can’t get any loans from anybody, it kept me alive.”

Full Story at money.cnn.com

Analysts had been expecting good news on the jobs front, forecasting that payrolls would expand.

Instead, both people who have jobs and those who were set to start new positions couldn’t get to work because of the weather. As a result, they’ll file for unemployment benefits.