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Click link to see YouTube video of 30 LaGuardia Citibank customers being arrested for closing their accounts

Bank of America's account websites are experiencing an unprecedented online security breach and the bank hasn't fully rectified the problem. That's right, your online financial data and full account access may be in the hands of someone else. I know this has nothing to do with cars, but I thought it was important enough to write up anyway because I'm sure many Jalopnik readers have money with Bank of America.

I'm posting this to encourage others to make the effort to amplify their influence like I do. Ever since I began contributing to Free Republic, I made a conscious decision to establish commenting accounts at media websites from which original articles were sourced to FR postings, and then cut and paste my comments written for Free Republic to those sites where it made sense to do so. In that way, I felt that I could increase my own tiny influence just a little bit more. I would encourage everyone here not already doing this to consider it for themselves. It...

Under the new health care law, consumers using workplace pre-tax health savings accounts will soon need a doctor's note to pay for Tylenol and an estimated 15,000 other over-the-counter drugs. Starting Jan. 1, employees who use flexible spending accounts, health saving accounts, or health reimbursement arrangements to pay for common medications such as pain relievers, cold medicines, antacids and allergy medications will need prescriptions. The new rules will prohibit the use of such debit cards becsuse the IRS says there's no way to prove the drugs are prescribed. The IRS says any money removed from HSA accounts to pay for...

The cost of maintaining a checking account rose to an all-time high this year, with much of the increase coming from the fees assessed to maintain both interest and non-interest-bearing accounts rising 40 percent. Other cost increases included a 5 percent increase from last year in ATM fees, to an all-time high of $2.33, while the average fee for using an out-of-network ATM was $1.41, rising almost 7 percent, according to a survey released Monday by Bankrate.com. Other fees that rose this year included a 3 percent increase in overdraft fees, to a record high of $30.47

"Personal-izing" Social SecurityPrivate accounts can work, but they're not for everyone. Girard Miller | September 15, 2010 This is the fourth in a six-month series on reforming Social Security and Medicare. As the midterm elections approach, the national parties are dancing around Social Security reform. A common theme among Republicans, conservatives and libertarians is the idea of allowing Americans an option to invest "their" money themselves. Many Democrats, claiming it will undermine the entire system, view it as a wedge issue favoring their candidates. The president's bipartisan commission on fiscal responsibility may consider this idea as part of a comprehensive,...

HSAs - before ObamaCare – allowed individuals to put aside money to pay for qualified medical expenses – including over-the-counter (OTC) medications – on a tax free basis. Frequently, companies match or at least contribute to an employee’s HSA. (Unlike FSAs, you are able to keep the money year to year and even invest the money!) This benefit has changed.

One of Britain’s biggest companies could face legal action over the $700 billion collapse of Lehman Brothers, a scathing report revealed today. Accountancy giant Ernst & Young failed to challenge the book-keeping 'gimmicks' the American investment bank was using to stay afloat, according to report author Anton Velukas. He concludes that the British firm been 'negligent' and that Lehman could pursue claims against the firm for 'professional malpractice'. It is also revealed that one of the UK's leading law firms gave Lehman the green light to use the accountancy gimmick - known as 'Repo 105' - in the first place....

Thousands Ripped Off In Suburban ATM Scam $20,000 Stolen From Accounts Through Mount Prospect ATM MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. (CBS) ― Hundreds of people have been ripped off by an ATM scam making the rounds in the north and northwest suburbs. This time, the Daily Herald reports thieves installed a skimmer to steal users' PIN numbers at a drive-up Bank of America ATM in Mount Prospect, and made off with more than $20,000 from 316 bank accounts. The device was used for several days in October and November at the Bank of America at 200 E. Kensington Rd. in Mount Prospect,...

RUSH: Now, somebody tell me how in the world anyone could take that out of context. That is a full 43 seconds, no edits, we didn't take sentences out of order and assemble them in a way we wanted. A single payer health care plan, universal health care plan, that's what I'd like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately, because first we have to take back the White House, we have to take back the Senate, and we have to take back the House. Now they've done that, now they're going for...

WASHINGTON – Americans' retirement plans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months, Congress' top budget analyst estimated Tuesday. The upheaval that has engulfed the financial industry and sent the stock market plummeting is devastating workers' savings, forcing people to hold off on major purchases and consider delaying their retirement, said Peter Orszag, the head of the Congressional Budget Office. As Congress investigates the causes and effects of the financial meltdown, the House Education and Labor Committee was hearing from retirement savings and budget analysts on how the housing, credit and other financial troubles have battered...

Last weekend a friend was seriously injured in a bicycling accident. A large group of friends are now in the process of creating a fund raising event to support his family and offset some of the ensuing medical bills. I was looking for assistance in the best way to set up accounts for donations. The way I see it we have three options: Have checks written and sent directly to his family. Create a new account at the family's bank and have the checks written to that account and sent to the bank. Create a new account at the local...

Trying to verify this story with another source. Spelling her first name wrong isn't a good start, of course, although I have been to Accountancy Age in the past, and considered it to be accurate, in terms of reporting. Senator Hilary Clinton's bid to win the Democratic presidential nomination has been hurt after she was forced to lower the $26m (£13m) she claimed to have raised in the first three months of this year. The New York Times reported that her fundraising efforts have been shrunk by $400,000 (£200,000) because of bounced cheques, donors whose credit cards were mistakenly charged...

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2007 – “Muse of Fire,” a film that debuted here last night, uses American troops’ eyewitness accounts and private journals to bring to life the tragedy, pain, horror, death and even the hope and optimism of war. The documentary, shown at the National Archives, is a frank account of life on the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan. “I wanted to show servicemembers who have sacrificed so much for us, not only to humanize them, but to show how they grew personally and how they turned into writers,” film director Lawrence Bridges said at the debut....

  Asia-Pacific China July trade surplus hits record $14.6bn BEIJING (Reuters) - Aug 10, 2006 China's trade surplus set a record in July for the third month in a row, the government said on Thursday, underscoring growing concerns among policy makers about China's economic imbalances. The customs administration said the surplus rose to $14.6 billion from $10.4 billion in July 2005.Economists polled by Reuters had expected the surplus to be unchanged from June's $14.5 billion.Cheng Manjiang, an economist with Bank of China International in Beijing, said the surplus may peak this quarter, especially if the government makes good on...

Okay- it's not like I did anything wrong because I have done this in the past but yesterday we rec'd a check from our insurance company and it was made payable to my husband. I endorsed the back of the check, and deposited it into my checking account. I've endorsed plenty of checks for him as he would tell me to. The bank, as of this morning, removed this deposit completely. I suppose husband will have to call the bank to verify this is okay what I did? I hate when the banks do not have convenient hours to talk...

U.S. to allow tax break on retirement accountsBy David Cay Johnston The New York Times MONDAY, MAY 15, 2006 President George W. Bush is scheduled this week to sign into law an extraordinary deal for people with retirement savings accounts. By paying $1 in income taxes before they come due, these investors can ultimately avoid taxes today that are conservatively worth $3.50. Those who cannot afford to take advantage of this deal may think about it differently, however, since the $2.50 of net tax savings is, like all of the Bush tax cuts, being financed with more government debt, which...

Consumer-driven health care is beginning to show real signs of progress. A recent survey by America's Health Insurance Plans found that the number of people with a health savings account (HSA) tripled, from 1 million to 3 million, in barely a year's time. Companies are finding that high-deductible plans coupled with an HSA cost less. In his recent visit to Milwaukee, President Bush pointed to the hamburger giant Wendy's, which saw an increase of only 1 percent in its premiums after switching to an HSA plan. Although I haven't had much to cheer about regarding the White House as of...

Now that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has a clear mandate for economic reform, he has wasted no time in transforming his electoral capital into practical results. Japan’s stock market – indeed, its entire economy – is poised for years of sustained growth. This growth will help to bouy the world economy, too. Last Friday, Japan’s Diet (Parliament) approved legislation that will privatize the $3 trillion held by Japan’s postal service. The postal service? In Japan, the “Yubin” is more than just mailing letters. For the last 130 years, post offices have also served as local savings banks for conservative...

When I tell people the NEW Social Security will make the poor rich and in most cases millionaires, I get this blank stare followed by skeptical disbelief. The reason for this response is quite simple. A barrier has been ingrained in people’s psyche. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Another barrier is the belief that the combined intelligence of all Congressmen, Senators and Administrations for the last 70 years surely would have hit upon this bonanza if it were true. Well think again, my friends. Politicians are mostly lawyers and have little understanding of mathematics....