MGIC added $1.2B in mortgage coverage in August (AP) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:50:41 GMT AP - Private mortgage insurer Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. said Friday it added $1.2 billion in new primary insurance coverage in August and the number of delinquent loans it insures declined.

Sirius XM Has a Stern Decision to Make (The Motley Fool) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:43:02 GMT The Motley Fool - Satellite-radio star Howard Stern is negotiating in public again.

Petrobras sells 64 bln dlrs of stock to fund exploration (AFP) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:38:54 GMT View of an oil platform off the coast of Brazil. Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras has unveiled a huge share offering which could raise 64 billion dollars to help finance new exploration projects in the country.(AFP/File/Antonio Scorza)

5 Tax Moves to Make Now (U.S. News & World Report) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:16:40 GMT U.S. News & World Report - It may seem a bit strange to be talking about income taxes in September. There are, however, good reasons to think about taxes well before April 15. For starters, there are some big changes in the tax code that go into effect in 2011. Depending on your income tax bracket and investments, some simple planning now could save you a bundle later.

Summary Box: Mortgage rates hit low of 4.32 pct. (AP) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:22:50 GMT AP - RECORD LOWS: Mortgage rates fell to the lowest levels in decades for the tenth time in 11 weeks, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan was 4.32 percent. The 15-year fixed loan hit 3.83 percent.

How to Get a Government-Backed, Zero-Down-Payment Mortgage (U.S. News & World Report) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:13:50 GMT U.S. News & World Report - More than four years after real estate values peaked, the historic plunge in home prices remains fresh in the minds of mortgage lenders. After taking painful losses on delinquent home loans, banks have imposed tougher standards--such as increased credit scores and higher down payment requirements--on applicants of all stripes. And as investors fled for the hills, the exotic mortgage products that helped fuel the real estate boom have largely disappeared from the private market. But that doesn't mean all buyers need a big pile of cash to snag a home loan. ...

5 Reasons You Should Buy Your Latte (U.S. News & World Report) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:51:22 GMT U.S. News & W 5a8 orld Report - The Latte Factor, a term coined (and trademarked) by personal finance guru David Bach, is one of the most talked about concepts in the world of personal finance. But it might be based on faulty math.

The Next 4 Dot-Com Buyouts (The Motley Fool) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:29:56 GMT The Motley Fool - Shares of Salary.com (Nasdaq: SLRY - News) -- a small provider of human resources applications on the cloud -- soared 43% yesterday, after agreeing to be acquired by larger rival Kenexa (Nasdaq: KNXA - News).

Mortgage rates hit record low: Freddie Mac (Reuters) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:25:44 GMT Reuters - U.S. mortgage rates fell in the past week to the latest in a series of record lows as yields on government debt dropped, according to a survey released on Thursday by Fredd 960 ie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.

Mortgage rates hit decades-low of 4.32 percent (AP) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:27:42 GMT A home is offered for sale in Hawthorn Woods, Illinois. New home sales plunged to the lowest levels in half a century and the pace of orders for goods indicated the manufacturing sector slowed markedly, with business capital spending contracting massively.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Scott Olson)