Low-income taxpayers who don’t have bank accounts will be able to get their tax refunds on prepaid debit cards supplied by the government, the Treasury Department said Thursday. The department plans to send letters to 600,000 households next week, offering to put their tax refunds on the debit
cards, which can be used to get money from ATM machines or to buy goods and services from retailers. The Internal Revenue Service encourages taxpayers to have their tax refunds deposited directly into bank accounts. For those without bank accounts, the debit cards will allow them to avoid check-cashing fees. Taxpayers can get refunds faster with the debit cards than with checks, said Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin.
Foreclosures likely to climb in 2011
The bleakest year in the foreclosure crisis has only just begun. Lenders are poised to take back more homes this year than any other since the U.S. housing meltdown began in 2006. About 5 million borrowers are at least two months behind on their mortgages and industry experts say more people will miss payments because of job losses and also loans that exceed the value of the homes they are living in. “2011 is going to be the peak,” said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac Inc. The firm predicts 1.2 million homes will be repossessed this year. The blistering pace of foreclosures this year will top 2010, when a record 1 million homes were lost, RealtyTrac said Thursday.
Auto bailout appears to be working well
The government’s giant bailout of the U.S. automotive industry appears to be working, but it’s still not clear whether taxpayers will recoup their investment, a congressional watchdog panel said Thursday. The taxpayers’ position has “starkly improved” since the last review by the Congressional Oversight Panel in September 2009. At the time, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that taxpayers would lose $40 billion on their automotive investments. The estimated loss now stands at about $19 billion but continues to change. The three largest recipients of automotive bailout funds — General Motors Co., Chrysler Group and GMAC/Ally Financial, a mortgage and auto lender — all appear to be on the path to financial stability, according to the panel’s assessment.
Intel’s profits rise 48 percent
Intel Corp. said Thursday that fourth-quarter net income rose 48 percent and revenue rose 8 percent, as sales of server chips have helped offset weakness in sales in chips for consumer PCs. As the world’s No. 1 maker of computer processors, Intel has a pulse on consumer and corporate spending on technology. Its results help set the tone for other tech results. Net income was $3.39 billion, or 59 cents per share, for the last three months of 2010. In the same period in 2009, it was $2.28 billion, or 40 cents per share. Analysts expected 53 cents per share.
From Herald news services
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