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With most college students off on winter break, now is a great time to focus on your finances for the New Year. Follow these five simple steps to ensure that your finances are safe for 2011.
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The Wall Street Journal posted a story about Portfolio Recovery Associates, one of the nation's largest debt collectors, using the signature of a woman named Martha Kunkle, who died in 1995.

Although she died in 1995, Kunkle's signature has apparently shown up on thousands of affidavits submitted since his death by Portfolio.

You can read the entire article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204204004576049902142690400.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

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The lame duck session of Congress is in the books, with many touts lauding the post-election period of congresspersons actually doing things as the most productive lame duck ever. This sort of glosses over the fact that a lot of the sexier things that passed -- the ratification of the START Treaty, health benefits for 9/11 first responders, and the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell -- were wildly popular with the public and should have been considered "no-brainers." Plus, everyone got a tax cut, because this is the last season of Oprah.

Of course, many in the GOP ranks hated all that productivity, because what's the point of months and months of pointless obstruction if the American people end up seeing what Congress is capable of doing in a few weeks? Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) got very sad about the lame duck session, complaining that "Harry Reid has eaten our lunch." And Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) yelped that Reid and Nancy Pelosi have thrown a "pie in the face of the American people." Were the cafeterias not open during the lame duck session, or something?

Credit Rep. Michele Bachmann, at least, for eschewing food metaphors in favor of all-out alarm:

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Republicans should agree to raise the debt ceiling only if Democrats also agree to vote for a balanced budget amendment resolution.
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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Bells pealed and fireworks shot across midnight skies in Bratislava two years ago, as Slovaks celebrated not only the New Year but also their country's long-sought entry to the club of nations using the continent's common currency, the euro.

Fast forward to the dying days of 2010 – after the eurozone's debt crisis forced the bailouts of Greece and Ireland and painful austerity measures across the region_ and one thing is clear: while Slovaks will again turn out in droves on Dec. 31, the cheer will have nothing to do with belonging to the euro.

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On December 16, 2010, The Federal Reserve Board proposed a new rule that would lower by as much as 84 percent the $16.2 billion in fees that merchants pay annually when you swipe your debit card at their cash registers. (The Fed asked for public comments on the proposal by February 22, 2011.) The idea is that merchants will save money and pass along savings to you.

Immediately, large U.S. banks and credit card issuers attacked the proposed rules as a threat to their industry, a handout to merchants who get out of paying their fair share of money network costs, and a booby-prize for consumers who gain no assurance of savings but almost surely would face higher banking fees. See "Debit Card Fee Cap Could Mean Higher Prices for Consumers"
Behind the proposed new rules and the arguments against them are some key questions: Why should you care? What are the real costs? Who should pay?

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Girls as young as 6 from the Tharu ethnic group have been handed over under a bondage system known as kamlari . The legacy of crushing poverty, caste and debt has left many victims scarred by abuse.

The scrubbing, cooking and sweeping started as early as 3 a.m. When the landlord's children awoke hours later, the 9-year-old girl got them ready for a school she could only dream of attending.

Proposition: There is a way to stabilize the housing market, end foreclosures, provide several trillions in stimulus funding, and NOT add to the federal debt. Read on...

There is an eternal puzzle in the world of politics. How is it that individuals of high intelligence and principle, when joined in groups, make such dumb decisions? Examples are all around us, including the Kennedy/Johnson/Nixon administrations on Vietnam, Reagan on tax cuts, and the Bush/Obama administrations on Iraq and Afghanistan. The latest is Bush/Obama and the financial crisis triggered by mortgage derivatives.

Mr. Obama inherited the financial crisis, and in most respects has continued the policies laid out by the Bush administration. These were bold and radical interventions on Wall Street, providing billions in direct aid, protecting institutions deemed "too big to fail," moving "toxic assets" off balance sheets, taking direct ownership or control over firms, and finally taking over two of the big three auto companies.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Diplomatic cables recently released by WikiLeaks indicate authorities in the United Arab Emirates debated whether to keep quiet about the high-profile killing of a Hamas operative in Dubai in January.

The documents also show the UAE sought U.S. help in tracking down details of credit cards Dubai police believe were used by a foreign hit squad involved in the killing. The spy novel-like slaying, complete with faked passports and assassins in disguise, is widely believed to be the work of Israeli secret agents.

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