The federal government will provide $3 billion to expand an existing mortgage debt relief program as well as create another one, in order to help out-of-work homeowners who are facing foreclosure keep their homes, the Obama administration announced last week.

After being accused by New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, of using illegal scare tactics to “terrify” indebted Americans into repaying their debt, a Buffalo, N.Y., debt collection agency run by convicted felons has been shut down by state authorities.

A quarter of U.S. employers aren’t able to keep up with the expense of matching employees’ 401(k) contributions, according to the results of a new Charles Schwab survey.

The International Monetary Fund has forecasted that the U.S. economy will contract 2.5 percent before the end of this year but will expand 0.75 percent by the end of 2010, according to analysis of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook report from April.

The Supreme Court will take on a provision of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 that restricts “debt relief agencies,” including lawyers, from advising their clients to take on additional debt before filing for bankruptcy.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has filed suit against debt relief company Credit Solutions of America for illegally charging consumers for debt relief services the company never provided.

A new report shows that consumers are charging less to their credit cards while also paying down the balances on those cards. The Federal Reserve reported last week that revolving credit — which is made up almost entirely of consumer credit card debt — fell by $8.6 billion in April.

The credit scores of consumers in Nevada are tanking as Nevadans continue to struggle to pay their bills. The average credit score in the state has dropped 12 points since the first quarter of last year to 618.

Since January, employers have been more likely to scale back employee salaries than to eliminate positions, a recent survey reveals. This shift away from job-cutting could be a sign that the nation’s 8.9 percent unemployment rate — the highest in 25 years — may be starting to level out.

After having settled predatory lending charges with 42 states, Bank of America has modified more than 64,000 home loans worth $823.5 million in principal and interest savings, with the intention of modifying loans and reducing interest rates for up to 100,300 borrowers.