Personal Finance Daily: Crooks find new ways to prey on home woes

Personal Finance Daily NOVEMBER 14, 2011 Crooks find new ways to prey on home woes By MarketWatch Don't miss these top stories: Crooks find new ways to prey on home woes Start-ups aim to change how you bank Auto Review: 2012 Chevrolet Sonic Stock experts' tips can puncture your portfolio Real-estate cons find ways to scam lenders and homeowners out of money no matter how the housing market is faring, but in recent years they've shifted tactics to profit from the market's downturn, Amy Hoak writes in her Home Economics column. Some of the schemes target distressed and possibly vulnerable borrowers looking for ways to save their houses from foreclosure. Another fraud is profiting off of short sales at the expense of the lender. Read more about these new crimes of opportunity and how to see the warning signs. Also in the day's personal-finance news on MarketWatch, read about Consumer Finance 2.0, a growing category of services that is purely online, inclined toward collaboration, strives for transparency and may or may not be about to have a dramatic impact on the financial-services world. — Anne Stanley , managing editor, Personal Finance Crooks find new ways to prey on home woes Fraudsters have shifted their tactics to profit from the market's downturn, including new schemes that tap into short sales and mortgage modifications to rob lenders and homeowners. Read more: Crooks find new ways to prey on home woes. Start-ups aim to change how you bank Some financial-services firms are introducing new ideas into the traditional banking sector, including new ways to exchange foreign currency and take out loans. Read more: Start-ups aim to change how you bank. Are you ready to be a landlord? The pitch is compelling: Buy a vacant house or apartment building and rent it out to some of the throngs of Americans who have lost their homes to foreclosure. With interest rates near record lows and property values still slumping, getting into the landlord business is cheaper than it has been in years. Read more: Are you ready to be a landlord? Auto Review: 2012 Chevrolet Sonic Chevy's Sonic subcompact is a fun runabout that's rated at 40 mpg on the highway. Read more: 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. Survivors' biggest mistakes A larger share of people's savings is winding up in IRAs — even as estate-tax rules are getting trickier and the markets are growing more volatile. Read more: Survivors' biggest mistakes. INVESTING Stock experts' tips can puncture your portfolio "Ticker-symbol trading," when an investor hears a recommendation and buys based mostly on the positive things some expert said, is not investing. Read more: Stock experts' tips can puncture your portfolio. Is gold headed for $2,200? Volatility in gold prices may be alarming to some investors, Peter Brimelow writes. However, he notes there's more than just chart evidence to support the November Aden Forecast's view: "The trend is your friend and for now, the gold trend is very strong by staying above $1,700. The key level for this decline is the Sept. 26 low at $1,594. If this level is broken, then a sharper decline could take gold to the $1,490-$1,500 level. ... On the upside, if gold closes and stays above the $1,903 level, then a leg up in the bull market could take gold to the $2,000 to $2,200 level as the next target." Read more: Is gold headed for $2,200? Italy stocks may not see sustained 'Monti bounce' For investors, the question is whether Monti's technocratic government will mark a turning point for Italian equities, which have slumped 23% so far this year. Read more: Italy stocks may not see sustained 'Monti bounce.' ECONOMY & POLITICS Supreme Court to hear health-law challenges The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it would hear challenges to President Barack Obama's landmark health-care law, setting the stage for the high court's ruling on his signature accomplishment in the thick of election season. Read more: Supreme Court to hear health-law challenges. Get the latest news on our mobile site: http://www.marketwatch.com/m MarketWatch has sent you this newsletter because you signed up to receive it. To ensure you receive this newsletter in the future, please add marketwatchmail.com to your list of approved senders. Sent to: kumaresan.selva.blogger@gmail.com Unsubscribe | Subscribe Copyright 2011 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, and BigCharts are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (updated 6/26/07). MarketWatch - Attn: Customer Service, 201 California St., San Francisco, CA 94111