Investors approaching retirement and worried about the negative effect of a volatile market on their savings might want to give annuities a closer look — even though ultralow interest rates currently make that purchase a tough decision.

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CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — The state of New York is suing Bank of America Corp. , Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. , claiming that they made fradulent use of an electronic mortgage database, according to published reports Friday. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the database, known as the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS), has been used so that banks can “evade county recording fees [and] avoid the need to publicly record mortgage transfers,” thereby making it easier to sell mortgages in large numbers, Reuters reported. [...]

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FORTUNE — Dear Annie: I just got a pink slip from the bank where I’ve worked as a marketing director for the past 12 years, and which is now undergoing a total restructuring, so I’m pondering what my next move should be. Opportunities are limited in the smallish East Coast city where I live (the bank I’ll soon be leaving is the single biggest employer in town) and, having moved here solely to take the position I’m now losing, I’m not particularly attached to this area. [...]

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Just one day after President Obama detailed a proposal to enable millions of homeowners to refinance to record-low mortgage rates, those rates notched another record.

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Mortgage rates hit record lows this week, after growth in the economy fell short of expectations, Freddie Mac’s chief economist said on Thursday.

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Anton is debt-free and has $10,000 in the bank. He’s considering taking part of that and investing it in Facebook when Facebook goes public. Dave thinks a single-stock investment is a bad idea.

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You’d think that investors would be leery of companies that own and manage commercial real estate. Vacancy rates remain elevated in office buildings and shopping centers. Except for apartment buildings, rents really haven’t grown at all in four years. And given the possibility that the global economy may retrench yet again, things could still get worse before they get better. [...]

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President Barack Obama proposed a plan aimed at helping millions of homeowners refinance their mortgages to today’s historically-low rates. To pay for it though, he’ll need $5 billion to $10 billion.

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The White House on Wednesday begins to sketch in details of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union pledge to craft a plan with Congress to give homeowners a chance to refinance at historically low interest rates.

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Around a year ago, I wrote and told you I had finally kicked Sallie Mae to the curb. Well I’m happy to say Sallie now has some company because today I paid the last bit of my car loan off. I did it while at work using on line banking. So what this means is when I get in the car to go home tonight it will be my first drive without a payment on the thing. [...]

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