The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 will become law on October 17 In the face of rising bankruptcy filings. Although bankruptcy filings 2.6% for the first quarter of this year, they rose 12% in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2004 according to LexisNexis. The Act’s new certification requirements and restrictive debtor-means tests, means some attorneys are considering not taking these specialized cases after it goes into effect.

Back-to-school shopping is expected to increase this year according to MasterCard International’s second annual Back to School Spending Index survey. College age and under students might expect to have an average of $573 spent on them by their parents this year in preparation for the new school year according to the survey. The National Retail Federation reports that we Americans spent a total of $40.6 billion in back-to-school shopping in 2004.

Like a sudden summer thunderstorm, the surprising number of ERISA-related lawsuits filed last year – more than 11,000 according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts – seems to have blown in out of nowhere.In reality, the Department of Labor has been predicting this “Legal Storm” for more than a year.

The gap between Americans who know about credit scores and those who don’t is growing GMAC Mortgage division vice president Paul Fein told MarketWatch. He was commenting on a recent survey conducted by Caravan Opinion Research Corp., for GMAC Mortgage which indicated only 7 percent of respondents knew a credit score of 800 or better gets the best rate while 62 percent admitted they did not know what score earned the best rates.“Some people understand it and some people have no idea that there’s this credit-scoring system,” Fein is quoted by MarketWatch as saying.

The 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy program developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has received a 2005 Summit Award from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

Financial service companies will soon be sharing consumer complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other law enforcement agencies to help victims of identity theft. The Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC) will begin sharing identity theft information with these organizations in less than six weeks. The ITAC is operated by the non-profit Identity Theft Assistance Corporation and supported by 48 major financial service companies. ITAC will begin passing information to the FTC and the FTC will then distribute that information to national law enforcement organizations.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says it has overpaid more than 6,000 Floridians whose homes were damaged by last summer's four hurricanes, and the agency wants more than $27 million back.FEMA is trying to recoup overpayments from 6,579 people who received federal aid after Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne hit Florida last August and September. FEMA said it paid for items like generators and appliances that were later covered by property-insurance policies.

The release of the eBay Accounting Assistant helps eBay sellers make better, more informed decisions. Developed using the QuickBooks® Software Development Kit, Accounting Assistant automatically downloads a seller’s eBay and PayPal transaction information into QuickBooks, allowing them to track their business financials and make better business decisions with greater ease. PayPal is an eBay company.According to Intuit, 80% of all small businesses use QuickBooks.

How many teens know the value of a dollar? How many can balance a checkbook or understand a budget? On June 17, 2005, Texas joined the seven, now eight, states, where the answer to these questions better be: most of them.“Since American teens spend billions of dollars each year, it’s imperative that they learn smart spending and saving habits early in their lives,” Ed Polansky, Chairman of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA) said in testimony supporting HB 492.