Diane Aiello's annual physical went well last spring. It was only when she got the bill that her blood pressure shot up. (Yesterday)

"The money book for freelancers, part-timers and the self-employed: the only personal finance system for people with not-so-regular jobs" By Joseph D'Agnese and Denise Kiernan, Three Rivers Press/Random House ($15; paperback) (08/29/2010)

LOS ANGELES -- The end of a popular government stimulus program drove home sales in July to their lowest levels in more than a decade, fueling fresh concerns about the economic recovery. (08/25/2010)

A coalition of consumer and business groups wants state regulators to determine whether customers are due a multi-billion dollar refund based on erroneous assumptions about what would happen to electricity rates when utilities were deregulated more than a decade ago. (08/24/2010)

SAN FRANCISCO -- Even as retirement savers recoup some investment losses from a year ago, financial struggles are forcing more of them to take out loans and hardship withdrawals from their 401(k) plans, according to data from Fidelity Investments. (08/22/2010)