Personal Finance

According to a recent national poll by Asbury Park, N.J.-based media organization Rasmussen Reports, 56 percent of Americans are against a tax on soft drinks, because they strongly believe that lawmakers would use the money raised to expand the government rather than to improve public health. Just 33 percent of respondents are in favor of such a tax.

Walmart celebrated the grand opening of its 1,000th Walmart MoneyCenter in Chalmette, La., this week as it gears up to add another 500 locations this year.

The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) commended the California Assembly Banking & Finance Committee and its chairman, Pedro Nava (D), for investigating credit card interchange or “swipe” fees — hidden charges added to every plastic transaction that cost Californians nearly $5 billion a year, and all Americans more than $48 billion.

As the holiday season hits its stride, consumers are poised to spend, according to Deloitte’s recently released Consumer Spending Index.

The new Visa Reloadable Prepaid Debit Card will be available in Winn-Dixie Supermarkets next month, prepaid card solutions provider nFinanSe, Inc. said yesterday.

To help pet owners control costs in an era of increasingly sophisticated veterinary care — and costs — Kroger Personal Finance (KPF), a joint venture by the Cincinnati-based retailer that brings together a wide array of quality financial products and services from preferred providers for Kroger customers, is making pet health insurance information available in the check lanes of more than 2,400 supermarkets operated by Kroger, the nation’s largest traditional grocery store operator.

It’s common knowledge that consumers have been trying to economize in the past year. But where have they been focusing their efforts at austerity? Inquiring about specific money-saving steps respondents may or may not have taken in past six months, a new Harris Poll gives some indications.

U.S. confidence grows 4 index points marking its first increase since 2007.