Shed Extra Cards To Improve Credit Rating

Are you walking around with a couple of credit cards you don’t often use? Maybe you think of them as backup cards in case you’re stranded on Interstate-90 or a tree falls into your living room.

Pretty smart, huh?

Well, maybe not, says the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

“Owning a wallet full of credit cards doesn’t mean lenders view you as a good credit risk,” the institute says. “In fact, having too many credit cards can work against you, even if you don’t use them.”

The reason: If you apply for a mortgage or other loan, the lender may assess your credit limits as well as your actual debts. If you have access to too much easy credit, a lender may view you as too great a risk.

Cardholders should consider trimming their plastic to two cards: one with no annual fee for expenses you plan to pay off immediately, and one with a low interest rate for debts you plan to carry for a while.

Money control workshop

Consumer Credit Counseling of Spokane will begin a three-part workshop on “Money Control” Wednesday at in its offices in the Teamsters Building, N1912 Division.

The two other sessions will be held on November 8 and November 15.

All three will begin at 6 p.m. and conclude at 8:30 p.m.

The classes will be conducted by Michael Hayes, CCCS education director.

The cost is $18 for CCCS clients, $25 for non-clients.

The class is a repeat of one that has been conducted through the month of October in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.

For information, call 327-3777 or 1-800-892-6854.

Insurance recoveries mount

Investigators with the Washington Insurance Commissioners office have recovered more than $5.1 million so far this year from insurance companies for consumers.

The total, Commissioner Deborah Senn noted, marks an all-time high, and is almost triple the amount recovered last year.

Amounts varied from hundreds of thousands of dollars down to $3.15 detected during an audit of an agent in Grays Harbor.

The refund total excludes settlements negotiated for consumers who reported complaints with their insurance carriers, Senn said.

Consumers with questions about insurance can call the commissioner’s hot line at 1-800-562-6900.

Dorfman probe reported

The relationship between influential stock market reporter Dan Dorfman and a stock promoter has drawn scrutiny from federal prosecutors, according to a report in Business Week.

The magazine said Dorfman and stock promoter Donald Kessler are under investigation for activities that include insider trading, wire and mail fraud and other violations of securities law.

Both Dorfman and Kessler told Business Week they were unaware of any investigation. Dorfman, who writes for Money magazine and has a daily commentary on CNBC-TV, said he assumed regulators are always scrutinizing him.

After the report was published Thursday, Dorfman issued a statement saying he has not traded stocks for more than five years.

“I can’t stop irresponsible people from making untrue allegations about me or publishing them,” he said. “But I am confident any investigation will put such rubbish to rest.”

But Friday, Money Managing Editor Frank Lalli issued a statement saying Dorfman will take an immediate leave of absence to respond to the Business Week article, and he asked Time Inc.’s lawyer to investigate the allegations.

CNBC said it believes Dorfman has observed the ethical standards imposed on its reporters.

Dorfman’s TV commentaries often move the stocks of companies he talks about. Earlier this month, the Chicago Board Options Exchange asked regulators to approve a brief suspension of computerized options trading system when the market erupts after reports by television business analysts, such as Dorfman.

Funds for the nervous

Your mutual funds having gained, say, 27 percent so far this year, you’re probably nervous. The newsletter Dow Theory Forecasts suggests avoiding funds overweighted in technology. Spread your money across different sectors, including value, global and bond funds. Buy funds gradually. Stick with proven, long-term performers. And minimize expenses

Here’s Dow Theory’s “conservative” portfolio: three from Vanguard (Wellington, Wellesley Income and Short-Term Corporate Bond); three from Fidelity (Capital and Income, Disciplined Equity and Intermediate Bond); and T. Rowe Price International and Schafer Value.

, DataTimes