The Good Brigade/Getty Images; Illustration by Grant Crowder/Bankrate Key takeaways Existing-home sales rose 0.8 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.03 million. Sales slowed 0.7 percent from a year ago. The…

You can lower your credit card interest without hurting your credit score by negotiating a reduced interest rate with your credit card company, making extra payments, which allows you to reduce your balance sooner and pay less interest overall, or working with a nonprofit credit counseling agency like American Consumer…

U.S. grocer Kroger is planning to close dozens of stores by the end of next year. The massive Cincinnati-based grocery store chain made the announcement on Friday. It operates thousands of supermarkets and pharmacies across the nation and is planning to close 60 stores in the next 18 months, a…

Image by GettyImages; Illustration by Bankrate Key takeaways Purchase protection is a special perk that allows you to get reimbursed for something you bought with your credit card in certain situations. Not all products are eligible for purchase protection, and most credit card issuers put a limit on how much…

Iran has warned that it may attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic in retaliation for the U.S. joining Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The Iranian government is mulling retaliatory actions, including the potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for global energy supplies.…