In Geoff Haas’ St. Paul basement, a few more batches of home brew
bubble away. As he looks over the glass carboys sitting on the table,
Haas said, “I’ve been pretty busy over the holidays, making some beer.”

Xcel Energy’s North Dakota electric customers will start paying a 7.4
percent rate increase in March, which will give ratepayers a break from
added costs they have been paying for almost a year. Homeowners will
get summer bill credits of more than $30.

One of the housing industry’s benchmark indexes shows home prices
dropped by 18 percent in October, the sharpest annual rate drop on
record, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Wallace.

It’s just 49 days until over-the-air television switches from analog to
digital and if you don’t have cable or satellite, you might need a
converter box.

If you’re flying out of town, you now have a convenient new place to leave your cat or dog while you’re away.

Get airfare alerts, find scarce frequent flier seats, find out the poop about cruises before you book, and more with these helpful sites. For more consumer news, visit Consumer World.

When exposed to sunlight, the snow globes can act as a magnifying glass and ignite nearby combustible materials, posing a fire hazard. This recall involves a Hallmark Jumbo Snow Globe in the shape of a snowman with model number 1XAG5093 and UPC code 795902066666.

“Treecycling” is the act of recycling your Christmas tree so that it can be turned into compost or mulch. In a national survey, 93 percent of consumers who used a real Christmas tree recycled theirs in some type of community program.

Tax year 2008 is quickly nearing an end. The Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers to avoid putting off important financial tasks until the last minute. The important deadline of Dec. 31 is fast approaching for many tax-planning issues.

When it comes to penalties and fees, not all credit cards discipline their customers for payment missteps or punish them to the same degree for random acts of the market.