A growing share of the income pie, plus decreasing tax rates to boot. Not a bad deal. Unfortunately, it’s a deal that’s enjoyed by just 1% of the richest Americans.

MarketWatch's Steve Gelsi interviews Vita Nelson, publisher of "The Moneypaper," on the value of investing in dividend-paying stocks during a bear market. (July 25)

The number of home foreclosures could double this year to 3 million, about a million more than forecasted, says RealtyTrac's Rick Sharga, who thinks the housing bill will help but how much is the "trillion dollar question." Stacey Delo reports.

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Read how the economy is hitting the back-to-school season, meet our Stockpicker of the Quarter and discover the keys to gifting real estate, all in today's Personal Finance pages.

U.S. consumer sentiment picks up in July, though it remains at a relatively low level.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. consumer sentiment rose in July, though it remains at a relatively low level, according to a media report Friday. The consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan and Reuters hit 61.2 in July -- up from a reading earlier in the month of 56.6 -- compared with 56.4 in June. The June reading was the lowest since 1980 and the third-lowest reading in the 56-year history of the survey. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a July result of 56.

As the nation's economic woes persist, more than two million workers got a bit of help Thursday when the federal minimum wage rises to $6.55 from $5.85 per hour.

I just assisted a couple with a charitable remainder trust that saved all the capital gains on a $1.2 million dollar home, gave them $600,000 in cash and income for life that more than pays their retirement home costs for the rest of their lives.

Terry Coxon, an economist with Casey Research, says that Senate efforts to curb speculation in the oil market not only won't gain traction, but they wouldn't work anyway. In a radio interview, Coxon said that oil speculators are "closer to angels and saints" than to the evil forces they have been made out to be. "Speculators don't have magical powers," Coxon said, "they can't make prices be what they want them to be, so the notion that you are the victim of greedy speculators when you pull up at the gas pump and have to pay $4 a gallon is just a fairy tale."