FEYERICK: It's 25 minutes after the hour. Morning, everybody. "Minding Your Business" this morning. The final trading session of 2011 ready to begin in just over an hour. Encouraging news on home sales and improving prospects for job growth sends stocks higher yesterday with the Dow gaining 138 points and the S&P; 500 advancing into the black for the year. And right now, Wall Street could be closing the curtain on 2011 on an up note. Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P; 500 futures all pointing higher this morning, suggesting a possible bounce at the opening bell. Verizon Wireless confirms it will start charging a $2 convenience fee on January 15th to customers making one-time bill payments online or by telephone using a debit or credit card. The company says it will offer several options to customers who want to avoid paying it. Real estate flippers who buy cheap homes fix them up and try to quickly resell them for a fast profit, they just got a reprieve from the Federal Housing Administration. The FHA is extending a waiver of its anti-flipping regulations through 2012. That means buyers can still get mortgage insurance even if they flip the home within 90 days of purchasing it. And if you're in the market for an Apple iPad 2, well, you might just want to hold off buying it for about a month. According to DigiTimes, the Taiwan-based news organization that loves to predict this stuff, Apple is planning to introduce two new high-end versions at the popular tablet at the end of January. The word is, the price of the iPad 2 is going to be lowered to compete with Amazon's Kindle. Next, some New York City Muslim leaders are boycotting an interface breakfast this morning, this, after reports that police spied on Muslim communities. AMERICAN MORNING is back, and we will see you right after the break
Verizon To Charge $2 "Convenience" Fee; FHA Extends "Anti- Flipping" Waive