Government Bond Funds and Inflation-Protected Funds Outperform

Government bond funds are a favorite of investors due to the safety of the underlying holdings which are primarily securities issued by the Treasury Department or government-sponsored entities. While normal bond fund managers can buy riskier lower-rated bonds to boost yields, the government bond fund manager is heavily restricted to the type of holdings in [...]

Interest Rates and the Fed Inflation Target

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, a long-time proponent of inflation-targeting, has set a specific inflation target of 1.5% to 2% over three years in a semi-annual FOMC report to Congress. Bernanke and the Fed were thought to have set a target as low as 1% to 2% so the “new” target range gives the Fed a [...]

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Online Bank Deals and Reward Programs

The days of banks paying below 1.00% on a checking account and are back in force as The Savings Investor found out when polling 100 banks nationwide and finding an average of just 0.88% as the annual percentage yield paid out on a basic low-minimum checking account. However, online banking customers who are willing to [...]

Mortgage Rates Increase

A big jump in mortgage rates last week occured after more fears of inflation in the economy persist. The national average on the 30-year Fixed Mortgage rose over 40 points and the national average on the 15-year Fixed Mortgage increased over 20 points. Any sustained increase in inflation could lead to higher US Treasury yields [...]

Revolution MoneyExchange Provides an Alternative to PayPal

MoneyExchange is an online money transfer service that allows members to transfer funds among themselves via e-mail. The account balances are held in a FDIC-insured bank, First Bank and Trust in Brookings, South Dakota, that can be linked to other banks accounts. Of course this service is a direct competitor to PayPal, and MoneyExchange even [...]

What is the Government Sending to You? Find out with the 2008 Tax Rebate Calculator

Online Bank Rates Increase at a Few Banks

Online bank deposit rates have been reset upwards at a few select banks in the last week in a surprise move because of the growing expectations that the Fed will lower interest rates another quarter-point or half-point at the March meeting. The vast majority of banks have revised their deposit rates to below 4.00% and [...]

Banks Remain Committed to Reward Checking Accounts

The 175-point rate cut in 2008 has wreaked havoc on bank deposit rates with 5.50% and 5.75% online bank rate deals evaporating into 4.25% and 4.50% rate deals. Lost in the shuffle has been that the rates on the nation’s top paying Reward Checking Accounts have not fallen by as much. Money-rates.com has a list [...]

Dallas Bank Making A Splash Online

T Bank a FDIC-insured bank based in Dallas Texas has increased deposit rates in an aggressive move to match its wide variety of loans available to consumers and make it one of a select number online banks with a full menu of attractive bank rates for online banking consumers on both rates and loans. Beyond [...]

Warren Buffett helps Interest Rates

Bond yields moved sharply higher today after news that Warren Buffett’s firm Berkshire Hathaway has offered to assume liability for the municipal bonds of troubled bond insurers. US Treasuries have been a safe haven for investors since last summer when the credit and mortgage markets began to experience serious setbacks. So any news, like today’s [...]

Recession? Americans, economists, itrade.com say yes! Bush and his Administration say No.

The US economy will grow in 2008 and avoid a recession despite a lingering housing slump and a related credit crunch, White House economists said Monday. The annual “Economic Report of the President” is claiming that the US economy will avoid recession and grow in 2008 contrary to what a consensus of economists believe. Citing [...]

Capital One’s Rewards Money Market Account

The Capital One Rewards Money Market Account is a money market account which offers an attractive yield of 3.00% and a program in which airline miles and other rewards can be earned through account activity. The 3.00% yield applies to all balances between $0.01 and $100,000 and higher. The account has no minimum balance fees [...]

Banks Rates on Health Savings Accounts

What Are Health Savings Accounts?
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were created by Public Law 108-173, the “Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003,” signed into law by President Bush on December 8, 2003. Health Savings Accounts will change the way millions meet their health care needs because they are designed to help individuals save [...]

Online Bank and Credit Union Rate Deals

Online banks and credit unions are offering deals with with good rates including specials between 3.60% APY and 10.00% APY for online investors. Listed below are some of these Credit Union and Bank rate deals available today. Each deal has it’s own restrictions and limitations including balance requirements and geographic requierements. Check with the issuing [...]

Zions Direct’s Live Auctions on E-Bay

The live CD auctions at Zions Direct have been around for a whole and allow visitors to bid on CDs offered by member banks of the Zions Direct progrma. The current issuers are Zions Fist National Bank, Amegy Bank of Texas, National Bank of Arizona, Vectra Bank Colorado, and Nevada State Bank. Recent results have [...]

Municipal Bond Yields (non-taxable) vs Treasury Yields (taxable)

A strong global surge into United States Treasuries has pushed yields on T-Bills, T-Notes, and T-Bonds lower and lower with a bottom not yet in sight. The same buying surge has not been witnessed in the Municipal Bond market and as shown below yields are higher at comparable terms than Treasuries.Municipal Bond Averages vs U.S. [...]

Bank of America a "Go" to Purchase Countrywide Bank

Bank of America Corp. stated it’s committed to buying Countrywide Financial Corp which includes Countrywide Bank. “Everything is a ‘go’ to complete this transaction,” Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis said at an investor conference today, in reference to Countrywide. Depositors at Countrywide Bank will become customers of Bank of America when the [...]