Could Swiss Banking Demise Help Our Deficit?

Swiss Banking has been rocked in recent weeks by the large settlement made by Swiss banking giant UBS with the United States government and the prospect that offshore banking may finally be challenged by ongoing concerted efforts by numerous government taxing authorities. The $780 million setttlement UBS made with the IRS includes identifying 250 of [...]

Uncle Sam Offers Huge Credit For First Time Home Buyers

The government will give a tax credit of up to $8,000 for many first-time home buyers in 2009. Is this a good deal? You bet.

Bank Money Market Rates Outpacing Yields on Money Funds

Mutual fund money markets have had a tumultous six months. A perfect storm arose to test the whole industry. First, the safety of money funds was called into question after several funds “broke the buck” during the mortgage-backed securities crisis. Then yields on money funds were pushed down close to 1% after the Fed lowered [...]

Bernanke and the Stock Market

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before Congress this week on the state of the economy. While much of his testimony will be a dry recitation of economic statistics and forecasts, Wall Street has criticized Bernanke for his negative outlook and is hoping he will put a positive spin on the nation’s economy. With the [...]

$8 Billion CD Fraud Alleged. What Will You Pay For Risk?

The SEC claims a banker defrauded investors in an $8 billion CD scheme. Peter G. Miller looks at the motivation behind such investments.

What If The Banks Are Nationalized?

During the past week a new discussion has begun to emerge in Washington, the matter of nationalizing banks.
This is a big deal, symbolically and in other ways. If you have a CD, money market account, savings, or IRA you need to keep an eye on this conversation.
As this is written many bank stocks have taken [...]

Gold Tops $1,000 an Ounce

Gold investors have bid up the price of gold to over $1,000 an ounce after country-after-country around the world have lowered their benchmark interest rates, passed sweeping stimulus packages, and nationalized banks in an orchestrated effort to combat the global economic recession.  Gold, the fallback position for investors for centuries in times of turmoil, has [...]

Do You Deserve More For Your CD?

Almost $130 billion has been paid out to financial managers in the past few years, money that savers and investors didn’t get.

Dividend Income: Is It So Certain?

I was reading the words of a nationally-syndicated columnist recently who was recommending several stocks. This was interesting stuff, I thought, including the suggestion that now is the time to buy shares in long established companies that pay good dividends.
But, actually, as I looked at the author’s list I saw several companies that are indeed [...]

Will Obama Push for the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act?

It has now been over a year since the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act was proposed by Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat Representative from New York. Although the bill had over 150 co-sponsors and was passed by the House of Representatives on September 23, 2008, the bill was never debated by the Senate and it [...]

The FDIC Closes Four New Banks

Since last summer’s high-profile bank failures of multi-billion dollar, IndyMac Bank and Washington Mutual Bank, most of the banks which have closed have been smaller in size and generally banks serving local markets. The FDIC has closed four more smaller-sized banks last week as the pace of bank failures in the United States has begun to [...]

Broad Measures of Unemployment Rate Close to 18%

The unemployment rate in the United States was reported at 7.6% in the most recent release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  As has been widely reported the staggering loss of jobs accelerated in the fourth quarter of 2008 pushing the total lost jobs to over 2.6 million for the year. The reports from [...]

Paying Your Tax Bill with a Credit Card

This tax year may see more taxpayers than ever facing a tax bill they cannot pay. For many facing the April 15 deadline working with the IRS may seem the only option they have. However, entering a negotiation with the IRS on a payment schedule can be time consuming and costly. The IRS charges interest [...]

The Ten Best Online Bank Deals

A year ago online banks were offering over 6% on an online savings account, but today a much lower rate qualifies as a “good deal”. Bank withe deposit rates over 3% are dwindling, so instead consumers are becoming more interested in some of free cash and gifts available for opening a new account at a [...]

E*Trade Financial Wins Super Bowl

The number of financial services companies running Super Bowl advertisements was lower this year after the tumultous year for banking and investing. One clear winner may have been E*Trade Financials who had what many are calling the funniest advertisement of the Super Bowl.

It remains to be seen if at an estimated $2.6 million for the [...]