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Online Banking and Linking External Accounts
One of the best features of online banking is linking external bank accounts. The basic idea behind linking an external account to your existing bank account is the ability to transfer funds between the two accounts online. The transfer of funds online is much easier and faster than mailing a paper check from one bank to the other. It [...]
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Lower Interest Rates Make Reverse Mortgages More Attractive
A reverse mortgage allows senior citizens, of at least the age of 62, to convert equity from their principal residence to cash. Similar to a normal mortgage, lower interest rates help make the mortgage more affordable. The Federal Reserve’s significant pledge to buy more than a $1 trillion worth of mortgages securities is expected to [...]
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Banks Slow to Twitter
You might think that the Twitter social networking tool would be an ideal way for banks to update the world about their banking deals, promotions, and offers, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Recent twitter user stats indicate that banks have been slow to attract followers to their company Twitter accounts. In fact, abysmally [...]
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Where are the Banks Offering Inflation-Linked Deposits?
If you do a search for banks offering rates which are indexed to the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, or yields on U.S. Treasuries you can find various money market and CD products. Missing from the list of variable-rate offerings is anything tied to inflation. There are inflation-linked securities available, but surprisingly there are [...]
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The Future of the Big Banks
The day of the big bank may be over if the American public has their way. The banks grabbing headlines for losses, mismanagement, and greed, have almost exclusively been the nation’s largest banks as ranked by deposits or assets. Local banks, credit unions, and internet banks have faced problems and losses arising from bad mortgage [...]
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Which Cities Have the Best Bank Deals and Rates?
There are a couple of cities in the country that jump out as places where good bank deals and rates are easier to find. Whether the reason is the lack of a major bank dominating the local market or that the cities have better local economies, residents in these cities seem to have it easier than [...]
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Should Parents Worry About Prepaid College Savings Plans?
There is a group of parents in America right now who made an outstanding investment decision for their children’s college savings. Due to good planning (or good fortune) they purchased prepaid college savings plans. These plans allow parents to pay for future college tuition at today’s prices. The plans administered by either states or the universities allow parents to protect [...]
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Huge Tax Credit Proposed For Homebuyers
There’s a new idea floating around Washington which will like get a ton of support from assorted bankers, real estate brokers, mortgage lenders and home builders.
The idea is very simple: Give everyone who buys a home a tax credit equal to 10 percent of the purchase price but not more than $15,000.
New Law
It’s called H.R. [...]
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Access To New Mortgage Plans Not For Everyone
I was listening to the radio and the guest being interviewed was a widely quoted financial guru. A caller said he had a home, was making his payments and had about 25 percent equity.
His question was this: Could he get help under the latest mortgage assistance plans from the federal government.
Much to my amazement — [...]
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Bank Bailouts 2009: Check Your Bank’s Rates and Fees
The U.S. Senate behind Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd is proposing that the FDIC be allowed to borrow as much as $500 billion from the Treasury Department. The proposal came after FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair publicly stated last week that the insurance fund was underfunded to meet potential bank failures in the future. Americans are already [...]
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Blue Chip Financial Stocks vs Bank Savings Accounts
It was not that long ago that the bluest of the blue chip stocks including financial services giants like AIG, Citigroup, Bank of America, Capital One, Wells Fargo, and American Express were must-have stocks for any portfolio. A blue-chip financial stock meant stability and long-term growth. Even the dividend yields of the blue-chippers would consistently [...]
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Why Tax-Exempt Investments Are No Longer So Exciting
It used to be that there was a difference between investments with taxable dividends and those which were not taxable. If your tax bracket was high enough, tax-exempt investments made real financial sense.
For instance, back in the 1950s and 1960s the federal income tax rate was as high as 91 percent for earnings over $400,000. [...]
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Don’t Attack Your Retirement Savings
Many Americans have shifted their financial focus from investing for retirement to saving and paying down debt. While maintaining an emergency savings fund and paying down high credit card debt should be part of every household’s financial plan, many financial planners are advising their clients not to completely forsake their retirement plans. There may be valid [...]
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The New World of Municipal Bonds
If you’ve been thinking about some nice, tasty municipal bonds rather than money in IRAs, federally-insured certificates of deposit or federally-insured money market deposit accounts you might want to reconsider.
Municipal binds come in two essential flavors, insured and not insured. Amazingly enough, the insured type may be more risky.
To understand why look at the way [...]
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