MoneyRates Blog
Bank Rate Watchers Should Keep An Eye On This Week’s Inflation Number
The Consumer Price Index for October will be released this Wednesday, and it could mark the beginning of the end for the spate of deflation the U.S. has experienced for much of the past year. For bank rate watchers, wondering when savings account interest rates and CD rates will start to rise, inflation remains a [...]
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Will Big Banks Really Be Broken Up Into Bits and Pieces?
Not sure if you’ve been following the latest bank hearings–there have been so many of them over the past year, who could begrudge you for missing out–but these bank hearings may be bigger than most.
The Senate is dicussing what to do about the “too big to fail” big banks and too big other companies that [...]
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Bank Reform Debate Continues Even as Recovery Continues
It’s not surprising that former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker has voiced the opinion that banking reform must include the break-up of large institutions, including the separation of commercial and investment banking operations. However, having John S. Reed’s voice join the same chorus is really reason for pause.
Paul Volcker’s regime as Fed Chairman was strikingly different from that of [...]
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Will New Bank Regulations Protect Your Savings Account? If So, How?
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testified before Congress this morning on the topic of new bank regulations being discussed by the Democrat-controlled Congress, led by Barney Frank of Massachussetts.
Conservative investors who are seeking to protect retirement savings are understandably interested in the outcomes of these discussions. When you have spent your life saving money in savings [...]
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A Delicate Balance: Regulation, Stability, and Bank Rates
It’s understandable that last year’s banking crisis should spark a renewed drive for financial regulation. It’s unfortunate that the legislative responses so far seem to be barking up the wrong tree.
As promised (or threatened, depending on how you look at it) Senator Christopher Dodd introduced legislation designed to limit banks’ ability to charge overdraft fees. [...]
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Bank Earnings Hugely Dependent Upon Trading
Money-Rates banking expert Richard Barrington called yesterday for politicians to take another look at the Glass-Steagall Act, a longstanding financial regulation that separated banking from investment activities, and was repealed in 1999 with the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act.
While this advice to politicians certainly makes extensive sense and might lower the risk of individuals holding money in money market accounts, savings [...]
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FDIC Pays to Milk Cows in Colorado
You knew FDIC regulators were talented, but did you know they can milk cows? Or, rather, they can pay for cows to be milked?
NPR reported today that due to the failure of New Frontier Bank in Greeley, Colorado, farmers who had loans with the bank were in danger of losing their crops and their cattle.
Therefore, [...]
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Interest Rates Stay Low, But Australia Also Rises
Mortgage rates are still low, and so are CD rates and savings account rates. In seemingly unrelated but actually quite pertinent news, Australia’s central bank raised interest rates by a quarter point.
This move signals that Australia’s economy is recovering, and it’s time to prevent inflation. Australia’s economy, overall, is looking decent thanks in large part [...]
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Is Your Savings Account “Too Big to Fail”?
“Too big to fail” must be considered the phrase of the year, due to its extreme adoption rate and impermeable imprint upon American society.
In Washington, new rules are being discussed that will hold banks judged “too big to fail” to new and different standards.
What does this mean for your saving accounts?
You Only Lose Money When [...]
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Mixed Message from FDIC Leaves Bank Rates Up in the Air
Last week, the FDIC went out of its way to clarify its accounting policies, to show that the draw down of its deposit insurance fund was not as severe as it seems. This week, they are rather publicly weighing options for giving that fund an emergency shot in the arm.
So which is it — is [...]
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Looking for the Next Clue About the Direction of Bank Rates?
Where are bank rates going next? Whether you’ve been shopping for money market rates, savings account rates, or CD rates, you’ve probably been shaking your head over how low bank rates are in general. The question is, can they go any lower?
The next clue may come this Wednesday, with the release of August’s Consumer Price [...]
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A New Type of Savings Account with Higher Rates
How come some of the best ideas arrive at the worst time? Disciplined savings programs, called installment savings accounts, could have saved the day for many Americans who have now lost meaningful savings they had designated for college, a vacation, a wedding, or another family event. Instead, we are just now hearing about these nifty savings programs. [...]
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A Bank That Offers a Savings Account for Your Pet?
What happens to a beloved pet if the owner unexpectedly dies? Unless a family member or a friend steps in, there may not be a good long-term solution for these pets. However, what if pet owners could set up an online savings account that earned interest and also served as a legal trust account for the benefit [...]
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Deposit Your Tax Refund Directly to Your Savings or Checking Account
The IRS gives all taxpayers the option to receive their tax refunds through direct deposit to more than one bank or brokerage account. Form 8888, which can be downloaded from IRS.gov, allows taxpayers to split up their refund and decide which amounts go to which accounts. Eligible account types include:
Bank checking accounts
Bank money market accounts
Bank savings accounts
Brokerage accounts
Mutual [...]
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COLLEGE SAVINGS
Independent 529 plans offer parents the chance to pay for college in the future at today’s price which can lead to large discounts on future costs. The program co-sponsored between Independent 529 plan and TIAA-CREF allows allows you to prepay tuition today that your child can use later at any participating college. This program protects [...]
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