Home » Archive for August, 2009
TARP Bailout Money: How was the $700 Billion Spent?
Last fall, the country was in a major financial crisis, in response, the Department of the Treasury with authorization from Congress gave over $700 billion to banks and financial institutions under the troubled asset relief program... More of this article »
What Would Be Involved in an Audit of the Federal Reserve? – Part One
There has been a self-conscious effort to confuse the proposed audit of the Federal Reserve, initiated by Ron Paul, in order to fight off what would be unveiled and revealed by that very audit. So before we get into what an audit of... More of this article »
How to Maximize Your CD Rates with a Certificate of Deposit Ladder
If you have a lot of money in a savings account, you are at the whim of whatever the current interest rate environment is. If the economy falters as it has in the last year, the rates you will be able to receive on your money will... More of this article »
Mortgage Delinquencies Continue Rise In Q2, Top Q1 Record
The rate of delinquent U.S. mortgages continues to grow sequentially and that did not change in the second quarter as even more struggling borrowers fell at least 30 days behind on their loan payments. The Mortgage Bankers Association... More of this article »
Lending Club Follows Mainstream Banks, Raises Interest Rates on Personal Loans
Peer to Peer Lending Services, such as Prosper.com and LendingClub.com, have been providing consumers a way to lend money to other consumers while side-stepping major financial companies for a couple of years now. These two companies... More of this article »
FDIC’s Proposed Private Equity Restrictions Hindering Bank Sales
As usual, when the government steps in to the private market they screw things up, and in the case of regulations proposed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., they would essentially stop all interest of private equity firms in... More of this article »
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA May Have Won Bid for Guaranty Bank
Bids for the assets of Texas-based Guaranty Bank have been received during August by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and the probable but unconfirmed news that the huge Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA has won that... More of this article »
Editorial: Why it’s in the Public Interest for the Fed to be Audited
Ron Paul has been fighting an uphill battle to enlist the aid of his fellow lawmakers to remove the secrecy and hidden actions of the Federal Reserve, which is moving far too autonomously for the public good; confirmed by the outrageous... More of this article »
Banking Leaders Confirm Industry Still in Bad Shape
In a recent study from advisory firm KPMG KPMG.UL, banking executives said the industry will recover slower than even the economy; a true statement that was good to hear, as some politicians and news outlets attempt to make it look... More of this article »
JP Morgan Provides California $1.5 Billion Loan To Repay IOUs
The California State Treasurers office announced late Tuesday that JP Morgan Chase is supplying a $1.5 billion loan that will allow it to end its IOU program come September 4, when the state’s new cash-flow borrowing plan kicks in. The... More of this article »
How Recent Interest Rate Decisions from the Fed Will Impact Your Savings Account
Last week, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met and determined that the federal funds rate will remain as close to zero (0 – 0.25%) as it has ever been. The press release that the Federal Reserve release stated, “The Committee... More of this article »
Investment Bank ‘Lazard’ Hires Tom Tuft from Goldman Sachs
Preparing for what head of Lazard Ltd. Bruce Wasserstein called a “re-equitization of the American capital structure” over the next five to six years, the company hired Tom Tuft away from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to prepare... More of this article »
Recent Data Show Risk to U.S. Properties Stands at over $3 Trillion
Spin it any way you want to, the risk to U.S. banks, the economy and homes in the U.S. is far from over, as recent data show, properties in the U.S. are still at risk to the tune of over $3 trillion ($3.4 trillion). And re-sets for... More of this article »
U.S. Credit Card Defaults Ease In July
The ever-increasing rate of credit card defaults in the U.S. finally showed signs of easing in July as evidenced by regulatory filings from several large U.S. banks. The pullback was marginal in most cases, but the data is yet another... More of this article »
Banks Now Focusing on Hiring Commodity Traders: Guaranteed Bonuses of $1 Million
With commodities set to resume their upwards move, Wall Street corporations have been searching out and hiring new commodity traders to add to their existing work force to fully take advantage of what promises to be a continuation... More of this article »
Banks Offering 2.00% APY and Above Savings Accounts in August 2009
Just a few years ago, there were banks offering over 5.00% APY as an FDIC, guaranteed rate of return. Those days are long gone and now savings account holders are lucky to get 1.50% APY on their money. There are a few banks that have... More of this article »
Amboy Direct Revamps Online Savings Account Offerings
Amboy Direct recently made significant modifications to their website and removed all references to their “Premium Online Savings Account” and instead are promoting their “eSavings Account” offering which has a higher minimum... More of this article »
BB&T Corp. in $750 Million Public Offering of Common Stock
Branch Banking Trust (BB&T) announced today that it has initiated a $750 million public offering of its common stock. There was no specific reason given for the funds generated from the offering other than they’ll be used... More of this article »
NCUA Warns Of Fraudulent Credit Union Advertisements
The National Credit Union Administration learned earlier this month of a fraudulent lending scheme by parties that claim to be credit unions. The scheme is done by placing false advertisements that offer to help potential customers... More of this article »
BB&T Retains Ratings After Acquisition of Colonial BancGroup
There were concerns on whether the ratings of BB&T and its subsidiary Branch Banking Trust would retain their status after the acquisition of Colonial BancGroup on Friday. After being appointed as receiver of Colonial BancGroup,... More of this article »
SmartyPig Decreases Interest Rate to 2.01% APY
SmartyPig announced on Friday that they will be making the largest cut in the interest rates that they offer in the last year. On SmartyPig’s blog, the company’s co-founder Michael Ferrari, announced the news: Beginning Monday,... More of this article »
FDIC Seizes Colonial Bank, Four Others
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced Friday that it was appointed receiver of five more banks that were shutdown by State Commissions this week. The biggest name of which is Colonial Bank, which has been in the news... More of this article »
Colonial BancGroup May Be Taken Over by BB&T
A number of media outlets have been reporting that BB&T will be taking over the assets of Colonial BancGroup, citing sources familiar with the situation. Evidently the bank will be seized some time on Friday by bank regulators,... More of this article »