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Editorial: Everyone Needs a Strong U.S. Dollar? – Too Late!
Listening to the financial leaders of the Group of Seven as they head to Istanbul for talks saying there is a need for a strong U.S. dollar, is ludicrous in the face of the practices of the central banks across the globe, and specifically... More of this article »
Federal Reserve President of Boston Says Stimulus Must Continue
Eric Rosengren, President of the Boston’s Federal Reserve Bank, said that the central bank and the government should continue its pro-growth economic policies until a self sustaining recovery is assured. In a recent speech to a business... More of this article »
First Time Homebuyer’s Tax Credit Set to Expire November 30th
The wildly popular first-time homebuyers tax credit that was included as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is set to expire on November 30th. The first-time homebuyers tax credit has been wildly popular, so much so... More of this article »
Editorial: Bernanke Caves on Obama’s Provision of Adding More Power to the Fed – Is it Real or a Ploy?
Growing pressure on the beleaguered Federal Reserve has Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke backpedaling on his original desire to see the Federal Reserve invested with even more power concerning oversight of “systemic risk.” Even... More of this article »
The FDIC is Out of Money – Now What?
Now that the FDIC has effectively admitted they’ve run out of money in the Deposit Insurance Fund, what does that mean to for the banking system in the U.S., and the consumers and businesses using them? First we have to understand... More of this article »
Mortgage Interest Rates Hit New Lows
Mortgage interest rates are sitting at about the lowest they have ever been. The averaged 30-year fixed rate loan is hovering at about 4.97% and the average 15-year loan is sitting at just 4.25% as of the week of September 25th, 2009. These... More of this article »
Certificate of Deposit Rates to Drop Even Lower
Certificate of Deposit interest rates are likely to continue to drop because of a new rate cap that will be going into effect. Starting in January of 2010, the federal government will begin to index the interest rates that major national... More of this article »
Destroyed Phone Coversations Prompt New Calls for Further Investigation into Countrywide’s VIP Loan Scandal
Although Democrat Senators Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad were cleared of violating any gift rule for accepting loan discounts in Countrywide’s VIP loan program, they were admonished at the time for being lax in how they handled the... More of this article »
FDIC Exploring Pre-Pay Fee Option In Order To Replenish Deposit Fund
In another possible move to replenish a severely depleted deposit insurance fund; The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is considering asking member banks to pre-pay $36 billion in fees in order to boost the funds reserves, according... More of this article »
How to Consolidate Your Debt with a Peer-To-Peer Loan from Lending Club
Banks and credit card companies have been raising interest rates that they are charging customers for no other reason than because banks have made poor financial decisions and want consumers to pay for it. Now you the consumer have... More of this article »
Lending Club Investor Rates of Returns Increase in September 2009
Investors in the popular peer-to-peer lending website, Lending Club, saw an increase in the average rate of return earned by investors from 9.61% in August to 9.65% during the month of September. On the front page of Lending Club’s... More of this article »
Atlanta-Based “Georgian Bank” Marks 95th Bank Failure of 2009
Georgian Bank, located in Atlanta, was shut-down by federal regulators on Friday, marking the 95th bank failure in 2009. Georgian Bank was founded in 2001 and was considered to be one of the fastest growing banks in the state. Before... More of this article »
Testimony from Federal Reserve Lawyer Scott Alvarez: Another Reason to Rein in the Federal Reserve
In what I consider an astounding and clear admission from the General Counsel of the Federal Reserve, Scott Alvarez, he admitted if the ongoing push to audit the Federal Reserve becomes a reality, “Foreign central banks and governments... More of this article »
Federal Reserve Spending Another $556 billion in Mortgage Market
Although the acquisition of mortgage-backed securities was scheduled to end in December 2009, the Federal Reserve has decided to continue acquiring the securities, with plans to pump another $556 billion into them by April 2010. Since... More of this article »
What Types of Lending Club Loans Perform the Best?
If you plan on lending money to people through Lending Club or Prosper any time soon, you’re going to need to know some of the basic strategies that lenders are using to maximize their rates of return. We recently covered that a... More of this article »
Editorial: Overdraft Fees – Will We All Have to Pay for the Irresponsible Few?
The practice of a minority of people who continually trigger overdraft fees could result in bank customers across America having to pay for currently free services like checking accounts. While some in the media have been making a... More of this article »
Fed Sees Continued Economic Improvement, Leaves Key Rate Unchanged
The Federal Open Market Committee released on Wednesday its latest statement on the condition of the U.S. economy. Continued improvement and stabilization were seen in several key areas, such as financial markets and consumer spending. However,... More of this article »
Sarah Palin: “Government Cause of Financial Crisis”
Sarah Palin went on the economic offensive in a speech in Hong Kong, where she spoke to a group of executives and bankers about her take on the causes behind the economic turmoil across the globe, blaming the excesses of the government... More of this article »
Peter Schiff Blasts Chris Dodd and His Plan to Create Super Regulatory Agency
It hasn’t taken long for Peter Schiff, who recently announced he’s running against Chris Dodd and others for his Connecticut Senate seat, to attack Dodd over his recent proposal to create a super regulatory agency by combining... More of this article »
Bank Of America (NYSE: BAC) To Limit Overdraft Fees, Offer Opt-Out Options
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) announced that it will cap the fees it charges when customers overdraw accounts and place an annual limit on the number of times a customer can overdraw their accounts on point of sale transactions. The... More of this article »
Why Investing in a Large Number of Loans is Key to Lending Club Success
Peer-to-peer loans have become an increasingly popular way for investors to diversify their portfolios, but some have failed to use these services properly and have left themselves unprotected. Make sure to diversify your loan portfolio... More of this article »
Editorial: Economic Insanity – FDIC May Borrow From Healthy Banks to Prop Up More Zombie Banks
The news concerning banking regulators in the U.S., along with some of the bankers and their lobbyists, isn’t good, as now the idea is being thrown around by the FDIC to tap the healthy banks in the industry to shore up the Deposit... More of this article »
Citibank (NYSE:C) in Deal with Virgin Money to Expand Market Share in Australia
In a move that directly aims at the four major banks in Australia, Citibank (NYSE:C) has signed a deal with Richard Branson’s Virgin Money to offer products and services of new credit cards, mortgages and retail deposit accounts. Virgin... More of this article »