Banks-24

Whilst the rise in consumer spending is encouraging, the rate of increase (from a low base) remains disappointing. Demand drives the employment cycle, so if consumer demand is subdued, the prospects for new jobs remain bleak. The other side of this coin is that if consumers are afraid that their own jobs are insecure, they will try to cut back on spending to preserve whatever cash they have to tide them over whilst they are looking for a new job. This, of course, suppresses demand.

New data shows that the sale of new homes has risen by 5.5% in November; again, whilst this is good news, it must be set in context. Read more…

Instead of waiting for ol’ Santa Claus to bring you want you want this year, you can go out and get it yourself.

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As time goes on I will also be using my newsletter for exclusive giveaways, cool can’t-be-found-anywhere content, and to share ideas. It’s really a win-win situation.

Give it a try. If you don’t like the eBook or if you get sick of me then you can always unsubscribe. It’s like goi

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This is the final installment of our financial myth-busting series. We’ll close by going over the myths associated with investing. Be sure to check out the rest of the series.

When it comes to financial myths, there is no category with more mistaken beliefs than investments. Whether you’re talking about investing for retirement, in the stock market or even more sophisticated assets like real estate, commodities or bonds, there are so many “experts” with varying opinions that it’s hard to grasp just a few that really work for your strategy.

It doesn’t matter if you’re just a passive investor or an aspiring day trader, there are a few common financial fallacies that need to be cleared up before you start making your millions.

Myth #1: Investing is too complicated.

This is perhaps the most common reason why people hold off on investing in their retirement or even in general. Yes, investme Read more…

MB Financial Bank is still pushing for their best interest rates offered for their best checking account called Red Checking that pays 4.00% APY for balances starting at $0.01 through $10,000. Deposits that go over the $10K mark yields 0.25% APY. The base interest rate for this high yield checking account is 0.05% APY. This checking account requires an opening deposit of $10.

In order to enjoy the best interest rates, account holders must meet the following monthly requirements:

· Complete 12 transactions totalling at least $100 using the debit card

· Use the online bills payment system, set up a direct deposit(minimum of $250), make a deposit via ACH

· Opt in for electronic statements

For this high interest checking account, you need to maintain at least a $500 average to avoid a monthly service charge of $10.

This money in the bank opportunity is offered for consumers who live within the bank’s service areas in IL, PA, and IN. Also Read more…

Proposals to ban the $100 bill, as a way to thwart terrorists and other criminals, were in the news a couple of years ago, as we reported here at the time. Nothing much happened on that front, but today’s New York Times has a provocative op-ed piece that takes the concept a big step further: banning cash altogether, worldwide. The alternative to cash, according to the piece’s author, Jonathan Lipow of the Defense Resource Management Institute at the Naval Postgraduate School, is smart-card technology that would allow consumers to transfer money from a buyer’s card to a seller’s, for example. Apparently the cards themselves would keep records of all transactions, which would periodically be downloaded onto centralized computers. There, according to the piece, “insurgents’ and terrorists’ electronic payments would generate audit trails that could be screened by data mining software.” Presumably your transactions and mine could be similarly searched, if anybody cared to. Read more…

Fears that Greece and Ireland might default on their debts forced the yield that they need to offer to attract investors to take up their bond issues up to record highs. The increased payment that these nations had to pay on their bonds pushed up borrowing costs and, of course, ratcheted up the danger of a default.

Although both nations protested that they could continue to service their debt and gave assurances that they would not default, jitters sent the Euro lower and an IMF/EU bailout funding was made available to them, largely to calm market fears and protect the single currency.

With the Irish austerity budget making its way through parliament and thereby ensuring that EU/IMF funds will be made available, nervous eyes have turned to Spain as the next candidate for a bailout and the ratings agency Moody’s is already muttering about dropping the nation’s credit rating a notch.

Meeting in Brussels last night, European leaders have agreed that a permanent mechanism will be put in place to help Eurozone member states which find themselves faced with exorbitant yield demands on their bonds.

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If you have never had an account with ShareBuilder.com before you may be able to get a $50 bonus. You need to use the promo code 50WS10. You must open a new account with ShareBuilder and deposit $50 or more to be eligible for this promotion. Initial deposit must be completed by 12/31/2010. ShareBuilder will deposit a $50 bonus approximately 4-6 weeks after your first $50 deposit. The $50 bonus offer is available for Individual, Joint and Custodial accounts only. Offer not valid for IRAs or ESAs. The $50 bonus from ShareBuilder is not available for withdrawal for 90 days after it is awarded to your account. This offer is not valid with any other offers and is non-transferrable. Limit one ShareBuilder account bonus per unique customer or custodial beneficiary.

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