| Four rules of financial control
In a lecture Tuesday evening on the Southeast Missouri State University campus, financial author and television commentator Jean Chatzky offered four rules for keeping control over personal finances:1. Make a decent living. When negotiating the pay for any job, research what that position is worth in the market and seek the highest possible salary. If in the first negotiation, the company offers 5 percent more than what others receive, over time the gap will widen and "you will have $300,000 more in your bank account when you retire," she said. 2. Spend less than you make. "How do you spend less than you make? You do it by tracking where your money is going. ... The fact that your money is gone is the symptom, not the problem," Chatzky said. After understanding where money is going, Chatzky said it is important to reduce spending on items that are desires rather than essentials.
Money markets bend, don't break
One of the safest and, lately, most attractive places for people to park some of their savings -- the money market account -- is suddenly looking a little less secure, thanks to fallout from the mortgage mess. Bank of America Corp. announced plans Tuesday to shore up a group of money market funds, in its case with a $600 million reserve. The move raises questions about whether this category of savings might suffer hits that are serious enough to cause losses for investors. The notion that some money market funds might give investors less than a dollar-for-dollar return on their investment, an occurrence known as "breaking the buck," is a sobering thought. Some experts say it remains unlikely, however. The Bank of America funds have run into trouble with a type of investment known as a structured investment vehicle, or SIV, which uses borrowed money to invest in perhaps risky but high-yielding investments.
Will Your Money-Market Fund 'Break the Buck'?
NEW YORK -- One of the safest and, lately, most attractive places for people to park some of their savings -- the money-market account -- is suddenly looking a little less secure thanks to fallout out from the mortgage mess. Bank of America became the latest financial company to announce plans to shore up a group of money-market funds, in its case with a $600 million reserve. Its move last week raises questions about whether this category of savings might suffer hits that are serious enough to cause losses for investors. .
Money funds set aside cash for trouble
One of the safest and, lately, most attractive places for people to park some of their savings - the money market account - is suddenly looking a little less secure thanks to fallout out from the mortgage mess. Bank of America Corp. on Tuesday became the latest financial company to announce plans to shore up a group of money market funds, in its case with a $600 million reserve. The move raises questions about whether this category of savings might suffer hits that are serious enough to cause losses for investors. The notion that some money market funds might give investors less than a dollar-for-dollar return on their investment, an occurrence known as "breaking the buck," is a sobering thought. Some experts say it remains unlikely, however. The Bank of America funds have run into trouble with a type of investment known as a structured investment vehicle, or SIV, which uses borrowed money to invest in risky but high-yielding investments.
In a dicey market, many turn to banks
For the risk-averse who are weary of stock market turbulence, a bank account or a long-term CD may seem the safest place to park money these days. The Federal Insurance Deposit Insurance Corp. insures accounts at thousands of banks nationwide, up to $100,000 per account. Not every depositor is savvy enough to use them. According to the FDIC's Web site, less than two-thirds (63.13 percent) of America's $8 trillion in deposits are insured. When NetBank, an online bank based in Alpharetta, Ga., failed in September, $109 million in 1,500 deposit accounts exceeded the FDIC's $100,000 insurance limit. According to ING Direct, the Wilmington, Del.-based online bank that took over NetBank's accounts, one elderly customer had more than $1 million in CDs. Depositors with $100,000 or less found their money seamlessly transferred to ING Direct.
Capital One Makes Pigs Fly!
McLEAN, Va. (Map) - MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) sent pigs into flight today to make a point about its new Rewards Money Market account that earns consumers travel miles for saving money instead of spending it. The commercial jet, a Skybus Airlines Airbus A319 featuring giant flying pigs on the exterior, will travel across the country for the next six months as a larger-than-life reminder that smart saving (putting your pennies in a Capital One Rewards Money Market account instead of a piggy bank) can really take you places. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071113/NETU092 ) The Capital One Rewards Money Market account, offering a competitive interest rate currently 4.00 percent Annual Percentage Yield (APY), is the first-ever savings account to offer rewards miles based on account balance.
Lower interest rates become plus for savers
The Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates drastically this fall and that normally is bad news for savers, but this time around, many savers have gotten somewhat of a reprieve. Banks have cut interest rates for CDs, money market accounts and interest-bearing checking accounts less than expected after back-to-back Federal Reserve rate cuts earlier this fall. .
RDS SPECIAL: Jack Henry & Associates Announces Mobile Banking Solution
RDS SPECIAL: Jack Henry & Associates Announces Mobile Banking Solution
JHA’s goDough introduced as firm’s new m-banking solution.
By Maria Bruno-Britz
Bank Systems & Technology
November 15, 2007
Jack Henry's new goDough is a browser-based m-banking solution that is device and carrier independent, making it compatible with any web-enabled mobile phone, regardless of make or model, and with all mobile phone carriers, claims the company. With goDough, users can conduct traditional in-branch and online transactions such as balance inquiries, funds transfers between accounts, and transaction viewing. goDough is designed to support all account types, including checking, certificates-of-deposit, money markets, loans, and lines-of-credit.
RDS SPECIAL: Jack Henry & Associates Announces Mobile Banking Solution JHA’s goDough introduced as firm’s new ...
Jack Henry's new goDough is a browser-based m-banking solution that is device and carrier independent, making it compatible with any web-enabled mobile phone, regardless of make or model, and with all mobile phone carriers, claims the company. With goDough, users can conduct traditional in-branch and online transactions such as balance inquiries, funds transfers between accounts, and transaction viewing. goDough is designed to support all account types, including checking, certificates-of-deposit, money markets, loans, and lines-of-credit. Jack Henry & Associates' proprietary solution will also enable users to initiate bank-to-bank funds transfers, receive designated alerts, and make mobile payments to entities other than the offering financial institution.
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He held up Atlantic City
A Maryland man who paralyzed part of the casino district of Atlantic City overnight Tuesday by threatening to blow up the Showboat Hotel & Casino is a convicted bank robber who was released from federal supervision two years ago. For five harrowing hours, David Kilkeary, 37, kept 100 police officers at bay from inside a parked casino shuttle bus while he demanded $3 million, federal authorities said yesterday. Talking to police via a cell phone, a black mask over his face at times, Kilkeary claimed to be wearing an explosive device made of "C-4 on steroids" and to have planted four other bombs on timers inside the Showboat, they said. In the end, he surrendered peacefully, no one was injured, and a device discovered in a bathroom inside the casino was found to be a fake.
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