Jan
14
Obama calls for bailout tax
January 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment
President Obama has now called on Congress to tax the largest banks to make sure that U.S. taxpayers don't lose a single penny from the federal bailout of the financial, auto and insurance industries over the past year. The "financial crisis responsibility fee" would target major institutions. Those who were the main contributors to the [...]
May
14
Banks Will Give You Free Money
May 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment
MSN Money has an interesting article about getting free money from banks. It's worth a read. Banks will actually pay you money to open an account with them. Why would they do that? It's simple. They want to snag you as a customer, hoping that they then keep you for life. Or sell you a [...]
Oct
30
The Right Time To Save Money
October 30, 2008 | 3 Comments
So the economy has taken a down turn. You've decided you might need to start saving some money. Well, it's too late. You should have been saving five years ago. But there's hope. There's a Chinese proverb about the best time to plant a tree. The best time to plant a tree was twenty years [...]
Oct
29
Securitization – Good Idea Gone Bad or What Just Happened
October 29, 2008 | 1 Comment
I used to work for a credit card/finance/mortgage company. I always wonders how they got around the capital requirements I learned about in Money and Banking class. Well know I finally understand the big picture. Most of the expansion in the last 20 years has been a result of securitization. What the Heck is Securitization? [...]
Oct
6
Are Scandals Inevitable in Regulated Industries?
October 6, 2008 | 2 Comments
As the financial system comes crumbling down, the 20/20 hindsight begins. Of course the casualty of this latest fiasco will be free markets. But when you examine the industries that have had massive scandals, you'll find a list of the most highly regulated industries including telecoms (WorldCom), energy/utilities (Enron, NorthWestern) and banking (too numerous to [...]
Jun
7
Nassim Nicholas Taleb got rich on a day when many many people went broke. He predicted the sub-prime fiasco and the crash of 1997. He didn't really predict these events, he just predicted some kind of event, a black swan, could happen. The Times Online has a new interview piece with Taleb. An interesting article. [...]
Apr
22
Why Is Debt No Longer a Bad Thing?
April 22, 2008 | 1 Comment
I am not a fan of debt. Most of the good financial gurus will tell you to pay off your debt. Debt is a tool to use when there are no other options. Unfortunately, I think the attitude toward debt has changed for the worse. The Debt Industry There is a debt industry in this [...]
Mar
7
Will Your Bank Fail?
March 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I’m sure you know that your bank account is FDIC insured. This means that in the event that your bank or financial institution fails (goes out of business); the FDIC steps in and takes over the bank. When we say bank we really mean financial institution. Because the line is so blurred now (for instance [...]
Feb
23
Online Savings Accounts: HSBC vs ING
February 23, 2008 | 3 Comments
Everyone should have a little cash stashed away for a rainy day. After all you never know when an emergency is going to come up. I first starting saving online many years ago with ING Direct. I really liked ING and their website is great. I liked them so much I refinanced my mortgage with [...]