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 ago.
The second [...]
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?
The government [...]
Oct
6
Are Scandals Inevitable in Regulated Industries?
October 6, 2008 | 1 Comment
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]