Zecco.com recently announced upgrades to their trading platform. When Zecco initially launched in 2006, their focus was to deliver solid service at a bare bones price. Over the years Zecco found that although investors wanted low commissions, they also wanted a trading service with a rich set of advanced features. Although Zecco has now eliminated their initial offer of "10 free trades per month" they continue to charge one of the lowest commissions in the industry as compared to firms such as: Scottrade, Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and E*Trade. In addition to Zecco's low commissions, they also have improved their trading service with the following newly implemented features: Zecco Streamer Lite, Zap Trade, and Zecco Mobile Lite app.

Continue reading "Zecco Accounces Upgrades" »

Posted by Emma - Editor at 5:58 AM | Permalink

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, also known as the Credit CARD Act of 2009. This credit card reform legislation focused on establishing fair and transparent practices relating to the extension of credit while removing complicated contracts and practices that often lead consumers to pay more than they reasonably expected. In essence the main elements of this law were the following: Ban Unfair Rate Increases, Prevent Unfair Fee Traps, Plain Sight /Plain Language Disclosures, Accountability, and Protection for Students and Young People. Some of the specific requirements in the Credit CARD Act of 2009 include the following: card companies must notify consumers 45 days before they make any big changes to the terms of their cards, including rate increases or penalty fee changes; and credit card companies must disclose how long it will take consumers to pay off their balances if they only make the minimum payment each month. In addition, it banned most rate increases during the first 12 months after a card is issued to a consumer, confined any increases to new purchases, and required the card companies to apply any payments above the minimum to balances carrying the highest interest rate. Initially there was speculation that this new law may restrict access to consumer credit and raise costs. Fortunately for the consumer, this new law is initially being proved successful in accomplishing its stated goals.

Continue reading "Effect of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act" »

Posted by Nickie - Editor at 6:17 AM | Permalink

Ally Bank announced an increase in their High Yield Certificate of Deposit (CD) rates, effective February 18, 2011. CD terms include 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, 3 year, 4 year, and 5 year terms. If you fund your account within 10 days of opening your account you will receive their 10 Day Best Rate Guarantee which means that you will earn the highest rate they offer. At Ally Bank there is no minimum to open an account and no monthly fees. Ally Bank was named the Best Savings Account by MONEY Magazine, ©Time Inc. May 2010 and also named one of the best No fees, No strings checking accounts by Kiplinger's Personal Finance, December, 2010. To view Ally Bank's current rates, visit ManagingMoney.com Certificates of Deposit. Ally Bank's history began in 1919 when it was known as General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) and was a provider of financing to automotive customers. In 2010 the company was renamed Ally Financial Inc. Ally Financial Inc. is a FDIC-insured institution (NYSE:GJM).

Posted by Emma - Editor at 8:01 AM | Permalink

In December 2010 the IRS announced that due to the recently enacted Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) legislation there would be tax processing delays for taxpayers who itemize deductions, specifically those claiming the higher education tuition and fees deduction and the educator expenses deduction. Effective February 14, 2011 the IRS will begin accepting tax returns that were affected by this filing delay. The IRS stated that the delay was necessary to accommodate the December 17, 2010 enactment of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 while not disrupting other operations tied to the filing season. The tax processing delay affected taxpayers using any of these five IRS forms: Form 8863, Education Credits; Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits; Form 1040A's Schedule 2, Child and Dependent Care Expenses for Form 1040A Filers; Form 8396, Mortgage Interest Credit; and Form 8859, District of Columbia First-Time Homebuyer Credit. To make sure you have the most up-to-date tax software, visit the ManagingMoney.com TaxCenter. Here you can compare the top tax providers in either download or desktop format.

Posted by Nickie - Editor at 5:53 AM | Permalink

Ally Bank announced a rate increase on their 12 month High Yield Certificate of Deposit effective 7/26/10. Ally Bank, originally part of the GMAC family of companies, is a subsidiary of Ally Financial Inc. Ally Financial Inc. is a FDIC-insured institution (NYSE:GJM). Click here to search and apply for online high-yielding, FDIC insured Certificates of Deposit, Savings & Money Market Accounts.

Posted by Nickie - Editor at 3:09 PM | Permalink

In late June President Obama signed into law the "Car Allowance Rebate System" or (CARS) or as it's also known: "Cash for Clunkers." This is a program that encourages people to trade in their cars for more efficient models. It also helps to stimulate the economy (similar to the first time home buyer tax credit) at a time when car sales are lagging. The program runs from July 1st through November 1st 2009. Cars traded in during that time could be eligible for a credit of either $3500 or $4500 depending on the car and the increase in mileage the new vehicle provides.

Continue reading "The Cash for Clunkers Program (CARS)" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 6:00 AM | Permalink

Stock markets around the world were down sharply after incoming Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner announced his plan to revive the ailing credit markets on Tuesday. The negative reaction by the markets is widely blamed on the lack of specifics in Geithners plan. Geithner himself called the plan a framework and stressed the need to continue working out the details in order to make sure everything is done right.

Continue reading "Market Slides after Geithner's Plan is Announced" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 8:31 AM | Permalink

Starwood Hotels and Resorts (NYSE: HOT)reports that their fourth quarter profit fell 46% and was impacted by charges associated with reducing staff and writedowns in value of two real estate ventures. Starwood Hotels operate under several recognized brand names including the Sheraton and tend to be higher end hotels. With most American consumers reigning in spending, it's no wonder that sales are down for the company.

Continue reading "HOT Goes Cold" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 8:10 AM | Permalink

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is making an about face. After a recent bid to begin selling print ads along with their online advertising, they have announced that they are leaving the print business to focus on their core strengths. We are generally in favor of companies trying new things and experimenting with expansion ideas, but this attempt was stupid on its face. The access to information that Google has helped foster on the internet has condemned America's newspaper industry to death row. Why in the world Google thought they should try to make a go in the very media that they were in the process of replacing is beyond us.

Continue reading "Google Decides its Future Doesn't Include Print Media" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 8:02 AM | Permalink

The iconic newspaper, the New York Times, is facing an expiring credit line of $400 million dollars in May. To you and me, that's like your credit card companies, mortgage bank, and car loan companies all saying they want us to repay the full loans in the next three months. If that happened to us, we'd have three choices that are essentially the same choices that the New York Times has.

Continue reading "The New York Times is Dead, Long Live the New York Times" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 5:59 AM | Permalink

With the stock looking to fall below its current $10 per share level, after reaching above $44 as recently as May of 2008,aluminum giant Alcoa (NYSE:AA) has certainly seen better days. CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said "The aluminum industry is caught in a perfect storm," when describing the company's current misfortunes to analysts after releasing the earnings results for the most recent quarter. Judging from the number of "perfect storms" that we've seen sweeping through the American economy, it's difficult to recommend any safe haven investors in the stock market at this point. Alcoa lost $1.19 billion dollars in the last three months according to their quarterly report.

Continue reading "Recession Hits Alcoa and Raw Material Demand" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 6:00 AM | Permalink

We are familiar with OPEC and the effects they have had on the price of oil over the years. The OPEC nations meet on a regular basis to decide how much oil they will allow the rest of the world to have from their stores. They set quotas and limits on production in an attempt, they say, to keep the price steady at a level that is good for both consumers and the producers. We've seen how that works. Fortunately, many of the producers balk at reducing output and have a tendency to cheat, producing more than their allocation. Now, we are witnessing the formation of a new cartel, this time of producers of natural gas.

Continue reading "New Cartel Announces the End of Cheap Gas" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 6:00 AM | Permalink

Lately, we're used to seeing bad news when companies report earnings, but Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is bucking the trend. Verizon reported 3rd quarter earnings growth of 31% versus the same quarter last year. Verizon shares were up sharply in early trading after the news was released on Monday morning. The figures amount to $0.66 per share which was right in line with analysts' expectations. In the detailed number breakdown, however, it is interesting to see confirmation of some growing trends in consumer behaviors that may provide clues about the future prospects of other companies.

Continue reading "Verizon Bucks Trends and Follows Others" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 9:11 AM | Permalink

Yahoo, Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) may be wishing it had played more nicely with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) when Microsoft offered $33 per share in May. At the time Yahoo rejected the bid saying that Microsoft was undervaluing the company. Since then the market has voted for a value of under $13 per share for Yahoo as it continues to lose market share to Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). On Tuesday, Yahoo declared that it will reduce its workforce by 1500 workers and slash spending by as much as $400 million dollars for the year. Yahoo will outsource some jobs to lower-priced overseas workers and will close some its US offices.

Continue reading "Yahoo Slimming Down Again, Vying for America's Biggest Loser?" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 5:47 AM | Permalink

Who's Next was the title of a classic rock album from The Who, of course, back in the days of vinyl records, but today when that phrase is mentioned it's more likely to be referring to the list of troubled companies on the verge of bankruptcy. Big box retailer Circuit City (NYSE: CC) may be next to declare themselves insolvent although they are said to be pulling out all the stops to avoid that outcome. Trading over $8 a share just one year ago, Circuit City's share price has been in steady decline and has fallen off the cliff lately to settle around 45 cents per share.

Continue reading "Circuit City Can't Raise Enough Cash to Declare Bankruptcy" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 5:30 AM | Permalink

As the markets continue to experience volatility, investors had some good news from Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) as the company released its third quarter earnings report. Profit increased to $2.1 billion which is a 12% increase from the same quarter a year ago. Perhaps more importantly, Intel suggested that its fourth quarter numbers would also be strong. The company said that although there are some signs that the current economic slump is affecting sales, it is too early to tell just how strongly this might affect sales. Even as they told the market it was too early to tell how the country's economic difficulties would affect business, they predicted fourth quarter sales in the $10.1 to $10.9 billion range.

Continue reading "Intel Posts Profit, But Sees Consumer Market Weakness" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 6:00 AM | Permalink

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) has established a sweet spot for itself in rural Pennsylvania. With a town named after the company, and a Hershey-themed amusement park, few companies are as much a part of Americana as The Hershey Company. Hershey sales currently account for more than 42% of all the chocolate sold in the United States. Now, however, Hershey is eliminating 3000 jobs in the United States and Canada as it shutters 6 plants, according to an Associated Press report. Operations from the closing plants will be moved overseas as operations in Brazil, Mexico, India and China are expanded.

Continue reading "Hershey Kisses Off 3000 Workers" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 6:01 AM | Permalink

Aluminum producer Alcoa (NYSE: AA) which ended the day Tuesday below $17 per share, released third quarter earnings after the market close. It wasn't good. Profit for the quarter was down to 268 million, a drop of 52% compared to the same quarter a year ago. Revenue for the period fell by only two percent to $7.23 billion. Per share earnings of $0.33 missed analyst expectations of $0.50 by a wide margin.

Continue reading "Alcoa Cans Share Buyback" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 6:00 AM | Permalink

Citigroup has agreed to purchase the banking operations including the deposits and liabilities of Wachovia (NYSE: WB). Citigroup is, however, receiving some assistance from the FDIC. The FDIC will take responsibility for any losses above $42 billion from Wachovia's loan book. In return, taxpayers will receive $12 billion in preferred stock and warrants. Wachovia banking customers should see no interruption in services as the exchange takes place.

Continue reading "Wachovia Recap" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 6:00 AM | Permalink

Warren Buffett is one of the richest men in America. His investment expertise has put billions in his own pockets and made many millionaires out of those who invested in his primary investment vehicle, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A). Buffett's track record of successful gains while avoiding big losses is among the best in the world. So what is Warren Buffett buying now? He's buying investment banks. That's right, in the middle of what may be the worst banking crisis in the last 75 years, the man who is arguably the greatest living stock-picker is putting his money in investment banking. According to Bloomberg, he is purchasing $5 billion in perpetually preferred stock in Goldman-Sachs (NYSE: GS). This preferred stock has a guaranteed 10% annual dividend. That means Warren Buffett will make a half billion dollars every year that he holds this investment if the value of the shares don't change at all. Of course, Goldman-Sachs maintains the option to buy the shares back from Buffett at any time - so long as they add a 10% kicker on top of the current value.

Continue reading "What is the Smartest Money Doing?" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 10:49 AM | Permalink

The current housing and banking crises are both unique and severe. Billions of dollars of wealth have disappeared over the last year, in some cases in just a matter of days. Companies that have been household names have gone bankrupt with others on the verge of failing as this article is being written. Make no mistake; these are scary times with both professionals and the public wondering if their money is safe. Is this the end of the U.S. financial system?

Continue reading "Some Perspective on the Current Financial Crisis" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 6:10 AM | Permalink

With all the talk about high gas prices, the car companies are rushing to launch high mileage or alternative power vehicles. General Motors (NYSE: GM) has just announced the new Chevy Volt, a rechargeable electric car. The car is entirely powered by electricity from its lithium ion battery. It is initially charged from any 120 volt household electric outlet and can travel forty miles on a single charge. Forty miles isn't a lot, but fortunately there's an extended range capability. A small gasoline engine kicks in when the battery runs low. However, the gasoline engine doesn't power the drive train like most hybrid cards. Instead it generates electricity for the electric motors which propel the car at all times. When the car arrives at its destination, you just plug it in to recharge the battery for another forty miles. We can imagine that workplace parking lots all over the country will be sprouting electrical outlets if this type of car catches on.

Continue reading "Chevy Volt Generates Interest" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 8:12 AM | Permalink

Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) stock is being dropped like a hot potato all over Wall Street after the company dropped its CEO, Kerry Killinger, on Monday. The stock fell Wednesday for a third straight day. Having lost more than 40% of its value this week alone, Washington Mutual shares are now sitting at their 52 week low of just $2.79 per share. Compare this to the 52 week high of $39.25 to see just how far the company has fallen. Investors are looking at the huge amount of mortgage debt risk being carried by Washington Mutual, and deciding to get out while it's still possible to get out. With each decline in share price, it becomes more and more difficult for WaMu to find additional capital should the company need to post additional loss reserves.

Continue reading "Washington Mutual Racing Toward Nowhere" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 10:53 AM | Permalink

Well, despite statements by Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) execs as recently as the last quarterly statement that they did not foresee a federal takeover, it has happened. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced on Sunday that the federal government will place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) into a temporary conservatorship. Immediate actions under the conservatorship include the elimination of dividends for both owners of both common and preferred shares, immediate cessation of all lobbying and political activities, and a re-evaluation of charitable activities. These moves are designed to preserve as much of the companies' capital as possible while the Treasury and the FHFA recapitalize the nation's largest mortgage brokers through the periodic purchase of senior preferred shares. Current shareholders will also lose all rights to govern the management of the company.

Continue reading "Paulson Says Treasury Adopting Fannie and Freddie" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 10:18 AM | Permalink

We recently talked about the Gap Stores (NYSE: GPS) efforts to cut costs and maintain profitability in the face of declining sales. We argued that this is a short term fix and profitability can't be sustained for long this way. Now we have a good example of that fact. Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS), the office supply store, is cutting spending too. However, they have had five quarters in a row of declining same store sales. You'll recall that same store sales are the comparison of sales in stores that have been open at least a year. This removes new stores from the mix and provides an apples-to-apples comparison of how a retail business is doing. For the just ended second quarter, Staples on Wednesday reported that US same store sales were down 7%. Despite the company's best cost-cutting efforts, the company's net fell by 16%. Staples did, however, say that it expects income to remain in the black for the remainder of the year. Overall, sales in North America fell by 1%. Staples cited "weak sales of furniture, desktop computers, printers and digital cameras" as the reason for the poor showing.

Continue reading "Staples Facing Tough Sales Environment" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 9:13 AM | Permalink

The second largest oil company in the European Union, British Petroleum (NYSE: BP), has announced that the company has entered into an agreement to purchase 25% of Chesapeake Energy's (NYSE: CHK) Fayetteville, Arkansas shale joint venture. British Petroleum is spending $1.9 billion dollars for the interest. Of the $1.9 billion dollar price tag, $800 will be paid by BP as they fund the drilling and development costs for Chesapeake's share of the venture through 2009. This maneuver adds 135,000 acres of rich shale deposit acreage to BP's US holdings. The Fayetteville properties are producing natural gas. Sharp appreciation in the price of natural gas has made it very worthwhile to pursue shale production fields which can be fairly expensive to develop.

Continue reading "British Petroleum Moves into Arkansas" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 8:17 AM | Permalink

The FDIC on Tuesday issued a report showing that the number of financial institutions on its so-called problem list rose to 117 from 90 which were reported at the end of the first quarter. That's an increase of 30% in three months, and things look to get worse before they get better. The number of banks on the list is the most visible thing to consumers, but the amount of assets held by those problem institutions is more troubling still. The total assets of institutions on the problem list tripled. That means some pretty big players are in the additions. While the FDIC doesn't give out the names of troubled banks on its list for fear of hurting them even more, we do know that Indymac Bank which failed in July was on the list. That bank alone had assets of $32 billion, so by deduction that's almost certainly the largest single bank on the list.

Continue reading "FDIC's Quarterly Banking Report - More Trouble Ahead" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 8:29 AM | Permalink

At first glance, the Gap Stores (NYSE: GPS) reporting of a 51% increase in net profit for the most recent quarter looks like great news. Looking a little deeper there are signs of trouble. A key measure of success for retailers, same store sales, shows that on average, sales fell by 10% in stores that have been open at least a year. Overall, sales were down 5.1% across the board for Gap owned stores. Sales are down and not expected to turn around in the short term. Each existing store is taking in less money. You can cut costs for a while, but there's a sharp limit to how much can be cut without doing long term damage to the business. Unless sales pick up in the next six months, Gap may be hard-pressed to meet their earnings estimate of $1.30 -$1.35 for the full year. At this point, they are still saying they will get there.

Continue reading "Gap Saves Its Way to Higher Profits" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 5:52 AM | Permalink

First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) issued a press release on Monday announcing a major expansion of its manufacturing facility in Toledo, Ohio. At a time when we are used to hearing about companies shuttering their US manufacturing in favor of low cost overseas factories, First Solar is doing the opposite. The move relies on incentives offered by state and local government officials to help offset the cost of the expansion. Politically, this is a win-win for the politicians. With this move they can claim credit for creating 134 new jobs in Ohio while supporting "green" technologies that help reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. That should be worth some votes in the next election.

Continue reading "First Solar "Outsources" New Facility to the USA" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 7:08 AM | Permalink

Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG), currently trading at $33.15 at Friday's closing bell, is in demand. As the waste industry moves to consolidate, three of the top players are jockeying for the dominating position. The current industry leader, Waste Management (NYSE: WMI) originally announced $ 34/ share bid for Republic Services on July 11th, and more recently raised that offer to $37/ share. Republic Services has rejected both bids saying that the company is worth substantially more than that as an independent entity. Waste Management made its initial offer as a response to the merger, announced June 23rd, between Republic Services and Allied Waste Industries (NYSE: AW). The merger would combine the 2nd and 3rd largest solid waste services companies in a bid to rival the current dominance of Waste Management.

Continue reading "Waste Services Industry Consolidation Attempts" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 7:52 AM | Permalink

After initially announcing job cuts of 6350 employees in July, Wachovia (NYSE: WB) this week said that as many as 6950 employees may now be out of work. That doesn't include recent announcements of the departure of CFO Thomas J. Wurtz, and Chief Risk Officer Don Truslow. Wachovia is expecting the job cuts to cost as much as $650 million as it restructures it workforce. Recent days have seen the announcement of a class action lawsuit from shareholders, regulatory investigations, and increases in the amount estimated losses originally announced just a few weeks ago. Wachovia stock closed Monday at $18.21 per share off from its 52 week highs of more than $50.

Continue reading "Wachovia Worsens but Still Survives" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 8:06 AM | Permalink

The ailing housing market is driving widening losses at Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM). According to their latest earnings report, released on August 8th, Fannie Mae showed a net loss of $2.3 billion for the second quarter alone. This comes on top of a $2.2 billion loss reported for the first quarter of this year. This time the loss was primarily driven by higher than expected mortgage defaults and foreclosures. Fannie Mae reports that based on their mortgage portfolio performance in July, they expect things to get worse going forward. Loss reserves were increased by $3.7 billion in the quarter with more cash expected to be reserved against losses in Q3.

Continue reading "Fannie Mae - The Next Six Months are Key" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 7:26 AM | Permalink

It should come as no surprise in this economy that US auto sales are down dramatically. General Motors (GM) last week posted a $15.5 billion loss for the most recent quarter. Fully $9.2 billion of this loss was related to one-time expenses as the company wrote down assets, dealt with restructuring costs and expenses related to ailing Delphi. For the balance of the loss, General Motors cited plummeting SUV prices and poor sales overall along with corresponding declines in its financing operations as the primary contributors to the loss. July 2008's sales for General Motors fell more than 27 percent compared to the same month a year ago. This compares to Ford's 15 percent year on year sales decline for July.

Continue reading "General Motors Sales and Stock Price Continue to Decline" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 8:57 AM | Permalink

Chevron (NYSE: CVX) announced its second quarter earnings on August 1st. Although Chevron didn't match Exxon's $1500 per second for the quarter, they did earn over $760 for each second of the second quarter. Chevron reported net income of $6 billion up 11% from the same quarter a year ago. That translates to earnings of $2.90/ share diluted, a shortfall from analysts' consensus estimates of $3.03. Strong oil prices were the biggest contributor to the gain. Natural gas prices were also a strong contributor.

Chevron also reported in their August 1st press release that their refining operations were hurt by the high cost of crude as the price of gasoline did not keep pace with the rising cost of oil. As a result Chevron reported a loss of $734 million in its refining operations.

Continue reading "Chevron's Q2 Earnings" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 7:00 AM | Permalink

Washington Mutual, sponsor of the WaMu Online Savings Account, raised their interest rate today to 3.75% APY. This new rate makes WaMu the highest of the 15 different online accounts that ManagingMoney.com tracks.

Continue reading "WaMu Online Savings Goes Up to 3.75% APY" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 7:56 AM | Permalink

E*Trade Financial announced today that they are increasing the rate on their Complete Savings Account from 3.15% to 3.30% APY.

Continue reading "E*Trade Complete Savings Rate Increases to 3.30% APY" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 11:46 AM | Permalink

As of June 19th WTDirect's Savings Account rate is officially increasing to 3.26% APY. This marks their first rate increase in 9 months. Recently we have noticed a number of the larger online banks beginning to raise rates as they fight for investor deposits. Although the economy is slowing it is not dead yet and the online savings accounts represent one of the best ways to earn a competitive yield with minimal risk. Wilmington Trust Corporation (NYSE: WL) is a financial services holding company that provides a variety of banking and financial services. It provides Wealth Advisory Services for high net worth clients in 22 countries, and Corporate Client Services for institutional clients in 81 countries. Its wholly owned bank subsidiary, Wilmington Trust Company, which was founded in 1903, is one of the largest personal trust providers in the United States and the leading retail and commercial bank in Delaware.

Posted by Mike - Editor at 9:29 AM | Permalink

Hoping to build on its newfound expertise in credit cards and on NASCAR fans' loyalty, Bank of America Corp. has begun offering a NASCAR checking account to try to drive more retail business to its automated teller machines and branches. This follows on the heels of the NASCAR RacePoints^SM Visa® Credit Card issued by FIA Cards Services, N.A. which we discussed in a previous blog entry. It appears that "sports affinity" marketing and the financial services industry have discovered one another.

Continue reading "Bank of America Offering NASCAR Checking Accounts" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 4:09 PM | Permalink

Bad weather, soft real estate home sales, and subprime lending problems appear to be catching up with Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement supply chain.

Continue reading " Home Depot 1Q profit drops 29.5 percent" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 7:19 AM | Permalink

ManagingMoney.com recently came across another way our users can Save Money. How about Free Stock Trades? That's right, free. You can't get a much better deal than that.

Zecco.com, a division of Equinox Securities out of Ontario, California, is billing themselves as the industry's first online trading website that provides zero commission stock trading. Investors can make up to 10 trades in any one day up to a total of 40 trades a month at no cost with a minimum initial investment of only $2,500 in cash or securities. If you manage to do over 40 trades in one month the cost is only $3.50 per trade.

Continue reading "Free Stock Trades and Hot Dogs" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 12:44 PM | Permalink

If you have read any of our Blog posts before you will know that at ManagingMoney.com we consider Credit Cards to be a necessary evil. You need them to function in our cashless society but you have to be careful as the inappropriate use of credit is a recipe for going broke. Our mission is to help you Save Money and Make Money. Recently, we added a new category to our Credit Card Center, Sports Reward Credit Cards, that may be of interest if you are a fan of certain sports.

Continue reading "Baseball, NFL, NASCAR, and Poker Credit Cards?" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 4:38 PM | Permalink

A new lender started business recently with an innovative loan product. If you have watched any business news on the TV the last few days, in addition to the big Stock Market swings, you have heard a lot about problems in the sub-prime lending market. Sub-prime loans are loans to borrowers who do not have the best credit credentials. Some big name lenders have gone out of business recently or had to take sizeable writedowns because of delinquent loans. No big surprises there as these are "high-risk" loans anyway.

So who and what is this new, innovative lender and product? How about a lender who only makes loans to people with excellent credit? That's right, I said excellent credit. What a concept. It's about time someone realized that even people with good credit need a loan occasionally and that they deserve preferential rates and terms for having exercised fiscal responsibility.

Continue reading "FirstAgain Provides Loans to Borrowers with Excellent Credit" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 5:00 PM | Permalink

New Commodities-based ETFs are opening up commodities markets and commodities-based strategies to the average investor that previously would have been difficult and require sophisticated expertise to implement in their portfolios.

Continue reading "ETFs Offer Access to the Commodities Markets" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 3:59 PM | Permalink

On December 19th, right before the Holidays, State Street Global Advisors launched the first Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) designed to track overseas real-estate stocks. The streetTracks Dow Jones Wilshire International Real Estate ETF is traded under the symbol RWX on the American Stock Exchange.

Continue reading "First International Real Estate ETF Launched" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 9:54 AM | Permalink

Intuit (INTU), the Mountain View California based maker of the hugely popular TurboTax, Quickbooks, and Quicken software titles announced this month a new collaboration with The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.

Continue reading "Intuit Teams Up With Kiplinger" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 5:01 PM | Permalink

Shareholders of Vanda Pharmaceuticals (VNDA) are not the only happy people today as the stock currently is up over $10 per share on news of a successful Phase III trial of their antipsychotic drug Iloperidone. Another happy party is MedImmune Ventures , Inc., a wholly owned venture capital subsidiary of MedImmune (MEDI). MedImmune Ventures, Inc. was formed in 2002 and seeded over the course of the year with $200 million.To date they have invested in ~15 early and mid-stage biotech companies with Vanda Pharmaceuticals being one of those. Over the last couple of weeks MedImmune Ventures, Inc. has registered to sell 964,000 shares of Vanda. At $25 per share this equals $24,100,000, not a bad start for this young venture capital company.

Posted by Mike - Editor at 10:50 AM | Permalink

Amazon.com is best known for being the largest online book seller, a somewhat dubious distinction as the profit margins in selling books are razor thin. So thin in fact, that a few years ago Barron's ran a front page story calling the company Amazon.bomb. However, despite the low margins and Barrons' forecast of doom, Amazon is making money and has diversified into other higher margin online products like Consumer Electronics and more. In a relatively unnoticed event this month, Amazon also started beta testing of a Search product modeled after Google and Yahoo keyword ads.

Continue reading "Amazon Starts Competing with Google and Yahoo" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 3:05 PM | Permalink

ManagingMoney.com is pleased to announce the launch of their Mortgage Center. Unlike numerous other sites where the user is expected to fill out a form in order to receive a competitive mortgage quote, the new ManagingMoney.com Mortgage Center offers State Specific mortgage quotes from both local and national lenders. Users are able to see updated quotes that show rates, APY, points and closing costs. If interested, users can then click through directly to the specific lender to fill out an application or request more information online. The new Center supports purchases, refinancings, and home equity loans. Types of loans available include conventional fixed loans, jumbo loans, adjustable rate mortgages, home equity loans, and home equity lines of credit. All companies listed are actual mortgage companies, not loan aggregators, and any listing showing rates older than 7 days are dropped so users can be comfortable they are seeing timely, relevant information.

Posted by Mike - Editor at 2:15 PM | Permalink

Morningstar Corp. added a new fund category earlier this year called Long - Short Funds. Morningstar, founded in 1984, is considered by most to be the leading provider of independent research and data on the Mutual Fund Industry. They are probably best known for their Star Ranking System, a "quick and dirty" way for an investor to see how a particular mutual fund is performing relative to its' peers on a risk-adjusted basis. Five stars is the best and one star is the worst. They now provide data on over 23,000 Mutual Funds and also track Private Money Managers and Hedge Fund performance.

Continue reading "Morningstar Introduces Long - Short Fund Category" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 11:20 AM | Permalink

October is traditionally a scary month for investors. Does anyone remember the 1987 Stock Market Crash? This October was, however, quite good for investors, with a number of major indices hitting 5 year highs. This October and Halloween were especially good for an independent film company out of Vancouver named Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF).

Continue reading "Halloween Was a Treat for Lions Gate Entertainment" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 2:26 PM | Permalink

What a difference a weekend makes. On Friday, the Dow Jones Newswire announced that Wachovia was in talks to buy MFS Mutual Funds from Sun Life. Well, today, Sun Life has now announced that after a strategic review they have decided not to sell the MFS unit. We were not enamored in the first place with the Wachovia Evergreen Investments division owning MFS, so it appears Wachovia management must have read our review on Friday. Another thought is that recent stock market gains have "helped" the performance of many of the MFS Equity Funds, not to mention increasing fees to MFS as fees are a function of assets. Many analysts are saying that this hurts Sun Life's credibility, but we are actually pleased as no deal is better than a bad deal. This still leaves Putnam Funds hanging out there as they were also mentioned as a buyout candidate. We will keep you informed as events unfold.

Click Here to View the YouTube Video News Release

Posted by Mike - Editor at 2:22 PM | Permalink

As a follow up to a story we first reported on September 20th of this year about both MFS and Putnam Funds being on the market, the Dow Jones News Service reported on Friday that Wachovia Corp. (WB) is a potential suitor or joint venture partner for MFS Funds.

Continue reading "Wachovia Is In Talks To Buy MFS Funds" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 1:35 PM | Permalink

Franklin Templeton Investments announced this week the launch of their Templeton Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund. This fund will be the first actively managed fund available to U.S. retail investors that focuses on smaller emerging market companies.

Continue reading "Franklin Templeton Launches Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 2:11 PM | Permalink

Fidelity Investments, the Boston-based money management giant, is making it easier for online investors who buy bonds to be more comfortable they are getting a good deal. When most people think of online trading, stocks are the first thing that come to mind. However, the Bond Market - U.S. Treasury Bonds, Corporate Bonds, and Municipal Bonds, - is actually bigger in dollar terms than the Stock Market.

Continue reading "Fidelity Investments Makes Buying Bonds More Transparent" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 2:26 PM | Permalink

The trend towards consolidation in the Mutual Fund Industry continued this week as two of the biggest players said they were considering selling or merging their mutual fund operations. Marsh & McClennan Cos. (MMC), the owner of the Putnam Family of Funds, and Canadian based Sun Life Financial, the owner of the MFS Family of Funds, both announced they had hired Investment Bankers to look at strategic alternatives for their money management operations.

Continue reading "Putnam Funds and MFS Funds May Be Sold or Merged" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 12:24 PM | Permalink

Intuit, the maker of the popular Quickbooks accounting software, and Google, the Search giant, announced this week their intent to imbed Google's search and advertising products into the new 2007 Quickbooks software.

Continue reading "Quickbooks Teams Up With Google" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 2:25 PM | Permalink

ManagingMoney.com is pleased to announce the launch of our new Payday Loans Database. Up until now, if a borrower wanted to find a payday loan company they would go to one of the major search engines like Google or Yahoo, type in payday loan, and then be presented with thousands of entries and ads to choose from. The user would then need to "drill down" to each entry and possibly need to read numerous pages to find relevant information like fees and conditions. We have tried to simplify the process by presenting to the searcher a matrix of the top national payday loan providers with data on fees, terms, and both short and long descriptions. Potential borrowers can then apply online directly with the company that appears the most attractive for their particular needs.

Posted by Mike - Editor at 12:09 PM | Permalink

ManagingMoney.com is pleased to announce that the 2007 Entertainment Book is now available. Any purchases made before September 30, 2006 will qualify for Free Shipping. One of our mandates at ManagingMoney.com is to help our users Save Money, and the Entertainment Book has long been one of our favorite ways to do just that.

Continue reading "The 2007 Entertainment Book is Now Available" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 3:17 PM | Permalink

Washington Mutual, also known as WaMu, has joined in the competition for your online savings account dollars with the introduction of their WaMu Free Checking TM. Starting off with a 5% Introductory APY for investors that open both a Savings Account and a Checking Account, the account also offers a number of bells and whistles potential investors should find attractive.

Continue reading "Washington Mutual Offers WaMu Free Checking TM Account" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 4:10 PM | Permalink

ManagingMoney.com is pleased to announce that we have added our Blog to the Technorati community of bloggers. Currently tracking over 52 million blogs, Technorati is the recognized authority on what's going on in the world of weblogs. The ManagingMoney.com Blog can be found under tags such as money, investments, economics, and personal finance. Check out our Technorati profile when you have the chance here: Technorati Profile

Posted by Mike - Editor at 11:58 AM | Permalink

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. announced yesterday the launch of Schwab Managed Portfolios (TM). Schwab Managed Portfolios consists of eight pre-defined mutual fund portfolios, each of which has a different objective and risk profile. Available for a minimum investment of $50,000, each portfolio will consist of upwards to 12 different mutual funds, with the specific fund selection and allocation managed by Charles Schwab Investment Management.

Continue reading "Schwab Launches Managed Mutual Fund Product" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 7:16 AM | Permalink

We are very excited to announce the addition of United Kingdom (UK) Credit Cards to our Credit Card Center. The addition of UK credit cards complements our existing United States and Canadian credit card listings and now brings our total card listings to over 150 credit cards. The addition of this new category is also in line with our corporate strategy to position ManagingMoney.com as a global personal finance portal.

Continue reading "ManagingMoney.com Adds UK Credit Cards" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 7:59 PM | Permalink

Emigrant Bank, sponsor of the popular EmigrantDirect American Dream Savings Account , continues to be a leader in Online Banking when they raised their interest rate this morning to 5.15% APY. This increase has admittedly caught us by surprise as Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, signaled at their last meeting that interest rate increases were likely on hold for a while. The Fed said there were signs that the economy was slowing and that although controlling inflation is important, the Fed wanted to balance that against risking pushing the economy into a recession with an overally restrictive fiscal policy. Emigrant apparently wasn't listening and has instead decided that attracting depositors with attractive interest rates is more important. We suggest investors take advantage of these high rates while they can. Guaranteed, they will not last forever.

Posted by Mike - Editor at 7:35 AM | Permalink

Emigrant Bank, sponsor of the popular EmigrantDirect American Dream Savings Account ,increased their interest rate to 5.00% APY this morning. Happy July 4th! Three of the nations top Banks are now at 5% or greater on their savings accounts. Emigrant today followed the earlier lead of Citibank and Everbank who both went to the 5% range immediately after Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, last raised rates. At the risk of being wrong, we think this is it for a while. The Fed implied that any rate changes going forward will be based on the health of the economy, not inflation concerns. As the economy is showing some weakness in Real Estate and the consumer is dealing with high energy prices, we feel the Fed will hold off on any more rate increases for a while. If we end up being wrong, we would appreciate someone sending us a new crystal ball.

Posted by Mike - Editor at 8:19 AM | Permalink

Just when we thought it couldn't get any better Citibank today raised the interest rate on their e-Savings Account to 5.00%. Last week we reported that Emigrant went to 4.80%, but now Citibank has retaken the throne. Regional Bank stocks took a beating last week as many reported a significant outflow of deposits. Since Citibank launched their e-Savings account a couple of months ago they have had a net inflow in excess of $3 billion in deposits. That money had to come from somewhere and we suspect the smaller banks is where it came from. Any investor can now open up numerous online accounts and electronically move their money to those paying the highest rates. Once again the Internet is leveling the playing field to the benefit of the consumer. You can search and sort the rates from the major Online Banks by visiting the ManagingMoney.com Banking Center. Stay tuned as this new banking battle heats up.

Posted by Mike - Editor at 5:10 AM | Permalink

Emigrant Bank, sponsor of the popular EmigrantDirect American Dream Savings Account ,increased their interest rate to 4.80% APY this morning. This makes their rate one of the most competitive in the country. Rates have consistently been rising for months now, but even we are a bit surprised by this increase. Emigrant seems to be wanting to replace Ben Bernanke, the new Chairman of the Federal Reserve, by raising rates even before the Feds next meeting. This implies that competition is stiff among the online banks. We still expect the Fed to stop raising rates soon as the fine line between protecting against inflation and shifting the economy into a recession is probably being approached. Investors should take advantage of these high, insured rates while they can.

Posted by Mike - Editor at 8:42 AM | Permalink

Franklin Templeton Funds announced on Monday the launch of their new Franklin Global Real Estate Fund. This comes on the heels of ING Funds that announced back in March of this year the launch of their International Real Estate Fund. It appears that the "securitization" of the global real estate market has started.

Continue reading "Franklin Templeton Launches Global Real Estate Fund" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 7:32 AM | Permalink

INGDirect, the sponsor of the popular Orange Savings Account, raised their interest rate this morning to 4.25% APY. This follows Emigrant which raised just last week. One of the reasons given yesterday for the Stock Market's large decline was that investors were concerned that the Federal Reserve would continue to raise interest rates based on a strong economy. We are starting to become a little skeptical that rates are going to continue to rise, particularly with oil prices continuing to go up and obvious softness in the Real Estate market. Therefore, this is a good time for Online Bank investors to get a competitive yield with no risk to principal. See our Banking Center for a listing of all our Online Savings Account and CD providers.

Posted by Nickie - Editor at 7:00 AM | Permalink

Emigrant Bank, sponsor of the popular EmigrantDirect American Dream Savings Account^TM raised their interest rate today to 4.65%.

Continue reading "Emigrant Increases Interest Rate to 4.65%" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 7:21 AM | Permalink

Countrywide Bank has raised the interest rate on their Online Banking product to 4.15% APY. This follows INGDirect which also went to 4.15% APY a week ago. In addition to Online Savings, Countrywide also offers competitive Certificate of Deposit rates. If you are not taking advantage of the high interest rates available from the online banks you are really missing out. Most of the online rates are double what conventional banks are offering. In addition, the accounts "link" to your existing bank accounts making it easy to transfer funds between the two and they are also FDIC insured. You can see our complete selection in the ManagingMoney.com Banking Center.

Posted by Mike - Editor at 4:44 PM | Permalink

ING Direct, the sponsor of the popular Orange Savings Account raised their interest rate yesterday to 4.15% APY. This is good news for investors looking for safety and a competitive yield on their savings. All year interest rates have been inching up as the economy continues to perform well. ING is consistently one of the leaders with their rates. Online accounts like the Orange Savings are meant to complement an investors existing bank account rather than replace it. Investors "attach" their Orange Savings Account to one or more other traditional accounts and can then "sweep" extra funds from their low interest accounts into the higher-yielding ING account. Be sure to check out our Banking Center where you can compare rates on over 16 of the more popular National online bank accounts.

Posted by Mike - Editor at 6:55 AM | Permalink

Posted by Mike - Editor at 1:57 PM | Permalink

Ark 252 announced this week the introduction of the first micro-payment IRA Account. Called the Daily IRA, the account allows investors to invest as little as $1.00 per day into an IRA mutual fund account.

Continue reading "First Micro-Payment IRA Introduced" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 12:57 PM | Permalink

One of the best "teaser rates" we are seeing in the Internet Banking space is the EverBank FreeNet Checking Account.They are currently offering 5.51% APY for the first three months for new customers. The account also comes with free online banking, free check writing, and a free Visa® CheckCard. At the end of the three month period EverBank guarantees you'll continue to earn a yield that ranks in the top 5% of competitive accounts as tracked in the Bank Rate Monitor National Index™ of leading banks and thrifts. With a minimum of only $1,500 to open an account, FDIC insurance, no monthly fees , and a 100% satisfaction guarantee, this is probably worth a look.

Posted by Mike - Editor at 12:58 PM | Permalink

Fidelity Investments has announced that they will be closing their Contrafund to new investors effective April 28th. 2006. The Contrafund is currently Fidelity's largest fund, surpassing even their better known Fidelity Magellan Fund.
Why are they doing this? Is this a good thing?

Continue reading "Fidelity Contrafund is being Closed to New Investors" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 11:42 AM | Permalink

ProFunds announced today the launch of the first country-specific mutual fund for investors who believe the Japanese markets are ready to drop. Called the UltraShort Japan ProFund, the funds objective is to gain twice as much on a percentage basis as any decline on the U.S. traded, dollar-based Nikkei 225 futures contract on a daily basis.

Continue reading "ProFunds Launches First "Short" Japanese Fund" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 3:11 PM | Permalink

Posted by Mike - Editor at 10:29 AM | Permalink

Continue reading "Fidelity Funds Team up with Amazon.com" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 11:25 AM | Permalink

Continue reading "ING Launches International Real Estate Fund" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 11:56 AM | Permalink

Continue reading "Morningstar Begins Assigning "Star Rating" to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 11:33 AM | Permalink

Continue reading "Fidelity Funds Improve Life-Cycle Freedom Funds" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 1:04 PM | Permalink

Continue reading "Countrywide Bank Raises Money Market Rates" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 12:30 PM | Permalink

Continue reading "Schwab Launches Inflation Protected Fund" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 11:02 AM | Permalink

Continue reading "American Century Funds Team Up with Lance Armstrong" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 11:42 AM | Permalink

Continue reading "State Street Global Advisors Launch Three New ETFs" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 11:35 AM | Permalink

Continue reading "Vanguard Group and Harbor Fund both Introduce Small Company Funds" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 11:04 AM | Permalink

Emigrant Bank, sponsor of the popular EmigrantDirect Savings Account raised their interest rate today to 4.25%.

Continue reading "Emigrant Goes Up to 4.25%" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 11:50 AM | Permalink

INGDirect, the sponsors of the popular Orange Savings Account raised their interest rate on new deposits to 4.75% today. The battle for online Savings Account deposits continues to heat up, with the two main contestants being...

Continue reading "INGDirect Raises Interest Rate to 4.75%" »

Posted by Mike - Editor at 7:14 AM | Permalink