Consumers find smart ways to travel this holiday season
Increased Number of Agents Say Holiday Travelers Are Seeking Greater Value and Redeeming Rewards Points to Offset Costs A new survey of more than 900 American Express Travel agents suggests that travelers this holiday season are savvier than ever before, fulfilling their vacation plans in the midst of the current economic downturn by finding smart ways to save. Consumers are stretching their vacation budgets, seeking value in every aspect of their travel plans and cutting costs wherever they can through measures such as redeeming reward points to offset costs, taking shorter trips, visiting alternative destinations, staying closer to home and choosing less expensive hotels.
Banks Guarantee Bailout Money Will Get Credit Flowing Again
There's good news for consumers and small businesses desperately in need of capital. They just might get that much-needed loan after all, or more importantly, ward off the imminent foreclosure of their homes. In response to White House’s growing concern that the bailout money might be used to finance more acquisitions or fund employees’ compensations, executives of top US banks immediately gave their assurance that the bailout money will go where the government wants: to get credit moving again and assist in restructuring home mortgages rather than push for more foreclosures.
Student-Run Bank Branch Opens in New Jersey High School
Student bankers will help provide peers with practical money management skills. Capital One Bank announced the opening of a new bank branch at West Side High School in Newark. The West Side High School branch will be Capital One Bank's second student-run banking center in the Tri-State area. Nine West Side High students will operate the in-school branch three days a week under the supervision of Capital One Bank management. The new in-school branch provides an opportunity for select students to work with Capital One Bank to develop practical financial knowledge and skills through a structured work environment and share what they have learned with their peers. The bank will offer tools to help students save for future financial responsibilities such as the cost of attending college, and banking services will also be available to school administrators and teachers.
Free Checking Account: Just How Free Is It?
What does it Offer? Just about everyone needs a checking account when they reach adulthood. And free checking accounts seem to be everyone’s preference because of its perceived “no strings attached” feature. There are no monthly charges and no minimum maintaining balance required. You can keep your balance as low as you like without incurring penalty fees. However, is the free checking account really free? Many people seem to think it is but if when you analyze it deeper, it would appear that “free” checking accounts are not so free after all.
Bank of America & JP Morgan Chase: Two Giants Floating Atop Financial Crisis
Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase -- two of the US' top banks, and now both in the limelight. Aside from having equally received a huge chunk of the $700 billion government bailout plan, $25 billion each to be exact, the two banks have also been rather busy lately expanding their respective financial empires with a series of takeovers and mergers involving no less than once-mighty names in the banking and investments industry: Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch.
Wealthy Investors Expect Dreary Stock Market in 2009
Yet 50% Believe They Are on Right Track for Long Term, PNC Survey Finds The number of wealthy Americans who feel pessimistic about the stock market and real estate has nearly doubled in the past year, according to a survey by PNC Wealth Management, a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. More than half -- 53 percent -- have a gloomy outlook about stock market performance in 2009, the fifth annual Wealth and Values Survey found. Only one in four (25 percent) are optimistic about the market next year.
How to rebuild and keep good credit score
Don't lose hope if you find yourself suffering from bad credit. Bad credit can happen to anyone whether you're financially responsible or not. Sometimes, there are unforeseen circumstances that can affect your credit rating. The good news is that there are still some ways you can get your credit back into shape. The important thing is for you work on rebuilding your credit starting today. Show potential lenders that you’re serious about your financial responsibilities. And as you do so, you credit worthiness will show significant improvement and you will begin to see savings on interest payments. There are no shortcuts when it comes to improving your credit rating over the long term. Accurate credit reporting cannot be easily removed from your credit report. The only viable solution to reestablishing your credit is to have a significant change in mindset and behavior.
The US in Recession: Looking Back and Ahead
While a number of government officials still would like to avoid using the seemingly taboo "R" word (recession) in referring to the state of the US economy, a number of factors would otherwise indicate that in fact, it has been in that condition for almost a year now, without showing any signs of letting up. Plummeting stocks, rising unemployment, investment houses, once thought to be bastions of high finance, closing shop one after another, and a general feeling of alarm among the American people only support the inescapable fact that indeed, the US is facing an economic crisis such that has not been known since the Great Depression in the 1930’s.
Schwab Offers Six Tips For 401(k) Investing
Commentary by Mark W. Riepe, CFA, Senior Vice President, Schwab Center for Financial Research The following are six recommendations designed to help people assess their 401(k)s in the current market environment: 1. Keep doing the right thing Continue to make contributions to your retirement accounts. Our economy isn't the greatest right now, but the fact remains that practically all of us will retire from the work force at some point in our lives. Even those of us who love work and can't imagine doing anything else will come to a point where we can't work any longer.
Michigan Recession Continues to Deepen Reports Comerica Bank’s Michigan Business Activity Index
Comerica Bank's preliminary September Michigan Business Activity Index fell 1 point, to a level of 85. The Index is currently 1 point below August's revised level of 86. September's advanced figure is the lowest level in 14 years. Compared to a year earlier, the September Index is down 9 points on balance. Over the first nine months of 2008, the Index has averaged 4 percent below the average for all of 2007. "Even before the worst of the credit crunch slammed the national economy, our index shows the Michigan economy contracting again in September," said Dana Johnson, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "With most national numbers worsening dramatically in October, the drag on the Michigan economy almost certainly will get more intense over the next several months, particularly given the emerging cutbacks in the Michigan-based auto sector." The Michigan Business Activity Index equally weights nine, seasonally-adjusted coincident indicators of real economic activity. These indicators reflect activity in the construction, manufacturing, and service sectors as well as job growth and consumer outlays.
Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Battle Independent Brokerages For Wealthy Investors
U.S. Bank Acquires FBOP Corporation’s 9 Failed Banking Subsidiaries
Assessing the Impact of the FDIC’s Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program
FDIC Chairman Shelia Bair on The State of American Banking – Summary and Analysis
Citibank Credit Card Interest Skyrockets In Anticipation of Federal Regulation
Commerce Bank of Southwest Florida Fails, Becomes 123 Bank to Close in 2009
ING Direct Black Friday Special: Save ‘Til You Drop
Savers Left With Fewer Options as Hudson City Savings Lowers Top CD Rates
Wells Fargo Settles $1.4 Billion Lawsuit Regarding Auction-Rate Securities
‘Too Big To Fail’ Firms May Be Broken Down To Smaller Size
