Investment

So Your Bank Failed, Now What?

Posted July 14, 2008 - 12:36 by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Investment

Last week I wrote that ailing banks usually give the highest interest rates and mentioned the troubles of IndyMac. Last Friday, the FDIC has officially named IndyMac a failed bank and took control of its assets. With more than $30 billion in assets, the IndyMac Bank failure is the largest bank failure since the 1980s. So what is a customer supposed to do in such a situation?

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Book Review: Full of Bull - Do What Wall Street Does, Not What it Says by Stephen McClellan

Posted July 13, 2008 - 19:57 by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Investment

Stephen T. McClellan is a seasoned securities analyst who has more than 32 years experience with several different well known investment firms. In his book Full of Bull- Do What Wall Street Does, Not What It Says, To Make Money in the Market , he gives readers a insider's look into the world of securities analysts and attempts to help individual investors in decoding the cryptic and contradictory views on stocks put out by Wall Street.

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Buyer Beware: The Weakest Banks Often Offer the Highest Interest Rates

Posted July 8, 2008 - 12:46 by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Investment

Nord LB Bank

Today the troubles of IndyMac bank was splashed in the headlines. Its stock has fallen to nearly $0 and depositors are making a run at closing their accounts. IndyMac has been consistently been paying one of the highest CD interest rates in the nation, and it is a prime example of a financially weak bank that offers high rates to attract new deposits.

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Investment Gains Taxes Increase - The Worst Tax Policy Ever?

Posted June 20, 2008 - 01:37 by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Investment, Taxes

Yesterday Paul Michael wrote an article comparing the income tax policies of McCain and Obama and suggested that he would vote for Obama because Obama's tax policy would benefit everyone but the uber-rich. In the comments on the article there are many great comments about the candidates' tax policies and how it is not so simple to say that Obama's plan is better. One particular comment that stuck out to me is about Obama's stance on doubling capital gains taxes, and I think that is possibly the worst tax policy ever, and here is why.

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Should You Choose a Roth 401k or a Regular 401k?

Posted May 22, 2008 - 23:46 by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Investment, Taxes

Yesterday I was talking to a friend and he mentioned that his company just started offering the option of investing in Roth 401ks. He was wondering if he should stick with his regular 401k or switch to the new option and we talked about the pros and cons of each for a little bit. Here are my conclusions.

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This Post Really Suk-kuks: Examining Islamic Finance

Posted May 11, 2008 - 14:04 by Jabulani Leffall

Personal Finance, Investment, Consumer Affairs

There is a burgeoning form of Islamic fundamentalism and it has nothing to do with hate speech or bombs -- Shariah-compliant financing. These loans, based on the premise that there is no production value in credit and that loan issuance must be based on tangilbe assets and require tight debt levels, are not only growing exponentially in use but are available to non-Muslims and well, kind of make sense in some cases.

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The ethics of hoarding

Posted May 4, 2008 - 12:40 by Philip Brewer

Shopping, Food and Drink, Budgeting, Investment, Consumer Affairs

Bags of rice

In the Philippines, they're threatening life sentences for people hoarding rice.   In the United States, grocers need to put limits on rice purchases just to keep their shelves stocked.  Philippine traders are now afraid to fill their warehouses, for fear of being called a hoarder.  Even ordinary US shoppers are worrying that buying a big bag of rice might make them a hoarder.  In this climate, it's worth thinking about what hoarding actually is.

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To Tax or Not To Tax: That Is The Money Market Question

Posted May 3, 2008 - 09:09 by Kate Luther

Personal Finance, Investment, Taxes

Tax - Image Courtesy of Stock Xchng

As America’s love affair with self-investing continues to grow, so does our fascination with tax-free accounts. Don’t believe me? See for yourself. The next time you’re in a conversation, try working the words “tax free” into your conversation and watch the ears perk up. Admit it. We despise taxes. We loathe them. So much so in fact, that Uncle Sam made not paying those taxes a crime. So the idea that we can legally earn a buck without sharing it with our dear old uncle is well, deliciously criminal.

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A Simple Guide to Series I Savings Bonds (I-Bonds)

Posted April 22, 2008 - 16:02 by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Investment, Taxes, General Tips

After the recent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve many of my bank and money market interest rates plummeted.  Now the best yield I have is on my Series I Savings Bonds issued by the United States Treasury.  These bonds are also known as I-Bonds and their yields fluctuate according to inflation.  Currently, the yield is 4.28% and that beats all of my other cash investments.  Here is some information on the interest rate on I-Bonds and the advantages of owning these bonds.

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Laddering for higher, more stable returns

Posted April 11, 2008 - 13:50 by Philip Brewer

Investment

Tree roots and steps

When investing in things that pay an interest rate--things like CDs and bonds--it's tempting to try to get the maximum interest rate, and then to try to lock up that rate for as long as possible.  There's an alternate strategy that provides good, stable returns with a lot less stress and a lot less need for predicting the future:  Laddering.

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