Articles

Apple's to an all time high was more than predictable, it was obvious.

CBS's 60 Minutes' H1N1 report last night was very well done, and conveyed the proper message that everyone born after 1950 should have an H1N1 vaccine in addition to the regular flu vaccine this year. But, here is what I found inappropriate.

Here is an idea for those of you desiring fixed icome but do not have enough capital to set up laddered bond portfolio. Preferred stock trade on the New York Stock Exchange along side their cousins,common stock.

Let's talk risk. Risk has little to do with dollar amount and everything to do with percentage of capital invested. Only you knows what is right for you in terms of risk, and what you can sleep with. Good luck and happy investing.

H&R Block Bank is offering a 90-day CD that pays 1.5% APY.

Rates on Certificate of Deposits rose in the last two weeks, and the average 5 year CD rate according to the BestCashCow rate table is now at its highest since August 2009. The average for the 5 year CD has risen from 3.24% APY to 3.42% APY. Are we seeing more sparks of life? It would certainly take more yield to convince me to lock my money up for five years, especially if the economy is reviving. Perhaps this sentiment is gaining steam.

The Labor Department reported today that consumer prices rose .2% in September 09, double the increase in August.

Amboy Direct is offering an add-on CD in which the APY is based on how much is deposited into the CD. What's unique is that you can make deposits after you have opened the CD.

SFGI Direct, a division of Summit Community Bank is offering a high interest savings accoung paying 2.5% APY. That's currently the best savings rate on the BestCashCow rate tables.

If you have children, grand children, nieces or nephews you may want to tune in here as we talk about the very popular 529 Plans for for funding college educations. I will start with the 529 College Savings Plans.

A bit of old fashioned jawboning from the fed chief has treasuries tumbling rapidly. Investors and traders alike wonder if a hike in rates may be sooner than was widely believed.

The graph below shows what the return on this strategy would look like. I was a bit surprised at just how well it did. Clearly, preserving capital, even when it is stashed in unsexy, lower yielding savings accounts for long periods of time, is a better strategy than riskier investing in an inflated market. Let me repeat, according to this analysis capital preservation is the name of the game, not getting every last bit of return out of a tired stock market.

Here we will go into much greater detail about a wildly popular alternative to mutual funds in the late 1990's. We will look at how they work and examine the pitfalls so you are able to make an informed decision when you are considering adding this product to your portfolio.