Articles

President Obama may have the FDIC run a "bad bank" that will purchase the toxic assets from bank balance sheets. Sound familiar? But this bad bank doesn't solve the central issue, how to value thes toxic assets.

While the headlines discuss the problems with the nation's biggest banks, many small community banks are doing great. Low borrowing costs and lack of competition from the big boys is helping the community bank grow quickly.

The Fed is beginning the first meeting of 2009 and of the Obama Administration with absolutely no flexibility in setting the Fed Funds rate or articulating Federal Reserve policy.

I have written many times about CVTX, a small biotech specializing in cardiac drugs. I have beleived that the stock was undervalued for some time. Now Astellas has shown they agree.

We will get a new headline about an exposed hedge fund every day for most of 2009.

1st Centennial Bank in California was closed today by the California Department of Financial Institutions, marking the third bank closing of 2009. And we're still only in January!

The big news this week was the drop today in DollarSavingsDirect's savings rate from 4% APY to 3.5% APY. DollarSavings represented the last 4% APY savings rate and its drop, along with several other banks brought the average rate on savings accounts from the BestCashCow rate table down below 3% APY.

TD Ameritrade is offering 25,000 United Mileage Plus miles for opening a brokerage account and funding it with $50,000.

We've been told to buy and hold stocks; that it is the path to a better future. But the common person does not stand a chance in the stock market when CEOs and their executive team are siphoning the profits. Recent news about ex-Merrill (and now ex Bank of America exec) CEO John Thain only reinforce the point.

HSBC if offering a free power cost monitor valued at $150 to open a Plus Checking Account. The monitor gives you real-time readings of your power usage at home to help you find ways to save energy and money.

Principal Bank is offering customers a $25 bonus to open a checking account and set up a regular payroll direct deposit or some other regularly scheduled deposit. The bonus is paid out when $200 is received.

Nouriel Roubini, the Dr. Doom of economists, who correctly predicted the credit crisis 18 months ago, is now saying that US banks are insolvent.

As markets continue to gyrate, corporate and muni bonds may offer steady and in some cases extraordinary returns. Depending on the risk you are willing to take some corporate bonds yield 18%+. Munis can offer 6.5% tax free.

South Korea's largest investor, the South Korea National Pension Service said it's time to sell US treasuries as it believes the stimulus plan being developed by Obama and the Congress will lead to higher inflation and higher treasury yields. It's strange that as we struggle with deflation there is now talk of inflation concerns on the horizon.