Articles

Home prices continue to fall. The media says there is a silver lining because prices aren't falling as fast. I think they still have plenty to go.

Those who still believe that social networking is the future are sorely misled.

After making news as one of the largest bank failures in US history, Indymac is back as a Federal Savings Bank now run by the FDIC. They are looking for deposits. Is there a safer place to put your money than an FDIC run bank? The rates are competitive. Just remember that all bank deposits are insured up to $100,000 per person.

It probably doesn't come as a great surprise that after inflation you'll be making less in 2009 then you did in 2007. Maybe that's why everyone has turned so glum.

The US budget deficit is expected to grow to $490 billion in 2009 from an estimated $400 billion this year. This huge and growing deficit will put further pressure on interest rates and constrict the next President's economic policy.

Online banking has been a hit with Gen X consumers but not so much so with Gen Y. Why?

Better than expected economic news dropped the price of oil this past week. Think about that statement.

The Housing Bailout Bill making its way through the Senate doesn't just benefit homeowners in trouble. It can also benefit many other homeowners, from first time buyers, to seniors, to veterans. Amongst the benefits:

For all you municipal bond investors, cities and towns are having a hard time paying their bills. Most munis are probably safe but make sure you pay attention to what you are buying. Even "rich" towns like East Hampton are having trouble paying the bills.

Amtrust has some very interesting CD rates.

I took a look at the recent data from the National Association of Realtors and put together a few graphs. They show that home sales have fallen sharply, inventories are up pretty dramatically, but prices have only fallen by 2%. Take a look and see what you think.

Mortgage rates spiked nearly a quarter of a percentage point this week on inflation fears, trouble with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and overall bank weakness.

The stock market is cheering the Qualcomm - Nokia settlement, but this represents an excellent chance to sell out of both.

The Powershares SKF is one of the new tracking stocks. This one is two times levered short the financials, which means that its movement is twice that of the financial index in a reciprocal manner. If the financials are up, this is down twice as much. This makes the thing extraordinarily volatile and dangerous.

Charles Plosser of the Philly Fed said that housing problems shouldn't stand in the way of raising rates sooner rather than later.