Has the Fed Painted Itself Into a Corner?

16-08-2010

Last week’s Federal Reserve meeting ended with less than the usual fanfare in the financial press. It would appear editors are beginning to realize that “Fed Does Nothing — Again” doesn’t make for much of a headline.

With the Fed funds rate near zero for a year and a half now, the Fed has few places to go with monetary policy. The best it could muster last week was a decision to roll some proceeds from earlier purchases of mortgage-backed securities into the purchase of U.S. Treasury bonds.

The move to buy bonds is a technique to keep long-term interest rates low. The Fed c

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Discover Bank Online

15-08-2010

The Discover Bank Online is from the same financial institution that shook up the financial industry in 1985 when it was introduced by the Sears Corporation. In 2007 it finally became an independent company.

Today this is a totally online service orientated financial institution. Anyone in the United States can have and use a Discover Credit card, debit card or their online services.

Discover has an online savings account that is currently offering an APY of 1.35% on all balances. They are also offering their customers an online money market account with an APY of 1.20% with balances of $10,000 or greater.

There selection of CD’s available online include the 3 month at an APY of 0.70%. T

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Surprising number of debit card holders want checking account overdraft protection

15-08-2010

Apparently a lot of folks run their checking account balances close to the line.

An online July poll by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling found that 26 percent of Americans plan to opt-in for debit card overdraft protection, in spite of the hefty fees involved — up to $35 each time the balance dips below zero.

New federal rules on debit card overdraft fees require banks to get your permission for overdraft protection. The requirement for new accounts went into effect July 1, and the rule for existing accounts goes into effect Aug. 15.

The rules came about after a storm of controversy erupted over the fees. U

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M&T Online Banking

12-08-2010

With M&T Online Banking you can be in control of your finances with the touch of a finger 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The exact way M&T puts it is that “you have the ultimate control of your finances”. Either way you word it, you will be empowered. All of this power with the 20th largest bank in America behind you.

The online banking features with this institution are many. There is Web Banking where you can view all of your accounts and the activity within them. This included your electronic statements. Unlike other banks that only allow a short window to view your statements, this bank keeps them accessible for a full 2 years online for you.

The Web Bill Pay is another feature most customers utilize on a monthly basis. Wit

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The Fine Print On Cash Back Credit Cards

10-08-2010

My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-b33f7d82850244b09edbdf1100205d97}

The following is a guest post by Michael from CreditCardForum.com – a message board and blog about credit cards. He regularly rates and reviews the best cash back credit cards. In this post, he will discuss some of the fine print that goes with these credit card reward programs.

Back in the 70’s and 80’s, very few credit cards came with rewards. Today, almost every card on the market comes with some sort of a rewards program. In fact, I would estimate that at least 70% of the credit cards in the U.S. give

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