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Posted
Jul 28 2009, 04:04 PM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
While Tuesday's trading was mixed for equities, for the first time in more than a week corporate bonds traded lower according to Tim Backshall of Credit Derivatives Research.
This breaks a pattern that saw stocks, bonds, and the U.S. dollar rise and fall in unison -- typically with early morning weakness giving way to a late afternoon rally.
Besides some renewed apprehension about the state of the economy after a decline in consumer confidence, a big increase in new borrowing is pushing up long-term interest rates and pushing bond prices lower. Not only does this complicate the housing recovery by pushing up mortgage rates it also increases interest rates on things like auto loans.
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Posted
Oct 07 2009, 07:23 PM
by
Vad Yazvinski
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect” -- Mark Twain
One of the main arguments "perma-bears" used in justifying why the recent stock rally is (and was) destined to fail miserably, has certainly been a widespread expectation of an upcoming collapse in the commercial real estate market.
Just yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported that "banking regulators are girding for a rerun of the housing-related losses now slamming thousands of banks that failed to set aside enough capital during the boom to cushion themselves when the bubble burst. 'Banks will be slow to recognize the severity of the loss -- just as they were in residential,' according to the Fed presentation, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal".
This is true. It has been clear for a while that hundreds of smaller banks heavily exposed to commercial real estate market are likely to fail or require more capital during the next 18 months or so. But isn't everyone expecting that at this point?
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Posted
May 28 2009, 09:05 PM
by
Charley Blaine
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
With Thursday’s rally, the Dow Jones industrials, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index are poised to finish higher in May, the third monthly gains in a row for each index. The last time that happened was August, September and October 2007 -- when the market peaked.
It would require a loss of some 237 Dow points to turn May into a loser. It’s possible, but I suspect it won’t happen because the wild volatility of last fall seems to have worked itself out.
Nonetheless, the rally since March looks like it’s running out of gas
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Posted
Apr 03 2009, 03:22 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Credit card companies are spending lots of money to tell you they're on your side.
Peter at Bible Money Matters has noticed the trend: Discover is pushing its cards as "a built-in easy-to-do budget and spending tracker," he said. He also got a mailing from Chase touting savings he could enjoy by using his rewards card, like discounts at Chase's online shopping portal.
We get irritated by the commercials claiming the card companies will bend over backward to help if you're having trouble paying your bills. (In all fairness, credit card companies do help some struggling customers with a variety of methods, like a temporary reduction in interest, to get them to keep paying. The companies don't want to write off the debt.)
Peter isn't buying all the feel-good stuff. He writes: "The credit card companies are not your friend. They just want your money."
Let's review some of the card companies' recent attempts to reduce their risk by assessing more interest and fees or getting rid of customers they no longer want. In the process, these companies, many of them recipients of bailout money, are divesting themselves of any public good will:
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Posted
Jul 10 2009, 05:45 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
Among the many personal-finance debates, the 30-year versus 15-year mortgage is always high on the list. In one corner you have the interest savers who swear by the 15-year mortgage (think Dave Ramsey), and in the other corner you have the lower-payment folks who swear by the flexibility of a 30-year mortgage.
We're in our second home, and in both we financed with a 30-year mortgage, so we've preferred the lower payments over the potential interest savings. But the truth is that there is no one answer to the 30-year versus 15-year mortgage debate. What works best for one homeowner may not work best for another.
Let's take a look at a mortgage example so we can see some real numbers, and then we'll look at the factors one should consider when choosing a home loan.
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Posted
Jun 04 2009, 07:22 AM
by
Andrew Rosenbaum
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Stock markets in emerging markets like India, China, Brazil and Peru are booming. Their success makes the much-touted three-month rally on U.S. markets look like a tame fizzle.
India's Nifty Stock Index has increased 64% in the past three months. Brazil's Bovespa has advanced 41%. Russia RTS Index is up 90%!
Meanwhile the Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen a mere 28% in the same period. Where would you put your money?
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Posted
Nov 04 2008, 05:08 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity: For the last 10 years, certificates of deposit have gotten a terrible rap. Interest rates were low compared with the blockbuster returns of the stock market, and you were locked into that CD for 12, 24 or even 60 months, all making it an unappealing investment option. For many, CDs came up in financial conversation only when you were talking about laddering an emergency fund because protecting principal was your No. 1 goal. Times have changed. CDs have once again come into vogue as investors have plowed hundreds of billions of dollars into the CD market. Here are three good reasons you should save with CDs and three reasons why you shouldn't.
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Posted
Apr 09 2009, 11:48 AM
by
Andrew Horowitz
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Just the other day we saw consumer credit fall by -7.5 billion, but it is important to disseminate if it came from revolving or non-revolving credit lines.
Revolving credit, or "revolvers," is defined as those funds that an individual or corporation has access to on a request basis. Examples of this are dominated heavily by credit cards and short-term credit lines from banks.
Examples of non-revolving credit include mortgages, car loans and other more long term obligations.
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Posted
Mar 25 2009, 04:12 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
The transformation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be remembered for its speed and unexpectedness. Just four weeks ago, on the heels of a failed presentation of the Administration’s plan to help shore up banks, he was considered indecisive and incompetent. There were calls for him to step down until the President voiced support for his Treasury Secretary on a television talk show.
Geithner left his whipping-boy costume in the closet when he presented the specifics of his plan to get the private sector to participate in buying toxic assets. The financial world was focused on the reaction to his speech and, before he had even given it, the markets began a furious rally. Once he stepped away from the microphones, the buying of equities accelerated.
Geithner’s success in convincing the world that hedge funds would use government money to buy bank paper of questionable value was all the more extraordinary because so few experts believe the plan has any chance of working. It may be that the markets have been through such a long cycle of hopelessness that they are ready to grasp at any straw.
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Posted
Aug 19 2009, 09:22 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
A few provisions of the credit card reform or CARD Act take effect on Thursday, Aug. 20. You'll have to wait until next year for more substantive changes to the way credit card companies operate.
We're referring, of course, to major changes to federal laws and regulations governing credit cards, which won't kick in until February and next August. Because the fact is that credit card companies responded quickly to the passage of the CARD Act by:
Whew! Did we leave anything out? In other words, they're trying to squeeze every drop of blood they can from customers before the government restricts their ability to do that. (To see how widespread these activities are, read "Credit card holders unduly whacked?")
Here are the legal changes you can expect right now:
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