Fly for Less With Low-Cost Cards
IF AIRFARE INCREASES ARE keeping your vacation plans from getting off the ground, apply for a travel rewards credit card. Your best bet is one that lets you use points on multiple carriers. And if you're going abroad, a card that also waives the foreign-currency conversion fee is a plus.
Two cards that waive the conversion charge are the no-fee PENFED PREMIUM TRAVEL REWARDS AMERICAN EXPRESS card ...
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Give the Brush-Off to Bump-Up CDs
WITH CERTIFICATES OF deposit still paying minuscule yields, a CD that lets you take advantage of rising rates before it matures seems like a no-brainer. But, as always, there may be a catch. Most banks that offer so-called bump-up CDs restrict them to one or two longer maturities. Plus, many banks that sell these CDs restrict them to walk-in customers -- Internet savers need not apply.
Some banks ...
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How to Whip Inflation Now
These four moves will put your finances in better shape, too.
CONSUMER PRICES ARE rising at the fastest pace in more than two years, largely as a result of the hike in fuel and food prices. While few believe double-digit inflation rates will return anytime soon, the overall inflation rate is expected to hit 3% this year, up from 1.5% in 2010. Here are four moves to help you prepare for rising pr ...
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Listing and Brokering Deposits Not the Same
I would like to clear up some misconceptions about Qwickrate and its nonbrokered CD marketplace that were presented in the April 5 article "Redefining Brokered Funds, and What It Means for Community Banks."
It was stated and implied several times that Qwickrate investors are institutional depositors looking for "high-rate CDs." The facts demonstrate otherwise.
* Year to date, deposits placed thr ...
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Maturing CDs Relieve Rate Squeeze
A heavy load of pricey deposits might be a good thing in this interest rate environment.
Funding costs fell hard and fast at the nation's bank giants as the Federal Reserve slashed short-term rates to next to nothing in late 2008, while smaller competitors trailed behind because they rely more heavily on certificates of deposit that take time to mature.
Recently, the decline at smaller banks has ...
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The Hunt for Higher Rates
ONLY A FEW YEARS AGO, Internet savings accounts that paid 3.5% were a mouse click away. Now, you're lucky if you can earn more than 1% on your savings--unless you tie up your funds for five years. Online banks' low overhead (they have no branches, after all) used to work to your advantage, but it no longer seems to matter. So you need to do your homework now more than ever to find the best parking ...
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Zijin Mining Unit Looks for More Five-Year Dollar Bonds
An offshore funding vehicle of Chinese miner Zijin Mining intends to issue another dollar bond due 2016, just two weeks after the company's previous deal. Agricultural Bank of China's Hong Kong branch is also planning an offshore renminbi certificate of deposit.
Two weeks after Chinese leading miner Zijin raised US$280 million via a five-year dollar bond, the firm looks set to tap the market agai ...
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