Is Your Bank Acting As a HedgeFund?

If you bank with Chase, then the answer is likely yes.

Just today a number of congressmen and women demanded additional banking regulations in the wake of Chase Bank disclosing trading losses.

Chase – a commercial bank – has in the eyes of many, and particularly Michigan-Senator, Carl Levin, acted as a hedge fund with consumer deposits and cheap federal capital.

If you’re a deposit investor with Chase Bank, you’ve undoubtedly Read more…

Congressional Budget Office Reports First Monthly Surplus in 3 Years

Thanks to a 10 percent increase in tax revenue last month, the Congressional Budget Office has just reported a budget surplus of $58 billion for the month of April. This is the first monthly surplus they’ve recorded since the economic collapse of 2008.

To be fair though the month of April is almost always an out-lier as a data point in month-to-month US budget data due to it being tax collecting season. However, Read more…

Best CD Rates in Wisconsin (Top 5) – 2012 Edition

-Wisconsin Residents Only-

If you’re on the hunt for the highest yielding bank deposits, we’ve compiled the top 5 in your state. The current savings environment is terrible throughout the country, so don’t expect much of anything in the way of interest. In fact, as of May, 2012, the national average for 12 month CD rates nationwide sits at just 0.70% APY while the national average for 5 year CD rates Read more…

Our Nation’s Largest Corporations in the Early 1800′s (Banks Dominate!)

There was a fascinating piece on NPR’s money blog the other day highlighting “the 10 largest Corporations in 1812.”

In it Richard Sylla, an NYU professor, discusses the rise and fall of entire industries throughout the relatively brief history of the US as well as the governmental involvement in one particularly dominant industry dating back to the days of our founding fathers.

What was particularly interesting for us to learn, and perhaps Read more…

US Treasury Yields VS. FDIC-Insured Deposit Rates

Here’s an interesting question we’ve received over the weekend from BankVibe.com reader Angie:

“What’s a more logical cash investment to get involved in during a dull landscape for savers – FDIC insured savings accounts and/or deposits or US treasury bonds?”

Answer: For a lesser hassle take the crummy CD rates.

Disadvantages of US Treasuries Bonds:

- US Treasury Bonds are nothing like fixed rate deposit products. They are traded in large volumes throughout Read more…