Archive for Finance
February 29, 2008 at 11:22 pm · Filed under Finance, News Events
I’ve been listening to a lot of the new Mars Volta: The Bedlam in Goliath
As you know, I’m a pretty frugal individual. So, I was pleased to find this website dedicated to smart living. They post a lot of new articles per day, one of them is always a good read. Wisebread
The HD War between HD DVD and Blue-Ray is over. I’m so glad that I’m not an early adopter who jumped into this mix and could have got burned with an HD DVD player or discs.
Motivated by a Tax, Irish Spurn Plastic Bags Some places in Korea have a similar tax on bags in general. So, it’s good that I keep my backpack with me.
I like Google. But, as a whole, I’m liking free/open projects more. I think Wikia is an interesting project with some potential in the future. It also has ability to be a social website like facebook or myspace.
There are a pair of shoes online that I’d like to buy. But, I hate buying clothes online. No matter who makes the shoes or t-shirts, the conventional chart size varies from the next. A 10.5 from brand X always fits different than a 10.5 from brand Y.
Lastly, I’ve received a couple offers to return to Korea after my contract. I’m still weighing my options and opportunities. I, now, have 3 months left and a few reasons to return. But, who knows how it will go.
December 18, 2007 at 12:30 am · Filed under Finance
2008 is right around the corner and you know what that means, contribute to your IRA. Time to scrape up some money for the new year. The limit will increase by $1000 for 2008. If you haven’t contributed for 2007, what are you waiting for?
A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account (IRA) allowed under the tax law of the United States. Named for its chief legislative sponsor, U.S. Senator William V. Roth Jr. of Delaware, a Roth IRA differs in several significant ways from other IRAs.
2008: Age <49 $5,000 , >49 $6,000
I’m also, glad that I bought some CDs when I did. The fed has been cutting the key rates of lately. Therefore, I wouldn’t get as good as percentage as I did before.
September 11, 2006 at 6:54 pm · Filed under Finance
So, …Apple has an announcement tomorrow. You may have heard about it. The one thing I’m betting on is a new iPod Nano, and you can bet I’m a gonna get me one. But, people are also speculating on a video service and possibly an Apple iPhone. What’s relevant about all this is that the anticipation is building up the stock price. If the announcement fails to live up to the hype or surprises investors we’re going to see a dramatic shift in the price. I got in at 67.4 a few weeks ago. It’s been doing well for the old portfolio. Unfortunately, oil is not.
UPDATE: The new iPod Nano has:
- capacity: 2GB -$149 , 4GB -$199, 8GB - $250
- dimensions: 3.5″ x 1.6″ x 0.26″
- battery life: 24 hour music playback! woah!
- skip free playback
Oil was completely inflated over speculation for the summer driving/Iran/Israel/hurricane season. Since none of these have been a threat to the supply in oil, the price is falling tanking! It’s fallen greatly these past 2 weeks from $78-$65 and who knows where it will stabilize. But, once it does, that should prove to be a good time to buy in. There should be a gradual rally when winter starts to kick in. (I need to emphasize should b/c I’m no expert and I dont think any of these so called “experts” deserve that title either. Otherwise, they would have forseen this dropoff. ) Since, I got in at the wrong time, I’m sitting around twidling my fingers. Many companies are at 6 month or year lows. So, if you’re interested, keep an eye out for these discounts.
July 16, 2006 at 1:21 pm · Filed under Finance
I read a lot of financial news, and I thought I should open a new category on my blog towards finance. This is an article I found in Fidelity about CDs and why they’re good right now.
In case you haven’t noticed, interest rates have been on the upswing in recent years—and that’s good news if you’re investing in certificates of deposit (CDs).
CDs are debt instruments offered by commercial banks, thrifts, and brokerages to raise funds for their business activities. Typically, investors lock in the market interest rate at the time of purchase, which is fixed for the term of the CD.
Many investors buy CDs directly from banks, but you might consider an alternative—so-called brokerage CDs. These are issued by banks but sold through brokerage firms.
Here are some current comparisons of what banks are offering:
|
CD Maturity |
Annual Rate |
Percentage Yield |
| USBank |
15 months |
5.25% |
Annual & Maturity |
| ING Direct |
12 months |
5.25% |
Monthly or Maturity |
| Fidelity |
6 months |
5.25% |
Maturity |
More CDs are offered, but these were the specifics of an annual rate of 5.25%. I’ve seen some CDs as high as 5.6%, but the maturity is 5 years. USBank and ING are banks that issue their own CDs, while Fidelity is a brokerage firm that offers Bank’s CDs. That’s why you can find shorter term CDs, better rates, and varieties. So, check around.
It’s important to note that when you a buy a CD you lock in that rate for the given maturity period. If you close it early, you can be charged fees. ING can distribute the dividends in monthly increments, which is good. That money will be put back in your savings account with them. It currently earns 4.35 %.
So, if you have some money laying around, you may think about a fixed income such as CDs. I myself bought a 6 month CD from ING last October. I locked in a rate of 4.2 %. But with the Fed raising rates, you can easily get 5.25%. The Fed is rumored to raise rates again in August to 5.5%.
