“Personal Finance Daily: The week's 10 best Personal Finance stories (Market Watch)” plus 1 more |
| Personal Finance Daily: The week's 10 best Personal Finance stories (Market Watch) Posted: 28 Nov 2009 05:25 AM PST
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By MarketWatch In case you missed them, here are the top 10 Personal Finance stories from MarketWatch for the week of Nov. 23-27: Older and wiser? Say so
Hunting for a job is never easy, particularly in labor markets like this one, but it can be even harder when your hair is going gray. Even if age bias were rare -- and many say it's not -- after a rejection or three, it can become difficult to go to another job interview without the worrisome feeling that stereotypes are working against you.
The biggest lies mutual fund companies tell
The mutual-fund world is rife with misleading statistics and data. Most fund investors don't necessarily know how this information can be used against them.
Getting home for the holidays will cost more this year
Holiday flights are more expensive this year thanks to ever-increasing surcharges on top of rising ticket costs and baggage fees. The nation's largest airlines already have hiked the holiday-travel surcharges they first announced in September. Plus, they've added another 31 dates next year -- for a total of 41 days -- when the extra fees will be in effect.
Online gambling poses tax conundrum
California resident J.D. won over $50,000 playing video poker online this year. Wow! She couldn't do that well in Las Vegas, and at home she can play anytime without having to drive for hours. Plus, she can play any number of different "machines" without waiting for one of them to be free. But J.D. spent over $40,000 before cashing out $50,000. Are her losses deductible?
A good time to buy a home
The federal homebuyers tax credit, set to expire in July, and low mortgage rates make the next six to nine months a good time to buy a house, if you plan to live in it, real estate economist Ken Rosen tells Stacey Delo.
How recession alters working parents' care choices
Only bad parents leave their children in day care, I've been told. Well, color me bad.
Alzheimer's disease takes toll on memories, and money too
Alzheimer's disease takes a devastating emotional toll on families but it also is one of the most expensive conditions to treat because of its progressive nature, requiring increasing assistance with eating, bathing and other basic activities over up to 20 years. However, financial planning at the disease's early stages can stretch available dollars and ensure that those afflicted with Alzheimer's receive the best care they and their families can afford.
Three mortgages hit record lows
Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.78% this week, matching an all-time low in Freddie Mac's weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates, released Wednesday. Two other loan types also fell to record lows.
Why a money launderer might want to buy your home
I am a broker in Irvine, Calif., I recently sold a home which drew five offers in five days. In reviewing the buyers' financials for all five offers, I noticed that most of their accounts showed a number of large deposits over the previous 30 days from overseas -- Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Evidently, however, the buyers didn't have to show their mortgage lenders any additional documentation as to whether these deposits were family gifts, loans or what.
Toy safety tips for Black Friday and beyond
Choking risks, dangerous chemical ingredients and excessively loud noise are the top features toy shoppers should try to avoid this holiday season as they load up on children's gifts and stocking stuffers.
See the week's Top 10 news and analysis stories. See the week's Top 10 videos on MarketWatch.
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| Fed lending for emergency bank loans rises a bit (Washington Post) Posted: 27 Nov 2009 03:11 PM PST The Fed said Friday that commercial banks averaged $19.9 billion in daily borrowing over the week that ended Wednesday. That's up $139 million on average from the previous week. However, it is still $73.7 billion lower than the borrowing pace set a year ago at the peak of the financial credit crisis. Banks' use of the program has been declining for the last several months, reflecting more stability in the banking system. Banks pay just 0.50 percent interest for the emergency, overnight loans. The identities of financial institutions who make use of the Fed's emergency loan program are not released. There was a slight decrease in the use of a separate program intended to boost the availability of short-term financing crucial for business operations like payroll and supplies. Loss of such so-called commercial paper financing was a central part of last year's financial crisis. The Fed's holdings of commercial paper averaged $15 billion for the week ending on Wednesday. That was $72 million less on average than the Fed's holdings in the previous week. At its peak in late January, the Fed held almost $350 billion worth of commercial paper. Banks' use of short-term loans from the Fed's "term auction credit" facility dropped to an average of $101 billion for the week, down by $8.4 billion on average from the previous week. Compared to a year ago at the height of the financial crisis, this type of bank borrowing is down by $305.5 billion. The fact that banks are utilizing this emergency program at a sharply lower rate has not translated into increased flows of credit for businesses and individuals. For them, the flow of credit remains weak, one of the factors cited by economists who believe the recovery from the recession, the worst downturn since 1930, will be slow and halting. The new report showed an increase in the central bank's purchases of mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those holdings were valued at an average of $854.9 billion, up $9.2 billion from the previous week. The Fed in September said it planned to bring to a close next March its effort to buy $1.25 trillion of the securities, extending a program that had been scheduled to conclude by the end of this year. The goal of the program is to drive down mortgage rates and prop up the housing markets. Rates on 30-year home loans fell this week to a nationwide average of 4.78 percent, down from 4.83 percent last week and equaling the record low reached on April 30. The records compiled by Freddie Mac go back to 1971. The Fed said this month that it planned to scale down from $200 billion to $175 billion another program designed to support mortgage rates through the buying of securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The central bank's weekly balance sheet showed that it held $153.6 billion of these securities on average for the week ending on Wednesday, up by $1.9 billion from the previous week. The Fed normally releases the weekly snapshot of its balance sheet on Thursday but postponed the release until Friday this week because of the Thanksgiving holiday. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
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