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Consumer Loans vs Mortgages | Here's a good definition of a consumer loan: What is a Consumer Loan? As@Pete B. pointed out, there are some states (California loves to be the oddball, doesn't it?) that treat some loans in a more unconventional manner, but the gist of it is that a consumer loan is normally unsecured, meaning there's no collateral or ... |
Can individual investors buy precious metals at the spot price? | The futures market allows you to take delivery at the lowest cost. Most people don't deal in 100oz gold bars and 5000oz of 1000oz silver bars though, especially at the retail level. That said, when you are at the retail level, often times you will find reputable Internet dealers offering the lowest cost of ownership.... |
Potential phishing scam? | You need to talk to your bank. If you're unable to contact your bank until Monday, then wait until Monday. Don't fixate on the idea that the transaction may "hard post" on Monday. If it happens, it happens, but it's not the end of the world. Even if the transaction posts, it's not the end of the world. If the retai... |
What factors should I consider when evaluating index funds? | Your link is pointing to managed funds where the fees are higher, you should look at their exchange traded funds; you will note that the management fees are much lower and better reflect the index fund strategy. |
Retirement Savings vs. Student Loan payments | You can play with the numbers all you like (and that's good), however, here is a different way to look at it. The debt you have is risk. It limits your choices and eats your cash flow. Without the debt, you can invest at a much greater rate. It frees up you cash flow for all the things you might want to do, or decide ... |
Who can truly afford luxury cars? | I will answer the question from the back: who can NOT afford luxury cars? Those whose parents paid for their college education, cannot afford luxury cars, but buy them anyway. Why? I have what may seem a rather shocking proposition related to the point of not saving for kids' college: parents do NOT owe children a coll... |
How much time does a doctor's office have to collect balance from me? | Seems like the doctor's office is not very organized. Ask for a line itemized bill. You want the date and the specific service(s) performed on those dates. If the bill seems fair and correct, try to negotiate cash discount payment. Ask how much they would settle for if you paid cash. If it is higher than you were think... |
At what point do index funds become unreliable? | private investors that don't have the time or expertise for active investment. This may be known as every private investor. An index fund ensures average returns. The bulk of active trading is done by private institutions with bucketloads of experts studying the markets and AI scraping every bit of data it can get (fr... |
Should I deduct or capitalize the cost to replace a water heater in my rental property? (details Below) | If you're repairing an existing appliance - its an expense. If you're replacing an existing appliance with a new one - that's disposing of one capital asset and putting in service another. You depreciate the new one and you dispose of the old one (if not fully depreciated - talk to your tax adviser how to handle the re... |
What does market cap (or market capitalization) mean? | Market cap is basically the amount of money that it would cost to buy all of the shares of public stock in a company. Or share cost * number of outstanding shares. It is a measure of how much a company is worth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_capitalization |
Offer Price for my stock not shown on quote and a subsequent sale higher than my offer | It depends on the way you have directed the order and the execution agreement you have signed with your broker. In case of DMA (direct market access) you would direct your order to the specific exchange - and that exchange would post your offer, assuming you did not tag it as hidden. However, if you just gave your orde... |
How can small children contribute to the “family economy”? | @MrChrister - Savings is a great idea. Coudl also give them 1/2 the difference, rather than the whole difference, as then you both get to benefit... Also, a friend of mine had the Bank of Dad, where he'd keep his savings, and Dad would pay him 100% interest every year. Clearly, this would be unsustainable after a while... |
What kind of trade is this? | The question mentions a trailing stop. A trailing stop is a type of stop loss order. It allows you to protect your profit on the stock, while "keeping you in the stock". A trailing stop is specified as a percentage of market price e.g. you might want to set a trailing stop at 5%, or 10% below the market price. A traili... |
What does it mean that stocks are “memoryless”? | With my current, limited knowledge (see end), I understand it the following way: Are share prices really described as "memoryless"? Yes. Is there a technical meaning of the term? What does it really mean? The meaning comes from Markov Models: Think of the behavior of the stock market over time as a Markov Chain, i.... |
Is it impossible to get a home loan with a poor credit history after a divorce? | No, it is never impossible to get credit so long as there are no price controls or quotas. In most of the United States, the impetus for housing is so strong that it's one sector of credit that has nearly no price regulation, price in this case being interest rates. Corporate banks will not touch you now because Dodd-F... |
Why can't you just have someone invest for you and split the profits (and losses) with him? | This means that if your capital under my management ends up turning a profit, I will keep half of those profits, but if I lose you money, I will cover half those losses. The bold part is where you lose me. This absolutely exists with the exception of the loss insurance. It just requires a lot more than the general ret... |
When buying a call option, is the financial stability of the option writer relevant? | In the case of regulated, exchange-traded options, the writer of an options contract is obliged to maintain a margin with their broker, and the broker is obliged to maintain a margin with the clearing house. (Institutional writers of options will deal directly with the clearing house.) In the event that the writer is ... |
A stop order won't be automatically fired in after-hours trading? | Stop orders and stop limit orders typically do not execute during extended hours after the general market session has closed. Stop orders are market orders and market orders especially are not executed during extended hours. Although there are exceptions because a broker can say one thing and do another thing with the ... |
Are the “debt reduction” company useful? | They are a complete waste of money, see my answer here for more details. |
How to spend more? (AKA, how to avoid being a miser) | Do you plan a monthly budget at the beginning of each month? This might seem counter-intuitive, but hear me out. Doing a budget is, of course, critically important for those who struggle with having enough money to last the month. Having this written spending plan allows people struggling with finances to control the... |
Can used books bought off Amazon be claimed as a tax deduction in Australia? | VAT = Value Added Tax (as an Aussie think "GST") This is applicable in Britain. Basically, if you were in Britain, and if you could claim VAT as a deduction, that invoice is not sufficient proof to make the claim. But you're in Oz so it doesn't apply to you in any case. For work-related deductions like book purchases, ... |
Is the stock market too risky for long term retirement funds? Why should a 20- or 30-something person invest in stocks? | I would start with long term data. It would show how 40 years worth of stock investing puts the investor so far ahead of the "safe" investor that they can afford to lose half and still be ahead. But - then I would explain about asset allocation, and how the soon to be retired person had better be properly allocated if ... |
If stock price drops by the amount of dividend paid, what is the use of a dividend | The stock will slowly gain that $1 during the year. Suppose we have the highly theoretical situation that a company's stock is worth exactly $10 right after it paid its dividend, its dividend is always $1 per stock, and the company and everything else is so stable that its value never changes. Then the stock value righ... |
Are junk bonds advisable to be inside a bond portfolio that has the objective of generating stable income for a retiree? | Junk Bonds (aka High Yield bonds) are typically those bonds from issues with credit ratings below BBB-. Not all such companies are big risks. They are just less financially sound than other, higher rated, companies. If you are not comfortable doing the analysis yourself, you should consider investing in a mutual fund, ... |
First job: Renting vs get my parents to buy me a house | No one has considered the tax write off at the end of the year? Will the house be in the parent's name or his, and can one of them take a write off for taxes and interest at the end of each year? On a small salary this may mean he has no tax liability for the four years, and can possibly make up the extra buying costs.... |
What are the tax implications if I do some work for a company for trade, rather than pay? | Such activity is normally referred to as bartering income. From the IRS site - You must include in gross income in the year of receipt the fair market value of goods or services received from bartering. Generally, you report this income on Form 1040, Schedule C (PDF), Profit or Loss from Business (Sole Proprietorship),... |
Principal 401(k) managed fund fees, wow. What can I do? | I would even say 1% is not even reasonable in this age. The short answer is there probably isn't much you can do directly. However, there are a few things to consider: |
Which banks have cash-deposit machines in Germany? | HypoVereinsbank (member of UniCredit group), a few savings banks ("Sparkasse") and VR Banks offer cash (bill) deposit machines. However, it can take a few business days until the deposit is credited to your checking account, which has to be with the same bank. Google for "Bargeldeinzahlungsautomat" (=cash deposit mach... |
Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home? | Talk to your parents, and find out if you are reducing the debt or not. Find buyers, sell the place now and get out the deal. Of course you will have to wait to get a good price on it. Short term you haven't lost that much, but long term you will. Take your 25%, and use it as a down payment on a regular bank mortgag... |
Why do stores and manufacturers use mail in rebates? A scam, or is there a way to use them effectively? | Some notable percentage of buyers won't even try to do the rebate, or will forget - so it's a [relatively] cheap incentive to the consumer than most will miss out on. |
Are binary options really part of trading? | you bet that a quote/currency/stock market/anything will rise or fall within a period of time. ... So, what is the relationship with trading ? I see no trading at all since I don't buy or sell quotes. So, if you just wander in and say "oh, hey, look, a bunch of options, i'm going to play games and have excitement" then... |
83(b) and long term capital gain | You should apply for 83(b) within 30 days. 10 months is too late, sorry. |
Deductible expenses paid with credit card: In which tax year would they fall? | According to this discussion, there was a Tax Court ruling that likened deductibility for charitable giving by credit card to business expenses incurred by businesses operating under cash-basis accounting. (The point is made by Larry Hess on that site.) Short answer: According to this argument, you can claim the deduc... |
Death and Capital Gains Taxes (United States) | Stocks (among other property) currently is allowed a "stepped-up basis" when valuing for estate tax purpose. From the US IRS web page: To determine if the sale of inherited property is taxable, you must first determine your basis in the property. The basis of property inherited from a decedent is generally one of the ... |
Do I just let an options conversion/reversal trade go to expiration? | This depends on a combination of factors: What are you charged (call it margin interest) to hold the position? How does this reduce your buying power and what are the opportunity costs? What are the transaction costs alternative ways to close the position? What are your risks (exposure while legging out) for alternativ... |
Can someone explain how government bonds work? | The short of it is that bonds are valued based on a fundamental concept of finance called the "time value of money". Stated simply, $100 one year from now is not the same as $100 now. If you had $100 now, you could use it to make more money and have more than $100 in a year. Conversely, if you didn't invest it, the $10... |
Do I live in a state for tax purposes if my permanent home is in another state? | You're most likely required to file in both for 2013 - since you've lived in both. From 2014 and on you're definitely a NY resident (since you're renting a place there and live there), and you may very well continue being NJ resident (since you're essentially continue being domiciled there). I suggest talking to a EA/C... |
What's a good personal finance management web app that I can use in Canada? | Now, keep in mind I'm biased because I'm an engineer at this company, but FutureAdvisor.com provides advice on your savings and investments. We currently help users optimize their portfolios for retirement savings, but plan on rolling our more savings goals in the future. |
What is the meaning of “short selling” or “going short” a stock? | The 'normal' series of events when trading a stock is to buy it, time passes, then you sell it. If you believe the stock will drop in price, you can reverse the order, selling shares, waiting for the price drop, then buying them back. During that time you own say, -100 shares, and are 'short' those shares. |
Will a small investment in a company net a worthwhile gain? | If you bought 5 shares @ $20 each that would cost you $100 plus brokerage. Even if your brokerage was only $10 in and out, your shares would have to go up 20% just for you to break even. You don't make a profit until you sell, so just for you to break even your shares need to go up to $24 per share. Because your share ... |
Do bond interest rate risk premiums only compensate for the amount investors might lose? | In answer to your last formulation, no. In a perfectly efficient market, different investors still have different risk tolerances (or utility functions). They're maximizing expected utility, not expected value. The portfolios that maximize expected utility for different risk preferences are different, and thus general... |
What did John Templeton mean when he said that the four most dangerous words in investing are: ‘this time it’s different'? | Essentially, he means "one ignores history at their own peril". We often hear people arguing that "the old rules no longer apply". Whether it be to valuations, borrowing, or any of the other common metrics, to ignore the lessons of the past is to invite disaster. History shows us that major crises in the markets usu... |
Pros & cons of buying gold directly vs. investing in a gold ETF like GLD, IAU, SGOL? | If you want to speculate on gold price you should always buy an ETF/ETC (Exchange Traded Commodity). The reasons are simple: Easy to buy and sell (one mouse click) Cheap to buy and sell (small bank commission), compared to buy real gold (always 6 to 12% comission to the local shop when you buy and when you sell), see t... |
Can saving/investing 15% of your income starting age 25, likely make you a millionaire? | The article links to William Bernstein’s plan that he outlined for Business Insider, which says: Modelling this investment strategy Picking three funds from Google and running some numbers. The international stock index only goes back to April 29th 1996, so a run of 21 years was modelled. Based on 15% of a salary of $... |
What options do I have at 26 years old, with 1.2 million USD? | This may be a great idea, or a very bad one, or it may simply not be applicable to you, depending on your personal circumstances and interests. The general idea is to avoid passive investments such as stocks and bonds, because they tend to grow by "only" a few percent per year. Instead, invest in things where you will ... |
Does a company's stock price give any indication to or affect their revenue? | Look at the how the income statement is built. The stock price is nowhere on it. The net income is based on the revenue (money coming in) and expenses (money going out). Most companies do not issue stock all that often. The price you see quoted is third parties selling the stock to each other. |
Should I pay off my car loan within the year? | Generally, banks will report your loan to at least one (if not all three) credit bureaus - although that is not required by law. The interest you're paying, in addition to your insurance isn't justifiable for building credit. I would recommend paying the car off and then perhaps applying for a secure credit card if you... |
How to avoid getting back into debt? | With your windfall, you've been given a second chance. You've become debt free again, and get to start over. Here is what I would recommend from this point on: Decide that you want to remain debt free. It sounds like you've already done this, since you are asking this question. Commit to never borrowing money again. It... |
Selling mutual fund and buying equivalent ETF: Can I 1031 exchange? | I don't believe you can do that. From the IRS: Finally, certain types of property are specifically excluded from Section 1031 treatment. Section 1031 does not apply to exchanges of: I highlighted the relevant items for emphasis. |
Can a company block a specific person from buying its stock? | In the UK, this is the very definition of a Public Limited Company. A Limited Company can restrict how its stock is trades and who can buy and sell and when, a Public Limited Company cannot. Most stock exchanges will only allow Public Limited Company stock to be traded. Therefore a company can control who its stock ... |
Has anyone compared an in-person Tax Advisor to software like Turbo Tax? | I did my own taxes previously using both H&R Block Tax Cut and TurboTax. When I had a simple return and was single, it worked great. Once I got married it was a little more complicated. When I started a small side business, I switched to an accountant. He does a great job of adjusting deductions between my wife and... |
How should I begin investing real money as a student? | I started my account with $500 so I know where you're coming from. For the words of caution, in about 2009 we entered a pretty significant bull market. During this period you could basically buy almost any big name company and do pretty well for yourself. So don't be too cocky about your ability to pick winners in t... |
Questioning my Realtor | even though they're only asking for 1/2 the money and have excellent credit that the mortgage company may not lend it to them if I'm over priced Yes. If the house's value, as determined by the appraisal, is less than the sale price, the bank will not finance the loan. Appraisals and the appraisal process have become mu... |
Additional credit card with different limit on same account? | You can look into getting a business credit card. When I had my Chase business credit card, I could add authorized users to the main account and set a spending limit on each card. |
Is it ever logical to not deposit to a matched 401(k) account? | Whether or not it is logical probably depends on individual circumstance. When you take on (or maintain) debt, you are choosing to do two things: The first is clear. This is what you describe very well in your answer. It is a straightforward analysis of interest rates. The fixed cost of the debt can then be directly c... |
How do rich people guarantee the safety of their money, when savings exceed the FDIC limit? | Most people who have over $250,000 in liquid cash savings would not want to start putting their money into regular savings accounts in different banks, especially with interest rates as ridiculously low as they are now in 2014-15. People with money will want to diversify their investments in ways that will potentially... |
Contract job (hourly rate) as a 1099: How much would I be making after taxes? | Does your spouse work? That's one factor that can put your income into a higher bracket. The one difference to note is you will pay 2x the social security portion, so even though not "federal" tax, its right off the top nearly 13%. I'm not familiar with your states tax. It's really worth dropping the $75 on a copy of t... |
What are “equity assets”? | If I hold a bond then I have a debt asset. If I hold physical silver then I have a commodity asset. If I hold the stock of an individual company then I have an equity asset. Equities, commodities and debts are the three kinds of assets that a person can hold. Edit: I forgot one other kind of asset; monetary asset. If ... |
Is it ok to have multiple life time free credit cards? | Do you need it? It doesn't sound like it - you seem to be able to manage with just the cards you have. Will it hurt anything? Probably not either, unless it entices you to spend more than you make. Another downside might be that you would spend more than you normally would just to have activity on every card. So all ... |
Is an RRSP always “self-directed”? What makes a “self-directed” RRSP special? | The term self-directed generally refers to RRSP accounts where the account holder has not only the ability to determine a basic investment asset mix (such as can be accomplished even with a limited selection of mutual funds) but, more specifically, the self-directed account holder has a much wider choice of financial i... |
Why do companies have a fiscal year different from the calendar year? | I know some companies or entities have large incomes or expenses at certain times of the year, and like to close their books after these large events. For example where I work, the primary seasonal income comes after summer, so our fiscal year ends at the last days of October. This gives the accountants enough time ... |
Townhouse or stand-alone house for a first home? | First, some general advice that I think you should consider A good rule of thumb on home buying is to wait to buy until you expect to live in the same place for at least 5 years. This period of time is meant to reduce the impact of closing costs, which can be 1-5% of your total buying & selling price. If you bought and... |
What happens if I intentionally throw out a paycheck? | In a nutshell, throwing your taxable income in the trash does not remove it from your taxable income; you still have to report in your tax filing, and pay taxes as needed. Especially as you could at any time request your employer to write you a replacement check. I would expect them to start charging a fee for reprinti... |
What to do with an old building to get money | There are a few ways to get money from property, but I'm not sure any would work for you: 1) Firstly you could sell it. Selling the building might require enough repairs that the building is habitable; if the repair costs are too high, you might not be able to recover costs from selling. For a particularly old and unke... |
IS it the wrong time to get into the equity market immediately after large gains? | If your gut told you to buy during the depths of '09, your gut might be well-calibrated. The problem is stock market declines during recessions are frequently not that large relative to the average long run return of 9%: A better strategy might be hold a percentage in equities based upon a probability distribution of ... |
If I get cash compensation for my stocks (following a merger for example) does that qualify for capital gains tax? | In the US this is considered a sale, and the proceeds will be taxed as if you've sold the stocks in any other way. The decision about the treatment (capital, ordinary, etc) is dependent on what kind of stock that is, how you acquired it, how long have you held it, etc. If it is a regular stock that you bought as an inv... |
Should I pay off my car loan within the year? | Something I'd like to plant firmly into your mind - If you're able to save up enough money to buy the things you want outright, credit will be of little use to you. Many people find once they've accumulated very good credit scores by use of good financial habits, that they rarely end up using credit, and get little out... |
Is ScholarShare a legitimate entity for a 529 plan in California? | For a parent deciding on contributing to a 529 plan the first consideration is the plan run by the state government that will trigger a state income tax deduction. You do have to at least look at the annual fees for the program before jumping into the state program, but for many people the state program offers the best... |
Wash sales and year end tax implications | Yes, the net effect is zero. If you own zero shares by Nov 30, for example, and don't buy any more shares by 12/31, the year is done, and nothing left to account for. |
Can you explain “time value of money” and “compound interest” and provide examples of each? | A real simple definition or analogy of present Value would be the "Principal" or "Loan Amount" being lent and the future value as being returning the Principal along with cost of borrowing The (1+i)^n is the interest you earn on present value The (i+i)^-n is the interest you pay on future value The first one is the FVI... |
Making a big purchase over $2500. I have the money to cover it. Should I get a loan or just place it on credit? | From an Indian perspective, this is what I would do. This typically would not only keep your credit score healthy but also give you additional benefits on spends. |
Can I negotiate a 0% transaction fee with my credit card company? | There is nothing called free lunch. The 2% fee indirectly covers the cost of funds and in effect would be a personal loan. Further the repayment period would typically be 3 months and roughly would translate into 7-9% loan depending of repayment schedule etc. There is no harm in trying to get the fee waived, however on... |
Should I finance a new home theater at 0% even though I have the cash for it? | I won't repeat what's already been said, but I agree that it's a good move to take advantage of the free financing so long as you read the fine print carefully, keep the money designated to pay off this debt and not use it for anything else, and make sure to pay it off before you get smacked with some bad interest. One... |
Understanding the phrase “afford to lose” better | I think that people only use the phrase "only spend what you can afford to lose" when they are talking about the most risky or speculative investments, or even gambling. When talking about gambling, the following quote is a bottom line: The speculative investment that brought me to this question via google is how muc... |
What's are the differences between “defined contribution” and “defined benefit” pension plans? | As others have explained defined contribution is when you (or your employer) contributes a specified amount and you reap all the investment returns. Defined benefit is when your employer promises to pay you a specified amount (benefit) and is responsible for making the necessary investments to provide for it. Is one... |
Why is there two currencies in Venezuela's money? | Venezuela is a command economy, and one that isn't doing terribly well right now, with rampant inflation in the several hundred percent range. As such, they've tried to limit or eliminate exchanges between their currency and foreign currencies. Currently, they allow a limited amount of exchange at fixed rates (accordi... |
A friend wants to use my account for a wire transfer. Is this a scam or is it legitimate? | 100% scam. This is classic of mixing real (Exxon) with fiction. This gives credibility to story. Don't give any thing, there is no damage yet. If you take the bait, there are multiple ways to get money from you. |
Identifying “Dividend Stocks” | How do you find good quality dividend stocks? That is an easy one. Past performance has always been my key to this answer. also remember why you are investing in the first place. Do you want cash flow, security or capital growth. Also let's not forget... how much time do you want to devote to this venture. There is goi... |
Discussing stock and stock index movement: clarifying percentage vs. points? | As I write this, the NASDAQ Composite is at 2790.00, down 6.14 points from yesterday. To calculate the percentage, you take 6.14 and divide by yesterday's close of 2796.14 to yield 0.22%. In your example, if SPY drops from 133.68 to 133.32, you use the difference of -0.36 and divide by the original, i.e. -0.36/133.68 =... |
Credit Card Approval | Bigger than the three mentioned above is on-time payment and/or collections activity. If your report shows you have not paid accounts on time, or have accounts in collections, that is almost guaranteed decline except for the least desirable cards. Another factor is number of hard inquiries. If you have been on a recent... |
If a employers supposed to calulate drive time pay with your weekly gross pay | Reimbursements for business expenses are generally not taxable, but the commute from home to the job and back is not considered business travel and if they're paying for that it is taxable income. I don't think carpooling changes that, but I am not a tax lawyer or accountant. The rest of your questions seem to be compa... |
Do I purchase stocks or not? | You didn't give enough information. What is your goal? What is your financial situation? A discount to buy company stock can seem very tempting. I was tempted by it myself, gee, almost 20 years ago. I still own some of the stock. But I held mutual funds first. There are two disadvantages that have disuaded me fr... |
What does a well diversified self-managed investment portfolio look like? | Diversification is spreading your investments around so that one point of risk doesn't sink your whole portfolio. The effect of having a diversified portfolio is that you've always got something that's going up (though, the corollary is that you've also always got something going down... winning overall comes by pickin... |
Does the currency exchange rate contain any additional information at all? | Relative changes in rates are significant. Why? Exchange rates encourage cross-border trade. For example, I live in an area that is now popular with Canadian tourists, mostly due to the favorable exchange rates. Changes in exchange rates between trading partners can affect trade balance as well. The US "strong dollar"... |
What should I do with $4,000 cash and High Interest Debt? | I see some merit in the other answers, which are all based on the snowball method. However, I would like to present an alternative approach which would be the optimal way in case you have perfect self-control. (Given your amount of debt, most likely you currently do not have perfect self-control, but we will come to th... |
Making your first million… is easy! (??) | I realize that "a million dollars" is a completely arbitrary figure, but it's one people fixate on. Perhaps folks just meant it's getting easier because inflation has made it a far less lofty sum than when the word "millionaire" was coined. Your point is correct - it' relatively easier as the 1 million doll... |
Can a CEO short his own company? | If we take only the title of the question "can the CEO short the stock": It was probably different before Enron, but nowadays a CEO can only make planned trades, that is trades that are registered a very long time before, and that cannot be avoided once registered. So the CEO can say "I sell 100,000 shares in exactly s... |
Who can truly afford luxury cars? | It's all about what you value personally. I'm mid-30s and drive a $40K "luxury" sports car. I also happen to wear a $6K wristwatch every day. I purchased both of these items because I thought they were beautiful when I saw them. On the flip side, because I spent 6 years living below the poverty line, I instinctively ... |
The board of directors in companies | Boards of Directors are required for corporations by nearly all jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions have almost self-defeating requirements however, such as in tax havens. Boards of Directors are compensated by the company for which they sit. Historically, they have set their own compensation almost always with tight q... |
Should I buy stocks of my current employer because of its high dividend yield? | Dividend yields are a product of the dollar amount paid to shareholders and the stock price. Dividends yields rise when a company is shunned by investors. It may be shunned because the earnings and/or dividend are at risk. Recent examples are SDRL and KMI. Most investors would love an 8% yield so I would wonder why th... |
Why is the fractional-reserve banking not a Ponzi scheme? | Your question contains two different concepts: fractional reserve banking and debt-based money. When thinking of these two things I think it is important to analyze these items separately before trying to understand how the whole system works. Fractional Reserve Banking As others have pointed out fractional reserve ba... |
New car price was negotiated as a “cash deal”. Will the price change if I finance instead? | Yes, he can retract the offer - it was a cash-only offer, and if you're financing, it's no longer "cash". Unless, of course, you get the financing through your local bank / credit union, and they hand you a check (like on a personal loan). Then it's still cash. However, the salesman can still retract the offer unless i... |
How should I pay off my private student loans that have a lot of restrictions? | It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to save up and wait to make a payment on any of these loans. Any dollar you pay today works better than saving it and waiting months to pay it, no matter which loan it will be applied to. Since your lender won't let you choose which loan your payment is being applied to, don't worr... |
Is foreign stock considered more risky than local stock and why? | Foreign stocks have two extra sources of risk attached to them; exchange rate and political. Exchange rate risk is obvious; if I buy a stock in a foreign currency and there is a currency movement that makes that investment worth less I lose money no matter what the stock does. This can be offset using exchange rate sw... |
No trading data other than close for a stock on a given date | There are several reasons why this may happen and I will update as I get more information from you. Volumes on that stock look low (supposing that they are either in a factor between 1s and 1000s) so it could well be that there was no volume on that day. If no trades occur then open, high and low are meaningless as the... |
Pay down on second mortage when underwater? | There are programs out there which will let you refinance even when underwater, under the Government's HARP program. You are overpaying by nearly $7,000 per year compared to a refinance to 4.5%. A classic example of how the bubble hurt people who overextended themselves a bit as housing shot up. The bank risks a $50K ... |
Investment options in Australia | It depends on the exact level of risk that you want, but if you want to keep your risk close to zero you're pretty much stuck with the banks (and those rates don't look to be going up any time soon). If you're willing to accept a little more risk, you can invest in some index tracking ETFs instead, with the main provid... |
How to calculate car insurance quote | Does the Insurance value differ from state to state (for example I've a car in Hawaii and there is another car in Illinois with same model, make and same features), does the Insurance vary for both? Yes, quotes will vary based on where you live for various reasons, (propensity for accidents, value of cars, etc.), and s... |
How many days does Bank of America need to clear a bill pay check | We have a local bank that changed to a bill pay service. The money is held as "processing" when the check is supposed to be cut and shows as cleared on the date the check is supposed to be received. Because our business checking is with the same bank, we discovered recently that the although the check shows cleared f... |
When's the best time to sell the stock of a company that is being acquired/sold? | This is but one opinion. Seek others before your act. "When someone puts a million dollars in your hand, close your hand." A 50% gain in two weeks is huge. |
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