Investing Ideas: Checking Accounts That Pay Interest

Every so often you find a deal that you want to pass on to your friends. Checking accounts which pay interest when you keep the required available balance happens to be a deal worth passing on. It's a winning situation. Push your dollar further with an interest bearing account.


Types of Accounts:

Basically, banks group these checking accounts into two different groups: rewards checking or plain interest bearing accounts. Although both accounts pay you, rewards checking accounts go a little further to grant you the benefits of banking. For instance, rewards checking accounts bear higher interest rates than plain interest bearing accounts; guaranteed interest rates start above 2% APY on rewards checking. Also, banks encourage participation in community activities like high school sports and other civic events. You may find a bank in your community which gives passes to some events for rewards account holders.


vs. CDs:

Which ever you decide works for you, remember that interest bearing checking accounts exist to encourage consumers to use electronic payments. You will be required to make at least 12 debit purchases each billing cycle, pay bills online, and maintain a minimum required balance. Still, rewards accounts may be better than cds which penalize the consumer for withdrawals prior to maturity dates and are less liquid than demand accounts.












References:
-http://www.money-rates.com/rewardschecking.htm
-http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/chk/20071105_reward_checking_a1.asp

Politics of the Dollar: Start Up America

Fortunately novice entrepreneurs can continue big successes as a result of the Obama administration. Demonstrating how politics maintain balance in the economy, the Start Up America effort promotes redistribution of funds for smaller businesses.


The Administration:

With gifts from public and private investors, the Start Up America program targets small businesses interested in gaining better access to capital and education from larger corporations. A joint effort begins. Administrators from larger corporations like AOL and Johnson and Johnson's help to remove barriers to lucrative start ups and collaborate with small businesses in under represented communities. Help not only comes from corporations, but universities and foundations as well contribute to the success of new business.


Location, Location, Location:

If you live in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, or New York and have interest in starting up a new business, contact your district Small Business Administration office for information. Or visit the Small Business Administration official website. Many of the corporations and foundations are sponsoring matching programs for start ups in your area. Don't let this opportunity pass you by. Investors are waiting to hear your ideas. Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions.

































REFERENCES:
-http://www.sba.gov/startupamerica

-http://www.whitehouse.gov/startup-america-fact-sheet

Employers Cutting Back: Are You O.K.?

Take a minute to think about your current employment. Do you feel more pressure to perform for less pay? Do you notice some co-workers have not shown up in a while? Particularly, if you work in the financial or retail sectors, you may want to ask around about the latest layoffs. It may be time for a change.


Employment Outlook:

 For now leading the way with the most layoffs, future employment for the financial sector looks bleak. Major financial employers, Bank of America and Citigroup plan to cut over 40,000 employees in a few months. While T-Mobile, in the telecommunications sector plans to layoff less than 1,000 employees. Also, some retailers are suiting up to make cuts to their payroll soon. Be surprised if more cuts do not come in the next months.


Consumer Confidence:

Generally speaking, the employment outlook for the next quarter of this fiscal year looks somewhat dim. In a survey conducted by the Conference Board on expectations for future job growth, participants state that they are expecting few new jobs in their current occupations and a small percentage are expecting pay raises. The Consumer Confidence report for March indicates a more than 5% decline in the index based on business and employment conditions.


Implications:

The Consumer Confidence report directly affects prices in the stock market and interest rates posted by the Fed. A 5% decline in the index holds enough significance to hurt the dollar as the public will have less of a demand for the dollar if no jobs are available. Watch out for more news on layoffs and information on the dollar. Feel free to leave comments.



References:
http://www.businessinsider.com/conference-board-consumer-confidence-march-2013-3