Articles from Archives

Online Bank Savings & Check Interest Rates

It has been more than four months since I last updated my little interest rates table. During this four-month period, the rate picture of online banks has changed a lot, going down 5% something to mostly in the neighbourhood of 3% APY, as the Fed cut interest rates every time they met. However, the latest reduction of a quarter of a percentage point at the end of last month could be the last one by the Fed in the current round of rate cut. And because of the relatively small cut (only 0.25%), no bank, as far as I know, has followed suit. One bank, E-Trade Financial, even raised the rate on their Complete Savings Account a couple of days ago. So I feel it’s time to take a look at where everybody stands on the rate ladder.

Bank Savings
APY
Minimum Checking
APY
Minimum
Countrywide Bank savingslink 4.00% $10,000 N/A N/A
Provident Direct 3.75% $1 N/A N/A
Capital One Online Savings 3.75% $10,000 N/A N/A
Umbrella Bank 3.40% $1,000 N/A N/A
WT Direct 3.31% $10,000 N/A N/A
Washington Mutual 3.30% $1 N/A N/A
IGoBanking 3.28% $1 N/A N/A
FNBO Direct 3.25% $1 N/A N/A
AmTrust Direct
3.25% $1 N/A N/A
Costco Capital One 3.20% $1,000 N/A N/A
E-Trade 3.15% $1 3.25% $5,000
Savings Square
3.05% $1 N/A N/A
Bank of Internet 3.05% $1 3.46% $1
HSBC Direct 3.05% $1 0.05% $5
Discover Bank 3.04% $2,500 N/A N/A
UFB Direct 3.01% $1 0.01% $50
E-Loan Bank 3.01% $5,000 N/A N/A
ING Direct 3.00% $1 1.75% $1
Univest Direct 3.00% $1 1.75% $1
Salem Five Direct 3.00% $1 N/A N/A
GMAC Bank 3.00% $500 N/A N/A
Capital One Money Market 3.00% $1 N/A N/A
Ever Bank 2.76% $1,500 2.01% $1
Emigrant Direct 2.75% $1 N/A N/A
Citi Bank 2.70% $1 N/A N/A
Presidential Bank 2.60% $5,000 2.00% $1,500

Two clear winners are Provident Direct and Capital One Online Savings at 3.75% APY, both have been covered here before. The banks I am currently using, IGoBanking and FNBO Direct, aren’t far behind. I have been considering getting another account with a better rate for some time, but haven’t made the move before with less than 0.50% difference, it may not worth it. However, I didn’t totally give up the idea. If I do make the move, Capital One will likely to be my choice because Provident Direct has too many restrictions. I want something simple without a lot of limits and fees.

Any other better deal out there?

Save Money on Gas Tips from Consumer Reports

In the June issue of Consumer Reports, the magazine gives its readers some ideas to save money at the pump. In addition to tips that we have already knew, such as avoiding rapid acceleration/stop, there are also tips that I didn’t know before or haven’t paid any attention, such as the rolling resistance of tiers. The conclusions were based on tests the agency conducted with Toyota Camry and other vehicles.

  • Drive smoothly: Frequent rapid acceleration and breaking reduced the Camry mileage by 2 to 3 mpg.
  • Drive at a moderate speed: Driving at 55 mph instead of 65 or 75 mph can save money. When the Camry goes from 55 mph to 65 on highway, its fuel efficiency dropped from 40 mpg to 35.
  • Reduce unnecessary drag: Don’t carry things on top of your car if you don’t have to.
  • Don’t use premium fuel if you don’t have to: If your car need only regular gas, don’t buy premium. Your engine won’t run better with higher grade gas.
  • Minimize driving with a cold engine: Making multiple short trips and starting the engine from cold each time can reduce fuel economy by nearly 4 mpg.
  • Keep tires properly inflated: When the Camry’s tires are under-inflated by 10 psi, the loss in mileage is 1.3 mpg.
  • Buy tires with lower rolling resistance: The rolling resistance of tires can further reduce the car’s fuel economy by 1 to 2 mpg. By high-rated tires with lower rolling resistance.
  • Avoid idling for long period: When your car is idling, it gets zero mile per gallon. Turn off the engine when you expect to stay longer than 30 seconds (??).

BTW, oil price has broken all-time record everyday this week. Now, crude oil is traded above $123 a barrel (Bloomberg) and the national average of regular gas is $3.665/gallon (gasbuddy.com).

Featured Information: Gas Rewards Credit Cards

Feeling the pain at the pump? Get up to 5% cash rebate for the money you have to spend from these gas rewards credit cards:

Discover Open Road Card: With Discover Open Road Card, you can earn 5% cashback on gasoline purchases at any stations where Discover is accepted. Plus, it also offers 5% Cashback Bonus on auto maintenance. However, the drawback is only the first $100 are eligible for 5% bonus. Other purchases earn 1% Cashback Bonus.

Chase Freedom Credit Card Chase Freedom Card is the gas reward card I am using, though not exclusively for gas purchase. The card gives 3% cashback on all purchases at any gas station. But it comes with a catch: Gas purchase must be one of top 3 categories in monthly spending to e receive the 3% reward. Otherwise, the rebate will be just 1%. In addition, the card also has a maximum of $18 you can earn on 3% bonus every month.

American Express and Costco TrueEarnings Card The TureEarnings Card just added gas to its rewards program. Now it allows cardholders to earn 3% cashback on all gas purchase. The TrueEarnings card also gives back 3% bonus for restaurants, 2% for travel, and 1% everywhere else including at Costco. There’s no limit on cash rebates you can earn. The TureEarnings Business Card gives a even more generous 5% cashback on gasoline.

More card offers can be found here.

Creative Commons License photo credit: williamhartz

E-Trade Raise Rates on Complete Savings Account: Interest Rates Bottomed?

In a sign that interest rates may stop falling and start rising, E-Trade Financial sent me an email this afternoon with a surprising update: Start May 8, they will increase the interest rate of their Complete Savings Account from the current 3.01% APY to 3.15% APY, though the Fed has cut interest rates by another 0.25% point last week.

Another interesting observation is that, in the past every time after the Fed cut rates, banks followed almost immediately to slash interest rates on their savings accounts and my Inbox was flooded with rate update emails. Not this time, though. Actually, I didn’t get any such email from banks since last Wednesday. I guess the banks must have enough cushion after dramatically lowering their rates since last September so they can afford to stay where they are now :)

I haven’t updated my checking and savings rates table since last December. Since it looks like the Feb will idle when they meet next time in June, maybe it’s time to revise my table.

First-Class Postage Going Up Again, Soon

Forever stampBack in February, the U.S. Postal Service announced that the postage for one-ounce first-class mail will go up by 1 cent to 42 cents next Monday, May 12th, so does the price for a Forever stamp.

When the stamp was first introduced in 2007, I didn’t buy any extra other than the booklet of 20 when I was out. The main reason for not stocking up on the stamps that never expire was after gradually moving from paper checks and mail to online billpay over the past couple of years, we are using much less stamps now than before. In fact, there are only a couple of regular items need to be mailed in every month. And except bills, we don’t many letters to send (who is still sending letter anyway?). So I feel even if the postage keeps going up every year, the money we save by stocking up Forever stamps won’t be significant if we only use one book a year.

The following is a chart of U.S postage rate history from 1863 on Wikipedia. Clearly, the pace of postage increase has accelerated since this century began. During the 1990s, there were 3 adjustments that resulted in a net increase of 8 cents. So far this decades, 5 adjustments have already been made and the postage has gone up from 33 cents in 1999 to the latest 42 cents due to higher inflation (using historical inflation data from 1999 to 2007, the postage should be at 42 cents in 2008, see table below), though the inflation adjusted price 145 years ago was actually higher. So one benefit I can see from buying Forever stamps is: You will keep pace with the inflation!

Continue reading …

Chinese ADRs Monthly Update - April 2008

April has turned out to be a pretty good month for equity investors. After all three major indices dropped to 52-week low in early March, stocks rebounded last month after financial firms indicated that the worst part of the current crisis may be over. The Dow ended April with a gain of 4.54%, the S&P added 4.75%, and the NASDAQ climbed 5.87%.

Chinese stocks traded on U.S. exchanges also had a solid month in April, rising along with U.S. stocks. Chinese ADRs also got support from favorable policies adopted by Chinese security regulators aimed to stabilize the market after the Shanghai Composite Index (^SSEC) lost half of its value in less than half a year. For the month, SSEC jumped 6.35% and the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (^HSI) surged 12.72%. Among Chinese ADRs, VanceInfo Technologies (VIT) led the way with a gain of 142.60%, followed by Sohu.com (SOHU)’s 53.18%. Chinese search engine Baidu.com (BIDU) also recorded a 52.57% gain in share price. The month’s biggest loser was Agria (GRO), China’s agriculture products, such as seeds and feeding products, provider, which saw its share tumbled nearly 50%, despite record food price.

Name Symbol 04/30/08
Price
April
return
YTD
return
3SBio SSRX 10.45 19.57% -29.77%
51Job JOBS 18.4 13.23% 2.11%
Acorn international ATV 6.86 -9.97% -26.47%
Actions Semiconductor ACTS 3.86 29.98% -5.39%
Agria GRO 4.33 -48.14% -53.59%
AirMedia Group AMCN 19.86 24.91% -11.26%
Aluminum Corp of China ACH 42.82 5.91% -15.44%
APT Satellite ATS 1.53 -0.65% -28.84%
ASAT Holdings ASTT 0 0.00% 0.00%
ATA* ATAI 10.67 20.43% 12.32%
Baidu.com BIDU 365.6 52.57% -6.21%
China Architectural Engineering RCH 5.45 0.00% -36.99%
China Digital TV STV 16.8625 -9.97% -37.50%
China Eastern Airlines CEA 43.39 -15.58% -55.57%
China Finance Online JRJC 18.45 32.73% -16.14%
China Grentech GRRF 4.72 -7.81% -46.61%
China Life Insurance LFC 65.6 26.01% -14.25%
China Medical Tech CMED 37.4 -8.98% -15.75%
China Mobile CHL 86.32 15.08% -0.63%
China Nepstar NPD 11.77 -13.46% -33.05%
China Petro & Chemical SNP 107.51 25.04% -27.46%
China Southern Airlines ZNH 32.84 -17.18% -49.82%
China Sunergy CSUN 8.22 12.60% -50.24%
China Techfaith CNTF 5.46 -0.36% -5.86%
China Telecom CHA 67.59 7.58% -13.42%
China Netcom CN 61.05 5.28% 2.78%
China Unicom CHU 21.57 1.41% -3.71%
ChinaEdu CEDU 7 5.58% -17.65%
City Telecom (HK) CTEL 4.51 0.67% -20.18%
CNinsure CISG 14.05 21.86% -12.13%
CNOOC CEO 177.55 20.96% 6.04%
Ctrip.com CTRP 62.06 17.05% 7.99%
E-House EJ 16.72 27.15% -29.84%
eLong LONG 9.37 9.85% 13.16%
Focus Media FMCN 36.89 4.95% -35.06%
Fuqi International FUQI 8.25 15.71% -0.60%
Giant Interactive GA 16.28 28.70% 25.42%
Global Sources GSOL 13.89 -6.46% -50.83%
Guangshen Railway GSH 28.88 9.81% -18.97%
Gushan Environmental Energy GU 12.5 -4.36% 33.69%
Home Inns & Hotel HMIN 22.41 13.81% -37.09%
Huaneng Power HNP 33.65 10.18% -18.52%
Hurray! HRAY 2.77 0.36% -30.40%
Hutchison Telecomm HTX 21.05 -2.14% -7.06%
JA Solar JASO 24.01 29.09% 3.18%
Kongzhong KONG 4.23 -2.31% -30.54%
Las Vegas Sands LVS 76.22 3.50% -26.04%
LDK Solar LDK 31.74 17.56% -32.48%
Linktone LTON 2.15 -20.37% -30.42%
Longtop Financial Tech. LFT 19.95 5.67% -15.75%
Melco PBL Entertainment MPEL 13.2 15.99% 14.19%
Mindray Medical MR 34 17.48% -20.88%
Netease.com NTES 22.32 16.19% 17.72%
New Oriental Education EDU 75.06 15.73% -6.86%
Ninetowns inter NINE 2.23 -4.70% -30.09%
Noah Education* NED 6.161 10.81% -23.56%
O2Micro International OIIM 7.52 -2.72% -34.84%
Perfect World PWRD 28.72 26.46% 3.01%
PetroChina PTR 151.14 20.61% -13.87%
QiaoXing Mobile Comm. QXM 6.43 6.99% -23.91%
Renesola* SOL 16.75 47.45% 28.85%
Semiconductor Manufacturing SMI 3.81 8.55% -26.59%
Shanda Interactive SNDA 34.29 17.84% 3.03%
Simcere Pharmaceutical SCR 12.59 20.36% -9.10%
Sina SINA 46.2 31.06% 4.29%
Sinopec SHI 39.55 13.03% -35.23%
Sohu.com SOHU 69.13 53.18% 26.80%
Solarfun Power SOLF 13.43 11.36% -58.87%
Spreadtrum Communications SPRD 8.71 0.11% -28.96%
Suntech Power STP 44.73 10.28% -45.66%
The9 NCTY 21.47 4.73% 0.19%
Tongjitang Chinese Medicine TCM 8.2 -0.24% -16.75%
Trina Solar TSL 42.18 37.22% -21.60%
UTstarcom UTSI 3.25 14.44% 18.61%
VanceInfo Technologies VIT 14.75 142.60% 63.89%
Vimicro International VIMC 3.39 23.29% -9.84%
VisionChina Media VISN 14.75 33.12% 73.53%
WSP Holdings WH 6.62 -4.06% -27.25%
Wuxi Pharmatech WX 18.44 -17.53% -36.94%
XinHua Finance Media XFML 4.15 31.33% -30.83%
Xinyuan Real Estate XIN 9.03 7.63% -36.54%
Yazhou Coal Mining YZC 92.68 30.48% -4.51%
Yingli Green Energy YGE 22.03 28.83% -43.02%

*2008 IPO

For the month, two widely held EFTs that mainly invest in China also rose sharply. iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (FXI) gained 17.50% in April while PowerShares Gloden Dragon Halter USX China (PGJ) climbed 15.55%.

Weekend Linkage - May 4, 2008

Health Insurance for New College Graduates - Shopping Around for Affordable Coverage Money Smart Life provided tips for newly grads can get health insurance.

Finovate Demos Lazy Man and Money blogged live from Finovate Startup last week. Lots of new names in the business of personal finance.

Is it Smart to Buy Disability Insurance? Generation X Finance offered his take on this issue, explaining the pros and cons.

Financial Infidelity - The Leading Cause of Divorce? An interesting discussion at Million Dollar Journey.

Be Prepared to Retire in Two Weeks! That’s what My Dollar Plan said. You have to read the post to find out how.

10 Things To Tell A Graduating High School Senior Brip Blap has some advices for high school seniors heading to college.

The Vanguard Principles - An Excellent Investor’s Resource The Dividend Guy looked at a new resource for investors.

How To Make Money From Balance Transfer Credit Cards I am no stranger on this topic, but Money Blue Book’s explanation is quire thorough.

Will 2008 Be A Good Time To Buy Real Estate? My Wealth Builder shared why he won’t jump in though the slump in housing market seems created quite some opportunities.

Debt Reduction Guide: Planning For The Future No Credit Needed shared his debt reduction strategy.

Sichuan Earthquake Relief Donation

The money collected between May 15 and May 22 on this site will be sent to the Chinese Consulate General in New York for Sichuan Earthquake Relief. If you want to contribute to the relief effort, I will match 1:1 for every dollar you donate up to $100. Click here for more information. The American Red Cross also set up a China Earthquake Relief Fund if you are more comfortable to make a donation with the Red Cross. Thank you for your generosity!