interest rates

Federal Reserve policymakers will meet next week to decide whether to raise a key interest rate. If they do, it’ll be the first time since June 2006.

If you want to make a hundred bucks or even thousands for just an hour of your time, then this post is for you. All you have to do is pick the right place to stash your cash and perhaps change your thinking on certain certificates of deposits (CDs). Read on, and you’ll see that CDs which appear too good to be true really do exist.

So it’s time to get real about mutual fund fees. Sure, they’re lower than ever for many funds, especially those that track an index. In fact, the average fund fee is now 1.25 percent, according to Chicago-based Morningstar.

Inflation lately has been pretty tame. Still, the possibility that it could raise its ugly head again, eating away at our spending power and standard of living, is always in the back of our minds. That’s why it’s important to understand inflation to better protect ourselves from its potential impact. Knowing these myths about inflation is a good place to start.

Big banks are beginning to cut some slack to distressed student-loan borrowers.

Between mid-September and mid-October, the S&P 500 average sank nearly 150 points, or about 7.4 percent. Many investment pundits now suggest  stocks are quite risky and the next great Bear Market could be coming. Suddenly bonds, previously shunned by many investment advisers, are looking more appealing.

When interest rates rise, the value of bonds declines. Many experts are sure that rates will increase next year, but should you worry about that? Why are experts convinced that rates will rise next year? For one, the Federal Reserve announced last week that it will start raising the federal funds rate next year from the near-zero rate of today. The Fed is also tapering quantitative easing, meaning that it’s buying back its own longer-term bonds at a much slower pace than over the past few years. This creates less demand for these bonds, which could push interest rates higher.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to extend its oversight to large nonbank auto-finance companies to make sure they are not discriminating against consumers.

Starting today, parents and college students will be paying more for federal education loans.

I often hear that interest rates are awful and that it's the worst time ever for retirees needing to live on fixed income. Yet when you look at after-tax, inflation-adjusted returns, a different picture emerges.