The average iPhone user forks over $95 a month to AT&T, and more than half of that covers voice accounts. Now that AT&T has approved applications like Skype, which allow users to make calls—even international calls—for free or very cheap via the Internet, it seems like only a matter of time before customers change the way they make …
The jobless-claims trend is our friend, but it’s an awfully slow-moving friend
The weekly unemployment-insurance claims numbers are out, and the number of new claims—a seasonally adjusted 521,000—was the lowest since January. (Claims peaked in late March, at 674,000.) The four-week moving average, at 539,750, continues to trend downward as well. Good news. But man, what a slow trend! It’s like watching paint …
What Are Credit Card Companies Allowed to Do to You?
Can your credit card company increase your minimum payment? Close your account when they feel like it? Cut your credit limit? Change your fixed rate to a variable rate? The answer is yes to all of the above.
It’s a Deal: Free Breakfast at IKEA This Weekend
From Saturday, October 10, to Monday, October 12, nearly every IKEA store is giving out free breakfast to all shoppers. IKEA has announced lots of lower prices on shelving units, tables, chairs, curtain rods, and other items too. More details here.
Should bond investors care about prices?
A reader asked, in reference to my column on the “Bond Bust Ahead,”
As interest rates climb, bond prices drop. I understand that part. But, for an “investor” who owns bonds to maturity how does this translate into losses? I still get the same coupon payment and my principal at the end of the term.(Agreed that with higher inflation my
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Cheapskate Wisdom from … Samuel Johnson
“Do not accustom yourself to consider debt only as an inconvenience; you will find it a calamity”
It’s a Deal: Free Night, Upgrade at Hyatt Hotels
With Hyatt’s “Three for Free” promotion, guests enjoy a free night (after a stay of two or more paid nights), with breakfast and an upgrade included. The offer is valid at select Hyatt resorts in places like Florida, Hawaii, and Colorado, now through December 18. More details here.
Baseball Playoff Ticket Prices Not Quite as Ludicrous as You’d Imagine
The world of professional sports is not immune to the recession—not even when it comes to playoff baseball.
80% of Debit Card Holders Don’t Want “Protection”
Most debit card fees come by way of “overdraft protection,” in which banks allow customers to spend more than what’s in their accounts—and then customers are smacked with fees of around $35 each time they do so. Here’s a real shocker: Very few people actually want that sort of protection.
A tax cut for hiring?
Catherine Rampell has the story in today’s NYT about the growing interest in the White House and elsewhere in Washington in a tax credit to entice businesses to hire. This was discussed as part of the stimulus legislation back at the beginning of the year but dropped. Now it’s back because, while the economy seems to be growing a bit, …
Q&A: Money-Saving Tips from Eversave.com’s Chief Savings Officer
Chief Savings Officer. Who knew that such a job title existed? Every household—and every government office, for that matter—should have one or more of these people, whose job it is to see that money is saved whenever possible, and spent efficiently when purchases are necessary.
What if oil weren’t priced in dollars?
Robert Fisk’s report in the Independent that the Persian Gulf countries are planning to stop pricing oil in dollars by 2018 and start using a basket of currencies instead has caused quite the big stir today. Gold hit a new record of $1,043 an ounce as investors worried about the future of the dollar, and the Internets were aflame with …