| Get interested in your savings
There are lots of banks who'd love the chance to sit on your cash. And that means you can find some pretty competitive rates. Lisa Napoli offers this primer on finding high-yield savings. TESS VIGELAND: One of the most common questions we get here goes something like this: "I just got a $500 bonus. What should I do with it?" Or: "My wife just inherited $9,000. What should I do with it? Well, there are all kinds of things you could do. Buy some stock. Fund your IRA. But what a lot of us end up doing -- assuming we don't spend it -- is parking that money in a savings account. For now. These days there are lots of banks who'd love the chance to sit on your cash. And that means you can find some pretty competitive rates. Marketplace's Lisa Napoli went in search of a way to max out the interest.
Rich commish; devil of a boss
Quick hits while I wrap my mind around the news that baseball commissioner Bud Selig "earned" $14.5 million in the past fiscal year and wonder whether New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello is the toughest boss in the world. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Selig whining about baseball's economic woes and pushing for the elimination of two small-budget teams a few years ago? If baseball can afford to pay this former used car salesman turned Milwaukee Brewers owner turned commissioner more money than most of its stars make, then I guess we can stop worrying about the financial health of the game. According to the SportsBusiness Journal, Selig received a $6 million base salary, a $6 million bonus and the rest in expenses and personal fees. Maybe he received the bonus for getting to the bottom of the steroids mess that mushroomed during his watch.
Internet opens Poinsett County residents to crime
While Poinsett County is a relatively small area of a medium size state, with the internet, it is fair game and a serious target to all of the world. According to police officials with the Trumann and Marked Tree police departments, identity theft, internet fraud and internet stalking are some of the newest and most damaging and even lethal tools in the criminal's bag of tricks. However, officials also pointed out that some of the new ways criminals are finding to get people's money are still done the old-fashioned way, through personal contact and through the mail. According to the Department of Justice, the term "Internet fraud" refers generally to any type of fraud scheme that uses one or more components of the Internet - such as chat rooms, e-mail, message boards, or Web sites - to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions, or to transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial institutions or to other connected with the scheme.
Hedge funds wrestle with leverage -- What could go wrong?
Leverage, the use of borrowed money for investing, goes in and out of favor. When times are good and people are making money, it's great. It amplifies returns (positive or negative) and, particularly in real estate, can lead to mind-bogglingly high return on investment numbers. But the downside is also huge, as anyone who lost a job in the wake of a failed leveraged buyout of the 1980s found out. My summary of the positives and negatives of leverage is this: Everything that's good about leverage is also bad about leverage. Having said that, this paragraph from Saturday's New York Times scares the bejesus out of me: Let's say you are very wealthy and have $25 million to invest in a portfolio of hedge funds. Banks like BNP Paribas, Royal Bank of Canada, or Barclays will leverage your investment, say four to one, allowing you to invest $100 million, using derivatives.
There's no escaping the Sabres in Buffalo as playoffs draw near
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Of all the things Ryan Miller has seen with a Buffalo Sabres' logo slapped on it - from cookies to cakes, bumper stickers to beer labels - this one stood out. The Sabres goaltender recently met a young woman with his face tattooed on her calf. Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller concentrates on an incoming shot from the New York Islanders during the third period of a NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y. on March 30, 2007. (AP/Don Heupel) "I was kind of blown away," Miller said, shaking his head but remaining impressed by the likeness. "It's pretty humbling but a little surreal, too. It seems like we're being treated like rock stars." Sabres mania has hit town and has started to bubble over as the team prepares to enter the playoffs next week as the Eastern Conference's top seed with one objective: Winning the Stanley Cup.
'Money Mammals' will teach tots about finances
That's the motto of four thrifty puppets who will be sharing their financial advice with children Friday at a local credit union. In honor of Financial Literacy Month, Rogue Federal Credit Union will host a live puppet show and screening of "The Money Mammals: Saving Money Is Fun" DVD at 4:30 p.m. April 13 at the credit union's South Gateway branch, 1370 Center Drive, Medford. The show is designed to help children learn the value of money and what it means to spend money wisely. Puppets Joe the Monkey and Piggs the Bank will sing songs with the audience and be available for pictures along with John Lanza, creator and co-producer of the DVD and producer of the TV show "Life With Louie." .
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