“Let’s see if we can soothe some of the anxiety out there about converting traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs this year.
It’s a good move for younger savers who are a long way from retirement and might well expect to be making more in retirement than they are in their late ’20s or early 30s.
It’s not [...]

It’s come to this.
U.S. savings bonds — yeah, savings bonds — have become a better investment than most CDs.
Series I Bonds are paying 3.36%, which is more than you can earn with the best, nationally available 6-month, 12-month, 24-month and even 36-month certificates of deposit.
Although the interest rate resets every six months to reflect the [...]

Charles Schwab Corp. is reducing the cost of online trades to a flat $8.95 cents effective Jan. 19.
The discount brokerage says the new commission covers all sales and purchases regardless of account size, trading frequency and the number of shares being bought or sold.
This should reduce transaction costs for customers with smaller portfolios, or who [...]

With CD and savings account rates plunging to record lows every week, it may be the time to consider a more lucrative alternative — social or peer-to-peer lending.
This is where you loan money directly to worthy borrowers through a Web site, rather than putting your money in a bank and allowing its loan officers to [...]

Michael Covel, who founded TurtleTrader.com, has produced a provocative documentary on why the financial crisis cost the typical American so much money.

Broke blames the herd mentality that seems to motivate so many investment decisions and uses some unflattering comparisons with sheep to make the point.
If everyone’s buying expensive homes with exotic loans, I should too. [...]

It’s been quite an afternoon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 9,000 for the first time since Jan. 6.
The widely-followed index gained 187 points, or 2.1%, to close at 9,069, the Dow’s highest close since Nov. 5.
Then Mark Buerhle of the Chicago White Sox threw the major leagues’ first perfect game since 2004. Don’t miss [...]

If you’re like me, you groan every time you see what passes for the “best CD rates” these days.
But maybe things aren’t as bad as we think.
Why?
Because inflation isn’t eating up the profits.
Let’s say you’ve put your savings into a 12-month certificate of deposit that’s paying a very nice 5.0% APY. (And who wouldn’t like [...]

Frontline, the well-regarded PBS documentary series, has released this fascinating interview with investment advisor Michael Bienes.
His firm, Avellino & Bienes, promised clients returns of 15% to 18% a year, and made good on that pledge by investing their money in Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
When Madoff regularly “earned” 20% with their clients’ money, [...]

“60 Minutes” goes behind the scenes with a team of FDIC agents taking over a failed bank on a surprise raid.

This is pretty cool…