CHICAGO (Reuters)—A federal judge has denied the request of a group of shareholders to force pharmacy benefits manager Caremark Rx Inc. to consider an offer from Express Scripts Inc. The plaintiffs, the Iron Workers for Western Pennsylvania Pension Plan, sued Caremark in November after it accepted...
December, 2006
I’m starting to pay attention to mortgage loan advertisements now. Most of them include both a Rate and and APR. But what’s the difference?
The mortgage rate is the amount of actual interest charged. It’s usually a round number like 5.75% or 6.0%. So if you have a loan amount of $200,000 and a rate of 5%, you would be charged $10,000 of interest the first year. But the cost of a mortgage involves a lot more than just the rate. There are origination fees, loan discount points, private mortgage insurance, etc.
The mortgage APR, or annual percentage rate, includes both the interest and certain other loan fees. Although it was designed to make it easier to compare different mortgages offered by different lenders, it ...
Well, Friday was a interesting day. An accident on the freeway almost keeps us from making it to the airport on time, and then when we do get there we are almost bumped off our flight for $600.
Did you know that airlines regularly overbook their flights on purpose? It’s all a numbers game, and perfectly legal. They know that statistically a certain percentage of people will not show up on time. The result is that every so often, everyone will show up on time and they will have to to bump passengers onto later flights. By law, they must compensate you if they do this, and they also ask for volunteers before forcing anyone to be bumped. You usually get about $200-$400 credit or a ...
SBC is currently offering free access to the Entertainment Book online. If you don’t know, this is basically a big coupon book that people usually buy for $20-$40. I’m not a big Entertainment Book fan, as I rarely frequent the restaurants on their list. I also dislike how they advertise “Save 50% at Chili’s! and 2-for-1 at Baja Fresh!”, but it turns out to be good only at one specific location 20 miles away.
But hey, if it’s free why not take a look. I didn’t find anything special for my area, except maybe some slightly discounted movie tickets. Link via KR via SlickDeals.
Here are some of the posts that I’ve enjoyed reading through recently:
TiredButHappy is getting flack for her used car. Why must we judge? I secretly like the fact that our cars aren’t worth very much, if only to see if people care. Is that weird? I mean, the IRS doesn’t care whether you take bribes, deal drugs, or steal things, as long as you pay income taxes on it. From AllFinancialMatters.
And while you’re figuring out what to do with all those gift cards, why not consider one of these 25 gadgets that may actually save you money at the Simple Dollar? I want a DDR pad. How much does an old PS1 or PS2 go for these days? ...
Ernst & Young LLP’s Global Insurance Center foresees continued good performance for the life insurance industry in 2007.
At the same time, it expects continued tough competition for the dollars of a new generation of retiring consumers.
Life Industry To Do Well in '07: EY
Source: National Underwriter (subscription required)
Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. today announced an agreement to sell The 401(k) Company, Inc. to The Charles Schwab Corporation for $115 million in cash, subject to a post-closing adjustment. The 401(k) Company, based in Austin, Texas, provides defined contribution plan administrative and record-keeping services to employers in the large-case market. As of Sept. 30, 2006, The 401(k) Company administered assets totaling approximately $21.7 billion for 100 companies with 400,000 participants.
Nationwide Financial Reaches Agreement to Sell The 401(k) Company to Charles Schwab
Source: PR Newswire
This holiday season's massively hyped Sylvester Stallone movie, Rocky Balboa, finds the aging boxer -- and the actor who plays him -- beefing up their retirement accounts with one last return to the ring (wife Adrian, alas, isn't around to share the popular pugilist's golden years). Right now, many of the 77 million Americans nearing their golden years may be hoping for a similar yuletide miracle.
Retirement Income: Think Creatively
Source: Yahoo! Finance
Minnesota regulators fined MetLife Investors USA Insurance Co. $250,000 for violating Minnesota insurance laws.
And in a related matter, the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which regulates the insurance industry in the state, also fined William Gerga, a licensed Minnesota insurance agent in White Bear Lake, $10,000 for selling unapproved annuity contracts to 50 Minnesota residents.
Minnesota Fines MetLife Over Annuities
Source: TwinCities.com
Out of the 637 posts that I scribbled this year, here are the ones that represent the good, the bad, and the fun of our 2006 financial adventure:
The Good
First, I started it off right by making financial goals (which give you something to focus on all year) instead of resolutions (which you end up looking backwards at).
Marriage and money are tightly linked, and behind the scenes this blog has spawned many a discussion about frugality and priorities. This has helped us limit our excess spending by focusing our energies towards a common purpose.
Of course, once you’ve saved it you still have to avoid the tax man. We maxed out our Roth IRAs and opened up and funded a Self-Employed 401k account. I’m ...
