Capital One (NYSE: COF) has purchased ING Direct USA. What will it mean to loyal ING savers? ING Direct customers will probably not see any change until early 2012. And even then, Capital One has the authority to use ING Branding for up to one year. Experts fear that with such a large number of ING customers moving over to Capital One, interest rates with decrease. The other concern comes from Capital One’s current online banking policy. Capital One only offers online banking to customers out of range of a Capital One Banking branch. Whether this policy will change has not been released.

By purchasing ING Direct USA, Capital One has become the 5th largest bank in the US (with respects to deposits). While we all wait for the entire purchase to go through, current ING Direct customers can expect heavy marketing from Capital One. Experts suggest that Capital One will be heavily marketing their credit cards and auto loan products.

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If there is one good thing about a recession is that it keeps prices down and inflation in check. But now that our economic forecast has changed, what is inflation going to do?

In terms of core inflation not much will change. Core inflation includes food and energy. Core inflation is predicted to increase about 2% to 3%. Unfortunately, a 3% increase on food and energy matter. However the big story
is the gas price. Gas prices are predicted to rise by 8%. This inflation prediction means we all will be paying an average of $3.00 dollars per gallon. Natural gas is predicted to rise by 1%. And heating oil is predicted to rise by
9%.

Other economic forecasting stats include college tuition. A 4 year public college tuition is predicted to rise by 8%. And let’s not forget about health insurance. Health insurance is predicted to rise by 9%.

Inflation Forecast

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Saving money on your electricity bill is a good thing!

Saving money on anything these days is a blessing, and saving $400 dollars or more is wonderful. Experts say, by doing a few tips you could be saving on your electricity bill. Do you know how much money your heating and cooling needs add to your electricity bill? Do you know how much money it takes to keep your water
hot? Do you know how you’re spending on lighting your house? Electricity experts say, too much. On average, 46% of your electricity bill goes towards heating and cooling, 14% goes towards heating water, and 12% goes towards lighting your home. Let’s see how frugal electricity tips can save you money and aren’t too hard to
achieve.

Electricity Bill Savings

• Save money on your electricity bill by installing a programmable thermostat and by changing your HVAC filters. This electricity savings tip could save you up to $180 a year.
• Save money on your electricity bill by turning down your hot water tanks. The recommended temperature setting is 140 degrees. This electricity savings tip could save you up to $60 a year.
• Save money on your electricity bill by using compact fluorescent light bulbs, and by turning off lights when not in use. This electricity savings tip could save you up to $70 a year.
• Save money on your electricity bill by using a power strip for appliances that display the time. This electricity savings tip could save you up to $120 a year.

If you haven’t done the math, you could be saving up to $430 dollars a year. None of the electricity bill saving tips are too hard to achieve. Why not save $430 dollars.  Tell me how you save money on your electricity bill. You are also welcome to share how you saving money in other areas of your life as well.

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Debt consolidation has been a key phrase after living through a recession. Now that the recession is over consolidating your debt may be a financial move in the first direction. So what does “Debt Consolidation” really mean? In a nutshell, debt consolidation is nothing more that putting all your debt in one basket. One debt basket is easier to manage. The only really trick to debt consolidation is finding the lowest interest rate.

Lenders that risks more often have higher interest rates. That’s not hard to believe and that does make since in the world of finance. To find the lowest interest rate you have to work with a lender that believes you will repay. Many times, the only way to guarantee you will make a full repayment is to use an asset as collateral.

Credit cards are often used to consolidate debt. However, credit cards may not be the better resource. Credit cards often have lower rates in the beginning but end up at a higher interest rate before your repayment schedule is completed. If an existing credit card with a low interest rate is available, then maybe this is a resource that can be used. However a better resource may be a home equity loan.

Using a home equity loan is a better resource for debt consolidation because an asset is used as collateral. If you haven’t figured it out yet, your house is the collateral. Because the house is used as collateral you can expect a lower interest rate. A lower interest rate is not the only benefit of a home equity loan. In the US, mortgage interest is tax deductible.

When you decide to consolidated your debt, just keep in mind that your are trying to pay off your debt and not create other obligations. Therefore, whether you use a credit card, home equity loan, or borrow from friends and family to consolidate your debt remember a repayment plan is a must.

To download a usable copy of this article go to Debt Consolidation Principles

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In an effort to promote small businesses to began hiring again, President Obama is proposing new tax credits. Read the small business tax credits details below.

The United States is still reeling from a recession. One in ten Americans can’t find work. The fact is — Americans are standing in a very different place than we were just a year ago.

Last year, businesses were cutting 700 thousand jobs every month. The markets were plummeting, and many people feared another Great Depression.

However, today the White House has stopped the flood of job losses, they have stabilized the financial system, and American has avoided another Great Depression.

While the Recovery Act has created and/or saved 2 million jobs, this recession has cost the American people 7 million jobs. That’s why the Jobs Bill is so important. This Jobs Bill will help small businesses. President Obama is proposing what he believes is the best way to cut taxes while promoting hiring by small businesses; through a tax credit. For companies that add workers or increase salaries this year a tax credit maybe in store.

Now is the perfect time for this kind of incentive because the economy is growing, but businesses are still hesitant to start hiring again. Companies are recovering but not yet taking that next step and taking on additional full time workers.

Tax Credit Details

Here’s how the tax credit will work.

• Employers will get a tax credit of up to $5000 for each and every employee that they add in 2010
• Employers will get a tax break for increasing salaries in 2010 for employees making under $100,000

This new tax credit can cut taxes for over 1 million small businesses. It will give them an incentive to hire more people and a little extra money to pay higher wages or to expand work hours.

In order to get this incentive working quickly, employers would actually be able to receive this money every quarter, as opposed to waiting a whole year to see it benefit their taxes.

Promoting Small Business Via a Tax Credit

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Over the past two years more than 7 million Americans have lost their jobs. Countless businesses have been forced to shut their doors. Few families have escaped the pain of this terrible recession. And rarely does a day go by that the President doesn’t hear from folks who are hurt. That’s why the White House has pushed so hard to rebuild this economy. But even as the White House works tirelessly to dig our way out of this hole, it’s important that we address what led us into such a deep mess in the first place.

Much of the turmoil of this recession was caused by the irresponsibility of banks and financial institutions on Wall Street. These financial firms took huge, reckless risks in pursuit of short-term profits and soaring bonuses. They gambled with borrowed money, without enough oversight or regard for the consequences. And when they lost, they lost big.

Little more than a year ago, many of the largest and oldest financial firms in the world teetered on the brink of collapse, overwhelmed by the consequences of their irresponsible decisions. This financial crisis nearly pulled the entire economy into a second Great Depression.

As a result, the American people — struggling in their own right — were placed in a deeply unfair an unsatisfying position. Even though these financial firms were largely facing a crisis of their own making, their failure could have led to an even greater calamity for the country as a whole. And that’s why the previous administration started a program — The Troubled Asses Relief Program, or TARP — to provide these financial institutions with funds to survive the turmoil that they had helped unleash. It was a distasteful but necessary thing to do.

Many originally feared that most of the $700 billion in TARP money would be lost forever. But when President Obama’s administration came into office, they put into place rigorous rules for accountability and transparency, which cut the costs of the bailout dramatically. The White House has now recovered most of the money they provided to the banks through TARP. That is good news, but as far as the President is concerned, it is not good enough.

President Obama wants the taxpayers money back — all of it — and the White House is going to collect every dime. That is why, this week, President Obama proposed a new fee on major financial firms to compensate the American people for the extraordinary assistance they provided to the financial industry. And the fee would be in place until the American taxpayer is made whole. Only the largest financial firms with more than $50 billion in assets will be affected, not community banks. And the bigger the firm — and the more debt it holds — the larger the fee. Because the White House is not only going  to recover the American taxpayers money but also help close the deficits; the White House is going to attack some of the banking practices that led to the crisis.

The fact is, financial firms play an essential role in our economy. They provide capital and credit to families purchasing homes, students attending college, businesses looking to start-up or expand. These are all critical to America’s recovery. That is why the White House’s goal with this new Financial Reform Fee, and with the common sense financial reforms is to seek not punishment but to prevent the abuse and excess that nearly led to its collapse. The White House’s goal is to promote fair dealings while punishing those who game the system; to encourage sustained growth while discouraging the speculative bubbles that inevitably burst.

Ultimately, that is in the shared interest of the financial industry and the American people. And of course, President Obama would like the banks to embrace this sense of mutual responsibility. However, banks have ferociously fought the financial reform efforts. The industry have even joined forces with the opposition party to launch a massive lobbying campaign against common sense rules to protect consumers and prevent another crisis. Now, like clockwork, the banks and the politicians who curry their favor are already trying to stop this financial reform fee from going into effect.

The very same firms reaping billions of dollars in profits, and reportedly handing out more money in bonuses and compensation than ever before in history, are now pleading poverty. Those who oppose this financial reform fee say the banks can’t afford to pay back the American people without passing on the costs to their shareholders and customers. But that’s hard to believe when there are reports that Wall Street is going to hand out more money in bonuses and compensation just this year than the cost of this financial reform fee over the next 10 years.

If the big financial firms can afford massive bonuses, they can afford to pay back the American people. those who oppose this financial reform fee have also had the audacity to suggest that it is somehow unfair. That because these firms have already returned what they borrowed directly, their obligation is fulfilled. But this willfully ignores that fact that the entire industry benefited not only from the bailout, but from the assistance extended to AIG and to homeowners, and from the many unprecedented emergency actions taken by the FDIC, and others to prevent a financial collapse. And it ignores a far greater unfairness: sticking the American taxpayers with the bill.

Getting Our Money Back From Wall Street Through A New Reform Act — finanical reform fee

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Earlier this year President Obama announced $5 billion would go to medical research projects. These projects are creating jobs, and it’s all proof that the Recovery Act is working.

When the Recovery Act was announced, and we learned that NIH (National Institutes of Health) was going to receive over two years — $10 billion to spend on advanced medical research, the NIH started very quickly putting into place new programs for investigators to send in their most innovative ideas. The NIH guessed that — 50 thousand jobs would be created out of this circumstance.

On top of that, all of the money that goes into NIH multiplies itself, because thoseinvestigators need supplies and equipment which come from many business right here in the United States. Therefore, within one year, $1 of NIH funding is actually creating more than $2 worth of economic goods and services for the overall economy.

Johns Hopkins health system actually hired about 55 thousand from the state of Maryland, and the school of medicine actually has 13 thousand employees. Since the increase, Johns Hopkins has hosted several job fair to brace for the new influx of talent (meaning new careers are being created). Because of the investment — the Recovery Act, Johns Hopkins has been able to apply new knowledge, employees, and innovations to their research.

Creating Jobs With Recovery Act Funds

We are at a unique moment in terms of scientific job opportunities. A number of things have happened in the last three or four years to make advances in cancer, heart disease, diabetes, mental illness, and other long term illnesses. The Recovery Act provided opportunities at just the right moment.

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The housing market is tough these days. How do you sell a home in today’s market? How do you buy a home in today’s market? There are some new selling and new buying rules in this type of market.

Selling and Buying Alternatives

Depending on what part of the country you live in selling your house can take more than months — it could take years. On the flip side of that coin are buyers that are unable to buy your home outright. What to do?

If it’s time for you to move, because of a new job or some other reason you can apply the new selling and new buying rules to get into a home.

If you can’t sell your home and you can’t buy a home there are 3 selling – buying alternatives to consider.

1. Selling Buying Alternative – Lease Purchase
2. Selling Buying Alternative – Rental (Long Term)
3. Selling Buying Alternative – Rental (Short Term)

Selling Buying Alternative Lease Purchase

A lease purchase is essentially a rental, although you agree to a price to sell at a future date. Rent is normally higher than usually because part of that rent goes toward the down payment of the home.

Selling Buying Alternative Rental (Long Term)

By turning your home into a rental the seller receives money and a tax write-off, and the potential buyer can wait for the market to turn around.

Selling Buying Alternative Rental (Short Term)

If your home is near a resort area or college short term rental may be a better option. Short term rentals rents are usually higher than normal rental homes and require more maintenance.

When You Can’t Sell or Buy a Home

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Citigroup stock price was rated — underperforming. However, analysts at Bank of Americe raised Citigroup stocks from underperform to buy. Experts are seeing the credit markets become more stable therefore some underperform stocks are getting a pick me up. Citigroup stocks rose $0.13 cents — $4.06 per share to $4.19 per share.

Citigroup is traded on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange). It’s stock symbol is “C”.

Citigroup Stock Price – Historical Overview

Citigroup Historical Prices

Date / Open / High / Low / Close / Volume

• Aug 13, 2009 4.09 4.14 3.98 4.06 755,542,303
• Aug 12, 2009 3.77 3.99 3.73 3.98 988,830,015
• Aug 10, 2009 4.00 4.11 3.91 3.94 955,160,971
• Aug 7, 2009 3.98 4.24 3.83 3.85 1,901,421,558
• Aug 6, 2009 3.81 3.81 3.59 3.80 1,287,779,568
• Aug 5, 2009 3.32 3.61 3.29 3.58 2,674,463,289
• Aug 4, 2009 3.14 3.25 3.11 3.25 835,740,769
• Aug 3, 2009 3.29 3.30 3.14 3.18 642,485,598
• Jul 31, 2009 3.06 3.18 2.99 3.17 1,107,978,233
• Jul 30, 2009 3.30 3.37 3.02 3.14 1,039,502,644
• Jul 29, 2009 3.00 3.22 2.95 3.22 1,076,459,274
• Jul 28, 2009 2.70 3.05 2.67 2.97 1,037,468,065
• Jul 27, 2009 2.72 2.86 2.56 2.69 619,766,687
• Jul 24, 2009 2.80 2.81 2.67 2.73 178,142,161
• Jul 23, 2009 2.82 2.88 2.76 2.77 220,060,125
• Jul 22, 2009 2.67 2.84 2.62 2.80 284,121,925
• Jul 21, 2009 2.80 2.82 2.63 2.65 365,079,564
• Jul 20, 2009 3.02 3.04 2.74 2.79 392,466,504
• Jul 17, 2009 3.18 3.20 2.97 3.02 447,586,400
• Jul 16, 2009 3.17 3.20 3.01 3.03 333,233,356
• Jul 15, 2009 3.02 3.21 2.98 3.17 388,008,915
• Jul 14, 2009 2.90 2.93 2.83 2.92 219,272,136
• Jul 13, 2009 2.66 2.78 2.61 2.78 223,198,043

Citigroup Stock Dividend History

Citigroup Ex Data / Record Data / Pay-Date / Amount

• 29-Jan-09 02-Feb-09 27-Feb-09 $0.0100
• 30-Oct-08 03-Nov-08 26-Nov-08 $0.1600
• 31-Jul-08 04-Aug-08 22-Aug-08 $0.3200
• 1-May-08 05-May-08 23-May-08 $0.3200
• 31-Jan-08 4-Feb-08 22-Feb-08 $0.3200

Citigroup Stock Split History

Citigroup Distribution Date/Citigroup Split Amount

• 25 Aug 2000 4 for 3
• 28 May 1999 3 for 2
• 19 Nov 1997 3 for 2
• 22 Nov 1996 4 for 3
• 24 May 1996 3 for 2
• 27 Aug 1993 4 for 3
• 26 Feb 1993 3 for 2

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Last year Wells Fargo took over Wachovia. Typical with a merger, takeover, or acquisition one of the parties losses employees and/or branches (locations). The Wells Fargo / Wachovia merging is no different. There are 14 Wachovia branches in the Colorado area due to close. The official renaming of Wachovia Bank to Wells Fargo will begin in November 2009. Will there be more Wachovia closures? Some reports suggest, Wachovia branches close to existing Wells Fargo branches may be on the closure list.

There are six states where Wachovia and Wells Fargo have overlapping branches: Colorado, California, Arizona, Illinois, Nevada, and Texas. However, on the other side of the coin Wells Fargo did not have branches in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington D.C. That’s 15 states.

Wells Fargo is traded on the NYSE. Its stock symbol is WFC. Wachovia’s stock symbol WB was retired on December 31, 2008.

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