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POUND
The pound is trading flat against the Euro this morning having dropped yesterday on the back of weaker economic data and investors being more positive about the outlook for the euro zone. As I mentioned yesterday both manufacturing and industrial production data out earlier this weak knocked confidence in sterling and fuelled market expectation for the UK to slip back into a recession. Yesterday saw the BoE leave interest rates and quantitative easing on hold with a “no change” policy usually the case in the month of January, although expectations have been increased for the printing press to be started again in February to try and breathe more life into the bumbling economy. PPI input data out this morning was lower than expected showing a fall in the price of goods and raw materials purchased by manufacturers. The

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Our first reaction to the announcement that Suze Orman and MasterCard® had created a new credit card was definitely cynical. We thought “Here’s another example of a well-known personal finance expert, who supposedly is all about helping people get out of debt and increase their financial standings, taking advantage of devoted followers just to add to her own coffers.”

After investigating The Approved Card® by Suze Orman, we had to admit my initial reaction was wrong. The Approved Card is not a credit card at all, but is a prepaid card that works wherever debit MasterCard is accepted. That means people who enroll for The Approved Card cannot create more debt simply through its use as you can only spend the amount of money the card is loaded with.

There are several options on loading the approved card. First,

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Dear Dr. Don,
I hope you can help me out with making the right decision. My wife and I, along with our children’s grandparents, are looking to purchase savings bonds for the children instead of buying presents here and there. I am trying to find secure bonds and gain interest, and they can use them for college. Can you please direct me to the best option available for my children?

Dear Alex,
I’m not wild about savings bonds as a savings vehicle for college expenses. The yields on Series EE bonds are low unless you hold the bonds for 20 years. Series EE savings bonds are required to double in value in 20 years, which mandates a minimum yield of about 3.53 percent. Unfortunately, current purchases earn only 0.6 percent up until year 20, at the time of writing.

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We have reached the end of the first week in the New Year, and as usual, we have BankNerd’s Best of the Best. This is the first Best of the Best of the New Year.

I do not know about you guys, but the first week in the New Year has been an interesting one, but everything happens for a reason and I am sure it will only get better from here on out.

As usual, I have compiled the best articles once again from a few blogs I have read throughout the week. These articles are all great, and I thought they deserved to be highlighted.

1. We wrote about how Air Miles revamped their expiration policy. N

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Work for Aflac? If so, don’t overlook one of the perks of the job. Aflac Federal Credit Union is offering a 2.41% APY savings account for its members, and that’s no quack. The average national savings account rate for local banks is 0.21% while for online banks it is 0.80%. That gives you a sense of how competitive this rate is. The rate holds for deposits up to $100,000.01. The rate on deposits over this limit drops to 1.10% APY which is still highly competitive.

Like most credit unions, Aflac has a restricted field of membership. That means not everyone can join the credit union and open an account. To quality for membership, you must be an employee of Aflac, or the spouse of an empolyee. If you qualify, you can call them and request a membership packet.

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