Banking, Cash, and the Federal Reserve System
These banking resources will help you understand how your bank can help aid in your investment plans. Banking topics covered include the federal reserve system, prime rate, money market accounts / funds and certificates of deposit.
Many investors are not familiar with an investment bank and how it differs from the more traditional commercial bank. Put simply, an investment bank handles the equity and debt issuance, as well as proprietary trading with its own capital, rather than taking on deposits and lending out money for car loans, student loans, mortgages, and more.
The credit crisis can hurt even those who are already debt free and have substantial assets. This article explains the credit crisis and how your investments are influenced by what happens on Wall Street even if you are on main street.
Have you ever wondered what the Fed fund rate is and why the Fed fund rate should be important to you? This article on the Federal Reserve will help you find the answer.
Investing in bank stocks has specific risks such as determining the adequacy of loan loss reserves and multiples of bank stock price to book value.
An introduction to the Federal Reserve and the two interest rates - the funds rate and the discount rate - it uses to keep inflation in check with maximum employment.
Don't know whether to put your cash in a money market or certificate of deposit? Get answers in this Investing for Beginners article.
LIBOR, or the London Inter Bank Offered Rate, is the most famous barometer for short-term interest rates in the world. LIBOR is often used as a base for variable-rate loans.
Keep up on events affecting your money market. Recent rates, national averages, and articles.
A ten-page money market tutorial detailing everything from treasury bills to commercial paper. New investors will appreciate straight-forward explanations on how a money market differs from the stock market.
If you handle your own money market account, you'll want to read this article by Laura A. Bruce. Discover how to evaluate different money markets based on expense ratio and yield.
Have you ever wondered what the difference between money market accounts and money market funds are? Find out in this article by Don Taylor, Ph.D., and CFA.
Get answers to basic money market questions such as, "How do money market shares always maintain their price of $1 per share?"
The basics of all money market funds and accounts are explained in this excellent article. I highly recommend you take the time to read what it has to say before you make a decision about what to do with your short term cash.
Money market funds have a better safety track record than banks - in fact, no retail investor has ever lost money. This Yahoo Finance article will give you the basics on money markets.
