Personal Finance Advice and Commentary

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas released a report advocating the breakup of banks that are “too big to fail.”

Lost smartphones are a tempting target for thieves looking to access your financial accounts.

One veteran financial columnist suggests readers would be better off buying a high-mileage car than a CD.

Despite big headlines in today’s newspapers, bank customers shouldn’t get stressed out over bank stress tests.
If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, the Federal Reserve yesterday announced the results of a study to determine whether the country’s largest bank holding companies could survive a major recession if it happened today. Out of 19 institutions

A new study shows record low CD rates and a shaky job market have pushed a lot investors out of CDs …

The Fed keeps the federal funds rate low. Find out what it said about the state of the economy.

The Fed elects to leave the federal funds rate unchanged. Experts give their take on why.

Thanks to the rise of debit cards and electronic payments, a lot of economists and tech writers have begun to advocate for a world without cash.
But if one writer’s experience is any indication, it’s going to be awhile before that happens. Seth Stevenson, a writer for Slate, is trying an experiment: seeing if it’s possible

Wells Fargo plans to drop free checking in 6 more states, expanding the reach of a fee scheme the bank had been testing in western states that placed a $7 (or $5 with a month fee on the bank’s basic checking account; see update below). From Blake Ellis at CNNMoney:
The $7 monthly service fee will

It’s almost enough to make you feel sorry for the banks.
Consumer advocates and government officials often extol the value of transparency and easy-to-understand disclosures when it comes to financial services. Here’s CFPB Director Richard Cordray in a January interview with Candice Choi of The Associated Press:
On transparency and disclosure; a key insight here is that