I was reading an article about the plunge in interest rates on junk bonds and wondered, are bond rates low, and if so, why? I looked at AAA-rated Corporate Bonds (the highest-quality) and BAA-rated Corporate Bonds (medium-grade) as rated by Moody’s Investors Service, as that data was most readily available,
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Received my invite for Simple
It’s been over two years since I signed up, but I finally received my invite for Simple (formerly BankSimple). Two years ago, I was fresh out of banking and excited by the prospect of an online-only competitor that would simplify the mess that banking has turned into. The idea is
Continue readingHow low can 30-year fixed mortgage interest rates go?
When I bought my house last year, I thought I was getting a screaming deal @ 4.875% for a 30-year fixed mortgage. Then rates kept dropping. I re-financed @ 4.0% in Febrary, again thinking I had beaten the market. Now rates are at 3.75% (data from mortgagerefinancerates.org). I wondered, how
Continue readingWas Zynga’s IPO really a “flop?”
Zynga’s IPO hit the market on December 16th, 2011, and the stock price sank from the $10 IPO price to $9.50 at the closing bell. Was the stock a “flop,” as so many commentators stated? In my opinion, not at all! Zynga was the real winner in this. Zynga raised
Continue readingTop posts of 2011
Pacific Northwest-Coast Bias had a great year. But what articles did readers enjoy the most? 5. Â Redmond is the most expensive Washington city to live in – Were you like me and thought Bellevue was the most expensive city in Washington? 4. US Debt-to-GDP Ratio– Deservedly, the US got downgraded
Continue readingLufthansa sells used aircraft seats!
From the Lufthansa in-flight magazine.
Continue readingeTrade spends $1.76 / year to tell me I have $0.07 invested with them
When I rolled over my 401k two years ago, eTrade would not let me transfer the cents, thus I was stuck with $0.07 in my account I tried to cancel my account, but they would not let me, stating there was still value in the account ($0.07). Every quarter they
Continue readingDoes Seattle really have more coffee shops than other cities
Seattleites sure do love their caffeinated beverages. But I wondered, does Seattle really have more coffee shops than other cities? To test this question, I used online maps to determine how many coffee shops were located downtown (1k feet per inch resolution). Seattle is the 23rd largest city in America according to
Continue readingFree Pre-Paid Cremation
No, I’m not interested in a Free Pre-Paid Cremation. This company needs to work on their segmentation algorithm. They just wasted about $0.50 on the stamp/envelope/paper/printing.
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