News on Bankrate Inc.

Money fund assets fell to $3.339T in latest week

2010-02-24T09:20:29Z

<div id="subtitle">Money fund assets fell by $31.26 billion to $3.339 trillion in latest week</div><div><p>Total money market mutual fund assets fell by $31.26 billion to $3.339 trillion for the week, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.</p><p>Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds rose by $703 mill...

ATM fees climbing for non-customers, study finds

2010-02-25T00:25:36Z

<div id="subtitle">Bankrate: ATM fees for non-customers rose 12.6 percent this year to $2.22</div><div><p>Can't find an ATM from your bank nearby? Keep walking, unless you want to pay higher fees.</p><p>An annual survey released Wednesday by Bankrate.com found the average ATM fee for non-customers rose 12.6 percent this year to $2.22.</p>&...

Bank Fees Hit Record Highs in 2009

2010-02-25T00:35:06Z

<div id="subtitle">Study finds average costs of ATMs, checking accounts nationwide</div><div><p>A new study released by Bankrate, Inc. shows that the costs of checking account fees have risen again this year to an all-time high. Bankrate's 2009 Checking Study details the average fees associated with using and maintaining an interest bearing account, including bounced check fees, ATM ...

Money fund assets fell to $3.543T in latest week

2010-02-25T09:09:39Z

<div id="subtitle">Money fund assets fell by $15.3 billion to $3.543 trillion in latest week</div><div><p>Total money market mutual fund assets fell by $15.3 billion to $3.543 trillion for the week, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.</p><p>Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds fell $1.59 billion ...

Money fund assets fell to $3.559T in latest week

2010-02-25T12:05:04Z

<div id="subtitle">Money fund assets fell by $21.35 billion to $3.559 trillion in latest week</div><div><p>Total money market mutual fund assets fell by $21.35 billion to $3.559 trillion for the week, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.</p><p>Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds fell $4.97 billio...

Apax Partners completes Bankrate tender offer

2010-02-25T16:05:14Z

<div id="subtitle">Apax Partners completes tender offer for consumer finance Web site operator Bankrate</div><div><p>Private equity firm Apax Partners said Tuesday that it completed a tender offer for the common shares of Bankrate Inc. as part of its plan to acquire the consumer finance Web site ope...

Bankrate 2Q profit cut in half

2010-02-26T02:35:43Z

<div id="subtitle">Bankrate 2nd-quarter profit cut in half as advertising revenue shrinks</div><div><p>Bankrate Inc. on Thursday reported its second-quarter profit was cut in half as the recession eroded advertising revenue at the consumer finance Web site operator.</p><p>The results were in line with Bankrate's preliminary announcement of second-quarter r...

Apax Partners begins tender offer for Bankrate

2010-02-26T03:36:20Z

<div id="subtitle">Apax Partners begins tender offer to acquire outstanding shares of Bankrate</div><div><p>Private equity firm Apax Partners launched a cash tender offer at $28.50 a share Tuesday to acquire all outstanding shares of consumer finance Web site operator Bankrate Inc.</p>...

Bankrate to be taken private in deal with Apax

2010-02-26T06:03:41Z

<div id="subtitle">Bankrate announces acquisition by Apax, will be taken private; expects 2Q profit to be halved</div><div><p>Bankrate Inc. said Wednesday it had agreed to be acquired by New York-based private equity firm Apax Partners in a $571 millio...

Credit card interest rates waver in past week

2010-02-26T21:04:07Z

<div id="subtitle">Credit card interest rates change but don't set pattern: average rate rises slightly</div><div><p>Credit card interest rates wavered in the past week, with the lowest rates holding steady while some higher rates dipped.</p><p>Overall, the average annual percentage rate charged on variable rate credit cards edged up to 10.88 percent from 10.85 percent last week, according to U.S. money market accounts earning an average of 0.33%. Such puny rates are encouraging some intrepid souls, reassured by the FDIC's deposit insurance of up to $250,000 per account, to v...

Top 10 Myths Tourists Uncover When House Scouting on Vacation

2009-03-09T08:56:29Z

<p>Top 10 Myths Tourists Uncover When House Scouting on Vacation</p><p>By Greg E Watson</p><p></p><p>You've planned that perfect vacation, you've chosen where to stay and you like it so much that you are staying for good! That's what tourists believe when they go house hunting for a vacation home. Most tourists first think of hotels, though vacation rental homes have gained in popularity as a place to stay. Whether you're looking for a beach side rent...

Best places to stuff your cash right now

2010-03-02T14:12:41Z

<div id="subtitle">Best places to stuff your cash right now; shop around and cover your bases first</div><div><p>Americans who are feeling frugal and able to squirrel away regular savings should think as hard about where to stash it as many did about stocks when the market was hot.</p><p>While the risks of losing a big chunk of its value aren't as great as with equities, savings choices include a broad array of o...

A look at main options for emergency funds

2009-03-24T22:21:57Z

<div id="subtitle">A look at main options for emergency funds</div><div><p>A look at features of the most popular savings vehicles for emergency funds:</p><p>SAVINGS ACCOUNTS</p><p>An important part of an emergency fund is that the cash is easily accessible. Savings accounts provide such liquidity and are guaranteed for up to $250,000 by the Federa...

Rainy-day funds draw interest in stormy economy

2010-03-02T21:39:14Z

<div><p>Having a cash stash by any name — emergency fund, contingency fund, rainy-day fund — may be back in vogue after decades of declining savings.</p><p>The continuing challenge: How to manage this set-aside money effectively.</p><p>Americans saved more than 10 percent of their income as recently as 1985, as measured by the personal savings rate of the federal Federal Reserve shows that consumers either decided to cut spendin...

Interest rates for popular credit card types fall

2010-02-28T21:43:29Z

<div id="subtitle">Average interest charged on 3 popular types of credit cards continued fall in the past week</div><div><p>The average annual interest rates charged on popular types of credit cards fell again last week, according to Bankrate.com.</p><p>For low-interest cards, which have rates below the national average but are often offered only to custom...

Consumers Resolve To Kick Credit Card Habit

2010-02-28T22:37:23Z

<div id="subtitle">Tightening of limits spurs borrowers to turn their backs</div><div><p>Credit card companies appear to be tightening up policies and reducing the amount of credit to some consumers, and consumers apparently think that's just fine.</p><p>A new poll by Bankrate, Inc. found that 40 percent of consumers say they would not be upset if their cr...

AGES 35 TO 55: TURNING CONSERVATIVE

2010-02-28T23:25:29Z

<div><h1> AGES 35 TO 55: TURNING CONSERVATIVE </h1><p>You're in transition: saving for retirement and college costs but beginning to shift to preserving assets.</p><p> In the recession, be sure to have a cash cushion--in money-market funds or short-term certificates of deposit--to cover at least one year of living expenses. To boost cash, consider trimming your contributions to retirement accounts. If you ar...

Cut Your Closing Costs

2010-03-02T10:48:14Z

<div><p>Hordes of homeowners are walking away from mortgages they can no longer afford, making it clear that plenty of people closed on loans they didn't understand. It's bad enough that lenders' laundry lists of fees make comparison-shopping a challenge. Insult is added to injury amid the blizzard of paperwork at settlement, when borrowers often find that they must fork over hundreds or even thousands of dollars more than originally estimated. And they may wake up la...