In today’s rate environment, finding anything approaching a 5% interest rate on a deposit account is unthinkable. Even 60-month CDs are averaging around 1.6%, offering little reward for savers willing to tie up their money for the next five years.

Still, there are plenty of diamonds in the rough, if you know where to look. Using data gathered by our partners at RateWatch, we’ve identified five banks offering accounts with interest rates north of 5%. And most surprising of all, they’re all checking accounts.

These days you may very well be paying your bank a fee just for the privilege of maintaining a checking account, and even if you meet the requirements for free checking, their rock-bottom interest rates mean that you’re essentially losing money due to inflation. In recent years, however, a number of banks have begun offering online checking accounts that are not only free, but offer fantastic interest rates.

Of course, nothing is free, and many of these accounts require that you maintain a minimum balance, make a certain number of debit card transactions per month, and use direct deposit. Still, you may already be jumping through just as many hoops to get free checking from your current bank. Why not switch to a bank that actually rewards you?

Here are the top five interest rates offered by online checking accounts, according to RateWatch.

Gateway Metro Federal Credit Union (St. Louis)
Account: E*Hanced Checking
Rate: 6.02% APY on amounts up to $1,500
Conditions: According to the bank’s website, membership is limited to those who live or conduct business in the St. Louis area. If you qualify for membership, you’ll also have to sign up for their “e-package,” which includes direct deposit, “cyber statements” and signing in at least once a month to their virtual branch. You’ll also need to make 15 non-PIN transactions with your GMCU Visa debit card per month.

Alliance Credit Union (St. Louis)
Account: Premier Checking
Rate: 6% APY on balances up to $500
Condition: According to the Alliance website, membership in the credit union is limited to those living in certain counties in Missouri and Illinois, listed here (as with most credit unions, having family members in these areas also qualifies you for membership). As for the account itself, the only requirements are a $500 minimum balance and using direct deposit. All balances more than $500 earn .5% APY.

Bank Mutual (Wisconsin)
Account: Premium Interest Checking
Rate: 6% on balances up to $1,000
Conditions: As this is a bank, and not a credit union, residency is not a requirement for joining – though you’ll have to go to a branch to open an account. You have to use your MasterCard debit card 15 times a month to avoid monthly fees, and the rate drops to .02% for balances beyond $1,000. ATM fees apply if you make five or more ATM transactions in a given month.

Liberty Bank (Florida, Illinois and Iowa)
Account: eChecking
Rate: 5% APY on balances up to $500
Conditions: This account is available to everyone, and you can apply online or in a branch. To get this rate, you must complete 15 MasterCard debit card transactions per payment cycle and also receive e-statements. Amounts between $2,500 and $10,000 earn 3% APY. Meanwhile, amounts between $10,000 and $25,000 earn 2%, and anything beyond $25,000 earns 0.2%.

NavyArmy Federal Credit Union (Texas)
Account: Liberty Checking
Rate: 4.51% APY on balances up to $25,000
Conditions: To join this credit union you must reside in one of the Texas counties listed here. The rate drops to 1.01% APY for balances above $25,000. To maintain the interest rate, customers must make 10 check card transactions a month, receive monthly e-statements and set up one monthly direct deposit or automatic payment from the account.

—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.

John Taft, CEO of RBC US Wealth Management and chairman of SIFMA, sees more certainty about regulation, which could help free up capital.

Shelby, North Carolina is an unlikely place for the last stand of the foreclosure resistance movement, but that just might be where it happens.

Hundreds of lawyers have descended on the small town to learn the most effective ways of taking on big banks on behalf of small homeowners. And they’re winning more and more cases.

Who’s behind the movement? A new American folk hero, judging by how his supporters tell the story.

Homeowners are hurting, despite the fact that foreclosures dropped a bit in October (though they numbered more than 300,000) and major lenders like Bank of America (Stock Quote: BAC) and JP Morgan (Stock Quote: JPM) temporarily halted their foreclosures in response to the robo-signing scandal.

“October marks the 20th consecutive month where over 300,000 U.S. homeowners received a foreclosure notice,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer at RealtyTrac. “The numbers probably would have been higher except for the fallout from the recent 'robo-signing' controversy, which is the most likely reason for the 9% monthly drop in REOs we saw from September to October, and which may result in further decreases in November."

But after big banks fix their documentation problems, expect foreclosures to ramp up again by the end of the year.

When they do, O. Max Gardner will be waiting for them. Gardner has his gun sights set on big mortgage lenders, and he’s so serious about the foreclosure mess that he has trained over 500 lawyers on his blueprint for taking on big banks time and time again.
The 65-year-old attorney has spent the last four years building an army of foreclosure experts to battle big banks over their foreclosure practices. It’s a holy mission on behalf of average Americans who normally might not stand a chance against behemoths like Bank of America or JP Morgan Chase.

"My clients are desperate. They have insurmountable financial problems, and I'm able to give them a remedy and an answer and an assurance it's going to be all right. That's pretty rewarding stuff," said Gardner in an Oct. 28 interview with Reuters.

From his rural North Carolina mansion, or “bed and breakfast,” as Gardner calls it, he charges $7,775 per person for a five day seminar on how to beat mortgage lenders at their own game. About 12 attorneys at a time attend the sessions, Reuters reports.

While there, attorneys learn the inside tricks of the consumer bankruptcy trade, including how to present evidence at a foreclosure hearing, how to demand that lenders produce all of the right paperwork (or else), and figuring out the intricacies of foreclosure fees.

After they leave the boot camp, lawyers remain on Gardner’s e-mail list and gain access to his voluminous foreclosure database. Most go on to represent homeowners in court against big mortgage lenders.

Now, with the robo-signing scandal bringing case after case before foreclosure judges, a wave of legal specialists are descending on courtrooms all over America. They’re pushing back, suing lenders, and generally making life miserable for banks and other mortgage companies. Or their legal departments, at least.

Historically, delinquent homeowners haven’t had much leverage against giant banks. But thanks to a 65-year-old “Robin Hood” down in Shelby, those days may well be over.

—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.

Looking for a job? Here's a cool opportunity that just might be a great new start for the right person.

The position: RN case manager for Aetna (Stock Quote: AET)

Location: Virtual

Job duties: Uses a collaborative process of assessment, planning, facilitation and advocacy to meet an individual's benefit plan or health needs through communication and available resources. Conducts a comprehensive assessment of the member's health status, establishes immediate and long-term goals and helps develop a plan of focused interventions and actions. Collaborates with internal and external health care professionals.

The company: Aetna is one of the country's largest providers of health care, life and disability insurance, as well as employee benefits.

Requirements: Requires a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience. Must have RN license, with case manager certification preferred. Must have experience with case management, discharge planning, medical/surgical care and/or home health care ambulatory nursing. Background should include benefits management or maximizing quality of care. Must be able to manage multiple priorities and work collaboratively within a team environment that is geographically dispersed. Must have excellent communication skills, computer literacy and typing skills.

Extra perks: You can work from home anywhere in the country. The company also offers tuition assistance, employee wellness programs and healthy lifestyles incentives programs.

Interesting info: The salary range for this position is $57,330 to $69,500.

Other opportunities: They also have telecommuting opportunities for health coach consultants, customer service representatives, sales executives and marketing professionals.

Apply online here

NEW YORK (AP)

Barnes & Noble and other retailers have been quick to expand toy offerings this year. That's because toys have proven to be relatively strong sellers despite the uncertain economy.

Barnes & Noble Inc. said Thursday it is experimenting with 3,000-square-foot toy boutiques in five test stores in the Northeast.

The areas will offer toys like Legos, LeapFrog educational toys, Crayola andAmerican Girl crafts.

The bookseller, based in New York, also said it has expanded smaller toy departments in stores nationwide.

In the toy boutiques Barnes & Noble is testing, there will be a station to let kids play with Barnes & Noble's new Nook color electronic book reader and its children's books.

Barnes & Noble isn't the only store expanding is toy selection. Borders Group Inc., the nation's second largest bookseller, said in September that it's expanding its assortment of educational toys and games and will start to sell Build-A-Bear craft kits.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest retailer, is increasing the amount of space it devotes to toys by about 15 percent
starting this month. In December, Walmart said it will nearly double the amount of space it has dedicated to toys compared with last year and offer about 4,000 toys.

Meanwhile, Toys R Us, the largest independent toy retailer, is opening 600 temporary stores in malls and shopping centers to sell toys during the holidays.

— Retail Writer Mae Anderson

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.

The housing market is still struggling to stabilize.

Sales of existing homes in the third quarter of this year declined by an ominous 25.2% from the previous quarter, largely due to the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit, according to a recent survey from the National Association of Realtors.

Between July and September of this year, there were a total of 4.16 million existing homes sold, according to the association’s survey of 155 metropolitan areas throughout the country. By comparison, there were 5.57 million homes sold between April and June, which coincides with the homebuyer tax credit that wound down during that quarter.

Much of the decline occurred in first month of last quarter, as the number of existing home sales in July declined to the lowest amount in 15 years. In the two months after that, home sales did begin to improve slightly, though not nearly enough to maintain the momentum provided by the tax credit.

However, while fewer Americans may have been able to sell their homes last quarter, the report did find that single-family home prices increased in half of the cities surveyed, though the median sale price nationwide remained largely unchanged at $177,900.

—For a comprehensive credit report, visit the BankingMyWay.com Credit Center.

If you’re looking to invest in real estate, you might want to shop around in a college town.  

According to Coldwell Banker, towns that neighbor universities and colleges continue to be a hot spot for real estate investing, regardless of the economic downturn.

A new survey conducted by the real estate company found that 73% of realtors see a significant number of investors buying homes near campus and renting them to people in the community. Additionally, 64% see a significant number of “parent investors” buying homes for their kids to live in while attending the university.

“Our survey suggests two types of investors see value in college towns,” Jim Gillespie, Coldwell Banker’s chief executive officer said.  More long-term investors are being drawn to college towns because they provide a steady stream of renters.

Parent investors, on the other hand, buy homes for their child to live in while attending college in lieu of paying for them to live in a college dormitory. Parents let their child live there for free while roommates provide rental income for the mortgage.  

However, the motivation to invest in real estate near universities isn’t only financial.

“Towns that are home to major universities have a special vibe you just don’t find anywhere else,” Gillespie said. “College towns offer rich culture, and most have steady economic bases oftentimes highlighted by outstanding medical and research facilities.”

As such, the survey found that those buying real estate weren’t just long-term and parent investors. Of the survey respondents, 51% said they see a lot of alumni homebuyers, and 49% see a significant number of retirees moving to their college town as well.
Coldwell Banker Real Estate conducted an online survey of 425 real estate professionals who represent markets home to major college or universities. Next, to determine the most affordable college towns, Coldwell Banker Real Estate aggregated data from the listings in its database that were home to 120 Football Bowl Subdivision schools between April and Sept. 2010. Markets included in the report were required to have at least six properties fitting the above criteria within the relevant timeframe.

According the company, the most affordable college towns are as follows:

• Muncie, Ind. | Ball State University: $105,115
• Buffalo, N.Y. | University of Buffalo and The State University of New York: $117,223
• Memphis, Tenn. | University of Memphis: $135,090
• Columbia, S.C. | University of South Carolina: $137,707
• Akron, Ohio| University of Akron: $139,711
• Ypsilanti, Mich. | Eastern Michigan University: $141,629
• Athens, Ohio| Ohio University: $141,964
• Kent, Ohio| Kent State University: $153,662
• Toledo, Ohio| University of Toledo: $155,286
• Ruston, La. | Louisiana Tech University: $157,110

As a sidenote, parents with children looking to attend Stanford University should probably stick to on-campus housing. The University’s hometown of Palo Alto, Calif., ranked as the most expensive market with listings averaging $1,385,652.

Check here for a complete list of the rankings.

Don’t want to live in a college town? Check out what housing markets are the most/least affordable in general in this MainStreet article!

—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.

Q: "My spouse and I want to take advantage of low interest rates and refinance our home. We were turned down by one lender because our credit rating is only in the mid-600s. But we heard the government can help out with home loans for people with not-so-great credit. Is that true?" – C.J.M., Sacramento, Calif.

A: You’re probably referring to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and its low-cost home loan programs.

While most banks have pulled back their home loan activity, FHA home loans are relatively booming. According to the FHA, such loans tripled in 2008, and grew significantly in 2009 and 2010.

Borrowers are drawn to FHA loans for the same reasons you are: They’re cheaper, easier to obtain than loans from big banks, and usually offer lower fees and lower closing costs.

So, how can you get an FHA loan? Let’s take a look:

To get an FHA loan, visit the agency’s website. Spend an hour or two reading the key reports and “how to” articles on finding a good FHA mortgage.

The criteria for getting an FHA loan have changed in recent months, so make it a priority to read that, too. Basically, FHA borrowers must have a minimum credit score of 580 to qualify for the FHA’s most favorable down payment plan, which, right now, ranges around 3.5%. The cost for up-front mortgage insurance has also changed. Unlike most FHA fees, this one has gone up to 2.25%, the agency says.

Before you complete a loan application, know what the FHA is looking for. Like most lenders, you’ll need to have your key financial documents and personal financial information included. You’ll need the following information:

•    Address of your place of residence (past two years)
•    Social Security number
•    Names and locations of your employers (past two years)
•    Gross monthly salary at your current job(s)
•    Pertinent information for all checking and savings accounts
•    Pertinent information for all open loans
•    Complete information for other real estate you own
•    Approximate value of all personal property
•    Certificate of Eligibility and DD-214 (for veterans only)
•    Current check stubs and your W-2 forms (past two years)
•    Personal tax returns (past two years), current income statement and business balance sheet for self-employed individuals

Additionally, the FHA says you’ll need to pay for a credit report and appraisal of the property.

Your best bet is spend some time on the FHA’s refinancing web page. From the research we pulled, it looks like you’d be a good candidate.

Good luck, and get started now, while interest rates are at these historic lows.

—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.

Times may be tough, but that won’t stop women from hitting the stores this holiday season.

According to a new survey from American Express, 100% of women plan to go shopping during the next month and a half, while 12% of men plan to ignore the shopping season all together.

However, just because women plan to shop doesn’t mean they intend to spend excessively.

The survey, which is based on interviews with more than 2,000 adults, found that the vast majority of shoppers (84%) will try to stretch their money this holiday season, with many citing plans to shop for clearance items, clip coupons, use rewards points or cut people from their gift list.

Other reports have found that people are also planning to make their holiday purchases with cash rather than credit to keep their spending under control.

On the whole though, women are actually more likely to stretch their dollars than men, with 90% of women claiming a desire to be more resourceful in their spending compared to 77% of men. In fact, another new survey from Western Union found that nearly half of all women plan to spend less this year on holiday goods while only about a third of men plan to do the same.

So perhaps because more women are planning to shop this holiday season than men, they are more likely to be thinking of ways to cut corners with their holiday purchases.

Regardless of who does the shopping, the most popular gift item this year is expected to be gift cards, with 53% of those surveyed planning to give one this season.

So, men who are planning to stay home this year, get ready, because if the majority of shoppers are buying gift cards, then chances are at least some of you will end up with one and will need to hit the stores after the holidays to redeem it.

—For a comprehensive credit report, visit the BankingMyWay.com Credit Center.

NEW YORK, (TheStreet) -- It's been a monumental year in gadgets for some of the biggest names in tech.

Apple (Stock Quote: AAPL) invented a new category and ran with it. Microsoft (Stock Quote: MSFT) killed an entire product line -- the Kin -- and introduced something completely new.

Facing the first major challenge to its dominance in e-readers (the iPad), Amazon (Stock Quote: AMZN) responded with force. And Google (Stock Quote: GOOG) joined Apple in a whimsical, treacherous quest to build a bridge between the Internet and TV.

Even networking giant Cisco (Stock Quote: CSCO) brought out a new lineup to play in the consumer electronics game.

Read on for the top five gadgets of 2010 (with pictures!).

No. 5: Cisco's Flip UltraHD

Price: $179

This point-and-shoot video camera sits atop Amazon's list of best-selling cameras. That's a big category for a little video shooter.

Cisco acquired Flip for $590 million in stock last year, a move considered to be part of a greater plan to seed the video market and subsequently feed the need for more Cisco networking gear.

Flip was Cisco's first dip into personal consumer devices. In September, the company unveiled a complete revamp of its Mino and Ultra lineup. The biggest changes were image stabilization and a shift to 60 frames-a-second from 30 frames to improve video quality.

The fact that smartphones shoot decent video and many point-and-shoot cameras also capture video seems to limit the Flip's opportunity. But Cisco is still selling loads of them -- 5 million so far, says the company.

No. 4: Google TV

Price: $300 and up

Internet on the TV -- a dicey affair until this year -- happened in a big way with the help of some huge players. It's still dicey, but leaps and bounds better thanks to Google, Apple, Sony (Stock Quote: SNE) and Logitech (Stock Quote: LOGI).

Using Logitech's set-top Revue box and keyboard remote, Google has brought its Chrome browser to TV. As a milestone, this is big. As a user experience, it's not bad, although pulling actual shows in from the Net is troublesome. Hulu blocked the service; Netflix (Stock Quote: NFLX) videos couldn't be made to happen.

Still, it puts the Internet on the biggest screen in your house. What you do with it is a whole other thing. Google hasn't finalized its video rental business, but Amazon offers streaming videos.

Sony has integrated the Google TV box into a few TVs. A 46-inch Sony Google TV is offered for $1,400 at Best Buy (Stock Quote: BBY). And Apple's little puck of a set-top box is available for $99. This will be known as the year the Net met TV, but the bigger question is whether this is the year that consumers will care?

No. 3: Amazon Kindle

Price: $139 - $189

Amazon has been calling the Kindle its best-selling product for three years now, and the latest version, introduced in July, isn't showing any signs of a slowdown.

Apple's iPad, which debuted in April, was expected to chip away at the e-reader leader this year. But Amazon pulled the price lever and sent sales soaring. In a defensive move, Amazon slashed the price of the new Kindle to $139 for the WiFi model and $189 for the 3G version.

The move proved fruitful for Amazon. Caris and Co. analyst Sandeep Aggarwal estimates that Amazon will sell 4.8 million Kindles in 2010, helping the company pull in $2.8 billion in revenue.

No. 2: Microsoft Windows Phone 7

Price: $200 with vendor contracts

With the smallest of baby steps, Microsoft toddled back into the mobile phone market Monday, marking an end to a three-year decline in the business and possibly the beginning of a revival.

Windows 7 is the operating system that replaces Windows Mobile and it is the software running a handful of new phones this year. AT&T (Stock Quote: T) and T-Mobile (Stock Quote: DT) launched sales of Windows 7 phones Monday to a somewhat dispiriting show of consumer demand. The first-day tally was a miniscule 40,000 phones.

Considering how desperately Microsoft needs Windows 7 to succeed in mobile, not to mention the $100 million the company is shoving into advertising to prime the sales pump, the slow start is a little concerning. But the phone-buying season isn't yet in full swing, so there is hope for Microsoft yet.

Reviewers and consumers have not found the phones and the software to be complete disasters. And by clearing that bar, perhaps Windows Phone 7 is capable enough to get Microsoft up and running again in the mobile market.

No. 1: Apple iPad

Price: $499 and up

Apple launched the iPad in April and within two months, sold 2 million of them. By the third month, 3 million had been sold. And as of Apple's last report, the company sold 7.5 million of the touch-screen devices.

At this pace, Apple will easily exceed the analysts' target of 10 million iPads sold, which was set earlier in the year. In fact, some observers expect Apple to end the year in big fashion as iPads make it on a lot of gift lists this holiday season. A ChangeWave survey last month of 3,108 people who intended to buy tablets showed that about 80% of that group planned to buy iPads.

Apple's uncanny ability to carry the touch-screen momentum from the iPhone to a new category of devices certainly defied the skeptics. And with iPads priced at $500 to $830, Apple will probably go ahead and defy competitors who had big plans to sell a lot of netbooks this Christmas.

—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.

Nobody but masochists and shopaholics actually likes going shopping on Black Friday, but everyone does it. A new survey finds that 74% of consumers plan to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving, and the reason is simple: That’s when all the best deals go down.

There’s just one problem: That’s not actually true. Sure, there are going to be plenty of fantastic deals on Black Friday, but that’s not the only day to find lucrative sales. Retailers are already looking to push their balance sheets into the black by holding “Pre-Black Friday” sales, and in the coming weeks we’ll be highlighting some of these sales as they pop up.

First up is Best Buy (Stock Quote: BBY), which announced Thursday its “Shop Early, Save Big” sale. The sale lasts only two days – Friday and Saturday – so shop online or hit the stores while it lasts. Here are a few sale items the retailer is pushing:

Insignia Slim Digital Camera with Tripod
Now: $99.96 | Was: $167.96

As smartphone manufacturers put increasingly sophisticated cameras into their phones, it makes it difficult to justify purchasing a stand-alone digital camera. When they slash prices and throw in freebies though, it makes it easier to stomach. This 12-megapixel camera comes with a camera bag, a tripod and a 2GB memory card.

Toshiba 40” Class 1080p LCD HDTV
Now: $399.99 | Was: $549.99

It won’t be the centerpiece of a home theater system, but at 40” it’s big enough for most living rooms. And at $400 it’s cheap enough for most budgets.

Playstation 3 with Free Second Controller
Now: $299.99 | Was: $354.98

The 160 GB Playstation 3 is normally priced at $299.99, but only comes with one wireless controller. This deal throws in a second Dualshock 3 Wireless Controller (normally priced at $54.99). That way you can play videogames with actual friends, instead of with teenagers on the Internet. Supplies are limited, so act fast on this one.

Don't want to spend too much? Check out our Deals & Steals hot topic for more bargains. Don't want to spend anything at all? There's plenty of Free Stuff to be had as well.

—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.

Everyone knows that used cars cost less than new ones, and many thrifty car owners think buying used vehicles makes the most financial sense in the long run, especially if you keep them until they die.

But, wait! The world is turning upside-down! Wholesale used-car prices have risen 4.7% over the past year, about four times the current inflation rate, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index.

Minivans had the biggest price gains, at 10.6%, followed by pickups at 10.1% and SUVs at 5.6%. The worst performers were used luxury cars, up only 0.2%.

Used vehicle prices have gone up due to short supply, especially since drivers are keeping their vehicles longer now that the economy is weak. Supplies of late-model used vehicles are also tight because new vehicle sales slumped in 2008 and 2009.

At the same time, new car dealers are dropping prices and offering rebates to lure reluctant buyers. With this combination of factors, the dealer might well offer more for your trade-in than you’d have received a year ago.

Obviously, if you can buy a new car for about what you’d spend on a comparable used one the new car would make sense. You’d have a brand-new warranty and no worries about how the previous owner had treated the vehicle.

But the Journal’s point about some new cars being cheaper than used ones focuses on used vehicles that are only a year old, and it looks at monthly payments rather than retail prices. Rates on used-car loans are usually higher than those on new-car loans, so a used-car loan can cost more per month than a new-car loan for an equal or somewhat larger amount.

Used-car stalwarts don’t generally focus on cars that are only one year old. Though car values do tend to drop further in the first year than in any other, they continue to drop pretty fast in years two, three and four.

In fact, a five year old vehicle may sell for only a third of its original cost but still have two-thirds of its life ahead of it. For used-car buyers, vehicles in the three to five year old range are in the sweet spot – cheap but still in pretty good shape.

Before buying any vehicle, check values out at sites like Kelley Blue Book, the NADA Used Car Guide and Edmunds.com.

Also, look past the purchase price to consider the overall cost of ownership, which includes interest on the car loan and projected maintenance and repair costs. Edmunds has a guide to these costs on its site.

And, of course, use the BankingMyWay shopping tool to find the cheapest loan you can get.

Finally, consider the value of any dealer rebates, which often come at the price of a higher loan rate. The Auto Rebate vs. Low Interest Financing Calculator can guide you through that assessment.

—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a politically incendiary plan, the bipartisan leaders of President Barack Obama's deficit commission proposed curbs in Social Security benefits, deep reductions in federal spending and higher taxes for millions of Americans Wednesday to stem a flood of red ink that they said threatens the nation's very future.

The White House responded coolly, some leading lawmakers less so to proposals that target government programs long considered all but sacred. Besides Social Security, Medicare spending would be curtailed. Tax breaks for many health care plans, too. And the Pentagon's budget, as well, in a plan designed to cut total deficits by as much as $4 trillion over the next decade.

The plan arrived exactly one week after elections that featured strong voter demands for economic change in Washington. But criticism was immediate from advocacy groups on the left and, to some extent, the right at the start of the post-election debate on painful steps necessary to rein in out-of-control deficits.

The plan would gradually increase the retirement age for full Social Security benefits — to 69 by 2075 — and current recipients would receive smaller-than-anticipated annual increases. Equally controversial, it would eliminate the current tax deduction that homeowners receive for the interest they pay on their mortgages.

Obama, in Seoul, South Korea, declined to comment Thursday on the commission's work but said, "We're going to have to take actions that are difficult and we're going to have to tell the truth the American people." He said there was a lot of rhetoric about the nation's debt and deficits but "a lot of the talk didn't match up with reality."

"We need to be straight with the American people," the president said. "We can't just engage in political rhetoric."

No one is expecting quick action on any of the plan's pieces. Proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare are making liberals recoil. And conservative Republicans are having difficulty with options suggested for raising taxes. The plan also calls for cuts in farm subsidies, foreign aid and the Pentagon's budget.

The document was released by Democrat Erskine Bowles, a former Clinton White House chief of staff, and Republican Alan Simpson, a former senator from Wyoming.

Acknowledging the controversy involved, Simpson quipped to reporters, "We'll both be in a witness protection program when this is all over, so look us up." Said Bowles, "This is a starting point."

Controversial or not, Bowles said serious action was demanded. He declared, "This debt is like a cancer that will truly destroy this country from within if we don't fix it."

The government reported separately Wednesday that the deficit for last month alone was $140.4 billion — and that was 20% lower than a year earlier. The red ink for all of the past fiscal year was $1.29 trillion, second highest on record, and this year is headed for the third straight total above $1 trillion.

Current deficits require the government to borrow 37 cents out of every dollar it spends.

Still, the plan was rejected as "simply unacceptable" by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a top Obama ally.

The Social Security proposal would change the inflation measurement used to calculate cost-of-living adjustments for benefits, reducing annual increases. It immediately drew a withering assault from advocates for seniors, who are already upset that there will be no inflation increase for 2011, the second straight year.

The plan would also raise the regular Social Security retirement age to 68 by about 2050 and to 69 in 2075. The full retirement age for those retiring now is 66. For those born in 1960 or after, the full retirement age is now 67.

Better-off beneficiaries would receive smaller Social Security payments than those in lower earning brackets under the proposal, and the amount of income subject to Social Security taxes would be increased.

"The chairmen of the Deficit Commission just told working Americans to 'Drop Dead,'" AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement.

From the right, anti-tax activist Grover Norquist — whose opinions carry great weight among Republicans — blasted the plan for its $1 trillion in tax increases over the coming decade. But Bowles and Simpson say eliminating costly tax deductions could bring income tax rates way down.

For every $1 of new revenue, the plan demands $3 in spending cuts, and that was acceptable to panel member Tom Coburn, a Republican senator from Oklahoma. "If we do the cuts, I'll go for it," he said. "We may have to go for some revenues at some point."

The entire commission is supposed to report a deficit-cutting plan on Dec. 1, but panel members are unsure whether they'll be able to agree on anything approaching deficit cuts of the size proposed. And even if they could, any vote in Congress this year would be nonbinding, Simpson said.

"This is not a proposal I could support," said panel member Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill. "On Medicare and Social Security in particular, there are proposals that I could not support."

The release of the plan follows midterm elections that gave Republicans the House majority and increased their numbers in the Senate. During the campaign, neither political party talked of spending cuts of the magnitude offered Wednesday, with Republicans proposing $100 billion in cuts to domestic programs passed each year by Congress — but with no specifics.

Wednesday's proposal would leave Obama's new health care overhaul in place, while greatly strengthening its cost control provisions, including a board with the power to make cuts in Medicare payments to providers.

For most Americans with job-based health coverage, the biggest change would be to limit or eliminate altogether the tax-free status of employer-provided health benefits, which would provide a stiff nudge to force people into cost-conscious insurance plans.

To deal with the rising costs of Medicare and Medicaid, the giant health care programs for seniors and low-income people, the proposal calls for limiting annual spending increases to no more than 1 percent above the growth rate of the economy.

It outlines a series of strategies to achieve that goal, including changing provider payments to reward quality instead of sheer volume, demanding rebates from drug companies that want to participate in Medicare and raising cost-sharing for Medicare recipients while also putting in place a limit on their out-of-pocket costs.

"It's a very provocative proposal," said a Republican panel member, Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas. "Some of it I like. Some of it disturbs me. And some of it I've got to study."

Other proposals by Bowles and Simpson include:

• Increasing the gasoline tax by 15 cents a gallon to finance transportation programs.
• A three-year freeze in the pay of most federal employees and a 10% cut in the federal work force.
• Eliminating all congressional pet projects, known as earmarks.

The plan also calls for a major overhaul of both the individual income tax and the corporate tax systems with the idea of lowering overall tax rates, simplifying the tax code and broadening the taxpayer base.

For individuals and families, the proposal would eliminate a host of popular tax credits and deductions, including the child tax credit and the mortgage interest deduction. However, it would significantly reduce income tax rates. The top rate would drop from 35% to 23%.

The deduction that companies take for providing health insurance to their employees would be eliminated, but the corporate income tax rate would be reduced from 35% to 26%, and the government would stop taxing overseas profits of U.S.-based multinational corporations.

Even with the dramatic proposals, the Bowles-Simpson plan would leave deficits of about $380 billion in 2015, the year by which Obama tasked the group with balancing the federal budget, except for interest payments on a national debt that now stands at $13.7 trillion. If the changes to Social Security are dropped, the deficit would be about $400 billion in 2015.

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Associated Press writers Martin Crutsinger, Stephen Ohlemacher, Tom Raum and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.

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Online: Congressional Budget Office

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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by Marian Wang

While they may be conducting their own investigations, federal prosecutors and national bank regulators for the most part aren’t the ones leading the investigation into the foreclosure mess. At least that's the perception—one that's reinforced when Elizabeth Warren, Obama's head of consumer financial protection, says her money is on a 50-state investigation by the states' attorneys general. The New York Times’ Joe Nocera, for instance, has said that the handful of federal investigations into the subject are “not going to amount to a hill of beans."

Why such low expectations for the feds? A piece in the Washington Post last week may shed some light (emphasis added):

As foreclosures began to mount across the country three years ago, a group of state bank regulators suspected that some borrowers might be losing their homes unnecessarily. So the state officials asked the biggest national banks for details about their foreclosure operations.

When two banks—J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo—declined to cooperate, the state officials asked the banks' federal regulator for help, according to a letter they sent. But the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which oversees national banks, denied the states' request, saying the firms should answer only to inquiries from federal officials. In a response to state officials, John Dugan, comptroller at the time, wrote that his agency was already planning to collect foreclosure information and that any additional monitoring risked "confusing matters."

But even as it closed the door on state oversight, the OCC chose itself not to scrutinize the foreclosure operations of the largest national banks, forgoing any examination of their procedures and paperwork. Instead, the agency relied on the banks' in-house assessments. These provided no hint of the problems to come until they had tripped the nation's housing market, agency officials later acknowledged.

In other words, state bank regulators—unable to get cooperation from the banks—warned federal regulators of problems with the banks’ foreclosure operations, and they were told to let the feds handle it.

Even when problems with robo-signing ignited a scandal in recent months, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ordered lenders to conduct their own reviews and only later—about two weeks ago, according to the Post—began its own examination. Here’s how the OCC explained its regulatory inaction:

"We looked at the final stage of the process and thought of it as one that would be governed by standards and procedures in internal controls," said Julie Williams, the OCC's top lawyer. "You would only be able to know for sure if there was a problem with the document-signing process if you were standing in the room watching someone sign documents. That is not traditionally part of the bank examination process."

The story harkens back to a Bloomberg Businessweek report, which is set up almost identically—state officials met with the OCC, warning of an impending problem that they were subsequently told to leave to the feds. The difference was that this meeting occurred even earlier in the decade, when banks first began pushing consumers to take out risky mortgages—mortgages that in all-too-many cases would end in default, foreclosure, and lead into the current foreclosure crisis.

Taken together, the two pieces show how efforts by state regulators and attorneys general to protect consumers—first from the banks’ irresponsible lending and later from suspected mistakes in banks’ foreclosure operations—were “thwarted in many cases by Washington officials hostile to regulation and a financial industry adept at exploiting this ideology.” From Bloomberg Businessweek (emphasis added):

More than five years ago, in April 2003, the attorneys general of two small states traveled to Washington with a stern warning for the nation's top bank regulator. Sitting in the spacious Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, with its panoramic view of the capital, the AGs from North Carolina and Iowa said lenders were pushing increasingly risky mortgages. Their host, John D. Hawke Jr., expressed skepticism.

Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Tom Miller of Iowa headed a committee of state officials concerned about new forms of "predatory" lending. They urged Hawke to give states more latitude to limit exorbitant interest rates and fine-print fees. "People out there are struggling with oppressive loans," Cooper recalls saying.

Hawke, a veteran banking industry lawyer appointed to head the OCC by President Bill Clinton in 1998, wouldn't budge. He said he would reinforce federal policies that hindered states from reining in lenders. The AGs left the tense hour-long meeting realizing that Washington had become a foe in the nascent fight against reckless real estate finance. The OCC "took 50 sheriffs off the job during the time the mortgage lending industry was becoming the Wild West," Cooper says.

Hawke, the former head of the OCC, told Bloomberg Businessweek that blaming the feds is "bull----.” He blamed the risky lending on mortgage brokers and originators, which he said were under state purview. (In 2009, state regulators fought the OCC in court for the power to take enforcement action against national banks for violations of proper lending practices. The U.S. Supreme Court—in a case known as Cuomo v. Clearing House—sided with the states, ruling that they are not prohibited from enforcing state laws against national banks.)

The current OCC continues to defend the agency’s oversight of mortgage operations and told the Post that while the agency stayed hands-off in regard to banks’ foreclosure process, “we put emphasis on the modification process." As our reporting has shown, getting loan modifications—whether through the federal government's modification program or the banks' proprietary programs—hasn't been easy for homeowners either, and the process is also riddled with some of the same dysfunction and disorganization plaguing the foreclosure process.

The agency, as we've noted, has rarely taken formal enforcement action against the banks but has said this is because it works closely with the banks to resolve problems while they're still small.

ProPublica is a nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism.

Consumers continue to wise up about the amount of credit card debt they carry, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve.

The latest G.19 report from the Fed found that revolving credit debt (debt that does not have to be paid off in installments, a category dominated by credit cards) in the U.S. fell $8 billion between August and September of this year. Revolving credit debt fell nearly 9% in the third quarter (at an annualized rate), and has been steadily dropping for over two years. The decline in revolving credit debt came despite a rare bump in overall consumer borrowing in September.

This fresh round of data comes on the heels of other metrics showing that consumers are getting a handle on their credit card debt. CreditKarma.com recently reported that credit card holders have reduced their debt by 7% since January 2010, and found that cardholders in seven states have paid down their debt by 10% or more. That’s good news for Americans’ credit scores. “We suspect this focus on financial responsibility will ultimately lead to credit scores increasing again,” said CreditKarma.com CEO Ken Lin.

While this is good news for consumers, it may cause retailers some discomfort. We reported last week that many shoppers were planning to pick cash over credit during the holiday shopping season, and a new survey by market analysts Morpace finds 40% of consumers plan to avoid using their credit card, up from 35% last year.

The switch to cash is partly due to concerns over credit card debt racked up during last year’s shopping season, but also part of a general push to restrain the impulse buying and out-of-control spending that often results from credit card use.

—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.

The headlines are clear: We’re at a historic time in the bank interest rate market, where rates are scraping the floor.

Look, for example, at mortgage rates. Right now, the average interest rate for a 30-year home loan is only 4.443%, as measured by the BankingMyWay Weekly Mortgage Rate tracker - that’s the lowest rate since President Eisenhower was in office.

Or how about a new car loan? The BankingMyWay National Auto Loan Rate tracker has rates for a new car at 5.021%. Back in 2007, the average rate for most new car loans went as high as 6.8%.

So don’t just stand there – take advantage with these three great ways to make hay with low rates:

Get a low mortgage rate

Let’s say you live in beautiful Bucks County, Penn. and you’re in the market for a new home. A quick scan of the BankingMyWay Mortgage Rate Search engine shows 30-year mortgage rates as low as 4.125% from Bank of America (Stock Quote: BAC) or even 4.00% from Century Point Mortgage. Real estate professionals don’t often use the term “ridiculous” to describe the mortgage rate environment – but they’re using it now.

Get a better credit card

A few years ago, the introductory “0% rate” on some new credit cards lasted only a year or less. Now, credit card companies are stretching out low introductory card rates on full balance transfers to as much as 18 months with the More card from Discover (Stock Quote: DSC) or 21 months with Citi’s (Stock Quote: C) Platinum Select MasterCard. So if you have a high-balance card, you can roll that debt into an interest-free card for a longer period. Card fees on these deals are lower, too.

Pay off your debts as if rates were 1% higher

Here’s a big money-saver: Let’s say you refinanced your home mortgage from a 6.00% rate to a 5.00% rate. Instead of making your minimum payments on the lower amount, forget that you refinanced and keep paying your mortgage as you used to. Just use an old mortgage statement and pay that amount every month. Ignore the new monthly amount due. You can save big money over the life of your mortgage if you play the “forget the new rate” game. BankingMyWay has a great mortgage interest rate calculator to help you figure out your savings over the long haul.

No doubt about it, you can save a bundle with lower interest rates. But there’s theory and then there’s action – and the only way you’re going to reap those savings is to engage in less of the former and more of the latter.

—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.

Which teen retailer will win Black Friday? Needham analyst Christine Chen sizes up American Eagle Outfitters, Abercrombie & Fitch and Aeropostale.

More Americans are going without health insurance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number of Americans without health insurance increased by almost 4 million from 2008 to the first quarter of 2010, Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, said in a media conference Tuesday announcing the results of the CDC’s annual National Health Interview Survey.

Overall, the amount of adults aged 18 to 64 who told the CDC they were without health insurance for at least part of the prior year increased from 46 million in 2008 to 49.9 million in the first quarter of 2010, reflecting a trend that has been going on for at least the past ten years.

“While public coverage provided some safety net for adults, it wasn't enough to offset the loss of private coverage,” Frieden said. “Private insurance of adults fell by 9%, and although public insurance increased by about 5% as a net, this led to an increase of uninsurance from the 18 to 64-year-olds to 22%.”

According to the CDC, medical coverage for those 65 and over has remained at a stable high, thanks to Medicare.

The National Health Interview Survey includes interviews with nearly 90,000 people from around 35,000 households. The survey has been conducted annually for more than 50 years.

Frieden said that the findings help debunk several common misconceptions about health insurance, the first being that only the poor have trouble getting covered.

“Half of the uninsured are over the poverty level,” Frieden said, adding that one in three adults under 65 in the middle income range - which is between $44,000 and $65,000 a year for a family of four - were uninsured at some point in 2010.
Additionally, the CDC found, it’s not only young, healthy individuals who are going without insurance. More than two out of five individuals who were uninsured at some point during the past year had one or more chronic diseases.

“This is based on just a partial list of chronic diseases, so the actual number may be higher than that,” Frieden said.

The report found that people who are uninsured often forego treatment due to costs, which can aggravate chronic conditions such as asthma, high blood pressure or diabetes, lead to worse health, increase long-term health care costs and even cause premature death.

More people will surely go without health insurance as costs continue to rise. Check out this MainStreet article on why insurance premiums are increasing.

—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.

Looking for a job? Here's a cool opportunity that just might be a great new start for the right person.

The position: Digital art director for Oprah Winfrey Network

Location: Los Angeles, Calif.

Job duties: Lead great creative content across all digital channels. The own, concept, present and drive big ideas. Leads concept and design development of high quality creative work, both graphic and writing, that consistently addresses projects' business needs and objectives. Responsible for participating in new business development, client presentations, creative team development and recruiting/interviewing creative talent. Collaborates with the senior VP of digital to establish best practices with the company's overall creative vision, and to ensure the quality, strategy and integrity of all creative deliverables.   

The company: Oprah Winfrey Network is a new cable network slated to launch on Jan.1. Founded by Oprah Winfrey, the network will feature self-improvement shows and longtime Oprah experts like Suze Orman and Dr. Phil.

Requirements: This role requires a bachelor's degree in a creative discipline, plus at least five years experience at a well-established agency or similar environment. Applicants should have solid knowledge of the creative requirements of internet digital media. Must have experience in concepting, branding and art direction or design. And the company prefers candidates with experience mentoring designers in the development of outstanding creative content. This job requires a proven ability to provide guidance to achieve creative direction and produce all work on time.

Extra perks: This is your chance to in on the ground floor of a new venture with a top media mogul.

Interesting info: One of the network's first shows will be a behind-the-scenes look at a taping of one of the last episodes of Winfrey's talk show.

Other opportunities: Oprah has openings for account executives in several regions. Her company also needs a PR coordinator, a homepage editor, a director of production and a vice president of daytime programming.

How to apply: Apply online.

—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.

Expectations of economic recovery have employers nervous about losing talent, which can only mean good things for employees.

Indeed, 31% of hiring managers surveyed in a new CareerBuilder survey said they were willing to negotiate salary increases for current employees next year, and 51% said they would leave negotiating room when extending offers to new hires.

Why? They're worried about the economy improving: 43% reported a concern that their top talent would leave as more new jobs become available.

Already, the results have been confirmed in the real world, with recent news that Google (Stock Quote: GOOG) would grant every one of its 23,300 employees a $1,000 holiday bonus this year, and a 10% pay raise the next.

Tech companies actually responded more favorably than any other industry to the idea of raises in the survey, with 45% of hiring managers reporting a willingness to give their employees a better deal.

As Rosemary Haefner, the vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.com, says in the press release, “While it is undoubtedly an employer’s market, many recognize the added responsibility workers have had to shoulder without the added pay."

To take advantage of the changing employment picture, CareerBuilder offers two tips:

•    Know your value. Look at salary comparison information on sites like the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks data for different jobs in different locations in the U.S. If you know what a reasonable salary range is, you will be taken more seriously in your negotiations.

•    Sell yourself. According to the survey, 48% of employers recommended highlighting your specific achievements for the company, and 26% said to come prepared with your history of performance reviews. The more homework you do for them, the easier it will be for them to give you a better package.

Some companies can’t afford to give the kind of pay raise Google employees will get, but that doesn’t mean you can’t negotiate for better perks. The 2,457 hiring managers that make up the survey, which was conducted nationwide by Harris Interactive from August 17 to September 2, were asked what kind of perks they could offer in lieu of a raise: flexible hours (42%), a one-time bonus (29%), vacation time (21%), a more casual dress code (17%) or a title change (14%) were all listed as options.

There is no doubt that employees have been asked for several years now to do more with less, if they have been able to keep their jobs at all. It looks like now, the shoe is moving to the other foot - no matter how strict the dress code might be.

—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.