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US Unemployment Rate Tops 9.8% in September 2009

Bank Deals — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:08:21 +0000

The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in September 2009, the highest since June 1983, as employers cut far more jobs than expected. The Labor Department said Friday that the economy lost a net total of 263,000 jobs last month. Over 500,000 unemployed Americans gave up looking for work. Had they continued searching, the official jobless rate would have been much higher.

Bank of America Revises Bank Fees

Bank Deals — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:07:11 +0000

Staring this October 19, Bank of America will allow current customers to turn off the ability to spend when their account hits zero thus eliminating overdraft fees. Next June, the bank plans to limit the number of times each year that current customers can overdraw their accounts when using a debit card at a store. Bank of America will also allow new customers choose whether they want overdraft protection when they are opening their account.

Chase Bank Cutting Overdraft Fees

Bank Deals — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:03:18 +0000

JPMorgan Chase, the parent company of Chase Bank, just announced it will be eliminating some overdraft fees altogether and trimming other fees. Chase Bank will stop charging fees when accounts are overdrawn by less than $5. Chase’s overdraft fees are $25 for the first fee each year, $32 for the next four and $35 after that. Chase will also cap the number of overdraft fees it charges a day to three.

Average Mortgage Rates for September 2009

Bank Deals — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:18:05 +0000

The average mortgage rates in US Metro areas for September 2009. The mortgage rates are near all-time lows. With housing market somewhat stabalizing, $8,000 first time home buyer credit and low mortgage rates, now might be a good time to buy a home for those who qualified.

Average mortgage rates and points in the top 10 markets

	Fixed 15-year		Fixed 30-year		5-year ARM
Market	Rate	Points	Rate	Points	Rate	Points
New York Metro	4.73	0.30	5.45	0.36	5.29	0.20
Los Angeles	5.21	0.06	5.71	0.08	4.84	0.28
Chicago	4.80	0.15	5.40	0.13	5.06	0.18
San Francisco	4.84	0.08	5.43	0.22	4.52	0.33
Philadelphia	4.70	0.13	5.44	0.27	5.20	0.36
Detroit	4.72	0.28	5.32	0.34	5.09	0.10
Boston	4.64	0.10	5.34	0.10	4.68	0.06
Houston	4.59	0.47	5.44	0.34	5.13	0.13
Dallas	4.65	0.44	5.36	0.38	5.06	0.69
DC Metro	4.47	0.61	5.23	0.52	4.38	0.71
Brm National Index	4.74	0.25	5.41	0.27	4.94	0.32

Average mortgage rates and points as of survey date 9/4/2009. Source: Bankrate

American Express and Discover to Eliminate Overdraft Fees

Bank Deals — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:04:14 +0000

Starting October 2009, American Express and Discover will eliminate the over the limit fee. This move comes 6 months ahead of the new credit card rules that would eliminate such overdraft fees. More companies are expected to follow suit. Ironically, American Express announced today they will increase the purchase APR for some borrowers.