Daily Note

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Zecco April Fools’ Day: Million Dollar Account Balances

I didn’t hear of any exceptional April Fools’ Day jokes this year, but this one caught my eye. Many customers of Zecco Trading logged into their brokerage account yesterday to be greeted with a slightly higher buying power than before… on the order of 6 to 13 million dollars! Thanks to reader Nick for the tip to check my balance. Here is a user-supplied screenshot:

Well, that’s one way to qualify for the Zecco free trades! People on the forums speculated whether this was a April Fools’ Day joke, or a system glitch. They joked about making a big ACH transfer and quitting their jobs.

However, one brave/foolish person posted that he actually put in an order to buy a million dollars worth of shares with their newly found money, and the order was executed! The bad news? The shares were quickly sold later by Zecco… at a market price loss. On top of that, they were charged the $19.99 commission for a broker-assisted trade. Doh! If it was indeed an April Fools’ joke, it definitely wasn’t implemented very well…

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Rogue Taxidermist Loses Eyes, Tries Payday Loans

A story from a payday-loan using friend…

I’ll step aside for an April Fool’s moment and let my friend Randy give you his payday loan testimonial. Enjoy!

“I am a rogue taxidermist…”

That’s right, a rogue taxidermist. Call me Randy. Sometimes, I’m also an anthropomorphic taxidermist. But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself.

Do you know what taxidermy is? OK, here goes. The term is derived from Greek, for “moving skin.” According to Wikipedia, taxidermy is “the art of mounting or reproducing animals for display or for other sources of study.” It’s popular with hunters and natural history museums, but tanners and upholsterers have also played a role in the craft’s evolution.

Me, I love recreating natural-looking scenes. A dog looking with eternal love upon its master. A great bear, crackling with potential energy, suspended just moments before the strike. A wild manticore, tail bristling, wings ready to loft it skyward, gaping lion’s jaw opened in blasting roar.

Playing dress-up

Wait. A manticore? That’s where my specialty comes in - rogue taxidermy. Because fantasy creatures deserve a place in the den as much as lions, tigers and bears. That’s what rogue taxidermists do. Makes the house look like a mythological circus, like the traveling sideshow from “The Last Unicorn” or Dr. Seuss’s story “If I Ran the Zoo.” Sometimes I combine my rogue side with a more anthropomorphic impulse, dressing dragons in tux and tails or a kraken in Dockers Casuals. I love this stuff! ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Rogue Taxidermist Loses Eyes, Tries Payday Loans"

Did Fairfield Greenwich Group Commit Fraud For Madoff?

Those marked by Madoff cannot hide…

Noel knows "no thing"

…or hide the stink. If you need payday loans because you lost money to him, I offer my condolences

Associates of Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernard Madoff are now finding themselves in the crosshairs with no place to hide. Jessica Pressler writes in the “Daily Intel” column of New York Magazine that Madoff feeder fund Fairfield Greenwich Group must face the backhand of justice.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin filed a complaint against Fairfield Greenwich Group, alleging that their “flagrant and recurring misrepresentations to its investors rises to the level of fraud.” But this is not a criminal complaint. And amazingly, the filed complaint doesn’t indicate that anyone at Fairfield “knew anything about anything.”

It all checks out!

Even though Fairfield Greenwich fed the Madoff monster $7 billion, they never took the time to know who they were sending it to or why. Perhaps it’s as they say in the Patrick McGoohan TV series “The Prisoner”: “Questions are a burden to others, answers are a burden to oneself.”

According to Pressler, all Madoff’s auditor had to tell Noel and his Fairfield Greenwich Group is that Madoff had “hundreds of clients” and was “well known in the local community.” Then Fairfield CFO Dan Lipton did his due diligence - he looked it up on the Internet! This is a prime example of the significantly “higher level of due diligence work” that’s made Fairfield Greenwich Group an agency worthy of a fraud investigation. They must be proud. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Did Fairfield Greenwich Group Commit Fraud For Madoff?"

California Sales Tax Goes Up 1 Percent

Most will now pay 9 percent

Starting today, state sales tax in California is 6 percent. With added local sales tax from various regions in California, most Californians will now be paying about 9 percent sales tax.

Retailers are worried this could drag purchases of expensive items such as cars and furniture even further down.

Fuel to the fire?

The new higher sales tax means people in California will be paying one of the highest rates in the country. While the added funds should help California’s ailing budget, businesses and manufacturers worry that it will lengthen the recession.

At 9 percent, the sales tax on many big ticket items could be as big as the average payday loan.

All new taxes

Sales tax isn’t the only tax that is increasing in California this year. Personal income tax will also climb higher. Also, on top of the additional sales tax Californians will have to pay if they purchase vehicles, they’ll also face higher licensing fees.

Auto worries

With the auto industry already facing huge obstacles, California auto dealers are particularly panicked.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that our sales will go down because of this,” said Beau Boeckmann, vice president of Los Angeles-based Galpin Motors. “It’s an unfortunate truth. I hope the governor will reconsider doubling our car taxes. I think the sales tax is going to hurt us and the car tax can cripple us.” ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "California Sales Tax Goes Up 1 Percent"

Ted Stevens Beats Feat on That Bridge to Freedom

Free at last, free at last…

“Corrupt politicians” is the same old song in America and abroad. As jaded as many of us are, it is a rare and pleasant surprise to find someone who is honest, someone who spends less time trying to regulate away useful public products like cash advance loans and more time dealing with issues that help their constituency long-term.

In spite of his recent exoneration, Ted Stevens, former Alaska senator, does not qualify as one of those Mr. Smiths that too rarely make the trek to Washington…

An architect of the Gravina Island Bridge deal

Pareene writes for Gawker that Stevens is no longer a convicted felon. He rides over his Bridge to Nowhere and off into the sunset. This comes in the face of Stevens’ previous conviction on “seven counts of making false statements on financial disclosure forms to hide about $250,000 in gifts and free renovations to his Alaska home,” reported the Washington Post. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Ted Stevens Beats Feat on That Bridge to Freedom"

No loans for the automakers, says White House

Obama bows to Main Street

Finally, the verdict has come out and President Barack Obama has said a big 'no' to any kind of payday loans to the troubled automakers. Considering the fact that General Motors and Chrysler are surviving on the bailout money that they received in December 2008, their latest requests for another round of bailouts were definitely nothing less than payday loan applications.

But the Obama administration has shattered their hopes by stating that both the auto makers have not done enough to save themselves since the last bailout. However, the underlying truth is that the government has actually bowed down to Main Street standing against Wall Street at the moment.

Taxpayer's outrage

Opinion polls conducted after President Obama gave more time to GM and Chrysler, for restructuring themselves to be able to justify the additional investment of taxpayers' money, had clearly suggested that the majority of the Americans were strictly against funding the US automakers any further. Many even opined that if the government goes ahead with the plan, it would be like cheating the taxpayers.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted prior to the news of Rick Wagoner's exit under White House pressure had revealed that 49% of the respondents were against Obama's auto plans compared to 46% who supported it. Whether the government expresses it or not, such outrage has definitely worked somewhere or the other leading the government to deny yet another round of virtual payday loans to the automakers. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "No loans for the automakers, says White House"

FNBO Direct Will Drop its Interest Rate to 1.9% APY, Considering SmartyPig with 3.25% APY?

Savers continue to be punished. Tomorrow, Thursday, April 2, 2009, FNBO Direct will lower the interest rate offered on its on-line savings account from 2.15% to 1.9% APY.

A little over a year ago, I introduced SmartyPig to Consumerism Commentary, a savings account with a higher rate. Their current rate yields 3.25%, by far the highest among high-yield online savings accounts. Accounts held with SmartyPig are fully backed by the FDIC. SmartyPig’s philosophy is designed to focus on goal-oriented saving, and the bank encourages redeeming (withdrawing) your funds only when the goal is reached, and preferably in the form of a gift card offered by one of several retailers partnering with the bank or of a prepaid debit card.

If you opt to redeem your account in the form of a gift card, SmartyPig offers a bonus above the value of the cash you have saved, but keep in mind that where legal, many of the gift cards “expire” if not fully redeemed after a period of time. Is the higher interest rate worth the hassle?

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