Microsoft to Cut 5000 Jobs

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]Microsoft, the software giant which has never laid off people till date, has announced that they are going to cut 5000 jobs over the next 18 months, including 1400 immediately. The job cuts will take place in research and development, marketing, sales, finance, legal, human resources and information

Circuit City Closing Shop, Going Out Of Business

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]Circuit City, one of our favorite retailers for electronics goods, is going out of business. They are closing 567 of their remaining US stores and slashing 30,000 jobs. Circuit City had filed Chapter 11 of bankruptcy in Nov 2008, but had to take this drastic step since they could not work out a sale of the

The Power of Less Has Been Released

Leo Babauta has released his latest book "The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential...in Business and in Life."

In addition, he is offering a superb bonus giveaway which will end on Jan 1, 2009. If you purchase the book before the end of Jan 1st, 2009, he will give you one of the following as a bonus:
The Zen To Done e-book, usually a price of $9.50.
The Zen Habits

FREE iPhone App for Mint's Users

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]Mint has launched a free iPhone App for its users. This sure will make Mint the killer banking app for the iPhone mobile community. In case you use a different phone and want to know your bank's balance, you can set it up to receive alerts from Mint.com via SMS. This will help you to get real time balances

Bank of America to cut 35000 jobs over 3 years

The present dismal state of our economy and the recent merger with Merrill Lynch has coerced Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) into a decision of trimming down up to 35,000 jobs over a period of 3 years to stay in shape. America lost over half a million jobs in November alone and this announcement from BOA shows that things might get worse before we see any real improvements. More so since BOA is

Office Depot Closing Stores

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]Office Depot (ODP) is closing 112 stores and planning to lay off 2200 people in an effort to earn a short term financial boost. This move will reduce the chain's base to 1163 stores. They plan to close 45 stores in the Central U.S., 40 in the Northeast and Canada, 19 in the West and 8 in the South. Also, six

Mint Is Going To Integrate Our Portfolios

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]Mint is planning to help its users see the big picture of their financial state by integrating their portfolios into their Mint accounts. Very soon, we’ll be able to see all our investments, mutual funds, and retirement accounts at Mint.com.Mint’s approach to investments is all about helping us make better

Strands Acquires NetWorthIQ

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]When we visit personal finance blogs, we often notice a widget in the side bars which displays a graph with the net worth of the blogger. This widget is due to the courtesy of NetWorthIQ.Today, Strands, a leading developer of social recommendation technologies, announced that it has acquired NetworthIQ, a

Rising Inflation Threatens Poor

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]In emerging markets, the urban middle class and poor will be hit hard by the rising inflation. Already food and energy prices are soaring. Even in US, most of us are finding it difficult to cope with rising gas and food costs.In this period of recession, the prices of commodities are going up in emerging

US Airways is going to charge $ for window and aisle seats!

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).] In Feb 2008 US Airways had announced that they are going to charge a $25 fee for the second bag that we check in. In short, from May 5th they'll allow one checked bag and one carry on bag per passenger. But now thing have gone from bad to worse. We'll have to pay extra money for window and aisle seats in

Mint and Motley Fool Partner Together!

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]Mint.com, which is one of the most happening personal finance startup companies, today joined forces with The Motley Fool, the world’s leading online investing advice company. The deal comes with a co-branded version of Mint along with promotion of the site on Motley Fool. This partnership weaves Mint.com’s

Win $10,000 from Smart Money a Wall Street Journal Magazine!

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]The Market Madness game has ended.SmartMoney magazine, the Wall Street Journal magazine of personal business is hosting a new online game about stocks so that we can enjoy the art of investing. It's called "Market Madness Stock-Picking Tournament," where players can compete for a chance to win $10,000.Here's

US Airways - New Baggage Policy!

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]US Airways (LCC) has unfurled a new baggage policy which is not friendly for people like us who travel with a couple of checked in baggages. Since we travel a lot during the summer to raise funds for charities this new policy would mean higher ticket costs for us :(. Here are some details of the new policy

Fed's Rate Cut Tumbles Savings APYs!

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]While investors had speculated a rate cut of 0.5%, the Feds went ahead and surprised all with a 0.75% rate cut! This is the Federal Reserve's biggest interest rate cut in 18 years. The new rate of 3.5% is the lowest since September 2005. Though this act reflects serious concerns about a deteriorating U.S.

JetBlue Brings Wireless OnBoard!

Kudos to JetBlue Airways for bringing wireless onboard. Now we shall be able to surf the web while we are on flight. And the best part is that this service is offered FREE of charge! Aided by partners like LiveTV, Yahoo and BlackBerry, JetBlue has made it possible to taste the future of in-flight experience on its BetaBlue aircraft, an Airbus A320 with email and instant messaging services above

Capital One's HMMA APY drops further!

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]Effective Jan 9, 2008, Capital One is going to offer a flat 4.00% APY* (down from 4.30%) for their High Yield Money Market Accounts. This is the second drop in their rates this year. Earlier on 3rd Jan, their HMMA APY dropped from 4.40 to 4.30%. That comprehensively brings us to an APY cut of 0.40% in about

Capital One's APY Drops, Probable Rate Cuts From The Feds!

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]Today we came across a couple of interesting bits of information aka news concerned with banking, rate cuts and the market. Capital One's APY for their High Yield Money Market Account (HMMA) is continuing to drop at the start of 2008. In case you need to move your monies, here is our most recent analysis of

New Bill Boosts Car Fuel Economy!

Today, at the Energy Department, President Bush signed into law a legislation that is claimed to be “a major step” toward energy independence and easing global warming. It will bring more fuel-efficient vehicles into auto showrooms and require wider use of ethanol. It requires automakers to increase fuel efficiency by 40 percent to an industry average 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The standard

High Yield Savings Accounts

ING DIRECT's High Yield Orange Savings is now offering 4.10% APY! This is a drop of 0.10% from 4.20% APY. The rates for the Electric Orange Checking Account have changed as well. The new tiers are:

$0-49,999.99 earns a 3.15% APY
$50,000.00-$99,999.99 earns a 4.65% APY
$100,000.00 or more earns a 4.80% APY


Well it is time to move our monies yet again. We did some research and found a few

APY drop for Capital One's High Yield MMA!

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]Due to recent rate decrease by the Federal Reserves Capital One Money Market will be lowering their APY. Capital One Direct Banking (COF) may not be the only ones to drop their current APY. Last week, the Feds lowered the rates by 25 basis points. It is expected that others will follow suit and lower their