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The housing crisis, credit crunch and the reaffirmed backing by the federal government of the beaten-up housing giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae could provide an investment opportunity for those looking for better yields.- advertisement -

Sometimes the search for decent yields in a low-rate environment can lead to taking too much risk. Government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs, issue bonds that can provide some intriguing yields and yet they’re close to top-tier investments when it comes to safety.

GSE bonds are not totally risk-free, but none have defaulted, and many people believe the government wouldn’t allow a default. We still don’t know if they’ll always be in the “too big to fail” category, but the government certainly appears to have put them there for the foreseeable future with the announcement that billions of dollars will be available to shore up the institutions, should they need it.

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Annual fees
Some rewards programs impose annual fees that could eat into the benefits of using the cards. For instance, airline cards branded with a particular carrier can have steep annual fees in the $80 or more range, says Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com. Typically, he says, you have to earn 25,000 miles to get a free ticket. Assuming you spend $8,000 a year on the card, and get a point for every dollar spent, it would take you more than three years to earn the free flight, and by then you’d have spent $240 in annual fees. You can get a round-trip ticket with a discount carrier for $250, Arnold says. (more…)

There aren’t many musicians today who could get away with calling an album “It Is Time for a Love Revolution,” but as a throwback to another generation in all the right ways, Lenny Kravitz pulls it off with aplomb.- advertisement -

The 44-year-old Kravitz has been drawing fans for almost two decades with a stripped-down style of straight-ahead rock ‘n’ roll that earned him Grammy awards four years in a row, from 1999 to 2002. His latest album, which features him on every instrument, gives back more of the same.

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Exchange-traded funds have proven to be very popular with do-it-yourself investors and financial advisers since their introduction in 1993. But their popularity has led to the market being swamped with them, and as a result, some investors have seen their funds liquidated.- advertisement -

ETFs present a cornucopia of investment choices in low-cost trading vehicles that trade like a stock. But, similar to mutual funds, each ETF represents a variety of companies, thereby mitigating some of the risk associated with single-stock investments. As investors have scooped them up in their portfolios, issuers have introduced more and more ETFs to the market.

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It was probably a matter of time before it happened. My personal information was exposed in a data breach. On June 10, my alma mater, the University of Florida, announced that more than 11,300 current and former students had their names, addresses, student record information and Social Security numbers exposed online. - advertisement -

I’m one among many who have seen their personal information lost or revealed in a breach. Linda Foley, the founder of the San Diego-based Identity Theft Resource Center, says her nonprofit group has counted 309 data breaches this year as of June 12, resulting in the exposure of 16,795,000 known records total.

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In honor of Father’s Day, Bankrate readers share the most useful advice their dads ever gave them. Here are some of the best. Some are funny, some sad, but all of them useful — so listen to these fathers.

Tough for a reason
When I started driving, my dad provided a vehicle (not new and definitely not pretty) for me to drive. It was my responsibility to pay the insurance and gas. This was my first true expense, and it really taught me that I had to work for what I got. There was many a day when the gas tank was empty and I walked or rode my bike until payday.

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This year, instead of scrambling to consolidate student loans by July 1, the smart money is on waiting until after that date — because interest rates are expected to drop. - advertisement -

The catch: Fewer lenders are offering loan consolidation.

Every July 1, interest rates reset for the year for variable rate Stafford loans for students and PLUS loans for parents. Stafford and PLUS loans made after July 1, 2006 are at fixed rates and not subject to consolidation.

Interest rates on the older loans are tied to the interest on three-month Treasury bills based on the last auction in May. Until this year, interest rates have risen every year.

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Higher loan limits, set by the federal government as part of an economic stimulus package early this year, were supposed to make jumbo loans more affordable in expensive housing markets. Rates finally have come down on these so-called “jumbo conforming” mortgages, though these loans likely will remain hard to get for most borrowers.- advertisement -

Jumbo-conforming loans range in size from $417,000 to nearly $730,000 and are especially important in expensive housing markets. A small condominium or modest first home can cost upward of $500,000 in markets such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Alexandria, Va., New York and other costly locales.

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With gas prices at a record high, fuel costs are draining the wallets of many. Where do you pinch pennies to siphon extra cash into your tank? Are you pulling from your savings or your entertainment budget?- advertisement -

What if you didn’t need to spend any more on gas than you did a year ago, even in the face of these prices?

Through our newsletter, we recently asked Bankrate readers how they were coping with rising gas prices. In their replies, many said they shucked their automobiles — or at least greatly reduced the amount of time they spend behind the wheel.

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Golden Globe winning actor Randy Quaid could be mistaken for just another carefree Texas tourist loping down Rodeo Drive. But behind the boyish grin, there’s a 57-year-old film, TV and stage performer who is booked solid for the foreseeable future in films and projects that will take him from coast to coast and across the world. It’s a hectic schedule, and Quaid is enjoying every minute of it. (more…)

Are you thinking about buying a new car, but dreading the dealer haggles that come with the purchase? There are a number of car-buying services that say they’ll do the negotiating dirty work for you, and save you thousands of dollars in the process.- advertisement -

These services are often just a mouse click or phone call away. Fees range from free (if you’re a member of one of their affiliates) to anywhere from $200 to $400, with about half of the amount due upfront.

Buyers typically begin by calling the car-buying service or filling out information online.

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If you’ve ever aimlessly wandered around in a crowded parking lot, you probably have a notion of what it feels like to have your vehicle stolen. There’s that sense of dread, unease and confusion as you think, “It has to be here somewhere. My car couldn’t have just driven away.”- advertisement -

Well, yes — it could.

Every 26.4 seconds, another car is stolen in the United States, according to a report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The good news is that the number of car thefts has been decreasing over the last three years. The bad news is that the recovery rate of stolen autos is also down.

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Washington Mutual, Wachovia and National City are among the financial institutions that have announced huge losses and are looking for billions of dollars from private equity firms or others in the industry just to keep their doors open. In all likelihood, the bigger banks and savings and loan associations will survive the mortgage debacle and ensuing credit crunch, albeit somewhat battered and bruised.- advertisement -

But smaller banks may not fare as well, although it doesn’t appear that we’ll see a cascade of bank failures. Nevertheless, the increased risk has prompted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., or FDIC, to beef up its staffing in anticipation of banks going belly-up.

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Millions of people know actor John O’Hurley as the man with the stentorian voice who entertained us as Elaine Benes’ boss on “Seinfeld.” His witty and wry portrayal of J. Peterman led to many successful print and TV ads for major companies.- advertisement -

Or maybe you remember him for mesmerizing us with his fancy footwork as the runner-up celebrity dancer in the first season of “Dancing With The Stars,” where he ended up in a dance-off with soap star Kelly Monaco. In winning the September 2005 rematch against Monaco, he earned $126,000 for the charity Golfers Against Cancer.

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The federal government has put its foot down: A lender can’t give you a subprime mortgage unless you are able to repay it. And that goes for jumbo mortgages, too — maybe.- advertisement -

You’re probably wondering why the feds find it necessary to tell lenders that they shouldn’t hand over the money before figuring out whether borrowers can afford the monthly mortgage payments. That seems awfully basic. But for a while, verifying a borrower’s ability to pay was out of fashion.

Like bell-bottom jeans, the practice of verifying a mortgage borrower’s ability to repay was wildly popular when Led Zeppelin ruled the airwaves, then became hopelessly uncool, and now is popular again.

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They should call Chase at the phone number that is on their mortgage statement.- advertisement -

When should borrowers call you — before they’re late with their first payment, or sometime later on (e.g., 60 to 90 days after missing the first payment)?
Borrowers concerned they may miss a payment should call their lender. It is never too early to start the discussion.

Should a borrower ask to speak with someone specific?
If a borrower calls Chase to discuss possible payment difficulties, the initial discussions will be handled through the customer care department.

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Savvy investors keep a portion of their portfolio in fixed-income investments where it’s not subject to the ups and downs of the stock market. Many people opt for the rock-solid security of certificates of deposit, or CDs, but you don’t necessarily want to go to the bank and simply buy a handful of CDs. Having a strategy can lead to bigger returns.

Strategy laddering
Interest rates rise and fall, but in a fairly slow manner. If the economy is in a slump and interest rates are in a prolonged low-rate cycle, you don’t want to get stuck buying a bunch of long-term CDs with low interest rates.

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It was 1978 and “National Lampoon’s Animal House” was a box-office hit, that has since become a cult classic. It was also the movie that introduced the world to Karen Allen.- advertisement -

Her next big break came in 1981, when director Steven Spielberg cast her as the feisty heroine opposite Harrison Ford in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Allen also took on smaller films while always returning to her first love — the Broadway stage.

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For many people approaching retirement, life can seem like it’s going along according to plan. Now that their kids are grown and out of the house with families of their own, they’ve settled into the role of doting grandparents.- advertisement -

But whether because of a death in the family, divorce, or problems with mental illness or drug addiction, more than 6 million grandparents across the country are raising their grandchildren, according to the Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey.

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Gamber says traditional boardinghouses provided daily meals mostly to single male boarders as Americans moved from the farm to the cities during the 1800s.

The boardinghouse’s seedy reputation, though sometimes deserved, was as much a reflection of the various turn-of-the-century campaigns for decency as the living conditions themselves, she says.

“The first big trend, I think, is all the stainless steel,” says Mark Connelly, senior director of testing for appliances at Consumer Reports. The good news for consumers is that manufacturers have “been doing that without the price getting too crazy.”

The abundance of stainless steel is a reflection of what’s going on in the high-end kitchen market, he says. “The more stainless steel, the more expensive,” he says, but, it’s popularity has made the sleek, shiny look more affordable for everyone over the past year.

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In recent weeks, mortgages quietly became harder to get.- advertisement -

Mortgage insurers require higher credit scores and bigger down payments than they did a month or two ago. Underwriting software used by brokers and loan officers is issuing fewer approvals than at the end of May.

Most buyers can still get home loans, but some find themselves pushed out of the private mortgage insurance, or PMI, market. Instead, they have to get mortgage insurance through the Federal Housing Administration. That often entails having to switch mortgage brokers, because many don’t have FHA certification.

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Want to do something truly patriotic to help preserve the American way of life?- advertisement -

Don’t retire. At least not yet.

That’s the advice of Andrew Yarrow, vice president and director of the Washington, D.C., office of the nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization Public Agenda.

Yarrow urges the nation’s 78 million baby boomers to forgo traditional or early retirement and work for a few more years, for their own sake and the good of the country.

If boomers all turn in their keys at age 55, 62 or 65 and head for the Tuscan hills, that great sucking sound you’ll hear is untold amounts of taxpayer dollars being leached from the economy. That is money heirs will either have to replace or do without.

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Inflation bloats the prices we pay for goods and services. But if inflation, or the threat of it, keeps the Federal Reserve from lowering short-term interest rates, then it will bring a smile to the faces of people who rely on fixed-income returns, because right now they’re getting pummeled on two fronts.- advertisement -

Consumers are paying higher prices on everyday necessities such as food and fuel. But the interest they’re getting on cash and CDs is nothing short of lousy. If the Fed stops cutting rates, interest on deposits may stop dropping.

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It seems that mortgage servicers aren’t satisfying anyone these days.- advertisement -

Homeowners get fed up when they try to work something out with their servicers, to no avail. Real estate agents complain that mortgage companies drag their heels on short sales. Regulators are restless about the lack of “meaningful improvement in foreclosure prevention outcomes.”

If there’s a lesson for foreclosure-avoiding consumers, it is this: Be patient, don’t take mortgage servicers’ actions personally and be ready to send paperwork multiple times.

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