5/13    Does FDIC ever matter? How likely is it that your deposit of
        over $250k going to be screwed over in a major US bank?
        \_ Was Washington Mutual a major bank?
        \_ Was Washington Mutual a major US bank?
        \_ Hahahahahahahahahahaha. Good one.
        \- As with nuclear weapons, this insurance produces much of its value
	...

3/6     When I first joined my company, I got a sign-in bonus which was
        deposited into my savings account the first month. I also got my
        moving fees reimbursed, which was also deposited into my savings
        account a few months later. However, neither entries show up on
        W2 or any other official records (not even ADP). I asked my boss
        if I should talk to someone about this, and he said "don't worry
	...

10/29   Hey troll that said that 2 CS profs should make $1M/yr...
        http://www.sacbee.com/statepay
        Most CS Profs make around $120K. Now it's your turn to talk about how
        if you're not wasting your money on fancy dinners and investing it all,
        you'd make over $1M on real estate and stock market investments.
        \_ Go back and reread and apologize. 1/4 != 1
	...

9/29    So let's say I have some money, about $100k. What are some things
        I could do with it? What do you guys recommend?
        \_ Hookers and blow
        \_ Guns, ammo, MREs, to prepare for the coming apocalypse!
           \_ I am thinking about buying some gold.
              \_ Gold is a bad idea right now.  The inflation hedge is
	...

5/18    What's a good bank with decent interest rate for savings or MM?
        I'm looking for something that's not too inconvenient (with tellers
        within 20 miles of major cities) and with higher interest rates
        than BofA and Wells Fargo.
        \_ Isn't there a canonical approach to keep a small amount of money
           ~$1000 in a large bank with prevalent ATMs and keep the bulk of
	...

4/9     Wife and I have about $5000 combined savings. We're poor. What's a
        decent checking or savings account to open?
        \_ http://gmacbank.com is a pretty good value.
        \_ http://gmacbank.com is a pretty good value. they almost always pay a pretty
           competitive rate. one of the account types offers limited
           check-writing and ATM fee reimbursements. the other doesn't, but
	...

8/1     Suppose your house is already paid off and you retire at 65.
        How much expense does one expect to spend a year, in the Bay
        Area? Property tax will be about $10K/year for a modest $850K
        home. What about other stuff?
        \_ I think at age 65, health insurance is the next biggest expense.
        \_ I am thinking that we can have a nice middle class
	...

7[31    Suppose you have a few hundred thousand dollars in the bank earning
        minimum interest rate and you're not sure whether you're going to
        buy a house in 1-5 years. Should one put that money in a more
        risky place like Vanguard ETFs and index funds, given that the
        horizon is only 1-5 years?
        \_ I have a very similar problem, in that I have a bunch of cash
	...

3/10    I'm trying to help my parents, in their mortgage there's an
        "escrow" amount. What exactly is this? From reading Google,
        the loan company uses the escrow account to pay for home
        insurance, but they've been paying home insurance themselves.
        I'm really confused on what this fee is.
        \_ Without an escrow account, you write checks to your insurance
	...

2/19    I just realized that my real estate broker has a PhD in plant
        molecular cell biology from an Ivy League school in the mid 70s.
        Now she has to deal with a bunch of young dot-comers, and they're
        pain in the ass.                        -Only a BS in EEC$
        \_ My agent used to be a hardware engineer.  He switched to real estate
           when he got laid off during the 80's.  Now he's doing very well.
	...

2/8     Hey, are Day and Week trader guys still around?  Just curious how it's
        going.  I was also thinking of doing some largely buy-and-hold
        investing, can anyone recommend an online broker?  I was thinking of
        Fidelity because I have a 401k there, but I don't need anything fancy.
        \_ market hasn't been volatile enough. I've made a few thousand
           this year but I really miss the Bush era.
	...

4/19    I'm thinking of getting Roth IRA. Which company is good/pleasant to
        use? Etrade? Fidelity? Scottrade?
        \_ Buy Silver.  Gold is already overvalued.  We're going to hit
           hyperinflation the likes of which even God has never seen before.
        \_ Local credit union.
        \_ I recommend charlesSchwab
	...

7/24    Stock trading question: If on Monday I sell FOO for $20000 and
        on Tue I buy BAR for $10000 with the "unsettled" money from
        the Monday FOO sale, the only complications are if I sell BAR
        before the FOO settlement on Wed/Thr, right? If I hold BAR
        until after the FOO settlement, then there is no issue on a cash
        account? Also, if I transfer in $10000 after the purchase on Tue,
	...

5/26    I got multiple emails from multiple sources about the resurgence
        of the stock market. Case in point, Charles Schab: "Looking for
        Signs of Midyear Traction": A Town Hall Webcast with Liz Ann
        Sonders and special guests. Are we ready to get back into the game?
        \_ Nouriel Roubini sez:  Yer all fucked!  For years!
           http://tinyurl.com/o8nx7q (forbes)
	...

10/23   So, day trader guy, what's your method? What are you trading?
        \_ BIGGS: (over headset) Hurry up, Luke!
        \_ I'm doing week trade. I trade index like DIA and QQQQ, which
           don't have as big of a movement. I set my expectations to be
           low (5-8% up down). I set limit (if up, sell 1/2, if down,
           buy more). I don't like day trade anymore, it's too stressful.
	...

10/22   How many people here still day trade (compared to the dot-com
        days when almost everyone played)?
        \_ it's too dangerous right now.
        \_ looks like only Thu was an OpEx up day - but expectation was met
        \_ Dude, I just *started* day trading. It's an awesome environment
           to trade in. These wild, crazy swings up and down are great for
	...

10/17   Laid Off By Lehman: One Broker's Story
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjX6aKLy2N4
	...

10/17   http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=31449
        44-year-old veteran trader kills self after losing several million
        daytrading S&P 500 futures on Wed.
        \_ And we should pity gamblers because ......
           \_ Because he worked very hard like many Americans do.
              \_ Most Americans don't live on gambling.
	...

10/2    Why is it I see on TV about all the J6P's talking about how their
        401(k) has blown up implying they couldn't do anything about it.  Like
        they didn't realize they could login (or call their broker) and
        transfer some or all into the 401(k)'s money market fund?
        Well, you guys, Berkeley grads, know you can do that right?
        I'm talking about 401(k), not IRA or your personal stock portfolio.
	...