3/18    Hello, I've contacted my friend in UK who says an interest rate of 4%
        is not uncommon. He suggests that I look into the following big bank in
        UK: NatWest, LloydsTSB, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Abbey Bank.
        Indeed, they all have much higher interest rates than in the US. Here
        is the problem. They all have a requirement that you be a "Resident of
        UK." What kind of proof do they want as a resident of UK? I'm thinking
        that if I do e-banking, they shouldn't have to mail me anything...
        \_ You can get a CD at Wells for 3.75 over 22 months. Minimal
           deposit of 10K. Auto-rollover with higher yield at maturity. So why
           even fucking bother...
           \_ that's not so great. http://virtualbank.com has 3.75% for 18 months,
              or 3.95% for 24.
           \_ ING Direct in US is 3.6%, you put in/take out any time you want.
              \_ Try 2.6%  I wish it was 3.6%  Still damn good for short-term.
                 \_ http://emigrant-direct.com now at 3.25%. competition is good.
              ING Direct in UK is 5%. With devaluating dollars and the deficit,
              relative to the US it is more like 20%. Why even fucking bother?
              You do the long term math.
              And by the way my mom (over 60) has annuities, and gets over
              5% for a 5 year plan, so I did in fact have her open up an acct
              in her name for me.
              \_ Now what guarantee do you have that this trend will hold over
                 the long term? Then factor in the price of currency
                 exchange, and the fact that you probably don't have nearly
                 as ready access to your money.
                 \_ Ok, ideally I'd like to access the money within 1 month.
                    Overseas transaction falls within that timeline. Why
                    1 month? So that if I decide to use it to buy something
                    big like a down payment for a house or a condo investment
                    in Shang-hai, I can do so within 1 month. I know that
                    someone will ask me why not just buy a house.
                    I already have 2 houses, 1 rental. I don't want to
                    buy a 3rd house (not now). I have been thinking about
                    investing in Shang-hai as my friend's dad bought a
                    hi-rise floor that doubled in price in the last 1.5
                    year. But until I've made up my mind, I just want
                    to keep my money in a nice place. By the way, if you have
                    ANY idea what people in HK and Taiwan are doing with
                    their investments, you'll also have little faith in
                    crappy US currency as well. I don't want to know the
                    financial impact of a swarm of people (esp. Asians)
                    moving their assets outside of US as is happening now.
                    \_ Well, good luck to you. Just be aware that the dollar
                       has always rebounded in the past, and very strongly
                       against any Euro currency. If you really want to be
                       this anal about your investments you can go ahead and
                       dump it into gold. Also, be aware that the europeans
                       are running pretty large defecits themselves. Plus,
                       the europeans are much less dynamic in terms of
                       adjusting to global changes in the economy. You sound
                       like the geeks who kept on buying yens during the
                       late 80s, then the big miracle of Japan ended and
                       you were stuck with 120+ for years.
                       \_ actually the dollar has been falling over the
                          past 40 years.  OTOH, buying property in
                          Shanghai is highly risky.  Many think it's
                          at a local maxima.  As for a swarm of asians
                          moving their assets out of US, I think it is
                          exaggerated.  Asian central banks diversifying
                          is the big worry.  -yap
                          \_ Bank of Japan is pretty much propping up the
                             dollar all by themselves at this point. I think
                             they have 1T in dollar denominated bonds
                             right now.
        \_ probably valid ID.
        \_ If you can't open a UK bank account, how about buying 'blue chip'
           Pound-denominated corporate bonds?