Government officials went head-to-head with banking executives in recent weeks demanding to know why huge loans to banks have failed to increase lending to consumers. However, banks countered by saying that they loaned as much or more than they did during the same time last year. So, who is lying and when will consumers be able to get loans?

The truth is that a lot of lending doesn’t come from banks, but rather so-called “shadow lenders” such as hedge funds and insurance companies. Often times, real estate developers, small business owners and others that need larger loans turn to these shadow lenders to cover their needs. Now, they are turning to banks to fill the void and taking up the credit traditionally used for consumers.

Unfortunately, the shadow banking system hasn’t recovered enough to pick up the slack and isn’t big enough to fill in the lack of supply in the lending markets. Meanwhile, banks are continuing to pull back on all types of lending in order to hold capital to help safeguard against future loan losses. They have also worked to increase fees to many of its clients, which has drawn consumer criticism.

The year 2008 will go down in infamy for many retirement portfolios as substantial losses have many wondering if they can afford to retire on time. However, many are wondering just how bad their situation is compared to those of their peers. Well, we found the data and here it is:

• $200,000+ portfolios lost more than a quarter of their value.
• $100,000 - $200,000 portfolios lost about 21% of their value.
• $50,000 - $100,000 portfolios lost about 15% of their value.
• $10,000 - $50,000 portfolios broke even for the year.
  

The trend is clearly that larger portfolios lost a larger portion of their value while smaller portfolios tended to outperform. In fact, investors who had less than $10,000 in their accounts in January 2008 saw their balances increase by an average of 43% between then and January 2009!

Why does this trend exist? Well, the average diversified stock fund fell about 38% in 2008. Even bond funds – which are considered safer than stocks – dropped nearly 8% during the year. Large 401(k)’s tend to invest in these types of stock funds and bonds. Meanwhile, smaller investors tend to invest in individual stocks, which can be riskier but can also pay off handsomely in a market like that of 2008.

So, how does this affect retirement? Well, a recent study showed that baby boomers with 20 to 29 years on the job may have to work an extra year and nine months to boost their portfolio balance to where it was a year ago. Moreover, if these people move into more conservative investments, it may take even longer to recoup the losses…

The landscape for business has greatly changed since the global financial crisis hit. Many of the big employers that hired from these schools, including Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers, are no longer in existence – and that’s causing concern among business school students. However, a good education may be key in what promises to be a fiercely competitive job market over the next couple of years.

Career services personnel are also eagerly awaiting response from Lehman, Merrill and AIG as to whether or not they plan on honoring the job offers that they extended to second-year students before the economic downturn. In fact, nobody really knows the impact yet on recruiting for these students, and that could affect the opinions of future students enrolling in the university.

In the meantime, career services personnel are encouraging students to touch as many potential employers as they can this fall, especially if they intend to go into troubled fields like investment banking. Some students may also want to consider jobs in other areas of financial services, such as corporate finance or internal auditing, and consider jobs and smaller boutique investment firms.

Unemployment is at the heart of economic problems in much of the United States, but there are still many states where unemployment remains low.

Here are some of the best states for employment:

Wyoming – Wyoming has the lowest unemployment rate in the country at just 3.4% thanks to its exposure to oil and gas exploration as well as coal mining. Additionally, Obama’s new plans for the use of clean-coal technology could help the state generate more jobs in the future.

Texas – Texas has low taxes, low regulation and low wages, which has attracted a lot of businesses. These job opportunities and low-cost living make this state home to many of the largest cities in the United States for employment. The stimulus package should also increase jobs in energy and infrastructure.

Oklahoma – Oklahoma City has an unemployment rate of just 4.6%, which is the lowest of all the larger metropolitan areas. The state has obtained some nice profits from its agricultural roots as well as the oil and natural gas industries, which have been big earners in recent months.

Many credit card issuers have experienced problems with their loan portfolios as defaults increase. Instead of encouraging prudent usage, they are starting to cut off those that don’t spend on their cards! The target: Inactive credit card users with high limits. Often times, these are people with a strong credit score that have left open their cards to maintain it – and they could be in trouble.

Credit card companies are increasingly worried that inactive cards with large open credit lines present a real risk of fraud and large potential liabilities. As a result, many major issuers including Chase, Bank of America, American Express and Citibank have been slashing credit lines and closing accounts of those who do not spend on a regular basis – oftentimes without much notice!

The only way for consumers to stop this trend is to start spending on their cards again. Otherwise, credit card companies will keep shutting them down. In fact, Discover alone closed 3 million accounts in 2008 due to inactivity and plans to cut up to 2 million more. After all, there’s no sense in trimming the loan portfolios yet if they can reduce risk for free by cutting inactive users…

Coupon clippers may be surprised to find that coupons can be found online, too! In fact, a recent study found that the number of searches on coupon web sites doubled from last January until September. It’s clear that many Americans are discovering new ways to save online, but what are some of the best web sites to find coupons and avoid paying full price for anything?

The most popular type of coupons available online deal with technology bargains both online and in stores. These types of deals can be found on web sites like TechBargains.com and SlickDeals.net. Consumers looking for more standard products from a variety of retailers may want to check out web sites like RetailMeNot.com and CouponCabin.com.

There are also a number of new technologies being developed to help you save. RetailMeNot.com has developed a downloadable browser application that alerts you to promotions and coupons when you’re on a retailer’s web site. It is a great way to ensure that you’re getting the best deal possible before you click the buy button and checkout and saves you a lot of time.

In the end, these coupons may be a great way to save money and are definitely worth watching!

Grocery stores are low margin business, which means they rely on selling a lot of items and focus on up-selling customers on expensive items when possible. Savvy consumers are able to see these expensive items and avoid them, but sometimes it can be difficult to tell when you’re getting ripped off by the grocery store. So, here’s a list of the most common grocery store rip offs that you can avoid purchasing during your next visit…

1. Bottled Water – Water is a lot cheaper coming from the tap or filtered through a re-usable filter. Recent studies have also shown that tap water is better for the environment as the process of making and filling bottled water leaves a large carbon footprint.
2. Energy Bars – Energy bars are often placed by the checkout as an “impulse buy” for consumers looking for a quick, healthy snack. However, these bars are often just as healthy as a candy bar, but cost two or three times more.
3. Pre-made Meat Patties – Having meat patties already formed for the grill may be convenient, but the luxury can cost several times that of ground meat in bulk. Taking the time to make your own patties can save you a fortune.
4. Salad Packs – Bags of salad can be a major convenience to making a fresh salad, but they often cost three times as much as buying the vegetables fresh. Salad kits that include small bags of dressing and croutons are also a rip off.
   

Combined, avoiding these and other expensive items at the grocery store can help you lower your monthly bills and become a smart shopper.

Most newspapers and television shows love to quote the Dow Jones when explaining the markets movements. The average was started by Charles Dow in the 1800’s as a way to measure stock market movements, but many academics are now questioning its relevance.

The Dow Jones only includes 30 stocks that are selected by a committee to best represent more than 6,000 readily-priced publicly traded companies in the United States. Several major sectors are not even represented in the index, such as transportation and utilities. Some consider this outdated now that computers are capable of calculating much larger indexes, such as the Russell 3,000.

The Dow Jones also has a few flaws in the way the index is calculated. The index is price-weighed, which means that it is not weighted according to the value of the companies like the S&P 500. So, for example, if a $20 stock moves up $1, the move can be negated by a $1 move in a $100 stock. This skews the average towards the activity of higher priced stocks. Another key flaw is that the Dow Jones doesn’t include dividends in its calculation.

Regardless, the Dow Jones remains a very important average for the American public. The media often quotes the average as a broad measure for the market. However, before you get concerned when the Dow Jones falls sharply, keep in mind that the rest of the market may be healthy. This is especially important to remember during these troubled times – there are plenty of healthy stocks out there.