Investors put $6.2 billion back into stock funds in April, a drop compared with last April’s $33.8 billion. Pros are divided on how to interpret the data: it’s either a sucker’s rally on the way down, or a happy sign that the bottom’s been hit. … New Fund Flood The market’s slide didn’t dampen investors’ enthusiasm for a relatively new type of mutual fund. While they were selling traditional stock funds in March, investors were buying $8.9 billion worth of exchange-traded funds, reported the Investment Company Institute. Unlike ordinary mutual funds, which are sold directly by their issuers and priced once a day, ETFs are traded on the American Stock Exchange and can be bought and sold at market prices all day long, albeit with commissions.
Investors love ETFs because they act like index funds but are generally much cheaper to hold over the long term. Because of those commissions, however, they’re more expensive to trade and are best for long-term investors.
MONEY MACHINES New Banking Hours: From 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. ATM’s with attitude are starting to show up at 7-Eleven stores. Customers in Texas and Florida can buy money orders, wire money and get cash at new V.com kiosks set up by the stores with partners like American Express, Western Union and others.
These banks-in-a-box will start to go nationwide at the year-end in 8-foot-high cubicles that will let customers bank in private, says a 7-Eleven spokeswoman. Customers will get a personal-identification number and be able to cash checks, pay bills and make deposits, but that’s not all. The machines will also print maps, deliver sports scores and stock prices, arrange video rentals and, of course, sell stuff. That’s convenience.
CREDIT Cards Get Costlier If interest rates are falling, why are credit cards getting ever more expensive? Dirty tricks and deceptive practices, says a new study by the U.S. Public Interest Group, a consumer watchdog. Issuers have cut grace periods and hit one-time offenders with record-high punitive rates averaging 22.8 percent and late fees averaging $27.61. Even worse, some of the latest card pitches offer only ranges of possible interest rates and don’t disclose the actual rate until the customer asks for the card.
Card shoppers can protect themselves by never paying late and reading carefully, says the American Bankers Association. But with 248 million solicitations a month, that’s a lot of small print.
