The Wall Street Journal Sucks
I’ve got three complaints about the print WallStreet Journal (WSJ) subscription that I have:
- Delivery is inconsistent. Some days it comes, some days it doesn’t. I’d say a good 40% of the time it doesn’t come at all.
- Delivery is often late. If I get, there’s a 20% chance it’s when I’m coming home from work, not when I leave.
- Delivery “on hold” didn’t work. I put the subscription on hold for two weeks while I was in Shanghai, so what did I come home to? A huge stack of Wallstreet Journal magazines, and two emails notifying me of the hold period start and end effective dates. Clearly, not very effective.
If you want to read the WSJ (and it’s a great magazine to read), I strongly suggest you pick up the Wallstreet Journal Kindle Edition and get it wirelessly without any of the physical delivery issues.
Dead on Black Friday at Walmart
This year’s Black Friday tragedy is a Walmart stampede which left a 34-year-old temp worker (Jdimytai Damour) dead and four shoppers (one eight months pregnant) injured. 2000 shopper stormed the Queens-area Walmart gates at 5 AM after chanting “push the doors in.” People at the scene reported chaos:
“They were jumping over the barricades and breaking down the door,” said Pat Alexander. “Everyone was screaming. You just had to keep walking on your toes to keep from falling over.”
Kimberly Cribbs said “When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling, ‘I’ve been on line since Friday morning!’ They kept shopping.”
The deals included a $798 Samsung 50-inch Plasma HDTV, a Bissel Compact Upright Vacuum for $28 and Men’s Wrangler Tough Jeans for $8.
The Wallmart in question, in Long Island NY
I was wondering why this would happen. I’ve been in huge crowds–concerts, for example, regularly have many thousands of rowdy, excited riotous fans–but they’re always carefully controlled to minimize the chance of a trampling rush. The Walmart itself is not in a particularly bad part of NY; the average salaries, education, age, and racial composition are more or less normal.
On the other hand, there’s a thread on slickdeals where seancashmere disagrees:
Yeah, really and truly, the people who live in Valley Stream and some points to the East have nice homes and are educated enough, but the people who shop at the Valley Stream Walmart are terrible. They are under educated and poor. Many come from Jamaica and South Ozone Park, Queens, the projects, Rosedale and the surrounding areas…
I don’t buy that particular argument; any tightly-packed large crowd is dangerous, whether filled with the upper or lower crusts. Pictures of the scene show the problem: a small doorway, and way too many people.
A picture of the crowd waiting for Walmart to open
Interestingly, there are other incidents driven by crowds, bargains, and human rage. For example, see Fatal shooting followed toy store brawl about a Black Friday skirmish inside a Toys-R-Us.
Just listen to Gizmodo (oh how I hate to say they’re right on this one)–You Don’t Really Want This Crap. Deals aren’t to die for.
Best High Interest Yield Online Savings Accounts
I don’t have a savings account, let alone a high-yield checking account, or an account linked to a money market fund. That’s right, my current annual percentage yield (APY) is a fat 0%. Say that you have a balance of $10,000, and the average rate runs around 3.5%, then you’d be losing $1,877 over the next five years. If you could put in $2,500 a year for the next five years, you’d lose $2783 in essentially free interest.
The Best of National Banks
3.75% APY from WAMU savings
WAMU’s free savings will get you a 3.75% APY, but it comes at the cost of having to setup a linked checking account:
The advertised APY applies to Online Savings only when opened online with WaMu Free Checking or linked to other WaMu checking account. If your checking account is closed for any reason (by you or us), or transferred to another kind of account, standard APYs/rates apply. Online banking and online delivery of statements also required. APY does not apply to WaMu Free Checking Account.
3.50% APY is offered from HSBC savings
Open a savings account with HSBC and you can get a 3.50% APY. There don’t appear to be any other requirements or minimums. Note the offer expires 09/15/08.
3.30% from E*Trade
I like the “>E*Trade High Interest Savings; not only is the yield nice, their online integration top notch, but their terms are quite reasonable:
Annual Percentage Yield is effective 8/3/2008 and is subject to change. A $1 minimum deposit is required to open a new account. Withdrawal limits apply. Online statements required.
3.09% from the Discover Money Market account
Signing up for a Discover Bank Money Market Account will win a nice 3.09% APY, but require a minimum deposit of $2,500. Their FAQ has some pointers:
An initial deposit of $2,500 is required to open a Discover Bank Money Market Account. A minimum average daily balance of $2,500 must be maintained in order to avoid fees.
Local Banks to Check Out
5.01% APY comes if you use them as your primary checking
Northern Federal Credit Union offers a 5.01% APY on their checking account, although you need to sign up for a plethora of additional banking services:
* Receive a direct deposit or conduct an ACH debit
* Receive monthly e-statements instead of paper statements
* Make 10 or more purchases using your debit card (excludes ATM withdrawals)
* Login to Virtual Branch online banking at least one time per month.
Data Table
| APY | Bank | Minimum | Credit Check | ACH | Terms |
| 5.01 | Northern Federal | 1 | N | Y | Direct Deposit, estatement, 10+ purchases, online login once/mo |
| 3.75 | WAMU | 1 | N | Y | Requires linked free checking account |
| 3.5 | HSBC Direct | 1 | N | Y | None |
| 3.3 | Etrade Complete Savings | 1 | N | Y | $25 opening bonus |
| 3.09 | Discover Money Market Accounts | 2.5k | N | Y | None |
| 3 | ING Direct | 1 | N | Partial (Outgoing only) | None |
Other Great Resources
Here are a few links that might help you find the best deals on savings and checkings accounts with great interest rates:
