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• Ask your investment professional if the company files reports with the SEC and to get you written information about the company and its business, finances, and management.
• From the company Ask the company if it is registered with the SEC and files reports with us. If the company is small and unknown to most people, you should also call your state securities regulator to get information about the company, its management, and the brokers or promoters who’ve encouraged you to invest in the company.
• From the SEC. A great many companies must file their reports with the SEC. Using the EDGAR database, you can find out whether a company files with them and get any reports in which you’re interested. For companies that do not file on EDGAR, check with the SEC’s Public Reference Room to see whether the company has filed an offering circular under Reg A.
• From your state securities regulator We strongly urge you to contact your state securities regulator to find out whether they have information about a company and the people behind it.
• From other government regulators Many companies, such as banks, do not have to file reports with the SEC. But banks must file updated financial information with their banking regulators. Visit the Federal Reserve System’s National Information Center of Banking Information site at www.ffiec.gov/nicpubweb/nicweb/nichome.aspx, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency at www.occ.treas.gov, or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation at www.fdic.gov.
• From reference books and commercial databases Visit your local public library or the nearest law or business school library. You’ll find many reference materials containing information about companies.
• The Secretary of State Where the Company Is Incorporated Contact the secretary of state where the company is incorporated to find out whether the company is a corporation in good standing. You may also be able to obtain copies of the company’s incorporation papers and any annual reports it files with the state. Please visit the National Association of Secretaries of State website at www.nass.org for contact information regarding a particular Secretary of State.

A money market account is a type of savings account which just like regular savings accounts. The difference is that they usually pay higher interest, have higher minimum balance requirements, and only allow three to six withdrawals per month. The money in a money market account is also insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). You usually have to maintain a certain balance in the account to receive the higher rate of interest.

One which I think have a good money market account is M&T Online Banking where you can apply online. M&T is great, because they don’t need minimum balance, no monthly fee, and not tied up for a specific length of time. That’s why it gives you the freedom to access your funds at any time any where. It currently offer 0.75% APY. “APY” or Annual Percentage Yield is the rate of return on an interest-bearing account for a one-year period based on the interest rate and frequency of compounding.

Don’t forget they are also insured by FDIC. Because this is an online account, at first I am a bit worry for it’s security. But looking at it’s FAQ, I learn that they uses 128-bit encryption for online security. They also maintain strict security standards and procedures to prevent unauthorized access to your information.

So I really recommend them because of their flexibility and higher rate than savings account.

The subprime mortgage hit banks around the nation. Their stocks has plummeted last year, and nobody knows when it will stop. Business are currently very bad for them. It’s not a surprise to see loss from them. Analysts are predicting that up to 300 banks could fail. Many people now wondering if their money is safe in the bank.

During the crisis Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) made some changes about the deposit insurance coverage. FDIC is a federal government run entity that provides deposit insurance protection for participating member banks. The FDIC system was set up to bring consumer confidence in US banking system during financial turmoil.

Deposits at FDIC-insured institutions are insured up to at least $250,000 per depositor until December 31, 2009. On January 1, 2010, FDIC deposit insurance for all deposit accounts—except for certain retirement accounts—will return to at least $100,000 per depositor. Insurance coverage for certain retirement accounts, which include all IRA deposit accounts, was increased permanently to $250,000 per depositor in 2006.

The FDIC protection covers a variety of bank deposits: checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificate of deposits (CD’s). However, does not cover non bank deposit type accounts and assets like – stocks, bonds, and mutual fund investments.

So if you have more than $250,000 what will you do?