Keeping your budget in order is easier on the web

With so much focus on money, finances and personal accountability, individuals need sphisticated ways to manage both their money and their time. From online brokerage accounts to credit cards and bank accounts, retirement accounts, 401Ks and the like, keeping track of where your is coming from and going to is a necessity.

The old fashioned paper budget and ledger has gone the way of the pocket calculator and slide rule. More and more people are turning to tools on the web to track and quantify their cash and investments.

One such web tool is a site called Mint, which is a free online service which allows you to add all of your important financial information into your own secure, customizable platform.

Users enter their bank account information, plus information on loans, credit cards, home equity lines, and other regularly-used accounts, such as a stock account.

Then, once it's all set up, the software pulls all the information together and keeps it updated, employing bank-level security so your information doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

The site offers a high level of reliability and a one-click experience to see where and how your money is being employed. There are additional tools, such as auto-generated charts of where your money is being spent, and a budget app that can be adjusted to suit a personal preference.

Spending too much on gas, or clothes? Set up the budget to limit those expenses and put more money into other areas.

Mint is a great free solution designed to assist everyone in managing their finances.

Obama Speaks, JP Morgan Pops, Stops, Feds Love Banks

Sometimes you just have to sit back and take it all in, which is precisely what marketeers did today after JP Morgan put out a bogus earnings report prior to the open, and President Obama put down a line in the sand for Republicans over upcoming budgets.

Market futures pointed higher prior to the open after JP Morgan Chase (JPM) announced 1st quarter results, saying they beat wall Street expectations of $1.15 per share with a resounding $1.28 in the quarter. This sent the major indices off to the races at the open, but as soon as discoveries were made that Morgan's earnings figure was boosted by a 0.29 per share reduction in credit loan loss reserves, things began to turn ugly, and in a hurry.

After opening up 62 points to the good, the Dow Jones Industrials were seeing red by noon. Likewise, JP Morgan's 62 cent gain turned into a 76 cent loss (45.88) at the low of the day, just after 2:00 pm EDT. By the close, Morgan and the Dow had regained some ground, though JPM still finished down 39 cents and was quoted lower in the after-hours.

Around 2:00 pm, President Obama offered a retort to Republican Paul Ryan's proposed 2012 budget plan in a speech at George Washington University. The President outlined plans for cuts in defense spending and saving in Medicare and reiterated his 2008 campaign pledge to scale back the Bush tax cuts, saying he went along with Republican plans to extend them last year only so he could save middle class taxes from rising.

Obama's plan, in simple terms plans to cut the budget deficit by $4 trillion over the next 12 years, keeping intact the two largest entitlement programs, Medicare and Social Security, which was not mentioned for any revisions.

While the president was speaking, markets gyrated in both directions, finally heading into the positive, though only slightly, by the close. At the very least, the president did a good job of setting the parameters for a budget fight that figures to be a battle royale on Capitol Hill through the summer and into the fall.

Even though the markets broke a four-day losing streak, gains were minimal, the up early, lower later signature of trading was straight out of the bear market playbook.

Dow 12,270.99, +7.41 (0.06%)
NASDAQ 2,761.52, +16.73 (0.61%)
S&P 500 1,314.41, +0.25 (0.02%)
NYSE Composite 8,367.31, +6.85 (0.08%)

Advancers took back the edge over decliners, 3493-2976, but new highs and new lows were split, with a 46-46 tie on the NASDAQ and new highs bettering new lows, 50-15 on the NYSE. Volume was, as usual, uninspired.

NASDAQ Volume 1,766,435,000
NYSE Volume 4,275,430,000

Commodities snapped back to life with WTI crude futures gaining 86 cents, up to $107.11 on the NYMEX, snapping two-days of delightful declines. Gold picked up a gain of $2.00, to $1,455.60, while silver added 17 cents to $40.24.

The budget deal worked out last Friday now appears to be ready to pass both houses without much dissent, though some members of both parties have signaled that they would vote against the measure due to ideological values. A vote is scheduled for the House on Thursday.

In other news affecting JP Morgan and its cohorts (the 14 largest US banks), federal regulators slapped the collective wrists of the banks, but imposed no sanctions, fines or plausible remedies to foreclosure and mortgage servicing problems which surfaced last fall during the "robo-signing" scandal.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued the settlement after markets had closed.

"The review uncovered unsafe and unsound practices, violations of law and foreclosure processes geared toward speed and quantity, instead of quality and accuracy," the OTS said in a statement.

That qualifies as the understatement of the decade. Not a single banker or functionary has been indicted, nor have any of the banks in question been subject to any serious scrutiny over their abuses that likely deprived many homeowners of due process.

This "agreement" leaves conditions almost as they were, with the banks still holding all the cards and homeowners getting no relief. It is expected that foreclosures will proceed through the courts as they have, with judges scrutinizing individual cases for flawed paperwork and other transgressions routine to the practice of the banking cartel.

Without a workable framework, the process will likely bog down the real estate market for the next five to ten years, as title defects, lost notes, fraudulent assignments and other illegal practices are given a green light by the nation's regulators. Obviously, some things in Washington remain just the same, as regulators look the other way when it comes to their favorites sons and campaign contributors.

Stocks Take Another Hit, But, Why?

Major US indices fell for a fourth consecutive session - with the exception of the Dow, which eked out a 1-point gain on Monday - and there are likely several reasons why this downtrend has continued and actually accelerated, with the biggest drop coming today.

After all, it is the beginning of earnings season, and first quarter results are expected to be pretty good. But is the market looking down the road, or could investors be wary of margin squeezes caused by runaway commodity prices, or consumer depression caused by over-the-top gas prices?

One thing's for sure: the winter was a long and cold one, and nobody got a break from high heating bills in a majority of the heating states of the Northeast and Midwest. That certainly couldn't have helped household budgets much and a Gallup poll released today suggests that Americans are as displeased with current and future conditions as they were this time in 2009 and through the middle of 2010.

The poll showed that only 33% of respondents in March think the economy is "getting better." That's a drop from 36% in February and 41% in January.

Another possibility is that the now-month-old tragedy in Japan is also worsening, as officials raised the level of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident to 7, on a par with the disaster at Chernobyl, 25 years ago.

Perhaps the stock market wasn't really sold on the late-night budget deal reached on Friday night (We had expected this was only a continuing resolution and were right) and the potential that the deal could fall apart. Details are just beginning to trickle out that the cuts amount to much less than the $38.5 billion reported and that members of both parties, in bouth houses of congress, are displeased.

At Business Insider, Joe Weisenthal reports that the government might still shut down, this Friday. The AP has details from just where the phantom cuts are coming.

So, here we go again? The 2011 fiscal year ends September 30 (about 5 1/2 months from now), and the budget is still being trimmed, debated and flayed? This is no way to run a country, especially one as on the financial ropes as the USA. Get ready for more drama from the queens on Capitol Hill and at the White House.

The Hill has more detail on the cuts, which will go to a House floor vote on Thursday. The legislation is known as H.R. 1473, for those wishing to keep score at home.

Notwithstanding the aforementioned possibilities and potentialities, the Fed's ending of thier policy of handing over free money to Primary Dealers in June, via QE2, might be on the minds of many in the investment world. When that nearly $100 billion a month stops, so might Wall Street's 2-year-long party. In a related note, the Fed released it's schedule of banker handouts (POMO) for the remainder of April through May 12.

All of this news added up to some big drops in the equity markets, centered around just about 1% overall. Commodities were hit even harder (see below).

Dow 12,263.58, -117.53 (0.95%)
NASDAQ 2,744.79, -26.72 (0.96%)
S&P 500 1,314.16, -10.30 (0.78%)
NYSE Composite 8,360.46, -85.31 (1.01%)

Declining issues clobbered advancers again, 4883-1663, a nearly 3:1 ratio, the largest of the past four sessions. On the NASDAQ, new lows overtook new highs, 56-39, but it was the other way around on the stubborn NYSE, with new highs holding a slim edge over new lows, 41-20. A similar pattern was witnessed in March, with the new lows overtaking new highs on both indices for 4-6 days, but the supposed correction was cut short by a surprise rally that now seems to have run up against resistance and is failing fast. Volume was not spectacular, and would most accurately be described as moribund. Another few days of this, and another row over continuing funding to the federal government could put the kibosh on 2011 gains, short and long term.

NASDAQ Volume 1,798,176,500
NYSE Volume 4,735,433,500

Oil took another massive hit in price on Tuesday, with WTI crude futures falling $3.67, to $106.25, and even lower after NYMEX trading closed. That's a two-day drop of $6.52 per barrel and motorists can only hope the trend continues. There are a lot of speculators in the market, and estimates range from them making up anywhere from 10-40% of the oil price.

Of course, in a real world, with real world consequences coming from an actually-functioning Justice Department, that would otherwise be known as price-fixing. Since the Attorney General hasn't been seen in six or eight months, and is generally regarded as the worst ever, don't expect anything like even an investigation to commence any time soon. We hear the name of the AG is Eric Holder, but nobody's been able to confirm that.

Along with oil, a good number of food and grain commodities are coming off their highs. Corn, soybeans and wheat were down the most, with lean hogs and live cattle following the trend. Gold slipped $14.50, to $1,453.60. Silver fell 55 cents, to settle in at $40.07 per ounce.

It has been said that one day does not make a trend, and there's truth in that, but maybe four straight declines in major indices are significant enough for somebody to take notice. It's no secret that the US system is largely bankrupt and operating on fumes and smoke, so it might be just a matter of time for the markets to correct. Naturally, the meddling Fed has kept the rally going with oodles of cash, and just to be sure, they gave some to the wives of some already-rich bankers, as Matt Taibbi reports for Rolling Stone.

Fair warning: reading Taibbi's latest story might lead to vomiting or breaking of inanimate objects. Strap in securely, as this story reveals just how corrupt and unbalanced the entire bailout process has been and continues to be.

Paging Ron Paul, paging Ron Paul. The country is calling on you to run for president.