Page 560 - Introduction to Business

534 PART 5 Finance

where. E*Trade offers online investing in stocks, options, bonds, IPOs, and over
5200 mutual funds. E*Trade provides real-time quotes and customizable charts on
thousands of stocks. E*Trade also offers banking services.
Fannie Mae (http://www.fanniemae.com) provides a steady stream of mort-
gage funds to the United States’ homebuyers by purchasing home loans from a
myriad of financial institutions. The website is mainly devoted to providing mort-
gage information and giving links to potential homebuyers. Some of the features of
the website are property listings, links to sites where mortgages can be applied for,
and information on mortgage businesses.
Fidelity Investments (http://www.fidelity.com) is one of the United States’ pre-
mier brokerages. Its website provides resources for managing a portfolio, online
trading, and planning for the future.
Freddie Mac (http://www.freddiemac.com) is very similar to Fannie Mae in its
business. Much of its website is also devoted to mortgage information. Resources
are available pertaining to mortgage planning and to obtaining a home loan. Much
of this information overlaps with that of Fannie Mae.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Development (HUD, http://www.hud.
gov) strives to provide every American with affordable housing. Its website provides
links for buying a HUD home, applying for public housing, and a wealth of infor-
mation with regard to purchasing or selling a house.
Intuit Corporation’s website (www.intuit.com) provides a link to a number of
financial calculators (http://www.intuitadvisor.com/intuit/vortal/gtf/financalc_
draw.gtf). Among the financial calculators provided on the website are
• Home affordability calculator
• Investment yield calculator
• Mortgage qualification calculator
• Savings goal—monthly deposit calculator
• Rent versus buy calculator
Morningstar (http://www.morningstar.com) is a financial information service
that provides investors with lots of valuable information. Much of the site can be
personalized to track your own investment portfolio. In addition, you can sign up
for a premium membership to obtain exclusive analyst reports, stock picks, and
other resources.
Quicken (http://www.quicken.com) provides online and software applications
to help people manage their finances. The website provides investment information,
loan information, software support, and tax planning help. Quicken is one of the
most trusted names in personal finance management.
Wells Fargo (http://www.wellsfargo.com) is a large bank that provides a range
of services on its website. This site also has a personal finance section filled with
investment, mortgage, and financial planning pages. Wells Fargo has many features
that allow you to personalize them by signing up for an online account.
Yahoo! Finance (www.finance.yahoo.com) provides a wealth of investment
research material, stock quotes, analyst reports, and other financial information
that allows you to manage your own portfolio. In addition, it has links to many of
the other financial information services and institutions.

Insurance
insurance An arrangement in which an In addition to saving the equivalent of six months of living expenses in liquid
individual pays a fee (premium) and in investments like a passbook savings account, money market mutual fund, or bank
return, if the individual suffers a
designated loss, the insurance company money market deposit account, you should acquire insurance to shield you from
compensates him or her financial setbacks. In general, insurance is an arrangement in which you pay a fee

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