After many months of hard work by all the web team, we have today unveiled the new and much improved This is Money.

Essentially weve brought together This is Moneys near-2.1m readers together withthe audience of the Money channel of MailOnline, our (big) sister website to create a bigger, bolder and more powerful consumer news website.

Readers of MailOnline (theres now 77 million of them!) will notice that This is Money now has a similar look and feel – thats because were visible to readers of both websites. It also means we get access to a more flexible publishing system, and that means we can lay the contentout in a better way.

Read more…

Exciting times lie ahead for This is Money.

Fresh from our recent award wins and hittinga record readership of 2.1m, werekeen to push This is Money to new heights.

So very soon, you willsee a whole range of radical improvements to the site and a brand new look.

These enhancements will include:

I just wanted to say thanks to all the readers – all 1.7 million – who helped take This is Money to a record month in January.

We traditionally see a spike in traffic after Christmas as people go looking for help and advice in sorting out their money, but last month was exceptional.

The site had 1.73 million visitors, up 30% on December and 31% higher than last January. Nearly 85% of those visitors were in the UK.

Demand for advice and news was strongest in mortgages, investing and saving with many repeat visits to the site’s daily-updated prediction round-ups (see the list below).

January’s record shattered the previous record month of October 2008, when the financial crisis and a run on the banks spurred huge interest in This is Money’s news and advice.

I was also pleasing to see the average time spent on each page – something we watch closely – was up sharply, from 98 seconds a year ago to 109.

Read more…

2011 Interest Rate Forecast

If the economy continues to improve, money market funds have nowhere to go but up.

But don’t hold your breath waiting. Money market accounts hold very short-term investments and their yields mirror short-term interest rates, which the Federal Reserve has promised to keep exceptionally low for an extended period of time.

The rate policies from the Fed only account for part of the stagnant rates, however.

Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, up to 36 money market funds nearly “broke the buck,” according to a report last August by Moody’s. Breaking the buck means a fund can’t ensure clients get back at least one dollar for each dollar they put in.

Only one fund did end up dipping below the required $1 per share of net asset value: the now-infamous Reserve Primary Fund, which held $785 million in Lehman-issued securities and became unable to meet investor requests for redemptions.

Read more…

If you’re looking to grow your money in a low-risk account, you probably already recognize that your standard savings or checking account may not yield much of a return. Rather than look at annual interest earnings sheet of a few pennies, you can explore money market accounts for a safe way to an increased return. Here are a few guidelines for finding the best money market rates.

Save more to earn more

Many banks offer money market accounts with interest rates that vary depending on your account balance. Once your balance crosses incremental thresholds, you reap the reward of higher interest rates. Do your research, though. At many banks, the best money market rates are reserved for big balances over $10,000. If you plan on carrying a smaller balance in your account, a high-yield checking account may be a better option than an MMA.

Go direct

Many customers are turning to direct online banks for higher interest rates. Read more…