Passport to academic adventure in Southeast Asia

Loyola University students eager to spread their wings beyond Chicago and explore exciting academic opportunities overseas often choose to study at the university’s centers in Rome or Beijing. But a third locale exists that many undergraduates may not be aware of: Loyola’s Vietnam Center, which offers a variety of classes and excursions since the program expanded from a summer session to a fall or spring semester option in 2010.

Learn more by reading my debut article for Loyola Magazine, which you can access here.

Old school print mint

Ever seen an antique printing press machine at work? Curious how books are bound together? Marvel at the artistry and ingenuity of an intricate pop-up book? You might want to take a trip west to visit the San Francisco Center for the Book, a school/museum/studio that teaches students and visitors about old school bookmaking and printing techniques.

Read more about the Center and its amazing offerings by clicking here.

Saving in cyberspace

If you’re like many people, you salt away rainy day funds in a savings account at a neighborhood bank, where your money is safe and can at least accrue some interest. Problem is that many banks offer a paltry annual rate of return for savings accounts, often 0.01%, meaning $10,000 saved could accrue only $1 in interest after a year. But that same $10,000 could reap a more robust $110 in interest if kept in an OSA, where the annual percentage yield is as high as 1.10% at the time of this writing.

Learn more about the pros and cons of online savings account by reading my latest article for AARP The Magazine, which can be accessed here.

How low can rates go?

To win the limbo rock game, you have to remain on your feet and not fall over as you shimmy down under a stick that goes lower as the music progresses. To score a win in the mortgage interest game, by contrast, your goal is to lock in at the lowest rate possible—only this rate stick is unpredictable; you want it to go down but it can quickly edge up when you least expect it.

Over the last few months, that stick has steadily plunged, leading to favorable financing conditions for prospective mortgage borrowers. But how low can mortgage rates go in 2016? That's the question I attempt to answer in my debut article for The Mortgage Reports, which you can read by clicking here.

Virtual ventures beyond the mainstream

Even if you missed the Time Magazine cover article last August, weren’t able to attend CES 2016, or have overlooked the countless headlines, posts and tweets about it over the past several months, it’s hard to ignore the facts: Virtual reality is a reality, and VR technology has captured the awe and imagination of consumers hungry for a disbelief-suspending computer-rendered simulation of the real and the fantastic.

Learn more about the latest advances in VR--particularly technology affecting publishers and electronic content providers--by reading my newest article for EContent Magazine (click here).

Will new data lead to more credit?

Bright borrowers are aware that a higher credit score, which indicates a person’s creditworthiness, can aid them in qualifying for more preferred loans and lower interest rates. Now, Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO), the company responsible for creating your FICO score—the credit score most valued and used by lenders—has launched a new type of scoring program. Called FICO Score XD, the new score factors in alternative forms of data in order to qualify more consumers for credit.

Learn more about FICO Score XD in my newest real estate article for CTW Features, published in various papers across the country, by clicking here.