Search For Credit Cards

Occupy Wall Street descended upon New York City’s Times Square the other day, and so did some hedge-fund managers with big followings. Kiplinger sat in on the semiannual Value Investing Conference, held the third week of October, in search of these investors’ latest and greatest ideas. Here are five we judge most worth your consideration, plus a suggestion to avoid a normally popular class of stocks.

We offer these suggestions with the full awareness that you probably do not, and should not, invest your IRA or brokerage account as if it were a fast-trading, high-turnover hedge fund. Some hedge funds, it is true, are more patient, and thats in line with our approach.

Kiplinger is also aware that hedge-fund operators are no more infallible than the long list of money managers who built spectacular records at mutual funds but lately have gotten it way wrong, their long-term investment returns regressing to less than those of an index fund.

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What you charge on your credit card eventually may determine what ads you see online, according to a new report.

Privacy rights advocates call foul MasterCard and Visa dont register peoples names or addresses when processing credit card transactions. Both companies also allow users to opt out of data collection, if they so choose.

People can remove their information from MasterCards analysis by providing their card number on MasterCards “Data Analytics Opt-Out” page.

Still, the idea concerns privacy rights advocates.

“If it’s beneficial to the consumer, why not let them opt into it?” says Amber Yoo of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. After all

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– The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday, with sentiment likely to take a beating following yesterday’s strong gains. Banking giant JP Morgan Chase (JPM) reported a decline in its third quarter earnings, although the decline was not as worse as what analysts had expected. Internet giant Google (GOOG) is due to report its quarterly results after the markets close.

On the economic front, the weekly jobless claims declined slightly in the recent reporting week. The news may not bring cheer to the markets, given the depressed levels of the labor market. A commerce department report released earlier in the day showed that the trade deficit remained almost unchanged in August. The lack of any major positive catalysts along with underlying fears concerning Europe may keep sentiment subdued in the session.

U.S. stocks advanced on Wednesday, encouraged by the progress made on resolving Europe’s debt crisis.

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If you plan to fly this Thanksgiving or Christmas, now is the time to start searching for good fares, says Anne Banas, executive editor of SmarterTravel.com. This is especially true if your travel plans aren’t flexible. She says it is better to look early for fares in your budget rather than hold out in hopes of getting a cheap fare that might not materialize.

She expects holiday airfares to be similar to what they were last year and says travelers probably won’t see great deals because airlines are continuing to cut capacity.

Check prices on routes you’re interested in now to get a sense of how much you can expect to pay. If you see a great fare, grab it. Otherwise, sign up for alerts from airlines and travel sites — such as Airfarewatchdog.com, Bing Travel, Kayak.com and Yapta.com — so you’ll know if prices drop. But don’t hold out too long because prices likely will start increasing after the first two weeks of October.

The best day to book flights is Tuesday because that’s when sales are released, Banas says.

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