Banking Deals of the Week: Nov. 11

President John F. Kennedy once famously said, “life isn’t fair.”

If JFK were around today, he might apply his famous phrase to the current dichotomy between Main Street and Wall Street.

Last week, the U.S. Labor Department announced that the unemployment number had reached 10.2% for October — a 26 year-high. According to some economists, it could take four years before unemployment settles back down to 5% or 6%.

But Wall Street isn’t sharing the pain. According to Standard & Poor’s, 80% of companies listed on the S&P 500 are reporting better-than-expected earnings on third-quarter profits.

Once again, despite a populist, reform-minded President who rose to power touting Main Street over Wall Street, Wall Street wins again.
Life isn’t fair.

But never let it be said that “Deals of the Week” isn’t doing its part to close the gap between Main Street and Wall Street. In fact, separating banks from their money is the least we can due to help consumers rebound from tough economic times.

Business Checking

Small business owners are really getting whacked. Fewer consumers mean less profit, and the government seems ready to shackle small businesses with higher taxes and onerous health care regulations.

At least small business owners can get a break — this time via a $200 cash bonus by opening a business checking account with Chase Bank (Stock Quote: JPM). You only have a little more than a week to act on this deal (it expires Nov. 20).

But you can still get the deal by opening an account with a minimum $500 deposit. Within 10 days of confirming the deposit, Chase will pop $200 into your account.

You can open the account at a local Chase branch, call them at 1-800-CHASE24, or apply online.

You’ll need a coupon (COUPON CODE: 34482060000052372). You can print out a copy of the coupon here.

You may have to push Chase customer service reps to honor the deal — it took BankingMyWay a few phone calls to get a similar deal earlier this year. But the coupon should seal the deal.