MoneyRates Blog
Low Interest Rates on CDs Helping to Sell Riskier Investments
There are two main benefits of investing in certificates of deposit: simplicity and safety. And in this world, these two benefits are worth an incredible amount. There is no price you can put on knowing you’re not going to lose your life savings because some Wall Street guys thought they were clever.
However, simplicity and safety [...]
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Should Senior Citizens Consider Peer-to-Peer Lending?
CD rates and savings account rates are at levels that make many people irritated. Senior citizens who have saved all their lives in anticipation of living off interest may be particularly irritated.
This anger is understandable. The federal government and the entire Wall Street apparatus have mutually conspired to do everything they can to keep interest rates [...]
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Consumer Confidence Delivers Body Blow to Markets — and Bank Rates
Consumer confidence — or the lack thereof — took center stage yesterday, as an unexpectedly low reading led to a sharp sell-off in the stock market. As with any sign of economic weakness, this could delay the recovery of bank rates.
The Conference Board takes a monthly survey of consumer confidence, and the February reading saw the [...]
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The Latest Import from Asia: Responsible Banking?
Last week, China raised its reserve requirement ratio for large banks. The move was noteworthy because it is a tactic designed to slow growth — something it’s hard to imagine U.S. policymakers doing. However, China’s action may be an example of how policymakers can lead rather than follow.
According to a New York Times story, China’s [...]
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Continuing “Credit Crunch” Could Spell Higher Bank Rates Sometime Soon
The phrase “credit crunch” may seem, for the moment, like a relic of 2008. But upon closer inspection, it is clear that credit is not flowing freely whatsoever. This could lead to higher interest rates on CDs, money market accounts, and savings accounts if banks can figure out a way to put those deposits to [...]
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Help for Bank Rates Lies Beyond Party Politics
The abrupt resignation of Senator Evan Bayh was intended to be a wake-up call for Washington to get its act in order — or for voters to change the cast of characters in Washington.
You don’t have to be a supporter of either party to agree that the federal government needs to snap out of its [...]
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Are HECM Reverse Mortgages Too Cheap?
Reverse mortgages have been getting some good press of late. Jack Guttentag, for instance, a.k.a. “The Mortgage Professor,” has spent a couple thousand words over the past couple weeks ripping into reverse mortgage fear mongers who claim that reverse mortgages are a rip-off.
Guttentag’s latest column, titled “More Bogus Arguments Against the Reverse Mortgage,” includes an [...]
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Sovereign Debt and the Paradox of Low Bank Rates
For the time being, the financial markets have been somewhat calmed by news that the European Union would help the nation of Greece deal with its debt crisis. However, the calm may be short-lived, as concerns about other sovereign debts, such as those of Spain and Portugal, are not far from boiling over. Indeed, one [...]
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The Fed’s Plan to Stop Inflation: What It Means to CD Values
Conservative investors who hold money in CDs, money market accounts, or savings accounts may feel like they’re between a rock and a hard place:
They by all means want higher interest rates on those deposit accounts, but they also are worried about the poor economic conditions of the country as a whole.
The basic fear underlying these [...]
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Easing Debt Burdens a Hopeful Sign for Bank Rates
In many ways, the recent financial crisis has set up a conflict between borrowers and savers — and savers have gotten the short end of the stick. Excessive debt levels put savings deposits in jeopardy and drove down the value of financial assets. The resulting recession led to government policies which lowered interest rates. In [...]
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Why Bother With a Money Market Account?
As noted by J.D. over at GetRichSlowly.org, money market accounts are often not very well-understood. For some savers, the question arises in a quite blunt format:
“Why should I bother with a money market account?”
Especially for people who already have a savings account and a checking account, a money market account can seem like an extra account [...]
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Bank Rates Feel the Stock Market’s Pain
The U.S. stock market posted its fourth consecutive weekly decline last week, and the volatility of stocks seems to be accelerating. Take your pick of possible causes: continued foreclosures, a weak job market, sovereign debt worries, or simple overvaluation. Most likely, all of the above and more have played a hand in the stock market’s [...]
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Senior Citizens the Most Important Demographic for Bank Deposit Rates
When speaking of the banking system and bank rates, we often forget that this system is comprised not only of buildings, computers, and money, but of people. One vivid illustration of this fact is to ponder the role that American senior citizens may increasingly play in the interest rates paid for CDs, money market accounts, [...]
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Most Bank Rates Are On the Losing End of a Steep Yield Curve
The yield curve, which is a line plotting the yields of income securities from short-term to long-term, is steeper than it has been since the 1990s. Unfortunately, most bank rates are on the wrong end of that curve, and this represents yet another way that depositors are paying for the recovery of the banking sector.
Short-term [...]
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Savings Accounts Still a Vital Part of Every Financial Plan
Once you start to acquire money, people who manage money tend to start appearing. Financial advisors who can guide you in the ways of stocks, bonds, and maybe even real estate.
Once you’re savvy to those options, having money in a savings account can come to seem rather boring. Finding a high interest savings account online [...]
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Hang Onto Your Bank Rates — It Could be a Bumpy Ride for Stocks
Frustrated with low bank rates? Understandable, but as you think about alternatives, take a careful look at recent signs that the stock market might be in for another dive. If so, it could make those meager bank rates look like a real bargain.
Last year saw a tremendous recovery for the stock market, after the steep [...]
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