Personal Finance Blog By MoneyRates - CDs
Is 70 the new 65?
October 19, 2010
When it comes to retirement, 70 is quickly becoming the new 65, according to the latest "Unretirement Index" by Sun Financial Inc., a global financial services company. As the economy stumbles along towards recovery, the latest index survey found that 80 percent of Americans think they'll need at least three years to rebuild their retirement [...]
How long will unemployment keep money market rates down?
September 28, 2010
Today's stubbornly high unemployment rate could go even higher in the next nine months, even without a double-dip recession, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco economists say. In a Sept. 27 "Economic Letter," economists David Lang and Kevin Lansing point to forecasts by the Chicago and Philadelphia Federal Reserve Banks that predict real U.S. [...]
Emergency savings accounts need a boost, study finds
July 27, 2010
About a quarter of Americans think the economy and their personal financial situations will be worse this year than last year, according to The 2010 MetLife Study of the American Dream released July 26. That sounds pretty grim, considering how bad the last couple of years have been. But the results actually show significant improvement [...]
'Frugality Fatigue': Could Higher Spending Lead to Higher Savings Rates?
June 15, 2010
In releasing its latest poll on consumer spending, Gallup coined a new syndrome with which most of us can relate: "frugality fatigue." Who, after all, hasn't grown tired of clipping coupons, putting off big purchases and saving every spare dime, only to find savings rates at minuscule levels during the recession? Unfortunately, the rich apparently [...]
Will Your Savings Be Safe in 2014?
June 1, 2010
Before the financial crisis blew up two years ago and bank failures became a routine news item, you might not have thought much about FDIC insurance. So it's easy to understand how thousands of IndyMac Bank customers were caught underinsured when the bank failed in July 2008. At that time, the FDIC insurance limit was [...]
Savings Investors Are "Collateral Damage," Says Professor
May 1, 2010
Professor Alan Blinder of Princeton University gave quite a performance on Wednesday morning on CNBC--so standout was this performance, in fact, that many savings investors probably desired, at least momentarily, to jump through the television and punch this fine gentleman in the nose. The debate on Wednesday was about whether or not the Federal Reserve should [...]
Big Banks: What Are They Good For?
April 30, 2010
The obvious answer to the above headline, if you're a savings investor, is: big banks are good for giving savings investors extremely low interest rates on savings accounts, CDs, and money market accounts. But there's a larger, less flippant question here about the large banks, those being Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase, and Citigroup. This [...]
Law Limiting Bank Use of Derivatives Must Be Carefully Thought Out
April 22, 2010
Derivatives are contracts that are meant to help banks and other financially interested parties mitigate risk, and make money. The classic derivatives contract is when an airline--or a bank that makes lots of loans to airlines--buys a derivative that pays off if oil prices go lower the day after you buy your supply for the [...]
Comparing CD Rates to Rates of Return On Other Investments Can Be Tricky
April 20, 2010
One fundamental fact about investing that affects all investors is the idea of allocation. In simple terms, when you put your money into one investment, that's money that cannot be put into another investment. When you're investing in CDs, this either/or, black/white choice becomes even more stark. Especially if the stock market is going up as [...]
Bond Rates, Bank Rates, and Safe Money
April 6, 2010
Low bank rates, especially on CDs, are being used by financial product salespeople to sell other, riskier investments, such as stocks and bonds. Wait a second. Bonds are risky? Not necessarily risky, no, but bonds are by no means the "safe haven" that many savings investors suppose--and many salespeople propose. In fact, it's entirely possible that there is [...]
