inky dink wrote:
- quote -

I just opened an account online with Countrywide Bank for their 6mo CD [at]
4.9% APY -
https://bank.countrywide.com/
just noticed it dropped from 4.9 to 4.75...
but still better than any other CD I found to ladder,
or my Schwab, Vanguard, or Fidelity MM's or their listed CDs.

"anoop" <ghanwani[at]gmail.com> wrote in message
news:841a22ed-d0e1-4329-97b9-d33e0bdabdf5[at]d4g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

Thanks for the link. Any thoughts on how stable some of these banks are
that are offering high CD rates?

"Douglas Johnson" <post[at]classtech.com> wrote in message
news:0669q351f3h6oseihlr2n6cg1g6dfp561m[at]4ax.com...
- quote -


- quote -

"M.Balarama" <mbalar[at]sbcglobal.net> wrote:


- quote -

This worries me. Why do you have no choice? Chasing yield is usually a bad
idea. Chasing yield out of desperation is almost always a bad idea.

Unless you understand stocks pretty well, you are not likely to choose good ones
(or know if the ones being recommended are good.) High yielding stocks are
often distressed stocks with a good chance of going down in price and/or cutting
dividends. You have to be able to read the company's financial statements and
understand the company's business to know whether the dividend is secure.

Be careful out there.

-- Doug

On Feb 1, 4:36 pm, in Technicolor® <ciner...[at]verizon.net> wrote:

- quote -

Check out http://money-rates.com. They have sample portfolios as
well.

How liquid do you want this investment to be? What is your
timeframe for needing it? Will you need it all at once, or
could you divide it into tenths, where one tenth would be
available every month to move around?

The Federal Reserve's benchmark rate today at 3% stands
about where it did in early 2005. To fight inflation, I
think the Fed will start raising it again within nine
months. With interest rates, we could see some kind of
repeat of 2005-2007. See
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releas...y/H15_FF_O.txt

In early 2005 I constructed a CD ladder going out seven
years. The longest maturity ones were one-time adjustable,
which I wanted because rates were going up. In the coming
two years+, I did adjust one of these CDs. By about
mid-2006, when the Fed finally stopped raising the benchmark
once a month, the lower maturity CDs (paying 3.7%-3.9%-ish)
were paying way less than money markets (at 5%-ish). Now the
remaining CDs are paying way more than today's new CD
offerings of comparable maturity. The ladder "is working."
The overall yield of the ladder is high compared to
prevailing money market rates. Admittedly from mid-2006 to
mid-2007 I was questioning whether I'd properly researched
interest rates etc. before constructing the ladder in 2005.
This was probably an exercise in 20/20 hindsight. Fact is I
am meeting my goals with this ladder.

Due to (1) radical adjustments to the benchmark rate and (2)
some banks needing money on deposit to deal with delinquent
mortgages, and some not, CDs seem to me to be adjusting
somewhat erratically these days, very much like early 2005.
Today, with this experience under my belt, and if forced to
construct a brand new CD ladder, I would wait at least two
months from now for things to settle down (that is, stick
with your low paying Schwab money market account). Or in the
alternative, I would construct a ladder going out maybe two
to three years, with rungs six months apart, using
bankrate.com as a guide to what's a good rate. When the
benchmark rate was back up to around 4.5% or so, and
assuming my needs were still consistent with laddering, I'd
build a full-blown five year ladder.

Two cents and nothing more. Mostly, use your best
information, live within your means, and don't beat yourself
up if you don't get "the very best" deal with CDs and money
market. Chances are with a little effort you will do better
than most. The few who "beat" your returns with CDs were
simply lucky in their speculation.

"in Technicolor®" <cinerama[at]verizon.net> wrote in message
news:yPMoj.10632$K%.6199[at]trnddc04...
- quote -

My CD expires soon and I cannot reinvest at the present low rates...I will
check out stocks with high dividend rates and preferred stocks..
It is a bit of a gamble-the stock may go down etc...but I have no choice at
present

On Feb 1, 4:36*pm, in Technicolor® <ciner...[at]verizon.net> wrote:
- quote -


What's kind of sucks? The bank account you can open at Schwab is
advertising something like 3.4%, not bad if you want to park some
money short term.

In article <yPMoj.10632$K%.6199[at]trnddc04> ,
in Technicolor® <cinerama[at]verizon.net> wrote:

- quote -

It all depends if you are investing or speculating, and if you are
in for the long term or the short term. If you are in for the long
run, you need market exposure. If you want to preserve your dollars
so badly that you don't mind taking a loss (in spending power), then
money market and CDs may be what you need.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III * * * * * 612-720-2854 * * * * * *john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications * * * * * * * * * * * * http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

Given the current economic climate, what are the general feelings regarding
investing in Money Markets and CD's? I know CD's are extremely safe, but
the return kind of sucks right now.

Any feelings regarding increasing my contribution to my Schwab SW2XX Money
Market account I opened in November 2007?

TIA

PS: I appreciate the educational resources everyone keeps pointing out. I
bookmark them and go back as interest and time allow. Thanks!