Highest CD Rates – Update 9/22/09
1-year: 2.15% APY (3-Star)
18-months:2.30% APY (1-Star)
2-year: 2.53% APY, 1xBump (2-Star)
3-year: 3.00% APY (2-Star)
5-year: 3.70% APY (4-Star)

Although the talking heads keep pushing that the economy is recovering I think the millions of jobless, may disagree. The talking heads are focused on profit. So if a company can make lots of money while being lean and mean, well more power to them. The problem is we will see profits long before a serious recovery begins. Don’t get me wrong, a company needs profits before it can start hiring, but this will be a slow, slow recovery.

Commercial real estate appears to be the next big problem. Many developers built small business complexes expecting them to be filled with entrepreneurs looking to serve all of the new homeowners. As the complexes remain empty, the commercial property owners can’t afford to continue to take the losses each month. Many are letting them go into foreclosure or selling for steep discounts.

Residential property is still also posing problems. Many states had issued moratoriums on the foreclosing the property and those are beginning to expire. Banks have been trying to hold off showing losses, but they can only do that for so long.

Short-term CD Rates have continued to drop. Our high 1-year at 2.50% dropped to a 2.00%. The next highest rate, 2.35% APY, held this week, we’ll see for how long. Some of the big boys such as Ally Bank and Discover Bank have continued to adjust rates down. Ally Bank had a 1Y at 2.25% for a while, but it has dropped to 1.80%. Some long-term rates have inched up a bit. They had a 5-year CD at 3.70% APY. It stands today at 3.10% APY. Of course, 5-year CDs may not be the best idea right now unless you have a great ladder or the penalty is low for closing the CD early. The other side of the coin, we just don’t know when the rates will be increasing. The Fed is talking like it could be a while. A while could be six-months or it could be over a year. Check-out First National Community Bank (here’s the link). They have some good rates and a 0.25% bonus if you add a “Performance Checking Account”.

So do I have any good news. The workweek as reported for average hours worked increased a little. Income overall snuck up 0.1%. And my kids’ soccer team, the Big Dogs will be starting in Div. B in a couple of weeks. Our highest start ever. Yes, I am a very proud coach and father. So how about you guys? I know you read this. My logs tell me that. But let me know what is going on in your life. Or ask a question in the comments.

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cd :O)

-- By Chris Duncan

Posted in Bank CD Rates