Higher Yields on Savings Accounts? It Will Be Awhile
Money is not a client of any investment adviser featured on this page. The information provided on this page is for educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Money does not offer advisory services.
Waiting for higher yields on savings? Don't hold your breath.
The Federal Reserve said in September it would buy $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities a month until the labor market rebounds. The goal: to free up banks to lend more.
It's the Fed's third attempt since 2008 to use this tactic, called quantitative easing.
Targeting the 8%-plus jobless rate, QE3, as it's known, is likely to hold down mortgage rates which in October hit a 60-year low of 3.36%.
The Fed also plans to keep short-term rates near zero through mid-2015, so get used to current savings yields (recently averaging 0.12%).
And if you're looking to beef up bond fund income, Morningstar Investment Management economist Francisco Torralba suggests short-term corporates, which yield about 2% today. Though the risk of inflation is low, he says, a spike would hit higher-yielding long-term bonds harder.
Related: Should I invest in bonds or in a bond mutual fund?