Yet another (oh, about the millionth) sign of the times. According to Karen Blumenthal in The Wall Street Journal, "the dowdy savings account is making a comeback."
According to Blumenthal, a growing number of high-yield bank savings and money-market accounts are paying interest rates — "high yield" being relative — of around 2 percent or better. That makes them a safe alternative for the many savers whose accounts are hardly bearing any interest at all, putting them at risk of losing money to inflation. Honestly, 2 percent is looking pretty good right about now.
"If you haven't looked closely at your accounts lately, you may be in for a surprise. Checking accounts and some money-market mutual funds that invest primarily in Treasurys are yielding as little as 0.01 percent. Taxable money-market funds are paying their lowest rates ever.
