CNBC on "Stashing Cash"
CNBC.com writes "Stashing cash still pays, but maybe not for long," which says, "It was fun while it lasted. Only recently have savers reaped the benefits of higher deposit rates -- the annual percentage yield banks pay consumers on their money -- after they hovered near rock bottom for years. Since the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate nine times in three years, the highest yielding rates are now paying as much as 2.5%, up from 0.1%, on average, before the Fed started increasing its benchmark rate in 2015. However, those gains could be lost if the Fed starts lowering its benchmark rate." The piece adds, "The last few years of interest rate hikes have had a significant effect on what savers have been able to earn on their money. In 2018, high-yielding savings accounts even outperformed the stock market for the first time in over a decade. But with an end to rate hikes for now, savers won't continue to see the same upward momentum, and as the probability of a rate cut increases so does the likelihood that those deposit rates will come down. Some already have. Ally Financial was the first to cut its online savings rate, to 2.1% from 2.2%, in an announcement on June 25."
