Comments from our panel of experts and Bankrate
analysts:
Experts' comments
Short-term
Long-term
Up
to now, CD rates have dropped less than may have
been expected in an environment of world banks
aggressively cutting rates. I expect CD rates
to drop further over the month of November as
liquidity moves back into the fixed-income markets.
Right now the investment opportunities are outside
the safety of CDs and Treasury issues. With all
the turmoil that has impacted the investment community
over the last two months, you are offered a great
opportunity to re-evaluate your portfolio and
add some quality securities that have seen their
prices pushed below reasonable value. There is
money to be made in this market on both the stock
and corporate bond fronts. Visit your professional
to see if you are best positioned for the next
two- to three-year market shift. Barry Vosler, CFP,
CRPC, AAMS,
Linsco/Private Ledger, Dewitt, Iowa
down
down
CD rates are decoupled from the Fed rate cuts.
The driver behind the current rates is the banks'
demand for liquidity, and I don't see any easing
in that in the near term. William Z. Suplee
IV, CFA, CFP, Structured Asset Management Inc.,
Paoli, Pa.
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Bankrate's analysts
Short-term
Long-term
Repeated rate cuts by the Fed aren't helping CD yields, but they're not hurting too bad either. Even though CD yields will trickle lower, investors can take heart that a pronounced drop in inflation will mean positive real returns in 2009. Greg McBride, senior
financial analyst, Bankrate.com
down
down
I agree that there's just too much demand from banks for funds for CDs to take a big hit. Additionally, we may start seeing money come back into equities, and some of that cash could come from CDs. While we'll likely see a downdraft in rates due to the cut in federal funds, these other forces could even it out and prop up CDs a bit over the course of the month. I think movements in either direction will be moderate, and high-yield CDs are the best way to go.
Laura Bruce, senior
reporter, Bankrate.com
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Certified Financial Planners, Chartered Financial
Analysts and others with similar qualifications are invited to e-mail
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About the Bankrate.com Rate
Trend Index
Bankrate.com surveys experts in the financial planning, banking
and mortgage industries to gauge whether certificate of deposit
and mortgage rates will rise, fall or remain relatively unchanged.
The deposit index panel consists of financial planners and representatives
of institutions that offer FDIC-insured CDs to the consumer. The
mortgage index panel consists of mortgage banks, mortgage brokers
and other industry experts who are actively engaged in providing
residential first mortgages to the consumer. Results from the CD
Rate Trend Index are released monthly. Results from the Mortgage
Trend Index are released each week.
December 2008 
Experts' comments 
