CD Rate Survey by Term

The top rate for a certificate of deposit (CD) this week is at Pentagon Federal Credit Union (fondly known as PenFed CU) where you can get a 7-year certificate that currently pays 4.00% APY.

For shorter terms, ING Direct has a 1-year CD with a 2.00% annual percentage rate. I bought one yesterday.

The one year US Treasury rate is currently 0.35%.

With rates so low, banks will try to sell you their annuity products. Make sure you read our article: Beware of Annuities

The table below shows the best CD rates for other terms. If that table is hard to read, then try Very Best CD Rates.

CD Rates Survey as of 12/15/09

Term	Date	Highest Rate (APY)	Where? (Click link for Full Rate Sheets)
Vanguard Daily	12/15/09	0.08%	Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund
Vanguard Tax Exempt	12/15/09	0.13%	Vanguard Tax Exempt Money Market Fund
FDIC Daily Savings	12/15/09	1.70%	Colorado Federal Savings Bank => Full Rate Survey
High Yield MM	12/15/09	1.60%	Bank of Internet USA
6 Month CD	12/15/09	1.55%	UFB Direct
1 Year CD	12/15/09	2.00%	ING Direct
18 Month CD	12/15/09	2.05%	Colorado Federal Savings Bank
2 Year CD	12/15/09	2.25%	Discover Bank
3 Year CD	12/15/09	2.99%	Goldwater Bank
4 Year CD	12/15/09	3.00%	Capital One Direct Bank
5 Year CD	12/15/09	3.35%	Goldwater Bank
7 Year CD	12/15/09	4.00%	Pentagon Federal CU
10 Year CD	12/15/09	3.70%	Discover Bank

Vanguard Money Market Rates shown for Reference

• Easy to Read Best CD Rate Survey
  

==> Current US Treasury Rates as of 12/15/09 <==

TERM	MATURITY DATE	YIELD %
3-Month	03/18/2010	0.04
6-Month	06/17/2010	0.16
12-Month	11/18/2010	0.35
2-Year	11/30/2011	0.85
3-Year	12/15/2012	1.37
5-Year	11/30/2014	2.33
7-Year	11/30/2016	3.07
10-Year	11/15/2019	3.59
30-Year	11/15/2039	4.52

• US Treasury Rates at a Glance
  
  
• World Stock Markets at a Glance

With rates so low, banks will try to sell you their annuity products. Make sure you read our article: Beware of Annuities.

National Debt Passes 12.1 Trillion Dollars!

Bob Brinker constantly bashes congress and "the White House" for massive deficit spending. He says they are spending like "drunken sailors." Other than I think this is a slam on many of our sober men and women in service of our country, this is one area I am in complete agreement with him.

Check out The National Debt Clock for a sobering set of statistics.

As I type, the total nation debt is over 12 TRILLION 1o4 Million!

$12,104,298,636,666

It advanced over 30 MILLION as I wrote that down.

National

• Debt per citizen = $39,283
  
• Debt per taxpayer = $111,224
  
  
• Interest per citizen = $5,859

US Population = 308,129,449
Number of US Taxpayers = 108,834,743
Number of Officially Unemployed = 15,403,989

Number of US Workforce 138,584,486
Number of Federal Employees = 4,238,946
Number of US retirees = 37,500,533

Notes of interest:

Not all workers pay taxes since they fall below the threshold.

If you define "supporting" as you give more to government than we get from the government, then this calculation is staggering:

Us 108.8 million taxpayers are supporting 57.1 million people!

• 4.2M federal workers
• 15.4 M unemployed and
  
• 37.5M retired people!

The price of Gold at $1,113 (Gold quote and Charts) is probably reflecting the market's belief in how difficult it will be for US taxpayers to repay this debt without massive inflation.

Disclosure: I have no position in Gold but I do have significant personal positions in TIPS, TIPS mutual funds and iBonds plus I hold them in BOTH my newsletter portfolios. See: Kirk's Two Investment Letters