MoneyCafe.com

The Fed held steady today on the Fed Funds Rate keeping it in a range between 0% and .25%.  The Prime Rate should remain unchanged at 3.25%.

The Federal Reserve (FOMC) will announce its decision regarding rates later today.  We expect the FOMC to hold steady on the Fed Funds Rate.  Because of this, we expect no changes to the Prime Rate.

All of the LIBOR rates are down substantially over last month.  See links below.

The 1 Year Constant Maturity Treasury Rate (1 Year CMT) was 0.50% for May.  This brings the 12 Month Treasury Average (12 MTA) down to 1.210% nearing it’s low for the last decade.

As announced yesterday, the 11th District Cost of Funds Index (COFI) dropped again in April to 1.380%.   For comparison, the Certificates of Deposit Index (CODI) was 2.265% for April and the Wachovia Cost of Savings Index (COSI) was slightly changed at 3.55% (unconfirmed number) for April.

All of our rate data, graphs and charts have been updated to reflect the new data.  (The Prime Rate and Fed Funds Rate remain the same.)

See:
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/libor.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/1monthlibor.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/3monthlibor.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/6monthlibor.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/cmt.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/mta.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/cofi.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/codi.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/cosi.htm

Retirees and other eligible Social Security beneficiaries will receive $250 this month as part of the recently enacted stimulus plan.  All eligible recipients should have their money by the end of May and will arrive in the same manner as current payments (e.g. check or direct deposit).  The government has a website with all the relevant information.

Nearly 55 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries will receive a one-time payment of $250 each. Individuals who were not eligible for Social Security, SSI, Veterans, or Railroad Retirement benefits at any time during the months of November 2008, December 2008, or January 2009 are not eligible for the one-time payment. 

The government website has many more details, including answers to frequently asked questions and an informative video.

See:
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/payment/

All of the LIBOR rates are down over last month.  See links below.

The 1 Year Constant Maturity Treasury Rate (1 Year CMT) was 0.55% for April.  This brings the 12 Month Treasury Average (12 MTA) down to 1.340% nearing it’s low for the last decade.

As announced yesterday, the 11th District Cost of Funds Index (COFI) dropped again in March to 1.627%.   For comparison, the Certificates of Deposit Index (CODI) was 2.428% for March and the Wachovia Cost of Savings Index (COSI) was unchanged at 3.60% (unconfirmed number) for March.

All of our rate data, graphs and charts have been updated to reflect the new data. 

See:
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/libor.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/1monthlibor.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/3monthlibor.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/6monthlibor.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/cmt.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/mta.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/cofi.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/codi.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/cosi.htm

As expected at today’s Fed meeting, the FOMC kept the same Fed Funds Target Rate in a range of 0% to .25%.  The Prime Rate remains at 3.25%

See:
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/fedfundsrate.htm
http://www.moneycafe.com/library/primerate.htm