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Those of you holding your breathe, waiting for savings account rates and CD rates to rise, will have to hold for quite a bit longer. Today, the Fed announced that it was going to hold its benchmark interest rate at a record low (0 - .25%) at least through 2013. The Fed announced this in the midst of a ratings downgrade of U.S. debt, a slowing U.S economy, and persistent sovereign debt issues in Europe.

The fallout from the S&P downgrade of U.S. debt from AAA to AA+ is just starting to hit the municipal market. Following the downgrade of U.S. debt on Friday, S&P has begun to review and downgrade the debt of AAA rates cities and towns.

I see the downgrade of U.S. debt by the S&P a lot like the judging role played by Simon Cowell when he was on American Idol. Here's why:

CD Rates continue their inexorable match downward. It was only a few months ago that a top five year CD rate could get as much as 3.30% APY. Now, according to the BestCashCow database there are only a few banks in the U.S. offering 60 month CDs at 3% APY or above. Below are a few of them:

The maximum amount for a conventional loan mortgage not to be considered a jumbo loan mortgage is set to change on October 1, 2011. What does this mean for you?

Today, as the Dow falls over 300 points and is down over 1,000 points in the past ten days, I thought it would be useful to revisit my Dow Jones Industrial's crash analysis I did in 2008. The analysis compared how the Dow was faring during the global financial crisis versus how it did in the 1930s in the throes of the Great Depression.

The Bank of New York Mellon plans to begin charging a fee for its big custodial customers to park cash at the bank, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Over the past three months we've heard warnings and threats from the big US credit agencies Moody's Investor Services, Standard & Poors's, and Fitch Ratings that the U.S. is on a negative credit watch and may have its AAA credit rating downgraded. All of these credit agencies are often a dollar short and a day late in spotting financial difficulty and have about 0 credibility rating risk.

We all know that savings account rates have been on a path to nowhere over the last three years since the start of the global financial crisis. Back in 2007, savings rates were as high as 6% but now the average is closer to .50% APY. But with a little bit of research, you can still find savings accounts at 1% APY and above - some even higher than 1.50% APY.

A new study shows that many homeowners are not satisfied with their mortgage servicer. Would you be included on this list?

Mortgage rates are low. Home prices are falling. Should you buy a house right now?

For millions of homeowners, refinancing has helped them save thousands of dollars and pay off their home sooner. But is it the best option for your situation?

Have you ever been targeted by a predatory lender? If you are in a precarious financial situation, you may be on their target list. Use the following tips to recognize predatory lenders so you can avoid them.

Loan modifications are becoming more and more common these days as people fall deeper into mortgage trouble. Is there a possibility that you may need a loan modification soon? Use the following information to keep yourself from becoming a victim of a loan modification scam.

Let's assume the debt ceiling is eventually raised, as it will be. What does the future look like after? Unfortunately, it doesn't look like a very rosy scenario and if anything looks like another recession. That means lower rates on bank products for years to come, amongst other things: continued unemployment, stagnant stock market, weak dollar. Here are my reasons why: