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Stocks continue to rally ending a winning 1st quarter, Rates on CDs and savings rates highest in 15 years, Series I Savings Bond offering 6.89% interest until April 30, US renewable energy surpasses coal for the first time, and more financial news.
Stocks and oil were higher as the final trading day of a volatile first quarter of 2023 came to a winning close on Friday, Yahoo Finance reported.
Stocks: S&P 500 futures were up 10.25 points or +0.25%, while Dow Jones futures climbed 120 points or +0.36%, and NASDAQ features advanced fourteen points or +0.11%, as of 9:10 AM EDT on Friday.
Gold was down -0.40 or -0.02% at $1997.30.
Treasuries were mixed on Friday with the benchmark 10-Year Treasury Note down -0.017 for a yield of 3.534%, while the 2-Year Treasury Note was up +0.03 to yield 4.129%, as of 9:13 AM EDT.
Oil: In oil futures, WTI crude was up +0.62% and trading at $74.83 a barrel, while the benchmark Brent crude was up +0.26% and trading at $79.48 a barrel as of 8:14 AM CDT.
Bankrate noted that interest rates on savings accounts and CDs are currently the best in 15 years, CNN reported.
Driven by fears that customers may move their money to larger banks they perceive as more secure, smaller banks are raising their rates on CDs and savings accounts to encourage customers to stick with them.
Ally Bank raised its CD from 4% to 4.75% on Saturday, March 11, just after Silicon Valley Bank’s failure, USA Today reported. The higher rate will bring $138 more in interest on an 11-month term on a $20,000 deposit.
One of the highest interest rates on so-called “safe” investments available at the moment is from US Treasury Series I Savings Bonds, currently offering 6.89% if purchased by April 30. The rate will remain in effect for six months if you complete your purchase before it resets on May 1. If inflation falls, the rate on the I Bond will also decrease, CNN Business reported.
For the first time, the energy produced by renewables in the United States surpassed coal in 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced this week, the Associated Press reported.
Wind and solar contributed 14% of the electricity produced domestically in 2022, while hydropower contributed 6%, and biomass and geothermal sources generated less than 1 percent.
California produced 26% of national solar electricity, followed by Texas with 16%, and North Carolina with 8 percent.
Texas produced the highest wind-generated electricity with 26%, followed by Iowa at 10%, and Oklahoma at 9 percent.
