AIP Headlines: Savvy Consumer: U.S savings bonds have become attractive investments

By: Teresa McUsic http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/05/12/3071930/savvy-consumer-us-savings-bonds.html Here’s one good thing to come out of rising prices: Savings bonds rates moved up this month. Series I Savings Bonds bought from May through October... More

By: Teresa McUsic http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/05/12/3071930/savvy-consumer-us-savings-bonds.html Here’s one good thing to come out of rising prices: Savings bonds rates moved up this month. Series I Savings Bonds bought from May through October earn interest at an annual rate of 4.6 percent, according to the Bureau of the Public Debt. That attractive rate comes with some qualifiers, but given today’s puny rates on other savings alternatives, like certificates of deposit, the bonds are worth a closer look. The Series I bond is a combination of a fixed rate and a variable rate based on inflation (hence the “I” in the name), as measured by the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers. The bonds are earning a zero percent fixed rate of return but a 2.3 percent six-month variable rate. That means investors who buy a Series I bond from May through October will realize a yield of at least 2.3 percent in those six months. If on Nov. 1, when both rates reset, the fixed rate i Less