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Low rates continue to weigh down on investment returns that savers seek

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  Published in Science and Technology on Tuesday, March 19th 2013 at 13:00 GMT by Market Wire
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Low rates continue to weigh down on investment returns that savers seek -- NEW YORK, March 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

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NEW YORK, March 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- RateWatch, a premier banking data and analytics service owned by TheStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ TST ]) reported today that interest rates for savings products generally stayed the same over the previous week with the average national rate on a 2 year CD falling 0.01 percent based on data collected from over 90,000 financial institution locations.

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CD rates have generally remained unchanged at record-low levels. The Federal Reserve has continued to keep the short-term federal funds rate at a range of zero to 0.25% since late 2008. The Federal Reserve's policy-making wing is expected to make its latest announcement on March 20, and Chairman Ben Bernanke will address the press after the report prints.

"Analysts don't expect the Federal Open Market Committee to announce any surprise changes. Investors likely will dissect Bernanke's statements for any hint of whether the central bank is poised to scale back its quantitative easing programs as various U.S. economic indicators continue to beat expectations," says Joe Deaux, TheStreet's Economist. "Headline CPI Inflation in February remained below the Fed's upper target of 2.5%, which suggested FOMC members would maintain low interest rates. This would continue to weigh down on investment returns that savers seek in CDs".

NATIONAL AVERAGE RESULTS - $10K

TOP RATE ISSUERS - $10K

This is a list of issuers with top interest rates.  The issuer's Financial Strength Rating isan independent, unbiased evaluation of quarterly regulatory statements. Institutions are assigned a letter grade of A-E with "A" representing the highest rating based on a review of many aspects of financial safety including capitalization, asset quality, profitability and liquidity. For more information, visit[ www.weissratings.com/help/what-our-ratings-mean.aspx ].  Information is believed to be accurate, but not guaranteed.

Data is surveyed weekly with averages calculated each Monday afternoon from RateWatch's unbiased national interest rate survey of over 90,000 financial institution locations across the United States.

About RateWatch

For over 20 years, RateWatch has been the premier provider of competitive interest rate and product information to financial institutions across the United States.  Consistently providing top quality, highly relevant data RateWatch maintains the largest database in the industry with deposit, loan, and fee information monitoring over 90,000 locations. Rate surveys, product comparisons, financial strength reporting, local/regional/national averages, fee reporting, specialty reports and more are available.  To learn more about RateWatch, visit [ www.rate-watch.com ].  RateWatch is a division of TheStreet, Inc.

About TheStreet

TheStreet, Inc. is a leading digital financial media company that distributes its content through online, social media, tablet and mobile channels. The Company's network of brands includes: TheStreet, RealMoney, RealMoney Pro, Stockpickr, Action Alerts PLUS, Options Profits, Chat on TheStreet, MainStreet and RateWatch. For more information on TheStreet's business, visit [ www.t.st ]. For financial and business news, actionable trading ideas, stock quotes and more, visit TheStreet.com, follow TheStreet on Facebook and Twitter, and access TheStreet through all major mobile and tablet platforms.  For more information on The Deal, visit [ www.thedeal.com ].

Contact:

Erin Corcoran
TheStreet, Inc.
212-321-5566
[ erin.corcoran@thestreet.com ]

SOURCE TheStreet