Thank Janet Yellen and the Fed for the Unemployment numbers. Now, please raise interest rates.

[Yavin4]

I'm getting tired of getting next to zero interest on my savings for the past 10 years.

[Fiendish Thingy]

1. The Fed has raised rates 4 times in the past 16-18 mos

And will likely raise rates 1-2 more times this year, and 3-4 times next year, depending on what Trump does when Yellen's term expires next February.

[Yavin4]

3. Quarter point raises aint doing the job.

We are fully recovered from the recession of 2008-09. Interest rates should be at 4% at the very least.

[CountAllVotes]

5. Agree

AT LEAST 4%!

Enough of this B.S.! We are living in a faux economy if they cannot give a person at least 5%.

Remember those days well when 5% was a GIVEN for a savings account!

[Yavin4]

6. Zero or near zero interest rates are strong drivers of income inequality

The lower the cost of borrowing, the higher asset valuations rise. Thus, owners of assets get richer at a faster pace than everyone else.

[CountAllVotes]

7. So, if you don't have any "assets" ...

You are screwed.

Great not!

[Fiendish Thingy]

10. I remember 5% savings accts

And I also remember double digit inflation, and mortgage rates in the teens, at the same time savings were paying 5%.

Be careful what you wish for...

A diversified, balanced investment portfolio beats inflation and moderates risk.

[CountAllVotes]

13. So do I

I remember car loans at 18% too.

It used to be a system that worked for not just the well to do, it covered savers too.

Not everyone is in the sacred stock market. Not everyone is advised to be in the stock market.

It is a huge gamble, that is a given.

Best of luck!

[Fiendish Thingy]

9. They'll get there

Any bump more than .25%-.50% at a time would spook the markets...not a historical practice anyway

[Dreamer Tatum]

11. So mortgages should be 7-8% then?

[HeartachesNhangovers]

12. A large part of the reason that home prices

are UP is that mortgage rates are DOWN. When people can afford to buy more house because of lower rates (which also means that more people can buy overall), prices inevitably go up because of increased demand.

If mortgage rates went UP several points, that would take people out of the market (because they couldn't afford a loan), which would reduce demand, which would reduce home prices (except in super-expensive markets where people have lots of $$$$).

Depending on where you are in the market, higher rates could be good or bad. If you can barely afford to buy, it's probably bad. If your home is paid for and you're selling, you want LOW rates to inflate the number of potential buyers and your selling price. If you're buying, have a full down payment, but keep getting outbid by people who are willing to get in over their heads, you probably want higher rates to reduce competition and reduce prices.

So, as always, it depends.

[CountAllVotes]

2. Know what you mean!

I have been advised to stay clear of the DOW due to my poor health. Because of this, I get next to nothing on what money I have. It sickens me.

This maladministration panders to the rich and/or those that can take the risk.

Sickening that a person cannot get more that 2.3% for a 5-year CD!

Sure the rates have been raised but WHERE IS THE DAMN RAISE?

Something is fishy don't you think? Afraid to raise rates to 5% where they belong it seems to me.

[Wounded Bear]

4. They are...my credit card rates are all climbing...

[HeartachesNhangovers]

8. I thinks it will still take years for bank account

rates to get above 3% - assuming the same slow level of economic growth continues - which I think is the best-case scenario.

After we retired last year we gave up on bank account interest rates and moved our savings to investment-grade bonds that are paying about 2.25% now. Definitely helps with cash flow.