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In testimony to the House Financial Services Panel today, Fed Chairman Bernanke said that the Fed may elect to raise the Fed Discount Rate before long.

The TIPS/Treasury Bond spread is an oft-used metric to analyze inflation expectations. Analysts on CNBC, on the WSJ, and in other business media frequently refer to it. What is it? And what is it showing? Right now, it has returned to a pre-crisis level that shows neither heightened inflation nor deflation expectations.

Etrade sent an email today that notified its Complete Savings customers that their accounts were going to be converted to Discover Online savings accounts in March.

Municipal bonds have performed well this year as buyers pursue the credit protection and income in both taxable and tax-exempt markets. Last week, munis rallied despite some flight to safety flows into Treasuries that in past weeks of the current crisis might have precipitated broader weakness. This year, investors appear to be more confident that the scarcity of high grade tax exempts will persist while the Federal government increases the income and capital gains tax rates and dilutes the value of competing tax shelters like the mortgage interest and charitable giving deductions.

There are quite a few precious metals - gold, silver, platinum, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, osmium and iridium – with the first four being the most known. Gold is the most traded, silver is the most used, however platinum offers quite a unique prospective on this sub-sector.

Private investors and individuals who manage their own money have many structural advantages over large fund managers. Here's what they are and how you can profit.

The global bond markets have come under increasing pressure recently, amid growing calls for investors to short bonds. Is this a foolproof trade?

Sovereign Bank is offering a rich deal to those who are interested in opening their Premier Checking and Money Market Savings Accounts. They'll give you $150 and guarantee 1.5% APY for three months.

Most savings and CD rates hit record lows last week, except for the 5-year CD, which continued to show gains in yield. Average savings rates reached a new record low of 1.46% APY, down 1 basis point from 1.47% APY the previous week. Average one-year cd rates fell 3 basis points to 1.82% APY. Average three-year cd rates dropped two basis points to 2.61% APY.

Occupancy and use of real estate indicates the progression of the economic health of an area. When few commerical spaces are occupied, there are few jobs. When more houses are undervalued and vacant, this indication is recessionary.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose for the first time in four weeks, moving from 4.98% to 5.01% according to data from Freddie Mac. This differs from the BestCashCow rate tables, which show average 30-year mortgage rates dropping slightly from 5.068% to 5.017%. This divergence from two different sources indicates a flat or undecided market. Mortgage rates have vaccilated around the 5% range for the last three weeks.