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3 moves savers should make ahead of the upcoming inflation report
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The U.S. inflation report is scheduled to be released this week, and depending on what it shows, the new inflation data could have a big impact on the economy. After all, inflation plays a significant role in the decisions that the Federal Reserve makes regarding interest rates — which are currently paused at a 23-year high.
When prices grow too quickly, the Fed will typically increase its federal funds rate to discourage spending — a move that typically drives up the cost of borrowing and returns on savings. When prices aren’t growing as fast as they should, the Fed generally reduces interest rates, which drives down the cost of borrowing and returns on savings.
In turn, the upcoming inflation report could set the stage for changes to monetary policy that could have an impact on your financial well-being. But what should savers do, in particular, to prepare for the upcoming inflation report?
Compare today’s leading high-yield savings accounts now.
3 moves savers should make ahead of the upcoming inflation report
Here’s what savers should do to prepare for the upcoming inflation report:
Open a CD and lock in today’s rate
The Fed paused rate hikes late last year and rates remain paused today. However, most experts expect the Fed to start dropping rates mid-year.
Should the new inflation data show a downward trend, financial institutions could start reducing their certificate of deposit (CD) rates in anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s next moves. So, locking in today’s high CD returns may prove advantageous, as you’ll continue to earn that same rate for the full CD term, no matter what happens with the wider rate environment during that time.
But there is one caveat to consider. When you open a CD, you typically agree to leave your money in the account until it matures. In turn, you may have to pay an early withdrawal penalty to access your funds before the CD term is over. So, it’s important to ensure that you can leave your money untouched in the account to avoid those penalties.
Still, an early withdrawal penalty can be an advantage in some cases. For example, agreeing to keep your money in the account for its entire term can help you achieve your savings goals.
Lock in today’s high returns with a CD now.
Open a high-yield savings account
Keeping all of your savings in a CD may not be the best approach. After all, you should maintain an emergency fund that you can tap into if you fall on hard times, and CD access is limited. High-yield savings accounts, on the other hand, offer access to your funds and high interest rates on your money.
Traditional savings accounts currently have average returns of 0.46%, but high-yield savings accounts currently offer rates that are much higher on average. That’s important because your money needs to keep pace with or surpass the inflation rate (currently 3.1%) or it loses buying power.
As such, it makes sense to tap into today’s high savings rates to earn a meaningful return as long as you can. Just note, though, that the rates on high-yield savings accounts are variable, meaning that they can change over time due to shifts in the wider rate environment. But even if rates trend down in the future, by opening a high-yield savings account now, you will start earning a meaningful return on your high-yield savings account right away.
Add gold to your portfolio
The inflation rate has been cooling and many experts expect it to continue to drop over time. But, if those expectations are incorrect and inflation comes in hotter than expected on the upcoming report, gold could be a valuable asset to own.
And that’s due, in large part, to gold’s unique inflation-hedging qualities and other unique benefits. For example, the value of the dollar can decline during periods of high inflation, so investors tend to turn to assets that can act as a safe haven for their money — which gold can do. As such, when inflation rates are high, the demand for gold typically ticks up — sending its price up as well.
Open a high-yield savings account now to maximize returns on your savings.
The bottom line
With new inflation data expected to be released this week, there are a few moves you can make beforehand to help maximize and protect your savings. For starters, it may benefit you to open a CD and lock in a high rate or maximize your returns with a high-yield savings account for your emergency savings. And, it may be wise to invest some of your savings in gold to take advantage of any potential gains — just in case inflation comes in higher than expected again.
NEW YORK — Drones have been banned from flying over several New Jersey towns, the Federal Aviation Administration confirms to CBS News.
The FAA order covers nearly two dozen towns, including Jersey City, Harrison, Edison, Bayonne and Camden. It will be in effect until Jan. 17.
The order says no unmanned aircraft can operate below 400 feet within one nautical mile of the airspace specified in each area. Additionally, it allows the government to use “deadly force” against the drones if they pose an “imminent security threat.”
“Pilots of aircraft that do not adhere to the procedures in the national security requirements for aircraft operations contained in this section may be intercepted, and/or detained and interviewed by federal, state, or local law enforcement or other government personnel,” the order reads in part.
Several of the zones are centered around infrastructure, like power substations. Others cover areas like the Kearny, New Jersey port and airspace around military installations like Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in South Jersey, or airports such as Newark-Liberty International Airport.
Earlier this month, the Florham Park, New Jersey police chief told residents drone sightings had been reported above “water reservoirs, electric transmission lines, rail stations, police departments, and military installations.”
Where are drones banned in New Jersey?
North Jersey:
- Cedar Grove
- Bridgewater
- North Brunswick
- Metuchen
- South Brunswick
- Edison
- Branchburg
- Sewaren
- Jersey City
- Harrison, Essex County
- Elizabeth
- Bayonne
- Clifton
- Kearny
Central Jersey:
South Jersey:
- Burlington
- Evesham
- Camden
- Gloucester City
- Westampton
- Winslow
- Hancocks Bridge, Salem County
See the full order from the FAA here.
Mysterious drones over New Jersey and beyond
Drones sightings have been reported all month long, first over Morris County, New Jersey and then over several other East Coast states.
Federal, state and local officials have been demanding more information about where they are coming from and what’s being done to stop them. The FBI is leading the investigation and tells CBS News it has received thousands of tips.
While the White House says there is no known threat, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy recently sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking for more federal resources.
On Wednesday, a push from Sen. Chuck Schumer to give local law enforcement more ways to track drones was blocked in the Senate.
Check back soon for the latest updates on this developing story.
contributed to this report.
Two highway crashes in southeastern Afghanistan killed a combined total of 50 people and injured 76, a government spokesman said Thursday.
One was a collision between a bus and an oil tanker on the Kabul-Kandahar highway late Wednesday, said Hafiz Omar, a spokesman for the governor of Ghazni province.
The other, also late Wednesday and in the same province, was in a different area of the same highway, which connects the Afghan capital with the south.
MOHAMMAD FAISAL NAWEED / AFP via Getty Images
Hamidullah Nisar, the provincial head of the Taliban-run Information and Culture Department, told the Reuters news agency the other accident involved a cargo truck, adding that some of those injured in both collisions were in critical condition.
Omar said many of the injured were taken to hospitals in Ghazni and patients in more serious condition were transferred to Kabul. Women and children were among the casualties, he said.
Authorities were in the process of handing over the bodies to families, Omar said.
MOHAMMAD FAISAL NAWEED / AFP via Getty Images
Crash survivor Abdullah Khan, who was being treated in a Ghazni hospital, said he didn’t know how many people had either died or were injured.
“I got out from the bus myself and heard the sound of moaning. There was blood everywhere. Some people had head injuries and others had hurt their legs.”
MOHAMMAD FAISAL NAWEED / AFP via Getty Images
Traffic accidents are common in Afghanistan, mainly due to poor road conditions and driver carelessness.
MOHAMMAD FAISAL NAWEED / AFP via Getty Images
CBS News
France’s President Emmanuel Macron tours cyclone-battered Mayotte, meets survivors pleading for help
Mamoudzou, Mayotte — France’s President Emmanuel Macron traveled Thursday to the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte to survey the devastation that Cyclone Chido wrought across the French territory as thousands of people tried to cope without bare essentials such as water or electricity.
“Mayotte is demolished,” an airport security agent told Macron as soon as he stepped off the plane.
The security agent, Assane Haloi, said her family members, including small children, are without water or electricity and have nowhere to go after the strongest cyclone in nearly a century ripped through the French territory of Mayotte off the coast of Africa on Saturday.
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“There’s no roof, there’s nothing. No water, no food, no electricity. We can’t even shelter, we are all wet with our children covering ourselves with whatever we have so that we can sleep,” she said, asking for emergency aid.
Macron got a helicopter tour of the damage and was to spend Thursday night on the far-flung French territory. After flying over the destruction, he headed to the hospital in Mamoudzou, Mayotte’s capital, to meet medical staff and patients.
Wearing a traditional Mayotte scarf on his white shirt and tie, sleeves rolled to the elbows, the French president listened to people asking for help. A member of the medical staff told him some people hadn’t had a drink of water for 48 hours.
Some residents also expressed agony at not knowing about those who have died or are still missing, partly because of the Muslim practice of burying the dead within 24 hours.
LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP/Getty
“We’re dealing with open-air mass graves,” Mayotte lawmaker Estelle Youssoufa told reporters. “There are no rescuers, no one has come to recover the buried bodies.”
Some survivors and aid groups have described hasty burials and the stench of bodies.
Macron acknowledged that many who died hadn’t been reported. He said phone services will be repaired “in the coming days” so that people can report their missing loved ones.
French authorities have said at least 31 people died and more than 1,500 people were injured, more than 200 critically. But it’s feared hundreds or even thousands of people have died in total.
Abdou Houmadou, 27, said emergency aid was needed immediately, not Macron’s presence.
“Mr. President, what I’d like to tell you… is I think the spending you made from Paris to Mayotte would have been better spent to help the people,” he said.
Another resident, Ahamadi Mohammed, said Macron’s visit “is a good thing because he’ll be able to see by himself the damage.”
“I think that we’ll then get significant aid to try and get the island back on its feet,” the 58-year-old said.
LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP/Getty
Macron’s office said four tons of food and medical aid, as well as additional rescuers, were aboard the president’s flight. A navy ship was due to arrive in Mayotte on Thursday with another 180 tons of aid and equipment, according to the French military.
People living in a large slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou were some of the hardest hit by the cyclone. Many lost their houses, some lost friends.
Nassirou Hamidouni sheltered in his house when the cyclone hit.
His neighbor was killed when his house collapsed on him and his six children. Hamidouni and others dug through the rubble to reach them.
The 28-year-old father of five is now trying to rebuild his own house, which was also destroyed.
He believes the death toll is much higher than what’s officially being reported, given the severity of what he lived through.
“It was very hard,” he said.
Mayotte, located in the Indian Ocean between mainland Africa’s east coast and northern Madagascar, is France’s poorest territory.
The cyclone devastated entire neighborhoods and many people ignored the warnings, thinking the storm wouldn’t be so extreme.
Mayotte has more than 320,000 residents according to the French government. Most are Muslim and French authorities have estimated another 100,000 migrants live there.
Mayotte is the only part of the Comoros archipelago that voted to remain a part of France in a 1974 referendum.
Over the last decade, the French territory has seen a massive influx of migrants from the neighboring islands – the independent nation of Comoros, which is one of the world’s poorest countries.
