By Russ Wiles | The Republic
Interest rates are on the march, or at least the crawl. Rates generally have been rising for the past half year, though not yet in a big way — and from historically low levels. Economic growth isn’t robust enough, or inflation warm enough, to justify big rate increases any time soon. Still, the impact from rising rates is starting to be felt.
Savers fall behind
Yields on deposit accounts have barely budged in recent months, yet interest rates on credit cards have bumped higher. No wonder bank shares have been rallying in the stock market. Spreads between what banks pay in deposits and earn on loans have been unusually narrow in recent years, yet a higher-rate trend will widen that spread.
