oak,
you probably aren't slow, but you have not been paying proper attention. the answer to your question lies in how godawful much money is in money mkt. accts. these folks offer you a return, no? where are they going to get it?
they have to invest all those funds, and damn our eyes if they haven't been buying really weird and shaky stuff. non investment grade corp. paper is a big one, i believe. then there are strange securitizations that may indeed be worth nothing. money mkt. funds are playing the game, like everyone else, and they are playing it with your money, and they are not fdic insured. (you mention savings, as in bank savings, but these accts. are fdic insured) so, most m.m. funds aren't really the same as cash, and your cash may not be cash any longer if something hits the fan. i think this is one of the nastiest pieces of news out there, and haven't really heard the likes of cnbc say much about it yet.
move your cash into a m.m. fund that is invested only in gov't. bonds. iso mentioned one that is in u.s. securities. i keep my cash in begbx, which is an american century euro gov't. bond fund. doesn't pay quite as much as u.s. treasuries, but you have a play on the deterioration of the dollar against the euro.
lol, don |
