Talk:CDs vs bonds

Links to data sources from St Louis Fed: --Blbarnitz 17:46, 9 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Certificates of Deposit
 * Treasury Bills


 * I added some explanatory text (for puts and calls) and changed some references of "bonds" to "CDs" when it seemed to clarify the text. Also added the tax factor. --Blbarnitz 06:48, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

I can make a graph for Google Spreadsheet - which data series? Category: FRED > Categories > Interest Rates > Certificates of Deposit Link: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/categories/121 README File Created: 2010-01-08 FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) Economic Research Division Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Series files in the data directory sorted by title:

File                                   ;Title; Units; Frequency; Seasonal Adjustment; Last Updated WCD1M.xls                              ;1-Month Certificate of Deposit: Secondary Market Rate; %; W; NA; 2010-01-05 CD1M.xls                               ;1-Month Certificate of Deposit: Secondary Market Rate; %; M; NA; 2010-01-05 DCD1M.xls                              ;1-Month Certificate of Deposit: Secondary Market Rate; %; D; NA; 2010-01-08 WCD3M.xls                              ;3-Month Certificate of Deposit: Secondary Market Rate; %; W; NA; 2010-01-05 CD3M.xls                               ;3-Month Certificate of Deposit: Secondary Market Rate; %; M; NA; 2010-01-05 DCD90.xls                              ;3-Month Certificate of Deposit: Secondary Market Rate; %; D; NA; 2010-01-08 WCD6M.xls                              ;6-Month Certificate of Deposit: Secondary Market Rate; %; W; NA; 2010-01-05 CD6M.xls                               ;6-Month Certificate of Deposit: Secondary Market Rate; %; M; NA; 2010-01-05 DCD6M.xls                              ;6-Month Certificate of Deposit: Secondary Market Rate; %; D; NA; 2010-01-08

Category: FRED > Categories > Interest Rates > Treasury Bills Link: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/categories/116 README File Created: 2010-01-08 FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) Economic Research Division Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Series files in the data directory sorted by title: File                                   ;Title; Units; Frequency; Seasonal Adjustment; Last Updated WTB1YA.xls                             ;1-Year Treasury Bill Rate: Auction Average (DISCONTINUED SERIES); %; W; NA; 2006-07-27 TB1YA.xls                              ;1-Year Treasury Bill Rate: Auction Average (DISCONTINUED SERIES); %; M; NA; 2006-06-07 DTB1YR.xls                             ;1-Year Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate; %; D; NA; 2010-01-08 TB1YR.xls                              ;1-Year Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate; %; M; NA; 2010-01-05 WTB1YR.xls                             ;1-Year Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate; %; W; NA; 2010-01-05 DTB1.xls                               ;1-Year Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate (DISCONTINUED SERIES); %; D; NA; 2001-08-24 WTB1YS.xls                             ;1-Year Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate (DISCONTINUED SERIES); %; W; NA; 2006-08-16 TB1YS.xls                              ;1-Year Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate (DISCONTINUED SERIES); %; M; NA; 2006-06-07 WTB3MA.xls                             ;3-Month Treasury Bill Rate: Auction Average (DISCONTINUED SERIES); %; W; NA; 2000-06-30 TB3MA.xls                              ;3-Month Treasury Bill Rate: Auction Average (DISCONTINUED SERIES); %; M; NA; 2000-06-01 TB3MS.xls                              ;3-Month Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate; %; M; NA; 2010-01-05 DTB3.xls                               ;3-Month Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate; %; D; NA; 2010-01-08 WTB3MS.xls                             ;3-Month Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate; %; W; NA; 2010-01-05 TB4WK.xls                              ;4-Week Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate; %; M; NA; 2010-01-05 DTB4WK.xls                             ;4-Week Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate; %; D; NA; 2010-01-08 WTB4WK.xls                             ;4-Week Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate; %; W; NA; 2010-01-05 TB6MA.xls                              ;6-Month Treasury Bill Rate: Auction Average (DISCONTINUED SERIES); %; M; NA; 2006-06-07 WTB6MA.xls                             ;6-Month Treasury Bill Rate: Auction Average (DISCONTINUED SERIES); %; W; NA; 2006-07-27 DTB6.xls                               ;6-Month Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate; %; D; NA; 2010-01-08 WTB6MS.xls                             ;6-Month Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate; %; W; NA; 2010-01-05 TB6MS.xls                              ;6-Month Treasury Bill: Secondary Market Rate; %; M; NA; 2010-01-05

Abbreviations:

Frequency A = Annual Q = Quarterly M = Monthly BW = Bi-Weekly W = Weekly D = Daily Seasonal Adjustment SA = Seasonally Adjusted NSA = Not Seasonally Adjusted SAAR = Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate NA = Not Applicable --LadyGeek 17:04, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

Forum thread for this page is at: Treasuries vs. CDs: Differences, similarities, and portfolio --LadyGeek 17:43, 10 January 2010 (UTC)


 * My guess would be the 6 month daily compounded CD with the 6 month daily compounded t-bill. As an aside, it might prove interesting to see how much of the yield difference between the two instruments can attributed to the tax factor. For example, as a Virginia resident, I would pay a 5.75% tax on CD interest and 0% tax on treasury interest:

The tax penalty would be reduced if one can itemize state income tax on the federal return. --Blbarnitz 17:58, 10 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Graphs added, but the results don't support the statement about market differences in interest rates- at least from an overall tracking perspective. I don't know if the source of the data (fed vs. commercial bank rates) will affect the results.


 * The file was too large to be imported by Google Spreadsheet, done in Excel. I can increase the legend to be more visible, etc. Are these plots useful? --LadyGeek 23:33, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

Market History
This statement is somewhat confusing when comparing against the graph:
 * Nevertheless, the data presented below is likely a good first approximation of the historical behavior of the two bond categories, at least for ultra-short maturities.

Suggest:
 * Nevertheless, the data presented below is likely a good first approximation of the historical behavior of the two bond categories (represented as 6 month CDs and treasury bills), at least for ultra-short maturities.

To further simplify, I could expand the graph horizontally and eliminate the 1977 to present version. --LadyGeek 03:13, 13 January 2010 (UTC)