Duh, but appreciated, Bernake.

Fed Chair Bernake made his first speech in a while, in which he urged Americans to save more, calling current savings rates "exceptionally low." This comes as no surprise to most, including yours truly. You can read the Financial Times article here.

Please save, people! There are so many fantastic high-yield savings accounts out there. My personal favorite is Emigrant Direct. Not only do they have one of the highest rates out there, I sincerely appreciated the $1000 deposits they made to every account registered in the Gulf Region following Katrina. When I called to tell them that I had moved from New Orleans a few weeks prior to the hurricane, they told me that they figured I knew how best to use the money to help. You don't see that often, and this attitude has endeared this bank to be for the long haul (even if their rates fell to 5.05% from 5.15%).