Citibank offering 4.00% APY on a 6-month CD

One of the silver linings of the current financial dark clouds is that banks are finally offering attractive yields. Not just risky banks, but mainstream banks as well. Just this morning I noticed a sign in a Citibank branch on East 42nd Street here in Manhattan offering 4.00% APY on a 6-month CD. That is better than the rates on most of their longer term CDs and matches the rate on their 5-year CD. This suggests the timeframe that banks really need increased cash: more than three months, but no more than six months. They also offer decent rates for online banking, but with way too much fine print to appeal to me.

My own financial situation is still way too "fluid" to considering locking up any cash for even six months.

-- Jack Krupansky