Would buying CDs from WAMU be a bad idea?
 

They are insured, right?

Randy P? .. .Beuller?

Last I checked their rates of return were crap. I think you can do better elsewhere.

They're FDIC insured. 5% CD's look good to me. Who has higher?

That's higher than I remember seeing and isn't too bad actually, so they've probably come up to spur investment and raise capital. I think my credit union (I do 95% of my banking through them) has CDs up around 5.35% but I'll verify. 5% ain't bad in today's world, especially if it's on a 90-day or something.

Their high-yield CD rates are excellent, but there are better ones out there. Check bankrate.com to do some comparisons. And yes, CDs are subject to FDIC coverage.

I was researching this yesterday - Discover Bank was spanking pretty much everything out there. At Bankrate, I did not note any 5% WaMu CDs but there may be some in a different time horizon than what I was researching (18-60 mos).

As you're probably aware, WaMu has cranked up their yields in an effort to attract deposits and recapitalize. With all the options out there, I just don't know - I think I'd steer clear.

Even in a CD, you need to carefully research any institution where you place funds at this point. Why risk having to use FDIC coverage?

you would be better off buying full auto class III machine guns/SBR's/belt feds than playing the stupid ass stock market. money well invested and there aint gonna be any more of "dem. supply and demand grasshopper.

My banker's litmus test: You can tell the banks that are really hurting because they are offering great rates because they desperately need to attract cash.

Yeah, a CD is insured, but this morning's paper has an article that the FDIC's cash reserve is now below the minimums set by congress, and the FDIC may ask to borrow money from the federal government. Not a positive sign.

If WAMU has further problems, you will probably get your money back, but not nearly as quickly as you may need it.