Here's a silver lining to that dark cloud some folks are calling the worst economic environment since the Great Depression: the savings rate is up. Nervous about the other shoe dropping, Americans are stashing away extra funds for a rainy day. In large part, cash collected from bonus payments, cost-of-living raises, or holiday gifts were saved rather than spent in January, lifting the personal savings rate to its highest since March 1995, at 5.0%. Just last year, the personal savings rate was hovering at an unimpressive 0.1%. From the 1950s through the early 1980s, however, the savings rate was closer to 10%. Viewed on an annual basis, the personal savings rate hit a new record of $545.5 billion.
Why is gold making a new high, trading at $1,118.00 per ounce?
Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 1 
Closing Bell: A six-day rally (AIG, REGN, M, MOT, PALM, RIMM)
