It’s not always easy to get the best CD rates when you don’t have a lot of money to deposit. But Ally Bank offers competitive CD rates with no minimum deposit. CD rates are fixed for the full term. Other features of Ally Bank’s certificates of deposit include:

• Daily compounded interest
• No monthly fees
• The ability to withdraw and receive earned interest as income if the bank is notified before the maturity date of the CD or within 10 days after that
• FDIC insured
• Automatic renewal when the CD matures

The best CD rates at Ally Bank, as of July 10, are for terms of five years (3.4% annual percentage yield), four years (2.9% APY), and three years (2.7% APY). But CD rates for one year are 2.1% APY and for 18 months, 2.15% APY. The term and CD rates take affect when a deposit is made.

Ally Bank charges you a fee for withdrawing money from a CD early. The early withdrawal fee for CDs with terms of 12 months or less equals three months’ interest. Early withdrawals from CDs with terms of 18 months or longer result in a fee equal to six months’ interest.

Certificates of deposit can be opened online or by phone. Ally Bank also offers a calculator that shows you how your savings can grow with different CD rates.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer has proposed legislation that would allow all newborns to receive $500 to open a savings account. The American Saving for Personal Investment, Retirement, and Education Act of 2009 would allow the government to open a savings account for each baby to help encourage people to save. Other details of the proposal include:

• Savings accounts would be created automatically when children are issued Social Security cards.
• Annual contributions up to $500 would receive a dollar-for-dollar match from the federal government.
• Up to $2,000 could be deposited annually.
• Money in the savings would grow tax-free.

Schumer’s savings proposal is meant to help families that are finding it difficult to save money. “It’s a dramatic and different way of encouraging people to save, long after the recession is over. The middle class needs help. And the other problem we have in America is we don’t save enough, in general,” he said.

Withdrawals from the savings would be tax-free after the child turned 18. Funds in the savings could only be used for college expenses until age 25. After that, the money could be used to a buy a home for the first time or for retirement savings.

Whether the legislation is passed or not you can still set up a savings for you or your child. Compare different savings accounts here.

Looking for bank deals that offer cash back to new customers? Opening a personal or business checking account at Bank of America (BofA) could earn you a $100 bonus. The offer is only available to new customers who open a checking account online or at one of the bank’s branches. Details of the offer include:

• Minimum opening deposit of $250
• You must use a debit card to make a purchase within 30 days of opening the account to receive a $75 bonus
• Two online bill payments must be made within 30 days of opening account to receive additional $25 bonus
• Free online banking
• Free online bill pay
• Student checking accounts are not eligible for the bank deals

Small business checking account customers must enroll in BofA’s Online Business Suite Direct Payments program and complete two payments within 30 days to be eligible for the bonus. Once the terms of the offer are met, the bank will either deposit the bonus in the account or mail a check. The amount of the bonus may be reported to the Internal Revenue Service and the business would be responsible for any taxes owed.

Rates on interest bearing checking accounts as of June 25, 2009, were 0.05% for balances less than $10,000.

The U.S. lost 467,000 jobs in June, 102,000 more than the average estimate by economists. The  unemployment rate was 9.5% in June, the highest level in 26 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the highest rate since August 1983, when it was 9.4%. There were 14.7 million unemployed people  in June.

The financial news sent stock markets tumbling today, as many feared that the jobless rate indicates that the recession isn’t likely to end anytime soon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 223.32 points to 8280.74. Many economists were concerned about the financial news on the jobless rate.

“Companies are laying off people and not hiring them back,” Roger Kubarych, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Global Research in New York, told Bloomberg. “This leaves us with a weak, irregular recovery.”

But the high jobless rate could continue to push the U.S. savings rate up as consumers crack down on spending and put aside money to ride out the recession. The U.S. Commerce Department reported recently that the personal savings rate had risen to 6.9% in May, a 15-year high.

Anyone hoping to weather the continuing economic storm should put together a plan to beef up their savings. It’s a good idea to look for the best savings rates out there to make the most of your money in this troubled economy.