Vanguard Savings a/c Cash Plus, FDIC insured. Gradual rollout.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/vanguard-launches-cash-plus-3-5-apy/
https://twitter.com/MichaelKitces/status/1594468129069047809
More
https://www.adviserinvestments.com/adviser-fund-update/a-better-cash-option-at-vanguard/
https://investor.vanguard.com/accounts-plans/vanguard-cash-plus-account

Fed uses PCE-Core and that is 5.1%.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=WBJz
Fed fund futures project terminal rate of 5.00-5.25%.
The CME FedWatch tool is based on current fed fund futures quotes around the FOMC meetings and the assumption of gradual fed fund rate changes (+/- 0.25%). In the list below, more than 50% probability is used to indicate rate hike; “+” is shown after the FOMC date to indicate that rate hike can be at that or a later FOMC.
16th & 17th rate hikes, FOMC 12/14/22+ (50 bps hike possible) (rate 4.25-4.50%)
Good riddance, 2022
1st & 2nd rate hikes of 2023, FOMC 2/1/23+ (50 bps hike possible)
3rd rate hike, FOMC 3/22/23+ 25 bps (rate 5.00-5.25%; likely cycle peak)
https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/interest-rates/cme-fedwatch-tool.html

Interesting from a few days back in this thread regarding banks pulling or not adding some CD's for purchase at the brokerages. Without a doubt, they are trying to decide too, what will be taking place with FED actions and rates within the next 1 year or so. Some clues, perhaps from these actions, too.

As 'Roseanne Roseannadanna' (portrayed by the late, great Gilda Radner) was known for saying in the 1970's SNL news: "...it just goes to show you, it's always something — if it ain't one thing, it's another."
Staying with thoughts and reactions of bond markets since the melt of 2008, and the continuing aspect of 'this time is different'; which I believe still applies, those with the big strings to pull, will continue to attempt to fix the problems. Not that this hasn't happened in past decades; but those decades are now for reference and study; and for me, are not so meaningful for trying to preserve and improve one's capital position, here and now.
Nov. 15 PPI down .2%, a baby trend. And missiles strike Poland
, killing 2. Not Russian missiles? Thursday...some folks talk about a peak/terminal rate of 7%??? Is the FED gonna break the back of the economy, with what ever it takes?
The FED board are a chatty bunch, eh? Although, I don't have a degree in psychology; one may observe over the years, that often when folks become excessively chatty about something they're connected to; in part, it may be from being nervous, twitchy. So do they have their fingers crossed behind their backs, that their plan will actually work and they won't look like fools at a future date? Some inflation is taken care of by the consumer not willing to pay a price. Other inflation sectors in the current environment, are not readily able to be controlled by the FED or the consumer. As there are no real rules to all phases of the game, perhaps I'll keep my fingers crossed, too; and hope to spot a trend here or there.
What is Terminal fund rate?
The terminal rate is the level at which the Fed is expected to stop raising interest rates.
I'm imaging the FED using CPI or an index gauge they choose and increasing interest rates until the two numbers are near the same value; and then take a look around at the results, to determine the next move. I.E. : CPI at 5.5%, stop the terminal rate at 5.5%.
Numerous recent posts have discussed the yield curve and other factors that may be affecting current and future yields. I can't improve on those commentary; and I've rambled enough.
NOTE: I've kept the prior dated reports in the beginning of this thread; and have added YTD to this data.
A few positives remain for this week.
For the WEEK/YTD, NAV price changes, November 14- November 18, 2022
--- AGG = +.51% / -13.4% (I-Shares Core bond etf) widely used bond benchmark, (AAA-BBB holdings)
--- MINT = +.12% / -1.7% (PIMCO Enhanced short maturity, AAA-BBB rated)
--- SHY = -.21% / -4.4% (UST 1-3 yr bills)
--- IEI = - .07% / -9.9% (UST 3-7 yr notes/bonds)
--- IEF = +.2% / -15.2% (UST 7-10 yr bonds)
--- TIP = -1.02% / -13% (UST Tips, 3-10 yrs duration, some 20+ yr duration)
--- STPZ = -.8% / -5.2% (UST, short duration TIPs bonds, PIMCO)
--- LTPZ = -1.2% / -32.8% (UST, long duration TIPs bonds, PIMCO)
--- TLT = +1.8% / -31.5% (I shares 20+ Yr UST Bond
--- EDV = +2.7% / -39.6% (UST Vanguard extended duration bonds)
--- ZROZ = +3.1% / -41.5% (UST., AAA, long duration zero coupon bonds, PIMCO
--- TBT = -3.5% / +96% (ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury (about 23 holdings)
--- TMF = +5.1% / -72% (Direxion Daily 20+ Yr Trsy Bull 3X ETF (about a 3x version of EDV etf)
--- BAGIX = +.63% / -14.3% (active managed, plain vanilla, high quality bond fund)
*** Other, for reference:
--- HYG = -.3% / -11.1% (high yield bonds, proxy ETF)
--- LQD = +1.2% / -18.2% (corp. bonds, various quality)
--- FZDXX = 3.79% yield (7 day), Fidelity Premium MMKT fund
*** FZDXX yield was .11%, April,2022 Yes, short term yields have changed rapidly.
BONUS MATERIAL. For many of the younger, well; you had to be there and then.
Remain curious,
Catch

Adam M. Grossman with an insightful post regarding FTX and "The Next Buffet."
Link

@Baseball_Fan, insurance co may take its time to process 1035 exchange form (typically, paper submission and processing). My comments were general, so that 59.5 aspect won't apply to you.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sec1035ex.asp
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-03-51.pdf

Thank you YBB...I'm just the other side of 59.5..so that is that.
But still, say you have a SPIA, 5 year term. After 5 years, you can pull the money out and put it into a money market somewhere else if you wish, you are not tied to that company forever so to speak, correct? Apologies if this is a non-informed question.
Interesting reading your comments...I do remember my wife inheriting an annuity after her Mom passed. Oh my gosh it was a taffy pull getting the money from the insurance company...long drawn out process. I'm wondering if it was just the specific company (I probably shouldn't mention which one, but most would recognize the name) or if it would be like that with all/most of them.
I do know the Schwab's, Fidelity's of the world, they DO NOT like to lose qualififed, 401k rollover etc monies either...."sticky money" to your point.
Best,
Baseball Fan

I have been saying this too since the new I-Bond rates came out. Afterall, both capture the CPI (see chart below), so why no go with much higher yields of 5-yr TIPS now. BTW, the real yield curve is also inverted now.
REAL yields 5-yr 1.71%, 10-yr 1.57%, 30-yr 1.63%
https://stockcharts.com/h-perf/ui?s=VTIP&compare=$$CPI,TIP&id=p61496575979

Just for fun, checked out TWEIX portfolio top 10, vs. my own equity-income fund, PRFDX. Not much overlap. ZERO overlap. Hmmmm. Looking at it from utterly different assumptions, goals, worlds, I suppose.

David Enna analyzes the advantages/disadvantages of I Bonds vs. TIPS.
He states that I Bonds are better short-term investments while TIPS
are superior longer-term investments at this time.
Link

Once an annuity, always an annuity.
If you want to take the money out before 59.5, there are taxes and 10% penalty. Also, you have to use 1035 exchange to transfer annuity from one vendor to another. Safety (credit rating) of insurance company is also important.
Annuity companies know this and that people have inertia. So, they treat annuity money as captive money and offer inducements initially. And that is why some term-annuities have better rates than Treasuries and CDs.

Gents - I was dabbling in CCOR a while back and then sold...interday it was all over the place...it was somewhat unpredicatable as to how the fund would perform vs markets any day.
What made me (overly cautious, nervouse nelly investor) give pause, it appears to me that many of the Bitcoin Bros/Gals are trading options like crazee. How do you explain ARKK going up by like 15% over two day last week. Heard on a podcast, maybe it was Wealthion guest that a lot of very short term options are being put on...folks trying to get rich quick with options rather than holding the JNJ, MRK, WMT, Rattheon's. etc.
Also I am starting to get real nervous re the futures/combo funds out there....the BLNDX, MAFIX, still waiting for the hard trendreversals to take place when the interest rates go down or dollar goes down...could be a whammo moment.
Have taken my CCOR monies and put them in FORKX, Abraham Fortress Fund...run by Salem Abraham...yes, some futures/hedgey part of portfolio, but only a 25-30%. Il like his experience investing over many different market cycles and his no nonsense Texan background. We'll see how it goes.
Also started small entry position in TWEIX and added to smaller position in TSUMX recently.
Still way way heavy into rolling T bills, laddering CDs up to 5 years.
Good Luck to All,
Baseball Fan

Good Morning - any thoughts why you would (assuming you still could, they don't seem to be available any longer)...but comparing brokered 5 yr CD vs a SPIA annuity fixed term 5 year from A++ rated NY Life...4.9%APY
brokered CD is FDIC insured, can't touch the monies without taking a ding until 5 years are up
Annuity, you can do partial withdrawls, something like up to 10% of funds ea year if you desire or need to.
The Annuity seems to be a better yield...if you go with an A(+), Nationwide etc, you can get 5.15% APY
I see you can get with 7 year SPIA, A+ rated co, 5.25%...
I've been very conservative past several years, always thought markets were kind of "artificial" due to money printing CBs etc, those rates above are kind of appealing...I've never had any annuities before so kind of cold feet. Also thinking that maybe, just maybe going forward, PMEFX and maybe PVCMX will outperform those SPIAs, dunno?
Baseball Fan

2. My specific question is > some for the distributions show as at loss - others are at a gain . I can identify and cherry pick and sell off a few of the distributions that are currently at a loss . This would then raise the gain of the remaining position

When specific shares ("cherry pick") and average cost ("raise the gain ... of the remaining position") appear in the same sentence, it suggests that some clarification might be helpful.
It is true that if one sells the most expensive shares in a position, the average cost of the remaining shares is reduced, thus increasing the average gain of those remaining shares. But so what?
---
Consider a position with two shares, one purchased at $2/share, one purchased at $6/share (perhaps via div reinvestment). The average cost is $4/share. If the current price is $5, then what one has is:
- Share A, cost $2, worth $5, unrealized gain of $3.
- Share B, cost $6, worth $6, unrealized gain (loss) of -$1.
Total unrealized gain = $3 - $1 = $2.
Average unrealized gain = $2/2 = $1. As shown below, this average gain doesn't matter.
---
Suppose you sell one share now, and the other share later after the price rises from $5 to $8.
Sell Share B first, recognize a $1 loss.
Sell Share A @$8, recognize a gain of $8 - $2 = $6.
Total gain on portfolio = -$1 + $6 = $5.
Sell Share A first, recognize a $3 gain.
Sell Share B @$8, recognize a gain of $8 - $6= $2.
Total gain on portfolio = $3 + $2 = $5.
No difference in total gain. The difference is in the timing. Sell B first and you get to use a $1 loss now (offsetting other gains). You don't have to pay taxes now out of pocket. So you get the use of that tax money until you sell Share A.
Sell A first, and you have to pay taxes on $3 of gain now. You don't have the use of that tax money any more. This is why one generally sells more costly shares first.
---
Don't get confused by average cost. With mutual fund shares, one is permitted to use the average cost of shares when computing realized gains. But then there's no cherry picking, no selling of most expensive shares first. And total gain still comes out the same.
With average cost:
Average cost = ($2 + $6)/2 = $4.
Sell oldest share first (required) @$5: recognize gain of $5 - $4 (av cost) = $1.
Sell newest share @$8: recognize gain of $8 - $4 (av cost) = $4.
Total gain on portfolio = $1 + $4 = $5.
Notice that the average cost used doesn't change for the second share, even though there's only one share left in the portfolio after the first sale.
And the total portfolio gain of $5 is the same as before. The difference, once again, is in the timing. You pay taxes on $1 gain now. That's more than you'd have to pay up front if you used the shares' actual costs and sold the most expensive share (Share B) first.
---
Finally, to get back to the idea of using $3K in losses to offset ordinary income. This is the most valuable use of losses. It's more valuable than using a loss in one share to offset the gain of another share. So if there is a way to generate a cap loss one year, that's usually optimal. To do this, you usually sell your most expensive shares in one year and your shares with gain in other years.
Again, the total gain remains the same regardless of the order of selling. What differs is when you have to pay your taxes (generally the later the better) and whether you get to use some losses to offset ordinary income (better).

As of 09/30/22, equities comprised 62% of my portfolio.
U.S. stocks accounted for 40.4% while international stocks were 21.6% of the total.
I've invested internationally for decades.
During the "lost decade" (2000 - 2009), the S&P 500 had a slightly negative return.
I was glad to own several international stock funds during this period.
Since 2010, U.S. stocks have trounced international stocks.
My portfolio's foreign stock funds negatively impacted relative returns during this timeframe.
Foreign stocks have underperformed U.S. stocks for a long time now and their valuations are more attractive.
Foreign currencies (broadly speaking) have been weak versus the U.S. dollar.
There is a high probability that mean reversion will occur in the future and international stocks will outperform.
Unfortunately, I don't know how or when this will happen.

Joshua Brown's commentary regarding the FTX fiasco.
Link

Global diversification reduces the risk of having a single point of failure in a portfolio.
Valuations for international stocks are low based on historical data.
The U.S. dollar has been strong recently but currencies often revert to the mean.
The author makes a case for global diversification.
Link

Thanks y'all.
My understanding is > 1. Capital losses that exceed capital gains in a year may be used to offset ordinary taxable income up to $3,000 in any one tax year. Net capital losses in excess of $3,000 can be carried forward indefinitely until the amount is exhausted.
2. My specific question is > some for the distributions show as at loss - others are at a gain . I can identify and cherry pick and sell off a few of the distributions that are currently at a loss . This would then raise the gain of the remaining position . Is that still an advisable thing to do ?
The only way to avoid the cap gains on liquidation would be a gift or DAF - this fund throws off huge year end Cap gains distributions and as I have owned for about 25 years - it has huge embedded gains .

+1. @AndyJ.

Her former partner, Sunny, is convicted on all 12 counts. Will see how he plead to reduce his sentence. These are awful people.