Two weeks ago, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke moved to lower short-term interest rates by 50 basis points. That was on top of the historic move 10 days earlier when, in an unscheduled emergency meeting, he lowered the federal funds rate 75 basis points. The good news is that these federal rate cuts help the stock market and borrowers in the short term. The bad news is the decreased interest rates we’re now getting on our savings accounts.