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As interest rates on certificates of deposit continue their downward slog, annuities, money market accounts and even interest-bearing checking accounts are all emerging as attractive alternatives.

In the past 24 months, the amount invested in CDs nationally dropped nearly 30 percent, while those in locally based banks tumbled 40 percent. For the 75 banks based in St. Louis tracked by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, CD deposits totaled $10.48 billion at the end of June, down from $17.6 billion when CD interest rates in mid-2009.

There’s no secret why: The national and local average for a 5-year CD this week came with a 1.26 annual percentage yield, below inflation and down from about 4 percent in 2008.

So what’s an investor to do?

Many investors are ditching CDs in search of better returns or investments that provide better liquidity, such as money market accounts. CDs have long been viewed as a relatively safe place to invest money without the volatility of stock market swings, as the funds are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. But CDs also come with a catch

Asian stock markets rose Monday after Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke’s prediction that the U.S. economy will eventually return to full health fueled gains on Wall Street.

Oil prices lingered above $85 a barrel in Asia after Hurricane Irene did little damage to refineries along the U.S. East Coast. The dollar was higher against the yen but lower against the euro.

Market optimism was fueled after a highly anticipated speech by Bernanke at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. While he announced no new economic stimulus measures _ as some investors had hoped _ he did leave open the possibility of more action if another recession looks likely. He also emphasized the strengths of the U.S. economy and said the job market will recover in the long run.

“People came to realize that Bernanke is very confident about the economy,” said Jackson Wong, vice president at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong. “People were reluctant to get into the market. Now they are jumping back in.”

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.6 percent to 8,846.32. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.9 percent to 4,277.70 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.5 percent to 19,879.51.

Hong Kong-listed Sinopec, Asia’s largest refiner by capacity, jumped 5.7 percent after announcing that first-half profit rose 12 percent as higher oil, gas and chemicals revenues helped offset a loss in its refining business. The results for the company, also known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., were better than analysts had forecast.

South Korea’s Kopsi index jumped 2.8 percent to 1,829.09. Leading shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. soared 8.4 percent. Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker, jumped 7.5 percent on brighter chip price forecasts, Yonhap News agency said. Refinery SK Innovation rose 6.5 percent.

Gold-related shares rose after prices of the precious metal rebounded Friday after a volatile week instant payday loans. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s largest gold miner, rose 2.1 percent. Hong Kong-listed Zijin, China’s top gold miner, was 1.7 percent higher. Hong Kong jewelry chain Chow Sang Sang Holdings gained 6.4 percent.

Other Australian metals shares rose on the back of higher commodities prices. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, rose 1.7 percent. Rio Tinto Ltd. gained 2.4 percent.

Mainland Chinese shares dipped, however, amid reports that the central bank is considering further increases to banks’ required reserves. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5 percent to 1,163.99 and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index was 1.1 percent down to 2,584.40.

On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.2 percent to close at 11,284.54. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.5 percent to 1,176.80. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 2.5 percent to 2,479.85.

The Fed has said it plans to keep short-term interest rates low until mid-2013. Low rates on investments like bonds make higher-risk bets such as stocks more attractive.

The U.S. economy is still hobbled by a depressed housing market, high oil prices and fears that the European debt crisis will deteriorate into a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis.

Benchmark oil for October delivery was up 18 cents to $85.55 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude rose 7 cents to settle at $85.37 on Friday.

In London, Brent crude for October delivery was down 33 cents at $111.10 on the ICE Futures exchange.

In currencies, the euro was up at $1.4497 from $1.4484 in late trading in New York. The dollar rose to 76.73 yen from 76.66 yen.

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Popular U.S. retailer J. Crew opened its first store in Canada to long line-ups and immediate controversy over its pricing strategy.

Like many other U.S. retailers, the preppy fashion chain is charging higher prices in Canada than in the U.S., on average 15 per cent more before taxes.

The move has annoyed some of its Canadian customers, who believe Canadian prices should be on par with the U.S., given the currencies are roughly equivalent.

J. Crew has responded to customers with a letter signed by President Jenna Lyons that said the retailer is taking the concerns very seriously.

Americans cut back on their spending in June for the first time in nearly two years and their incomes grew by the smallest amount in nine months, a troubling sign for an economy that is barely growing.

Consumer spending dropped 0.2 percent in June, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Excluding falling prices for such items as energy and food, consumer spending would have been unchanged in June.

Incomes rose 0.1 percent. It was the weakest growth in income since September, reflecting anemic hiring this spring.

Stock futures were trading lower after the report was released.

High gas prices and unemployment have squeezed household budgets this spring, leading to tepid overall economic growth in the April-June quarter. The economy expanded at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the second quarter after only 0.4 percent growth in the first three months of this year. The combined growth for the first six months of this year was the worst since the recession ended two years ago.

Many Americans are cutting back on purchases of cars, furniture, appliances and electronics. Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.

Employers have responded by reducing hiring. The economy added just 18,000 net jobs in June, the fewest in nine months. The unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent, the highest level this year.

The government issues its July employment report on Friday.

Declining growth and rising unemployment have raised concerns that the country could fall back into a recession faxless payday advance.

Many analysts are still hopeful that growth will rebound in the second half of the year. They expect auto production and sales to pick up once supply chain disruptions ease. Many auto dealers reported shortages of popular models after Japan’s March 11 earthquake limited production of parts. That cut into auto sales.

But the turnaround may not come for a while. Manufacturers had their weakest growth in two years in July, according to the Institute for Supply Management.

The private trade group of purchasing executives said Monday that its index of manufacturing activity fell to 50.9 percent in July from 55.3 percent in June. The reading was the lowest since July 2009 _ one month after the recession officially ended.

And gas prices remain high, even after coming down from their peak of nearly $4 a gallon in early May. The average price for a gallon was $3.70 on Tuesday _ 14 cents higher than a month ago and almost a dollar more than the same month last year.

Some economists have begun to trim their forecasts for the second half of the year. Economists at Capital Economics said they had cut their outlook for second half growth to 2 percent, down from a previous forecast of 2.5 percent growth in the second half of this year.

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Hours of talks between eurozone finance ministers on the imploding finances of Greece broke up early Monday morning without the ministers signing off on a vital installment of rescue loans needed to avoid bankruptcy next month.

Greece will get the next euro12 billion of its existing euro110 billion bailout package in early July, but only if it manages to pass euro28 billion in new spending cuts and economic reforms by the end of the month, said Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg who also chairs the regular meetings of the 17 eurozone finance ministers.

“We have to, of course, await this vote” by the Greek parliament, Juncker said as he left the meeting.

However, Juncker said that as long as the parliament supported the new measures, he was certain that Greece would also get a second bailout _ on top of the existing one _ that will keep it afloat over the coming years as it works to restore its struggling economy. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said Sunday that his country was in talks for a new bailout similar in size to the first one.

In a statement, the ministers said that the private sector would contribute to the new package of rescue loans on a voluntary basis. Banks and other private creditors will be asked to buy up new Greek bonds as old ones mature, thereby reducing the amount of money other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund will have to provide.

“No pressure may be exerted on the private sector,” Juncker stressed, since any sign of coercion could force rating agencies to consider the bond-rollover as a partial default. Such a negative rating could take down Greek banks and further shake other struggling euro countries like Ireland and Portugal, economists have warned.

Juncker said he planned to convene a special finance ministers meeting in the first days of July, where the remaining questions would be finalized. He said that because of the voluntary nature of the roll-over, it was too early to put a number on the contribution of the private sector.

The meeting of the 17 eurozone nations came after a tumultuous week that saw rioting on the streets of Athens, a Greek Cabinet reshuffle and days of market turmoil that sent borrowing costs spiking. A default by Greece could cause ripples around the world, disrupting the global economy similarly to the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008.

Just before the meeting broke up, the finance chiefs of the United States, Canada, Japan and the U.K. were updated on the discussions taking place in Luxembourg in a conference call limited to the Group of Seven rich nations, underlining the heightened level of concern over the small euro nation.

A little over a year after its first bailout, Greece is trailing its financial goals. Without passing the new austerity measures, its budget deficit will remain above 10 percent of economic output this year _ far from the promised 7.5 percent. The country’s debt is expected to reach 160 percent of gross domestic product by the end of 2011, while its economy continues to shrink.

The harsh austerity measures and the bleak outlook for the depressed Greek economy and the resulting street protests are increasingly challenging the survival of Papandreou’s government.

Opening a three-day parliamentary debate that will culminate in a confidence vote Tuesday, Papandreou blamed Greece’s bloated and inefficient state sector for bringing the country to its knees. He vowed deep changes with a fall referendum on the constitution that would make it easier to get rid of inept officials or workers.

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Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Inc. said Friday it entered into two accelerated share repurchase deals with Morgan Stanley for a total of about $1.7 billion.

The north St. Louis County-based company said it will receive about 29.4 million shares initially. It then will be required to deliver shares of its stock or the cash value to Morgan Stanley or will receive more shares from Morgan Stanley, depending on the daily volume-weighted average prices per share of the stock after a valuation period.

The accelerated stock repurchases are expected to end in the fourth quarter. Shares will be bought pursuant to a share repurchase program previously announced by Express Scripts.

Shares of Express Scripts fell 60 cents to $58.93 in morning trading Friday.

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Macy’s Inc. is dominating its competition and bouncing back from the recession by doing many little things well: adding local flavor to its stores, snagging hit exclusives like Madonna’s clothing line and keeping its own costs under control.

All that contributed to soaring first-quarter earnings that crushed Wall Street forecasts, a boosted outlook and doubling the dividend it pays shareholders. Macy’s stock price rose nearly 8 percent Wednesday.

The department store’s results are among the first in a pile of retail earnings reports over the next two weeks. They could put more pressure on competitors like Kohl’s Corp. and J.C. Penney Co., both of which cater to shoppers on tighter budgets and are consequently more vulnerable to escalating costs of household basics.

While consumer spending has picked up speed since late last year, middle-to-lower- income shoppers are still cautious, fueling an intense battle among merchants for their dollars.

Macy’s Chief Financial Officer Karen Hoguet acknowledged higher gas prices and other issues are starting to make the overall environment more challenging but remained undaunted Macy’s would continue to outshine its rivals.

“The momentum … is building and bodes very well for our future,” Hoguet said on a conference call with investors. “There has been a lot of speculation about how the consumer will react to higher gas prices, price inflation, stagnant housing prices and a myriad of other macroeconomic factors. No one … knows how this will play out, but … we have a tremendous amount of ammunition in place.”

Macy’s is covering “the retail basics” like faster turnover of goods and better customer service, said Craig R. Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail consultancy in New Canaan, Conn. Its exclusive celebrity merchandise which also include Tommy Hilfiger sportswear and Martha Stewart home furnishings also have helped it attract customers.

“The earnings were quite strong, and they are clearly outdistancing the competition,” he said.

Macy’s reported net income of $131 million, or 30 cents per share, in the three months ended April 30, easily beating forecasts for 18 cents per share.

Revenue rose 5.7 percent to $5.88 billion. Analysts expected $5.89 billion, according to FactSet,

Revenue at stores open at least a year rose 5.4 percent. The measure is a key indicator of a retailer’s health because it excludes stores that opened or closed during the year. That compares with a 1.3 percent increase at Kohl’s and a 3.8 percent gain at Penney for the latest quarter.

Online revenue for Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s combined surged 38.3 percent in the first quarter.

Chairman and CEO Terry Lundgren conceived the localization strategy as consumer spending was slowing down in 2007. Stocking more Elvis-themed Christmas ornaments in Tennessee and conservative business suits in Washington, D.C., catered to customers in a way that had been lacking since the chain ditched its numerous regional nameplates such as Marshall Field’s and Hecht’s in mid-decade.

The benefits started to hit their stride starting late last year after the strategy was put in place nationwide, the company said.

Macy’s is also emphasizing exclusive brands such as Material Girl from Madonna and her daughter, Lourdes. The company gets about 43 percent of its revenue from private, exclusive and limited-distribution brands. Hoguet told investors that store-label goods are outperforming national brands.

A better-trained sales force is also helping. Last September, the company trained about 130,000 sales associates and managers on engaging customers, its most comprehensive effort. A big component is more intense coaching of workers by its store and district management teams.

Macy’s isn’t immune to rising costs and has started to push higher prices through. In some cases, there has been no consumer price resistance to small increases on certain items. In other cases, there’s been some pullback, but Macy’s had cut the number of units it had ordered based on what it forecast. Hoguet didn’t offer any specifics.

The company now expects revenue at stores open at least a year to rise about 4 percent for the rest of fiscal 2011. Combined with actual first-quarter figures, that would calculate to growth of about 4.3 percent for the fiscal year. The previous outlook called for 3 percent.

The company now expects earnings per share between $2.40 and $2.45, compared with $2.25 to $2.30 previously. Analysts had expected $2.34, according to Factset.

Macy’s said that based on “the strength, momentum and confidence in our business,” it’s doubling its quarterly dividend to 10 cents payable July 1 to shareholders of record June 14.

Shares rose $1.78 per share to $28.11 on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Sheila Bair is stepping down as chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. this summer, ending a five-year term in which she helped craft the government’s response to the 2008 financial crisis.

The FDIC says Bair will leave her post as one of the government’s top bank regulators on July 8.

Bair was among the first officials to raise concerns about the explosion in high-risk lending to borrowers with bad credit. Under her tenure, the agency closed more than 350 banks since the crisis peaked in late 2008.

The FDIC is charged with maintaining public confidence in the banking system. The agency guarantees bank deposits up to $250,000.

The FDIC says Bair will chair a final board meeting during the first week of July.

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Robert Cartwright drives a company car. He has a laptop, iPhone and video camera paid for by this employer, and rarely spends time in the Bridgeton headquarters of Vantage Credit Union.

Instead, Cartwright is often online where he chats with

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