LA Times story about the US Treasury moving to fixed rates, as opposed to variable, on Series EE bonds - - the one's your kids often receive as gifts.

Don't look now, but there may be an elephant in the room when it comes to the direction of interest rates.

The floating-rate program stood to benefit the Treasury over the last two decades because interest rates have mostly Fallen in that period.

But interest earned on the bonds has been rising since last year, when the Federal Reserve began tightening credit by lifting short-term market rates. More recently, concerns about inflation pressures from stubbornly high oil prices have driven longer-term rates higher.