BernankeTomorrow, the Federal Reserve Bank will meet for their final session of 2006, deciding whether to keep interest rates the same, or start lowering them. (No one thinks they will raise interest rates again, now that the economy is slowing down, the housing market is in reverse, and big retailers like Wal-mart are stalling.)

So what does this mean for us? The interest rates on our credit cards will stop rising, so for anyone carrying a balance month to month, that’s good news (and maybe you can make some headway in paying down the debt).

If you have any other adjustable rates, like an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM), it is probably as high as it’s going to get, though it may already be painfully high. (Consider refinancing to a fixed rate mortgage, those rates are now at a 10-month low, according to Bankrate.com.)

Of course, there’s a downside to stabilizing interest rates. If you are a saver more than a borrower, then the gravy train is slowing down. All last year and into this one, we’ve watched as EmigrantDirect.com, INGDirect.com and similar online money market savings banks have raised, and raised, and raised their interest rates. (By the way, these are particularly good ways to save your money: they are FDIC insured up to $100,000 and they are linked to your checking account, so you can always get the money when you need it.)

Now, these online rates appear to have peaked. The highest I can find online is 5.3% APY from Zions Bank (who?!). And if you have benefitted from this, excellent. But it’s time to look ahead now. How will you protect the interest on your savings, as rates inevitably begin to head downward some time in the new year?

One way is Certificates of Deposit, also available through these online banks. They can almost always offer higher rates than brick-and-mortar banks, and their CD rates are even higher than their regular money market savings accounts. Emigrant Direct is offering 5.05% APY on its regular accounts, but 5.2% on CDs, and you can choose the term, from 6 months to 10 years. Similarly, ING offers 12-month CDs at 5.1%.

The downside of CDs of course is that you lock up your money for a while in exchange for that great interest rate. But listen, it’s not a prison sentence. If ever you REALLY need access to that money, you can prematurely end the CD. The bank will penalize you about 3 months’ interest, but so what? You were getting a great interest rate to start with.

As ever, the Fed’s movements will be closely watched, and they will have repercussions way beyond our credit cards, mortgages or savings accounts. The U.S. economy will rise or fall, other nation’s economies will move in relationship to ours, and everyone from the mom-and-pop pizza joint down the hill (I love their pizza!) to the world’s mammoth corporations will be affected.

But hey, don’t get all serious. The folks at the Columbia Business School have provided some entertainment for the rest of us. Enjoy!