The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced today that it will keep the Fed Funds Rate at 5.25%. The FOMC reported that economic growth seemed firmer, and that inflation was ... Read More

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that gas prices may be on the upswing again this spring. This is in response to higher oil prices (Brent Crude), which went from ... Read More

The U.S. economy, as measured by GDP, grew 3.5% in the fourth quarter of 2006, according to the latest release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). This compares to ... Read More

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab pressed for a renewal of the World Trade Organization’s Doha round of trade negotiations. The U.S. would like ... Read More

In preparing the budget for next year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) releases its forecast for economic growth for the next decade. This forecast is used to set the budget ... Read More

In January and February, the President and Congress begin preparing the U.S. budget for the following year. Therefore, now would be a good time to review Who's Who in the ... Read More

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) was established by Congress in 1974 to assist the House and Senate Budget Committees analyze the yearly budget submitted by the President’s Office of ... Read More

The Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) provides sophisticated guidance to the President as he formulates economic policy and prepares the annual budget. Both the current and former Federal Reserve ... Read More

The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) consists of 10 members from both the Senate and the House of Representatives. It reviews economic conditions and recommend improvements in economic policy. It does ... Read More

The Executive Office of Management and Budget, (OMB) prepares the budget for the President, handles the press and manages the budget throughout the year. The OMB affects the economy in two ... Read More

Freddie Mac is the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, or FHLMC. It was created by the Emergency Home Finance Act of 1970 to create a secondary market for conventional mortgages. ... Read More

Fannie Mae buys mortgages from banks, a process known as buying on the secondary market. It then packages these into mortgage-backed securities, and resells them to investors on Wall Street. ... Read More

The State Department is the lead U.S. foreign affairs agency. It manages relationships with 180 out of the 191 countries with which the U.S. maintains diplomatic relations. It maintains nearly ... Read More

The S.E.C. is the nickname for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which was created in 1934 to restore the public’s confidence in the stock market after the Great Depression ... Read More

The Department of Energy (DOE) has been in existence for 25 years, and is primarily a national security agency. Its purpose is to ensure energy security and maintain the safety ... Read More

The Department of Energy announced that Japan will assist in developing new nuclear power plants in the U.S. Japan has more expertise in advanced, fast reactors, which produce ... Read More

In a nutshell, the Department of Treasury manages Federal finances once the President, Congress and the Office of Management and Budget set fiscal policy. The most important way Treasury affects the ... Read More

On January 8, 2007, the Federal Reserve released the G-19 Consumer Credit report for November, 2006. It stated that revolving credit (like credit card debt) was 1.2% higher than ... Read More

Instead of making a forecast myself, I am providing you a summary of what the top forecasters have said. All forecasts are variations of a “soft landing”, meaning that the ... Read More