Fed Funds Rate Lowered to 4.5% - What Does It Mean?
Wednesday October 31, 2007
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pondering his next move Photo:Chip Somodevilla /Getty Images
Today, the FOMC lowered the Fed Funds rate 1/4 point to 4.5%, ... Read More
Will Record-High Oil Prices Continue?
Sunday October 28, 2007
Oil prices (WTI crude) hit an all-time record of $89.48 this month, but will it continue? The Energy Information Agency (EIA) says no. The agency's most recent forecast for the ... Read More
Credit Card Debt Up 8% from Last Year
Friday October 26, 2007
The Federal Reserve's most recent G-19 Consumer Credit report states that revolving credit (like credit card debt) for August continues to increase at an annual rate of 8%. The total ... Read More
How Bad Is the Current Housing Market Decline?
Thursday October 25, 2007
David McNew /Getty Images
Every month seems to bring more bad news about the housing market. However, economists haven't all agreed on how bad it ... Read More
Fed Governor Kroszner Says Credit Crisis May Not Be Over
Monday October 22, 2007
Federal Reserve Governor Randall Kroszner said today that, for credit markets,
the recovery may be a relatively gradual process, and these markets may not look the same when they re-emerge. ... Read More
Understanding the U.S. Trade Deficit
Friday October 19, 2007
A reader asks an excellent question about how the trade deficit is defined:
Do you know how goods manufactured or services provided by US companies
overseas and foreign owned companies in the ... Read More
Does "Al Gore Factor" Mean the Party Is Over for the U.S. Economy?
Thursday October 18, 2007
Justin Sullivan /Getty Images
An article in Tuesday's Der Speigel observed that the Nobel Committee awarded Al Gore's this year's Peace Prize to send a ... Read More
Exactly How Does the Fed "Cut" The Fed Funds Rate?
Wednesday October 10, 2007
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pondering his next move Photo:Chip Somodevilla /Getty Images
A reader asks:
I was wondering why articles say that the Federal Reserve cuts ... Read More
Employment Edges Up
Sunday October 7, 2007
Tim Boyle /Getty Images
In September, 110,000 jobs were added to the overall economy, according to the Employment Report, released by the Bureau of Labor ... Read More
Final Q2 GDP Revised Down Slightly
Wednesday October 3, 2007
Bill Pugliano /Getty Images
The BEA reported that final U.S. GDP growth for Q2 2007 was still a robust 3.8%. This was a slight revision ... Read More
Fed Rate Cut Spurs Dow to New High
Tuesday October 2, 2007
Stockbyte /Getty Images
On October 1, the Dow Jones index hit at an all-time record close of 14,087, beating July's record of 14,000. The Dow ... Read More
A Reader Asks About the Durable Goods Report
Monday October 1, 2007
A reader asks:
1) Is the Durable Goods Orders Report a good economic indicator given the fact that though businesses can purchase these items, consumers still can shy away from ... Read More