Fed to Pump Another $100 Billion into Financial Markets
Sunday March 30, 2008
On Friday, the Federal Reserve scheduled two more $50 billion auctions for April - one on April 7 and one on April 21. This is under its Term Auction Facility, ... Read More
Final 2007 Q4 GDP Remains Unchanged at .6%
Friday March 28, 2008
Bill Pugliano /Getty Images
The BEA reported that the final U.S. GDP growth for Q4 2007 remains unchanged from the advance and preliminary reports at ... Read More
Durable Goods Report Forecasts Slow Growth, Not Recession
Wednesday March 26, 2008
Matt Cardy/Getty Images
February's Durable Goods Orders Report continues to offer hope for the U.S. economy. The Census Bureau reported that business orders for ... Read More
Regional Banks Will Pump Another $100 Billion into Mortgages
Tuesday March 25, 2008
David McNew /Getty Images
On Monday, the Federal Housing Finance Board agreed to let the regional Federal Home Loan Banks take an extra $100 billion ... Read More
February Home Sales Up 2.9% from January's Low
Monday March 24, 2008
David McNew /Getty Images
February's existing home sales rate was 5.03 million - up 2.9% from January's rate of 4.89 million, but still down 24% ... Read More
Fannie, Freddie and the Fed Loan $400 Billion to Financial Markets
Sunday March 23, 2008
David McNew /Getty Images
Last Wednesday, Federal regulators agreed to let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac take on another $200 billion in subprime mortgage debt. ... Read More
Does Bear Stearns Bailout Mean No Bear Market?
Thursday March 20, 2008
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Photo:Chip Somodevilla /Getty Images
The Federal Reserve's emergency weekend rescue of Bear Stearns may signal that the stock market ... Read More
Why Are Adjustable Rate Mortgages Higher Than Fixed Rate?
Wednesday March 19, 2008
A reader asks:
Why is a 30-year mortgage at a lower rate than a 5-year mortgage and what is
this predicting about future rates? The stock market? The economy (recession
and or ... Read More
Fed Dramatically Drop-Kicks Fed Funds Rate to 2.25%
Wednesday March 19, 2008
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Photo:Chip Somodevilla /Getty Images
Immediately after the Federal Reserve Board held its emergency weekend meeting, the FOMC dramatically lowered the ... Read More
Fed Holds First Emergency Weekend Meeting in 30 Years
Monday March 17, 2008
As an indication of how bad the The Banking Liquidity Crisis is, the Federal Reserve held the first emergency weekend meeting in 30 years to try and save investment bank ... Read More
U.S. Trade Deficit Improves in 2007
Monday March 17, 2008
The 2007 U.S. trade deficit was $708.5 billion, 6% better than the 2006 deficit of $758 billion. The deficit was helped by a declining dollar, which increased exports 12%, to ... Read More
Will Gas Prices Reach $4 a Gallon This Summer?
Thursday March 13, 2008
Weekly Gas Prices / EIA
This week's Energy Information Administration (EIA) report admits that some areas of the country may see gas prices break ... Read More
Fed $200 Billion Loan Probably Won't Help
Wednesday March 12, 2008
Yesterday, the Federal Reserve announced it will loan $200 billion in Treasury notes to bail out bond dealers who are stuck with mortgage-backed securities and other collateralized debt obligations that ... Read More
January Consumer Credit 7% Greater than Last Year
Monday March 10, 2008
The Federal Reserve's most recent G-19 Consumer Credit report states that revolving credit (like credit card debt) for January increased at an annual rate of 7%. This is slightly slower ... Read More
February Job Loss Could Signal Recession
Sunday March 9, 2008
Tim Boyle /Getty Images
In February, the economy lost 63,000 jobs, according to the Employment Report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Generally, ... Read More
U.S. Economy Produces Fewer of World's Richest People
Thursday March 6, 2008
Could this be another symptom of how the U.S. economy is losing its leadership position on the global stage? India now has four of the world's 10 richest people, the ... Read More
How McCain's Revised Economic Platform Will Affect You
Wednesday March 5, 2008
Now that Mike Huckabee has dropped out of the race, Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain's economic platform is even more important for you to understand. In a recent interview with ... Read More
With Oil Prices at 1970's Levels - Where Are the Gas Lines?
Tuesday March 4, 2008
A reader asks:
Being old enough that I remember the gas shortages in the 70's and 80's
and being that the price per barrel of oil has now reached the same price ... Read More
The Value of the Dollar, and How It Affects You
Monday March 3, 2008
A reader asks:
I believe there is lot of cash money in $ currency floating around the world, viz. in many countries in Africa, Latin America etc., where it is their ... Read More
Durable Goods Report - Will Recession Be Avoided?
Sunday March 2, 2008
Matt Cardy/Getty Images
January's Durable Goods Orders Report offers a ray of sorely-needed hope for the U.S. economy. The Census Bureau reported that business ... Read More