The economy may be taking baby steps towards recovery, but it looks like the Federal Reserve will most likely keep interest rates at their existing low levels. The committee concluded this in a meeting, and is expected to make an announcement sometime soon. Analysts say that the Federal Reserve is proceeding cautiously and do not want to increase the rates in the short term. [Read more…]
Fed Still Cautious About Recovery Predictions
The Federal Reserve is keeping its optimism regarding the future of the American economy under a tight rein for now. At a meeting earlier in the week, debate appears to have taken place on what the Fed policy should be in the near future to improve the current pace of growth, without upsetting the delicate balance which many sectors of the economy have just managed to achieve. [Read more…]
Is Inflation Your Friend or Enemy?
Most people consider inflation as a big problem and high inflation does have a bad impact on the overall economy. However, there are some financial benefits that you get either indirectly or directly because of inflation. Knowing the positive and negative effects of inflation can help you in adopting an investment strategy that will give you good returns irrespective of inflation. [Read more…]
Analysts Fear Housing Market Still Unstable
As the Federal Reserve finally pulls out its continued support to the housing markets, the sector is poised to witness major changes in the near future.
While the announcement by the Fed to stop further purchases of mortgage loans to shore up the sector is not exactly a bolt out of the blue, the actual event is still likely to leave a trace of uncertainty and fear in the minds of investors. However, so far the market has not shown any drastic changes following the news of the Fed pullout. [Read more…]
New Gift Card Rules Will Protect You from Early Expiration and Inactivity Fees
The Federal Reserve announced new rules concerning gift cards to protect the consumers’ interests against abuse by credit card issuers. For long now, consumers had to cough up hefty fees and charges on account of servicing, inactivity or dormancy. To top it, the expiry dates of gift cards can be short, which leads consumers to losing money on these cards without even using them. [Read more…]
Bernanke Supports Current Decentralized Federal Reserve System of Monitoring Financial Institutions
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has supported the current decentralized structure of the central bank with 12 regional banks. He said that a central agency monitoring the activity of the larger financial institutions in the country alone is not sufficient. A decentralized network of oversight and monitoring is important to lend support to the smaller banks spread across the country. [Read more…]
Dodd’s Financial Regulatory Reforms Proposal Fails to Deliver the Punch
The recently proposed financial and bank regulatory reforms by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd has been received with mixed reactions so far. The reforms bill aims to define new regulatory responsibilities and processes for various financial regulatory bodies including the Federal Reserve. [Read more…]
Markets Reach Record High Since Recession
Post recession, the economy is surely and steadily recovering, and the impact can be clearly seen in the soaring stock markets. The US stock market recovery is being constantly backed by the Federal Reserve policies, and the Fed has recently announced that interest rates will continue to be kept low in the near future. [Read more…]
Interest Rates Could Remain Low for a Long Time
All indications are that there would not be any serious interest rate hikes in the near future. The unemployment rate is still quite high and there is no hint of inflation rearing its head. These should be good enough reasons for the Fed to keep interest rates low for a long time, and the view is supported by many monetary policy makers and prominent economists. [Read more…]
