Bernanke and the Stock Market

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before Congress this week on the state of the economy. While much of his testimony will be a dry recitation of economic statistics and forecasts, Wall Street has criticized Bernanke for his negative outlook and is hoping he will put a positive spin on the nation’s economy. With the [...]

The Fed Goes to the Mat

The Federal Reserve delivered another strong shot of adrenaline to the sagging U.S. economy by reducing the federal funds rate to an all-time low of 0.25%. The benchmark rate used by banks for lending is likely to stay low for quite a while according to the language in the released statement from the policy-making committee. [...]

Will the Fed Drop Rates?

A majority of economists are predicting at least another quarter point drop in interest rates will be announced by the Fed tomorrow with an outside chance of a half point decrease. Recent economic releases which have highlighted just how sluggish the U.S. economy has become have bolstered the ability of the Fed to aggressively lower [...]

Bernanke Pitches Fiscal Stimulus to Congress

Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, testified in front of Congress this week and advocated a second round of fiscal stimulus in an effort to prevent a long period of economic slowdown. Bernanke, who would be typically be centering his talking points on inflation, interest rates, and monetary policy told Congressional legislators that a new fiscal [...]

Central Banks Coordinate and Drop Interest Rates 50 Points

Global stock market selloffs and dire economic predictions have prompted a concerted effort by central banks to calm financial markets. Central Banks in the United States and Europe have lowered their key lending rate 50 points today.
Joint statement Issued 10/8/2008:
Throughout the current financial crisis, central banks have engaged incontinuous close consultation and have cooperated in [...]

Bank Lending Tightens Further According to Fed Survey

The quarterly survey of senior loan officers conducted by the Federal Reserve has been released with a common theme of tightening standards by US banks. The survey revealed that:
62% of banks tightened standards on prime mortgages49% of banks reduced demand for mortgages78% of banks tighted standards on subprime mortgages of the 17% of banks that [...]

Last Minute Online Bank Deals before Fed Strikes with Rate Cut

The Fed is due to announce a rate cut in a matter of hours which is likely to lead to banks slashing their own deposit rates in the next few weeks. Online bank rate specials still available today include:
EverBank is offering checking accounts and money market accounts with an introductory APY of 4.51%. The average [...]

Interest Rates and the Fed Inflation Target

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, a long-time proponent of inflation-targeting, has set a specific inflation target of 1.5% to 2% over three years in a semi-annual FOMC report to Congress. Bernanke and the Fed were thought to have set a target as low as 1% to 2% so the “new” target range gives the Fed a [...]

Online Bank Rates Increase at a Few Banks

Online bank deposit rates have been reset upwards at a few select banks in the last week in a surprise move because of the growing expectations that the Fed will lower interest rates another quarter-point or half-point at the March meeting. The vast majority of banks have revised their deposit rates to below 4.00% and [...]

The Bank Rates They Are A-Changin’

The Fed has walloped the United States with massive rates cuts of 125 points in a 10-day span on the realization that the U.S. economy is in a recession. The Fed noted the slowdown in the housing market and labor market as contributing to the economic malaise. The prime rate, which banks use as their [...]

U.S. Treasury Yields Fall Again

U.S. Treasury yields are lower this week across the board from 3-month T-Bills to 10-year T-Bonds. Yields below 3% are now the rule (except for a bump in the yield curve at 6-months where the yield jumps over 3.10%) for all the U.S. Treasuries with maturities 5 years and less.
The Federal Reserve meets next week [...]

The Fed Cuts Rates a Quarter Point

The Fed voted to lower the fed funds rate a quarter point to 4.50% today with one dissenting vote. The rate cut, which follows a 50 point cut in September, will effectively lower the prime lending rate in the United States to 7.50%. Loan payments, mortgages, and credit cards which are indexed to the prime [...]

Fed Meeting and Interest Rates

Borrowers are eagerly anticipating another rate cut from the Fed which will have a nearly immediate impact on their home equity loan payments and credit card payments. While short term interest rates on average have fallen in 2007, some remarkable online bank deals still exist. Money market rates from Evergreen Private Bank (5.40% APY, 25K [...]

Interest Rates Review - October 5, 2007

Interest rates had a mixed weeks with mortgage rates decreasing, bank deposit rates decreasing, and The 50 point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve may be enough to keep the U.S. economy from sinking as a result of the financial markets’ recent turmoil, Donald Kohn, vice chairman of the central bank, said Friday. Kohn [...]

Interest Rates and What to Expect

FEDERAL RESERVE CUTS RATES 50 BASIS POINTS

Today’s cut by the Federal Reserve of the Federal Funds rate and Discount Rate will have a ripple effect on consumer interest rates.

Banks have lowered their prime lending rate to 7.75% from 8.25% which will lower interest costs on a wide variety of variable rates loans, home [...]

Greenspan, Bernanke, and this week’s Fed meeting

Former Fed chairman, Alan Greenspan, currently on a speaking tour to promote his new book said that over the long run, the biggest problem facing the U.S. economy is “the re-emergence of inflation,” and rising interest rates. The emergence of Greenspan two days before the meeting of the FOMC gives more credence to the growing [...]

Global Interest Rates to Pressure U.S. Rates?

Despite the foregone conclusion on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve will lower rates continually in a bailout effort for the mortgage and banking industry, a trend this summer has been interest rate increases across the world. Global investors may meet a rate cut in the United States with less excitement as the spread between [...]

INTEREST RATE FORECAST

This week the Federal Reserve meets and for the first time in over two years Fed watchers are discussing the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowering short term interest rates as a realistic possibility. The Chicago Board of Trade offers futures contracts on the 30-day Federal Funds Rate (ZQ) with expirations from August 2007 to [...]

Will the Fed Lower the Federal Funds Rate?

Fed watchers have been buried with conflicting economic data as GDP, employment, consumer confidence, and even CPI (consumer price inflation) show an economy under control, while energy and food prices have increased significantly pressuring American consumers. Recent comments by the Fed indicate that the priority of keeping inflation in a narrow range of 1% to [...]

Federal Reserve Keeps Rates Unchanged

The Federal Reserve kept their benchmark lending rate at 5.25%. The statement released by the Fed indicates that the Fed anticipates that despite slow economic growth inflation could persist in the economy.
“Economic growth appears to have been moderate during the first half of this year, despite the ongoing adjustment in the housing sector. The economy [...]