Nov. 8, 2010 at 1:42 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Economy,
Government,
Politics
By Dow Jones Newswires
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is deeply concerned about the Federal Reserve’s plan to buy $600 billion worth of U.S. bonds to boost the economy, placing the former vice presidential candidate in line with Germany in questioning U.S. monetary policy.
Palin is expected to demand that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke “cease and desist” the stimulus injection, according to National Review Online, which said it obtained snippets of Palin’s prepared remarks scheduled for Monday before a trade association in Phoenix. Get the full story »
Nov. 5, 2010 at 3:22 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Economy
By Reuters
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday defended the U.S. central bank’s bond-buying against beggar-thy-neighbor criticism, saying it was “critical” for global stability that the U.S. economy regain its strength.
Doing so, he suggested, would bolster a dollar whose weakness has sparked cries of foul from Bogota to Beijing.
The U.S. central bank’s decision to buy $600 billion of government debt has drawn scathing comments from a host of nations who contend it is generating global instability by ramping up their currencies against the dollar, inflating asset bubbles and stoking inflation in their economies. Get the full story »
Nov. 5, 2010 at 12:49 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government
By Reuters
The Federal Reserve’s latest move to help the U.S. economy recover could punish pensioners and other long-term savers at the expense of helping large borrowers such as major corporations.
There’s also scant evidence to suggest that the move will help reduce unemployment, since U.S. companies are benefiting from record-low borrowing rates while the jobless rate remains stuck near 10 percent. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 5:11 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking
By Reuters
The Federal Reserve is expected soon to allow some healthy banks with strong capital levels to increase dividend payments, according to people familiar with the decision.
The updated guidance from the Fed is likely a few weeks away. The Fed is expected to take a conservative approach in deciding which banks can increase dividends and assess each bank individually, according to a person familiar with the matter. Get the full story »
Nov. 3, 2010 at 2:30 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government
By Gail MarksJarvis
MarksJarvis on Money | The Federal Reserve, as expected, announced Wednesday that it would continue to buy bonds and the government would print money to make this possible. It’s called “quantitative easing.” But the Fed did not go as far as was widely expected. Some had anticipated the Fed purchasing as much as $1 trillion. Here are some reactions:
– No change in assessment of current environment, dimensions of QE2 slightly light of expectations; with additional easing course in place, policy bias returns to balance.
Nov. 3, 2010 at 1:23 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government
By Reuters
Federal Reserve launched a controversial new policy on Wednesday, committing to buy $600 billion more in government bonds by the middle of next year to breathe new life into a struggling U.S. economy.
The decision, which takes the Fed into largely uncharted waters, is aimed at further lowering borrowing costs for consumers and businesses still suffering in the aftermath of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Get the full story »
Nov. 2, 2010 at 11:08 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Policy,
Politics
By Reuters
The U.S. Federal Reserve opens a two-day meeting on Tuesday that is expected to conclude with a decision to pump hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy to stir the tepid recovery out of its doldrums. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 3:33 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Policy,
Politics,
Small business
By Reuters
Small U.S. businesses stepped up borrowing in September, data released by PayNet Inc on Monday showed, suggesting the recovery is gaining steam even before the Federal Reserve Bank embarks on an expected new round of monetary stimulus.
The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index, which measures the overall volume of financing to U.S. small businesses, rose 16 percent in September from a year earlier, PayNet said. The index rose 15 percent in August, and is now at the highest level in almost two years. Get the full story »
Oct. 28, 2010 at 1:59 p.m.
Filed under:
Policy,
Politics
By Reuters
A sign at a Tea Party rally in September. (Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
The popularity of Tea Party candidates in U.S. elections could spell renewed efforts to curtail the power and independence of the Federal Reserve, which has been cast as an emblem of big government overreach.
Outsider candidates thriving on the right flank of the Republican Party have tapped anger at bank bailouts, soaring budget deficits and President Barack Obama’s health care and regulatory initiatives to topple establishment GOP politicians in elections around the country.
Tea Party members have lambasted the Fed for its unprecedented and aggressive steps to bolster the economy in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, saying the moves have exposed a lack of accountability at the Fed and raise the risk of damaging inflation down the road. Get the full story »
Oct. 28, 2010 at 5:41 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy
By Reuters
Most leading economists expect the Federal Reserve to buy between $80 billion and $100 billion worth of assets per month under a new program to bolster the struggling economy, a Reuters poll found on Wednesday.
Estimates for how long the Fed will print money and how much it will eventually spend varied widely, from $250 billion to as high as $2 trillion.
In a similar Reuters poll of primary dealers conducted on October 8, dealers mostly forecast the total size of the new program at $500 billion to $1.5 trillion. Get the full story »
Oct. 25, 2010 at 4:02 p.m.
Filed under:
Credit Cards
By Associated Press
Colleges, alumni associations and related groups were paid $83.5 million last year under agreements to issue branded credit cards.
There were about 1,000 agreements between credit card issuers and such groups in 2009, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve. Get the full story »
Oct. 22, 2010 at 5:31 p.m.
Filed under:
Exchanges,
Investing,
Technology
By Reuters
U.S. stocks could see big swings to the downside next week on any remotely “bad” news since volatility indexes are at levels considered too low.
The Chicago Board of Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge widely used to measure investors’ anxiety levels, fell 2.54 percent on Friday to close at 18.78, its lowest level since April. The VIX, which rose to near 50 in May, has been around or under 20 for the past two weeks. Investors also will face a blizzard of earnings, which many analysts believe will continue to support the rally that began early this month. But any disappointments in either earnings or outlooks could, of course, trigger a sharp sell-off. Get the full story »
Oct. 19, 2010 at 5:46 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Jobs/employment,
Policy,
Politics
By Reuters
A string of Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday indicated the central bank will soon offer further monetary stimulus to the economy, with one saying $100 billion a month in bond buys may be appropriate. Get the full story »
Oct. 11, 2010 at 5:31 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Policy,
Politics
By Associated Press
The Federal Reserve’s new vice chairwoman warns that record-low interest rates may give companies an incentive to take excessive risks that could be bad for the economy. Get the full story »
Oct. 11, 2010 at 11:58 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Policy,
Politics
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Marquette University announced Monday that economics professor Abdur Chowdhury has been appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Academic Advisory Council.
