interest rates

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Banks Profited by Loaning Fed Money Back to ... Feds

They charged bigger interest rates on cheap money from Uncle Sam

(Newser) - Crisis-walloped banks aided with federal loans likely made a fortune by lending the same money back to the federal government at substantially higher interest rates, a new report indicates. The study by the Congressional Research Service supports complaints that the largest banks essentially engaged in taxpayer-financed arbitrage by cashing in...

Your Future Bill for the National Debt: $2,500 a Year

... actually, that'll just cover the interest

(Newser) - The next decade will see interest payments on the national debt quadruple, forcing every American to essentially pay more than $2,500 yearly, the Washington Post finds in a look at President Obama’s budget plan. That means that starting in 2014, net interest payments will exceed spending on all...

China Jacks Up Interest Rates
 China Jacks Up Interest Rates 
Feb 8, 2011 5:55 AM CST

China Jacks Up Interest Rates

Country trying to slow down runaway growth, inflation

(Newser) - China pumped up its interest rates for the third time in four months today, in a desperate attempt to rein in inflation. One-year deposit rates rose to 3%, and the one-year lending rate to 6.06%, the New York Times reports, and analysts expect still more increases down the road.

Fed Will Pump $600B Into Economy
Fed Will Pump $600B
Into Economy
Nov 3, 2010 2:09 PM CDT

Fed Will Pump $600B Into Economy

Hopes to drive down rates, stimulate hiring

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve is making a bold effort to invigorate the economy by announcing it will buy hundreds of billions more in Treasury bonds. The Fed says it will buy $600 billion of long-term government bonds by the middle of 2011 to further drive down rates on mortgages and other...

Flush With Cash, US Companies Buy Own Stock

Instead of, for example, hiring

(Newser) - American companies are sitting on record piles of cash right now, but instead of spending it to hire more workers or increase productivity, most are choosing to buy back huge quantities of their own stock, the Washington Post reports. This year firms have announced $273 billion in buybacks, more than...

Krugman: We're Not Bouncing Back

'Policy-makers are in denial'

(Newser) - You know that recovery officials promise is underway? It's not happening, scoffs Paul Krugman, and he blames federal officials' reluctance to take responsibility. "This isn’t a recovery, in any sense that matters. And policy-makers should be doing everything they can to change that fact," he writes in...

Fed Holds Rates at Record Lows

Bernanke & Co. want to keep driving recovery

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve is sounding a more confident note that the economy is strengthening and pledges to hold rates at record lows to make sure it gains even more traction. Wrapping up a two-day meeting today, the Fed in a 9-1 decision retained its pledge to hold rates at historic...

Kiss Cheap Credit Goodbye
 Kiss Cheap Credit Goodbye 
Apr 11, 2010 7:32 AM CDT

Kiss Cheap Credit Goodbye

For those who can't remember 1981, rates are headed up

(Newser) - There's a generation of consumers out there that can't fathom 8% interest, much less 1981's peak of 18.2%, but the days of free or cheap money are coming to a rapid close. With national debt ballooning, inflation looming, and government props that suppressed interest rates ending, the cost of...

Fed Raises an Interest Rate
 Fed Raises an Interest Rate 
Feb 18, 2010 5:19 PM CST

Fed Raises an Interest Rate

But no change expected soon on benchmark rate

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve raised the discount rate—the interest rate it charges banks for emergency loans—by a quarter point today. The central bank said the move, widely expected by the financial community, represented only the winding down of the extraordinary measures taken during the financial crisis to stimulate lending,...

Dow Up 24; Traders Stay Cautious
 Dow Up 24; 
 Traders Stay Cautious 
MARKETS
Jan 25, 2010 3:22 PM CST

Dow Up 24; Traders Stay Cautious

Markets recover after last week's bloodbath

(Newser) - Stocks posted gains today as some investors bought up bargains in the wake of last week's big losses—but volume was light as most remained cautious ahead of the State of the Union address, a hearing on AIG's bailout, and a Fed interest-rate decision, the Wall Street Journal reports.
  • The
...

Dow Rallies, Closes Up 156 on Wave of Optimism

Dow closes at highest level since October 2008

(Newser) - Stocks rallied today off an upswing in manufacturing activity for December and Fed comments that reaffirmed the central bank's continued commitment to low interest rates, the Wall Street Journal reports.
  • The Dow jumped 155.91 points to close at 10,583.96.
  • The Nasdaq added 39.27, closing at 2,
...

Bernanke: Interest Rates May Rise

Fed chair leaves door open, but emphasizes reform

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke today left the door open to higher interest rates, saying the increase might be needed to prevent new speculative investment bubbles from forming. But for critics who blame the Fed for feeding that speculative housing boom by holding interest rates too low for too long after the 2001...

Dollar Rises, Markets Dip
 Dollar Rises, Markets Dip 
Dec 17, 2009 4:28 AM CST

Dollar Rises, Markets Dip

World markets down as investors predict interest rate hikes

(Newser) - The dollar climbed to a three-month high today on rosier-than-expected Fed economic predictions while markets fell on expectations that central banks will soon begin to raise interest rates. The greenback gained against 15 of 16 of its most commonly traded currencies, while major European and Asian stock indices were down...

Fed Keeps Rates Low
 Fed Keeps Rates Low 
Dec 16, 2009 2:10 PM CST

Fed Keeps Rates Low

But central bank sees hope amid slow recovery

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve has decided to hold interest rates at a record low and pledged to keep them there for an "extended period" to keep the recovery going and drive down double-digit unemployment. But in a more upbeat assessment, the Fed says the US economy has "continued to...

Dow Up 1 on Reports Fed Will Keep Rates Low

Traders not yet convinced by jobs data

(Newser) - Stocks gave up modest gains as today's session unfolded, with traders remaining defensive in response to reports the Fed will keep interest rates low for a while longer, the Wall Street Journal reports.
  • The Dow added 1.21 points to close at 10,390.11.
  • The Nasdaq fell 4.74,
...

Dow Up 137; Fed News Sparks Rally
 Dow Up 137; 
 Fed News Sparks Rally 
MARKETS
Nov 16, 2009 3:12 PM CST

Dow Up 137; Fed News Sparks Rally

Bernanke predicts US GDP growth in 2010

(Newser) - Stocks rallied today on news of strong third-quarter economic growth in Japan and reassurance from Ben Bernanke that the Fed will keep interest rates low, the Wall Street Journal reports.
  • The Dow rose 136.49 points to close at 10,406,96.
  • The Nasdaq gained 29.97, settling at 2,
...

Sorry, FDIC Can't Guarantee Interest on That CD

When selling failed banks, Feds allow buyers to slash expected payout

(Newser) - There’s a little-publicized part of your bank deposit the FDIC doesn’t insure, and it’s driving scrupulous savers up the wall. The logic is simple enough: When the FDIC takes over a failed bank and resells its assets, it allows buyers to alter interest rates, particularly on CDs....

Mortgage Scammers Prey on Strapped Homeowners
Mortgage Scammers Prey
on Strapped Homeowners
investigation
Sep 24, 2009 7:50 PM CDT

Mortgage Scammers Prey on Strapped Homeowners

So-called rescue firms promise to negotiate lower rates, then take money and run

(Newser) - Mortgage brokers who made a mint during the housing boom setting up homeowners in toxic loans are now profiting from a different sort of shady deal. So-called foreclosure rescue firms are proliferating across the US, taking money upfront and promising to negotiate with homeowners’ banks for better interest rates. Instead,...

Fed Holds Rates Steady, Says Economy 'Picked Up'

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve today decided as expected to hold a key bank lending rate at a record low near zero and pledged to keep rates there "for an extended period." The Fed also declared that "economic activity has picked up following its severe downturn" and said it...

Bernanke's Next Challenge: Undoing His Own Work

Rate cuts, other moves must eventually be reversed

(Newser) - In his first term as Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke played the role of savior, lending hundreds of billions to banks and businesses, backing the mortgage market, and cutting interest rates. In his second, Bernanke will have to turn “strict disciplinarian,” reversing earlier moves to respond to a massive...

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