Many economists and investors complain that the federal government has effectively been “printing money” through its loose monetary and fiscal policies. But in a strictly literal sense, the very opposite turns out to be true: In …
federal reserve
Fed Ticks Off Retailers With Debit Interchange Ruling
The Federal Reserve Board isn’t really known for being shocking, but banks and retailers were shocked — and fighting mad — when the agency delivered its verdict on the contentious battle over debit interchange fees, capping fees at 21 cents per swipe — roughly half of the 44 cents banks currently collect every time a consumer uses …
Inside the Fed’s Vault: $1 Billion Worth of Unused Coins
In the basement of a Baltimore vault the size of a soccer field, 1 billion dollar coins are just sitting there. Thanks, Congress.
Bernanke and the Fed: Reading Between the Lines
Today we were treated to the second installment of the Federal Reserve’s new policy of openness with Chairman Ben Bernanke’s press conference. That followed on the heels of the statement by the Fed Open Market Committee about …
Inflation Picks Up: Why Rising Prices are Good for the Economy
Today’s report on inflation is sure to cause some long faces among economy worrywarts. It should instead draw smiles.
Is the U.S. Economy Worse Off than Europe’s?
The U.S. economy is still only muddling through, according to revised GDP numbers out by the Commerce Department. That’s bad news. But more disturbing is the accompanying dollar slump against the euro, and what it says about perceptions of our economy versus Europe’s.
The Commerce Department’s revised report on first quarter GDP …
Europe Interest Rate Hike: Will the Fed Be Forced to Follow?
Central banker see. Central Banker do? We will see.
On Thursday, the European Central Bank for the first time in nearly three years raised interest rates. Even though the rate is only going from 1% to 1.25%, it’s a significant move because the ECB becomes the first central bank among so-called wealthy nations to raise interest rates …
Bailout Revelation: Fed Lent Billions to Save Libyan Bank
Last week, when the Federal Reserve finally released the names of the banks that tapped the central bank’s most secret lending program in the wake of the financial crisis many of the expect names were there. Citigroup got over $50 billion in loans. Bank of America was a big borrower, too. Goldman borrowed five times, though the amounts …
Should We Worry about Inflation: Ask Ben Bernanke?
Ben Bernanke will take your questions (Matt Sullivan/REUTERS)
Nearly a year ago, TIME magazine named Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke our Man of the Year. Even if you didn’t like the pick, you have to agree that Bernanke was a big player in both the government bailout of the US economy last year and in steering the recovery, for …
Is Ben Bernanke really “punishing” savers?
Savers, Ben may actually be smiling on you (Richard Clement/REUTERS)
The Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has caught a lot of flack, to say the least, about the central bank’s decision to use government dollars to buy Treasury bonds. The plan is commonly called QE2, and it is supposed to drive down interest rates and boost the …
Does QE work? Ask Japan
Psst, will this really work? The Fed’s Ben Bernanke and Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa (Yuriko Nakao/REUTERS)
The Federal Reserve has finally announced what everyone expected – a giant program of quantitative easing aimed at restarting the stalled economic recovery. The idea is to push more money into the economy to …
Will the Fed’s $600 billion plan be big enough to revive the economy?
Let’s hope Ben is ordering the right kind of stimulus. (Jo Yong-Hak/REUTERS)
The Federal Reserve’s long awaited, much anticipated and plenty feared plan to revive the economy is here.
After two days of debate, Ben Bernanke and his fellow members of the US central bank’s policy committee voted to spend an additional $600 billion to …
