Posts tagged as:

interest rates

What To Expect in Stock Markets for February

February 1, 2010 · 6 comments

in 2010, February, S&P 500, international stock market, investing, market reports, market trends, seasonal investing, stock exchanges, stocks

Predicting where the stock market will go in February might be a lesson in futility more than futurity, but that doesn’t mean we can’t pay close attention to what the analysts are looking out for – and other key pieces of market news such as earnings, announcements from the Fed, levels of consumer credit card [...]

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Market Jitters: Are We About to See the End of the Risk Rally and Bear Market Bubble?

January 20, 2010 · 13 comments

in 2010, Federal Reserve, US economy, bull market, central banks, economy, exchange rates, financial planning, forex, hedging, inflation, interest rates, international economy, market crash, market reports, market timing, recession, risk

Highest ever one-month inflation rise in the UK for December, fiscal imbalances in Greece, weakened macro-economics in Germany, a Canadian housing market bubble, higher than 50% gains in the commodity currencies since last March (2009), and the return of hubris and risk-taking in the U.S. investment banks… what do these all have in common?
Is it [...]

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When the Fed Is Expected to Raise Interest Rates

December 23, 2009 · 0 comments

in Federal Reserve, US dollar, US economy, central banks, financial planning, government, inflation, interest rates, money supply, stimulus

With long-term U.S. bond yields rising and much of the recovery seemingly in place, analysts are increasingly wondering when the U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) will begin to implement its quantitative easing exit strategy and start raising interest rates.
Currently the Fed baseline interest rate fluctuates between zero (0) and 0.25%and has done so since late [...]

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Trouble Ahead With Option ARM Mortgages?

December 10, 2009 · 3 comments

in US economy, financing, interest rates, mortages, real estate, risk

Option ARMs are the new subprime.  Option ARMs stand for “payment-option adjustable-rate mortgages” – so-called because the rate paid on the mortgage varies with the market, but the total payment can be adjusted by the borrower according to his or her needs.  How’s that for a sweet deal?  It’s good right now, because interest rates [...]

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6 Reasons Why The Price Of Gold Is Going Up

November 10, 2009 · 15 comments

in US debt, US dollar, US economy, gold, international economy, investing, wealth protection

It wasn’t surprising at $1000/oz, but even at $1100/oz this week, the naysayers are still in full force.  What’s to deny about the trend in gold prices?  You don’t have to be a gold bug to see what’s happening.
Here are the six main factors causing the price of gold to continue to rise.  In some [...]

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A New Trick For Stemming Inflation? The Fed Now Pays Banks Interest For Masses of Excess Reserves

August 7, 2009 · 1 comment

in Federal Reserve, banks, capitalism, inflation, interest rates

Here’s a graph showing the amount of “excess” (beyond required amounts) reserves held by U.S. banks.  It covers quite a span of time, but it’s the best-looking one I found showing the relevant data.  The graph also gives just a bit of sense of the extent of the unprecedented nature of money-pumping going on at [...]

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How to Lower Your Credit Card Interest Rate

June 6, 2008 · 2 comments

in credit, debt, savings

Here’s a simple tip that I learned from Alan Corey in his book A Million Bucks by 30: How to Overcome a Crap Job, Stingy Parents, and a Useless Degree to Become a Millionaire Before (or After) Turning Thirty (which is an amazing read – I reviewed the book in an earlier post here).
You can [...]

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