Aug. 16, 2010 at 11:27 a.m.
Filed under:
Consumer news,
Economy,
Mortgages,
Policy
By Reuters
The Federal Reserve on Monday published new rules aimed at protecting consumers from abusive mortgage practices, including clearer cost disclosures and a ban on payments to mortgage brokers for steering borrowers into loans with higher interest rates.
The Fed said it would ban payments from lenders to brokers based on interest rates paid by borrowers or other loan terms. The final rule, which takes effect on April 1, 2011, will end the so-called “yield spread premium” payments blamed for pushing millions of borrowers into unaffordable loans. Get the full story »
Aug. 10, 2010 at 1:25 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government
By Reuters
The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that it would begin funneling proceeds from its maturing mortgage bonds into longer-term government debt in an effort to support a sputtering economic recovery.
The Fed, which left benchmark overnight interest rates steady in a zero to 0.25 percent range, also renewed its pledge to keep them low for an extended period, as widely expected. Get the full story »
Aug. 6, 2010 at 10:04 a.m.
Filed under:
Exchanges,
Jobs/employment,
Trade
By Reuters
U.S. short-term interest rate futures traders deferred expectations of a first Federal Reserve rate increase, after a government report showed payrolls fell more than expected in July. Get the full story »
By Becky Yerak
ShoreBank’s capital deficiency worsened in the second quarter, according to newly submitted financial results to regulators, and the Chicago-based lender now needs to raise at least $190 million just to meet targets set out in March by state and U.S. banking regulators.
The South Side bank has arranged a capital infusion of about $150 million from Wall Street investment firms, big banks, insurance companies and philanthropic groups. It’s hoping that private investment will then make it eligible for about $75 million in bailout funds from the U.S. Treasury Department. Get the full story »
July 30, 2010 at 1:41 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Investing
By Dow Jones Newswires
Last year Ben Bernanke was able to make up for the losses suffered in 2008 thanks, in part, to the stock market recovery he helped bring about.
The U.S. Federal Reserve chairman’s wealth rose last year, according to financial disclosure forms released Friday by the central bank. As of the end of 2009, Bernanke’s asset holdings were $1.2 million to $2.5 million, the same as in 2007. That compares with $850,000 to $1.9 million in 2008, when stocks were walloped by the worst financial crisis since the 1929 Wall Street Crash. Get the full story »
July 28, 2010 at 1:24 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Economy,
Government,
Housing,
Jobs/employment
By Reuters
Overall U.S. economic activity is still increasing but not robustly and in a few districts has lost steam over the past several weeks, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.
The Fed’s latest Beige Book summary of national economic conditions, based on information before July 19, pointed to a less-than-booming recovery with sluggish housing markets and sales of costly items like new cars weakening. Get the full story »
July 23, 2010 at 4:53 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Policy,
Politics
By Reuters
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will vote on the three pending nominees to the Federal Reserve’s Board, according to the committee’s website. Get the full story »
July 22, 2010 at 11:04 a.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Economy,
Jobs/employment
By Reuters
The Federal Reserve will try to push borrowing costs even lower if the job market continues to languish, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday, offering his clearest blueprint yet for possible additional monetary easing.
After three quarters of solid growth, the U.S. economy has been losing steam, with firms still reluctant to hire and the housing sector seemingly unable to exit a prolonged rut. Get the full story »
July 14, 2010 at 3:56 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government
By Reuters
Federal Reserve officials last month felt they should be ready to consider additional steps to boost the U.S. economy if the softening outlook took a noticeable turn for the worse.
“As a result of the change in financial conditions, most participants revised down slightly their outlook for economic growth,” minutes of the June 22-23 meeting of the Fed’s policy panel released Wednesday said. Get the full story »
July 8, 2010 at 2:49 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Consumer news,
Credit Cards
By Becky Yerak
Paying down credit-card debt appears to be on the upswing.
Consumers cut their outstanding revolving debt -– overwhelmingly credit cards -– by an annualized, seasonally adjusted rate of 10.5 percent in May, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday. That’s on the heels of an 11.8 percent drop in April. Revolving credit is a line of credit allowing consumers to pay all or part of an outstanding balance, and, as the balance is paid, it becomes available to spend again as credit. Get the full story »
June 23, 2010 at 1:23 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
Policy
By Reuters
The Federal Reserve acknowledged a faltering pace of U.S. economic recovery on Wednesday as it renewed its vow to hold benchmark interest rates exceptionally low for an extended period.
In a statement at the end of a two-day meeting, the Fed scaled back its assessment of the pace of recovery, taking note of pockets of weakness, and issued a cautionary note about volatile financial markets in light of Europe’s debt woes. But it stuck to its expectation that the economy will continue to gradually emerge from the worst recession in decades. Get the full story »
June 21, 2010 at 2:29 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Government
By Associated Press
House and Senate lawmakers have tentatively agreed on how to regulate fees that banks charge merchants who accept payment with debit cards. Get the full story »
