Nov 25 Fed Commits $800 Billion to Unfreeze Credit Markets, Boost Consumer Spending By PBS News Hour The Federal Reserve announced two new programs Tuesday aimed at unfreezing credit for homebuyers, small businesses and consumers. Continue reading
Nov 24 Watch Obama: Optimistic Fiscal Team Determined to Revive American Economy President-elect Barack Obama unveiled his top economic advisers Monday, saying they share his desire to fuel long-term economic growth and create jobs. Economic experts examine the challenges that lie ahead for the team. Continue watching
Nov 24 Citigroup Offered Another Government Safety Net By PBS News Hour The U.S. government has again bailed out Citigroup, unveiling a bold plan Sunday night to inject $20 billion in fresh capital into the troubled financial giant and shoulder most of the potential losses on $306 billion of high-risk assets. Continue reading
Nov 21 Watch Jittery Markets, Weak Data Cap Grim Week on Wall Street After a week of stock market dives and gloomy economic data, U.S. markets rebounded Friday, apparently on news reports that President-elect Barack Obama may choose Timothy Geithner as Treasury chief. Continue watching
Nov 11 Watch Help for Burdened Mortgage Borrowers Offers Costs and Benefits U.S. homeowners have been among the hardest-hit by the global economic meltdown. In the first of a series, analysts discuss the benefits and flaws of governmental and lender recovery plans, including Citibank's offer to modify loan terms for those falling… Continue watching
Nov 07 What is the reasoning behind having the Fed, rather than the market, set short term interest rates? Question/Comment: Dear Mr. Solman: I’m hoping you will answer my question as to the reasoning behind or justification for having a committee (i.e., the Federal Reserve) setting the price of money, i.e., interest rate. It is generally accepted that it… Continue reading
Oct 29 Watch Fed Makes Aggressive Rate Cut in Bid to Loosen Credit Markets In a new move to stem the impact of the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate by half a percentage point to 1 percent Wednesday. Krishna Guha, chief U.S. economics correspondent for the Financial Times, discusses… Continue watching
Oct 29 For Ninth Time in a Year, Fed Chops Key Rate Again to 1 Percent By Admin, PBS News Hour As expected, the Federal Reserve slashed a key interest rate Wednesday afternoon by half a percentage point as it seeks to revive an economy hit by a long list of maladies stemming from the most severe financial crisis in decades. Continue reading
Oct 28 Dow Jumps Nearly 900 Points Despite Report of Low Consumer Confidence By PBS News Hour Investors looking for a bargain in devalued stocks helped the Dow Jones industrials soar nearly 900 points, the second-biggest one-day point gain ever, on Tuesday. Continue reading
Oct 27 Now that governments have to inject billions into world banks, do you think monetary policy should be adjusted to better maintain a balance between currency in circulation and bank funds? Question/Comment: The ratio between commercial bank money and currency in circulation has been widening for decades. While the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy has protected our economy from runaway inflation, it may have been starving the market for currency. Now that… Continue reading