Federal Reserve

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Fed Announces $45B-a-Month Bond Buy

Plans to hold interest rates down until jobless rate hits 6.5%

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve dropped a bombshell today, announcing that it would spend $45 billion a month on bond purchases to keep interest rates low, and that it would keep its short-term rates near zero as long as it takes to get unemployment below 6.5%. It will also keep up...

Bernanke to Step Down: Report

Fed chair won't return for another term, even if President Obama is reelected

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke doesn't intend to return for another stint atop the Federal Reserve after his term expires in January 2014, close friends of the chairman tell Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times . Mitt Romney has already said he would appoint someone else if he gets the chance,...

FBI Makes Arrest in Plot to Bomb Fed Bank

Feds gave him phony bomb in sting

(Newser) - The FBI says it has foiled a plot to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, reports CNN . The story follows a familiar pattern: It was a sting operation, and the suspect was actually dealing with agents from the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force of New...

Fed Opts for More Stimulus

Federal Reserve will buy more bonds to try to boost economy

(Newser) - The in-limbo markets finally got their answer: The Federal Reserve said today it will indeed try to juice the economy with an aggressive new round of bond-buying. The difference this time, explains the Wall Street Journal , is that it's not buying a set amount—this is "an open-ended...

On Deck for the Fed: QE3, GOP Backlash

Markets soar on widely expected new round of stimulus

(Newser) - Markets have soared in the expectation that the Fed will announce fresh steps to boost the US economy at the conclusion of its two-day meeting tomorrow—making it all the more likely that a stimulus will be forthcoming. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is widely expected to announce a third round...

Bernanke: Fed Will Act to Boost Jobs

Chairman didn't list specific policies, but left little doubt he intended to

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke left little doubt today that the Fed would soon resort to yet more attempts to inject money into the economy. In a speech at Jackson Hole, Bernanke said unemployment was still "a grave concern" because it inflicts both "enormous suffering" on the people and "structural...

Fed Signals It's Ready to Act Soon on Economy

Minutes of meeting show members worried about recovery

(Newser) - Federal Reserve officials spoke with increased urgency at their last meeting about the need to provide more help for a weak US economy. In fact, many felt further support would be needed "fairly soon" unless things improved significantly. The minutes of the July 31-Aug. 1 meeting don't say...

Feds Fume Over NY Attack on British Bank

Treasury Department, Fed pretty peeved over the move

(Newser) - Standard Chartered wasn't the only one caught off-guard by Monday's accusations from the New York Department of Financial Services that the bank had gone "rogue" and helped Iran hide $250 million in transactions. The Treasury Department and Federal Reserve were just as stunned by the charges, along...

Fed: No New Stimulus, for Now
Fed: No New Stimulus
—for Now
Aug 1, 2012 1:47 PM CDT

Fed: No New Stimulus —for Now

Ben Bernanke and crew see the economy slowing but will stand pat

(Newser) - Wall Street has been waiting anxiously for a few days now to see what the Fed was going to do about the economy, and the answer arrived this afternoon: Nothing. For now. The Fed sees evidence that the economy has actually decelerated in recent months, reports MarketWatch , but it's...

Bernanke Predicts 7% Unemployment in 2014

Dour Fed gives no clue as to quantitative easing plans

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke sounded a dour note in his testimony before Congress today, predicting slow growth and stubbornly high unemployment, with no hint that the Fed intended to do anything about it. "The US economy has continued to recover, but economic activity appears to have decelerated somewhat," he said,...

Fed Waffles Over Need for More Stimulus

Some members push more action, others think it's Congress' job

(Newser) - With the US economy stalled, eurozone in crisis, and Chinese economy slowing down, the Federal Reserve is increasingly talking about action to boost the American economy, reports the LA Times . But for now the central bank is divided about the need for action, according to the just-released minutes for its...

Fed Knew of Libor Scandal Years Ago

Raising the question: Why wasn't anything done?

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve Bank of New York knew something fishy was going on with the Libor rate as far back as August 2007, it has revealed. "We received occasional anecdotal reports from Barclays of problems with Libor," a spokesman said in a statement. The following spring, before any...

Weak Jobs Report Puts Pressure on Bernanke

Fed now more likely to take action

(Newser) - Yesterday's tepid jobs report firms up evidence that the recovery is backsliding and increases the odds that the Federal Reserve will try to give it a jolt, reports the Wall Street Journal . The most likely move by Ben Bernanke would be to buy bonds—or quantitative easing, in econo-speak—...

Fed Pumps $267B More Into 'Operation Twist'

Program intended to lower long-term interest rates

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve is extending a program intended to further lower long-term interest rates, noting hiring has weakened, consumer spending is rising more slowly, and the economy needs more support. The Fed will continue Operation Twist through the end of the year, it announced today. The Fed has been selling...

Fed Economic Report: Middle Class Getting Hosed

American families lose two decades of accumulated wealth

(Newser) - The Fed released its much-anticipated report on the economy today, and the news is not pretty. In short, the median American family's wealth has fallen to early-1990s levels, eliminating two decades of prosperity, while savings are down and debt hovers like a vulture over most Americans, the New York ...

Fed Will Help If Economy Craters: Bernanke

But it's unclear what action it would take

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve is prepared to take further steps to lift the economy if it weakens, Ben Bernanke said today—but he didn't signal any imminent action in testimony before a congressional panel. Bernanke said the European debt crisis poses significant risks to US financial markets. He noted that...

It&#39;s Time for the Gold Standard
 It's Time for the 
 Gold Standard 
herman cain
May 14, 2012 12:33 PM CDT

It's Time for the Gold Standard

It will strip establishment of power: Herman Cain

(Newser) - Call for a return to the gold standard, and “the Washington establishment goes ballistic,” writes Herman Cain in the Wall Street Journal . “Gold is kryptonite to big-spending politicians,” because a return to the gold standard would mean the government could no longer manipulate the economy, Cain...

We Need a Weaker Dollar
 We Need a Weaker Dollar 
Paul Krugman
Apr 6, 2012 10:45 AM CDT

We Need a Weaker Dollar

Paul Krugman argues that we need more inflation, not less

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke has become a popular punching bag for the right lately, with people like Ron Paul and Rick Perry trying "to bully the Fed into doing exactly the wrong thing," writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . "The right wants the Fed to obsess over...

Most Big Banks Pass Stress Test; 4 Fail

Citigroup, SunTrust among those that failed

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve released the results of its latest round of stress tests at the nation's biggest banks, and they're generally being received as good news. Fifteen of the 19 banks passed, which is what outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post are highlighting in...

Ron Paul to Bernanke: Do You Shop for Groceries?

Candidate returns to Washington to spar with Fed chief

(Newser) - Ron Paul may have a presidential race to run, but he's never too busy to return to DC to do a little Fed bashing. Paul grilled Ben Bernanke today, declaring in his opening statement that "what we are witnessing today is the end stages of a grand experiment,...

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