inflation

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Fed Holds Rates at Record Lows

Bernanke & Co. want to keep driving recovery

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve is sounding a more confident note that the economy is strengthening and pledges to hold rates at record lows to make sure it gains even more traction. Wrapping up a two-day meeting today, the Fed in a 9-1 decision retained its pledge to hold rates at historic...

Kiss Cheap Credit Goodbye
 Kiss Cheap Credit Goodbye 
Apr 11, 2010 7:32 AM CDT

Kiss Cheap Credit Goodbye

For those who can't remember 1981, rates are headed up

(Newser) - There's a generation of consumers out there that can't fathom 8% interest, much less 1981's peak of 18.2%, but the days of free or cheap money are coming to a rapid close. With national debt ballooning, inflation looming, and government props that suppressed interest rates ending, the cost of...

'Inflation Hawks' Will Kill Our Recovery
'Inflation Hawks' Will Kill
Our Recovery
paul krugman
Apr 9, 2010 9:22 AM CDT

'Inflation Hawks' Will Kill Our Recovery

Beware the 'tight-money people' who fear short-term spending

(Newser) - Paul Krugman assesses the economic mess in Greece and sees "no good answers" for them but an important lesson for America. Namely, "steer clear of deflation," a horrible process that Greece must now endure because it's stuck with the euro. We don't have that problem, so let's...

Bernanke: Interest Rates May Rise

Fed chair leaves door open, but emphasizes reform

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke today left the door open to higher interest rates, saying the increase might be needed to prevent new speculative investment bubbles from forming. But for critics who blame the Fed for feeding that speculative housing boom by holding interest rates too low for too long after the 2001...

Obama's Stealth Stimulus: $250 Checks to Seniors

With social security stagnant, Obama proposes payment to elderly

(Newser) - Seniors won’t be getting a boost in their Social Security benefits this January, but President Obama tried to head off that announcement yesterday by encouraging Congress to give them all a one-time $250 check. The administration sees these payments, which would cost the government about $13 billion, as another...

Colorado Will Lower Minimum Wage
Colorado
Will Lower Minimum Wage
Oct 13, 2009 2:52 PM CDT

Colorado Will Lower Minimum Wage

State figure, tied to inflation, will drop 4 cents to $7.24

(Newser) - Colorado is set to become the first state to lower its minimum wage next year. The state’s minimum wage is tied to local inflation—specifically, the Denver-Boulder-Greeley Consumer Price Index, which has fallen 0.6%. The state’s minimum of $7.28 an hour will fall to $7.24...

Gold Prices Hit All-Time High
 Gold Prices Hit All-Time High 
$1,038 an ounce
Oct 6, 2009 12:04 PM CDT

Gold Prices Hit All-Time High

Investors hedge against inflation in all currencies

(Newser) - Gold leapt to $1,038 an ounce today, the highest price on record, as investors bet that global stimulus efforts and rate cuts will cause rampant and widespread inflation. The precious metal’s on pace for its ninth straight positive year; the previous record was set at $1,033.90...

Bernanke's Next Challenge: Undoing His Own Work

Rate cuts, other moves must eventually be reversed

(Newser) - In his first term as Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke played the role of savior, lending hundreds of billions to banks and businesses, backing the mortgage market, and cutting interest rates. In his second, Bernanke will have to turn “strict disciplinarian,” reversing earlier moves to respond to a massive...

Recession Will Pass, but Dollar May Be Doomed

(Newser) - The American economy is heading out of recession, but the long-term fate of the dollar may not be so bright, writes the Wall Street Journal. Growing numbers of economists and investors, including Warren Buffett, say that stimulus spending and rate cuts will boost inflation and weaken the greenback. At the...

Buffett: Cut Our 'Greenback Emissions'

With recovery in sight, Congress should curb deficit spending

(Newser) - Just as carbon emissions could have a dire effect on the environment, Warren Buffett thinks “greenback emissions” could wreak havoc on the economy, he writes in the New York Times. The government has spent staggering sums to avoid economic disaster, and that was wise. Now, the economy is “...

Consumer Prices Take Biggest Dip in 59 Years

(Newser) - Consumer prices have fallen 2.1% over the past year, the biggest year-over-year decline in 59 years, the Labor Department announced today. Though the Consumer Price Index was unchanged from June to July, it was drastically lower than in July 2008, when oil peaked at $147 a barrel and gas...

Deficit Tops $1T for First Time
 Deficit Tops $1T for First Time 
Jul 13, 2009 2:25 PM CDT

Deficit Tops $1T for First Time

(Newser) - Nine months into the fiscal year, the federal deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time. The imbalance is intensifying fears about higher interest rates and inflation; there's also concern about trying to reverse the deficit—by reducing government spending or raising taxes—in the midst of a harsh...

It's Too Soon for Feds to Ease Up on Economy
It's Too Soon for Feds to Ease Up on Economy
OPINION
Jun 15, 2009 9:42 AM CDT

It's Too Soon for Feds to Ease Up on Economy

If Washington cuts off the cash, recession will worsen: Krugman

(Newser) - With critics prematurely calling on Washington to scale back financial rescue efforts, economic history fans see “déjà vu all over again,” writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times. This is the third time a major economy has been stuck in a liquidity trap, and both previous...

Economists See High Unemployment Through 2010

(Newser) - Economists think the US unemployment rate will stay above 9% through 2010, the Wall Street Journal survey finds. Accordingly, those in the know believe the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates down at least through spring. “For real people, there is no recovery until the unemployment rate stabilizes,”...

Burgeoning Interest Rates Threaten to Stifle Recovery

Demand for refinancing shrivels as 30-year rates hit 5.75%

(Newser) - The steady rise in interest rates over recent weeks is threatening to trample the green shoots of recovery in the housing market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rates on 30-year mortgages hit 5.79% yesterday, more than a point above the 4.75% "trigger" level analysts say spurred the...

For Investors, Silver Trumps Gold

Versatile metal gets better returns thanks to industrial buyers

(Newser) - All that glitters may not be gold, but these days you might prefer silver anyway, MarketWatch reports. Silver has rocketed to the top of the precious metals food chain, outperforming both platinum and gold because it’s an industrial material in addition to an inflation hedge. But the outsize gains...

Zimbabwe Central Bank Stole Cash to Stay Solvent

Governor admits pilfering private accounts to keep ministries running

(Newser) - Zimbabwe's central bank governor admits he took money from bank accounts of private businesses and foreign aid groups without permission to keep the country's cash-strapped ministries running. Gideon Gono said today he loaned money from the private hard-currency accounts to the government. He says the accounts will be reimbursed when...

Fed Swears Stimulus Won't Spike Inflation

Central bank will 'adapt flexibly' and one day reverse rescue plans

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve's plans to plunge more money into the economy are “necessary, safe, and effective" and “will not lead to adverse aftereffects,” Ben Bernanke's top deputy said today. Giving a speech at Vanderbilt University, Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn admitted that the Fed's balance sheet...

Consumer Prices Dip in March
 Consumer Prices Dip in March 
Apr 15, 2009 1:18 PM CDT

Consumer Prices Dip in March

Prices drop 0.1%, despite tobacco hike

(Newser) - Consumer prices dipped unexpectedly in March, leaving prices over the past year falling at the fastest clip in more than a half-century. The recession is expected to keep a lid on inflation as widespread layoffs dampen wage pressures and weak demand keeps companies from raising prices. Consumer prices edged down...

Fed Nearly Exhausts Options
 Fed Nearly 
 Exhausts Options  
Analysis
Mar 18, 2009 8:53 AM CDT

Fed Nearly Exhausts Options

With rates at 0%, politically unsavory buying program only tool left

(Newser) - The Fed is almost sure to leave the federal funds rate alone today, mostly because, at about 0%, it literally can’t go any lower. So with deflation still looming, what’s Ben Bernanke to do? One Goldman Sachs analyst says the Fed needs to shave the equivalent of 8...

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