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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: interest rate

interest rate stories: 98 news summaries

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 Fed Leaves Rate 
 at Record Low 

Says it wants to foster recovery

Nov 4, 09 1:43 PM CST
(AP) - The Federal Reserve today held a key interest rate at a record low and again pledged to keep it there for an "extended period" to foster the fragile economic recovery. The Fed says economic activity has "continued to pick up" and that the housing market also has grown... More »

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Ben Bernanke • Federal Reserve • interest rate • Fed funds rate • interest rate cut

OPINION

Bailout
Is Bad News
for Savers

Banks get trillions, fixed-income investors get screwed: Sloan

Oct 20, 09 12:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - Not fed up enough with just putting your taxpayer dollars directly on the line to bail out the nation’s banks? Allan Sloan has latched on to some insidious “collateral damage” from the government’s rescue plan, those trillions spent “to keep interest rates down to support the... More »

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Federal Reserve • investments • recession • Treasury Department • interest rate • Allan Sloan • rescue package • Wall Street bailout • TARP

BofA Cardholder Rips 'Thieving Bastards'

Foe of 'usury and plunder' won't pay 'til CEO watches video

Sep 14, 09 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - A California woman who says she kept paying her credit card bill even after she lost her job has had enough: She's pledging not to pay down her Bank of America account until the creditor lowers her interest rate, the Huffington Post reports.. It’s “the proverbial first... More »

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Bank of America • credit card • interest rate • consumer debt • Wall Street bailout • Ken Lewis • Ann Minch • debtor

Credit Cards
Cut Deadbeats More Slack

With unemployment rising, companies modify, reduce debt

Sep 10, 09 9:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - With unemployment nearing 10%, credit card companies are doing something once unheard of: forgiving debt, or modifying it in the customer’s favor, the Washington Post reports. Companies are loathe to discuss the practice, lest it inspire more delinquencies, but according to one industry report, roughly 3 million people... More »

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unemployment • credit card • interest rate • consumer debt • financial crisis • loan modification

(Newser) - New home sales jumped 11% in June, the biggest gain in eight years, the Commerce Department announced today, as the supply fell to its lowest level in more than a decade. With mortgage rates and prices staggeringly low—the median home price fell 12%—buyers came out of the woodwork.... More »

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real estate • housing market • economic indicators • home sales • mortgage rates • interest rate • home prices • new home sales

Fed Keeps
Interest Rates
at Record Low

Economy picking up, but not enough that inflation is a worry

Jun 24, 09 2:04 PM CDT
(AP) - The Federal Reserve says the recession is easing, but that the economy likely will remain weak and keep a lid on inflation. Against this backdrop, the Fed held a key bank lending rate at a record low of between 0% and 0.25%, and pledged again to keep it there... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Wall Street • Federal Reserve • recession • interest rate • economy • financial crisis

Burgeoning Interest Rates Threaten to Stifle Recovery

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

Jun 11, 09 7:30 AM CDT
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
inflation • mortgage • US economy • mortgage rates • interest rate • refinanced mortgages

Plummeting Mortgage Rates Near Record Low

Rate for 30-year mortgage again below 5%

Mar 19, 09 12:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - Interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages decreased this week, with the rate for a 30-year mortgage falling 0.05% to an average 4.98%, near January’s record low of 4.96%, MarketWatch reports. Thirty- and 15-year mortgage rates are down nearly a full percentage point from a year ago. The... More »

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housing market • Federal Reserve • mortgage • interest rate • 30-year mortgage • interest rates

Fed Leaves Rate Unchanged, Will Try Other Tactics

Economy has weakened further, committee concludes at meeting

Jan 28, 09 1:35 PM CST
(AP) - The Federal Reserve said the US economy has weakened further and signaled it will keep a key interest rate near zero for quite "some time" to cushion the fallout. The Fed agreed—with one dissenting vote—to keep the targeted range for the federal funds rate at a record... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Ben Bernanke • Federal Reserve • interest rate • financial crisis

2008 Inflation Slowest in 50 Years on Oil Prices, Economy

Slow spending, sliding energy costs lead to 0.1% CPI increase last year

Jan 16, 09 8:43 AM CST
(Newser) - In 2008, consumer prices crept up at the slowest rate since 1954, climbing just 0.1% for the year and missing the Fed’s preference of 1.5% to 2% by a wide margin, the Wall Street Journal reports. Just months after inflation hit 17-year highs, a 75% drop in... More »

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inflation • Ben Bernanke • Federal Reserve • deflation • interest rate • commodities • monetary policy • financial meltdown

 Mortgage Rates Plunge 
 to Lowest Ever 

But plunging house values make refinancing impossible for many homeowners

Jan 16, 09 2:12 AM CST
(Newser) - The benchmark 30-year mortgage interest rate has fallen below 5% for the first time ever as the collapsing economy continues to force interest rates down. Adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 5.25%, reports MarketWatch. But many homeowners can't take advantage of the new low rates to refinance because the value of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Federal Reserve • Freddie Mac • Treasury Department • mortgage rates • interest rate • adjustable-rate mortgages • 30-year mortgage • Palm Beach Financial Network

Mortgage Refinancing Rush Continues Into New Year

30-year fixed mortgage rate is lowest on record

Jan 14, 09 3:17 PM CST
(Newser) - Homeowners continue to scramble for refinancing in order to lock in currently low interest rates, MarketWatch reports, with applications jumping 25.6% last week, to the highest level since June 2003. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 0.10% for the week ending Jan. 9, to... More »

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mortgage • mortgage rates • interest rate • refinanced mortgages • refinancing

30-Year Mortgage Rates
Fall to Record Low 5.01%

Fed buys $10.2B in agency mortgage bonds

Jan 8, 09 5:08 PM CST
(Newser) - Interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages fell to a record low 5.01% this week, Bloomberg reports. The drop—the 10th weekly fall in a row—comes as the Federal Reserve purchased $10.2 billion of mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae as part of a... More »

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Federal Reserve • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • mortgage rates • interest rate • bond market • securities • mortgage backed securities

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve anticipates the recession will continue through 2009 despite its recent rate slash and other planned “nontraditional policies,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Minutes of the Fed's December 15-16 meeting, at which it cut rates to nearly zero, indicate a deep pessimism about the economy.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
inflation • Federal Reserve • recession • deflation • interest rate • Federal Open Market Committee • interest rate cut • economic downturn

Bank of Japan Follows Fed, Cuts Rates to Near Zero

It drops key interest
rate to 0.1%

Dec 19, 08 7:32 AM CST
(Newser) - The Bank of Japan cut interest rates from 0.3% to to 0.1%, within the historic zero- to quarter-percent range that the Fed chose earlier this week. Central bankers were responding to a deep recession as well as a soaring yen, which recently hit a 13-year high against the... More »

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Japan • Federal Reserve • recession • Bank of Japan • interest rate • interest rate cut

ANALYSIS

Fed Hangs Recovery Hopes on Nothing

Cutting benchmark rate to zero points up risks of plenty of nothing

Dec 18, 08 11:42 AM CST
(Newser) - Nada. Naught. Zip. Zero, as in the 0% interest the Federal Reserve is asking banks to pay—or, rather, not pay—for short-term loans. What does getting zero back for loaning money mean, wonders Paul Farhi of the Washington Post. "The strategy is to hose down America's sclerotic financial... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Federal Reserve • recession • interest rate • banking industry • zero percent

ANALYSIS

Fed Cut Won't Translate Into Much for Consumers ... Yet

Its plans to buy more debt may unfreeze market in '09, but consumer rates stuck for now

Dec 17, 08 9:53 AM CST
(Newser) - Consumers hoping for lower interest rates on credit cards, car loans, and mortgages after the Federal Reserve dropped a key interest rate to near 0% yesterday aren’t likely to get a break soon, reports MarketWatch. But loans could be easier to get once the Fed’s other actions—buying... More »

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student loans • credit card • mortgage rates • interest rate • interest rate cut • consumer credit • financial crisis

MARKETS

 Dow Jumps 359 on Rate Cut 

Hopes that financials may soon be clear of bad debt also buoys sentiment

Dec 16, 08 3:23 PM CST
(Newser) - Stocks rallied today as investors cheered the Federal Reserve’s sharp federal funds rate cut and other policy measures designed to combat the economic crisis, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow rose 359.61 to close at 8,924.14. The Nasdaq climbed 81.55, closing at 1,589.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Ben Bernanke • Citigroup • Dow Jones • Nasdaq • interest rate • federal funds rate • S&P 500 • JPMorgan Chase • Genworth Financial

 Fed Cuts Rate to 0%-0.25% 

Target is record low as Reserve battles recession

Dec 16, 08 1:40 PM CST
(AP) - The Federal Reserve today cut its target for a key interest rate to the lowest level on record and pledged to use "all available tools" to combat a severe financial crisis and prolonged recession. The central bank says it reduced the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Ben Bernanke • Federal Reserve • recession • interest rate • credit crisis • Fed funds rate • interest rate cut • financial crisis

Record Low Rates Leave Investors Cold

Cut is likely tomorrow, but Wall Street wants more varied approach

Dec 15, 08 9:14 AM CST
(Newser) - Tomorrow the Federal Reserve will probably cut its target interest rate to 0.5%, the lowest in decades. But, the Wall Street Journal reports, investors are unlikely to be cheered by a further slash, instead waiting to hear what further measures Fed chief Ben Bernanke is preparing now that interest... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Ben Bernanke • Federal Reserve • interest rate • interest rate cut • financial crisis

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