Rate Cut Watch

Fed Weighs Emergency Rate Cut

Wall Street Journal  |  Oct 2, 08 9:28 AM CDT

(Newser) - Mounting fears that the credit crisis and continually worsening economic data will push a stagnant US economy into a severe recession has spurred the Federal Reserve to consider cutting interest rates from their current 2%, the Wall Street Journal reports. Even if the House follows the Senate in passing the $700 billion bailout, some action is likely. More »

Forget Arugula: Dems Should Hit GOP on Fiscal Crisis

Wall Street Journal  |  Sep 17, 08 2:58 PM CDT

(Newser) - Put aside the arugula and forget "priggish" counter-attacks on Sarah Palin, Thomas Frank advises Democrats. The way to win the culture war being waged by Republicans is to point out what GOP dominance over the last quarter century has done: removed fiscal safeguards and brought us "to the edge of Armageddon." They've made it easier to mint millionaires while average people's wages have been held down. More »

Fed Holds Line on Interest Rates; Markets Bounce

Wall Street Journal  |  Sep 16, 08 1:38 PM CDT

(Newser) - In its first unanimous interest rate decision in a year, the Federal Reserve voted today to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 2%. The decision reflects regulators' unwillingness to get even more involved in the developments roiling the financial markets, the Wall Street Journal reports. Stocks fell triple-digits on the news that an anticipated cut wouldn't materialize, but bounced back up in late afternoon trading. More »

Speculation on New Fed Rate Cut Tempers Losses

Bloomberg  |  Sep 16, 08 10:44 AM CDT

(Newser) - Stocks swung upward after big opening losses today, the Wall Street Journal reports, helped by speculation that the Federal Reserve might step in to help AIG and cut interest rates. The Dow, down 155 early, was just barely negative before noon, with a similar pattern from other indices. “We're in uncharted territory,” one funds manager told Bloomberg. “There's no real historic precedent for what we're going through.” More »

Wait on Rate Hikes Until Crisis Eases

American  |  Sep 3, 08 5:55 PM CDT

(Newser) - Critics claim the Federal Reserve has been too eager to cut interest rates, and that lax policy has exacerbated inflation. But the Fed should hold its ground, Desmond Lachman argues in the American , until the housing and credit markets are clearly on the rebound. The credit crunch has prompted banks to compensate with higher spreads and tighter lending standards, which should offset inflationary concerns. More »

Lower Oil, Inflation Rally Stocks

MarketWatch  |  Aug 22, 08 3:36 PM CDT

(Newser) - Stocks rallied today amid light trading but still saw weekly losses as oil prices fell and financials rebounded, helped in part by a speech by Ben Bernanke that eased inflation fears, MarketWatch reports. The Dow surged 197.85 to 11,628.06; the Nasdaq gained 34.33, closing at 2,414.71; and the S&P 500 climbed 14.47 to 1,292.19. More »

Consumer Prices Jump in July; Inflation at 17-Year High

Associated Press  |  Aug 14, 08 9:07 AM CDT

(AP) - US consumer prices shot up 0.8% in July, twice the expected rate, pushed higher by surging energy and food costs, the AP reports. The spike left inflation running at 5.6%, the fastest pace in 17 years, the Labor Department reported today. It marked the third straight month of soaring prices, following jumps of 0.6%  in May and 1.1% in June. More »

Fed Again Leaves Funds Rate at 2%

Associated Press  |  Aug 5, 08 2:07 PM CDT

(AP) - The Federal Reserve declared today that it was keeping its target for the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, at 2%. Confronted with the perils of a slumping US economy and rising inflation, the Fed decided for a second consecutive meeting to leave interest rates unchanged. The decision to leave rates alone had been widely expected by financial markets. More »

Consumer Prices Surge Most Since '91

Bloomberg  |  Jul 16, 08 9:35 AM CDT

(Newser) - Consumer prices rose a staggering 1.1% in June, Bloomberg reports. The figure far surpassed analyst estimates, and brings the year-over-year figure to 5%–the biggest surge since 1991. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose a more-than-expected 0.3%. “Inflation has galloped,” one economist said. “It puts the Fed in a really tricky position. I don't see how they can change rates this year.” More »

Europe Hikes Interest Rates to Curb Inflation

MarketWatch  |  Jul 3, 08 8:29 AM CDT

(Newser) - The European Central Bank today adjusted interest rates for the first time in more than a year, reports MarketWatch, raising the main rate by a quarter-point to 4.25%. The increase comes just after a report that inflation in the eurozone has reached 4%, the highest rate since the introduction of the euro in 1999. The move was expected, and the euro remained strong, hovering at around $1.58. More »

As Expected, Fed Holds Steady

Associated Press  |  Jun 25, 08 1:40 PM CDT

(AP) - The Federal Reserve decided today leave a key interest rate unchanged, bringing an end to a string of consecutive rate cuts aimed at keeping the country out of a deep recession. The federal funds rate will remain at 2%—the first time in 10 months the Fed has failed to reduce interest rates at one of its regular meetings. More »

Fed Likely to Hold Rates— for Now

Reuters  |  Jun 25, 08 6:17 AM CDT

(Newser) - Despite fears that inflationary forces are revving, the Federal Reserve will probably hold the interbank federal funds rate at 2% today, hoping the bargain basement rate can help kick-start a stalled economy that’s been hamstrung by a tenacious housing slump and a credit crunch hangover, Reuters reports. More »

US Economy Isn't Bouncing Back

Newsweek  |  Jun 8, 08 5:11 PM CDT

(Newser) - Forget those predictions of a US economic revival in 2008, Daniel Gross writes in Newsweek . The four horsemen of the economy—credit and housing crises, food and energy prices—are getting meaner, while booming commodities and crunching credit are curbing attempts to fight back. "As a result, the consumer-driven economy may not bounce back as rapidly as it did in the fraught months after 9/11," Gross writes. More »

Jobless Rate Posts Biggest Jump in 22 Years

Bloomberg  |  Jun 6, 08 8:43 AM CDT

(Newser) - Unemployment saw its biggest leap in two decades in May, spiking from 5.0% to 5.5%, as companies scale back their workforces in the face of recession, Bloomberg reports. Analysts had expected a more modest climb, to 5.1%; unemployment hasn’t been this high since October 2004. Payrolls also fell by 49,000. More »

Rate-Cut News Sweeps Away Rally