December 2008
Consumer Confidence at the Lowest Level
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Ponzi Schemes’ Premises
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Banks won’t say where bailout money went
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Mortgage rate at 37-year low
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Mortgage rate at 37-year low
Interest rates for the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage tumbled to a
national average 5.17 percent this week, the lowest level since Freddie Mac
began its weekly rate survey in 1971. The decline was supported by the
Federal Reserve announcement on Dec. 16, when it cut the federal funds
target rate to a record low, a range of zero to 0.25 percent, and stated it
stood ready to expand its...
New credit card rules end unfair treatment to consumers
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New chapter for ultra low Fed fund rates
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New chapter for ultra low Fed fund rates
The Federal Reserve Tuesday, Dec. 16 switched to a range for its key target
rate from 1 percent to a historically low range of zero to 0.25 percent,
effectively cutting its key rate for overnight lending to banks by between
0.75 percent and 1 percent. The Fed also cut the interest it pays on
reserves to 0.25 percent in an effort targeted at the traded fed funds
market, where rates have been...
Oil prices dips below $40
Oil prices tumbled below $40 a barrel for the first time since the summer of
2004 Wednesday as market ignores an announcement from OPEC of a record
production cut of 2.2 million barrels a day.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery tumbled 8 percent, or $3.54, to
settle at $40.06 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the contract
fell to an intraday low of $39.88 a barrel in...
25th bank closure of year: Haven Trust Bank in Georgia and Sanderson State
Bank in Texas
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Banking system is flooded with money
Since mid-September the Federal Reserve has been moving toward a new policy
called quantitative easing, or commonly called “printing money”, which
essentially pumps enormous amounts of funds to the banking system beyond
what the system need. The policy is intended to stabilize the markets,
maintain the Fed’s interest rate target, and affect the rates on other types
of...
Banking system is flooded with money
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P/E Multiples Reveal Attractive Stock Prices
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Under the mattress money outperforms equity
This year has been a disaster for investors as their stock portfolios dive
to unimaginable level. Frustrated investors may be discouraged from buying
stocks for their retirement. The daunting truth is that they would be better
off putting their money under the mattress than saving in equity funds or
balance funds in the past ten years. The following excerpt and chart from
The Economist tells...
House prices are tumbling almost everywhere
Residential-property prices are tumbling in 23 of the 45 countries on a
quarter-on-quarter basis, surveyed by an estate agent, Knight Frank.
The Economist’s house-price indicators continue to show that house value has
fallen sharply. America’s housing market suffered the most among the 20
countries covered.
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