federal reserve

How to Benefit From Rising Interest Rates

Rising interest rates aren't all bad. Here's how to make rate hikes work to your favor.

Could Trump Bring Higher Interest Rates and Inflation? Consider These Money Moves

Will the fiscal landscape be different in 2017 during a Trump presidency? Here's how to get your money ready, either way things go.

4 Things You Need to Know About the Federal Reserve

You probably know that the Fed "sets" interest rates. Find out what else the nation's central bank does for you — and your money.

The Fed Raised Rates — Then Something Weird Happened

The Fed raised its benchmark rate last December and — almost nothing changed? Now, just why, exactly?

This Is How Much the Fed's Interest Rate Hike Might Cost You

The Fed is raising benchmark rates for the first time since 2008's economic meltdown. Here's how this move will affect borrowers.

3 Reasons the Fed Is Keeping Rates Low (And What It Means for You)

Interest rates are STILL at the historic lows they've been since 2008. Here's why the Federal Reserve is keeping them that way — for now.

What QE2 Could Mean for Ordinary Americans

A second round of quantitative easing, or QE2, could have a real and significant impact on households nationwide. Learn why some Americans might soon have to do more with less.

What is "Quantitative Easing" Anyway?

Recently the news is abuzz with the term "quantitative easing." What is it anyway and how does it affect you?

Recession Journal Part IV: The Double-Dip Trip

So everybody is saying it may finally be over, this recession. And it may very well be but if you're thinking that a turnaround is here and your money is burning a hole in your poc

Recession Journal Part III: How Low Can We Go and When Will We Get There?

In order for the economy to turn around it has to hit what so many investment experts and economic forecasters call the "bottom," but what is it, this bottom, what does it look lik

Oh noes! Inflation!

The Wall Street Journal has an opinion piece by Arthur Laffer that shows a scary graph of the monetary base, which has surged enormously in the past year. He suggests that this is

Stag-hyperinflation?

Stagflation, the bane of the 1970s, is pretty much the worst situation for ordinary folks. With the economy depressed, jobs are scarce for workers and profits are scarce for busin

Inflation is going away for a while

For a decade, starting in the mid-1990s, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates too low and expanded the money supply too quickly. Their theory was that, as long as consumer pric

Will high inflation persist?

Every financial calculation that you make is influenced by your expectations for future inflation: how much to borrow, where to put your savings, and whether your last raise was a

Possible protections for credit card holders

The Federal Reserve has proposed some new rules to protect people from a list of abusive lending practices. The changes aren't in effect yet, and may not actually go into effect.

The Bailbondsman Approach Part Deux: Fiscal Stimulus No Gonna Workie

Paul Michael essentially wrote this post in January but it needs to be said again. A culture that remedies a systemic problem that stems from borrowing, with, well...more borrowing

Savers suffering as rates fall--what to do

Interest rates for ordinary savers held up pretty well after the first Fed rate cut in July last year. There was a simple reason--banks needed the money. With the cr

Federal Reserve cuts the discount rate

In response to the recent credit squeeze, the Federal Reserve did something unusual: they cut the discount rate without cutting the federal funds rate. The federal funds rate is the rate at [more]

Why Treasury Bills Are Always a Worthwhile Investment

When rates are rising, you need something that responds quickly to changes in the market. That's where Treasury bills come in.