Job Growth Surging – So is Fed’s Near-Zero Rate Justified?
The unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point in January to 8.3 percent, the lowest level since February 2009 – the rate has fallen by 0.8 point since August.
Total nonfarm payrolls rose by 243,000 in ...
Treasury Plan Aims for Broader 401(k) Retiree Options
A proposal announced today by the Treasury Department would modify regulations to make it easier for retirees to choose to receive their 401(k) savings as a stream of income in regular payments – as in annuities ...
Obama: Refi Plan Saves ‘Underwater’ Borrowers $3,000 A Year
In a sweeping new plan to help millions of “underwater” homeowners, President Obama today said borrowers can save $3,000 a year on average if Congress approves his program with a price tag of $5 billion to $10 ...
Fed’s Plosser: Very Low Rates Thru 2014 ‘Undermines’ Process
In a sharp rebuttal, a top central bank official said the Federal Reserve’s outlook of extending near-zero rates through 2014 “risked undermining confidence in the process.”
Philadelphia Federal Reserve President ...
What’s Behind Freddie Mac’s Bet on High-Interest Mortgages?
Taxpayer-subsidized Freddie Mac bet against homeowners’ ability to refinance out of high-interest mortgages, even as it made it difficult for them to do just that, according to a published report by ProPublica ...
IRS: Don’t Forget Your Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
The Internal Revenue Service has launched its annual outreach campaign to educate those millions of American who earned $49,078 or less in 2011 and can qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
The campaign ...
Obama: Link U.S. Aid to Colleges with Affordable Tuition
President Obama wants to start providing federal aid to colleges that maintain affordable tuition, “good value” in education and those that ensure more low-income students graduate.
The proposal from the administration ...
Fed Extends Near-Zero Rate ‘Through Late 2014’
The Federal Reserve will hold its benchmark federal funds rate at zero to .25 percent “at least through late 2014,” concluded its monetary policy-setting committee after citing a U.S. economy that has expanded ...
Obama Urges Mortgage Refi Plan for ‘Responsible Homeowners’
The Obama administration will propose legislation to allow millions of homeowners to refinance at the current, historically low interest rates, and move them into mortgages guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration.
The ...
Obama: New Unit to Target Mortgage Abuses of Crisis
In his state of the union address, President Obama said he will ask Attorney General Eric Holder to create a new unit of federal and state prosecutors to expand a probe into abusive practices by mortgage lenders ...
