Category Archives: Politics

Fed Chair Yellen Is the Workers’ Best Friend

Financial FAQs We have just heard from new Federal Reserve Chairperson Janet Yellen in her first official speech entitled, What the Federal Reserve is Doing to Promote a Stronger Job Market. Her speech not only boosted the financial markets, but … Continue reading

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No Relief Yet With Pending Sales

The Mortgage Corner We can’t yet count on Pending Home Sales, a predictor of closings in 60 to 90 days, to predict a boost to this year’s sales. They have been falling since last July, and the last spike in … Continue reading

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Greenspan’s Greed and The Federal Deficit

Popular Economics Weekly The deficit this year is expected to be $514 billion— just 3 percent the size of the economy and significantly less than the $1.4 trillion deficit Congress ran up when it pumped stimulus into the economy in … Continue reading

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So Fannie and Freddie Weren’t the Problem…

Popular Economics Weekly We are learning just how much mortgage fraud was committed by 17 national and international banks and other financial entities that the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA) originally sued to recover some $200 billion in losses to … Continue reading

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What Did Janet Yellen and FOMC Really Say?

Popular Economics Weekly The moment that the Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting ended, and its comments were released, interest rates rose. Why? Because bond-holders and currency traders in particular (the dollar exchange rate rose, also), believed that the Fed could raise … Continue reading

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Losing Fannie and Freddie—A Terrible Idea

Financial FAQs There was a reason Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddy Mac (Federal Home loan Mortgage Corporation) were government created entities, before they became private corporations in the 1970s.  They encouraged homeownership at a time when owning … Continue reading

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Government Is Missing in Job Creation

Popular Economics Weekly We know now why job creation has been so weak in the recovery from the Great Recession, or Lesser Depression, as some have called it. Governments have lost too many jobs, and that mostly includes public safety … Continue reading

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JOLTS and Decline of Household Debt

Financial FAQs There is a direct correlation between the increase in job openings announced in the Labor Department’s JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover) report, and declining household debt. How so? The increase in job opportunities—the number of job openings … Continue reading

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Janet Yellen’s Nemesis—The Great Moderation

Popular Economics Weekly New Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen has a great task ahead of her. How to combat the results of the Great Moderation, as it was called, that period of low inflation with moderate economic growth that prevailed from … Continue reading

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Wisconsin’s Austerity Lesson

Popular Economics Weekly Governor Scott Walker is having his own problems with the ongoing investigation into staffers using public funds for political campaigning as a County Manager, but it doesn’t seem to faze him as he touts the success of … Continue reading

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