Category Archives: Weekly Financial News

What Did Janet Yellen and FOMC Really Say?

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

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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Will Housing Starts Save Inventories?

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Will new housing construction improve the very low inventory levels that are restricting housing sales? It is hard to know at present if this slowdown is due more to the severe winter weather, lack of inventory, or … Continue reading →

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Government Is Missing in Job Creation

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

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

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

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

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

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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2014 Mortgage Volumes (and Delinquencies) Lower

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner It looks like the housing market still has to play catch up in 2014. Both mortgage volume and existing-home sales have declined drastically. But new-home sales and housing construction have picked up, even with the Polar weather, … Continue reading →

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Wisconsin’s Austerity Lesson

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

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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Existing-Home Sales Slow in January

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, dropped 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million in January from 4.87 million in December, and are 5.1 … Continue reading →

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Consumer Debts Returning to ‘Normal’

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly The NY Fed released their 2013 Q4 Household Debt and Credit Report. The report showed that total household debt is 9.1 percent below the Q3 2008 peak. Mortgage debt is down 13.4 percent from the peak, and … Continue reading →

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Hoorays For New Fed Chair Janet Yellen

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s congressional testimony proved that she is more than qualified to steer the US economy back to health. She is the economists’ economist, in a word, willing to explain the most basic economic truths in … Continue reading →

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