Tag Archives: Federal Reserve

Q1 Wage Growth Highest in 4 Years

Popular Economics Weekly This may finally be the year when jobs and the economic recovery are for real for most Americans. Median weekly wages grew at the fastest pace in the first quarter in more than four years, according to … Continue reading

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Yellen’s Federal Reserve To Keep Rates Low

The Mortgage Corner The Fed’s FOMC minutes of their last meeting were just released, and they show the Fed intends to keep interest rates low for as long as possible, until the unemployment rate drops substantially. And the Fed’s maintenance … 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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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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Will Housing Starts Save Inventories?

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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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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Hoorays For New Fed Chair Janet Yellen

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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Will 2014 Be a Janet Yellen Rally?

Popular Economics Weekly Consumer spending and future economic growth will depend on just how hard New Fed Governor Janet Yellen pushes the Federal Reserve Governors to maintain QE3 in 2014. She is a UC Berkeley economist interested more in creating … Continue reading

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November’s 203,000 Payroll Jobs Not Enough

Popular Economics Weekly The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today unemployment declined from 7.3 percent to 7.0 percent in November, and total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 203,000. But that shouldn’t be enough good news for the Federal Reserve … Continue reading

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So-called Qualified Mortgages Are a Problem

The Mortgage Corner The new rules coming into effect in January 2013 for most conforming loans—i.e., those guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will cause a definite drop in mortgage lending. The Consumer Protection Financial Bureau, created under Dodd-Frank … Continue reading

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