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Consumer Prices Jump in July; Inflation at 17-Year High

Economy

Aug 14, 2008 9:07 AM CDT

Consumer Prices Jump in July; Inflation at 17-Year High

(Newser) - US consumer prices shot up 0.8% in July, twice the expected rate, pushed higher by surging energy and food costs, the AP reports. The spike left inflation running at 5.6%, the fastest pace in 17 years, the Labor Department reported today. It marked the third straight month of...

Bad News Spurs Big Sell-Off

MARKETS

Aug 7, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

Bad News Spurs Big Sell-Off

Poor results at AIG, nervous retailers, rising oil all contribute to decline

(Newser) - The markets suffered big losses today as investors were confronted by bad news from retail and financial giants, as well as a 6-year-high in weekly unemployment, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow fell 224.64to 11,431.43. The Nasdaq lost 22.64 to finish at 2,355.73,...

Dow Skyrockets as Oil Retreats

MARKETS

Aug 5, 2008 3:23 PM CDT

Dow Skyrockets as Oil Retreats

Deep-seated concerns about economy remain

(Newser) - Stocks rallied today after the Fed said it would keep money cheap for the time being and crude prices fell to below $120 a barrel, a 3-month low. The Dow gained 330.80 to close at 11,614.95, the Nasdaq rose 64.27 to 2,349.83, and the...

Fed Again Leaves Funds Rate at 2%

Aug 5, 2008 2:07 PM CDT

Fed Again Leaves Funds Rate at 2%

Decision aimed at balancing inflation, economic worries

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve declared today that it was keeping its target for the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, at 2%. Confronted with the perils of a slumping US economy and rising inflation, the Fed decided for a second consecutive meeting to leave interest rates unchanged....

Greenspan to Government: Hands Off

OPINION

Aug 5, 2008 1:15 PM CDT

Greenspan to Government: Hands Off

Market capitalism can ride out the crisis, writes former Fed boss

(Newser) - The credit crisis is far from over, and more banks and financial institutions might require government bailouts along the way, Alan Greenspan acknowledges. The crunch will relax only when home prices, "the ultimate collateral support for much of the financial world’s mortgage-backed securities," begin to stabilize, the...

Oil Drops; Stocks Follow

MARKETS

Aug 4, 2008 3:35 PM CDT

Oil Drops; Stocks Follow

Gray day on Street ahead of Fed's policy meeting

(Newser) - Stocks closed down today, giving back gains from an early rally despite a nearly $4 drop in crude oil prices as worries about economic growth and inflation persisted, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow fell 42.17 to close at 11,284.15, the Nasdaq lost 25.40 and...

Fed Extends Emergency Loan Program for Wall Street

Jul 30, 2008 11:09 AM CDT

Fed Extends Emergency Loan Program for Wall Street

Bernanke offers several options for cash-strapped firms

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve today extended its emergency borrowing program for Wall Street firms through Jan. 30. Originally the program, through which investment houses can tap the central bank for a quick source of cash, was supposed to last until mid-September. Another program, where banks can temporarily swap more risky investments...

Say Goodbye
to the Reagan Revolution

Jul 25, 2008 11:18 AM CDT

Say Goodbye to the Reagan Revolution

Leaders abandon deregulation for a hands on approach

(Newser) - The Reagan Revolution, which ushered in a quarter century of deregulation, looks as if it's taken a stake in the heart, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Fed is offering tens of billions in emergency loans to failing banks, the SEC wants more power to regulate financial institutions, and the...

Mixed News Keeps Gains Slim

MARKETS

Jul 23, 2008 3:15 PM CDT

Mixed News Keeps Gains Slim

Markets absorb gloomy Fed data and continued oil drop

(Newser) - The markets pared earlier gains to end just slightly positive today, amid mixed earnings reports and a gloomy-but-expected Federal Reserve data on the US economy, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow gained 29.88, closing at 11,632.38. The Nasdaq gained 21.92, settling at 2,325.88,...

Public Silence Greets Wall St. Blunders

OPINION

Jul 19, 2008 3:10 PM CDT

Public Silence Greets Wall St. Blunders

Small savers are suffering, but giving financiers a free ride

(Newser) - America's financiers have driven the country into crisis with stunning recklessness, James Grant writes in the Wall Street Journal, but public anger seems strangely dormant. Populist politicians railed against Wall Street during past financial crises, Grant notes, but today's politicians appear largely uninterested in taking aim at the easy target.

Fed's Broader Portfolio Raises Some Worries

Jul 17, 2008 12:18 PM CDT

Fed's Broader Portfolio Raises Some Worries

Central bank appears deft so far, but crisis could stretch it thinner

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke has been busy recently—too busy, in the minds of some. The chairman has expanded the Federal Reserve's role beyond traditional monetary policymaker to being an all-purpose protector of the financial system. Many of his dramatic moves—the Bear Stearns buyout, backstopping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—averted...

Consumer Prices
Surge Most Since '91

Economy

Jul 16, 2008 9:35 AM CDT

Consumer Prices Surge Most Since '91

Consumer prices up 1.1%; wholesale up 1.8%.

(Newser) - Consumer prices rose a staggering 1.1% in June, Bloomberg reports. The figure far surpassed analyst estimates, and brings the year-over-year figure to 5%–the biggest surge since 1991. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose a more-than-expected 0.3%. “Inflation has galloped,” one economist said. “...

'No Immediate Plans' to Prop Up Freddie/Fannie: Paulson

Jul 15, 2008 1:08 PM CDT

'No Immediate Plans' to Prop Up Freddie/Fannie: Paulson

Bernanke gives gloomy outlook for rest of 2008, but raises growth forecast

(Newser) - The US government won't be lending capital to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the near future, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told a Senate committee today. "There are no immediate plans to access either the proposed liquidity or the proposed capital backstop,'' Paulson said, and any lending to...

Paulson's Imprimateur on
Freddie/Fannie
Rescue

MARKETS

Jul 15, 2008 9:16 AM CDT

Paulson's Imprimateur on Freddie/Fannie Rescue

Madcap weekend recasts Treasury Secretary in Clintonian mold

(Newser) - Henry Paulson had a very busy weekend. The treasury secretary had been formulating contingency plans for bailing out beleaguered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for weeks, but Friday’s crisis came before those plans were in place, the Wall Street Journal reports in a reconstruction of events leading to the...

As Speculation Swirls, Panic Stalks Freddie, Fannie

Jul 11, 2008 7:56 AM CDT

As Speculation Swirls, Panic Stalks Freddie, Fannie

As mortgage giants face increased losses, investors uncertain of their futures

(Newser) - What started as a whisper Monday is a roar at week’s end as investors wrestle with the fate of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Wall Street Journal reports. While neither firm, which together own or back roughly half the nation’s mortgages, faces imminent collapse, awareness...

Fed to Crack Down on Subprime Loans

Jul 8, 2008 8:26 AM CDT

Fed to Crack Down on Subprime Loans

Also plans to extend low-cost overnight loan program for banks

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve will issue new rules next week restricting subprime lending and other exotic loans aimed at borrowers with weak credit, Ben Bernanke said today. He said the Fed is also considering extending the overnight low-cost loan program, which helps big banks in need of quick cash, a sign...

Baffled Execs Say
Rumor Killed
Stearns

glossies

Jul 5, 2008 12:06 PM CDT

Baffled Execs Say Rumor Killed Stearns

They claim hedge funds, Goldman Sachs invented bad news for profit

(Newser) - Bear Stearns' collapse and shotgun marriage to JP Morgan were sparked by little more than a rumor, Vanity Fair reports. True, the investment bank had stumbled—a $1.6 billion bailout of troubled funds hurt its image—but whispers of liquidity problems were false: Bear had $18 billion in cash...

Fed Feared 'Contagion'
If Bear Failed

Jun 27, 2008 1:30 PM CDT

Fed Feared 'Contagion' If Bear Failed

Bernanke and crew felt they had to act, minutes show

(Newser) - If the Fed hadn't taken the unprecedented step of helping bail out Bear Stearns, a sweeping "contagion" would have doomed the markets, its members say. In newly released minutes from its March 16 meeting, the Fed reasons that the “prominent position of Bear Stearns” left it no choice...

'Difficult' Dow Ends Down 358

MARKETS

Jun 26, 2008 3:37 PM CDT

'Difficult' Dow Ends Down 358

Oil surges past $140 as dollar weakens, financials downgraded

(Newser) - Stocks plunged today due to the convergence of bad news across all sectors of industry against the backdrop of oil’s first surge over $140 a barrel, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow plummeted to a 2-year-low, shedding 358.41 to 11,453.42. The Nasdaq fell 79.89,...

Big Rally Ends in Modest Gains

MARKETS

Jun 25, 2008 3:36 PM CDT

Big Rally Ends in Modest Gains

Oil drop, Fed's confidence in growth not enough to preserve rise

(Newser) - The markets rallied for much of the day on news of ebbing oil prices and the Fed's decision to hold rates steady, but it fell mostly flat by the finish on nagging worries about long-term growth, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow—at one point up more than 100...