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Fed Tapers Another $10 Billion, Expecting Rebound From Grim Q1

"The U.S. economy stalled out in Q1, as GDP rose at a 0.1% annual rate, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. But with other data showing rebounding growth in the spring, the Federal Reserve voted to taper its bond-buys by another $10 billion. The Fed's decision, widely expected, cited ongoing improvement in the economy. But as previously signaled, the central bank left interest rates untouched and pledged to keep policy easy as long as the economy remained shaky. Residential investment fell hard for a second straight quarter, and business fixed investment declined at a 5.5% rate. Both sectors were expected to help lead the economy in 2014." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFed Tapers Another $10 Billion, Expecting Rebound From Grim Q1

Five+ Years of Fed Futility Laid Bare for All to See

"It has been five-and-a-half years since Lehman Brothers, AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other casualties of the credit crisis imploded! We’ve been subjected to more than a half-decade of the Fed’s supposedly useful and appropriate medicine … Unlimited money printing. Zero percent interest rates. Gargantuan bank bailouts. Deliberate attempts to inflate stock and house prices. And for what? More than $3 TRILLION in extra padding on the Fed balance sheet doesn’t look like it’s done much for the broad economy. GDP grew just 0.1 percent in the first quarter. Even that dismal reading was propped up by a massive surge of $43.3 billion in health care spending tied to the Obamacare rollout." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFive+ Years of Fed Futility Laid Bare for All to See

Retirement Myth Reveals the Possibility of Great Socioeconomic Change

"So now we know: Even a million dollars isn't enough to retire on. Sounds reasonable, given all the obstacles to retirement in the West and especially in the US. But there is a problem with this article that is much bigger than the retirement issues it explores. The problem is – and we can see from the article's feedback – that the readership is a good deal more sophisticated than the article itself. As we've often pointed out, when people cease to believe in the narrative provided to them by their own elites, then inevitably society begins to change in fundamental ways. As we can see, this article glosses over the REASONS for increasing retirement problems." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRetirement Myth Reveals the Possibility of Great Socioeconomic Change

Millennials Mired in Wealth Gap as Older Americans Recoup Wealth

"The damage inflicted on U.S. households by the collapse of the housing market and recession wasn’t evenly distributed. For households headed by someone 40 years old or younger, wealth adjusted for inflation remains 30 percent below 2007 levels on average. Net worth for older Americans has already recouped the losses. With fewer young people owning homes, not as many are benefiting from the rebound in home prices. What’s more, heads of households under age 40 aren’t benefiting as much from a boom in equity prices, which have hit record highs this year. About 27 percent of 18 to 29 year olds owned stocks as of April 2013, compared to 61 percent of 50 to 64 year olds." Continue reading →

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Loan Program For Investors With More Than 4 Properties Financed

"In 2009, Fannie Mae rolled back a mortgage rule that prevented real estate investors from financing more than 4 properties at once. At the time, investors were limited to 4 properties financed, which included their primary residence. Today, the maximum number of allowable, simultaneously financed properties is 10. You wouldn't know it, though -- few banks actually offer the program. This article describes how to get a mortgage if you have 5-to-10 homes in your portfolio. So, why don't all banks participate in the 5-10 Properties Financed program? The probable answer is that underwriting a 5-property-owning investor's mortgage application can be very hard work." Continue reading →

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Housing in U.S. Cools as Rate Rise Hits Sales: Mortgages

"After a roller-coaster decade of boom-bust-boom, the U.S. housing market is going downhill just when many economists thought annual sales would be heading up. Sales of previously owned properties in March tumbled 7.5 percent from a year earlier to the slowest pace in 20 months, while purchases of new houses sank 14.5 percent from February, according to reports this week. Mortgage applications to buy homes plunged 19 percent from a year earlier, indicating slowing demand during what is typically the busiest season for deals. Mortgage interest rates are rising from record lows as the central bank withdraws its stimulus, and investors are now retreating." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHousing in U.S. Cools as Rate Rise Hits Sales: Mortgages

US State Bank Supervisors to Discuss Bitcoin at Public Hearing

"In late February, the US Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), a membership organisation for state banking regulators that liaises with Congress, announced it would launch a new task force aimed at investigating emerging payments issues, including topics related to bitcoin and other digital currencies. To date, nine state banking officials have joined the task force, including New York Department of Financial Services superintendent Benjamin Lawsky. The organisation’s fact-finding mission will take one of its first steps on 16th May, when the CSBS will hold a public hearing on emerging payment issues in Chicago, Illinois." Continue reading →

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Former US Consumer Finance Watchdog Voices Support for Bitcoin

"Raj Date, the former Deputy Director of the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a consumer finance watchdog, said in an interview this week that he supports – and is now investing in – bitcoin. During a segment of Bloomberg Television’s 'Street Smart,' Date commented that, on a personal level, he sees a lot of potential in digital currencies like bitcoin. In the interview, Date said that bitcoin has the potential to deliver faster and more secure payments than is currently possible for most consumers, and remarked that the pace of innovation could result in a broader evolution in digital currencies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer US Consumer Finance Watchdog Voices Support for Bitcoin

U.S. Fed’s Kocherlakota says interested in bitcoin

"A top U.S. Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday he is interested in the fast-emerging bitcoin, although he scoffed at the idea that the virtual currency could replace the dollar. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Narayana Kocherlakota, speaking at a town hall at North Dakota State University, said he is interested in bitcoin as a technology, not as a currency. He speculated that bitcoin could make payments among individuals faster. 'That's where I think the interest of it is, myself, as opposed to a new currency that's going to drive the U.S. dollar out of circulation.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Fed’s Kocherlakota says interested in bitcoin