Tag: market predictions
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A Unanimous Decision Keeps the Fed’s Taper Going
Months after it was first announced, the Federal Reserve’s plan to taper down its massive stimulus plan is gathering steam. After scaling back its $85 billion monthly buyup of mortgage baked securities and bonds by $10 billion, the Fed’s Open Market Committee has now voted to lop off another $10 billion. That brings the monthly…
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Danger Signs for the Bitcoin in Exchange CEO’s Arrest?
Is there a plot to kill the Bitcoin? The recent arrest of Bitcoin exchange exec Charlie Shrem makes some advocates of the digital currency believe so, as one of the charges filed against him in the Silk Road money laundering case appears to open the door for targeting alternative currency systems of all kinds. Charlie…
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Can New TechnologyThwart Snooping?
As information continues to hit the news about the scope of the National Security Agency’s domestic data collection efforts, new industries are springing up to fill a niche that’s suddenly booming: technology that blocks snooping and protects users from threats abroad – or, as many see it, their own government. It’s a fertile field for…
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US Markets Still Lure Foreign Investment
Is foreign money propping up the US economic recovery? International investing in key economic sectors continues to grow every year – and that raises concerns that foreign investment could crush its US competitors and compromise growth in the long term. That’s a paradox that experts are watching in the newly rebounding housing market, where foreign…
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Is Optimism About the Economy An Illusion?
As a new year gets underway, predictions abound about what lies ahead in the months to come. After the uncertainties and reversals of the past few years, there’s no shortage of pundits and prognosticators who foresee better days ahead for the economy, based on recent stats from major sectors like housing and unemployment. But that…
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Do It Yourself Digital Money: The Open Transaction Project
Bored with the Bitcoin? Frustrated with the limitations of the Ven, the LItecoin, the Feathercoin? Just make your own digital currency – it’s easy and free. While that may be a slight exaggeration, the very proliferation of those Bitcoin clones and other alternatives confirm the fact that available technology makes it possible for anyone to…
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The Federal Reserve’s 2014 Monetary Policy: What’s Next?
The Federal Open Market Committee gathers for its first meeting in 2014 this January – and although FOMC may not be a household word, its decisions on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies have the potential to impact most households in the country. As we head into a new year, financial experts are keeping a watchful…
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Lending Industry Cleanup Means New Rules
The New Year brings big changes to the US loan business, as lawsuits and legislation continue to force a cleanup of the institutions that were in large part responsible for the housing collapse of a few years ago. And as those changes, aimed at protecting the consumers whose purchases keep the economy humming, take effect…
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New 2014 Lending Standards May Chill Borrowing
symptoms of diabetes p>What a difference two percentage points can make. A new provision of the sweeping Dodd Frank act that’s scheduled to take effect this January drops the allowable debt to income ratio for mortgages and other kinds of consumer loans from 45 percent to 43 – a small change with the power to…
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Magnetic Strips Put US Cardholders At Risk
As the fallout continues from the massive data breach affecting millions of Target customers nationwide, consumer advocates and cybersecurity experts point out that the Black Friday incident is only part of a larger problem: outdated card security features that make US-issued credit cards especially attractive to hackers around the world. Details about Target’s data theft…