Tag: market predictions
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“Modest” Tapering Starts in January – But Will Anyone Notice?
Does $10 billion a month make a difference? After months of mixed message, the Federal Reserve has announced in January 2014 it plans to start scaling back its massive stimulus program. For now it’s a “modest” tapering, that reduces monthly bond buying from $85 billion to $75 billion. But will the drawdown really benefit consumers?…
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The Bitcoinvention Opens Doors to Asia
Amid controversy and criticism, the Bitcoin marches on. Though the digital currency is gaining ground around the world as a legitimate means of exchange, it’s being given an especially warm reception in the emerging economies of Asia. And the upcoming Bitcoinvention in Manila demonstrates how far the Bitcoin has come as a viable currency in…
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Is There a Bitcoin Backlash?
The clearest indicator that the Bitcoin is here to stay may be the fact that the digital currency has made enemies in high places. As the upstart coin continues its march toward global legitimacy, advocates of the Bitcoin have worried that it might become the target of government and financial institutions threatened by its growing…
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Fannie and Freddie Retreat, But Fees Advance
Among the many factors affecting the strength of the dollar and the US economic recovery as a whole is government involvement in the still recovering housing industry. As world markets warily eye the Federal Reserve’s ongoing bond buying stimulus plan, the government backed megalenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac embark on a drawdown of their…
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3 Costly Investing Mistakes
The road to financial success is paved with information – too much information. Would be investors – and anyone hoping to sustain – and build – assets are bombarded with options,, both legitimate and shady. And all too often, they end up losing a little or a lot, thanks to some basic mistakes that create…
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Can Floating Cities Change the World?
The future may be all at sea, if the folks at the Floating City Project make their vision a reality. And that reality is coming ever closer as crowdfunding for the design of the world’s first seasteading community gathers steam. It’s a concept that challenges many long-cherished beliefs about land, community and government that may…
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Weak Currencies Push Trade in the Global Marketplace
The dong, the rial, and the leone – these exotic names may not be as familiar as the dollar, the yen or the euro, but these weak currencies may be changing the global financial picture more than their stronger counterparts. The complex relationship between the weak and strong currencies of the world affect virtually all…
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Is Foreign Investment Driving the Recovery?
By several major benchmarks, the economic recovery appears to be on the upswing. The employment picture is rosier and the housing market –always the backbone of economic stability – is humming too. But a recent report by the National Association of Realtors reveals that much of that growth is fueled by foreign investment – a…
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Are Big Banks in the Government’s Cross Hairs?
Last week, JP Morgan Chase settled yet another banking fraud case for a cool $18 billion – the largest single settlement ever for an individual company. As the US Department of Justice readies yet more criminal charges against Chase and other megabanks, some financial experts question whether the government’s targeting of the nation’s largest financial…
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A QE Architect Tells All – And It’s Not Pretty
The Federal Reserve has spent over $4 trillion buying up mortgage-backed securities in it much-publicized Quantitative Easing plan to boost the economy. But, according to a new op-ed confessional by a former QE architect, the main beneficiaries have been the big banks of Wall Street. In a recent piece for the Wall Street Journal, former…