Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
Don Lee
February 14, 2017
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet L. Yellen on Tuesday painted a largely upbeat picture of the economy, telling lawmakers that somewhat faster wage growth is in store for workers, even as she signaled that the central bank would consider raising interest rates as early as next month.
Don Lee
November 17, 2016
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet L. Yellen gave a relatively upbeat assessment of the economy Thursday, further signaling a likely interest rate hike next month.
Jim Puzzanghera
August 17, 2016
Some Federal Reserve policymakers said at their most recent meeting that the economy appeared ready for another small increase in a key interest rate, according to an account released Wednesday.
Jim Puzzanghera
February 16, 2016
A top Federal Reserve official who administered the 2008 bank bailout fund suggested Tuesday that Congress consider breaking up the largest financial firms or treating them like public utilities to prevent their failures.
Jim Puzzanghera
December 16, 2015
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark short-term interest rate for the first time in 9 1/2 years, providing a long-awaited vote of confidence for the recovery from the Great Recession by beginning to remove the last of the central bank’s extraordinary steps to boost economic growth.
Don Lee
December 2, 2015
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet L. Yellen, saying the U.S. economy has come a long way since the Great Recession, gave clear signals Wednesday that the central bank was likely to raise interest rates this month.
Jim Puzzanghera
November 18, 2015
Most Federal Reserve policymakers believe next month could be the right time to nudge up a key interest rate for the first time in nearly a decade, according to minutes of their last meeting.
By Jim Puzzanghera and Don Lee
September 17, 2015
Cautious Federal Reserve policymakers on Thursday held a key interest rate at near zero, opting to wait longer to remove the unprecedented easy-money stimulus to determine whether recent global financial market volatility has slowed the U.S. economy.
By Tom Petruno
July 4, 2015
The last six years of extraordinarily low interest rates have been all about rewarding borrowers at the expense of savers. But that is probably coming to an end.
By Jim Puzzanghera
June 17, 2015
Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday kept the central bank’s benchmark short-term interest rate near zero, opting against the first increase since 2006 after determining the economy still isn’t strong enough to handle it.
By Jim Puzzanghera and Andrew Khouri
June 14, 2015
In moving from London at the beginning of the year, Rose-Linn Jensen would have preferred to spend a year getting familiar with the Los Angeles area before buying a home.
By Jim Puzzanghera
January 27, 2015
Federal Reserve policymakers kept their benchmark interest rate near zero and reiterated a plan to be patient about future hikes, even though they issued a more upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy.
By Jim Puzzanghera
December 17, 2014
Plunging gasoline costs led to the largest drop in consumer prices in six years last month and added another complication for Federal Reserve policymakers as they try to determine when to start raising interest rates.
By Jim Puzzanghera,
December 17, 2014
The American economic outlook, bolstered by robust job growth and a sharp drop in gasoline prices, was boosted a little more with the Federal Reserve’s signal that it would take as long as three years to raise interests to once-normal levels.
By Jim Puzzanghera
October 29, 2014
Federal Reserve policymakers voted Wednesday to end the central bank’s controversial bond-buying stimulus program, determining the economy is strong enough to remove the unprecedented support.
By Don Lee
August 7, 2014
Four in 10 U.S. households are straining financially five years after the Great Recession — many struggling with tight credit, soaring education debt and profound issues related to savings and retirement, according to a new Federal Reserve survey.
By Kevin G. Hall
McClatchy Washington Bureau
July 30, 2014
WASHINGTON — Citing the improving economy and a firming jobs markets, the Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it was again trimming its monthly purchases of government and mortgage bonds by another $10 billion and is on pace to end the program this year.
The Wall Street Journal
By Justin Lahart
JUly 13, 2014
Any time the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, there is risk to the economy. The next time it does so will be far more fraught than ever before.
The Federal Reserve is hoping it will be able to raise rates without rattling markets. Doing so after injecting so much money into the banking system may not come easily.
By Michael Flaherty and Alistair Bell
WASHINGTON Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:02am EDT
(Reuters) – A surge of Republican pressure is bringing the Federal Reserve’s long-held independence into question again, as conservative lawmakers seek to place the U.S. central bank under tougher scrutiny.
Thursday, June 19, 2014 – 11:00 a.m.
Here’s some news flowing across the transom Thursday morning, in case you missed it!
High Desert cities approve budgets
Two High Desert cities have approved balanced budgets, for their 2014-15 fiscal years.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014 – 11:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, June 18, 2014 – 12:30 a.m.
One has to wonder what’s coming down the road for the economy. There’s no debate that the Federal Reserve was responsible for the Internet and real estate bubbles, of the past.
The big question here is how big is the new Federal Reserve-driven stock and real estate bubble?
Sunday, April 20, 2014 – 10:00 a.m.
Much effort is being put into making Americans believe the economy is building strength.
The assertion is prominent within government circles.
By Don Lee
April 9, 2014, 7:01 p.m.
WASHINGTON — An account of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting suggests that policymakers aren’t as eager to take away the punch bowl as the market thought.
Associated Press
April 8, 2014, 3:16 p.m.
WASHINGTON — Regulators are acting to require U.S. banks to build a sturdier financial base to lessen the risk that they could collapse and cause a global meltdown.
By Kevin Smith, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Posted: 02/22/14, 6:40 PM PST |
America’s slow but steady recovery from the Great Recession has been fueled at least in part by government stimulus.
Monday, February 3, 2014 – 09:30 a.m.
Here’s some news flowing across the transom both Monday morning, and last week, in case you missed it.
Yellen takes over at Fed
Janet Yellen officially replaced Ben Bernanke as Chair of the Federal Reserve on Monday. Expect the continued reduction in stimulus to continue. There really is no choice.
The Fed balance sheet is over $4 trillion in printed money. A number not included in the nation’s $17 trillion debt.
By Don Lee
January 25, 2014, 8:44 p.m.
WASHINGTON — As Ben S. Bernanke walks away from the Federal Reserve’s marble headquarters on the Mall after presiding over his last policy meeting Wednesday, he will leave behind a bittersweet legacy.
By Jim Puzzanghera
November 4, 2013, 7:06 a.m.
WASHINGTON — A top Federal Reserve policymaker said Monday that low inflation meant there was no hurry to reduce a key central bank stimulus program, which has made “substantial progress” in lowering unemployment.
By Michael Hiltzik
September 13, 2013, 11:23 p.m.
There are two ways to think about how far we’ve come in protecting against a repeat of the financial meltdown five years ago that plunged the world into recession.
Sunday, July 21, 2013 – 11:00 a.m.
Here’s some news flowing across the transom last week. In cased you missed it!
Detroit files bankruptcy
Yes, this time it’s Detriot. That’s a city located in the state of Michigan. For those that didn’t know!
By Jonathan Spicer
Mon Jun 24, 2013 12:11am EDT
(Reuters) – Through the dark days of the financial crisis, and the grey days of the halting recovery that have followed, investors have always been able to count on backing from two sources – Ben Bernanke and Beijing.
Thursday, June 20, 2013 – 12:30 p.m.
The U.S. Federal Reserve Open Market Committee is definitely in a corner.
Sunday, June 9, 2013 – 07:30 a.m.
What will the Federal Reserve do about its bond buying program to keep long-term interest rates down?
It’s been the big question on the minds of Wall Street and economists of late.
Friday, June 7, 2013 – 11:30 a.m.
Here’s some news of interest flowing across the transom Friday morning.
May unemployment rate ticks up to 7.6%
The U.S. Department of Labor published its May jobs report Friday Morning. The DOL says employers added 175,000 jobs last month, with the official unemployment rate edging upt to 7.6%. The underemployment rate, which takes into account part-time and discouraged workers, edged down to 13.8%.
Sunday, April 21, 2013 – 01:00 pm.
The situation surrounding the now highly-publicized Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR) heated to a boiling point this past week, when affected homeowners started receiving checks meant to help offset improper and illegal foreclosure practices leveled at them by banks.
Sunday, February 10, 2013 – 12:00 p.m.
Here’s an update and recap of news coming across the transom this past week.
Dorner manhunt update
There’s still no sign of Former LAPD Officer and Murder Suspect Christopher Dorner as of late Sunday Morning.
By Don Lee and Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times
December 13, 2012
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve said it will continue aggressive measures to stimulate the economy and made a major policy shift to focus more directly on boosting the job market.
Friday, September 14, 2012 – 03:00 p.m.
Institutional ratings agency Egan Jones cut its rating on the sovereign debt of the United States to AA- from AA Friday.
Friday, September 14, 2012 – 08:00 a.m.
It was only a matter of time.
Faced with a stalling economy the U.S. Federal Reserve, led by Chairman Ben Benanke, has started the end game in trying to stave off another economic decline.
Thursday, July 12, 2012 – 12:05 p.m.
The latest growing scandal involving major money center banks, and their complete lack of respect for rules, involves allegations that Barclays, Citigroup, UBS, JPMorgan Chase and others, manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) from 2005 to 2008.
LIBOR is the rate banks charge each other for short-term loans.
Friday, July 6, 2012 – 12:01 p.m.
Four months until the Presidential election and another monthly jobs report containing more bad news on Friday.
The U.S. economy only generated 80,000 jobs in June. The expectation was for 100,000.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 – 08:45 a.m.
News coming across the transom this morning.
No healthcare ruling from Supreme Court
It looks like next week will be the week. Next Monday that is.
By Don Lee, Los Angeles Times
June 11, 2012, 9:06 p.m.
WASHINGTON — The typical American family lost nearly 40% of its wealth from 2007 to 2010 as the Great Recession reduced household net worth to a level not seen since the early 1990s.
The net worth of the median U.S. family — one with an equal number of families richer and poorer — fell to $77,300 in 2010 from $126,400 three years earlier, after adjusting for inflation, the Federal Reserve said in a new report Monday.
By Phil Kuntz and Bob Ivry – Dec 22, 2011 9:01 PM PT
Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) — Matthew Winkler, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, talks about Bloomberg News’ response to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s letter to four senior lawmakers yesterday that said recent news articles about the central bank’s emergency lending programs contained “egregious errors.” Winkler speaks with Tom Keene on Bloomberg Television’s “Surveillance Midday.” (Source: Bloomberg)
Thursday, December 1, 2011 – 10:00 a.m.
All the misplaced euphoria over the recent drop in weekly first-time unemployment numbers, along with the Fed loaning the European Union (EU) some $600 billion, seems a little suspect.
The Fed is doing nothing more than manipulating markets in the short-term, with money it really doesn’t have.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Wall Street enjoyed a big jump Wednesday morning, after a coordinated action by central banks around the world to provide more liquidity to the global financial system.
The U.S. Federal Reserve, after a similar effort in September, will “lower the pricing on the existing temporary U.S. dollar liquidity swap arrangements by 50 basis points so that the new rate will be the U.S. dollar overnight index swap (OIS) rate plus 50 basis points.”
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 – 02:00 p.m.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed nearly 500 points on Wednesday on news the U.S. Federal Reserve will drop the rate foreign banks pay it to exchange the euro for the U.S. Dollar.
In other words, a promise to artificially print more money by doing nothing more than pushing buttons on a computer.
The move up, once again, brings stocks to the unchanged level for the year.
By Bob Ivry, Bradley Keoun and Phil Kuntz – Nov 27, 2011 4:01 PM PT
Bloomberg Markets Magazine
The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret. Now, the rest of the world can see what it was missing.
Friday, November 25, 2011 – 11:45 a.m.
U.S. stocks ended lower for the seventh trading session in row on Friday,
While investment analysts cry that “Stocks are cheap.”, “It’s a buying opportunity.”, “I like stocks here.”, and “Investors shouldn’t panic.”, the markets continue to recede.
Even the recent trading range doesn’t look too warm and fuzzy.
By Terence P. Jeffrey
November 16, 2011
Subscribe to Terence P. Jeffrey’s posts
(CNSNews.com) – At the close of business on Tuesday, the debt of the federal government exceeded $15 trillion for the first time–with the largest single owner of the publicly held portion of that debt being the Federal Reserve.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 – 09:00 a.m
Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and other institutions, who have resisted helping struggling homeowners, dumped billions in bad mortgages on the government-owned Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) in the 3rd quarter of 2011.
A practice which has been ongoing for years now.
Fannie Mae recorded a loss of $7.8 billion for the period ending September 30.
Sunday, October 16, 2011 – 07:25 p.m.
Wells Fargo dumping bad mortgages on U.S. taxpayers?
Say it isn’t so.
Martin Crutsinger and Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writers
Tuesday October 4, 2011, 6:04 pm EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Europe has a debt crisis. America has a jobs crisis. Corporate profits could be in trouble. World financial markets are in turmoil. And no one seems prepared to ride to the rescue.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke bluntly warned Congress on Tuesday of what most of America has sensed for some time: The economic recovery, such as it is, “is close to faltering.”
Thursday, September 22, 2011 – 12:10 p.m.
Hold the presses!
Just out: The economy isn’t going to get better anytime soon.
Money & Company
Tracking the market and economic trends that shape your finances.
August 21, 2011 | 5:52 pm
One of the Federal Reserve’s primary roles is to be the lender of last resort to banks. It played that role to the tune of stunning $1.2 trillion during the financial-system crisis that began in 2007, according to data compiled for the first time by Bloomberg News.
Planet Wes
Wesley G. Hughes, Staff Writer
Posted: 08/14/2011 04:46:33 PM PDT
The “experts” keep talking about a double-dip recession.
That’s all wrong. You can’t dip back into something you never got out of.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke
By Zachary A. Goldfarb and Neil Irwin
Published: August 14
Barely two years after the financial crisis ended, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke were back at it about a week ago. They were working the weekend phones with their counterparts in Europe, urging them to use overwhelming force to contain the continent’s spreading debt crisis, which was unnerving markets on both sides of the Atlantic.
By Rita Nazareth – Aug 8, 2011 1:08 PM PT
U.S. stocks tumbled, extending the biggest slump for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since 2008’s bear market, amid concern that a downgrade of the nation’s credit rating by S&P may worsen an economic slowdown.
Monday, August 8, 2011 – 10:00 a.m.
Standard and Poor’s downgrade of the sovereign credit rating of the United States was a long time coming.
Friday, August 5, 2011 – 06:00 p.m.
As expected, rating agency Standard and Poors lowered the soverign credit rating of the United States from AAA to AA+ late Friday afternoon.
Money & Company
Tracking the market and economic trends that shape your finances.
July 26, 2011 | 6:00 pm
The strongest sign of worry about the U.S. debt drama may be showing up in the dollar, which is on track for its third straight weekly decline.
Sunday, July 17, 2011 – 06:00 p.m.
If it doesn’t alarm you it should.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is holding $2.6 trillion in U.S. Government-issued bonds and bank-issued mortgage-backed securities on its balance sheet.
Paul Wiseman, AP Economics Writer
Monday July 4, 2011, 4:34 pm EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — This is one anniversary few feel like celebrating.
Two years after economists say the Great Recession ended, the recovery has been the weakest and most lopsided of any since the 1930s.
Martin Crutsinger and Derek Kravitz, AP Business Writers
Thursday June 23, 2011, 12:28 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sour reports Thursday on the number of people who sought unemployment benefits and buyers of new homes illustrate what Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged Wednesday: Many factors weighing on the economy are proving to be more chronic than first imagined.
Published: Friday, 10 Jun 2011 | 2:58 PM ET
By: Reuters
The flood of Federal Reserve money that has supported Wall Street and the rest of the U.S. economy for two and a half years will shrink to a trickle with the conclusion of the Fed’s bond purchases announced Friday.
Sunday, May 29, 2011 – 09:30 p.m.
The situation for Americans in general isn’t so hot these days, and it’s likely to worsen.
Williams
Money & Company
Tracking the market and economic trends that shape your finances.
May 4, 2011 | 5:51 pm
The Federal Reserve’s new top official in the West, in his first public speech, defended the central bank’s policy course and said that fears of serious inflation erupting from Fed stimulus programs were unrealistic.
14 lenders and 2 servicers to reimburse homeowners who were incorrectly foreclosed upon
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government on Wednesday ordered 16 of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders and servicers to reimburse homeowners who were improperly foreclosed upon.
Tokyo may need to raise money to rebuild after the earthquake, but selling their U.S. Treasury bonds could create problems of its own. The nuclear power shutdown will affect production throughout Japan and boost demand for oil.
By Don Lee and Tom Petruno, Los Angeles Times
March 14, 2011, 6:12 p.m.
Reporting from Washington and Los Angeles —
Japan’s need to raise huge amounts of money for reconstruction after the disastrous earthquake raises the prospect of higher U.S. costs to finance its own budget deficit and ultimately higher costs to American consumers on financing everything from houses and cars to credit card debt.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 – 09:30 a.m.
Don’t be fooled! It’s not working.
Efforts by the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve to prop up investment markets, known as QE2 (Quantitative Easing – 2nd phase), doesn’t appear to be working.
Why you ask?
Though few have paid attention, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission’s conclusions clearly point out the failures by regulators — and the (un)regulated — to rein in excesses that predictably led to ruin.
By Michael Hiltzik
February 6, 2011
The public reaction to major man-made disasters always follows the same life cycle: First come shock and outrage, then demands for investigation and retribution against the guilty, and finally resignation about God’s mysterious ways, fatigue and ennui.
Published: Friday, 21 Jan 2011 | 4:58 PM ET
Concerns that the Federal Reserve could suffer losses on its massive bond holdings may have driven the central bank to adopt a little-noticed accounting change with huge implications: it makes insolvency much less likely.
By James Politi
Published: January 13 2011 22:15 | Last updated: January 13 2011 22:15
It was the most startling of warnings. If the US does not get its finances in order “we will have a European situation on our hands, and possibly worse”, claimed Paul Ryan, the new Republican chairman of the House of Representatives budget committee.
By Tom Raum, Associated Press – January 15, 2011
WASHINGTON – The United States just passed a dubious milestone: Government debt surged to an all-time high, more than $14 trillion.
That means Congress soon will have to lift the legal debt limit to give the nearly maxed-out government an even higher credit limit or dramatically cut spending to stay within the current cap. Either way, a fight is ahead on Capitol Hill, inflamed by the passions of tea party activists and deficit hawks.
Fed Chief Says State and Local Governments Shouldn’t Expect Federal Loans
JANUARY 8, 2011
By JON HILSENRATH And NEIL KING JR.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday ruled out a central bank bailout of state and local governments strapped with big municipal debt burdens, saying the Fed had limited legal authority to help and little will to use that authority.
Although the unemployment rate dropped dramatically to 9.4% in December, the government reported, employers added only 103,000 jobs, below many analysts’ expectations. The report on average weekly work hours was also disappointing.
By Don Lee, Los Angeles Times
January 8, 2011
Reporting from Washington —
The nation’s unemployment rate dipped last month to the lowest level since the spring of 2009. Still, the economy created substantially fewer new jobs than had been expected – a painful reminder of just how slow the jobs recovery may continue to be.
By Jeannine Aversa, Ap Economics Writer – 30 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sketched a more optimistic view of the economy Friday but said the Fed’s $600 billion bond-buying program is needed because unemployment will likely stay elevated for up to five more years.
Sunday, December 12, 2010 – 09:00 p.m.
Economic conditions counterproductive to growth continue to emerge in opposition to what government officials keep telling all of us.
While holiday sales trend slightly ahead of a dismal 2009, interest rates continue a steady march higher. Even as the U.S. Federal Reserve Board embarks on its second so called ‘quantitative easing’ process.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010 – 10:40 a.m.
Interest rates on U.S. Treasury securities continued climbing today with the rate on the 10-year treasury bond now hitting 3.13% this morning.
The 10-year treasury instrument remains the benchmark for mortgage loans.
Friday, December 3, 2010 – 10:30 a.m.
This mornings grim news on the economy was no surprise here.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor the national unemployment rate climbed to 9.8% in November. Up from 9.6% in October.
The net number of jobs added? A paltry 39,000, of which, most were temporary positions likely to leave the workforce after the holiday season ends.
By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Dec. 3, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 6B
CalPERS was among the big winners in an obscure Federal Reserve loan program aimed at rescuing the nation’s troubled credit markets last year.
The state’s other big pension fund, CalSTRS, also participated in the program, but to a much smaller degree, according to records released this week by the Federal Reserve.
By Robin Harding in Washington
Published: November 21 2010 20:07 | Last updated: November 21 2010 20:07
The US Federal Reserve will slash its growth forecasts and predict higher unemployment when it releases updated economic projections this week.
The Fed will release the latest forecasts made by members of its rate-setting open market committee on Tuesday, alongside the minutes of their November meeting, giving a complete picture of why they launched a new $600bn round of asset purchases.
Monday, November 1, 2010 – 11:30 a.m.
President Barack Obama and congressional democrats can place a major portion of the blame for their pending gutting at the polls tomorrow squarely at the feet of the banking industry.
There are several factors in-play here.
Nouriel Roubini, Professor of Economics at New York University and Chairman of Roubini Global Economics speaks at the opening session “Rebalancing the Global Economy” at the Global Financial Forum in New York April 26, 2010. REUTERS/Mike Segar
On Friday October 29, 2010, 3:31 am EDT
LONDON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy is a “fiscal train wreck” waiting to happen that risks ushering in a period of stagnation featuring by minimal growth, high unemployment and deflationary pressure, U.S. economist Nouriel Roubini wrote on Friday.
In a commentary for the Financial Times, Roubini — one of the first economists to predict the housing crash in the United States and known as ‘Dr Doom’ for his pessimistic forecasts — said fiscal and monetary stimulus had prevented another depression.
Sunday, August 29, 2010 – 12:30 pm
Updated: August 29, 2010 – 08:50 pm
It’s baffling to hear the rhetoric, chatter, and the denials regarding the condition of the state and local economy.
Yes, it’s going to get worse. A situation that’s bad for everyone. Politicians, businesses, and everyday folk. Denial is still in full swing.