In 2009, the global economy appeared to be recovering quite nicely from the ’08 Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis.  By March of 2009, the recession seemed to bottom out—equity markets began to rally, unemployment began to fall, and economic growth resumed.  It appeared that the global economy had weathered the worst of the Crisis.  Investor sentiment was [...]

Recessions are a normal and even essential part of our modern economic system.  They tend to occur every 5-7 years as a normal function of the business cycle, and they are believed to purge waste from the economic system.  But the recession that came out of the 2008 Global Credit Crisis has not been a [...]

The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dipped this week to 4.78%, the lowest levels we’ve seen since December 2009 and only slightly above that record low number of 4.71%.
The average rate on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage also dropped to 4.21%, which is the lowest 15-year fixed rate since the late 1980’s.
The [...]

BP has been working on something called a ‘Top Kill’ technique in order to try and stop the more than 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) per day of oil that has been spewing out of the open well left when the Deepwater Horizon exploded more than a month ago.
The significance of the ‘Top Kill’ technique is [...]

I’ve been hearing quite a bit lately about the recovering U.S. economy, but questions still remain as to whether the changes we’re seeing are only short term fluctuations or actual improvements in the economy.
According to a recent article on MarketWatch, James O’Sullivan, an economist with MF Global, apparently feels that we’re seeing real economic recovery [...]

I’m a regular listener of This American Life, a weekly radio show hosted by Ira Hayes from Public Radio International. Each week they offer incredibly interesting stories about…well…pretty much anything. The thing that ties all their stories together is their uncanny ability to draw you into the situation and make you understand what’s happening; even [...]

The senate on Thursday confirmed Ben Bernanke for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. The vote came after quite a bit of fuss about “bank bailouts” and one attempted filibuster and represents the closest confirmation vote ever for a Federal Reserve chairman.
Americans are upset about what they feel was a bailout of [...]

If you watch the financial news channels or read the business section of your local newspaper, you may have noticed something that is important to you as you make financial decisions: nearly all of the business news that you will read, view, or hear is sensationalized.
Don’t take my word for it. As I write this [...]

CNBC is airing a special on the business behind the Kentucky Derby, where the best three-year-old thoroughbreds compete at Churchill Downs in a mile-and-a-quarter race with a $2 million purse. Here’s a bit from the CNBC website:
The Kentucky Derby is the longest running sports event in American history. Now, a cherished pastime is a multi-billion [...]

From CNBC’s website:
CNBC takes you aboard a city at sea where passengers are enticed to spend big money…but can this fast growing segment of the travel industry navigate the rough seas of a slumping economy and stay afloat? Correspondent Peter Greenberg takes you cruising for profits.
Check your local listings for showtimes.

Tonight CNBC is (re)airing an amazing show called “Marijuana Inc.: Inside America’s Pot Industry.” CNBC has aired the special a couple times now, but if you’ve missed it, or haven’t heard of it yet, you should check it out. It’s an interesting look into what CNBC calls a “thriving industry…raking in what’s estimated to be [...]

According to an article by the Financial Times, Alan Greenspan has converted to the dark side of those promoting nationalization of private assets, specifically banks. The article quotes Greenspan as saying “The US government may have to nationalize some banks on a temporary basis to fix the financial system and restore the flow of credit.” [...]

U.S. retailers are expected to file for bankruptcy protection after a poorly performing holiday buying season according to the Wall Street Journal This Morning Podcast. Some of the retailers expected to file are retailer Loehmann’s, pharmacy Duane Reade, and jeweler Finlay Enterprises.

The Labor Department released its monthly jobs report this morning, and number certainly don’t look promising. The good news, however, is nobody thought they would look promising, so it’s no shocker. In fact, analysts polled by Reuters were predicting heavier job losses.
December Unemployment at 7.2%
December’s jobless rate came in at 7.2%, up 0.4% from November’s [...]

According to an ADP report released today, December saw the loss of 693,000 private, non-agricultural jobs in the United States. November saw 476,000 jobs lost.
Forecasts saw the numbers to be a bit better, ranging from 250,000 to 550,000 jobs lost.
Important to note, however, is that December is the first month the ADP has implemented a [...]

CNBC has a pretty interesting series called American Greed, during which they detail legendary white collar crimes and how they were planned and carried out. Tonight (Wednesday, Jan 7th, 2008) at 9:00 pm American Greed covers the story of Matt Cox, Rebecca Hauck, and Alison Arnold, who engineered a classic mortgage scam that took advantage [...]

The Federal Reserve released the meeting minutes from its December 15th and 16th meeting when it cut the target Fed Funds rate to between zero and .25%. The minutes can be viewed online here.
FOMC considers not releasing an explicit target
The minutes show that there was some initial resistance by committee members to slash the Fed [...]

Due to current economic conditions, mortgage rates have hit an all-time low. If you’re looking to refinance, now may be the best time.
Especially considering the Fed recently cut the Fed Funds rate target to 0%, which signals that we’ll almost certainly be facing some serious inflation in the near future as a result. And, as [...]

On July 30th, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Homeownership and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, also known as HERA, that put into effect a number of changes to the way the mortgage system operates.
Licenses Required for Mortgage Originators
For the first time, mortgage originators are now required to be registered and licensed on the [...]

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has requested that Congress give him the remainder of the $700 billion TARP funds approved in the hopes of steering the U.S. Economy away from recession.
The original plan for the TARP money called for Paulson to use the funds on the purchase of illiquid assets from firms in the financial [...]