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 [...]

According to an article by People, Guy Ritchie and Madonna’s separation, though reportedly civil, is resulting in a lump sum payment to Guy Ritchie of between $76 and $92 million. Incidentally, that more than doubles Ritchie’s current net worth. Ritchie is the director of such movies as Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and [...]

The Federal Open Market Committee, in a meeting on Tuesday, set a target for the Federal Funds rate of 0 – 0.25%, the lowest rate on record.
This is a sign that the Fed is willing to go to nearly any extent to see that our current economic situation reverses itself.
We’ve reported in the past that [...]

Dave Carpenter wrote an article distributed by the Associated Press about “Steering clear of investment fraud.” He’s got a great explanation of a Ponzi scheme, the scheme that Madoff was running where he bilked investors out of an estimated $50 billion.
Mr. Carpenter explains the most reliable credentials for investment advisers, CFP (Certified Financial Planner), and [...]

Former NASDAQ Chairman, Bernard Madoff has allegedly been running a Wall Street ponzi scheme of epic proportions, bilking investors out of an estimated $50 billion.
Madoff is the founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC and separately managed money for high-net-worth individuals and hedge funds through an investment advisory business he oversaw. Madoff was charged [...]

The financial markets have been wiping the floor with investors lately, and, as T-Bill rates hit 0.0304%, investors are moving toward the safety of short-term assets.
Carlos Leitao, chief strategist and economist at Laurentian Bank, calls it a “huge wave of panic,” and likens the situation to investors stuffing money under their mattresses.
The current T-Bill yields [...]

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced Tuesday that it would lend up to $85 billion to AIG (American International Group) in an effort to help the struggling investment giant avoid bankruptcy.
The Fed suggested in a press release that the terms of the agreement aim to protect the interests of the U.S. government and [...]