Ron Paul's Amendment To Audit The Federal Reserve Approved Nov 19, 2009 05:37PM

A key House panel approved the Paul-Grayson Amendment by an overwhelming 43-26 Thursday afternoon, which will give watchdogs new authority to audit the Federal Reserve.

Here is a summary of the Paul-Grayson Amendment:

Dear Financial Services Committee Colleague:

It is encouraging to see the issue of Federal Reserve transparency receiving so much attention during this current markup. Today we plan to offer an amendment to the Financial Stability Improvement Act that expands on the many extant proposals to enhance Federal Reserve transparency. Our amendment is based on HR 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, which has broad bipartisan and grassroots support. The bill is cosponsored by 309 Members of Congress, including all Financial Services Committee ...


What! No Rate Hikes Until 2012? Nov 18, 2009 05:01PM

Movement in stocks today bucked the recent trend of moving higher with dollar weakness as reports suggested the Fed could stay put on interest rates until 2012, following statements from James Bullard, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Following reports of the 2012 time-frame, Treasury prices declined and commodities moved to the upside. The thinking ...


St. Louis Fed's Bullard Discusses 'The First Phase of the U.S. Recovery' Nov 18, 2009 11:12AM

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- In a speech Wednesday to area business leaders at the 2009 Commerce Bank Economic Breakfast, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard described the forces driving this nascent economic recovery and posed the question: How sustainable is this growth going forward? The first phase of the recovery has been driven by several factors, he said, including global growth: "Stronger-than-expected global growth, especially in Asia, has been a main force." Bullard's presentation, "The First Phase of the U.S. Recovery," can be viewed at: http://research.stlouisfed.org/econ/bullard/BullardCommerceFinal.pdf. Other forces are driving the fledgling recovery in the U.S.: Personal consumption and the housing sector have stabilized. The stress in financial markets is abating. Bond spreads have narrowed and credit default swap prices have declined. However, "some stress still remains in these markets," he said. Labor markets are still a trouble spot, but there are signs of improvement. "While ...


Bernanke's Speech at Economic Club of New York 11/16 Nov 16, 2009 12:19PM

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
At the Economic Club of New York, New York, New York
November 16, 2009
On the Outlook for the Economy and Policy

When I last spoke at the Economic Club of New York a little more than a year ago, the financial crisis had just taken a much more virulent turn. In my remarks at that time, I described the extraordinary actions that policymakers around the globe were taking to address the crisis, and I expressed optimism that we had the tools necessary to stabilize the system.

Today, financial conditions are considerably better than they were then, but significant economic challenges remain. The flow of credit remains constrained, economic activity weak, and unemployment much too high. Future setbacks are possible. Nevertheless, I think it is fair to say that policymakers' forceful actions last fall, and others that followed, were instrumental in bringing our financial ...


Top 10 News Items 11/02-11/06: Unemployment Rate Now Over 10%, Fed to Keep Rates 'Exceptionally Low' for 'Extended Period', Buffett Does the Biggest Deal of His Life Nov 6, 2009 04:35PM

Here is a list of the top news items from this week on Wall Street:

1. The unemployment rate rose over 10% this week, marking the first time since 1983. Data from the labor department showed that employers cut another 190,000 jobs last month, pushing the rate of unemployment up from Septembers 9.8%. Although economists had been expecting the unemployment rate to drop to just 9.9%, shares rose sharply on Thursday, closing above the heavily-watched 10,000 level.

2. The Fed held its key interest rates at the 0-0.25% range this week. As this had been expected by traders, the real speculation was related to the language used in the FOMC statement: to keep rates "exceptionally low" for an "extended period".

3 ...


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Nov 5, 2009 07:30AM Bankrate: Mortgage Rates Hold Steady
Nov 4, 2009 02:26PM Gold Ticks Higher On FOMC News (GLD)
Nov 4, 2009 02:22PM FOMC Statement for 11/04: Fed to Keep Rates 'Exceptionally Low' for 'Extended Period'
Nov 4, 2009 01:51PM CBOE Volatility Index NASDAQ 100-VXN down 1.30 to 27.58 into FOMC
Nov 3, 2009 01:42PM Trading Radar for 11/04: Cisco (CSCO), Comcast (CMCSA), Tyco (TEL), Molson Coors (TAP) Report
Oct 28, 2009 05:33PM Capstead Mortgage Corporation Announces Third Quarter 2009 Earnings
Oct 28, 2009 03:05PM NY Fed Adviser:Good Chance FOMC May Change Rate Language Next Wk - Dow Jones
Oct 23, 2009 06:35PM Guaranty Bancorp Announces 2009 Third Quarter Financial Results
Oct 22, 2009 02:00PM Unity Bancorp Reports Third Quarter and Nine Month Results
Oct 22, 2009 01:01PM Union Bankshares Corporation Reports Earnings
Oct 22, 2009 09:15AM American River Bankshares Reports Third Quarter 2009 Financial Results
Oct 21, 2009 02:06PM Fed's Beige Book from Oct. 21
Oct 21, 2009 08:00AM Hudson City Bancorp, Inc. Reports Record Quarterly Earnings of $135.1 Million
Oct 20, 2009 08:00PM Flushing Financial Corporation Reports 2009 Third Quarter Earnings Increase of 65% to $0.33 Per Diluted Common Share; Core Earnings Increase of 3.7% to $0.28 Per Diluted Common Share
Oct 20, 2009 05:29PM Federal Reserve Accountability Act An Unacceptable Compromise
Oct 20, 2009 03:28PM Penns Woods Bancorp, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2009 Earnings
Oct 15, 2009 04:55PM Moving From Recession to Recovery: What Can We Really Expect?
Oct 14, 2009 02:23PM Highlights from FOMC Minutes: Fed Members Concerned About Economic Outlook Without Gov't Aid
Oct 14, 2009 02:02PM FOMC Minutes September 22-23
Oct 14, 2009 07:18AM A New Term To Reckon With
Oct 13, 2009 03:26PM Trading Radar for 10/14: JPMorgan (JPM), Abbott Labs (ABT), Host Hotels (HST), Grainger (GWW) Report; Import/Export Prices, Retail Sales, FOMC Minutes
Oct 13, 2009 01:49PM Fed's Kohn Speaks to NABE on Economic Outlook
Oct 9, 2009 05:25PM Annaly Capital Management Announces Monthly Commentary for September
Oct 1, 2009 09:33AM David Moenning's Daily State of the Markets: Mixed Emotions
Sep 30, 2009 12:40PM Fed's Kohn At the Cato Institute's Shadow Open Market Committee Meeting
Sep 25, 2009 04:15PM Top 10 News Items 9/21-9/25: IPO's Everywhere!, Equity Offerings En Fuego, RIM Falls Sharply as Earnings Disappoint
Sep 25, 2009 02:00PM Fed Governor Warsh Pens Op-Ed in WSJ: Regulators Will Need Aggressive Actions to Reverse Policies
Sep 25, 2009 01:59PM St. Louis Fed's Bullard Calls for the Development of Quantitative Rules for U.S. Monetary Policy That Could Be Implemented in the Current Environment
Sep 24, 2009 09:13AM David Moenning's Daily State of the Markets: It's Almost Official
Sep 23, 2009 03:12PM Federal Reserve Statement Regarding Purchases of Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities and Agency Debt
Sep 23, 2009 02:35PM CBOE Volatility Index NASDAQ 100-VXN down 69c to 23.39; FOMC leaves discount rate unchanged at 0.5%
Sep 23, 2009 02:20PM FOMC Statement for Sept. 23: Sees Rates 'Exceptionally Low' for 'Extended Period'
Sep 23, 2009 01:52PM CBOE Volatility Index NASDAQ 100-VXN down 47c to 23.61 into FOMC policy and rate decision.
Sep 23, 2009 09:30AM Federal Reserve Admits Hiding Gold Swap Arrangements, GATA Says
Sep 22, 2009 03:16PM Trading Radar for 9/23: General Mills (GIS), AutoZone (AZO), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), Paychex (PAYX), Copart (CPRT), Cintas (CTAS) Report; Crude Inventories, Fed Rate Decision Due
Sep 16, 2009 10:23AM Rumors Swirling Some Fed Members Support Rate Hikes
Sep 2, 2009 02:01PM FOMC Minutes August 11-12, 2009
Sep 1, 2009 02:38PM Trading Radar for 9/2: Joy Global (JOYG), Hovnanian (HOV), Oxford Industries (OXM), Collective Brands (PSS) Report; ADP Employment, Nonfarm Productivity, Factory Orders Due
Aug 13, 2009 09:50AM David Moenning’s Daily State of the Markets: Popular Press Pet Peeves
Aug 12, 2009 02:17PM Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged
Aug 12, 2009 02:17PM FOMC Maintains 0%-0.25% Rate; Leaves Amount of Treasuries Purchase Planned at $300B
Aug 11, 2009 02:31PM Trading Radar for 8/12: BHP Billiton (BHP), Macy's (M), Toll Brothers (TOL), Kinross Gold (KGC), Advance Auto Parts (AAP), LDK Solar (LDK) Report; Trade Balance, Crude Inventories, FOMC Rate Decision
Aug 11, 2009 09:34AM David Moenning's Daily State of the Markets: Seasonal Swoon Ahead?
Aug 4, 2009 12:49PM BGB Securities Initiates Coverage on American Capital Agency (AGNC); Portfolio Repositioned With Room For Improvement
Aug 4, 2009 09:53AM FBR Capital Reiterates an 'Outperform' on Hatteras Financial (HTS); Raises Price Target & Estimates
Aug 4, 2009 09:40AM FBR Capital Reiterates an 'Outperform' on Annaly Capital Management (NLY); Raises Price Target
Jul 21, 2009 10:03AM Bernanke's Testimony on Semiannual Monetary Policy Report
Jul 21, 2009 09:23AM Bernanke On 'The Fed's Exit Strategy'
Jul 17, 2009 05:25PM Top 10 News Items 7/13-7/17: Bank Earnings Surprising to the Upside; Tech Earnings Just Behind; 'When Bears Turn Bull' Lifts Stocks
Jul 15, 2009 05:11PM Signs Of Recovery Boost Stocks 3%
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