Posted on 07/31/2019 12:23:04 PM PDT by Innovative
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered interest rates for the first time since the Great Recession in 2008 to help stave off the possibility of an economic downturn.
Policymakers led by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell voted 8-2 in favor of a small cut in the federal funds rate, and recommitted to their promise to "act as appropriate" to sustain the country's longest economic expansion in history.
Interest rates, which affect the cost of borrowing for credit cards and mortgages, are now set to hover between 2% and 2.25%.
The rate cut follows months of pressure from President Donald Trump, who has broken with his predecessors' practice of walling off the central bank from politics.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
That bit about the POTUS not influencing the Fed is a bit of BS. Trump maybe is the first to be so publicly vocal, but if say the Fed decided to ratchet rates up 4% under Obama, do they really believe Obama would have stayed out of it?
It would be better news if they had simply left interest rates alone in the autumn of last year. But they had a mid term election they just had to influence.
Trump has been very forthright to the Fed leadership that he recognized their attempts to slow the economy by raising rates when it was really heating up and attempting to slow the expansion and pay off the Central Banks they answer to.
Blood is in the water, the Fed is on a short leash
That is all
Here is the first paragraph from the StarTribune:
“ The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for the first time in a decade to try to counter threats ranging from uncertainties caused by President Donald Trump’s trade wars to chronically low inflation and a dim global outlook”
Then again I can remember the neighborhood bank paying 4 % on a passbook savings account.
It would be better news if they had simply left interest rates alone in the autumn of last year.
...
You’re right. But the best method would be to let the market set the rate.
The rate is still above what the market would charge after today’s cut.
Trump is setting up the economy for expansion going into the elections. Then, after the election, when the Fed starts raising rates again (Trump will not object), the market will tank. Trump will blame the Fed, and successfully call for a Fed audit with the goal of disbanding the Fed altogether.
|Obama could have shot his mouth off all he wanted and the Fed would have done what the Fed would have done. It's not one person's decision. It's a decision by up to 12 members of the FOMC.
Great news for homeowners. You can refinance your house to a lower interest rate. We usually refi every time 1.0% or more is lower due to closing costs. I.e. We are at 3.875% now and will refi again at 2.875% if it gets that low.
A race to the bottom is how the WSJ opinion page editors call it.
Inflation is low, not high, so IT - inflation - is not creating any bubbles, so the Fed is going to try to create one itself.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-race-to-the-bottom-standard-11564529532
Great news for a new housing bubble, which has already been brewing in some housing markets.
Foolish.
rwood
I say end it. It’s a private bank.
The Fed is a political machine in itself. Only a Democrat can enjoy interest rates set at -0- for many years with no threat of moving up.
The Dow reacted with a 334 point dive.
Inflation is high when you consider the quality of goods and services purchases 10 or 20 years ago versus today. The published inflation rates do not measure the decline in quality.
The sooner the better, I know Big Don has this on the agenda and it cuts the strings to the Banking cabal
Less than market?
Who would lend their own money at less than 2% ?
NOBODY.
Trump wasn’t the first President to be publicly vocal with the Fed. The Fed and the presidency has a long history of strife. It was a President who closed down the Fed and it was President who brought back the Fed. As Bill Cosby said, “I brought you into this world and I can take you out.” The Fed can be removed. Or do people believe they are too strong to not be taken out of this world?
The Fed gave rise to the IMF and World Bank to which the world economy is now in a Central Bank model. Get rid of the Central Banks (the Fed, the IMF etc.) and the world economy would plummet for a while but then rise to be much stronger than before. The IMF and World Bank are nothing but socialist institutions anyhow.
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