Free Republic

The Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark short-term interest rate a quarter percentage point Wednesday and indicated that two more increases are likely in store ahead. The move pushes the funds rate target to 1.75 percent to 2 percent. The rate is closely tied to consumer debt, particularly credit cards, home equity lines of credit and other adjustable-rate instruments. In an unusually terse statement that ran just 320 words, the Federal Open Market Committee changed multiple phrases from its previous missives, pointing to a more optimistic view on economic growth and higher inflation expectations.

FULL TITLE: Teen Kicked out Graduation for Only Pants He Can Afford. Three Minutes Until Start, Sees Stranger Outside Leroy Solis Jr. walked across the stage at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas to receive his high school diploma. He looked like many of the young men graduating from MacArthur High School that day. He wore a blue cap and gown along with dress pants, a dress shirt, and a tie. Solis Jr. did not stand out from the crowd of graduates. However, the reason he was actually able to walk across the stage during graduation stands out as...

“How did Harry Reid get so wealthy on a public servant’s income?”

I spent a good chunk of the 1990s writing mutual fund advertising, so much of it that the required caveats and footnotes still trip off the fingers: "Past performance is no guarantee of future results." "The Fund is offered only by prospectus. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money." Financial services advertising, you see, is ringed about by careful regulation. You can't cherry pick and show off only one good year. You can't make false comparisons. And so forth. One home truth came through that long experience, and I share it here with doubters and fear-mongers who...

Hinting of a cover-up, City Attorney Michael Aguirre said yesterday that he is investigating whether Mayor Dick Murphy knew about the deteriorating state of San Diego's pension system three years ago but kept it quiet. Aguirre, speaking at a downtown news conference, said a 2002 report by Murphy's Blue Ribbon Committee on City Finances failed to disclose deepening troubles with the $3.2 billion San Diego City Employees Retirement System, which today has a $1.2 billion deficit. Aguirre's news conference didn't live up to its billing – a report on "possible abuse, fraud and illegal acts" by city officials – but...

OLD JOESen. Joe Lieberman has already turned down two jobs offered by President Bush, so why not go for a trifecta? Lieberman again tops a list of folks being considered for head of the new national intelligence directorate, a job that Lieberman might actually have to seriously consider. He smartly turned down the Homeland Security chief job, and the U.N. ambassadorship just wasn't big enough for him, even if he would have been given an opportunity to work on the Middle East peace process a bit. But Lieberman did take on a large role in shaping the national intelligence legislation,...

Elderly tell Stabenow about their struggle to cope with drug costs Tuesday, July 23, 2002By Sarah Kellogg and Kyla KingThe Grand Rapids Press It wasn't too long ago that Willie Price didn't know from month to month how he would pay for the handful of medications that keep him feeling well. Price, a 69-year-old retiree, paid prescription drug costs as high as $700 a month until a local agency helped him enroll in assistance programs. And it still is a struggle for Grand Rapids resident Shirley Malone, who has to decide each month whether she will buy the groceries she...