The Federal Reserve reported in its Beige Book on Current Economic Conditions for May 2015 that residential real estate activity and construction has expanded in most districts since the previous Beige Book report in mid-April and that outlooks were "largely positive."
Read More »Fed Survey Finds Increased Optimism for Future Financial Prospects
The survey found that 65 percent of adult respondents said they were either "doing okay" or "living comfortably" as far as their personal finance situation, which represented an increase of 3 percentage points from the survey the previous year. Meanwhile, the percentage of respondents who said they expect their income to be higher in the next year jumped from 21 percent in 2013 to 29 percent in the 2014 survey.
Read More »Former Fed Chair Says Restricting Central Bank’s Lending Power is a ‘Mistake’
Two additional requirements imposed by the Bailout Prevention Act on the Fed's broad-based lending programs are, according to Bernanke: first, requiring a firm's solvency to be certified by the Fed and the supervisors of the firm before receiving any loans; and second, requiring emergency loan interest rates to be at least 5 percentage points higher than the Treasury Department's rate.
Read More »Senators Introduce Bill Limiting Fed’s Lending Authority, Ending ‘Too Big to Fail’
"If big financial institutions know they can get cheap cash from the Fed in a crisis, they have less incentive to manage their risks carefully - which further increases the chance of another financial crisis," Warren said. "This bill would make our financial system safer and help level the playing field between the megabanks and their smaller competitors."
Read More »Report: Senator Drafting Proposal to Reform Federal Reserve
Senator Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) has reportedly included in the draft of the legislation a provision that would make the appointment of the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York subject to Senate approval. Currently, the president of each of the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks is selected by a search committee and subject to approval of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
Read More »Government Agencies Issue Minimum Requirements for State-Run Appraisal Companies
Compliance by states that do have an AMC regulatory body begins one year from the day the new regulations go live, which would put the deadline at the beginning of Q3 2016, according to FHFA. Compliance means adopting minimum registration and supervisory protocols for AMCs, including those that are subsidiaries of federally insured depository institutions.
Read More »Atlanta Fed President Speaks on Monetary Policy Liftoff Decision
In a speech in Florida on Thursday, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Dennis Lockhart discussed what the country's current economic conditions suggest would be the appropriate path for monetary policy to take.
Read More »Fed Reports ‘Steady to Improving’ Residential Real Estate Activity in Most Districts
The districts of Richmond, Chicago, and Dallas reported that residential mortgage demand, particularly in the area of refinancings, grew during the period, while New York reported steady growth. Delinquencies were down or at low levels in New York and Cleveland, while Philadelphia and Kansas City bankers expressed confidence in the quality of their loan portfolios, according to the Fed.
Read More »Fed Accepting Statements of Interest for Community Advisory Council Membership
The Fed plans to fill the 15 seats on the CAC with a diverse group of experts who will represent consumer and community development organizations and interests, according to the announcement. Those organizations and interests will include affordable housing, community and economic development, small business, and asset and wealth building.
Read More »Rate Hike Debate Continues in Federal Open Market Committee
While some policymakers argued that raising interest rates at the end of the fiscal year would help normalize the economy as inflation creeps back to 2 percent, others argued that declines in energy prices and the growing strength of the dollar would curtail inflation and that a later rate hike would make more sense.
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