The Federal Open Market Committee adjourns from its scheduled 2-day meeting today at 2:15 P.M. ET and the markets are eagerly awaiting the central bank’s press release. In it, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to address the U.S. economy, the future of credit, and the new Fed Funds Rate. It’s...

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet this week and announce its new Policy Statement and Interest Rate Decision Wednesday…and will cut the Fed Funds Rate once again. This is no big surprise. Throughout 2008, the Fed has lowered key interest rates in an effort to stimulate the economy – including...

Despite turmoil on Wall Street, the housing sector continues to deliver good news. Last month, led by a 22 percent surge from the West Region, New Home Sales rose 2.7 percent over August. A “new home” is a newly-built residence, never before lived in.  New homes are usually built and sold...

Statistics are what you make of them, but sometimes, they can provide good perspective. For example, from its peak in 2005 to its trough in late-2007, the number of “used” homes sold nationwide plunged. In 2005: Roughly 7 million homes sold annually In 2007: Roughly 5 million homes sold...

According to foreclosure-tracking service RealtyTrac, the foreclosure rate is falling nationwide.  Versus August, foreclosures fell by 12 percent in September 2008 as more than half of the states showed month-over-month improvement.  Most interesting in the data is that several states that led...

In the widest definition possible, amortization (pronounced: am-ohr-tih-ZAY-shun) is the scheduled process by which a loan’s principal balance pays down to $0. The opposite of an amortizing loan is an interest only loan for which there is no scheduled principal repayment schedule. With respect...

(Image courtesy: The New York Times) In an effort to limit risky borrower behavior, Fannie Mae announced a new round of mortgage guideline changes last week.  Unlike previous its previous 20-plus updates that raised income requirements and minimum credit scores (among other changes), Fannie’s...

Given the stock market’s recent performance, it’s not surprising that gasoline’s falling prices are garnering very little attention. That doesn’t make it any less relevant, however. Since peaking in July, gas prices are off by 20 percent. Falling gas prices are an important...

Contrary to what Wall Street economist forecasted pending home sales rose 7.4 percent from July to August.  With the WTF Madness in the World markets, could this be the beacon of light that identifies the manifestation of the invisible hand doing its job. Is this the harbinger of the end, leading the...

USA Today The Federal Reserve made an “emergency rate cut” this morning, dropping the Fed Funds Rate by one half-percent to 1.500 percent. The move is meant to stimulate the U.S. economy. When the Federal Reserve changes the Fed Funds Rate, it often takes 9 months for the changes to work...