Iris Mack's Blog - Federal Reserve

Federal Reserve Hacked by ANONYMOUS

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:11:00 --0100

The US Federal Reserve bank has confirmed one of its internal websites was broken into by hackers after the hacktivist group Anonymous was claimed to have stolen details of more than 4,000 bank executives. Please read more here.

Marketplace Economy: Federal Reserve Turns $90 Billion Profit

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:35:00 --0100

While leaders in Washington stare down the fiscal cliff, let's not forget the fiscal fact that brought us to the edge: The annual U.S. government deficit of more than a trillion dollars. But through it all, one government-related entity has been hauling in record surpluses. Please read more here.

Federal Reserve: American's Wealth Fell 40% From 2007 to 2010

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 12:44:00 --0100

The average American family lost 38.8 percent of its wealth from 2007 to 2010, with the biggest losses concentrated among households with the most assets tied to their homes, a Federal Reserve study shows.

Call for Jamie Dimon to Step Down From the N.Y. Fed

Thu, 31 May 2012 13:42:00 --0100

Simon Johnson writes on the New York Times Economix blog that more than 32,000 people signed a petition he drafted calling for JPMorgan Chase's chief executive to step down from the board of the New York Fed.

GARP: Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke Defends Bank Bailouts

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:38:00 --0100

Helicopter Ben Bernanke still trying to convince us that it was a good idea to use taxpayers' money to prop up an insolvent financial system.

Bloomberg: Why Are the Fed and SEC Keeping Wall Street?s Secrets?

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:27:00 --0100

Getting what should be public information about major Wall Street firms can be maddeningly difficult. Bloomberg News journalist WIlliam D. Cohan discovered this in his efforts to get information on the $1.2 trillion in ?secret loans? the Fed doled out during the financial crisis. Please read more here.

"Quantitative Easing" for Dummies (video)

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:56:00 --0100

This is what helicopter Ben Bernanke is doing at the Federal Reserve!

Wall Street Journal: Federal Reserve Writes Sweeping Rules From Behind Closed Doors

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:47:00 --0100

While many Americans may not realize it, the Fed has taken on a much larger regulatory role than at any time in history. Since the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul became law in July 2010, the Fed has held 47 separate votes on financial regulations, and scores more are coming. In the process it is reshaping the U.S. financial industry by directing banks on how much capital they must hold, what kind of trading they can engage in and what kind of fees they can charge retailers on debit-card transactions. The Fed is making these sweeping changes--the most dramatic since the Great Depression--almost completely without public meetings.

"Kill the Fed" by Eric Heyl

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:38:00 --0100

John Allison is the former chairman and CEO of BB&T, the nation's 10th-largest financial holding company. He was named one of the 100 most successful CEOs by the Harvard Business Review and since 2009 has been on the Wake Forest University Schools of Business faculty as Distinguished Professor of Practice. Allison spoke to the PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW about the Federal Reserve Board's detrimental effect on the nation's slow recovery from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Please read more here.

Federal Reserve Expects Low Rates Through 2014 (video)

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:35:00 --0100

Federal Reserve officials Wednesday said they expect short-term interest rates to stay close to zero through late 2014, longer than previously indicated, as they signaled dissatisfaction with the recovery and confidence that inflation is slowing.

Fed Chairman Bernanke Showed No Concern When Home Prices Nosedived

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:17:00 --0100

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and most of his colleagues showed little concern when house prices started to decline in 2006, predicting ?a soft landing? in the then-strong U.S. economy, transcripts from the central bank released Thursday show. Please read more here.

Wall Street Journal/CNBC: Central Banks' Money Printing Pushes DJIA Up 487+ Points (videos)

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:08:00 --0100

Stock markets soared after the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks unexpectedly announced a plan to make it cheaper for banks around the world to borrow U.S. dollars.

Bloomberg: Secret Federal Reserve Loans of $7.77 Trillion to Banks

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:00:00 --0100

The amount of money the central bank parceled out was surprising even to Gary H. Stern, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis from 1985 to 2009, who says he ?wasn?t aware of the magnitude.? It dwarfed the Treasury Department?s better-known $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Add up guarantees and lending limits, and the Fed had committed $7.77 trillion as of March 2009 to rescuing the financial system, more than half the value of everything produced in the U.S. that year. Please read more here.

Marine Corps Times: Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke Meets With Military?

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:16:00 --0100

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday tried to reassure troops, a group hit hard by high unemployment, that the Fed is working to strengthen the economy. In a speech at Fort Bliss, Texas, Bernanke told the soldiers and their families that the Fed is trying to lower unemployment. He talked about the Fed?s policies of keeping short-term rates near zero and buying securities to try and lower longer-term rates, such as mortgages. Many veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are returning home to find few jobs and limited prospects. The unemployment rate for veterans of those wars was 12.1 percent in October. That?s up from 10.6 percent a year ago and well above the national average of 9 percent. Please read more here.

Trading Report: 14 Reasons Why U.S. Should Nationalize The Federal Reserve

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:37:00 --0100

Right now, most Americans believe that the Federal Reserve is actually an agency of the federal government. But that is simply not the case. The truth is that the Federal Reserve is about as ?federal? as Federal Express is. The Federal Reserve openly admits as much. For example, in defending itself against a Bloomberg request for information under the Freedom of Information Act, the Federal Reserve stated in court that it was ?not an agency? of the U.S. government and therefore not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. So who owns the Federal Reserve? Please read more here.