The Federal Reserve

Steve Bartlett sees the Fed Stress test as an all-around success, showing that the nations biggest banks are far better capitalized, and with much less risk than three years ago. However, while the Dodd Frank Act has brought forth some needed reform, it also contains some excesses that will need...

Former Federal Reserve governor Lawrence Meyer thinks today's Fed meeting will have nothing of value to offer where the market interest is the highest: policy. "The Fed will have to be cautious about upgrading. It will have to acklowledge that the labor markets have improved. It will have to...

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke heads back to Capitol Hill this AM amid a bullish market that saw indices regain a lot of lost ground since the crisis began in 2008. The chairman is likely to face a wide array of questions, from concerns over the overly accommodating monetary policy to that...

Investors were energized this morning on a jobs report that blew consensus estimates out of the water. Markets had braced for potentially bad news on expectation of employment corrections on the heels of the holiday season - and the temporary jobs it was thought to have brought. Will the stronger...

Hopes of a sustained growth to the US economy cooled somewhat as consumer confidence showed an abrupt decline this morning. Instead of a 68.0 reading predicted by FactSet-surveyed economicts, the Conference Board showed the Consumer Confidence Index standing at 61.1. The index is based on a base...

If you own iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) or ETFS Silver Trust (NYSE: SIVR), or have thought about investing in SLV or SIVR, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke made two important announcements during a press conference Wednesday that should boost your confidence in the volatile ETFs. 1....

Forget greed. Fear and survival instincts control Wall Street and world markets at the moment. Markets have gone over a waterfall and have sent investors tumbling down, wiping out gains from the past year. Investors keep waiting for the splash but it hasn't come yet. And it won't come until greed...

Forget greed. Fear and survival instincts control Wall Street and world markets at the moment. Markets have gone over a waterfall and have sent investors tumbling down, wiping out gains from the past year. Investors keep waiting for the splash but it hasn't come yet. And it won't come until greed...

Everyday, it seems as though people are worrying about the inflation rate. A recent rise in the rate of core inflation has left some in the U.S. fretting. Increases in the prices of gasoline and food may have hit the wallets of U.S. consumers hard. Yet, comparatively speaking, the current rate of...

On Thursday, the International Energy Agency announced that it would release 60 million barrels of oil into the market. Oil futures spiked lower following the news. WTI Crude fell nearly 5% to approach $90 per barrel. While the release may have caught traders off guard, the U.S. consumes roughly...

Following Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke held a press conference. During the press conference, Bernanke reiterated the FOMC's view that economic growth was slower than anticipated. When asked why, Bernanke stated that the FOMC had “no...