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EconNews Online is South-Western's service to provide summaries of the latest economics news stories. Review the brief summaries and, for stories of interest, select the full summary. |
| MONEY AND THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM | |
| Title | Brief Summary |
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The Federal Reserve can directly control
short-term interest rates, but has only indirect control over long-term
rates, which are determined by financial markets. The Fed continues to keep
short-term rates at an all-time low by continuing to target the Federal
Funds Rate at 1%, but long-term rates have continued to rise, raising the
fear that mortgage rates will increase sufficiently to slow housing starts
and derail the otherwise improving economy. (Updated October 1, 2003) |
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The American $20 bill is the most
counterfeited bill inside the United States, and the $100 bill is the most
counterfeited outside the US. It is hoped the redesigned bills will curtail
counterfeiting worldwide. (Updated June 2, 2003) |
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Over the past 20 years, gold as an
investment has performed poorly in comparison with stocks. However, whenever
the economy has been beset with problems, gold prices have risen. (Updated April 4, 2003) |
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The U. S. government
finances its debt largely by issuing bonds called Treasuries. Among other
things, they provide a financial haven for investors in times of financial
turmoil. If the government uses its projected budget surplus to pay off
the U.S. debt, the Treasury securities market may disappear. (Updated March 1, 2001) |
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Despite an economic
expansion that has lasted longer than any other in the post World-War II
era, all is not well in the business sector. Total defaulted debt in the
U.S. for the first half of 2000 amounted to $15 billion. At this rate, the
year 2000 could break last year's record of $23.5 billion in defaulted debt.
(Updated September 1, 2000) |
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According to last quarter's
data, the U.S. economy is growing at 6 percent while Asian, Latin American
and European economies continue to stagnate and contract. The continued
strength of the U.S. economy is propping up the global economy, and the
apparent conclusion is that global economic health is dependent on the continued
strength of Wall Street. (Updated April 1, 1998) |
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Bad loans, defaults,
bank failures: the 1980s were full of headlines describing a banking crisis
that ended up costing the American taxpayer billions of dollars. Could it
happen again? (Updated September 1, 1998) |
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Is cash on the way
out? This question has been raised many times before - with the introduction
of credit cards, followed by the introduction of debit cards. But now comes
the latest challenge - the electronic cash card. (Updated January 15, 1998) |
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