We knew it was coming, but we didn’t know when. Now we know. After the stock market closed today in New York, the Federal Reserve announced it was raising its discount rate to 0.75% from 0.50%. This is the rate that the Fed charges on short-term loans to banks. Think of it as a down payment on the future.
Daily Archives: February 18, 2010
WHERE ARE THE CUSTOMER’S RETURNS?
Fred Schwed’s classic Where Are the Customers’ Yachts: or A Good Hard Look at Wall Street (Wiley Investment Classics)
There are many answers, of course, ranging from high fees to poor decisions to thinking that beating the market is easy. Whatever the reason, it’s no secret that the average investor needs help in earning a decent rate of return on his investments. It all looks easy from the vantage of history, but real-world results tend suggest otherwise.
ANOTHER JUMP IN JOBLESS CLAIMS
It’s still touch and go with weekly jobless claims, and it probably will be for some time. We’re in a transition phase, or so it seems. The question is what will be the outcome? As we write, we’re inclined to think the odds are evenly split between a resumption in the near future of the general decline that’s been in force vs. a change for the worse.