Fed forecasts inflation, unemployment

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

Fed forecasts inflation, unemployment By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer
31 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered its projection for economic growth this year, citing damage from the double blows of a housing slump and credit crunch. It said it also expects higher unemployment and inflation.

The updated forecasts come amid worry by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues that the economy could continue to weaken, even after their aggressive interest rate cuts in January, according to minutes of those private deliberations released Wednesday.

"With no signs of stabilization in the housing sector and with financial conditions not yet stabilized, the committee agreed that downside risks to growth would remain even after this action," minutes of the Fed's Jan. 29-30 closed door meeting showed.

The Fed at that session voted to cut a key interest rate by one-half percentage point to 3 percent at that meeting. Just eight day earlier, the Fed, in an emergency session, slashed its rate by a rare three-quarters percentage point. The two rate cuts together marked the most dramatic rate reductions in a single month by the Fed in a quarter century.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080220/ap_on_bi_ge/fed_economy

[rurallib]

1. bout a year late.

[LiberalEsto]

2. Their ouija boards

were out of order

[gateley]

3. Wow - I had no idea.... nt

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. 2009 is going to be a bad year in many respects no matter who's in office

It's going to be a rough ride for the average American. It's times like this when I want to tell bush supporters, "I told you so, but did you listen?"

[SpiralHawk]

5. "Expect lots more of this shit while the corrupt republicons are running the show." - Fed

[CountAllVotes]

6. no more 30-year I-bonds are being sold

now we know why!

The claim for doing this was that most people buy only $5,000.00 of them at a time, not the $30,000.00 limit that was in place.

Buying I-bonds now is a bad idea as they are paying 1.2% bottom line and you must hold them for 1 year before you can cash them.

In other words, the Treasury does not want you buying inflation bonds. Now we know why! I suspect inflation is going to go straight through the roof. Holders of older I-bonds will have themselves a very nice investment .

Get used to the worst possible situation: something known as STAGFLATION.

:dem: :kick:

[Kolesar]

8. Now, unlike the late 1970s, half the world's economy is overseas

I believe that we are are going to see an inflationary trend in the USA, but a more muted effect in other economies. All of which makes a good reason to invest in global equities, bonds, currency, whatever. Maybe commodities/metals or precious metals, but I don't know metals investing very well.

[Karenina]

7. Oh?

:boring: