Filed under: Economy If the credit crisis is over — and it most certainly is as measured by tighter credit spreads — why aren’t banks making loans to the people who need them most, American taxpayers? You don’t have to be the chairman of the Federal Reserve to know that banks are behaving worse than Scrooge when it comes to extending credit to small businesses and consumers. Ben Bernanke admitted as much in a recent speech , which is perplexing since a zero-interest-rate policy (ZIRP) is supposed to stimulate economic growth, most of which is generated by those very same small businesses and consumers. Continue reading Need a loan? Why the banks (and Fed) are saying ‘Scrooge you’ Need a loan? Why the banks (and Fed) are saying ‘Scrooge you’ originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Need a loan? Why the banks (and Fed) are saying ‘Scrooge you’

Filed under: Economy , Investing The Federal Reserve has been dragooned into all sorts of extraordinary extracurricular activities in the past year (buying up long-dated Treasurys, anyone?), so it’s easy to forget that the central bank has only two mandates: maintain stable prices and promote maximum employment. Too bad those goals are very much at odds these days. Keep rates low, and the Fed just might put folks back to work sooner rather than later, fulfilling its mandate on the jobs front. But keep rates too low for too long, and the Fed risks sparking inflation, thus failing in its mandate for stable prices. Continue reading Should the Fed raise interest rates? Should the Fed raise interest rates? originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Should the Fed raise interest rates?

Filed under: People On Friday, Bob Stupak, Las Vegas visionary, promoter, and lifelong gambler, died of leukemia. He was 67. A native of Pittsburgh, Stupak became a permanent resident of Las Vegas in 1971 and, in 1996, then-mayor Jan Jones gave him the official name “Mr. Las Vegas,” evidently ignoring Wayne Newton’s claim on the moniker. However, comparisons to Newton aside, “Mr. Las Vegas” wasn’t Stupak’s only nickname: the self-proclaimed “Polish Maverick” made a living out of capturing the interest (and dollars) of his adopted city’s many tourists. Continue reading Bob Stupak, Mr. Las Vegas, dies at 67 Bob Stupak, Mr. Las Vegas, dies at 67 originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Bob Stupak, Mr. Las Vegas, dies at 67