Well, the big bad news hit Wednesday with the Federal Reserve raising its overnight interest rate by half a percentage point, a move not seen in 22 years, and of course, that was followed by the Dow dropping over 1,000 points yesterday. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced at the beginning of this week…
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What a time to be in business. As the pandemic recedes and we emerge from the past two years of COVID, many are looking for silver linings in the economic cloud. The job market is robust, the unemployment rate has fallen close to pre-pandemic levels at 3.6 percent, wages are rising and consumer spending is…
Read More »It has long been debated what effect mandatory minimum wages have on the labor force at large, the creation of new jobs and the benefits afforded minimum wage employees. Well, the ongoing labor shortage notwithstanding, there were a couple of new reports released recently that shed additional light on those questions. First, the Federal Reserve…
Read More »In the hope of making its Main Streets Lending Program more attractive – and more useful – to small businesses suffering through the coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Reserve has again changed the eligibility criteria. The new minimum loan size to participate in the program has been reduced to $100,000. Initially, the Main Street program was…
Read More »At long last, the Federal Reserve has officially opened its Main Street Lending Program this week, inviting lender to register for the program so they can begin loaning immediately. The program, which has been in the works and on the drawing board since early April, not long after the coronavirus pandemic caused the economic shutdown…
Read More »Although it initially announced the program back in early April, the Fed is still preparing for an official launch of its Main Street Lending Program, through which it will purchase some $600 billion in loans from eligible lenders. The program funds come from the Coronavirus Aid and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), signed into law…
Read More »There’s good and bad news in the Federal Reserve System’s economic projections released this week with the Fed Chairman projecting short-term interest rates to climb, but not by nearly as much or as quickly as originally expected. Fed Chairman Janet Yellen earlier this week stated that she thought increases to the rate would happen and…
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