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Tag Archives: Federal Reserve

Fed Sheds Last of AIG Securities at $6.6B Profit

Fed

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced an important milestone Thursday ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô the final sale of its remaining securities from the 2008 AIG bailout. The final sales from Maiden Lane III, one of the struggling mortgage-related portfolios the Fed usurped in 2008, brought the Fed├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós total profit from AIG securities to $6.6 billion. The Fed has been shedding its AIG securities since early this year with the sale of its final Maiden Lane II securities in February, followed by sales of some Maiden Lane III securities in June.

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Banks Ease Lending Terms to Meet Mortgage Demand

Commercial banks eased standards for residential mortgage loans to meet a sharp increase in demand in the second quarter, the Federal Reserve reported Monday in its quarterly survey of bank lending standards. According to the quarterly survey, a net 52.5 percent of bank officers responding to the Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey reported increased demand for traditional mortgage loans in the second quarter compared with a net 30.2 percent reporting stronger demand in the first quarter.

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Federal Open Market Committee Holds Off on Any Stimulus

Fed

Acknowledging economic activity decelerated somewhat over the first half of this year and growth in employment has been slow in recent months, the Federal Open Market Committee nonetheless decided Wednesday to take no new actions to stimulate growth. Concluding a two-day meeting the FOMC instead said it would maintain its low interest rate policy and continue previously announced programs to reinvest proceeds of maturing Treasury securities it already holds and extend the average maturity of its portfolio.

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Fed: U.S. Economy Faces Headwinds Far and Near

Speaking before Congress Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted a slow and fragile economic recovery in the United States, one that is vulnerable to financial markets abroad as well as fiscal policy at home. Amid the uncertain economic atmosphere, the Federal Reserve will continue its maturity extension program through the end of this year. The program calls for the Fed to purchase short-term Treasury securities and long-term Treasury securities of equal amounts. Bernanke said that the housing market reveals modest recovery.

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Beige Book Finds ‘Modest to Moderate’ Progress for Economy

Fed

The U.S. economy continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace in June and early July the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in its periodic Beige Book. The national summary, based on reports from each of the 12 Federal Reserve districts, noted "modest growth" in the Atlanta, St. Louis, and San Francisco districts, while the Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Dallas districts said economic activity was "advancing moderately." All district housing market reports, the Beige Book said, were "largely positive."

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Bank, Groups Go After CFPB to Declare It Unconstitutional

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau faces a new legal challenge as a Texas community bank and two conservative groups launch a lawsuit to undo it and the financial reform law that created it two years ago. The Big Spring, Texas-based State National Bank recently paired with the Competitive Enterprise Institute and 60 Plus Association to sue the embattled consumer bureau in federal court. The suit challenges the constitutionality of the CFPB and Dodd-Frank Act, as well as Richard Cordray's appointment.

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Cleveland Fed to Host 10th Annual Policy Summit

Fed

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is preparing to kick off its 10th Annual Policy Summit on June 28, and this yeaR's two-day event will focus on methods for strengthening and rebuilding communities. In an official statement, the Cleveland Fed called the summit a chance to target effective strategies for economic development in our communities, with a particular emphasis on measurement." In an official statement, the Cleveland Fed called the summit a chance to target "effective strategies for economic development in our communities, with a particular emphasis on measurement."

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FOMC Moves Modestly to Boost Economy

Fed

With a lone dissent, the Federal Open Market Committee Wednesday voted no change in the target federal funds rate but agreed to expand its program to stimulate the economy by purchasing Treasury securities. The action is expected to keep mortgage rates at record lows. After the meeting, the FOMC released its quarterly forecast of the economy and interest rates with more members of the Committee seeing higher rates in 2014 than in the prior forecast. The FOMC said "growth in employment has slowed in recent months and the unemployment rate has declined but remains elevated."

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Fed: Residential Real Estate Continues to See Growth

The economy expanded at a modest to moderate pace from early April to the end of May the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday in its periodic Beige Book. The assessment reflected a weakening from the report in April when the expansion was characterized as moderate. Activity in the New York, Cleveland, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco Districts was described as moderate, while the Richmond, St. Louis, and Minneapolis Districts noted modest growth. Boston reported steady growth, and the Philadelphia District indicated that the pace of expansion had slowed slightly.

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In Housing Finance Proposals, Treasury Finds Questions, Not Answers

More than a year after releasing a white paper that set forth three options for housing finance reform, Treasury and HUD struggle to determine the best path forward for America's housing finance system. Speaking before an audience at a meeting of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, Counselor to the Treasury Secretary for Housing Finance Michael Stegman explained that rather than answering the broader question of what the future of housing should look like, each proposal seems to ignite a slew of additional critical questions.

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