The Latest Debt & Finance Blog

17 Days to Fiscal Cliff: Lawmakers Head Home for the Weekend

By Bill Fay | December 14, 2012

The fiscal cliff debate will be going on some place this weekend, but Capitol Hill isn’t one of them. With a little more than two weeks remaining before mandatory spending…

Bernanke: Interest Rates to Remain Low for Up to Three Years

By Bill Fay | December 13, 2012

The Federal Reserve vowed this week to keep interest rates near zero until national unemployment falls to the pre-recession levels, which could take up to three years. The main interest…

The War on Labor Unions – Part 2

By Bill Fay | December 13, 2012

In Part 1, the War on Labor Unions was exposed as a premeditated political attack on middle-class working men and women, cynically camouflaged as some sort of protection of the…

Study: LGBT Americans Better at Earning & Saving

By Katherine Pilnick | December 12, 2012

Gay Americans deserve a pat on the back, and not just for continuing to overcome added hardships and prejudices. Members of the LGBT community are also significantly better at managing…

Amid Scandals and Fee Hikes, Most Americans Dissatisfied with Banks

By Bill Fay | December 12, 2012

After a year filled with negative banking news from around the world — from deceptive practices, outrageously high fees, class-action suits and money laundering scandals — Americans are beginning to…

The War on Labor Unions – Part 1

By Bill Fay | December 12, 2012

There are hot wars, and there are cold wars. There are good wars (the War on Poverty), unwise wars (the War on Drugs), unnecessary wars (Iraq) and endless wars (the…

Report: Growing Middle Class Expected to Boost Global Economy

By Bill Fay | December 12, 2012

The world’s middle-class population will triple in the next 20 years, bringing with it unprecedented buying power that will be a boon to the global economy, but also an appetite…

Analysts: It Could Be a Banner Year for Holiday Spending, Employment

By Bill Fay | December 11, 2012

With the holiday spending season in full swing, market analysts say this could be a banner year for sales, employment and holiday parties. Seasonal hiring is quickly approaching a record…

Baby Boomers Better Prepared for Retirement than Previous Generations

By Bill Fay | December 11, 2012

A new report says that most baby boomers have successfully stuffed enough pennies into the piggy banks – and dollars into the 401(k) plans – to retain their status as…

Obama-Boehner Meeting Sparks Optimism on ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Deal

By Bill Fay | December 10, 2012

President Obama took his debt-reduction campaign to Michigan on Monday, amid cautious signs that progress is being made on avoiding the “fiscal cliff.” Obama and Republican Speaker of the House…

Sources:

  1. Montgomer, L. and Kan, P. (2012, December 13). Obama, Boehner meet on ‘fiscal cliff,’ but no deal is reached. The Washington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-republicans-dig-in-on-fiscal-cliff-talks/2012/12/13/019a212e-4537-11e2-8061-253bccfc7532_story_1.html
  2. Weisman, J. and Calmes, J. (2012, December 13). With Gap Wide and Time Short, Obama and Boehner Meet. The New York Times.
  3. Taylor, A. and Kuhnhenn, J. (2012, December 14). Fiscal cliff: Obama, Boehner speak frankly. The Associated Press. Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/1214/Fiscal-cliff-Obama-Boehner-speak-frankly-video