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Fed Funds Rate Raised 25 Basis Points to A 4.50% - 4.75% Target, Says It Still Sees Need for “Ongoing Increases” Image Copyright: BestCashCow

Fed Funds Rate Raised 25 Basis Points to A 4.50% - 4.75% Target, Says It Still Sees Need for “Ongoing Increases”

The Federal Reserve has raised the Fed Funds target rate by 25 basis points to a target of 4.50% to 4.75%. Like the Fed’s six moves in 2022, today’s Fed move was very well telegraphed by Chairman Jay Powell. However, unlike... Read →

The Fed is still trying to stimulate the economy, including raising the inflation rate. Could it use a theoretical concept called "surprise inflation" to shock the economy and give it a lift? How would "surprise inflation" impact savers and borrowers?

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What I Still Remember 20 Years After September 11, 2001 Image Copyright: BestCashCow

What I Still Remember 20 Years After September 11, 2001

I was not in New York on 9-11. I was living in London at the time and I was in my office. I remember a woman coming down the hall and saying: “Aren’t you from New York?” and then telling me that the World Trade Center... Read →
Fed Funds Rate Raised 50 Basis Points to A 4.25% - 4.50% Target; 5.10% Is the New Median Target Image Copyright: High Line

Fed Funds Rate Raised 50 Basis Points to A 4.25% - 4.50% Target; 5.10% Is the New Median Target

The Federal Reserve moved to raise the Fed Funds rate by 50 basis points to a target of 4.25% to 4.50%. The move was well telegraphed by the Fed and completely anticipated by the markets. The move follows four consecutive 75 basis point... Read →
Fed Makes Much Anticipated 4th Consecutive 75 Basis Point Move, Bringing Fed Funds Rate to 3.75% to 4.00%, Refines Language Image Copyright: BestCashCow

Fed Makes Much Anticipated 4th Consecutive 75 Basis Point Move, Bringing Fed Funds Rate to 3.75% to 4.00%, Refines Language

The Powell Fed has completed its November meeting with its sixth rate hike of 2022, bringing the Fed Funds rate to almost 4% for the first time in a generation. The Fed still isn’t finished with rate hikes as it moves late to get a... Read →
Maximizing Interest On Savings Remains Important In a Low Rate Environment Image Copyright: BestCashCow

Maximizing Interest On Savings Remains Important In a Low Rate Environment

We’ve seen an incredible fall in interest rates over the last 12 months. Bowing to political pressure, Fed Chair Jerome Powell began cutting interest rates on August 1, 2019 from a target rate of 2.25% to 2.50% and continued... Read →
Federal Reserve Moves Fed Funds Rate to a 3.00% - 3.25% Target Image Copyright: BestCashCow

Federal Reserve Moves Fed Funds Rate to a 3.00% - 3.25% Target

The Federal Reserve has raised the Fed Funds target rate by 75 basis points to a target rate of 3.00% to 3.25%. This is the highest it has been since 2008. The rate represents the third successive 75 basis point rate increase as the... Read →
Is Your Online Bank Giving You Their Best Savings Rate As Savings Rates Increase? Image Copyright: BestCashCow

Is Your Online Bank Giving You Their Best Savings Rate As Savings Rates Increase?

More than a decade ago, when GMAC Bank had just rebranded as Ally Bank, they ran a series of commercials designed to build the Ally brand around integrity of treating their customers equally, and not giving preferential treatment to new... Read →
Democracy is A Winning Idea, but So too is … Image Copyright: BestCashCow

Democracy is A Winning Idea, but So too is …

I was watching Fareed Zakaria’s interview of Bill Clinton this morning on CNN. Fareed threw Clinton a complete softball when he asked him whether the US was responsible for Russia’s behavior and unlawful war against Ukraine... Read →
Warming Slightly to Certificates of Deposit Image Copyright: BestCashCow

Warming Slightly to Certificates of Deposit

I advised readers of BestCashCow.com in April to be especially weary of jumping into CDs with interest rates about to rise. I still believe interest rates have a lot further to rise. Even though oil and gas and other commodity prices... Read →
Fed Funds Rate Raised by 75 bps to a 2.25%-2.50% Target; Savings Rates Should Get Sweeter Image Copyright: BestCashCow

Fed Funds Rate Raised by 75 bps to a 2.25%-2.50% Target; Savings Rates Should Get Sweeter

To absolutely nobody’s surprise, the Federal Reserve has voted unanimously to raise the Fed Funds rate by 75 basis points today, setting a Fed Funds rate target of 2.25% to 2.50%. The move follows a similar 75 basis point increase... Read →
Cash is Trash No More - Federal Reserve Moves Fed Funds Rate Up by 75 Basis Points to A Range of 1.50% - 1.75% Image Copyright: BestCashCow

Cash is Trash No More - Federal Reserve Moves Fed Funds Rate Up by 75 Basis Points to A Range of 1.50% - 1.75%

The Federal Reserve has finally become much more serious about controlling inflation. Inflation has gotten so hot by any measure, including core CPI, that Jay Powell can no longer keep his head in the sand. His Fed is pulling trillions... Read →
2022 Is Signaling Wealth Preservation Mode Image Copyright: BestCashCow

2022 Is Signaling Wealth Preservation Mode

I am old enough to remember October 1987. I was a college freshman then and I remember my floormates calling their parents to inquire whether they would be able to stay enrolled in college. I also have vivid memories of 2001 and 2008... Read →
It is Probably Not the Time to Rush Into CDs Image Copyright: BestCashCow

It is Probably Not the Time to Rush Into CDs

As interest rates have come down dramatically, following the Fed’s emergency response to the virus, savings and money market rates have become very unappetizing. As of this writing, all major online banks have dropped their online... Read →
The Only Person with Balls in Russia (So Far) Image Courtesy: Reuters

The Only Person with Balls in Russia (So Far)

Regular readers of my articles will know that I lived in Moscow and practiced tax law there from 1994 to 1996. I also spent time working in Russia and Ukraine in 1990. My first trip to the former Soviet Union came in 1985 and my last... Read →