Does anyone think that the Fed will raise interest rates anymore this year?
373252
Yes, I'm confident that the Fed will raise rates next quarter because the price of commodities continues to go up, so everything is getting more expensive and therefore the risk of inflation is still present
868672
raise interest rates.
307163
I doubt it, they raise it when your income rises.  They would have more to distribute to your kids if they got a lump some, because the interest would grow huge i would think.
581029
i would think there would be a few more interest rate increases. The housing market is most likely to cool in the coming months.
457949
ONE DAY WONDER and here's why:\nGenerally a one shot news item that is of no direct consequence to the market itself is quickly forgotten.  However, yesterdays news gave hope to the theory that the Fed was done raising interest rates for the time being.  Today however, 4/19/06, the morning news told of March CPI (inflation) being up .4%.  Multiply that by 12 months and it is an annualized inflation rate of 4.8%...much higher than Jan and Feb, which together averaged an annualized 3.8% The stock market HATES inflation because it a precursor to higher interest rates and that hurts the market by making bonds more attractive and also because higher interest rates hurt business profitability and slow down the economy. Today's bad news neutralized yesterday's good news.
1179164
The whole point is that the economy is moving *too* fast right now.  Same thing in the 20s before everything overheated and collapsed.  The point of raising interest rates is to slow down the economy so that it grows closer to 3% instead of the 5.6% that just got reported today.  They're not trying to raise rates so much that deflation happens.
864039
Lots of pressure to lower interest rates, but personal and government debt is still pretty high.\n\nLook for flat to very slightly lower (-1/4%) till March.  New mortgage interest rates for good credit risks will go down just a little.\n\nIf we get inflationary news that does not cause a dip in the economy, then up 1/4%\n\nIf we get inflationary news that DOES cause a dip in the economy (OIL  price up)  we stay flat.
558351
I'm think yes, or it will be mighty close. What's the rate now? $1.89 to 1 pound?
739377
They do,  but the banks and building societies delay as long as they can.  Ive got a Chelsea Building society postal savings account which is guaranteed to be 0.6% above the Bank of England base rate. So it will automatically rise from 5.35% to 5.6% now that the new rate applies.  I dont know if it is still available to new savers though.
136387
There is in fact a law but it has a high limit. I think its something like 33% over current prime rate. this could mean interest as high as 39%.
595280
My economic knowledge tells me that I hope it goes up up up. My company pays for my gas, and as a resident of Alberta, Canada I stand to share in the wealth that the province brings in from oil revenue royalties. My family got a check for $1600 this last time, but with the current (and rising) oil prices the next one could be much higher. \n\nMaybe people will stop buying stupid SUVs too. I just bought a Honda Civic and it gets great milage. \n\nIf the USA continues to try and clense the world of anti-western democracy govenments (Iran, N. Korea etc.) this trend will continue. If faith in the US dollar doesn't improve, people will continue to invest in commodities like Gold, Silver, and Oil, thus driving the prices up.
714627
I don't think so. Although gas has gone up since the election. I think the prices were down before the elections to help the republicans hold there power, that way the republicans can help them. I look for gas to steadily increase so at the next elections the republicans can blame it on the Dems. The stock market is controlled by the big corp. They won't let it go down on purpose. The hard part will be trying to keep the C.E.O.s hands off the employees pension funds. Luckily my pension is funded through my union and the gov. watches unions like a hawk. They don't seem to watch company pension plans very close.
147387
I would say the consensus of most experts would be:  We don't know.  But odds are better than 50-50 it will go up.  The stock market has gone up an average of ~10% a year since 1926.
975914
In my opinion the Federal Reserve monetary policy has been lagging what is going on in the economy for the past decade.  The economy has been cooling a bit over the last several months following strong growth driven by President Bush's tax cuts.  Starting early in 2004 there has been strong demand for commodity products particularly in China and India.  This has put some upward pressure on prices.  This pressure was aided by the high prices for petroleum.\n\nI think that BB is making a statement in reaction to this.  \n\nOver the past few months petroleum prices have dropped, the housing market has tanked, holiday consumer demand so far is weak, etc.  All these are deflationary.  So, once again the Fed has it backwards.\n\nThe economy will be fine so long as the Democrats don't start raising taxes.  If this happens we will rapidly move into a recession.
43552
First, The Fed doesn't raise prime rates.  The Fed raised the Fed funds rate and the discount rate today.  These are the rates that banks can borrow money from the Fed.  In turn, the banks raise their prime rates ( the rates charged for the bank's best customers).  \n\nMost smaller banks will raise their cd rates immediately or within within a few days of a Fed rate hike.  The larger banks tend to lag a little, but they also have to move them quickly in order to stay competitive.
515952
Well, their action last week "hurt" the economy -- they're completely aware of that, and did it on purpose.\n\nThe Fed raised interest rates with the specific purpose in mind of slowing economic growth ("hurting" the economy).  They did so because they feel that too much economic growth can cause inflation, which they consider worse than slow economic growth.  Higher interest rates means it's more difficult and more expensive to borrow money, both for businesses and consumers.  That means less businesses will borrow money so they can grow, and less consumers will borrow money to buy things, slowing both capital investment and consumer spending -- and slowing the economy.\n\nTheir policies over the last 20 years or so have led to a more stable US economy than in the past, with less wild swings of growth, inflation, recession, etc.  We still have ups and downs, and the economy can still be affected by major events such as 9/11 or stock market crashes -- but not as much as in the years before the Fed took such an active role.\n\nSo even though their action of raising interest rates was designed to "hurt" the economy in the short term, over the long term their policies have resulted in a more stable US economy that is generally a benefit to both businesses and consumers.
1140485
It would take a whole course to give you a comprehensive response. You might consider signing up for one at a local college.\n\nMeanwhile, in a nutshell, here's what's happening at this time in the economy: The Fed is always concerned with keeping economic growth at an acceptably high level and keeping the rate of price inflation at an acceptably low level.\n\nWhen the economy gets cooking, the money supply expands (that's actually what inflation is). The business community spends more to satisfy their higher level of business activity, and consumers feel rich so they spend more.\n\nThe US economy has been on a five-year expansion. It's reaching the level where inflation is becoming a serious problem. So the Fed has been raising interest rates to try to keep growth from getting too fast. But consumers have borrowed huge, huge amounts, including in mortgages, so if the Fed "slams on the brakes" too hard by raising interest rates too much, the risk is that a severe recession or worse could set in, triggered by that mountain of debt.\n\nMeanwhile, other economies, especially China and India, have been growing at very high rates. They are gobbling up all of the commodities they can find - oil and gas, lumber, base metals, etc. That adds to inflation.\n\nWe are in the midst of a commodities boom. Mining and energy stocks have come a long way up but have a long way still to go. Many companies have done poorly for several years because they don't operate well in a higher-inflation environment (their costs go up faster than they can raise prices).\n\nThat's a lot of information in one short message. As I said, look into taking an economics course. I was a chemist once, but enrolled in business school and loved every minute of it because of the fascinating and useful things I learned.\n\nBest of success.