Investors Cheer the Fed’s Rate Cut The Federal Reserve implemented a significant policy shift last month with a larger-than-expected 50 basis point (bp, 1 bp = 0.01%) rate cut to 4.75 – 5.00%. This is the first time the Fed has begun with a 50 bp rate reduction since...

A Fed Rate Cut and Your Mortgage Rate A recent online advertisement from a major bank read, “The Fed just lowered interest rates. Could refinancing save you money?” There is an implicit assumption in the ad that the Fed’s half-percentage point rate reduction brought...

Boom—Fed Opts for 50 On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced a 50-basis point (bp, 1 bp = 0.01%) rate cut for the fed funds rate to 4.75 – 5.00%, its first reduction since 2020.  The announcement marks the end of the most aggressive rate-hike cycle since 1980 when...

A Green Light for the Fed—in Three Graphs All indications point to a rate cut by the Federal Reserve this week. What’s behind the Fed’s rationale? Let’s look at three key metrics. Aided by lower gasoline prices and stable prices for consumer goods, the rate of...

Then and Now Overbuilding, speculation, and easy access to credit encouraged a housing boom and a bust in the 2000s. Sales cratered later in the decade, and along with it, prices tumbled. Today, housing sales have plummeted once again. According to the National...

Powell’s Victory Lap Speech (sort of) Fed Chief Powell’s much-anticipated speech against the picturesque backdrop of the Grand Tetons in Jackson Hole, WY, virtually assures that the Fed will reduce interest rates next month. In a short 16-minute speech, Powell said...