7986 South Datura Circle West
Littleton, CO 80120
(303) 683-3338
Categories Menu

Posted by on Aug 3, 2007 in WATCHING THE MONEY | 0 comments

Time to measure nation’s vital economic signs

On the Money From the August 3, 2007 print edition A healthy human body has certain vital signs that are essential for life. Heart rate, blood pressure, respiration and temperature are the critical indicators of survival, the vital signs. Economics and finance have vital signs of their own, called “indicators.” While almost any activity or relationship — such as the presidential approval rating versus stock prices — can be used as an indicator, the core information is collected and dispassionately provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. Although indicators often are used to build forecasts, the Census Bureau’s job is to simply collect, report and compare. Here are the 10 core indicators with their latest results: Housing starts/building permits — They provide statistics on the construction of new, privately owned residential structures in the United States. The statistics are for new housing units intended for occupancy and maintained by the occupants. The measure doesn’t include hotels, motels and group residential structures such as nursing homes and college dormitories.Housing starts in June were...

Read More

Posted by on Nov 4, 2004 in WATCHING THE MONEY | 0 comments

Federal Reserve Board is more than just interest rates

The recent nomination of Ben Bernanke to succeed Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve has brought renewed attention to our banking system and monetary policy. Being chairman of the Federal Reserve is often described as the nation’s second most powerful job. The chairman of the Federal Reserve Board has the responsibility to oversee the board’s implementation of the Federal Reserve Act. This Act came into being in 1913, and established the Federal Reserve System, and other laws pertaining to a wide range of banking and financial activities. The most well-known activity of the Federal Reserve Board is adjustment to the Fed Funds Rate– the interest rate at which banks lend to each other overnight. This interest rate is considered to be the “rate-within-the-rate;” theoretically the risk-free rate upon which all other lending rates are based. However, in addition to the widely visible adjustments to the Fed Funds Rate, the Federal Reserve Board (already being dubbed “Bernanke’s Board”), also has responsibility to oversee and manage 31 other components...

Read More

Posted by on May 11, 2004 in WATCHING THE MONEY | 0 comments

Ah Spring! When a young man’s fancy turns to . . . bond ratings?

On the Money From the May 7, 2004 print edition [“In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” This line is from the poem, “Locksley Hall,” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. However, spring also brings thoughts of other things-like] how, after paying all those taxes last month, can we make more money than last year? One way is to pay more attention to the credit rating of companies in which we invest. In financial circles “AAA” does not mean American Automobile Association. Likewise “CC” does not stand for “Carbon Copy;” Here’s a brief look at those ratings; where they come from, and what they mean. Over one hundred years ago, after Moody was wiped out in the 1907 stock market crash, he came back with an idea: this time an analysis of security values for investors. Thus was born Moody’s Investors Service, the world’s largest rating agency, which now has more than 700 analysts working in 14 countries. Standard & Poor’s, a division of The McGraw-Hill...

Read More