The Federal Reserve raised interest rates about a quarter percent today, but yields on 10-year Treasury notes have been trading just around their 2017 lows — about 2.21 percent. That’s the interest rate paid to the borrower of these notes. Yields rise when traders expect inflation to increase, and, therefore, interest rates climb. So what […]
Under consideration in the House of Representatives today: a big Republican platform item. Specifically, the rollback of Dodd-Frank financial regulations. This comes in the form of a bill called the Financial Choice Act. Here’s what’s in the bill and what could become law. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.
The gross domestic product of South Africa, one of Africa’s largest economies, contracted nearly a full percent between the last quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of this year. Some blame President Jacob Zuma for the country’s lackluster performance. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.
Schools around the country are beginning to close down for the summer. But in Puerto Rico, many schools, almost 180 of them, will not reopen in the fall. The mass closure comes as the commonwealth faces an ongoing economic crisis and tens of billions of dollars in debt. Click the audio player above to […]
Shares of Google parent Alphabet flirted with $1,000 today, and Amazon finished up at $1,011. In the past, when a company thought its stock was getting a little too expensive, it would do a split. That would reduce the price of each share by raising the number outstanding. That basically made the stock more accessible […]
Some of the nation’s biggest banks, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup, are warning that trading revenue in the second quarter will be down at least 10 percent compared to a year ago. Goldman Sachs also flagged a drop in trading revenue. One of the reasons they’re pointing to? A lack of market volatility. That may […]
Illinois’ credit rating is now just short of junk. That’s the news after a downgrade from S&P Global Ratings. The agency cited Illinois’ budget stalemate and its $14.5 billion in unpaid bills. It will take more revenue and more cuts to make any progress, but the state’s regular legislative session just ended — with no […]
