Ben Bernanke said

[lamboguy]

once the unemployment rate got to 6 1/2% the fed was going to raise up the interest rates.

today the rate fell to 5.6% and still no raise. that is pretty close to a normal number. leads me to believe there is something in the horizon going on, maybe the other foot about to drop.

[ReplayRandall]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

once the unemployment rate got to 6 1/2% the fed was going to raise up the interest rates.

today the rate fell to 5.6% and still no raise. that is pretty close to a normal number. leads me to believe there is something in the horizon going on, maybe the other foot about to drop.

The FHA is going to lower the PMI rate to help spur home ownership. Look for the FED to simultaneously raise the interest rates incrementally:

http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...rance-premiums

[davew]

have they changed the definition of what it is to be employed in last couple years?

I see noBamacares considers 30 hrs/wk full time

[Tom]

For Obama, that is over time.

[classhandicapper]

1. The stats are cooked relative to the past

2. We are heavily in debt (rising interest rates will impact short term debt costs and raise the deficit)

3. Asset markets are addicted to free money and QE

The Fed is scared shit to raise rates.

[ReplayRandall]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

1. The stats are cooked relative to the past

2. We are heavily in debt (rising interest rates will impact short term debt costs and raise the deficit)

3. Asset markets are addicted to free money and QE

The Fed is scared shit to raise rates.

In the State of the Union address, Obama will speak about housing and will state his intentions of the FHA reducing PMI rates, which will be implemented before the end of Jan. Expect the FED to then announce a small interest rate hike to begin around Feb. 15th......

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

2. We are heavily in debt (rising interest rates will impact short term debt costs and raise the deficit)

We are currently paying several hundred billion dollars a year in interest on the debt. It is hard to get an actual number because the government uses about forty-eleven different methods of counting, but $250 billion seems to be the low end.

What ever the number is, if market rates return to historic levels, that number will double.

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by ReplayRandall

In the State of the Union address, Obama will speak about housing and will state his intentions of the FHA reducing PMI rates, which will be implemented before the end of Jan.

Good plan. We need to make housing more affordable for people that don't presently qualify for mortgages. What could go wrong?

I saw today that Obama has another little goody ready to go in the State of the Union. His "plan" is to offer 2 years of "free" tuition to community colleges to anyone that wants it. His plan doesn't include any mention of how to pay for it.

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-proposes...012142866.html

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by davew

have they changed the definition of what it is to be employed in last couple years?

I see noBamacares considers 30 hrs/wk full time

The Bureau of Labor Statistics computes 6 different measures of unemployment, from U-1 to U-6. U-3 is the one the Federal Reserve and the media talk about, the "official" rate. In U-3, a part time worker is counted as employed. In U-6, a part time worker that wants, but can't find, full time work is counted as unemployed.

https://labor.ny.gov/stats/PDFs/alte...e_measures.pdf

[DJofSD]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

once the unemployment rate got to 6 1/2% the fed was going to raise up the interest rates.

today the rate fell to 5.6% and still no raise. that is pretty close to a normal number. leads me to believe there is something in the horizon going on, maybe the other foot about to drop.

Helicopter Ben is not in charge any longer.

What makes you believe the Fed is required to follow through with implementing anything from him?

[JustRalph]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

1. The stats are cooked relative to the past

2. We are heavily in debt (rising interest rates will impact short term debt costs and raise the deficit)

3. Asset markets are addicted to free money and QE

The Fed is scared shit to raise rates.

Exactly right. The Fed knows it's smoke and mirrors. If you see any rate activity in 2015 it will be minuscule

[lamboguy]

Originally Posted by DJofSD

Helicopter Ben is not in charge any longer.

What makes you believe the Fed is required to follow through with implementing anything from him?

you know that is an excellent question, the fed is supposed to be an independent operation void of any political influence. we already know that we can't trust any of our leaders because they are swayed by the money.

i have to trust what the Fed says and does, if they won't raise the interest rates like they said they would to me bears some extreme caution in what is going on now and so far they aren't telling us what is going on.

[kingfin66]

Originally Posted by Clocker

Good plan. We need to make housing more affordable for people that don't presently qualify for mortgages. What could go wrong?

I saw today that Obama has another little goody ready to go in the State of the Union. His "plan" is to offer 2 years of "free" tuition to community colleges to anyone that wants it. His plan doesn't include any mention of how to pay for it.

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-proposes...012142866.html

PMI is required for people who do not have a full down payment. They still have to qualify for a mortgage. It actually makes sense to lower PMI if mortgage companies are now actually requiring home buyers to qualify for mortgages. Lower risk should result in lower rates.

As for the community college plan, it sounds awesome, but I agree, where does the money come from?

[Tom]

As for the community college plan, it sounds awesome, but I agree, where does the money come from?

Three guesses?
Obama is determined to see 30 trillion in the hole by the time leaves office.
My question is where does he thing he gets the power to do this?
And will the Congress have the guts to stand up and stop him?

[reckless]

The Federal Reserve will raise rates -- or not raise rates -- whenever Goldman Sachs says so.

There has not been a rate hike since 2006! What's does a few more months or even a tick or two in interest rate points matter between friends?

Let's get real here and stop kidding ourselves. The U.S. government takes its cues from the gonifs at Goldman Sachs.