January 28th, 2010
Recently, banks have borrowed a bit more from the emergency lending program of the Federal Reserve. Almost a billion dollars more were averaged in daily borrowing last week compared to the week before, but these levels are still quite low.
With the slight improvement of financial conditions, banks have chosen to scale back their overall use of the emergency discount loan of the Federal Reserve. The peak of this particular crisis hit $110 billion that was borrowed daily by banks, showing how serious trouble was becoming in obtaining loans via regular channels of the private market. Such banks only pay .5% on emergency loans.
During its peak early last year, the Federal Reserve held around $350 billion worth in commercial paper. Recently, however, banks have not made any use of individual programs of commercial paper, which were made to improve the overall availability of important financing needed for paying supplies and salaries in the short term.
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Tags: banks, Loans
Posted in Economy, Loans | No Comments »
November 17th, 2009
It seems that thousands of UK students still have not received their grants and loans. Did I mention that their term started weeks ago and payments were meant to be completed last month?
Apparently, applications are still being processed, maintenance applicants are still being approved and some students still need to provide additional information. No matter what the reason, though, the UK government really needs to get a grip on the situation as it proves to be highly stressful for students who rely on their grants and loans for an education.
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Tags: Loans, uk student loans
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November 17th, 2009
Have you heard of the brand new credit card bill of rights that will restrict how credit card companies change their fees and rates next year? Well, not a lot of people have really pointed it out yet, but it does come with its disadvantages, one of which involves us seeing an increase in interest rates along with additional fees soon, if not today.
In fact, tons of credit card holders have already been receiving letters regarding a sudden change to a much higher interest rate, sometimes of up to 13%. Are you one of them?
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Tags: new credit card law
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November 7th, 2009
After being plagued by foreclosures, bankruptcies and looming debts, the real estate industry of the nation’s biggest cities seem to be finding the light at last. According to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index, home prices in 20 metropolitan areas rose 1% in August from the month before. Cities that are experiencing better and notable gains include San Diego and Los Angeles in California. Though figures for these two cities were down in comparison with the same month a year earlier, month on month comparisons show that home prices are indeed on the rise by 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively.
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Tags: home values
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October 21st, 2009
It’s not news that the government has helped out financial institutions that were in the red for the past year or so. One of these was Goldman Sachs. The company received loans from the Treasury. It received $13Billion from the rescue of insurer AIG. It has sold $22 billion in federally guaranteed debt in the hopes of restoring capital markets activity. It also has been a major beneficiary of the low interest rates the government has set in order to restart the economy.
Now, Goldman Sachs, a New York-based investment firm, has turned $3.2Billion in the third quarter of this year as revenue from trading, almost 4x that of the figures from a year ago. If you look at their figures for the first three quarters, they have earned a staggering $16.7 Billion. What’s interesting about these figures is that a portion of this Billion dollar revenue, usually half of it as most Wall Street firms are known to do, will be allocated for Goldman Sachs employees’ bonus.
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Tags: bonus, Goldman Sachs
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September 23rd, 2009
Most first-time homeowners were finally able to fulfill their dream of owning a home when the government offered the $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers. Unfortunately, time is running out and this reprieve is about to expire come November 30, 2009 and people are becoming antsy about whether they’re going to be approved or not. Most people, especially groups like the National Association of Realtors, Mortgage Bankers Association of America and the National Association of Home Builders, want an extension of this period and for the government to approve its increase to $15,000 even. With the new $15,000 tax credit, they also want it to be available for existing homeowners too.
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Tags: buyers, Home Buyer Tax Credit
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September 3rd, 2009
Firstly, this is the first post on this new blog. It’s an old website taking a new direction. Hopefully the information we provide will be helpful to you or someone you know. Our goal is that National Loan Source becomes your true source for honest and balanced loan information.
In an effort to stem the so-called foreclosure crisis that has been plaguing the nation, President Obama unveiled a $75 Billion bailout for as much as 9 million families. This bailout is more tailored for homeowners who are in danger of getting their homes foreclosed or at the very least not being able to pay their mortgages on schedule. What happens with this bailout is that homeowners who are eligible for the program may get a reduction on their mortgage payments during a trial period. During this time, they need to consistently keep to schedule so that after the trial period (which is 3 months) they will get a higher chance of having their mortgages refinanced and reworked. However, since the unveiling, only 12% of the expected 9 million families have applied for the so-called modifications.
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Tags: banks, Tax Payer Bailout
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