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	<title>Federal Reserve &#038; Interest Rates</title>
	<link>http://banks.com/blogs/fed</link>
	<description>Read up-to-date news about the Federal Reserve and the latest in the U.S. Economy and interest rates on Banks.com's Federal Reserve &#038; Interest Rate Blog.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 15 May 2008 17:55:42 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>The Role Of The Central Bank</title>
		<description><![CDATA[On Tuesday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke discussed the role of central banks at a conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
A sharp housing contraction has generated substantial losses on many mortgage-related assets and a broad-based tightening in credit availability. Consistent with its role as the nation&#8217;s central bank, the Federal Reserve has responded not only [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banks.com/blogs/fed/2008/05/15/the-role-of-the-central-bank/</link>
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		<title>The Fed&#8217;s Actions Have Renewed Confidence In The Financial System But Housing Market Continues To Slump</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Fed&#8217;s rate slashing campaign has appeared to right the floundering financial system but nonetheless the housing slump continues to worsen.  The Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke before the Columbia School of Business on Monday and remarked on mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures.
&#8220;Most Americans are paying their mortgages on time and are not at risk [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banks.com/blogs/fed/2008/05/06/the-feds-actions-has-renewed-confidence-in-the-financial-system-but-housing-market-continues-to-slump/</link>
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		<title>Employment Data Better Than Expected</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Earlier today, the Labor Department released employment data which showed that the economy lost 20,000 jobs in the month of April, much less than the 75,000 which economists had forecasted.  The Secretary of Labor issued this statement after the report was released.
&#8220;In today&#8217;s better than expected jobs report, both payroll employment and the unemployment [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banks.com/blogs/fed/2008/05/02/employment-data-better-than-expected/</link>
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		<title>Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates By A Quarter Percent</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This afternoon, the Federal Reserve announced the seventh rate cut since it began slashing interest rates last September.  It lowered both the benchmark federal funds rate as well as the discount rate by 25 basis points to 2% and 2.25% respectively.
The Commerce Department also released economic data which showed that GDP had slowed in the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banks.com/blogs/fed/2008/04/30/federal-reserve-cuts-interest-rates-by-a-quarter-percent/</link>
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		<title>Bush Can&#8217;t Wait to Send Stimulus Package</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The economic stimulus money is going to start going out to consumers today.Â  This is a bit earlier than planned, as it was supposed to begin in May.Â  Direct deposits will be issued starting today, and all of those receiving tax rebates by mail will receive them after May 9, 2008.Â  This is a week [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banks.com/blogs/fed/2008/04/28/bush-cant-wait-to-send-stimulus-package/</link>
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		<title>Updates:  Currency, Consumer Sentiment, Stimulus Package</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Euro has begun to lose a small amount of value against the dollar after its record high of $1.6019 earlier this week.Â  The euro traded at $1.5685 late yesterday.
The dollar gained a small bit of value against Japanese currency.Â  The dollar is worth 104.63 yen.Â  This is up from the value of 104.22 yen [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banks.com/blogs/fed/2008/04/25/updates-currency-consumer-sentiment-stimulus-package/</link>
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		<title>Tips On Saving Gas</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The price of gas is getter closer and closer to $4 per gallon.Â  Light, sweet crude oil jumped to $118.05 per barrel today, and that means gasoline costs are not going to get any cheaper for a while.Â  With the economic conditions the way they are, saving money is crucial.Â  Here are some tips on [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banks.com/blogs/fed/2008/04/22/tips-on-saving-gas/</link>
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		<title>Oil Continues to Rise, New Record Reached</title>
		<description><![CDATA[On Friday, April 18, 2008, crude oil reached a new record.Â  Each barrel now costs $117, which makes gasoline prices closer to $3.50-$4.00 per gallon.Â  Oil prices have been rising for five consecutive days.
News reports are saying that a major pipeline in Nigeria was damaged.Â  There is a militant group that is allegedly responsible for [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banks.com/blogs/fed/2008/04/19/oil-continues-to-rise-new-record-reached/</link>
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		<title>Fed VC Speaks on Risk Management and Financial Stability</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Donald Kohn gave a speech today in North Carolina.Â  He stressed the needs for a better response to financial turmoil.Â  He offered his take on what banks and the Federal Reserve need to do.Â  Here are some highlights of his speech.
A more resilient financial system will also require [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banks.com/blogs/fed/2008/04/17/fed-vc-speaks-on-risk-management-and-financial-stability/</link>
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		<title>Price Indexes Rise, The Dollar Falls</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The latest economic data has revealed that both the Producer Price Index (PPI) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) have gone up, in addition to the price of oil reaching record heights.
The PPI was released yesterday by the Department of Labor, showing an increase of 1.1%, seasonally adjusted.
The CPI rose 0.3%, seasonally adjusted.Â  From September [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://banks.com/blogs/fed/2008/04/16/price-indexes-rise-the-dollar-falls/</link>
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