Interest rates

New research shows that young Americans are finding it increasingly difficult to buy a home of their own. The co-author of a series of reports will delve into discoveries around the factors why.

Minutes of the Jan. 25-26 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, released Wednesday, “[tell] us that they will raise the fed funds rate in March, and that a 50 basis point rate hike is in play,” said Gus Faucher, chief economist for PNC Financial Services Group.

The U.S. Treasury Department defeated a blue-state challenge to a rule that exempts buyers of high-interest loans from state interest rate caps.

The Secured Overnight Financing Rate has benefited — amid the phaseout of Libor — from positive comments by regulators. Is a multirate environment, which some banks would prefer, still possible?

Analysts expect loan growth and higher interest rates to drive up equity prices next year, even in the face of the omicron variant and other risks.

Just three months ago, U.S. banks were still using the expiring benchmark rate for the vast majority of their new loans. But regulators said Friday the transition to alternative rates has accelerated ahead of a year-end cutoff.

Borrowers expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next year to contain soaring prices and are locking in favorable terms now, bankers say.

Many banks are still making loans tied to the scandal-plagued benchmark despite years of preparation for its demise. The end of 2021 could prove hectic as bankers scramble to implement changes and explain them to commercial borrowers.

Some progressive lawmakers argue the Federal Reserve’s deregulatory moves under Jerome Powell should disqualify him for a second term as chair. But the Biden administration could let him keep his job because of monetary policies that helped low-income workers.

Federal Reserve officials are moving closer to when they can start reducing massive support for the U.S. economy.

How the pandemic is accelerating trends in financial advice and changing the way Americans manage their money.

Federal Reserve officials held interest rates near zero while signaling they expect two increases by the end of 2023, pulling forward the date of liftoff and projecting a faster-than-anticipated pace of tightening as the economy recovers.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles has made it clear that banks failing to make the transition away from the benchmark rate could face supervisory consequences.

The steady pace of refinance activity has also continued, as borrowers seek to take advantage of sub-3% rates.

More than two-thirds of the economists surveyed expect the Federal Open Market Committee will give an early-warning signal of tapering this year, with the largest number — 45% — looking for a nod during the July-September quarter.

“It’s time for us to stop treating the purchase mortgage as some kind of market impediment or red flag for our forecasts,” says Chairman of JJAM Financial and former Ginnie Mae President Joseph Murin

Federal Reserve officials left their benchmark interest rate unchanged near zero as they flagged a moderating U.S. recovery and reiterated a pledge to use all available tools to support the economy during the coronavirus pandemic.

With an unusually high number of unknowns to factor in, mortgage industry leaders offer a peek at their playbooks for the next year.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's overhaul of its Qualified Mortgage standard is alarming free-market advocates who say it will precipitate a return to easy credit and higher defaults and could disproportionately harm minorities.

The central bank said it would keep interest rates at current levels through at least to help the U.S. economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic.