The Fed's response to the credit crunch

The Federal Reserve Board has used Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act to create several new lending facilities to address the ongoing strains in the credit market.Financial crises ; Credit

What's under the TARP?

The Financial Stability Plan, initiated under the belief that "[t]here is more risk and greater cost in gradualism than in aggressive action," has several features.Troubled Asset Relief Program

The microfinance revolution: an overview

The Nobel Prize committee awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below." The microfinance revolution has come a long way since Yunus first provided financing to the poor in Bangladesh. The committee has recognized microfinance as "an important liberating force" and an "ever more important instrument in the struggle against poverty." Although several authors have provided comprehensive surveys of microfinance, our aim is somewhat more modest: This article is intended as a non-technical overview on the growth and development of microcredit and microfinance.Bank loans ; Credit ; Poverty

Decline in house prices slows down; district still faring better than nation

Housing - Prices ; Federal Reserve District, 8th

The geographic distribution and characteristics of U.S. bank failures, 2007-2010: do bank failures still reflect local economic conditions?

The financial crisis and recession that began in 2007 brought a sharp increase in the number of bank failures in the United States. This article investigates characteristics of banks that failed and regional patterns in bank failure rates during 2007-10. The article compares the recent experience with that of 1987-92, when the United States last experienced a high number of bank failures. As during the 1987-92 and prior episodes, bank failures during 2007-10 were concentrated in regions of the country that experienced the most serious distress in real estate markets and the largest declines in economic activity. Although most legal restrictions on branch banking were eliminated in the 1990s, the authors find that many banks continue to operate in a small number of markets and are vulnerable to localized economic shocks.Bank failures

Can Social Security survive the baby boomers?

Social security ; Retirement

Increasing political freedom may be key to reducing threats

The root causes of terrorism might not be poverty and lack of education, as many believe. Rather, the lack of civil liberties, political rights and the rule of law might be more influential.Terrorism

A Study to Determine the Effect that a Local Recycling Program had on the Amount of Household Solid Waste that was Disposed of in the Carrollton, Virginia Area

The following research goals were established to provide guidelines to conduct research and answer the problem: 1. Identify the present amount of recycling that is being done in the Carrollton, Virginia area; 2. Identify the current amount of household solid waste that is being produced in the Carrollton, Virginia area; 3. Identify the specific types of solid waste that are being recycled; 4. Identify how successful the recycling program has been

How much have U.S. house prices fallen?

Housing - Prices